This afternoon the House of Bishops requested that the Millennium Development Goals remain a program and budget priority for the Episcopal Church for the next triennium. But then they went even further. They not only recommended reinstatement of the MDGs budget line item of 0.7%, but to raise it to 1% of the non-government revenue of the Church! All three of North Carolina's bishops voted in favor of this.
Word around the convention center is that the budget people at the national level completely underestimated the belief in the MDGs as a way for the Episcopal Church to live into its mission. Kay Meyer, president of the National ECW, had testified in a hearing to the vital role of the MDGs in women's ministries, and Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation executive director, the Rev. Devon Anderson along with the Rev. Ian Douglas, EGR board member and co-founder, had also spoken to the passion of the Church's grassroots for the Goals. And each of them stressed that national leadership was needed if these efforts are to be sustained.
Still and all, the recommendations and affirmative votes don't guarantee funding of the Goals at the national level. That decision rests with the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance (PB&F), and they've been told income during the 2010-2012 triennium could be $9 million less than forecast last January, when Executive Council approved the draft budget.
This is why dozens of people representing various constituencies within the Episcopal Church again pled their case before PB&F tonight. Episcopal Church camps, ministries for Native Americans, deaf congregations, the bishops of Haiti and Columbia, and Christian education directors were just some of those seeking to maintain funding levels. Dr. Dianne Suber, president of Saint Augustine's College in Raleigh, spoke on behalf of the country's three historically black Episcopal colleges. And Devon Anderson was back to bat for the MDGs.
"Symbols like the cross convey the images of our core values. They are visual proclamations. Likewise, the MDG line item in our national church budget is a singular proclamation, a symbol of who we are in relation to the world's poorest people," she said. "The choice to be faithful to the MDGs will cost us, but it will cost us more if we aren't."