By: Victoria Rebeck

Minnesota is one of 20 annual conferences to pay its 2012 General Church apportionments at 100 percent.

The United Methodist General Council on Finance and Administration reports that overall apportionment payouts reached 90 percent, the highest payout level the General Church has reached since 2001.

“The Minnesota Conference’s payment of 100 percent of our General Church apportionments is a significant and noteworthy accomplishment,” said Bishop Bruce R. Ough. “I thank and congratulate all the congregations of the Minnesota Conference for their faithfulness and extravagant generosity. Together, we are changing lives and bringing hope and healing to people in 136 countries around the world and throughout Minnesota.”

Minnesota United Methodists remitted 86.4 percent of their apportionments for 2012. This is an increase over 2011’s receipt rate of 84.2 percent and slightly above our recent average receipt rate of 86 percent, reported Barbara Carroll, Minnesota Conference director of finance and administration. About 75 percent of Minnesota United Methodist congregations paid 100 percent of their apportionments.

“The Minnesota Conference Council on Finance and Administration is grateful that the improved receipt rate for 2012 apportionments, plus unspent items in the apportioned budget, allowed us to use conference reserves to pay 100 percent of our general conference funds,” said Rev. Kevin Schill, chair of the conference CFA.

Underspent items in the 2012 budget included clergy moving expenses and clergy health insurance premium expenses.

The other conferences that paid 100 percent of 2012 General Church apportionments are Alaska, Baltimore-Washington, Desert Southwest, East Ohio, Greater New Jersey, Holston, Illinois Great Rivers, Iowa, Kansas West, New York, North Carolina, Northern Illinois, Oklahoma Indian Missionary, Peninsula-Delaware, Red Bird Missionary, Tennessee, West Michigan, West Virginia, and Western Pennsylvania. This is an increase over the 17 that paid 100 percent in 2011.

“It is truly a blessing that we had this increase for 2012,” said Moses Kumar, GCFA’s general secretary. “But more importantly, the people of the United Methodist Church have come together in a way that affirms the ministries of the church. The support of the apportioned funds is a statement that we are doing a new thing in the church and that together we can make a difference in the lives of so many people.”

Victoria Rebeck is director of communication for the Minnesota Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.