| $17.8 million budget adopted By Erik Alsgaard
UMCONNECTION STAFF Baltimore-Washington Conference members adopted an apportioned budget of $17.8 million for 2005, which includes $1.5 million to begin to replenish health insurance claim reserves and other reserve funds. The spending budget will be set at 96 percent of the apportioned budget, with a benevolence factor set at 24.8 percent. Debate began Saturday afternoon on the budget, but was halted at 4:30 p.m. because the ballroom needed to be cleared for preparations for the Celebration of Ministry held that night. 
Strait | When consideration of the budget resumed Sunday morning, a motion lay on the table from the Rev. Roger Strait, retired. Strait, a former conference treasurer, sought to cap the 2005 apportioned budget at a 5 percent increase over 2004. 
DeHart | That motion eventually was defeated, but not before the Rev. Wayne DeHart, superintendent of the Frederick District, reminded the session that the difference between the Council on Finance and Administrations budget and the Strait-amended budget was about $740,000. He cautioned members that the consequence of such a reduction would be a significant decline in mission and ministry, but that the amount saved would be roughly the cost of one McDonalds Happy Meal per member of the conference per year. 
Scott | A motion to table the 2005 budget until an adjourned session of the annual conference could convene, offered by the Rev. Debbie Scott, pastor of North Bethesda UMC, was also defeated. Much of the discussion on next years budget centered on the 9.55 percent increase CFA was requesting. Nearly all of that increase — $1.5 million — is money earmarked to begin to replenish reserves. Without these reserves, CFA officials said, the annual conference could find itself unable to pay medical insurance claims in the future because reserves have been nearly depleted. 'CFA is not asking for an increase in benevolence,' said the Rev. Charles Parker, executive director of the Stewardship Center and Foundation. 'Theyre asking for an increase in faithfulness. People have a way of living up or down to expectations. I would say that one of the reasons our denomination is declining is that were not expecting more.' The Rev. Douglas Hays suggested that CFA had broken covenant with the annual conference by not being faithful to an amendment adopted last year by the conference and offered by the Rev. Barry Hidey, pastor of Bel Air UMC, to limit the increase in the budget to about 4.5 percent. Hays later offered a motion that would have required CFA to bring two or three different budgets next year so that the body could have ready comparisons. 'We need to have some options to let us be good stewards,' he said. His motion was defeated. 
Brought | Speaking just before the vote, the Rev. Byron Brought, chair of CFA and pastor of Calvary UMC in Annapolis, said that when people believe in Jesus Christ, they remove the word 'cant' from their vocabulary. 'We serve a God for whom all things are possible,' he said. 'You can tell us (CFA) this morning what it is you will not do. Please do not tell us what you cannot do.' | 
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