United Church of God, an International Association

Council of Elders Quarterly Meeting Report

Videoconference

Monday, May 4, 2020

Chairman Don Ward called the morning session to order at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, and the meeting was opened with prayer. All 12 Council of Elders (Council) members were present online. This Council quarterly meeting was done by videoconference because of the coronavirus.

Chairman Ward welcomed everyone online, including the new incoming Council members, John Elliott and John Miller. The last Council meeting minutes were approved from the February meetings. The agenda for the week was also approved.

President’s Report—Victor Kubik

President Victor Kubik greeted everyone and answered submitted questions from Council members through this section of the meetings. President Kubik commented on the coronavirus health issues and also the concern for the economy. We need to be aware of this and prepare for possible consequences as a Church.

How is the United Church of God (UCG) reacting to the coronavirus crisis? The safety of our brethren has been our number one priority and we are striving to keep our members from danger.

Here are some of the questions submitted to President Kubik:

What has the administration seen during the coronavirus that the UCG should give more attention to?

Answer: We have done well canceling services when we did. We had a meeting with pastors and are staying in tune with government officials in regards to reopening.

What is the UCG doing well during this coronavirus?

Answer: We are doing well in communication.

What can the UCG do better?

Answer: We can have better contact with the community.

What are some opportunities during this time?

Answer: We can preach the gospel in a more stressed environment which is usually more effective. We need to preach all aspects of the gospel message that are seen in Acts:3:19-26[19]Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.[20]And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:[21]Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.[22]For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.[23]And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.[24]Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.[25]Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.[26]Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities..

We cannot have a studio audience for the Beyond Today episodes at this point, so it may be a good time to look at a different format to point to God’s truth. We shouldn’t waste this opportunity. We know God is leading His Church.

We need to look at ways to cut finances when and where possible for best case and worse case scenarios.

President Kubik concluded by mentioning that the home office continues to function effectively during this time even though only a few were there in person.

Committee Chairman Reports:

Media and Communications Committee—Scott Ashley

This committee previewed Peter Eddington’s media report before it was given at the General Conference of Elders (GCE) meetings on Sunday, May 3. The committee was encouraged by Mr. Eddington’s statistics.

Education Committee—Aaron Dean

Ambassador Bible College (ABC) had to go to webcasting classes. They were prepared for webcasting because each year ABC has a session prior to winter for the students to connect online for any snow days that could cancel travel to the home office classroom.

The only item assigned to the Education Committee (EC) is an article on our hymnal for the United News, which was remanded to the EC in the December 2019 meetings.

Jorge de Campos asked how the progress has been for putting the correspondence courses and quizzes online that was discussed from the February 2020 meetings. Peter Eddington mentioned the first lesson and first quiz are almost finalized.

Len Martin asked what the status is of the online Bible commentary for the New Testament. Many members have asked about it and enjoyed the Old Testament commentary from years ago. Peter Eddington said formatting is a big question right now. Tom Robinson has been busy working on this project.

Scott Ashley said he is working on a harmony of the Gospels that can be posted online and used for studying the Gospels side-by-side in the Bible reading program. He is about one-third of the way through this project. The owner of the publishing rights for the New King James Version (NKJV) has refused permission for us to use the NKJV in this way, so we will likely be using the New English Translation (NET) for this project.

Mr. de Campos asked how accurate the New English Translation is because it is not based on the Majority Text.

Mr. Ashley said he has not seen any significant differences from the NET and the NKJV in the Gospels so far. If there are any significant differences they will be noted in the commentary of those sections.

Ethics Committee—Dan Dowd

There are no pending matters before this committee since the February meetings, so there has been no need to have a committee meeting.

Roles and Rules Committee—Rainer Salomaa

This committee has completed all the tasks for this Council year. The GCE approved documents will be posted online.

Doctrine Committee—Mario Seiglie

The Doctrine Committee (DC) is presently involved in reviewing the last four doctrinal projects on the docket and no new projects have come in. There are no projects ready to be presented to the Council at this time. Some of the remaining projects are lengthy and will take some time to completely review.

In the last few months, all the vacancies for the Doctrinal Advisory Committee and the Prophecy Advisory Committee were filled with alternates from the GCE that were approved by the Council.

