WELCA board addresses strategic planning, racial justice, and the triennial debt.

by Women of the ELCA

Board members to meet again this December

by staff

Meeting virtually October 18-19, 2024, Women of the ELCA executive board members discussed strategic planning and finances and took a range of actions, including voting to hold the 2026 triennial convention virtually and deciding to issue a formal apology to those harmed by the elections process at the 2023 triennial convention in Phoenix, Arizona.

Questionnaire feedback shared; strategic visioning begun

During the October 18 executive committee meeting, interim executive director, Jennifer Hockenbery summarized feedback she received from nearly 200 women who participated in a Women of the ELCA questionnaire asking what they loved about WELCA and what they see as challenges.

Hockenbery shared, “There is a hunger for women’s ministries. The people who have been involved with Women of the ELCA their whole lives love it. People who have never heard of WELCA want to get involved. ELCA colleges want to partner with us. There’s so much excitement about what we do, and I think we have a role in spreading the Gospel.”

“There is a need for sisterhood, and women appreciate the sisterhood that that’s been created by Women in the ELCA. Women [of all ages] love Bible studies. They want to ask deep questions. They want to study [new] passages. The Gather magazine Bible studies are popular, and people really love them.”

“People love quilting. There’s this joke that all we do is quilt. But we’re sending thousands of quilts around the world. I just met with a group that makes quilts for their NICU in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The crafting that we do is something that is meaningful and helpful. They are also giving quilts to their VFW. Women want to participate in meaningful work and service. They want to learn in their faith. They want community and support. And they feel that, through Women of the ELCA, they are receiving that.”

“There is broad unanimity that we need to let more people know about Women of the ELCA, especially younger women, women of color and women who identify as queer. Also, there may be women from other denominations who would love to get involved with Women of the ELCA and our ministries.”

The executive board also:

• Encouraged individuals, units and synodical organizations to participate in activities commemorating May 5 as Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women’s Day. Asked for related information and resources to be shared through Women of the ELCA communication channels.
• Heard an update on the 2122 capital campaign for Katie’s Fund. The campaign ends June 13, 2025—the date of Martin and Katie Luther’s 500th wedding anniversary. To date, $550,000 has been received in donations, intentions/(pledges) and interest generated, toward the $1 million goal. Katie’s Fund provides funding for programs, resources and opportunities in leadership development, global connections and living theology.

Debt incurred from 2023 triennial events

The executive board learned that expenses for the Women of the ELCA’s 2023 triennial convention and gathering exceeded revenue by close to $1 million.

Jennifer Hockenbery, interim executive director, who began serving in July 2024, said, “Coming as a total newcomer… looking back at the past audits it does seem this is not the first triennial convention and gathering [where] this happened.”

“The budget for the 2023 triennial had been established in 2019 and was not revised to reflect inflation costs,” said Gabriela Contreras, director of meeting planning. “That, along with a post-pandemic increase in cost for goods and services, the hesitation to travel [though the travel ban was lifted] and rescheduling a gathering from July to September reduced the number of budgeted participations from 2,200 to 1,200 registered participants. Yet only 750 were in attendance in Phoenix for the gathering. Thus, resulting in a reduction in revenue and the contractual penalties incurred at the hotels.”

In addition to needing to pay back this debt, the organization would need to have income of at least $300,000 over expenses each year to save at least $900,000 toward the cost of holding an in-person convention.  The organization had not built this into the 2024 budget.

“That is why we’re making some proposals for doing the convention a lot differently going forward and thinking about how to make some revenue-generating aspects of the gathering cover more of the… costs of the convention as well,” Hockenbery said.

Hockenbery and Jennifer Armstrong-Schaefer, Women of the ELCA treasurer, will meet with the ELCA Office of the Treasurer to discuss paying the debt in two installments. Once the payback plan is finalized, the board’s budget and finance committee will present it for approval at the executive board’s next meeting on December 17, 2024.

“Part of the conversation the board needs to have is how we want to pay back that triennial debt, how we want to make sure that our operating budget is balanced for next year, and then also how we plan for the convention and triennial in the future in a way that is either cost neutral or even revenue generating,” Hockenbery said.

