The Infernal Council (IC) held its spring meeting in Milwaukee April 27-28, 2012.
Budget planning
In February, the SC learned that Congregation Mission Offerings (CMO) subscriptions for 2012 were slightly less than CMO for 2011 and well below the 3 percent increase included in the plan. This information, coupled with the Conference of President's acknowledgement that a 3 percent increase for 2013 may be overly optimistic, led the SC to request the development of synod operating budget reductions of $1.5 million for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2012.
While subscriptions point to significantly lower than planned CMO, receipts through March are ahead of last year by 8 percent and April was on track to do the same or more. The SC is encouraged by the first quarter CMO receipts and believed it would be imprudent to implement the identified reductions at this time. The finance committee of the SC will review CMO and the financial results again in July and make recommendations to the SC at that time.
The SC also approved a preliminary support forecast for the upcoming 2013-15 biennium to facilitate the initiation of ministry planning by the areas of ministry and ministry support. The preliminary support forecast points to a small increase for both years of the biennium. The forecast is driven by CMO and assumes that CMO will be flat in 2013 and increase by 2 percent for 2014 and 2015. CMO and support must increase about 5 percent annually to maintain the current level of ministry programs and services. The preliminary support forecast also includes a $860,000 draw down of the Financial Stabilization Fund reserves.
Program reductions can be avoided if financial support from Congregation Mission Offerings and gifts from individuals increase beyond the current projections. Home Missions identified and submitted a list of nine new mission sites and ministries that may be authorized if CMO offerings continue to meet expectations.
Improving the health of individual congregations
In response to the Conference of Presidents’ encouragement to the SC to produce a written plan for addressing called worker and congregational health, the SC’s ministry committee is paying close attention to our congregations and is developing ways to meet the needs of called workers and the congregations they serve.
The issue was framed by the question, "What does a congregation look like when it is putting into practice all of the good things that the Holy Spirit is prompting people to do when the gospel is clearly preached and the sacraments are properly administered?"
One large piece of the program is a culture of called workers growing professionally and spiritually. The synodical part of the plan is that Martin Luther College, New Ulm, Minn., and Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wis., offer continuing education programs, which each congregation helps to support. Another synodical part of that plan is the circuit pastor supporting both the continuing education programs and a mentor system for new pastors and teachers. [GJ - Prop up the dwindling enrollments with generated business from the synod.]
A consensus developed that a Commission on Congregational Counseling (CCC) director position has to be funded in order to develop a cadre of people in the districts who are the go-to people when challenges are identified. Ideally, CCC coordinates the partnerships between the pastors and congregations, the district officials, the CMSG programs, and the ministerial education school continuing education programs.