Strategic Planning and Finance Committee—Bob Dick

One of the items since the February meetings to review is the retirement policy, but this has been put on hold for now with the recent coronavirus.

Reviewing Current Council Guidelines—Rainer Salomaa

Rainer Salomaa led the review with the Council of the guidelines and process for nominating and electing the Council Chairman and Deputy Chairman in years when regular terms expire. Mr. Salomaa went through the current documents to help clarify any questions.

The Council discussed how this would be done over videoconferencing. The Council along with the Secretary unanimously decided the best procedure for this unique situation.

The Council took a break at 1:15 p.m. for lunch for 45 minutes.

Criteria to be an International Nominee or Representative for the Council—Rainer Salomaa

Mr. Salomaa went through the proposed criteria to be an International Nominee or Representative for the Council. The proposed document was discussed with some minor edits for grammar. The criteria are to determine whether the elder’s primary work is in the United States or in international areas. The Secretary of the Council, in consultation with the Chairman of the Council, the President and Operation Manager for MMS, will make the decision together. If all four don’t agree then it will be brought to the Council to decide. The document was discussed and unanimously approved by the Council. The document will be posted in the online GCE library.

Amendment Committee Vacancies—Rainer Salomaa

Mr. Salomaa went through the recommendations for filling the Amendment Committee and alternates after two terms expire on June 30, 2020. The Council discussed them and unanimously approved the recommendations for the Amendment Committee. [Those on the Amendment Committee: Matthew Fenchel, Gerhard Marx, Scott Moss, Don Turgeon and Keith Wilson (chair). Alternates: Scott Delameter and Harvey Wierenga]

Doctrine Committee Update—Mario Seiglie

Mario Seiglie briefly reviewed the last four projects that are still being reviewed by the DC. There are currently no papers ready to present to the Council.

Updated HR Policy 2.14—Chris Rowland

Chris Rowland presented to the Council an updated HR Policy based on a recommendation from our liability insurance company for a policy to address drug and alcohol testing. The updated HR Policy 2.14 “Zero Tolerance Policy on Alcohol Abuse, Drugs and Smoking” was discussed for about 20 minutes with edits. The Council unanimously approved the updated HR Policy, which will be posted in the Human Resources Policies and Procedures Manual on the Employee website. Mr. Rowland will provide the updated policy to our insurance carrier.

The Council went into to executive session at 3:06 p.m. for the annual review of the secretary and the annual review of the president.

The Council adjourned at 5:32 p.m.

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Chairman Don Ward called the morning session to order at 11:12 a.m. Eastern, and the meeting was opened with prayer. All 12 Council of Elders (Council) members were present online. This Council quarterly meeting was done by videoconference because of the coronavirus.

The Council began in executive session to go through the legal updates from Larry Darden.

The Council came into open session at 11:48 a.m.

Honoring Council Members and Chairman for Services Rendered—Bob Dick

Those presented with a token of appreciation:

Rainer and Claudia Salomaa

Don and Wanda Ward

Chairman Don Ward was also thanked for his four years as chairman

Deputy Chair Bob Dick expressed the Council’s appreciation for the service they had all rendered, which was followed by personal comments by each of those receiving the honors.

The 2019-2020 Council adjourned.

Selection of the Council Chairman and Deputy Chairman for 2020-2022—Frank Dunkle

The new Council was called to order with John Elliott and John Miller added to the roster.

Secretary Frank Dunkle led the special meeting with the selection of the chairman and deputy chairman.

The Council Chairman for 2020-2022 is Len Martin.

The Deputy Chairman for 2020-2022 is Aaron Dean.

This is the only set of business to be engaged in during this specific May meeting. The Council will meet via videoconference in a couple of weeks to populate its committees and choose chairmen for those committees.

The Council adjourned at 4:11 p.m.

-end-

Council Reporter

Shawn Cortelyou

[These are not the official minutes from the Council meeting. Elders can find those at the Home Office with the Council Secretary. Video recordings are posted for the elders on the UCG Ministerial Resource Site.]

© 2020 United Church of God, an International Association