HOW
YOU CAN HELP?
Some
of you have kindly asked about how best to help our work.
The
answer is to send moneys to the Fund for World Mission (address below). This
fund pays mission partners around the world and supports projects and partner
churches across the world. The following article extracted from the Methodist
Recorder of 12/08/2005 (reproduced with permission)
describes funding pressure at the Fund for
World Mission. Rosemary and James
are aware that their College Principal at TCL has had a communication
warning him that the Fund's TCL grant may soon be reduced significantly.
So if you do want to support the work of Rosemary and James and the work of other Mission Partners and sister Churches across the world, send moneys (gift aided where possible) to
The Fund for World Mission
Methodist Church House
25 Marylebone Road
London NW1 5JR
From the Methodist Recorder of 12/08/2005 (reproduced with permission)
WORLD
CHURCH FUNDING FEARS
Trustees of the Methodist Church Fund for World Mission fear that falling donations, exacerbated by reserves tied up in long term commitments, will place some World Church Partner Churches in a financial squeeze.
Income for the Fund for World Mission, which supports a variety of mission projects in partner Churches last year totalled £4.66 million, down from 4.83 million the previous year, but expenditure was £7.1 million. The £2.4 million shortfall was made up with reserves but by 2008 there will be no more reserves available.
The Methodist Council decided that free reserves for the fund, currently standing at £15.3 million, must be equal to one year’s expenditure – around £7 million – by August £2008. However, instead of being used to make up shortfalls in income or to fund new projects, the remaining £8.3million might be tied up in honouring their long-term commitments to ongoing mission work.
World Church Relationships leader Mike King said that without a resurgence in giving, support for some partner Church mission projects will cease. In order to prepare for this eventuality, World Church partners are currently being asked to specify what they see as their priorities for mission.
Mr. King said: “You can argue that giving has gone down in line with falling membership but is comes at the same time as the needs of our partner churches have increased, notably in Africa.
“Until 2004-5 we could make good on the shortfall, as it were, by using our reserves but we are at the stage when we can no longer use reserves in the same way. We argued at the Methodist Council that more needed to be kept in reserves but we have got to work with the rules we are given.
“In order to satisfy our partner Churches, we badly need £1 million of new money per year. There is a feeling in the church that the Fund for World Mission has lots of money but that is no longer the case.”
He added that in some instances partner Churches had seen money from British Methodist churches supporting other causes and questioned why the support was not given to them, their Methodist “brothers and sisters”.
Plea
Mr. King’s plea for increased giving echoed that of the Methodist Missionary Society (MMS), the Rev. Stephen Poxon, who called on this year’s Conference for an extra £1 million – which amounts to £3.4 per member per year – to be given to the Fund for World Mission in the year ahead (Recorder, June 30).
The change in reserves policy and the need to prepare for the financial squeeze was explained by the Finance Director in the Methodist Connexional Team, Nick Addo.
He said that a number of overseas partner churches relied on the Methodist Church in Britain for a significant proportion of their budget. “Can we then say suddenly that we can no longer fund them? No, we need to look at the expectations we have built up over the years.”
Mr Addo highlighted the example of the Church of South India, which currently received £200,000 annually from the fund. “It is a secure source of income for them and we cannot pull the plug all of a sudden. They need a five year notification to help them plan ahead,” he said.
Mr. Addo said the impetus for reducing the Fund for World Mission reserves to one-year’s expenditure had come from the Charity Commission – the Government organization responsible for registered charities.
He said: “Four years ago the Charity Commission began encouraging charities to take drastic means to bring reserves to acceptable levels. They said it was inappropriate for a charity to hold on to money that was intended for immediate needs.
“The second reason for this change was a need for greater accountability. The Charity Commission found that holding too many reserves makes charities less responsive to stake holders. Reducing reserves effectively sends charities back to their grass roots support.”
Decision
The Methodist Council decided that reserves would be kept a year’s expenditures, though other charities’ reserves are now just 6 months, he added.
The impact of falling donations and tied-up reserves will be felt in many corners of the World Church, especially in cases where there is need of emergency aid and relief.
From Zimbabwe the Reverend Margaret James tells what a precarious position they are in, trying hard not to call on their reserves at the World Church Office but struggling with feeding the hungry and helping those who have HIV/AIDS, as well as the homeless.”
- Andrew Fagg
There are similar stories from around the World.
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