Bequest expected to buoy national budget.Mississauga, Ont. The Council of General Synod The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations. Church of England In the Church of England, General Synod was instituted in 1970 and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church of England that had (COGS These are all the Cogs found in Disney's Toontown Online. Names that are moved forward are leaders of the HQ of that specific Cog type. Bossbots
A bequest bequest: see legacy. of $4 million that General Synod expects to receive on Jan. 15 will bridge the gap of $1.3 million, said Peter Blachford, General Synod treasurer. In an interview, Mr. Blachford acknowledged that the bequest has not only given a lifeline life·line n. 1. a. An anchored line thrown as a support to someone falling or drowning. b. A line shot to a ship in distress. c. A line used to raise and lower deep-sea divers. 2. to the national church, which has been beset be·set tr.v. be·set, be·set·ting, be·sets 1. To attack from all sides. 2. To trouble persistently; harass. See Synonyms at attack. 3. with financial difficulties, but an opportunity to plan for its future through the creation of a development office. A total of $220,000 has been allotted al·lot tr.v. al·lot·ted, al·lot·ting, al·lots 1. To parcel out; distribute or apportion: allotting land to homesteaders; allot blame. 2. in the budget to support the establishment of the development office, an idea which was approved by CoGS last spring. (COGS had said that the development office would "co-ordinate and enhance all financial development activities of the church and its partner agencies" and that it must be established "at the earliest possible date but no later than January 2009." The creation of a centralized cen·tral·ize v. cen·tral·ized, cen·tral·iz·ing, cen·tral·iz·es v.tr. 1. To draw into or toward a center; consolidate. 2. development office was one of the primary recommendations of the Somers Report, an audit conducted by consultant Lorna Somers, an expert in the area of gift planning and annual giving Annual giving is one of the most important areas in an organization’s fundraising efforts. Annual giving consists of many separate solicitation vehicles. When these vehicles are assembled together with skill, they can form the foundation of the institution’s in Canada.) "If we didn't get the bequest, we would have been in deep trouble. We would have had this deficit," Mr. Blachford told the Anglican Journal. About $2.6 million from this bequest, plus an anticipated $1.5 million in residential schools-related refund, will be invested to help build the reserves of General Synod (the governing body Noun 1. governing body - the persons (or committees or departments etc.) who make up a body for the purpose of administering something; "he claims that the present administration is corrupt"; "the governance of an association is responsible to its members"; "he of the Anglican Church of Canada) he added. By setting aside money to establish the development office, General Synod is investing in the church's future, said Robert Dickson Robert Dickson is the name of several public figures in Canada, Sweden and the United States.
During a budget presentation to COGS, the church's governing body between meetings of General Synod, Mr. Dickson drew a parallel to the Bible's parable of the talents For the novel by Octavia Butler, see . The Parable of the Talents (sometimes just the Parable of Talents) is a parable of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 25:14-30). It was told to illustrate an aspect of the nature of the Kingdom of Heaven. , saying the church was being given "a choice of burying the gift in reserves or taking a portion of it that will bring positive results, that will bring much more money than we're investing in it ... We have been given money to do this, we must respond to this opportunity." He said that the development office is expected to be self-sustaining and to raise $1.1 million by the end of 2010. "There will be additional money to fund budgeted ministries and the benefit will go well beyond General Synod," said Mr. Dickson. "Success in this area will inspire confidence in the future." With the approval of the budget, Mr. Blachford said General Synod would soon advertise for the position of director of the development office, and his or her work is expected to begin by July 1, 2008. This office will be assisted by an existing staff of five (including two consultants) at General Synod who are already doing work related to appeals and gift-planning, he said. Also accounting for the 2008 shortfall: $548,325 to offset lower recoveries expected in 2008, and $562,967 to cover inflationary in·fla·tion·ar·y adj. Of, associated with, or tending to cause inflation: inflationary prices; inflationary policies. Adj. 1. salary and benefit increases, as well as increased program and operating costs operating costs npl → gastos mpl operacionales . During budget discussions, Archdeacon Sidney Black, co-chair of the Anglican Council for Indigenous People (ACIP ACIP Cardiology A clinical trial–Asymptomatic Cardiac Ischemia Pilot Study that evaluated 3 therapeutic strategies2 for ↓ myocardial ischemia during exercise testing. ) asked whether some of the residential schools-related rebate that General Synod is expected to receive from the federal government could be channeled to the Sacred Circle gathering scheduled for this summer in Vancouver. "We've been required to fundraise fund·raise or fund-raise also fund raise intr.v. fund·raised, fund·rais·ing, fund·rais·es To engage in fundraising. Verb 1. for Sacred Circle gatherings," said Archdeacon Black, adding that these were important venues for aboriginal Anglicans to "worship, pray, vision, and more importantly share our stories." He added that in recent years, Sacred Circles have become "a journey of healing" for those who have been affected by the residential schools legacy. He also asked whether ACIP could also benefit from the work of the development office. After consultations between ACIP and the financial management and development committee Mr. Blachford recommended that $50,000 be added to the budget of the development office for stewardship work in indigenous communities. He also said that the General Synod management team would look at the possibility of adding funds "internally" for the Sacred Circle. (The church currently contributes $150,000 to the gathering, held every three years; the meeting costs $350,000.) Both proposals were approved, along with other budget revisions. Under the 2008 budget: * The grant for the Council of the North, a grouping of financially assisted dioceses, was maintained at last year's level of $2.37 million; * The faith, worship and ministry department's allocation increased from the previous year's to $508,700 from $468,094, to cover youth initiatives-related work; * The house of bishops' budget went down 11 per cent, to $142,000 from $160,400 in 2007, since there will be no "house and spouses" meeting in 2008; * The budget for the communications and information resources (1) The data and information assets of an organization, department or unit. See data administration. (2) Another name for the Information Systems (IS) or Information Technology (IT) department. See IT. department (which includes the Anglican Journal, the national church's Web site, Anglican Video, library services) increased to $1.294 million from the previous year's $1.186 million (9 per cent). This increase provides for the re-hiring of a writer for the Web site, a staff position that was left vacant for two years when the church suffered a budget crunch and the department's budget was reduced. It would also restore the publication of Ministry Matters magazine, which ceased due to budgetary constraints, in 2007. * The budget for financial management services will increase to $1.99 million in 2008 from $1.73 million (15 per cent). Mr. Blachford said this change includes expenditures for a planned conference of the church's finance and human resources The fancy word for "people." The human resources department within an organization, years ago known as the "personnel department," manages the administrative aspects of the employees. officers in June, as well as the hiring of an additional staffer for information technology. * The budget also included funds for the following ministries: primate's office ($411,700); general secretary's office ($663,600); archives ($155,630); indigenous ministries ($481,318); General Synod provision ($208,333), and partnerships department ($2 million). MARITES N. SISON STAFF WRITER The 2008 General Synod budget includes funds for the following ministries: Primate's office $ 411,700 General Secretary's office 663,600 Archives 155,630 Council of the North 2,373,413 Faith, Worship and Ministry 508,700 Financial Management 1,991,200 General Synod provision 208,333 House of Bishops 142,000 Indigenous Ministries 481,318 Communications and Information Resources 1,294,900 Partnerships 2,001,000 |
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