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Painful pinch
By WAVENEY ANN MOORE, Times Staff Writer
ST. PETERSBURG -- Last fall, after years of planning, Pasadena Community Church consecrated its new $3.8-million life enrichment center, complete with basketball and volleyball courts, classrooms, a library and lounges. In January, the 1,800-member church announced that it was cutting several positions and that two new ones would not be filled. The recent action is in keeping with new economic realities, said the Rev. Clifford Melvin, senior pastor of the church at 227 70th St. S. "Churches and all kinds of nonprofit agencies have been severely affected by the economy," Melvin said. "As a result of that, we had to do a serious re-evaluation of all of the ministerial areas, and in that re-evaluation, we decided that there were certain positions we would have to phase out." "Certainly, when we have added costs with the new building, running it and the debt load, huge increases to health insurance and property insurance, the downturn in the economy and with the uncertainty in our world, we knew that we had to make some decisions in order to stay healthy for the future." Churches nationwide are having to make tough decisions. Nationally, giving to the United Methodist denomination is down slightly, affected by declines in short- and long-term investment income, unemployment, drought and skyrocketing insurance costs, officials say. Responding to an informal poll conducted by the jurisdictional body under which most Florida United Methodists fall, some churches said they have been forced to tighten budgets and come up with creative ways to raise money and continue their ministries. Amid such economic instability, church leaders continue to emphasize -- some with greater success than others -- the spiritual principles and rewards of tithing. "(Tithing) has been a continual emphasis at Pasadena," Melvin said. "Quite honestly, the reality is, if people were tithing, none of these cuts would have needed to occur." Announcing the job cuts in a letter to his congregation, Melvin said: "While we finished the 2002 year in fairly decent financial shape, the coming year, with its serious financial uncertainty, has helped us to clearly focus on some reductions within our staff. ..." One of the positions affected is that of senior associate minister. The Rev. Sylvia Russell will work nine months a year instead of 12. The church's full-time position of chef has been eliminated, as well as two part-time musicians. The full-time, paid receptionist will continue until June, after which her job will be performed by volunteers. The woman who now holds the position will remain as a part-time consultant for weddings, funerals and other events. The full-time position of youth director is vacant but will be filled. That of youth assistant has been eliminated. Additionally, new positions for a maintenance worker and director of the life enrichment center will not be filled as planned. The life enrichment center, built as an evangelistic tool, is the first major construction on the church's 17-acre property since the 1960s. Its purpose, Melvin explained last fall, is to attract a whole new breed of churchgoers with such secular amenities as basketball and volleyball courts. The decision to cut staff was difficult. "It's probably one of the most painful things that a church has to do," Melvin said. "It certainly is the most painful thing I have to do as pastor." The layoffs have led to a measure of discord at the church. Some members were upset that the youth director was let go, but Pasadena Community has no plans to curtail its thriving youth program, said Melvin, adding that a new youth leader soon will be hired. St. Petersburg district superintendent Kevin James said he is paying close attention to developments at the church, one of the largest in his district, which encompasses Pinellas and Pasco counties. "I take the issues at Pasadena Community very seriously," he said. "Therefore, I've scheduled a meeting later this month with the pastor/parish relations committee and will continue to monitor the activities of the church ministry." During an interview last week, Melvin sought to make one thing clear: Pasadena Community is not in financial trouble. Nor are contributions down, he added. "The issue is that we had so many added costs for this coming year," he said. Randy Casey-Rutland, treasurer and director of administrative services for the Florida United Methodist Conference in Lakeland, recently spoke about the economy's effect on churches within the jurisdiction. (The conference represents 350,000 United Methodists in Florida up to the Apalachicola River.) "Our churches are affected in similar ways as are many businesses. There have been dramatic increases for health insurance for staff and clergy, property, casualty and liability insurance," Casey-Rutland said. Still, people continue to give, he said. "Generally, it's not accurate to say that giving to churches parallels the economy. We have found that it is common in economically distressed times for people to give to good causes." In the denomination, local churches pay apportionments to their jurisdiction or conference, which in turn sends a share to the national office. "For 2002, giving through the (Florida) annual conference for special purposes as well as for the apportionments was $19,797,261," he said. In 2001, gifts to a special fund created after the Sept. 11 tragedy exceeded $1-million. With that sum, he said, total giving from Florida churches added up to $20,687,413 for 2001. Nationwide, the denomination saw a slight drop in contributions. "Overall, yes, it was down, but we've got areas of the country where giving was up," said Steve Zekoff, communications manager for the United Methodist Church's General Council on Finance and Administration in Evanston, Ill. Last year, for instance, the Texas conference gave an additional $358,000 to denominational causes compared to 2001, Zekoff said. Florida gave an additional $222,000. "The primary reason we are hearing that giving is down are local economic situations," Zekoff said. Tita Parham, assistant director of communications for the Florida conference, said her office recently conducted an informal survey of churches across the state to determine how the economy is affecting them. About 30 churches responded, she said. "Some are having to lay off some staff people. Some are postponing ministries ... but it also is encouraging people to tighten things up. It's also encouraging them to be more creative," Ms. Parham said. "We didn't get the sense that anyone is closing. They're making do, trusting in God to help them, too." "We believe," said St. Petersburg district superintendent James, "if we are faithful with our tithes and offerings, God will bless our offerings and multiply them."
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