Council of Elders Meeting in San Diego California
United Church of God, an International Association
Council of Elders Meeting Report
February 26, 27 and 28, 2007 – San Diego, CA
The Council spent nearly all of Monday and Tuesday (February 26 and 27) in closed session. Details of these sessions will be communicated in the near future. The meetings went into open session briefly and the Council passed one resolution on each of those days. The final meeting of the session was on Wednesday morning, February 28.
Monday, February 26
In the meeting on Friday, February 23, Council discussed the need to revise its "Local Congregations Webcasting Guidelines" policy. Peter Eddington presented an edited version, which includes statements about on-demand audio and video of sermons and expands the policy to include national offices. Clyde Kilough offered a resolution to adopt the policy, which the Council unanimously approved.
Tuesday, February 27
Mr. Kilough presented a resolution to include the banking and investment manager as a signatory on the Church's bank account (in addition to the president, treasurer and secretary). The Council unanimously adopted the resolution.
Wednesday, February 28
Robert Dick called the meeting to order at 9 a.m. He stated that there were a few housekeeping items to complete, as well as the finalizing of documents that will be included in the call-and-notice packet for the upcoming annual meeting of the General Conference of Elders in May.
Nomination Process
In the meeting last Friday, February 23, Bill Eddington introduced a suggestion to change the nomination process. Mr. Eddington proposed that, rather than asking for their name to be removed from the nomination list, elders should have an opportunity to indicate that they are willing to be nominated. This approach, he said, would reduce the size of the nomination list and assure that those whose names are on it are willing to be nominated and elected to the Council. This change in the process could be accomplished by a change to the documentation that goes out at the first stage of the nomination process.
Mr. Eddington presented Council with a detailed description of the process and a resolution to place the proposal before the General Conference of Elders for their consideration at the annual meeting. Eleven Council members voted in favor of the resolution; Joel Meeker voted against. The details of the proposed new process will be included in the call-and-notice packet for the annual meeting.
Approval of Planning Documents
Mr. Dick called on Tom Kirkpatrick, who gained Council approval of a cover memo that will accompany the proposed 2007-2008 budget.
The Council unanimously approved the Strategic Plan, Operation Plan and budget. Those documents will be included in the call-and-notice packet for the GCE meeting for elders' review and will be voted on in the business meeting on May 6.
Adjustment to August Council Meeting
Due to an unforeseen conflict, the scheduled meeting for August 2007 was modified. The date for the meeting will now be August 5 to 8, 2007.
Committee Considerations
At the meetings in December 2006, the Council started the process of reorganizing its committee structure. One remaining issue is that the Ethics, Roles and Rules Committee, chaired by Joel Meeker, has a disproportionate amount of work compared to the other committees. Mr. Dick requested that the ERR Committee analyze its workload and, by the August 2007 meetings, report back to the Council with recommendations on how it can be restructured into two committees, each with a manageable workload.
Good News Subtitle
Mr. Kilough revisited an earlier discussion on a possible change to The Good News subtitle. Peter Eddington projected images of mock-ups of two options: "The Good News—Hope Beyond Today's Troubled World" and "The Good News—Hope Beyond Today's World." A third option was also presented, "The Good News—Beyond Today's Troubled World."
Larry Salyer commented that it would be better to take more time to make this decision. Mr. Kilough agreed that, while a change does need to be made, it is not urgent that it be done at this meeting. He tabled the topic until the next Council meetings, in May.
GCE Exit Poll
Mr. Dick asked the Council members if they felt changes to the exit poll taken at the conclusion of each General Conference of Elders would be helpful, in terms of gathering appropriate information. Bill Eddington suggested that it might be more helpful to send the poll via e-mail to all elders after the meetings, rather than having them fill it out before they leave. Other Council members agreed, that this approach might result in more participation and would give the elders more time to consider their responses. Dave Johnson commented that there is a way to take the poll electronically and still be anonymous. Mr. Dick said he would discuss the suggestion with Dave Register, chairman of the GCE Planning Task Force.
Don Henson
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