CHICAGO--A decline in missions support from Evangelical Lutheran Church in America synods has resulted in decreased spending across the organization, according to a news release.

The Church Council put the brakes on the $81.5 million budget it authorized for 2004. They cut back $1.1 million this fiscal year. The churchwide organization, the sixth largest denomination in the U.S. has a new operating budget of $80.4 million.

According to Christina Jackson-Skelton, ELCA treasurer, about 80 percent of churchwide unrestricted operating revenue is mission support from the synods.

As a result of cutbacks, the ELCA eliminated 20 positions and reduced or cut funding for some programs, according to the Rev. Charles S. Miller, executive for administration and executive assistant to the ELCA presiding bishop.

The Council asked that the ELCA Office of the Presiding Bishop develop and propose a process to address the reductions in mission support.

The ELCA Conference of Bishops agreed to "encourage" each of the church's synods to maintain or increase their current giving percentage of mission support to the churchwide organization for fiscal 2004 and 2005.

The ELCA also reappropriated funds to increase a new mission funding initiative by $.7 million, according to Linda J. Brown, chair of the council's Budget and Finance Committee.

The Rev. Stephen P. Bouman, bishop of the ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod, told the council that synods are experiencing a drop in revenue, too.

As a result of the funding shortage the ELCA eliminated pay increases for churchwide employees, mission developers and missionaries in 2004.