GCFA

The General Council on Finance and Administration board at its online meeting Aug. 19 designated how to use proceeds from the sale of the agency’s headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee. The agency staff members are moving into the nearby Harry Denman Building, which is also home to Discipleship Ministries and the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Grappling with mixed news on giving, church exits

Board members of The United Methodist Church’s finance agency discussed the potential impact of rising church disaffiliations even as they celebrated an uptick in giving and the sale of the agency’s building.

General Agencies

United Methodist bishops hold hands in prayer during a day of prayer for the 2019 United Methodist General Conference in St. Louis. The General Council on Finance and Administration board approved a monthly stipend for active bishops who have led more than one episcopal area since January 2021. File photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Extra pay approved for bishops with extra workloads

The board of The United Methodist Church’s finance agency has approved a monthly stipend for active bishops who serve more than one episcopal area in this time of disruption.

General Agencies

At its 2021 fall meeting, the General Council on Finance and Administration board made further cuts to the proposed denominational budget heading to the coming General Conference. Faced with the pandemic and expected denominational split, the board proposes cutting the budget by about a third starting in 2023. Photo by Mikern, courtesy of Pixabay.

Church exits, COVID lead to steep budget cuts

United Methodist financial leaders are trying to estimate what a proposed church split and ongoing pandemic mean for the denomination’s bottom line.

General Church

As organizers of the United Methodist General Conference look to the possibility of an in-person session in 2022, the new strain presents new challenges. Coronavirus image courtesy of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Virus bedevils General Conference planning

After two postponements, organizers continue working to hold the United Methodist lawmaking assembly next year. However, the delta variant presents new challenges.

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