NCC, Church World Service are now two different groups
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, October 6, 2000
NEW YORK – The National Council of Churches and Church World Service, an ecumenical odd couple, have been split into two separate corporations so that money raised by Church World Service can no longer be used to underwrite the work of the council.
There has been tension for years between the two groups, which have different approaches to ecumenical work. The NCC is a political-social entity, mostly aligned with public policies favored by the left flank of the Democratic Party.
Church World Service is a grassroots relief organization known best for its community hunger CROP walks that involve people across the political spectrum. (CROP is an acronym from the past that stands for Church Rural Outreach Program, a name used before the merger of the NCC and Church World Service.)
Church World Service also produced most of the revenue for the combined operations and has paid a portion of the council’s administrative costs even though the relief agency has functioned essentially as a separate body with its own administration.
An auditor’s report presented to NCC executive board members at their meeting Oct. 2-3 showed that the NCC and Church World Service had joint expenses of about $73 million. Church World Service raised about $65 million of that amount from its CROP walks, government assistance for worldwide relief efforts and other sources.
In 1999, the NCC charged Church World Service nearly $2 million extra to help offset extraordinary administrative expenses incurred when accountants began reviewing the NCC’s records to untangle its financial chaos. That charge intensified the tension between the two agencies, and they were financially separated on July 1, 2000.
The NCC and Church World Service still share the costs for two high-level staff positions on the NCC, a marketing director (to be hired) and the head of their joint Washington office.
Also, while Robert Edgar, general secretary, and Mary Ellen Black, general manager, of the NCC develop a plan to cut $1.8 million from the NCC’s projected expenses for the first six months of 2001, the leaders of the two organizations have agreed to work together in some sensitive areas.
The proposed 38.4 percent budget cut will require massive layoffs by the council. Many of the employees are protected by union contracts. The NCC will seek to shift some employees to Church World Service to avoid costly severance packages.
Another issue is also pending. Current estimates are that the organizations have a combined $11 million in investments, but the figure is still being analyzed by accountants.
Philip Young, a Presbyterian who serves as treasurer of the NCC, says that would break out into $7.8 million for Church World Service and $3.2 million for the National Council of Churches. The $3.2 million for the National Council of Churches is restricted and cannot be used for operating expenses.