Be it resolved that the Mission Share Funding Plan for the years 2017-2021 be set using a proportional share ratio applied equally to all congregations in the diocese. This share ratio shall consist of equal proportions of a congregation’s Normal Operating Income (Page 3, Line A) and Operating Expenses (Page 3, Line E) as found on the parish’s latest Parochial Report, each divided by the total Normal Operating Income and Total Operating Expenses of all congregations in the Diocese, respectively. The resultant share ratio shall be the congregation’s Share Ratio for the following year’s Mission Share Rate. All congregations shall be ordered from low to high by Share Ratio and the Mission Share Rate shall be defined as follows:
a) The congregation with the smallest Share Ratio will be assessed at a rate of 6.0% of normal operating income. b) The congregation with the Share Ratio closest to the average Share Rate shall be assessed at a rate of 11.5% of normal operating income.
c) All other congregations will be assessed at a rate defined by their Share Ratio order on a straight line connecting the congregations found in a) and b), and be it further
Resolved that Diocesan Council oversee a Mission Share Review process, that is initiated upon petition by the congregation to reduce its mission share percentage because of extenuating circumstances. In addition, the Commission on Congregational Life, the Diocesan Finance Committee or the Budget Committee also may petition Diocesan Council to revise a congregation’s Share Ratio; and be it further
Resolved that Diocesan Council set a Funding Plan Review in the year 2020 to review and adjust the Mission Sharing Funding Plan or establish a new funding plan for 2022 and beyond.
Explanation:
Every five years it is Diocesan Council’s responsibility to oversee a review of the mission share formula. Council is then tasked to prepare a proposal for diocesan convention.
In late spring, a task force chaired by the Rev. David Getreu convened five listening sessions around the diocese to hear what congregations had to say about the current mission share formula. One of the concerns expressed at those meetings was distaste for average Sunday attendance (ASA) as one of the factors determining each congregation’s share. Also, given the financial strain being felt across the church, the hope was that a revised formula might provide some relief to a majority of our congregations.
This formula removes ASA as a factor and bases mission share solely on operating expenses and income. This formula creates a range from 6.0% to 14.14% with a midpoint of 11.5%. This decreases mission share for all but seven congregations.
Submitted by:
The Rev. David Getreu, on behalf of Diocesan Council