The week after Easter was a difficult one for the Diocese of Pennsylvania with staff reductions at Church House, a decision to close one of one of the oldest congregations and another call by the standing committee for the Rt. Rev. Charles E. Bennison, Jr., to retire or resign, this time in response to the revelation that a drawdown of $350,000 of unrestricted net assets took place prior to the March 25 special convention. The withdrawal was not reported to the special convention which had been called after the Nov. 5, 2005, annual diocesan convention failed to approve a budget.

“In light of your expressed commitment to ‘transparency,’ and in the absence of your proper designation of these funds and the approval of standing committee in accordance with our canons, we question why this action was not reported to the special convention,” the Standing Committee’s members wrote in an open letter released April 21. “We strongly disapprove of this drawdown. We will ask the help of the chancellor in establishing procedures to insure that drawdowns will not happen again without proper consultation.”

The committee’s letter noted that the drawdown was reported at an April 19 diocesan council meeting, and “the funds would be restored if and when money became available.

“While we support this acknowledgement of the error, we believe this is an example of the lack of sound financial practice and oversight that has created the current financial crisis and could bring us to bankruptcy in the future,” the committee wrote.

Bishop Bennison told The Living Church he had not changed his mind about resigning or retiring and maintained that the diocese was “thriving and full of vitality.” It was normal diocesan practice, he explained, to even out cash flow through the year by drawing from reserve funds and he was not even aware ahead of time that the fund had been tapped during the first week of March.

“If the Standing Committee wishes to revise that practice, we will comply,” he said, “but there was nothing unusual in what was done. The decision was made with the knowledge and approval of the chair of the property and finance committee, our former chancellor and others.”

The standing committee letter was released the day after four diocesan staff members were downsized. Eliminated were staff positions for the director of communication, the communications manager, the assistant director of development for annual giving and a position in the accounting office. The personnel reductions were finalized during the April 19 council meeting.

Bishop Bennison said he tried very hard to avoid making any staff cuts, but that position became untenable after the diocese was informed that some trust income it had planned to use to fund operations was part of a restricted fund.

The week concluded with the April 22 announcement that St. Martin’s, Boothwyn, will hold its final service June 4. Members of St. Martin’s participated in the 1789 constitutional convention in Philadelphia which resulted in the creation of the Episcopal Church after the American Revolution. The parish, which was founded in nearby Marcus Hook in 1702, has been located in a modern A-frame structure on an 11.5-acre campus since 1967. It has suffered from declining membership and had been without a rector for 17 years until the Rev. Lois Keen was called last year.

Bishop Bennison described the vestry decision to close as “sad, but probably prudent.” He said the parish had tried to reorganize, but in hindsight probably lacked sufficient resources to accomplish the goals it had set for itself. While making some progress since calling a rector, average weekly attendance remained less than 40. Bishop Bennison said that Boothwyn is one of the fastest growing communities in Pennsylvania for families with young children, and he hoped to plant a new congregation at the same location in the near future.

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