Members of Diocesan Council listen as Canon Andy Tomat, diocesan treasurer, outlines the proposed budget for 2025, to be voted on at Diocesan Convention Nov. 9. (Not all members who were present are pictured.)
[The Episcopal News – October 23, 2024] The $6 million proposed budget for 2025 to be submitted to the Nov. 8 – 9 Diocesan Convention, including an anticipated $5.1 million income from Mission Share Fund (MSF) assessments, was the main business of the Oct. 17 meeting of Diocesan Council, held via Zoom.
The council also heard from the diocesan Program Group on Compensation and Benefits, which is focused on income parity between lay and clergy employees and among clergy, and from the diocesan coordinator for the United Thank Offering.
Missy Morain, who in July was appointed diocesan missioner for Christian formation, children and youth ministries, announced the receipt of a $1.24 million Lilly Foundation grant, to nurture children through worship and prayer.
Canon to the Ordinary Melissa McCarthy chaired the session at the request of Bishop John Harvey Taylor, who was attending National CORE’s “Evening of Hope” gala, which honored the diocese as the 2024 “Community Partner of the Year. The award from the nonprofit developer recognized Taylor’s commitment to build affordable housing on 25% of Episcopal Church properties in the diocese.
2025 proposed budget, assessments
The MSF portion of the total $11.8 million consolidated budget is joined by $90,000 in annual income from the Bishop as Corporation Sole (Corp Sole) and $451,000 from the Corporation of the Diocese. The Corp Sole contribution is entirely funded by income, with no withdrawal of principal funds. Corporation of the Diocese funds come primarily from a combination of government and private grants, mostly for the diocese’s IRIS (refugee/immigration) and Seeds of Hope (food justice) ministries.
Combining the diocese’s three primary operating funds – the Mission Share Fund, Corporation of the Diocese, and Corp Sole – into a consolidated (i.e. unified) presentation has brought transparency to the budgeting process and enhanced long-term financial planning, according to volunteer treasurer Canon Andy Tomat.
“At convention, I will do a historical recap of the improvements made during Bishop Taylor’s episcopate in fiscal transparency, governance and sustainability to educate people on where we have come from, and what remains to be done,” Tomat told council members.
The move to 12% mandatory MSF assessments approved in 2023 by diocesan convention has been widely accepted, he said. “It has required much discussion and discernment at the vestry level about our Episcopal polity of mutual support of our missions, bishop and diocesan staff.”
The 2025 assessments, based upon 12% of a parish’s normal operating income and 10% of a mission church’s plate and pledge income, plus 5% in other assessments, from two years prior, or 2023, could potentially yield $5.3 million in income, Tomat said.
“The Joint Budget Committee hedged on this a bit, and also included $125,000 as a set-aside for new assessment waivers in 2025, for a net total of $5.1 million in budgeted MSF assessment collections. This is $150,000 more than 2024,” he said.
The JBC also addressed a potential $1.2 million budget gap created by: anticipated costs of electing and consecrating a bishop coadjutor; a 10% increase in health care expenses; a 2.5% cost of living adjustment as required by diocesan convention; and ongoing expenses from legal settlements.
In creating the budget, the committee also considered significantly higher funding requests from department and program groups than in 2024. The proposed budget will support several key goals established by the bishop, including:
- Establishing matching grants for funding one or two parish curacies;
- Creating a role for missioner for Christian formation, children’s, youth, and young adult ministries;
- Addressing critically needed supplemental funding for Camp Stevens as they implement a strategic plan for their future; and
- Establishing a new position for a missioner for housing and mission enterprises to help churches survey and assess the best uses for their properties, subject to grant funding.
“Through the course of six meetings the joint budget committee discerned, with the significant assistance of the finance office, a path to a balanced budget through $587,917 in expense reductions and $656,804 of added income,” Tomat said.
About $100,00 of the added income is derived from the assumed increase in MSF assessments; $451,000 came from increased draws from the Corporation of the Diocese controlled trust funds, and $90,000 from Corp Sole endowments.
Tomat said the increased draws, usually limited by diocesan policy to 3.5% to 4% of trust income, were approved at a 7% because of anticipated expenses in the search, election, consecration and seating of the next bishop. Diocesan Investment Trust funds earned in excess of 15% this past year, he said.
“This level of trust fund usage cannot continue indefinitely,” Tomat said. “Candidates for bishop [coadjutor] should be asked how they would approach this going forward.” The diocese prioritizes its own $800,000 assessment to the larger Episcopal Church “as the first item on our budget,” he added.
The total $6 million MSF budget represents a slight increase from $5.8 million in 2024, and will be presented in summary form at deanery meetings and in the convention booklet. More detailed information is available on the diocesan website.
The Rev. Patricia Stansfield, a member of the Joint Budget Committee, thanked Tomat for his efforts. “I’m sure it’s not any surprise that this is a really tight budget,” she said. “There is not a lot of wiggle room, and we really tried to pay attention to being as generous as we could and as fair as we could be, to try to allocate what was available. It wasn’t an easy task, but what we’re presenting is a really good budget.”
Another JBC member, the Rev. Tim Hartley, said he appreciated that the committee’s focus this year “was on being fiscally responsible, especially in light of maybe a changing landscape in the short term and certainly the long term of our church.” He expressed appreciation for the work of Tomat, and the Rev. Susan Stanton, diocesan director of finance and chief financial officer.