“I want to proceed with caution on this…because at the end of the day we’re all financial stewards and we’re all on the line for the financial decisions that we make,” said Sheena Foster, board member. “I want to make sure that we’re [paying back the debt] the right way.”

While the Women of the ELCA constitution states that the cost of the triennial convention is borne by the churchwide expression, triennial gatherings were intended to be paid for by participants themselves. In other words, participants are responsible for registration, hotel and travel costs, with some scholarships available, thanks to donors. At the time of the ELCA’s formation, WELCA giving was enough so that, each year, leaders could set aside one-third of the cost of the convention. Over the decades, as annual revenue from Thankofferings and Regular Offerings declined, executive board members sometimes had to use board-designated funds for convention expenses.

“We do have to find a way to cover the cost of the triennial in the planning of the triennial budget,” Hockenbery said. “People need to recognize how much it costs and be willing to pay for what they’re getting.”

2026 triennial convention will be virtual

Executive board members voted to hold the 2026 triennial convention virtually in July 2026. The 2026 triennial gathering is still planned to take place in person in Des Moines, Iowa.

Holding the convention virtually will save the organization roughly $717,850.

“Having a virtual convention speaks volumes to our sisters in Christ,” said Merrily Burmeister, board member, emphasizing the need for stewardship and transparency. “This is huge. [We’re] letting people know the reason why we can’t have it in person: the finances just aren’t there.”

There may be another unexpected advantage to holding the convention online.

“We may find there are women who are willing to get involved and serve as voting members who normally wouldn’t be able to do so, because they [aren’t able] to get childcare or travel,” Hockenbery said. “So, we may get new participants by holding the convention virtually.”

Apology for elections process at 2023 convention

The board and the organization recently issued an apology to those affected by the elections process that took place at the 12th triennial convention in Phoenix in 2023. Board members also voted to issue a related report to convention attendees and all WELCA participants.

The board also voted to:

• Create a plan for addressing election processes that establish priority of potentially conflicting constitutional mandates for board demographic makeup.
• Implement training for the conduct of elections committee, ahead of the triennial convention.
• Nominate as chair for the conduct of elections committee someone who has previously served on that committee.
• Appoint alternate committee members in case anyone on the committee is nominated to the Women of the ELCA executive board and therefore needs to be excused from serving on the conduct of elections committee.
• Update the nominee biographical forms to include all pertinent constitutional requirements (e.g., geographical location, age, person of color and/or person whose primary language is other than English, person of LGBTQIA+ community) to ensure that the organization is maintaining its commitment to inclusive representation.
• Distribute nominee biographical information from the nominating committee as part of the preconvention reports, in advance of the convention, in accordance with Article XI, Section 3, Item 3.

The board referred the following recommendations to the constitutional review committee:

• Utilize the existing policy for rank order voting process for the election of the Women of the ELCA Executive Board.
• When electing churchwide women’s organization officers, strive to ensure that each comes from a different region.

Board considers finances, tables budget vote

Treasurer Jennifer Armstrong-Schaefer reported that, as of August 2024, with one-third of FY (financial year) 2024 remaining, revenue is below expenses. Historically, most offerings come in toward the end of the year. “A lot of [WELCA] groups come back together in September and will start sending offerings,” Armstrong-Schaefer said. “As we gear up for Thankoffering service season, we hope to see a positive balance.”

The organization’s proposed $1.7 million budget for FY2025 is less than the current year’s operating budget, Hockenbery said. “I would not have structured the operating budget so conservatively if we didn’t have debt,” she explained. “One of [our] strategic priorities should be getting this organization to a place of financial sustainability. We’ve had a long history of relying on our endowment interest to pay our debts, but we’re getting to a place where we don’t have as much [endowment interest available] as we used to.”

After reviewing the FY2025 draft operating budget, the board agreed to table a vote for approval until its December 17, 2024, virtual meeting. This allows more time for board members to monitor end-of-the-year offerings and get a better picture of where the organization stands financially.

“We need to make it a priority to get a full understanding of our financial position,” said Myrna Wells-Ulland, board president. “Martin Luther called for the church to be semper reformanda, which means always reforming. I honestly think we’re at a point now of going through a reformation as an organization.”

Board schedules extra meetings.

In order to continue conversations about strategic planning, Triennial Planning, and the budget, the Board has decided to add meetings in November, December, and February.