Engage the Vision

A Little Explanation from the Mission Engagement Committee

The Requests for Funding in the Diocesan Reaching Out Budget booklet all vestry and bishop' Committee members will be receiving introduces an exciting new way of building our financial budget in the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas.  It is the culmination of two years' work by dozens of task force members, clergy, vestry and bishop's committee members, Executive Board members, and diocesan staff.  At the same time, this booklet marks what is clearly just the beginning of this new process.

By way of background, at the 99th Diocesan Council in 2003, the Bishop of West Texas appointed a 24-member Task Force to "examine the current process for creating the annual diocesan operating budget."  The Task Force conducted surveys, did personal interviews, met regularly, met with the diocesan staff and the diocesan Executive Board, and visited other dioceses to determine the best ways to fulfill their mandate.  They presented their results at the 101st Diocesan Council in February 2005 with resolutions that resulted in:

• Reduction of the apportionments for the 92 churches of the diocese from a range of 12 to 22 percent to a range of 10 to 18 percent of a congregation's income
  • Establishment of a method whereby congregations of the diocese have more input into the building of the diocesan budget.
  • This new process, which is under the direction of the diocesan Executive Board and the Mission Engagement Committee, will be implemented for the 2006 budget and includes these components:
• The entire budget, which is anticipated to be $3,486,792 for 2006, has been segmented into two parts
• The Operating Budget of about $2,414,918* which includes support for the bishops' offices, the ordained ministry, the diocesan center, and diocesan staff salaries
• The Reaching Out Budget of about $1,071,874*, which includes all of the programs of the diocese.
• Department chairs have carefully developed their budget requests for 2006, including new initiatives in some cases. Together their requests amounted to $1,251,297, which is $371,697 more than the anticipated income for 2006.
• The Diocesan Executive Board has reviewed the department requests and refined some of them. Requests now amount to $1,293,593, which is $221,719 more than anticipated income for 2006.
• Requests have been compiled into this booklet, which is being distributed to every vestry and bishop's committee person in the diocese, along with all parochial clergy.
• Each vestry or bishop's committee will determine how it will support the diocesan corporate  ministry through its apportionment.
• The Executive Board will receive the results of the congregational input, making adjustments as necessary to provide the diocese with a realistic budget that does not exceed anticipated income.
• The 102nd Diocesan Council meeting in San Antonio in 2006 will adopt the final budget.

*These figures, which are determined by apportionment income and other income, will be finalized and submitted to the Diocesan Executive Board on October 1, 2005.

Engage the Vision

Your Part in the Process

This booklet is an effort by our diocesan ministries to communicate their program plans and seek your feedback on those plans.

1. We ask that each vestry or bishop's committee person carefully read over this booklet and become familiar with our corporate ministries. More details about each ministry's budget can be found at www.council-dwtx.org.
2. In addition, four regional meetings have been planned as points along the process where you may seek answers to any questions you may have.
3. Any vestry or bishop's committee may request an individual presentation.
4. Each vestry or bishop's committee will then complete a budget allocation form – one per church – telling us how they wish to support diocesan ministries. This form must be returned to the diocesan office no later than November 1, 2005.

Your thoughtful and prayerful input is extremely important as we make decisions about the 2006 budget. And your patience is essential as we work through this process for the first time.

Engage the Vision

Next Steps

This new method is the initial step in trying to engage congregations more fully in the common stewardship and corporate ministry of the diocese. We are aware that we are in the formative stages of this process, and we expect to learn much from this first budget cycle. No doubt this process will be refined again and again over the next few years as we engage together in our mission and ministry.

We are aware that some ministries, by their very nature, are more visible than others; and we expect those ministries will get over-subscribed. But the Executive Board is committed to keeping the entire diocesan ship afloat as we live into whatever ministry changes may eventually come about.

This first year, the Executive Board has determined that no ministry may be over-funded; and allocations from over-subscribed ministries may be used to balance where under-subscriptions occur. It is likely that no single ministry will be deleted from our corporate mission this first year. However, being under-funded will be a signal to the Executive Board to look carefully at how that ministry meets the needs of our congregations. It now looks as though the Executive Board will have to cut $221,719 from the submitted requests in order to balance the budget, and they will base their decisions on feedback from our congregations.

We are committed to keeping you advised of how each congregation allocates its apportionment and what the Executive Board ultimately recommends to Council as the 2006 budget.

We are also aware of the need for accountability among our ministries, and department chairs are now in the process of creating ways to measure the impact of the ministries for which they are responsible. By January 2006, each department will have concrete plans in place to determine their effectiveness and efficiency. The results of these evaluations will then form a portion of the 2007 budget process.

At Diocesan Council in 2002, Bishop Folts reminded us that there is no shortage of money or support for programs that are a compelling and engaging part of the overall vision of the diocese.

We view this process as an opportunity to fully engage the whole body of the diocese as a missionary people.

Ministry Engagement Committee
Ted Burkhart, chair
Richard Mosty, vice-chair