To Clergy, Church Wardens and Treasurers,
I am well aware that for many of our parishes, a consequence of suspending public worship in our churches has been an immediate reduction in income. That includes the pledge and plate offerings of our members and visitors, as well as the loss of rental income from outside organizations to whom our churches have offered hospitality.
I, and my colleague bishops Allen and Mary, and all in diocesan leadership, understand and take very seriously the pain and anxiety which you are living with, and your worries for people who are employed by your churches and for the continuance of your program life.
Over the next months, I will be working with the Finance Department of the diocese, and the trustees of the diocese, to explore all of the ways in which we can provide you relief and assistance. But this week we are doing what can be done at once, and that is to provide relief from some of the obligations of your Apportioned Share.
Earlier this week, the chairs of the Finance, Budget and Investment Committees along with the co-chairs of the Adjustment Board, met (remotely) with Sr. Faith Margaret, CHS, our Treasurer, and Esslie Hughes, Chief of Finance and Operations, and others involved in the financial management of the diocese. The following day they brought their recommendations to the bishops. The Diocesan Trustees, the Budget Committee, and the Diocesan Council met yesterday and today, and now I am able to say, and gratified to be able to say, that we are announcing
an across-the-board 25% reduction in Apportioned Share payments for every church
. This will be retroactive to the beginning of the year and apply to the whole of 2020.
There are several things that need to be said about this.
First, I want to express my gratitude to Father Phil Jackson and Trinity Parish Wall Street for their commitment not to accept the 25% reduction, but to pay their Apportioned Share in full. It is their commitment to their full participation that makes the relief we are providing to every other church possible.
Second, it needs to be understood that this deep cut into the diocesan budget requires the slashing of important areas of our common life, including global mission, social concerns, grants to parishes, church planting and evangelism, our contributions to member agencies, and more. They also require exhausting our reserve funds completely. These are profound sacrifices that touch the very purpose of our church and diocese, and must be seen as short-term only. We do not make these cuts lightly, but only because we are in a season requiring us to focus on the very survival of many of our smaller and poorer churches.
We know that even with a 25% reduction, paying your Apportioned Share may still be too great a challenge. But we ask that every parish pay what they can, and pay something. And we are calling on every parish which can pay your full Apportioned Share, without taking the 25% relief, to do so. We would ask you also to be in communication with your parishioners regarding the high importance of paying pledges even during the suspension of public worship. I am so gratified to hear of some parishes having even better pledge weeks now than before the crisis, and of people pre-paying their pledges, knowing that the church they love needs them now.
Note that this reduction is a direct response to emergency, and does not represent a permanent change in the Apportioned Share formula. Unless this reduction is renewed for the next year, we expect Apportioned Shares to return to their regular levels for 2021.
I know that a reduction in Apportioned Share will give greater relief to more resourced churches which pay higher Apportioned Share, and will represent much more modest assistance to smaller and poorer churches. In the next weeks, we will be looking for other sources of revenue which may help us to provide additional emergency grant assistance to smaller churches. I want every church in this diocese to come through this terrible season well, and even thriving. We will help you in every way we can. With every good wish, I remain
Yours,