The council unanimously recommended the $5.1 million MSF portion of the budget, to be approved by delegates at the 129th annual meeting of the Diocese of Los Angeles, Nov. 8 – 9, at the Riverside Convention Center.
Reporting on current finances, Tomat said MSF revenues were about 4.6% below budget in August. In September 2024, MSF past due payments decreased by about 11%, largely due to follow-up by the Finance Department.
The ability to collect past-due MSF payments – some dating to 2019 – is being evaluated by the Assessment Review Committee, he said.
Program Group on Compensation and Benefits
The Rev. Canon Kelli-Grace Kurtz reported that the Program Group on Compensation and Benefits evolved from a 2021 committee intended to evaluate parity in lay and clergy compensation and among clergy across the diocese, and includes representatives from schools, churches and institutions.
In 2022, the 127th annual meeting of the diocese approved resolutions establishing the committee as a program group, and established yearly COLA increases as part of minimum salary requirements. That convention also reaffirmed the action of the 111th diocesan convention, which established the living wage as the minimum wage to be paid by all institutions of the diocese.
While the Social Security Administration has announced a 2.5% COLA for 2025, “it is not a raise; it just keeps pay at a pace with cost of living,” Kurtz said. “This is a justice issue for us all; it is important that we all understand that.”
Kurtz encouraged participation in upcoming educational sessions concerning the Oct. 16 – Nov. 15 annual Episcopal Medical Trust enrollment period. A session for administrators is planned from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., both in-person and online, at St. Paul’s Common’s on Tuesday, Oct. 29.
Two sessions are available for members, including: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in person and online at St. Paul’s Commons, Tuesday, Oct. 29; and an online session at 5 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 30. Benefits information is available on the diocesan website.
A $1.24 million grant for children’s formation
Morain said she “is shocked but super excited” to receive a $1.24 million Lilly Foundation grant and is hoping to engage children spiritually from ages zero to 12. Her goal is to create structures “to help congregations engage in ministry with young people in new and diverse ways, and to share what we’re learning.”
Development of the process is underway, and she plans to conduct regional asset-based community development workshops and provide opportunities for both clergy and laity “to share what’s working, what fun things they’re doing, what new things they’d like to see, to accomplish.” There are grant possibilities, she said, as well as stipends and scholarships for individual leaders and congregations.
UTO, ECW, other reports of interest
The Daughters of the King 2024 Fall Assembly will begin with an early morning watch party this year, Christine Budzowski reported. Members are welcome to arrive at 8 a.m. at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Los Angeles to join the livestream audience for the investiture of the Rt. Rev. Sean Rowe as the next presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church.
“We’ll have Eucharist, … it’s a day of corporate worship of DOK around the world,” she said. “We’re excited to be able to come together and watch the new PB invested.”
Tammy Smecker-Hanes, chair of the diocesan United Thank Offering and a member of the organization’s national board, said that delegates to Diocesan Convention will be provided with mite boxes. Delegates may opt for a familiar blue UTO box or color their own. The boxes encourage daily practices of prayer and thanksgiving; monies placed inside offer aid to ministries across the globe.
“The UTO gives about $1 million per year for mission projects in the United States and abroad, throughout the Anglican Communion,” Smecker-Hanes said. “This year, the focus of the grants is water issues. We expect to get lots of proposals from churches and dioceses to handle availability of clean water, for unhoused people, for example.”
In 2023, the Diocese of Los Angeles raised about $12,000 for UTO, but only a dozen parishes participated, a number she hopes to boost. “Once upon a time, that number was 90%,” she said. “We could use a lot more participation.”
Prospective grantees need the endorsement of their diocesan bishop, she added. She invited the community to visit with her at the UTO booth at convention for more information.
Joseph Warren reported that at its October meeting the Corporation of the Diocese approved license agreements to rent space to schools at St. George’s Church in Laguna Hills and St. Michael and All Angels Church in Corona del Mar. Directors unanimously approved their portion of the 2025 budget, he said.
The Standing Committee continues its work preparing for election of the next bishop, according to Diane Askren.
Bishop’s Commission on Climate Change
Diocesan council secretary Samantha Wiley said that the Bishop’s Commission on Climate Change is seeking a representative from each congregation for the commission.
This year’s climate summit, “Now is the Time for Urgency and Hope,” a 6:30 p.m. webinar, will feature climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe.
Reporting for Secretary of Convention Steve Nishibayashi, she encouraged participation in pre-convention deanery assemblies. At the Nov. 8 – 9 convention, themed “Inside Out Church: Episcopal Identity in Our Neighborhoods,” delegates will be asked to approve a resolution renewing the Los Angeles diocese’s companion relationship with the Diocese of Jerusalem.
The entire diocesan community is invited to attend the Nov. 8 dinner, which will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ordination of women. Special guest will be the Rev. Carter Heyward, one of the original Philadelphia-11, who will attend the Friday evening dinner and speak at the Saturday convention session. More details may be found on the convention website.
Morain added that each deanery has one seat at convention for a youth representative or delegate, who will have seat, voice and vote. “We would like a representative from each deanery,’ she said. She is also seeking youth volunteers, especially to assist with the Saturday business meeting.
Council will meet next at 4 p.m. on Thursday, December 12, 2024.