Can the two-headed calf keep it together?
How does one harmonize Church and Change with the Book of Concord?
The Synodical Council determined that the long-range plan will focus on the latter aspect and adopted the following as a statement of purpose that will guide the planning work:
"The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod exists to give all glory to God by upholding, defending, and proclaiming the truth of the Holy Scriptures as articulated in the Lutheran Confessions, and by providing a means for congregations and their members to extend the reach of their God-given mission of proclaiming the gospel in Word and sacrament through joint mission efforts at home and abroad through the training of pastors, teachers, and staff ministers."
The SC discussed the many strengths of our synod, areas that need improvement and attention, and the many opportunities that God is placing before us. A committee chaired by the synod's first vice president, and composed of the synod president and the three area of ministry administrators will begin to outline a comprehensive long-term plan which, according to a SC resolution,
a) describes a "future state" for the synod;
b) works with all parties;
c) makes use of existing resources;
d) satisfies the 2009 convention resolution; and
e) flows out of our synodical philosophy of ministry.
The plan is to have a working document ready for the joint Synodical Council and Conference of Presidents meeting in April, which can then be presented to the districts in convention in summer of 2010.
Other SC decisions included:
- Took action to reduce the overall travel and meeting budget of the synod by $400,000, in keeping with the convention's resolution.
- Adopted new guidelines for the budgeting and use of special funds.
- Considered up-to-date financial information and made no change to the Support Forecast.
- Encouraged the Board for Home Missions to continue planning for new mission efforts and to bring proposals for such new efforts to the February meeting of the SC.
- Established a new Human Resources Oversight Committee to assist the Human Resources director in making continuing improvements in the area of Human Resources.
- Accepted an invitation from the Conference of Presidents to meet jointly for one day in April 2010.
Serving in Christ,
Mark Schroeder
Cutbacks at NPH
Declining retail sales and a difficult financial environment for denominational publishers are forcing Northwestern Publishing House (NPH) to eliminate nine full- and part-time staff positions effective Dec. 30. One of the positions is a called full-time editor, reducing the number of called workers at NPH to five.
In a memo to all employees, NPH President Jerry Loeffel said: "Decisions like this are never easy. We value the contributions these staff members have made to our organization over the years. All have been great employees with solid skills and a willingness to go the extra mile. While these layoffs are difficult, they are absolutely necessary for the well-being of Northwestern Publishing House."
For the first three months of the current fiscal year, sales at NPH—the official publisher for WELS—are down seven percent at its retail store in Milwaukee compared with the same time as last year and six percent behind budget projections. The drop in sales over the past several years is consistent with losses faced by other Christian retailers throughout the country.
First quarter budget results
Results for the first quarter of the synod's fiscal year 2010 ending Sept. 31 show support and revenue of $19.1 million exceeded expenses of $17.4 million by $1.7 million. The resulting increase in net assets is partially due to revenues being received before corresponding expenses are incurred—a timing difference that is expected to reverse by the end of the fiscal year. But also contributing to the increase is improvement in investment performance as financial markets continue to recover from their March and April lows.
"The results for the quarter are about what we expected," says Mr. Todd Poppe, chief financial officer. Congregation Mission Offerings (CMO), the offerings submitted by congregations for the collective ministry of the synod, for calendar year 2009 are about 2.1 percent or $300,000 less than the prior year and are in line with the budget and congregation commitments. The Conference of Presidents remains confident those commitments will be realized by the end of the year. "The CMO performance is encouraging given the challenging economic times," Poppe says.
Schwan Dive
Of continuing concern is the decrease in support from one of the major foundation donors to WELS. It has announced reductions in support of about $6 million in its annual grant over the last two years. There are hopes that gifts from congregations in response to November's VEBA premium holiday and the establishment of a new foundation in support of WELS may offset some of the loss.
In any event, the full impact of any loss in foundation support won't be felt in the current fiscal year due in large part to the creation of the Financial Stabilization Fund adopted by the 2009 synod convention.
Under this change, funds from foundations, individuals, and bequests are held in this fund and distributed the year after they are received. Thus, the impact of the foundation reduction will not be felt until the next fiscal year. If support from CMO and other sources does not make up for the foundation reduction, the budget for the next fiscal year may need to be cut by a million dollars or more.
The first quarter's report is the first under a new approach to budgeting proposed by the Synodical Council and adopted by the 2009 synod convention. Beginning in fiscal year 2010, the financial reports include not just the synod's operating budget, but also its special funds and its schools. For example, revenue now includes all revenue and support and all the costs of the four ministerial education schools.
Historically, only the operating subsidy was reported. In numerical terms, the reports will now focus on the nearly $60 million in ministry conducted by the synod rather than just the $30 million budget if only synod's operations were reported.
