Development Goals Returned to Budget

In September of 2000, the General Assembly of the United Nations, along with a number of non-governmental organizations and development agencies set eight goals to be accomplished by 2015. These goals -- called the Millennium Development Goals -- were a reaffirmation of the principals of the UN Charter, and recognition that "in addition to our separate responsibilities to our individual societies, we have a collective responsibility to uphold the principles of human dignity, equality and equity at the global level." (55/2. United Nations Millennium Declaration: September 8, 2000) To achieve the MDGs, the UN reiterated a concept born thirty years earlier, that if the wealthiest countries in the world devoted 0.7% of their gross national product (GNP) to assisting the development needs of poor countries, that this would be sufficient to eradicate poverty and provide ample food, clean water, and medicine for the world's poor.

To support this movement, many mainline denominations, organizations, institutions, even corporations began making development contributions from their own budgets. At the 73rd General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the summer of 2000, two resolutions were passed to recommend that all dioceses and congregations in the Episcopal Church contribute 0.7% of their annual budgets to international development programs. In 2003, the General Convention reaffirmed this resolution, and the convention of the Diocese of California passed a resolution challenging all congregations within the Diocese to contribute 0.7% from their budgets, and it also challenged the Diocese "to contribute 0.7% of its annual income to international development programs, reporting back at each annual convention using the same mechanism available to its congregations." (Excerpt from Resolution 3 passed by 154th Convention, October 18, 2003)

It took one year for the resolution to cycle into the budget, and in 2005, line 155 was added to the diocesan budget. The funds from this line, which totaled $23,663.22, were given to the Department of Global Mission for distribution to organizations and ministries doing development work in the world's poorest countries.

When the 2006 Diocesan Budget was sent to the deaneries for review, line 155 was no longer in the budget. Perhaps because of the size of the budget, or maybe due to a projected deficit of $74,000, no one in the deaneries noticed that the line was missing. Then, just days before convention, a small group of people -- mostly those who presented the original resolution in 2003 -- noticed that the development funding was missing.

"When we did see the cut," said the Rev. Donald Schell, rector of St. Gregory of Nyssa, San Francisco, "we learned that our convention-mandated commitment to world-wide compassion and justice had been deleted to offset local costs of the election and consecration of a new bishop for our own diocese.  A number of us felt that economy had compromised our diocesan sense of mission and vision just when we were counting on mission and vision to guide us."

So the group quickly moved to create an amendment to be delivered from the floor of convention to restore line 155 back to the budget. After Diocesan Treasurer Jim Wall made his presentation, the Rev. Stephen Strane (St. Timothy's, Danville) moved the following amendment:

"Resolved, that the sum of $24,000 be restored to Line 155 of the Expense Budget, and that council be empowered to make such cuts as are necessary to avoid increasing the overall deficit."

Following the submission of the amendment, the Rev. William Rankin told convention about the work that his organization, The Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance, does in Malawi and how the diocesan funds help.

"Malawi is but one country helped by this diocese, and I mention it only as an example," said Rankin. "The people are unbelievably patient and brave, and having worked there for nearly five years, I know so many by name. When they die, they are not anonymous to me. They die as my friends, and I have lost too many. Each one lives on $176 per year. But with help from parishes of this diocese, we provide $1 a day per person to keep one alive one day longer on antiretroviral medications. We buy emergency food for the mothers who are so malnourished they cannot make breast milk for their infants. We buy food because the rains don’t come until they arrive in a deluge that wipes out all the subsistence gardens. We meet the goal to provide one balanced meal a week for 1,000 AIDS orphans under the age of 15. The young women dive into the crocodile-infested river to retrieve food plants from the river bottom to feed their children because there is no food on the surface of the earth. The dirt roads in the villages turn to mud in the rainy season and there is no help going in and no one coming out. There are not enough shoes, not enough clothes, not enough teachers in the schools, not enough hospitals or clinics or nurses inside them. The reason is simple: there is just not enough help from the outside world."

Ten others rose to speak in favor of the amendment, and a few asked procedural questions, but no one spoke against the amendment. After extending the time for discussion, the convention voted overwhelming in support of the amendment, and the deficit budget was approved as amended.

When asked why there was so much passion about the issue, Strane said "We are in the midst of a time when a great deal of energy and attention are being focused inwardly on our diocesan community.  This is a natural and appropriate part of our diocesan life cycle as we have worked to describe who we are and to discern who God is calling to be our next bishop. This being the case, a number of us who serve in congregations that are passionate about outreach felt it was very important to reaffirm a broader sense of identity and mission.  We saw the restoration of line item 155 in the diocesan budget as a way of responding to the Gospel imperative."