Commentary on The Financial Material in TheNovember/December 2004 Issue of
Horizons Magazine
by
Sylvia Dooling
I appreciated the articles in the latest issue of Horizons magazine that
told the stories of several organizations that have received grants from the
Presbyterian Women’s Thank Offering (including Health Ministries) and
Birthday Offering. Obviously, over the years, many worthy ministries have
received the offerings of Presbyterian Women and have engaged in a variety
of creative projects that have benefited women and children throughout the
world.
I appreciated reading about the history of the Birthday Offering and its
originator, Hallie Winsborough. Presbyterian Women has a rich historical
heritage of involvement on the cutting edge of mission projects throughout
the world.
I appreciated learning about the criteria used by the Birthday Offering and
the Creative Ministries Offering Committees that are responsible for making
the grant selections.
I appreciated reading how these committee meet for four days of prayer,
discussion and deliberation, and how their selections are made by consensus.
However, notwithstanding all the information and stories that were provided,
there is one crucial piece of the puzzle that still remains missing.
Ann Ferguson, Coordinator for the national organization of Presbyterian
Women, states that the grant projects, ‘must be consistent with the mission
of the PC(USA) and the purpose of Presbyterian Women.” (As an aside, I
assume this is also pertains to the Thank Offering, including Health
Ministries). If my assumption is correct, then the Creative Ministries
Offering Committee is still short some significant information.
What is missing is a mission statement from every organization that seeks PW
funding for their project. Right now an organization is asked either to
provide a mission statement for their organization, or a focus statement. In
my opinion, both are necessary for an informed decision. Then, having
obtained this information, the next step should be to provide it to all
Presbyterian women through Horizons magazine.
This missing piece of the puzzle is crucial. Voices of Orthodox Women has
researched several of the recipients of the Birthday Offering from 1997 to
the present. We have discovered organizations and projects that do not fit
within the standards of the mission of the PC(USA) or the purpose of
Presbyterian Women. This is a serious flaw, because all Presbyterian women
want to know that the mission money they contribute is being used for
projects that neither deny nor contradict the Presbyterian Church’s biblical
and constitutional standards.
I appreciated the fact that the editors of Horizons magazine and the
national coordinating team acknowledge their fiduciary responsibility to
members of PW by providing the information in this issue of Horizons.
However, greater accountability is required. I would hope changes will be
made as soon as possible and that it will be reflected in next year’s
Birthday Offering and Thank Offering (including Health Ministries)
information.
Will this ensure that all moneys will be used in a way apropos of the church
of Jesus Christ? No, probably not. But it will give specific information
regarding faith based organizations, which in turn will disclose their
particular position on a variety of issues relative to the policies and
confessional standards of our denomination. This would be a major step
forward in seeking to reform the mission of PW, and would most likely
increase the dollars available for worthy projects.