The economy and pledging to the church

A general overview abut how the current crisis in the economy is affecting giving.

However, many churches rely on income from investments for their financial health and are already slashing their 2009 budgets.

Kurt Barnes, treasurer of the 2.2 million-member Episcopal Church, said the value of the denomination's endowment funds, which cover 5 percent of the annual budget, have declined by 30 percent this year. Some staff at Episcopal headquarters in New York offered to take a pay freeze, but church administrators declined, saying it wouldn't be fair to the employees.

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