The global credit crunch will have a major impact on the Diocese of Melbourne, delegates to its annual synod learned last week, and may force the church to shutter churches and ministries in order to balance its budget.On Oct 13 the registrar of Melbourne, Kevin Spackman, told a meeting of synod at St Paul’s Cathedral the diocese was facing a £400,000 projected deficit for the first six months of 2009.
“The global financial crisis is obviously starting to have an impact on a lot of not-for-profit organisations and agencies, and the Anglican Church in Melbourne and Geelong, we've been caught up in that," he said.
Economic downturns historically placed greater demand on the social services provided by the diocese, Mr Rickman said. "We will be looking at all of the services that we provide and the way that we provide them and trying to balance the need for us to be fiscally responsible with the needs of the community and how we balance those,” he said.
Delegates to the annual synod meeting rejected a proposed budget that would have cut appropriations for university and hospital chaplains, Anglican Media Melbourne, and the national church, opting instead for the six-month £400,000 budget. An audit committee was chartered to review the diocese’s financial position, and asked to prepare recommendations for resolving the financial crisis.
Mr Spackman told synod that without immediate action to trim the expenditures, the 2009 budget could see a loss of £1 million. "We are clearly facing a bleak situation in 2008,” he said, but overall, the diocese remained in a “solid financial position."
"The global financial crisis is obviously starting to have an impact on a lot of not-for-profit organizations and agencies, and ... we have been caught up in that," Mr Spackman said, but unrealistic budgeting, inadequate financial controls, and an outdated accounting system also were factors.
The Archbishop of Melbourne, Dr Philip Freier, told synod that past deficits had been met by selling church properties. However, he was loathe to continue the practice, nor was it economical to slash existing ministries as the costs of starting over were greater than the immediate savings realized by their elimination.
He urged the diocese not to look at charitable giving as merely a function of tax planning. "I do find it curious that most giving looks to be tied to the expectation of tax deductibility," Dr Freier said.
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(Source: RI)