Presbyterian Church (USA) 1998 income exceeds expectations
By Parker T. Williamson, The Presbyterian Layman, February 17, 1999
LOUSIVILLE – “It has been a wonderful year,” declared PCUSA controller Nagy Twafik as he offered his preliminary (unaudited) report to members of the General Assembly Council. An income deluge, more than 40 percent of it coming in the final month of 1998, has catapulted the denomination into a surplus position.
Unrestricted contributions from congregations and presbyteries exceeded budgeted expectations by more than $2 million, rising to a total of $18,029,180. Special offerings netted $16,752,217, exceeding budgeted expectations by almost $1.5 million. Disaster relief and hunger program offerings attracted $12,701,298, almost $5 million more than expected. Finally, an unanticipated $3 million bequest, given without any restrictions on its use, transformed Louisville’s budget discussion into a festival of delight over the Presbyterian cornucopia.
Speaking to the Mission Support Services Division of the General Assembly Council, Robert Salati offered an interpretation of the denomination’s 1998 income figures, the second year in which unrestricted contributions from congregations and presbyteries have exceeded income expectations. “Two years’ experience does not a trend make,” warned Salati, underscoring his point by reminding fellow council members that for more than ten years this income category has been in decline. But Salati said that recent Presbyterian giving patterns are a great cause for hope. “Presbyterians are generous people,” he said, “and if we provide programs that they believe in, the support will come … After some difficult years, our denominational programs are beginning to do that … I think that’s what these figures mean.”
Standing alone in the deficit category is Presbyterian Women, whose contribution to the 1998 mission budget missed its mark by $163,058. This organization’s national leadership – once a front runner in missions support – has come under increasing criticism in recent years for its alleged promotion of lesbian activist causes and the publication of materials that go beyond the boundaries of biblical faith. Members of an organization called Voices of Orthodox Women (VOW) have appeared at Presbyterian Women conferences to challenge programs, budget reports and resources that reveal Presbyterian Women’s departures from essential tenets of Christian faith. VOW President Sylvia Dooling has argued that the continued failure of Presbyterian Women leaders to meet the spiritual needs of women in the pews cannot help but have budgetary implications as women in local congregations look elsewhere for leadership and support.