General Convention 2009

On July 16, the General Convention adopted a $141 million budget for 2010-2012 that asks for less money from diocese and drastically reduces church-wide spending by $23 million. The House of Deputies spent approximately three hours debating the budget and rejected attempts to change its revenue or expense categories. The budget was then passed and sent to the House of Bishops where it was approved by voice vote.

In private discussions among the deputation of Southern Virginia, support for the proposed reduced budget reflected an appreciation of financial responsibility by the greater Church, recognizing the state of the current economy.

Some church-wide programs will be eliminated, encouraging more mission work to take place in the dioceses and congregations. Staff reductions in the New York and regional offices will likely take place. The next General Convention could be two days shorter and interim church bodies will meet less frequently during the triennium.

Areas of importance to the Church and many in our diocese will continue to be supported. A budget line item dedicated 0.7% percent of income to U.N. Millenium Development Goals. This had been cut from a draft version of the budget. Deputies from Southern Virginia also noted that more than 60 percent of the budget is directed towards programs and mission and the budget reflects a 37 percent increase to the United Thank Offering (UTO).