In 2024, we had so much to be grateful for. North Carolina is indeed a generous synod! Congregations and their people have shared in many ways. There is so much as congregations walking together that we can do collectively (seminaries, candidacy, call process, agencies, and institutions) for the sake of the gospel and the world that few if any congregations can do on their own. This year in particular, we have seen your generosity to your own communities, your support of youth and children’s ministry programs—like the ELCA Youth Gathering—and in disaster response across the globe including most recently here in western NC. You, the members and congregations of the NC Synod, are definitely generous, and we are grateful.

It is by no means an overlooking, a taking for granted, or a diminishment of our gratitude for your ongoing generosity that leads me to share a bit of sobering news on the financial front of our synod. In 2019 when we voted to move to an every-other-year synod business assembly, we committed to a two-year budget cycle. A challenge of that commitment is having to project so far out what Mission Support might be two years hence. The post-COVID world has been unpredictable and we have continued to experience disaffiliations as well as an increase in the closing of congregations. Other quite viable and vital congregations are experiencing attendance and giving declines, and in order fairly to provide for their clergy and meet other expenses, they have, understandably, sent less to the synod in Mission Support.

A majority of our congregations still are remaining level or somewhat increasing their Mission Support even going into 2025. Even after all of your support given in disaster relief. Y’all are amazing!

And yet, with 11.8% inflation over the past two years, level Mission Support along with the closings, disaffiliations, and declines in Mission Support by about one-third of our congregations, we are anticipating a shortfall—by 10%, or $300,000—in Mission Support for 2024. We budgeted to receive $3 million for 2024 in Mission Support in addition to $0.5 million of income from other sources, including some from selling closed congregations’ buildings at the direction of those congregations, grant funding, endowment disbursements, and reserves.

We believe that balancing a synod budget based on income from the sale of property of closed congregations is not a desirable or sustainable plan. While we fully believe in abundance, the synod’s finance committee decided in our early December meetings to manage our 2025 budget to 10% (or $300,000) less than the 2025 budget approved at 2023 assembly.

What does this mean? Well, after the finance team spent a day and a half reviewing all of this carefully, they reported to synod council which then directed me and the synod staff to manage the budget downward. Changes include:

• decreasing the personnel budget by $115,000
• forwarding $105,000 less in Mission Support to the churchwide ELCA expression (We give a straight percentage of 35% to the ELCA Churchwide offices.)
• decreasing additional line items by $80,000, including candidacy, mission starts, and others

None of our agencies and institutions or campus ministries will be managed downward.

Couldn’t this all wait until the new bishop starts on August 1? Of course, but I need to own that if such cuts need to be made, I would rather manage those on my watch than give the possible appearance that such cuts have something to do with the new bishop. They clearly don’t. Your sharing is still quite abundant and we are still immensely grateful. Thank you for all you do in your own congregations and communities, and thank you for continuing to believe in and support these ministries we do together as synod.