The Diocese of Nevada adopted a balanced budget of $612,100 at its 30th annual convention Oct. 13-15 in Reno.

The budget calls for the elimination of two currently vacant positions for diocesan regional vicars, and restored $13,410 for campus ministry at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

The diocesan convention was held at Harrah's Hotel and Casino with Trinity Church, Reno, as the host. Diocesan business was kept to a minimum at the convention, which also elected the Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori as bishop [TLC, Nov. 5].

Diocesan treasurer Allan Duke also noted that several parishes had volunteered to participate in a special giving program called the "Silver Dollar Plan." Those parishes will pay the diocese an extra $1 per week for each member to help alleviate the diocese's tight financial condition.

The diocese will continue to have three regional vicars, two based in Las Vegas and one in northern Nevada. Two other positions, one for central Nevada and one for the northeast, became vacant during the year and will not be filled.

The convention voted to close two parishes in rural communities where membership had dropped to a handful of communicants. Those parishes were Good Shepherd, Beatty, and St. Philip's in the Desert, Hawthorne.