Day 2, 2024 – Part One
The morning began with a beautiful Morning Prayer service. Following worship we had a brief break before moving into a joint session. The Houses of Bishops and Deputies gathered together at 10:30 am for a report from the Joint Budget Committee of the Executive Council. This is the first General Convention where this was the process. The former bishop of Montana, Bishop Brookhart also joined the deputation for this discussion.
During the presentation it was revealed that all or nearly all of the dioceses of The Episcopal Church were contributing the required 15% assessment. That is quite an accomplishment! 91% of the income in the proposed 2025-2027 budget comes from diocesan assessments and investment income.
The expected expenditures for the 2025-2027 budget are $143,191,158. The budget sets aside $2,000,000 to be allocated by the new Presiding Bishop in consultation with The Executive Council.
There was a LOT of discussion about priorities and decisions made by the Joint Budget Committee. There were a lot of concerns about the process and the way the budget was crafted. There were also serious concerns about how questions were handled.
To simplify things, here is a breakdown I created of the key categories of expenditures for the 2025 – 2027 Budget.
Then we went to lunch. Thankfully.
