The Strategic Vision Committee has communicated to Bishop Austin its awareness of the need for changes in both structural processes and communication practices, which will be detailed in the Strategic Vision Plan. For now, this memo from the Program and Budget Subcommittee of Executive Council details the plan for this transitional time of creating the 2026 budget.

Memo to Strategic Visioning Committee, Regional Deans, Deanery Presidents

From: The Very Rev. Kirsten Snow Spalding, Chair Program and Budget Committee, Member of Executive Council
cc: The Rev. Canon Michele Racusin, The Rev. Canon J. Sierra Reyes, Program and Budget Committee
Re: Progress and Process on DioCal Budget Development
Date: May 23, 2025

1. Goals

The program and budget committee has met twice and is continuing our work with bi-weekly meetings over the next two months. We believe that we are charged with the following short term (and longer term) goals:

A. Develop a responsible budget that reflects the priorities of the Diocese as a whole.
B. Build trust in the budgeting process by reflecting on our diversity of needs and our common purpose.
C. Communicate effectively to our clergy, our lay leaders, the members and neighbors about the priorities reflected in the budget.

Reflecting on the priorities of the Diocese “as a whole” is an iterative process. For the 2026 budget, we are building on the priorities that we have heard from Conventions past, from the Executive Council discussions, and from the deanery representatives on the Program and Budget Committee. In a few cases, we have heard specific budget proposals from different parts of the Diocese and we are reflecting on these as part of our budget construction, but we recognize that we do not yet have the full benefit of the Strategic Visioning Committee process and we do not have a consistent process for gathering budget inputs from congregations and deaneries. It is our intention that our process for gathering and developing consensus about budget priorities will continue to improve next year so that a clearly defined new budget process will be implemented for the 2027 budget.

2. Budget Priorities

We are not done developing the priorities that will emerge in the 2026 budget. But as a preliminary list our priorities include the following categories and specific budget items.

A. Serve the financial needs of congregations

• • Reduce assessment burden
  • Support missions and smaller congregations
  • Support clergy housing availability

B. Grow the Church

• • ½ time Latino Missioner
  • Funds for Area Ministry (regional collaborations)

C. Focus on Justice

• • Canon for Racial, Social and Environmental Justice (bring into Operating Budget)

D. Share resources to support the business of being church

• • Payroll support for congregations
  • Clergy search and transition for congregations
  • Communications
  • Convention
  • Bishop
  • TEC
  • Deacons 

3. Communications

To build trust in the budgeting process and show how congregational priorities are reflected in the budget, the Program and Budget committee is undertaking a communications effort that begins with the memo. We intend to be transparent about our process, open to suggestions and iterative as we consider budget scenarios that balance the priorities we share.

As we look at the numbers, we are simultaneously working to develop a clear “narrative budget” that will articulate how the budget serves all of the people in the Diocese in our shared goal of proclaiming the Gospel in every corner and community of DioCal. This narrative budget will be shared with the deaneries throughout the process along with the budget.

4. Reality Check

While we are carefully considering all of the priorities above, it is self-evident that a decrease in assessment revenue (meeting the priority of reducing the financial burden on congregations) will result in limitations on our ability to fund new priorities (like creating new funds for collaborative ministry or any of the other priorities above). The Program and Budget Committee (and the Executive Council as a whole) is looking at budget scenarios with reduced assessment on the income side and budget scenarios with increased expenses for new ministry priorities. We are not yet ready to make a recommendation on how to balance those priorities. We note that a 1% reduction in assessment across the Diocese results in approximately a $200K loss of revenue–a significant limitation to new ministry possibilities.

We are forecasting that there will not be dramatic shifts in the total 2026 budget numbers and note that we will have to consider COLAs for salary and increased costs of medical and dental insurance.

5. Next Steps

• May/June P&B continues to receive input on budget priorities and consider budget scenarios.
• Third week of June, P&B presents a draft budget recommendation to Finance
• Committee and an update to Executive Council with a draft narrative budget.
• June/July, Finance Committee and P&B finalize a budget recommendation and narrative budget for Executive Council.
• Third Week of July Executive Council amends and approves a budget recommendation to go to Convention.
• July/August P&B continues to communicate and work on narrative budget.
• September budget presentations across the Diocese to deaneries and clergy.
• October Convention approval of budget.