The Synod’s operating fund ended the 2023 fiscal year with a surplus of approximately $141,000 compared to the $14,000 deficit that had been budgeted. This good news of a surplus more than offsets the $133,000 deficit that was experienced in 2022. The significant improvement from 2022 to 2023 is due primarily to fluctuations in investment returns, 2022 being a very poor year from that perspective and 2023 resulting in very positive returns.

The remainder of this report provides more details …

The Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (the “Eastern Synod”) Constitution provides that those congregations that are viable and sustainable have the authority to control their own income, expenses and assets. This assumes, of course, that these congregations satisfy applicable regulations and legal requirements (e.g. CRA1, trust law2, etc.) as well as other congregational and synodical constitutional and policy requirements. Questions frequently arise about the disbursement of any remaining assets, including land and buildings, when a congregation is no longer viable and approaching (or has reached) the end of its life. At times these assets can be quite significant in size. In response, the Eastern Synod enacts this policy to address those questions and to provide direction to congregations within the Eastern Synod.