National Council of Churches responds to funding suspension United Methodist News Service Friday, October 22, 1999 NEW YORK – Responding with "utmost seriousness" to a temporary suspension of funding by United Methodists, the top staff executive of the National Council of Churches (NCC) has promised to address the denomination's concerns. "We understand this suspension to be a prod to swift action born of the United Methodist commitment to Christian unity and a secure future for the NCC," said the Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, general secretary. NCC officers are working on a "financial transformation process" that was begun in 1997, she noted. "We are well aware of the need to bring this work to completion." During its Oct. 7-10 meeting, the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns decided to suspend funding temporarily to the NCC from the denomination's Interdenominational Cooperation Fund. The suspension is in place until the commission receives answers to questions about "past and future fiscal policies and management" and is assured that a viable financial recovery plan will be implemented. That particular funding affects the council's Ecumenical Commitment Fund, which provides the core support for its work on Christian unity. This year, United Methodists were expected to contribute $670,000 of $1.5 million and have actually allotted a little less than half that amount so far. The council's total budget is $60 million. In a formal statement released Oct. 13, Campbell said the council was "distressed but not surprised by the United Methodist action." Because the council's executive board already has taken steps to address many of the issues, "We fully expect that the NCC will be able to respond to the United Methodist concerns in a timely manner." Campbell and her staff cabinet met Oct. 12 with the Rev. Bruce Robbins, chief executive of the Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, and his staff to discuss specific concerns and how they can be resolved. Both groups called it a "constructive meeting."

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