Plainsong Farm
When I started this blog, I did not plan to write about the Episcopal Church. I thought I would be writing about my attempts to farm and my experiments with faith formation at home.
But then the Episcopal Church’s Program, Budget and Finance Committee came out with the first draft budget for the 2013-2015 triennium, and I got sidetracked.
So far, I’ve:
- raised my questions and concerns about the proposed budget with my bishop, who serves on the committee that drafted it
- written one blog post about it and read a few more
- updated “The Conversation on the Church’s Budget” page more recently than its original author (check the comments, true on 3/23)
- called the author of my favorite blog post on the budget to talk strategy
- volunteered for a forma (National Association of Episcopal Christian Education Directors) subcommittee to address it
- posted to my Facebook and Twitter feed: “Could someone please tell me where the organized alternative to the proposed TEC budget is hiding? I just see disorganized resistance.”
- Prayed my bishop wouldn’t be upset with me for posting this question publicly
It was when I was telling my clergy group that I had been sucked in by the budget conversation that I realized… I had been SUCKED IN by the budget conversation.
A friend wrote to me on Facebook (I’m paraphrasing), saying, “Eventually you learn to just ignore whatever 815 puts out and focus on what you can control.”
But for whatever reason, I haven’t been able to do that. Maybe it’s because I’m new here. But I think, actually, that it is because I am as disturbed by the response to the proposed budget as I was by the budget itself.
Here’s what we’ve got:
- The aforementioned “Conversation on the Church’s Budget” page. It isn’t being updated all that often.
- The “Grassroots TEC Revolution” Facebook group. It isn’t being updated all that often either.
- More creative thoughts on the budget process by Susan Brown Snook
- A petition begun by Province VIII Young Adult and Campus Ministers, focusing largely on funding for Young Adult and Campus Ministries
- The Program, Budget, and Finance Committee has posted a blog for feedback. As of 2:30 p.m. on Friday, March 23rd, it has garnered a total of 34 comments. That’s not a lot.
- The Building the Continuum website, maintained by two members of the Standing Commission for Lifelong Christian Formation and Education, is publishing posts related to the DFMS programs at risk of de-funding.
This is it? Frankly, this is pathetic.
If this is the most we can do, no wonder we’re failing to thrive.
Meanwhile, the thousands of folks who care about the proclamation of the gospel by the Episcopal Church are missing a huge opportunity. By proposing this budget, the Program, Budget and Finance Committee opened the door to conversations that we desperately need to have with one another.
Conversations around these questions:
- What matters most? What eternal purpose do we serve?
- Given our cultural and historical context, what’s our current objective, and what critical outcomes do we need to achieve in the next three to five years?
- What are we willing to risk losing? What do we need to be sure we are carefully stewarding? Why?
These are the conversations that would enable a faith community to be a vibrant, thriving, exciting place… because these are the conversations that enable us to seek God’s will for us.
I’m not seeing these questions or their answers anywhere in the blogosphere. Maybe we’ve been too burned by all the conflict we’ve struggled through in recent years.
I don’t think enough people read this blog that I can start those conversations.
But I’m willing to be a fool for Christ, so I’ll try.
This is the first post in a series… to be continued.
Worth sharing?
6 Responses to The Budget Matters. The Budget Conversation Matters Too.
Good to meet you! I’m Nurya…
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Hi Nurya,
Looks like you’ve got your passion gearing up! There IS much going on behind the scenes for the budget conversation, of which you have been asked to be part of. As you have mentioned, it is important to have ONE voice and know the facts – not the rumors or innuendo. These are being collected and will be responded to in a positive, formative (pun intended) way.
Thanks for your post. I hear your frustration, but together (as in past General Conventions), “Forma” working in collaboration with other networks will definitely be speaking up.
Peace, Sharon
Thanks for the comment! Maybe I should have been more clear… I think the current conversation is great… just SMALL. I would have thought that by now a wider cross-section of conversations with more active participants would be happening. I am grateful that an organized conversation is beginning, because I think that is ultimately what will make the difference… not just for the current budget cycle, but for the church as a whole.
[...] The Budget Matters. The Budget Conversation Matters Too. [...]
I think you’re absolutely right that it’s a shame there’s no wider conversation taking place. A colleague in the Diocese of Milwaukee emailed other diocesan clergy polling us about what the appropriate liturgical color is for Maundy Thursday. A lively conversation ensued with over twenty-five responses in a little more than a day. I doubt a similar poll concerning the TEC budget would elicit anywhere near that many.
And frankly, I wrote my original post largely out of my own profound alienation from national church structures, both GC and 815. From where I sit, they do little more than suck money from my parish which we could use to do outreach to college students, young adults, and homeless people more effectively than we do now.
Thank you for your original post and for keeping the conversation going! I really appreciate the comment and the validation that this conversation could be much more robust.
In my estimation the GC/DFMS budget takes about 1% of the parish budget. That’s not a lot… the diocesan budget takes much more than that from your parish giving. Hopefully your diocese is making good use of those funds. I’m always astonished at how much of our parish budget goes to the diocese, and then again at how much of our diocesan budget goes to DFMS. But the percentage of the parish budget that is going to DFMS is not all that large.
Feel free to push back… after all, this may be the best conversation we get (at least for a couple months).
I think you’ve both “named” it. While (some) dioceses send lots of $$ to TEC, local congregations seem to bear the burden in sending $ to their diocese. And as far as formation goes, dioceses for the most part do NOT put an emphasis on Christian formation (for all ages) in supporting the local level. My understanding is that the GC budget is supposed to reflect that monies need to stay for use on the local level, especially formation. The kicker is that if monies stay on the diocesan level, it will be used to pay the heat and lights.