United Methodist Church Board Faces More Personnel Cuts in Budget Crisis

The Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church, facing a budgetary crisis, is in the midst of a substantial wave of personnel changes for the second time in six months.

At meetings in New York, directors of the board’s national division voted to eliminate 11 mid-level positions and six support staff jobs as part of a $2-million budget cut.

Officials of the national division, which oversees the church’s domestic missions programs, said the cut will affect the proposed 1989 budget and the current $17.2-million budget.

“The reasons for the budget crisis include shortfall in estimated income from investments and contributions to special programs and overcommitments to programs and projects,” the statement says.

Shock waves moved through the board last spring when two top executives, World Division Deputy General Secretary Peggy Billings and Health and Welfare Department Associate General Secretary John A. Murdock, were told that their contracts would not be renewed.

In the wake of that action, members of the Board of Global Ministries staff wrote letters to board directors complaining of “capricious and arbitrary” personnel procedures that appeared to be used in dismissing the two from their posts. Since their dismissals were announced, Billings and Murdock were offered and accepted projects funded by the board.