Anglican Communion News Service

All 30 dioceses of the Anglican Church of Canada have met or exceeded amounts they had agreed to pay in 1996 to help finance national ministry and mission.

Seven dioceses actually paid more to the apportionment, or program, part of the budget than they had originally committed themselves to. Additional payments were made by the dioceses of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, Huron, Niagara, Ontario, Toronto and Edmonton.

The apportionment budget reached a high of $8.4 million in 1992 but fell to $7.5 million in 1995. In that year, several dioceses fell short of paying the amounts they had previously agreed to. A series of reductions through the early 1990s saw General Synod mission support to overseas and Northern Churches fall by up to 30 per cent, and a number of national staff positions were eliminated. For 1996, dioceses had agreed to make contributions totaling $7.1 million. However, the additional contributions of $188,000 bring total support to $7.3 million.

The strong support from dioceses during the 1996 budget year represents "a significant increase in total revenue," said Archdeacon Jim Boyles, General Secretary of General Synod," and it means that our Church's witness will be continued and extended in 1997."

The additional payments will help to eliminate the last of a deficit accumulated in earlier years. This means that the Church is heading into 1997 without a deficit, Archdeacon Boyles explained. He added that a balanced budget is forecast for 1997.

Year-end financial results were also positive for the Primate's Fund, the Anglican Appeal and the Anglican Journal.

Donations from parishes and individuals during 1996 exceeded the target of $2.45 million which had been set by the Primate's World Relief and Development Fund. PWRDF's revenue consists of such donations and grants from government.

The Anglican Appeal, which supports work in Northern dioceses and overseas mission raised a net amount of $503,000 in 1996, a slight decrease from the previous year when it raised $505,000. The Appeal's net revenue represents its contribution to General Synod after administration costs and dioceses' share of donations have been paid. The Anglican Journal, which runs its own appeal, raised $230,000, surpassing its target of $210,000.

Article from: Anglican Church of Canada