Open Hearings

During the past three months, members of the Joint Standing Committee on Program Budget and Finance have been attending provincial synod meetings in order to present the Draft Budget of the Executive Council.  During our presentations we announced the process for conducting hearings at the General Convention.  We indicated that two of the three hearings would be conducted in a conversational form -- with individuals seated at round tables and engaging in conversation with members of the PB&F committee.  At a recent Provincial Synod meeting concerns were voiced questioning if this form would satisfy the definition of an Open Hearing. We have looked into this and decided that all three of the hearings will be conducted in the form of individual testimony. 

We appreciate the input that has caused us to decide on this change in our process.  We hope that all who plan to attend the hearings will come prepared with statements that are clear and concise. Because of time constraints, we anticipate limiting individual comments to two minutes.  I look forward to seeing you in Indianapolis.  Yours in Christ,

Diane Pollard, Chair

PB&F

Presiding Bishop's Budget Released Today

The Draft Proposed Budget of the Executive Council was received by

Program Budget and Finance  in late January and since that time the

members of the Program Budget and Finance Committee have been reaching

out to the Church for comments.

Our members have conducted numerous interviews with a diverse group of

individuals including both staff and representatives of programs served.

We have attended Synod meetings and have received a wide variety of

comments and ideas about the various items that we should include in the

Proposed Budget presented to the General Convention in July.  We

continue to receive comments through the various official and unofficial

forms of communication in our Church.  We welcome them all.

The budget submitted today by the Presiding Bishop is yet another form

of information for the Program Budget and Finance Committee.  The

process for shaping the final draft document will begin with the

hearings held at our upcoming General Convention.

As chair of PB&F, my thanks to all of you for your support and input as

we continue the work of our Church.

Diane B. Pollard,  Chair

Joint Standing Committee Program Budget and Finance

Commentary Prepared by PB's Staff

This is a commentary that was produced by the staff of the Presiding Bishop. This was prepared in response to questions asked at our recent Province gatherings.

CommentaryontheDraft2013-2015TriennialBudget_2_