Daily Wrap-up for
Thursday April 29:
Budget items, nominations and a lot of spuds
By Linda
Bloom
PITTSBURGH (UMNS) -- When it comes to church
finances, the buck stops -- and starts
-- with each individual giver.
That's why Sandra Kelly Lackore, the United Methodist Church's chief
financial officer, reminded delegates to the denomination's top
legislative gathering that their budget decisions are "not just about
dollars" but about gifts to God.
In her April 29 report, Lackore told delegates to use the $585 million
proposed quadrennial budget by the church's General Council on Finance
and Administration as a starting point for their decision-making. She
advised them to look to the future and preserve what is worthwhile,
eliminate what isn't and be "innovative" in the process.
The final budget, she said, must reflect what the delegates believe are
the missional and financial priorities of the church. "Do not think of
it as a budget of dollars, think of it as a sacred trust."
Action items during the April 29 morning session included 24
nominations for four openings on Judicial Council and 17 nominations for
four posts on the University Senate.
The nine-member Judicial Council is considered the supreme court of the
United Methodist Church. Two clergy and two lay members are elected for
eight-year terms. Voting is scheduled for May 3, after brief
biographical sketches of the 24 nominees are printed in the Daily
Christian Advocate.
The University Senate is a body of professionals in higher education
that determines which academic institutions meet the criteria to be
affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Four senate members will be
elected by General Conference on May 3; the remaining 21 members are
selected by other groups.
One church member, Eunice Jones Mathews, was singled out during a 90th
birthday tribute. The wife of Bishop James K. Mathews, she is the
daughter of E. Stanley Jones and Mabel Lossing Jones, Methodism's
premier missionary couple of the 20th century, and a longtime activist
for mission herself.
The day also included a hands-on demonstration of putting mission into
action as bishops and delegates transferred 50-pound bags of potatoes
from a tractor-trailer in the convention center loading zone to a
Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank truck. The "potato drop" was
sponsored by the Society of St. Andrew, an ecumenical nonprofit
organization, and United Methodist Men.
The salvaged potatoes were shipped from a company in Maine and are
expected to help feed 120,000 Pittsburgh-area residents served by the
food bank. General Conference participants were asked to fast for one
meal and donate money to help cover the shipping cost.
Linda Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news
writer.
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