Deputy Diary: Budget Matters

The budget came out late yesterday from Program Budget & Finance (known as PB&F) and we will discuss it at the beginning of the afternoon session today.

The budget is remarkably large, over $27 million, and is split up among the five Marks of Mission. Being a formation person, Mark 2, to teach, baptize, and nurture new believers, is the one that I have been following the most closely. It is the only Mark that was cut this triennium and I spoke to the Deputy News with some others about it yesterday. You can hear the whole podcast here. But the article in the Deputy News, says it much more clearly than I ever could:

"The budget uses the Anglican Communion’s five Marks of Mission as its organizing principle, and raises funding in four of the five areas, while cutting some $200,000 from the section devoted primarily Christian formation. Christian formation professionals say that the significant increases proposed for church planting and evangelism will be ineffective if the church does not invest in education and formation." Read more here.

The big take-away for me, though, is that we have been passing some incredible legislation with rather large price tags. It feels so good to say "Yes, I want to allocate $5 million dollars to build new churches!" but unless it makes it into the budget, it won't come true. I am very happy to see there is $2 million in the budget for Racial Justice and Reconciliation, $100,000 for Forma which is a group of which I am a member and whole-heartedly support, $3 million for starting new congregations, $1.2 million less for legal expenses than last triennium, and approximately $800,000 (depends on some grants) for Voorhees. So we are definitely doing some good work for the kingdom.

Off to a big day to discuss structure, budget, and marriage! Hope we will have some exciting updates this evening.

Andrea (right) gets ready to record a podcast hosted by the Rev. Emily Mellott about the structure debates taking place during General Convention. With them are Randall Curtis, president of Forma (left) and Lisa Kimball, Professor of Christian Formation and Congregational Leadership and Director of the Center for the Ministry of Teaching at Virginia Theological Seminary.