NEW YORK — The Episcopal Church has seen a 7 percent drop in contributions from local dioceses since it voted last year to approve an openly gay bishop, but officials say it may be premature to link the two developments directly.
A report presented to the church’s executive council Feb. 9 revealed a drop of about $2 million in six months. This is the first tangible measure of the fallout from the church’s controversial decision to approve openly gay Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.
As a result, church treasurer Kurt Barnes has ordered a 5 percent spending cut at the church’s New York City headquarters.
“The bottom line is we are continuing the mission of the church,” Barnes said in an interview. “The doomsday forecast or scenario that was thrown around at general convention has not materialized.”
The 2.3 million-member church asks dioceses to send 21 percent of their budgets to fund the national church. That money — expected to be $27.5 million this year, down from $29.4 million — funds 62 percent of the church’s operations.
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