20 Jul New Process for Church Assessments

Beginning in January, all local churches will send 3.5% of their income (minus mission giving, building funds, and estate income) directly to the United Brethren Offices. This is a new process. A second check will go to the conference to cover any continuing conference assessments (check with your conference superintendent on this). Details regarding procedures for sending in the amount to the UB Offices will be sent to all churches this fall. However, at this point, you could warn your church treasurer that this change is coming, and also use this information as you prepare your church’s 2006 budget.

20 Jul Central Conference Approves Dissolution

Central Conference, during its July 11-12 meeting, took action on a detailed plan developed by Superintendent Tom Brodbeck which will help bring the conference into alignment with the decisions of the US National Conference. Because of a pending lawsuit, Central Conference cannot dissolve the corporate yet. However, they took the following actions to downscale what the conference does and prepare for full implementation of the cluster system:

1. 1. The 2005 meeting will be the final annual meeting of the conference.
2. The current conference leaders–superintendent, district superintendents, conference council–will continue in office through the end of 2005.
3. The conference council will take care of any necessary business until the corporation can be dissolved.
4. The superintendent will focus primarily on helping the Healthy Church director organize cluster groups for Central Conference churches, working with Laurel Mission and the camps to develop organizational structures, processing any issues related to the lawsuit, and handling other administrative matters involved in preparing for the transition to the cluster system.
5. The conference council will focus mostly on giving final approval to the constitutions, deeds, and other documents needed for the camps, churches, and other Central Conference entities as they transition into the new structure, and will name a new superintendent and council of administration to serve beginning January 1, 2006.
6. Beginning January 1, 2006, the conference leadership will consist of a superintendent ($100 a month honorarium, plus expenses), and a council of administration consisting of the superintendent plus three clergy and three lay at-large members. They will have full authority to act on all matters related to the conference.
7. This resolution for dissolution was approved: “Resolved, that the Central Conference Council of Administration, acting on behalf of the churches and ministers of the Central Conference, be hereby authorized and directed to formally and officially dissolve the corporation known as Central Conference, Church of the United Brethren in Christ, USA, Inc., and incorporated in the states of Ohio and Indiana, upon the final resolution of all legal and financial obligations before the corporation.” Central Conference includes churches in Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky, but no incorporation was ever done for the Kentucky churches.
8. In 2006, churches will be assessed 1% of tithes and offerings to cover expenses, honorarium, and health insurance obligations. Funding for all conference ministries–the camps, Laurel Mission, and church planting–will end, as will the retiree health insurance benefit.

27 Jun 2005 US National Conference Report

The US National Conference, our highest governing body, met June 20-23 and adopted a number of major changes.

Rev. Ron Ramsey (above) was elected on June 23 as the new bishop of the US National Conference. He will take office on August 15. Bishop Ramsey has served as pastor of the Main Street UB church in Walbridge, Ohio, for the past 12 years. You can read his biographical information and vision statement online.

The Property referendum was passed. It gives local churches title to their property. In the past, such property has been held in trust by the denomination.
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13 Jan Denominational Finances in 2004

Giving toward denominational finances was very good in 2004. We received 96.8% of the general benevolence needs. Bishop Hirschy notes, “In light of the financial pressures created by rising insurance costs and the uncertainty surrounding the discussion about the Missionary Church, I view 96.8% as a very positive show of support from the local churches and the annual conferences for the US National Conference benevolence. I certainly want to express my thanks.”

13 Jan Hurricane Relief Funds

As of the end of December, we had received $85,951 for the three hurricane relief funds.

• $38,397 for Florida.
• $34,284 for Jamaica.
• $13, 269 for Haiti.

Persons who want to contribute toward tsunami relief are encouraged to give through World Relief, the relief organization of the National Association of Evangelicals. Or, people can designate money for relief work by our couple in India, who have been helping some victims of the tsunami.

14 Dec Results of the Referenda Voting

During October, UB members throughout the United States voted on three referendum items and elected laypersons and ministers to represent their conference at the June 2005 US National Conference.

Altogether, about 11,500 UB members in the United States voted.

• Referendum on Property. It passed with a strong 89% of the votes.
• Referendum on Joining the Missionary Church. It lost, with 57% of our members voting against it.
• Referendum on National Conference Representation. It passed, with 86% of the vote.

A referendum needs at least 50% of the votes in order to be passed along to the US National Conference. The Property and National Conference Representation referenda will now go to the 65 delegates next June; if two-thirds of them vote in favor of a referenda, it will become official.

Bishop Hirschy writes in his December Bmail newsletter, which was mailed today, “I do not see any reason why those two items should not pass the US National Conference….With this level of support, I will do everything I can to encourage the National Conference to pass those two items.”

The referendum on joining the Missionary Church, having received less than half of the votes, is dead and will not receive further consideration.

The UB website gives a complete report on the referendum results, with the number of votes and percentages listed according to conference. Every conference passed the Property and National Conference Representation referenda. The referendum on Joining the Missionary Church passed in only four conferences: Arizona, Michindoh, Sandusky, and Southeast.

In addition to voting on the referenda, UB people elected delegates to the National Conference. Members elected 62 persons as delegates, with between two and sixteen persons representing each conference (depending on the conference’s size). In addition, three elected officials (the Bishop, Director of Global Ministries, and Director of Education) are also voting members.

14 Dec Special National Board Meeting Called for Feb.

Since the referendum to join the Missionary Church failed, people are asking, “What happens now?” To help answer that question, Bishop Paul Hirschy has called a special meeting of the National Board on February 14 and 15. The meeting will start at 1 pm on Monday, the 14th, and conclude during the afternoon on Tuesday. It will be held at Huntington College.

Of the 65 members of the 2005 US National Conference, 24 also serve on the National Board (3 of them being elected officials). So a little over one-third of the National Board members will return for National Conference. All ELT members are also members of the National Board.

11 Nov Next Steps Regarding October Elections

Throughout October 2004, United Brethren members in the United States voted on these matters:Next

• Electing clergy and lay delegates to the 2005 national Conference.
• Voting “yes” or “no” on three referendum items, including the referendum to unite the UB churches in the United States with the Missionary Church USA.

The voting ended on October 31. Here are the next steps in the timeline, as stated in chapter 33 of the UB Discipline:

• November 15. The results from each church must be sent to the conference board of tellers, postmarked no later than November 15.
• December 1. The conference board of tellers will tally the results from the various churches, producing conference totals. Persons elected as delegates must be notified by December 1.
• December 15. The conference results must be sent, by December 15, to these persons: Bishop Paul Hirschy, the superintendent(s) of that conference, and each senior pastor in the conference.
• February 15. The bishop will publish the results of the election by this date. It allows time for any appeals or recounts.

Most likely, the results of the voting will be announced in late December. The results will be announced in the same way they were published in 1993, the last time we had a referendum. The referendum results from each conference will be posted, with three pieces of information for each referendum: the number of Yes votes, the number of No votes, and the percentage of Yes votes. The names of the delegates elected from each conference will also be posted.

If a referendum receives a simple majority of all votes cast in the United States churches, it can be passed along to the National Conference in 2005. The 65 delegates to the National Conference can, with a two-thirds vote, make a referendum official.

Information about the voting, as well as other information related to the 2005 US National Conference, can be found at this address.