The Anglican Church of Canada says they have seen the biggest drop in giving since 1994 as local dioceses struggle to meet financial commitments. 

The financial report was given on Monday, July 15 at the church's General Synod in Vancouver, BC. It shows that revenue fell by seven per cent in 2018 to $11.1 million. At the same time, their expense rose more than $400,000 to $11.8 million.

Fraser Lawton, bishop of the diocese of Athabasca and a member of the financial management committee, told General Synod that in total the Anglican Church's deficit in 2018 was $735,322.

Lawton says that the decrease in giving comes mostly from a decline in proportional gifts from the dioceses.

The Anglican Journal explains that proportional gifts are "money they forward to the national church every year, which makes up 83% of the church’s revenue. In 2018, proportional gifts sank to $7,898,264 from $8,416,738 the previous year—a total decline of $519,000, the audited financial statement for 2018 shows."

“This was a cause for some discussion, and certainly catches our attention,” Lawton says. “Seven dioceses decreased their contributions to General Synod, and the evidence is that dioceses are struggling to meet their proportional giving commitments.”

Expenses are expected to continue to increase for the national church and Lawton says the committee will continue to discuss how to navigate lower giving.