Parochial schools are closing and larger congregational staffs are being trimmed.
One bright, shining light is the Popcorn Cathedral of Rock in Appleton. Who knows where the kiddies would go if they didn't have an Imax with free Wi-Fi?
After an all-day meeting, the staff at the Popcorn Cathedral decided to charge extra for butter on the popcorn.
Ski said, "Everyone must sacrifice in these dark times."
4 comments:
I haven't seen those figures. I checked the WELS web page but didn't see any mention of an 8 million dollar deficit.
That extra 22 million that was "double spent" sure would come in handy over the next several years.
Has there been any official proposal to close either of the prep schools, or to consolidate the Seminary at Mequon with Martin Luther College?
The $8 million deficit figure (meaning to balance the synodical budget they have to get it down to $30 million) comes from "The bi-weekly and breaking e-newletter from WELS," Feb 16. The article is "The financial challenge before us...from the office of President Mark Schroeder, who should now call himself Prez Shredder in keeping with the task before him.
Imagine that. Are members wising up and refusing to finance the sick, ego trips of religious leaders? The days of Popcorn Cathedrals and overwhelming debt may be coming to an end no matter what the pastors think and say.
Referring to members as tight wads may be backfiring!
Actually, the $8 million dollar figure is most likely conservative. MLC needed to raise $4 million on their own this year which may or may not be in this fugure. Both LPS and MLS needed to raise a small amount through their own fund development. What should also be analyzed is how much the synod's reserves as well as scholarship funds have been hurt in this budget. If you look at the decline fo the stock market in 2008 and now in 2009, the actual amount needed may be much higer to sustain the synod and the progams it funds. How much scholarship dollars will be reduced which isn't part of this $8 million figure? My guess is that for every dollar we need, we really need to add somewhere between .25 cents to .52 cents per doolar because of the loss of investments. While you can look at the failures of the past, this situation allows us to evaluate what programs should be carried forward. I only wish our grovernment would be bold enough to reduce government postions, instead of adding them despite the decline in revenues. WELS cannot operate like the U.S. government and not balance its' checkbook.
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