The Vestry

Ten Plus Background

Letter from St. Timothy's Vestry [PDF format]

St. Timothy's Episcopal Church is a financially healthy parish and has been active in the leadership bodies of the Diocese of El Camino Real for many years with members serving as Chair Diocesan Corporation, Chair Diocesan Council, Diocesan Treasurer, and Diocesan Chancellor, as well as members serving on the Standing Committee, Diocesan Corporation, Diocesan Council, Commission on Ministry, Diocesan Personnel Committee, and many other positions of leadership too numerous to mention. We have paid our 22% Fair Share and served the Diocese joyfully in the spirit of servant leadership, with the hope that by working together we would strengthen our diocese and further the mission of the church.

With an increasing number of parishes in our diocese unable to pay their Fair Share in recent years, it became apparent that the formula did not work, and the system needed to be revamped. Despite several years of discussion, the Fair Share formula remained unchanged. As a result of a resolution at the Diocesan Convention in January 2005 the Diocesan Council was empowered to form the Diocesan Funding Review Committee (DFRC) to assess the Fair Share formula and make recommendations for a funding model that would stabilize the diocese and be manageable for the parishes.

The Diocesan Council appointed members to the DFRC based on their experience and expertise with parish and diocesan finances as well as accounting practices. The DFRC proposed the following resolutions:

Resolved: For the 2007 budget year, the Diocesan Funding Review Committee recommends implementation of a 10% mandatory Fair Share based on current income. Further, that understanding their role as partners in ministry, parishes and missions be highly encouraged to voluntarily contribute over and above this amount in order that Diocesan and community programs may continue and grow.

Resolved: With a goal of moving the Diocese from a posture of dealing with scarcity to creating abundance, we further recommend that in 2006 and beyond, the Diocese and its parishes and missions fund and implement evangelism programs and stewardship approaches based upon the tithe as our standard of giving.

Full DFRC Report [PDF format]

This approach came to be known as the "10 Plus". (Additional information on 10 Plus can be found at www.elcaminotenplus.org) At the Diocesan Convention in January 2006 both the Chair of Diocesan Council and the President of the Standing Committee spoke out against 10 Plus, and the Convention made no progress towards improving the funding model all have agreed needs repair.

While it grieves the Vestry of St. Timothy's to be in discord with the leaders of our diocese, after much prayer and thoughtful discussion it became clear the time had come for us to exercise responsible stewardship. Our parishes and diocese must move towards a position of health and strength in order to fully realize our mission. With this in mind, we adopted a 10 Plus funding model for St. Timothy's effective January 2007.

It is our fervent hope and prayer that the 10 Plus or similar model will be approved by the members of Convention in October 2006, and we can all move forward as one united body of Christ, working together to bring His love to our world.