Financial crunch looms as World Council nears 50 By Parker T. Williamson The Presbyterian Layman Nov/Dec, 1997 GENEVA – Approaching its 50-year birthday party in Harare, Zimbabwe, next year, the World Council of Churches is struggling over proposals to breathe new life into its dying organization. Troubled by declining contributions from most of its member churches, and by the outright defection of one, the Council has had to make major staff cuts. Only a bullish stock market and the weakening of the Swiss franc against other main currencies has saved the budget this year. When the WCC meets in Harare in December, 1998, several proposals will be placed on the table. Robert Christeler, a Swiss businessman who became the organization’s executive director of finance and administration in October, is working on ways to streamline the WCC’s financial management. Concerned over the fact that solvency in 1997 is dangerously dependent on stock market performance, Christeler characterizes his stance as “prudent pessimism.” He plans to put more money into fund-raising, reassess the income potential of WCC investments, and strictly enforce an “expenditure containment program.” In Harare, the WCC will act on a proposed policy statement that calls for the organization to declare a “common understanding and vision,” and asks member churches to restate their “ecumenical commitment.” Those wishing to comment on the policy statement are directed to contact WCC Deputy General Secretary and former Presbyterian Church (USA) staff member Mary Ann Lundy. The proposed policy statement explains the WCC’s financial crisis as having resulted from a “weakening of ecumenical commitment, a growing distance between the WCC and its member churches, and a widespread perception among the young generation that the ecumenical movement has lost its vitality.” It also refers to the fact that some member churches are experiencing “internal conflicts and even the threat of schism because of their participation in the ecumenical fellowship,” a reference to the fact that some Orthodox churches are leaving the WCC because its programs and policies are offensive to their members’ traditional Christian beliefs. Disproportionate contributions Unlike many of the WCC’s member denominations – and contrary to the desires of many Presbyterians in the pews – Presbyterian Church (USA) leaders have continued to funnel huge cash contributions to the WCC. In 1996, the PCUSA, whose membership is 2,665,276 million, gave $10,708,308 to the WCC ($4.01 per member), more than any other denomination in North America. Actually, the PCUSA contribution is even higher than that due to “double dipping” – the National Council of Churches gave the WCC $7,830,517 in 1996, and much of NCC’s revenue in turn comes from the PCUSA. In contrast to the Presbyterian contribution, the United Methodist Church, whose membership is 8,538,662, gave $7,143,066 to the WCC ($0.84 per member), the United Church of Christ with 1,472,213 members gave $1,844,803 ($1.25 per member), the 3,845,063 million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church gave $2,635,893 ($0.68 per member), and the Episcopal Church with 1,585,930 million members gave $1,895,212 ($1.19 per member). (All membership figures from Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches [Nashville: Abingdon, 1997]. ) The magnitude of the PCUSA contribution is all the more impressive when one considers the denomination’s own financial crisis and the fact that PCUSA leaders are being forced to terminate denominational ministries for lack of funds. |
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