In the Presbyterian Church USA system of governance, each member congregation is assessed a per member (aka per capita) amount to support the work of the church through its three governing levels.  Presbyteries (ours is Winnebago Presbytery) get 64%, and synods (ours is the Synod of Lakes & Prairies) get 14.5% while the General Assembly (national ruling body) gets 21.5% of the per capita assessment.  The concept of equitable sharing of the financial burden of running the church has existed since the early 1800’s and our congregation has supported this assessment over the years as an appropriate way to assist the denomination pay for its operations .  This per capita covers the cost of operating these three separate entities and their various committees and commissions along with funding the annual General Assembly Meeting.

Our church will pay $30.38 early in 2012 for each member we have on our rolls.  The total dollar amount is a significant dollar payout early in the year and for that reason we ‘ask’ that each pledging unit consider paying their per capita separate and apart from their annual pledge or their intended annual contributions to our local church.   Our budget for 2012 could receive significant relief if each member would make a commitment to pay their per capita separately through a check made out to our local church designating it as a per capita payment.  We thank each member for this consideration.