Parochial Reports
*C9.12(b). The pastor of this congregation: shall
submit
a summary of such statistics annually to the synod.
The annual congregtion report (more commonly called known as "the
parochial report") is not merely an exercise in number crunching.
The data collected assists the congregation, the synod, and the
national church. "How?" you might ask. Let's take them one by one.
- The congregation benefits from periodic self-evaluation.
Demographics, financials, and other narrative information can be
an important part of self-evalutation. Even something as
apparently mundane as having correct contact information is
important; e.g., the contact information for your
congregation is part of the congregation lookup system that
people do use to locate potential new church homes when they
relocate. The information gathered can also be very important in
the call process as both your call committee and potential
candidates will want those numbers. N.B., candidates
have turned down invitations to interview because the
congregations presented did not have parochial reports for
several years in a row.
- The synod benefits not only in its call process work but also
in its budget development and subsequent mission support
formula. Old data, espeically when it reports larger membership
or stronger financial health, usually hurts a congregation
because the synod sets mission support based upon those numbers.
Accurate data is also important in the development of
cooperative agreements, grant applications, and the proactive
delivery of services. Allocation of voting members to Churchwide
Assembly is also based upon reported demographics.
- The national church benefits from accurate data in the same
way that the synod does.
Parochial Report 2022: Advance materials
mailed Dec. 13
On 13 December 2022, the Office of the Secretary of the ELCA
sent to congregations an email with advance information related to
parochial reports. Assuming you have regularly updated your
congregation's email contact information, you have received this
email describing the annual congregation report process and key
dates for the new data year. The email included a link to a
landing page with generic versions of the 2022 versions of Form A
and Form C, the instructions to complete the forms, and the
financial worksheet (available as a PDF and a fillable Excel
file). These items as well as a FAQ are posted on the ELCA's Annual
Congregation Report page. If you have not seen it in your
inbox, check your spam.
The 13 December 2022 email did not contain the passwords
congregations use to file their 2022 reports online. These passwords
will be sent as part of a packet sent to congregations and
communities through regular the mail. This mailed packet should
arrive during the second week of January.
The Office of the Secretary expects the online system for 2022 to
open during the second week of January.
[ Back to Congregations Page ]
West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod, ℅ St. Paul Lutheran Church,
309 Baldwin Street, Morgantown, WV 26505
304-363-4030 + Porter@WV-WMD.org
Last updated: 8 January 2023