October 4, 2000,
NEW YORK CITY – Celebration of “remarkable” achievements in financial and
organizational management along with work to advance planning for two major new program
initiatives marked the Oct. 2-3 meeting of the National Council of Churches’
Executive Board.
While the Board
necessarily spent significant time on matters related to the Council’s financial
health, that work was carried out in a forward-looking context of attention to ecumenical
witness in the 21st century.
“None of us
is here simply to ‘fine tune’ the National Council of Churches,” said the
Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, NCC General Secretary. “We are here to be part of the
ecumenical commitment, called by Christ to be one and to invest in those areas where we
have a common purpose.”
Of top priority are a projected 10-year
“Mobilization to Overcome Poverty” and exploration of an expanded “ecumenical
vision” that could bring Roman Catholics, evangelicals, Pentecostals, mainline
Protestants, Orthodox, historic African American and other churches into closer
relationship.
The NCC
Executive Board refined and “pilot tested” plans for bringing those two major
new initiatives to the Council’s Nov. 14-17 annual General Assembly, in Atlanta.
The first updates churches’ ages-old
commitment to ending poverty and seeks specific goals against which to measure
achievements of the decade-long effort.
The second anticipates a “fully
collaborative meeting” in 2001 that would bring together leaders of major U.S.
Christian “families” to begin “a process of discernment to ascertain what
new national expression of Christian life, faith and action the Holy Spirit may enable us
to bring into being in which we may be and act together.”
Dr. Edgar reflected appreciatively on the
Executive Board’s careful consideration of both the substance of the two initiatives
and the process for moving them forward. “The
Board is building ownership of these initiatives, which represent a sharpening of the
Council’s vision and mission,” he said, adding, “I sense a new level of
excitement among our member communions that wasn’t there a year ago.”
“STATE OF THE NCC”
Launching of both initiatives is contingent
on securing the necessary funding. Over the past several years, the NCC has “spent
down” most of its financial reserves in order to balance over-spent program budgets
and to cover extraordinary expenses related to retooling of the Council’s
administrative and financial management systems.
“Over the
past 11 months, with your help, we’ve done an incredible job of bringing order to the
NCC’s finances,” Dr. Edgar told the Board.
While the audit
for January-June 2000 is not yet completed, all indications are that the NCC has brought
current operating expenditures into line with current income for the first time in years,
reported Dr. Barbara Ellen Black, the NCC’s General Manager.
In fact, a small
operating surplus appears likely both for that six-month period and for July-December
2000, she said. “The financial hemorrhaging that was occurring has been
stopped,” affirmed Dr. Edgar. “We know what our current revenue is going
to be and we are committed to living within in it.”
Alluding to the
frequent representation of the ecumenical movement as a ship, Philip Young, Esq., of San
Rafael, Calif., the NCC’s Treasurer, put it this way, “We are in the process of
bringing some ‘nautical reality’ to the NCC. We are trimming the sails,
clearing the decks, scraping barnacles and finding ways to get to where you want us to go.
As we journey through very difficult times, we promise not just balanced budgets
but also a seaworthy ship to take us to where you want us to go.”
The NCC is
committed to protecting – indeed, rebuilding – its investments, which currently
total about $3 million. “We aren’t touching the principal,” Dr. Edgar
confirmed.
The Executive
Board literally applauded the news and expressed its appreciation for the difficult steps
that have been taken over the past 11 months. These have included reductions in
staff, reshaping of program and service budgets in accordance with available resources and
changing needs, implementation of stringent financial controls and accountabilities, and
achievement of numerous economies.
“The news
that we balanced the first half of 2000 is remarkable,” commented the Rev. Dr.
Richard L. Hamm, General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ), Indianapolis, Ind.
Said the Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick,
Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Louisville, Ky., “This is the most
encouraging and hopeful financial report we’ve heard, and also the most painful.
We are extraordinarily grateful for your achievements on the formidable task of
bringing us into balance. Very difficult and painful decisions have had to be made.”
Complicating – but also clarifying
– the task has been concurrent work to separate the financial management for Church
World Service and Witness from that for the rest of the Council. Previously, one
office was charged with providing those services for the whole of the Council.
More hard work
lies ahead. The NCC exclusive of Church World Service expects to end 2000 with a
very small cash balance – something like $137,000, Dr. Black said. And current
projected income and expenses are $1.7 million out of balance for the first six months of
2001.
Dr. Black promised to bring a balanced
budget to the Executive Board when it next meets, in conjunction with the NCC’s
General Assembly in November.
“We’re
at a critical time,” affirmed Bishop Melvin Talbert, Nashville, Ten., Ecumenical
Officer for the United Methodist Church’s Council of Bishops. “We have
hard decisions to make about our future. As you struggle to do that during these
next few weeks, know that we want you to help us live within our means. Lead us!
How do we use our resources in the best interest of us all?”
As the Board
meeting concluded, Dr. Edgar challenged all the NCC’s 35 member communions to commit
their support to the level of their ability. “These are not easy days,” he
said. “Your participation keeps us moving in the right direction.”
-end-
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