 G.A. committee ponders proposed budget cuts By Craig M. Kibler The Layman Online Tuesday, June 18, 2002
Williamson fires opening salvo "Jesus said that where our treasure is, there our heart is also. As General Assembly commissioners, you are being asked by the church to decide where you will spend the church's treasury. This is a work of finance. It is also, as Jesus reminds us, a work of the heart," said Parker Williamson, chief executive officer of the Presbyterian Lay Committee and editor in chief of its publications. "There is no question where the people's hearts are. Two-thirds of the money given by our congregations to the General Assembly is restricted by those congregations, and most of those funds are for World-Wide Ministries. Through opinion polls and giving patterns, Presbyterians are saying loud and clear that they love evangelism, church development, sending missionaries throughout the world, and ministries of compassionate service," he said. "I regret to tell you that the unrestricted portion of the proposed 2003 budget does not reflect those priorities. Those who created this budget eliminated funding for the director of evangelism, and they did away with 34 missionary positions. Of each undesignated dollar that the members of your congregation place in the offering plate, only three cents pays for sending missionaries to other lands. This does not reflect the priorities of the Presbyterian Church (USA). "We all heard our new moderator, Fahed Abu-Akel, tell us that missionaries brought him to faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. There can be no greater priority than this, for this is the heart of the gospel," Williamson said. "I implore you to adjust this budget so that the church's treasury and the church's heart are in the same place." Carpenter speaks Former Moderator Marj Carpenter told the committee that when she first learned of the contemplated cuts, she went to her room and cried. She said that when the General Assembly Council proceeded to include those cuts in its proposed budget, she became physically ill. "We are the church," she told the committee. "How is it possible that the Rotary Club has a stronger presence internationally than the Presbyterian Church (USA)?" Carpenter reminded the commissioners of her many years of work on behalf of Presbyterian missionaries stationed throughout the world. She told them of a recent trip to a Guatemalan village. "When our jeep arrived in the village, the people hid behind closed doors. Then I saw a woman who came out calling out "Presbyterian!" Carpenter said that, only days before she arrived, government troops had descended upon the village, killing many of the men. The women ran into the streets and, using the only weapon they had to defend themselves, threw pepper into the soldiers' eyes. "Why did you call out to me?" Carpenter said she asked the woman. "Because you Presbyterians came to be with us," she replied. Choking back tears, Carpenter told committee members of the outstanding work that two Presbyterian missionaries have done in Guatemala. Then she announced: "Those are two among the 34 that have been cut from the budget. How is this possible?" Wounding the church Harold Kurtz, former director of the Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship and a missionary to Ethiopia, told the committee that, "This proposed cut in our missionary force is tragic." Kurtz said he was concerned for the Louisville support staff, as well as the 34 missionaries. These are the people who provide support for missionaries in the field, he said. So that means that not only do we have fewer in the field to do the work, but those who are out there will receive less support from the church at home. Kurtz warned the committee that cutting the church's mission would deeply wound the church itself. Mission is our life Ib Hagsten, a Presbyterian elder from Kansas City, expressed his strong opposition to the proposed budget cuts. He told the committee of two churches, one that cut its mission giving to meet a budget shortage and another that increased its giving to 40 percent. The congregation that balanced its budget by cutting mission experienced an 18 percent income reduction the following year. The congregation that increased its mission support in hard times grew exponentially. People will not support a church that turns in upon itself, he said, adding that mission is our life. Rev. Henry Greene, a member of Presbyterians for Renewal, urged the committee to amend the proposed budget. Noting that dealing with huge budget numbers can be an intimidating exercise for first-time commissioners, he suggested that they seek help from the General Assembly staff. "If you tell them to do it, they'll figure out how," he said. Special campaign is no answer Greene warned the commissioners not to count on a proposed special campaign to replenish the missionary cuts. "Let's not hide behind a one-time mission initiative while we remove missionary positions from the budget," he said. Greene suggested that a special campaign is fine for raising extra funds, but it cannot take the place of responsible, prioritized, year-to-year budget building. "Let's lead our denomination in a full vision that they can support, and they will," he said. During the hour set aside for public hearings, no speaker came forward to support the proposed budget. But after the committee returned from a lunch recess, a host of high-level General Assembly staff and leaders of the General Assembly Council flooded the room to conduct a two-hour presentation. They described the process they used to establish the proposed budget, the complexity and difficulty involved in budgeting procedures, and the pain that had been experienced at Louisville headquarters over having to make these decisions. Committee chairman William Pohlmann told committee members that "people just like us are proposing this budget." Then he permitted members to ask questions of the staff, but he refused to entertain any motions or to permit any debate. Pohlmann told the committee that any action on the budget must be deferred until Saturday morning, during the final hours of the General Assembly meeting. |
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