United Church of God, an International Association
Council of Elders Quarterly Meeting Report
Milford, Ohio
Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Chairman Len Martin called the morning session to order at 9 a.m. Eastern and the meeting was opened with prayer by Rex Sexton. Eleven Council of Elders (Council) members were present, Brian Shaw connected via Zoom.

The Council immediately went into the scheduled executive session to discuss the following:

• Doctrine Committee Updates (submitted study papers for review)
• Legal Updates

At 12 p.m. the Council took a break for lunch.
At 1 p.m. Chairman Martin called the Council to order.
At 1:20 p.m. the executive session ended.
Paul Wasilkoff presented the next item on the agenda, a review of the proposed Sanctity of Marriage study paper. Mr. Wasilkoff began by stating the purpose and background of the study paper. He then led a line-by-line review of the proposed paper, pausing as needed for comments, questions, and suggestions. After a lengthy discussion, it was determined that the paper be remanded back to the Education Committee for a rewrite with the suggested edits, then presented during a future meeting.

Rex Sexton then presented the next item on the agenda: proposed updates to Member Appeal Committee procedure documents. Mr. Sexton explained that it was determined that three separate documents needed to be reviewed and edited as conflicts were found. The three documents are as follows:

• Member Appeal Scopes and Responsibilities
• Procedure for Member Appeal to the Council of Elders
• Member Appeal to the Council of Elders Form

Mr. Sexton then presented each document with the suggested changes and edits. As he presented each document, he opened the floor for any comments, questions, or suggestions. The Ethics Committee (EC) will edit the documents, Larry Darden will review them, and the EC will present them for approval.

At 5:40 p.m. the Council took a break for dinner.
At 6:30 p.m. Chairman Martin called the Council to order and went into planned executive session to discuss the following:

• Ballot on ordination/credentialing requests
• Feedback on Feast of Tabernacles

At 8 p.m. the executive session ended, and the Council adjourned for the day.

Thursday, December 7, 2023

Chairman Len Martin called the morning session to order at 9 a.m. Eastern and the meeting was opened with prayer by Steve Myers. Ten Council of Elders (Council) members were present, Brian Shaw was connected via Zoom. Tim Pebworth joined the meeting late.

Chairman Martin reviewed the revised agenda for the day. He then introduced the first item on the agenda, the status of the study paper “Reconciliation and Matthew 18.”

Brian Shaw then led a discussion to find out why this study paper was removed. He questioned if it’s being updated, and if so, which committee has it been remanded to. It was decided that this would be discussed in further detail during the executive session later in the day.

Scott Ashley then presented a proposed resolution regarding the Media Committee of the Council and the Content Committee of the administration, intending to appoint a member of the Media Committee onto the Content Committee. Mr. Ashley gave a background on the intent of the Committee and the purpose of the proposed resolution. Mr. Ashley then presented the resolution and asked Darris McNeely to share his thoughts as the Manager of the Content Committee. Mr. Ashley then opened the floor for any questions or comments. It was determined that the resolution was not needed and was abandoned.

Chairman Martin then introduced the next item on the agenda: a proposed edit to the list of reviewers for UCG publications and media efforts. The additions were unanimously approved.

Darris McNeely then presented the next item on the agenda, the Facilities Outside Use Policy-US Congregations. Mr. McNeely presented the updated policy with all the edits and suggestions from earlier in the week. He also stated that the updated policy had been reviewed by Larry Darden. He then presented the updated policy and opened the floor for any questions or comments. Chairman Martin moved that the policy be accepted as presented with all edits. The Facilities Use Policy was unanimously approved.

Mr. McNeely then presented the Council’s statement on the proposed amendment to Bylaw 10.6, (Annual Budgeting of Unrestricted Cash). He first reviewed the current bylaw and then read the proposed Amendment and Statement of Justification. Mr. McNeely then opened the floor for any questions or comments. After edits were made, Mr. McNeely read the statement in full.

Chairman Martin moved that the Amendment and the Statement of Justification be accepted as presented with all edits. Both were approved.

Chairman Martin then led a discussion concerning the dates of the upcoming Council meetings. The dates agreed upon for future meetings are:

• February 26-29, 2024
• May 7-9, 2024
• August 12-15, 2024
• December 9-12, 2024
• February 24-27, 2025
• May 6-8, 2025

At 11:12 a.m. the Council went into planned executive session.
At 12:25 p.m. the executive session ended and the Council adjourned the COE meetings.

-end-
Council Reporter
Ryan Hall

[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.]
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