For The Record

Submit birth, marriage and obituary records online.

Personal Ads

Meet new friends today!

Advertising

Put your message in front of 19,000 readers.

PDF documents on this site require the free Adobe Reader:

Get Adobe Reader

2009-04-07 issue:

MC Canada fiscal year ends with deficit

Lancaster Conference reduces FTE; IN-MI Conference closes office on Fridays.

by Dan Dyck

Print Article

The General Board of Mennonite Church Canada will seek delegate approval of a balanced budget June 5-7 at the Mennonite Church Canada Assembly in Saskatoon.

The board approved the budget for the fiscal year ending in 2010 during meetings in Winnipeg March 6-7. The board decision came after vigorous discussion and review of the financial year just past, in which finances fell approximately $139,000 short (unaudited figures) for the year ending Jan. 31. The deficit will be covered by a transfer from reserves.

Gordon Peters, chair of the Financial Policy and Audit Committee, expressed gratitude: Congregations gave generously, slightly exceeding giving projections.

However, late in the last quarter of the year it became evident that income/losses from investments and decreased designated giving due to increasing global economic pressure would result in a shortfall.

The General Board approved a budget that includes a spending deferral of $150,000. Finances will be closely monitored to determine the possibility of reconsidering these deferrals during the budget year.

The deferred expenses consist of delayed hiring for some currently vacant positions and deferring some planned and needed spending, such as an upgrade of aging office computers and building maintenance at Shaftesbury offices.

Phone conferences will replace some face-to-face leadership meetings. The board affirmed a 3.4 percent cost of living allowance for staff salaries according to existing policy.
After a transfer from reserves to cover the current deficit, there will be $200,000 remaining in the primary reserve fund and $100,000 in the capital reserve fund—an uncomfortably low reserve level, says Randy Wiebe, director of finance.

“Our goal is to have a minimum of three months worth of operating funds in reserves, in the event of a crisis,” he says.

Robert J. Suderman, general secretary, observes that the current financial climate provides a timely opportunity to evaluate investment priorities.

“Strengthening the church is a good investment anytime, including times of crisis,” he says. “As we speak, people throughout the world are turning to the church to help carry them through the impact of failed financial systems. The church will be there long after particular banks, favored stocks and even powerful empires have failed.”—Dan Dyck of Mennonite Church Canada

Lancaster Conference reduces staff hours
When Lancaster (Pa.) Mennonite Conference reduced staff hours, almost all staff members experienced some kind of cut in hours or pay or both. But the biggest effect may be a renewed dependence on God to provide resources for the church.

“I have advocated to keep staffing levels higher because we were handling so much systemic change in the conference,” says Keith Weaver, conference moderator.

“But a combination of things—including the economic downturn as well as the trend of congregations spending more locally—requires us to pull back somewhat,” Weaver says.
While some positions stayed the same, over half the full-time staff had their hours cut by 10 to 25 percent. One position (the receptionist position) was cut fully. Options for covering the front desk are still being considered.

“I want to publicly thank the conference staff for their courage and flexibility in facing these changes,” Weaver says. “I also want to thank Paul Garber for the years he served as conference receptionist.”

“Even as this situation causes pain, it also helps us rethink our understanding of how God resources the church,” he says.—Lancaster Mennonite Conference

Indiana-Michigan Conference closed on Fridays
Beginning April 1, the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference office will be closed on Fridays for a three-month trial period. The idea arose out of discussions about cutting staff hours in response to financial challenges, says Heidi King, administrative coordinator.

In the meantime, it has been decided that staff hours will not be cut during this fiscal year.
Only King's position is full-time and she the only one who works on Fridays. She will now work from home on Fridays.

“Some benefits to the experimental schedule,” says King, “are that it will increase opportunities for communication among staff team members because their schedules will overlap more from Mondays to Thursdays and that it will reduce utility expenses and other operating costs.”

“We gave serious consideration to which day of the week we should close,” she says, “recognizing that any option would have its ups and downs—thus the emphasis on this being a trial period.”—Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference

Reader Comments

Add Comments