Down They Go - Episcopal Dioceses Face Financial Losses - U.s. - Catholic Online

Down They Go - Episcopal Dioceses Face Financial Losses - U.s. - Catholic Online:

"NEW YORK, N.Y. (Virtue On Line) - The Episcopal Church is imploding as dioceses, cathedrals and parishes face huge financial losses as the stock market reels and aging parishioners on fixed incomes rein in their giving. Large well-heeled cardinal parishes have taken tens of thousands of parishioners and their money with them to orthodox Anglican jurisdictions leaving liberal dioceses scrambling for money. At least two dioceses are living mainly on endowments.

It was recently revealed that the Episcopal Church's endowment funds have decreased by 30 percent this year. Treasurer Kurt Barnes told the Executive Council recently that every 5 percent decline in the value of the church's endowments equals $87,000 less revenue for the budget. Ironically, as the overall budget of TEC sinks, millions of dollars in legal fees are being spent to keep parish properties. To date, that figure is $2 million, but it is expected to rise to more than $5 million with coast- to- coast lawsuits in several dioceses.
National Episcopal documents show a large differences in all dioceses between total operating revenue verses total pledge revenue. Many are living off endowments, and many have been hurt by market declines because of heavy investments in the stock market. 

Another official church document shows a decline in numbers of pledging units from 2006-2007. In a number of dioceses, they are going down quicker than attendance indicating that people are not committed. Furthermore, these dioceses will probably see a large Average Sunday Attendances (ASA) declines over the next few years. Also, the large declines in the dioceses that are leaving TEC indicate people are diverting their giving elsewhere, years ahead of those dioceses leaving. 

Across the country, diocesan attendance figures show massive decline. Latest statistics for attendance in 2007 reveal that almost 100,000 fewer people are attending domestic dioceses than in 2003. Many dioceses are down 20%+ since 2003. In short, at least 1 in 5 Episcopalians has left The Episcopal Church. 

The following is a sample of diocesan budgets around the country. 

Recently, it was announced that the Diocese of Eau Claire was in "juncture" talks with the Diocese of Fond du Lac. One of the besetting issues is that Eau Claire doesn't have enough money to hire a bishop following the departure of the Rt. Rev. Keith Whitmore to Atlanta. One of the diocese's options includes fully dissolving the diocese. If the diocese were to dissolve, the 22 congregations and all other assets would be absorbed by the dioceses of Milwaukee and Fond du Lac, which would then revert to their 1927 boundaries. 

The Diocese of Pennsylvania is in crisis mode. Giving has dropped so dramatically that more parishes are expected to close. An $11 million diocesan camp is a financial albatross around the dioceses' neck following the disastrous episcopacy of Charles E. Bennison. 2009 will see diocesan programs cut by as much as 50% with pledges to the national church declining by 43%, Millennium Development Goals payments dropping by 37%, and with investment income to the diocese dropping by 11%. The diocese passed a budget of $1,089,392, but recognized this was a "stretch goal" with no Unrestricted Net Assets (UNA's,). Leaders said the diocese must be prepared for a less than favorable cash flow by as much as $500,000 which would cause a "serious shortfall" and "discomfort." 

Even as delegates boosted salaries and bonus compensation for clergy in 2009 by 5.1%, one delegate told VOL that the parish guidelines are still based on false assumptions that the money will be turned in. "I don't think this budget has a prayer." 

Recently, Washington National Cathedral, the Episcopal Church's flagship cathedral, announced dramatic cuts to its budget, programs and staff. It will slash its budget by 40 percent next year, from $24 million to $14.4 million. More than 40 staffers will be laid off, retail operations at the cathedral's gift shop will be outsourced and the Cathedral College's residential course offerings will cease as of March 31, 2009, according to the cathedral. The cathedral's endowment was valued at $66 million last spring, but has since declined by about 25 percent, according to Michael Hill, executive director for external relations. In May, the cathedral cut $3.5 million from its budget by firing 33 employees and closing its greenhouse. 

The Diocese of Washington lives primarily off of the income from the Ruth Gregory Soper Memorial Trust, (valued in excess of $27 million) the Bishop's Appeal, and other interest and investment income. Parishes, which form the base of diocesan giving, are in decline. Parish giving has not risen as anticipated. The diocese has needed to use more than $1 million each year from the available income to balance its budget, an independent report revealed."

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