Episcopal Head Offers Report Amid 'Misinterpreted, Exaggerated' Claims

By Eric Young
Christian Post Reporter
Thu, Jul. 23 2009

The presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church wrote a letter to members of the denomination Wednesday to summarize the results of their recently concluded triennial conference and to clarify the details behind two resolutions that have drawn notable, and mostly negative, attention from the media.

After eleven full days of worship, learning, and policy-making, those who gathered in Anaheim, Calif., for the 76th General Convention adopted a budget that will result in the loss of church staff and represents “a significant curtailment of church-wide ministry efforts, in recognition of the economic realities of many dioceses and church endowments,” reported Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori.

Despite the reduced budget, the church body still decided to commit 0.7 percent of its budget to the Millennium Development Goals on top of the 15 percent already committed to international development work.

“As a Church, we have deepened our commitments to mission and ministry with ‘the least of these,’” Jefferts Schori stated, citing from Matthew 25. the rest