United Church of God, an International Association
Council of Elders Quarterly Meeting Report
Milford, Ohio

Tuesday, May 7, 2024

Chairman Len Martin called the morning session to order at 9 a.m. Eastern, and the meeting was opened with prayer by Deputy Chairman, Aaron Dean. All twelve Council of Elders (Council) members were present.

Chairman Martin began with a few opening comments and then presented the last Council meetings minutes which were unanimously approved. He then reviewed the week’s agenda and turned the floor to the Committee Chairs to present their reports.

Committee Chairman Reports:
Doctrine Committee (DC)—Mario Seiglie

Mr. Seiglie began by stating that the DC has concluded a study of the paper, “The Day and Date of Jesus Christ’s Death.” He mentioned that after a careful review, it was unanimously not accepted by the DC and will not move forward. Mr. Seiglie then mentioned that the DC will present the following projects later this week:

• Paper on the term “Forsaken” as used in Matthew:27:46And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? along with the input received from seven veteran ministers.
• A possible edit to the study guide booklet, “The Rapture vs. the Bible.”
• The review of the study paper on Voting and Participating in Politics.

Before concluding his presentation, Mr. Seiglie mentioned additional projects that are currently on the DC’s docket:

• Paper on the Defense of Innocent Life.
• Prophetic paper on Pentecost and the Return of Jesus Christ.

Members on the DC: Scott Ashley, Jorge de Campos, Darris McNeely, Mario Seiglie (chair) and Rex Sexton.

Education Committee (EC)—Brian Shaw

Mr. Shaw reported that the EC met on April 18, 2024, to discuss the input they had received concerning the “Holy Convocation” paper. He mentioned that the input was used to edit the paper and the modified paper will be presented later this morning. Mr. Shaw also noted that no additional work has been done on the “The Sanctity of Marriage” paper due to giving priority to the “Holy Convocation” paper

Members on the EC: Jorge de Campos, Aaron Dean, Brian Shaw (chair), and Paul Wasilkoff.

Ethics Committee—Rex Sexton

Mr. Sexton began by stating that due to busy schedules, the Ethics committee has not met since the February meetings. He then presented the two tasks remanded to the Ethics committee:

• The issue of the UCG Ministerial forum used by an international minister to promote teachings contrary to our official teaching. This is now being reviewed by the (DC) and the EC is awaiting their report.
• Review the proposal of a change in eligibility to serve on the Media committee to avoid any possible conflict of interest. He reported that the EC agreed to defer this assignment until the August meetings due to the crowded agenda for the May meetings.

Mr. Sexton then mentioned that the director of MMS has requested that the Ethics committee review and edit the Scopes and Responsibilities and Procedures for the Expelled Elder Appeal Committee. He stated that the purpose of this request was to bring everything into harmony with the recently revised documents for the Member Appeal Committee and to add clarity if the committee is ever needed. He ended his presentation by stating that this request will be proposed to the COE later this week.

Members of the Ethics Committee: Aaron Dean, Dan Dowd, Mario Seiglie, Rex Sexton (chair) and Paul Wasilkoff.

Media Committee (MC)—Victor Kubik

Mr. Kubik reported that the MC has not held any meetings since the February Council meetings and that the MC has nothing to report at this time.

Members of the Media Committee (MC): Scott Ashley, Jorge de Campos, Victor Kubik (chair), Tim Pebworth, and Paul Wasilkoff.

Strategic Planning and Finance Committee (SPFC)—Darris McNeely

Mr. McNeely reported that SPFC has not held any meetings since the February Council meetings. However, he mentioned that the SPFC did confer via email on the “Travel Policy” that will be presented later this morning. Before ending his presentation, Mr. McNeely mentioned that the SPFC will present an additional item later today during the executive session.'

Members of the SPFC: Aaron Dean, Darris McNeely (chair), Victor Kubik, Tim Pebworth, and Brian Shaw

Roles and Rules Committee (RRC)—Dan Dowd

Mr. Dowd began by stating that the Roles and Rules Committee is a standing committee of the Council of Elders; its overall responsibility is to monitor administrative policies and procedures so that organizational, Constitutional, Bylaw, and legal requirements and standards are complied with.

Mr. Dowd then reported that the RRC did not meet in person but conferred via email over a few items since February. He then presented the following updates on the work of the RRC: He began by stating that they have five, still outstanding, potential policy revisions remanded to the RRC.

• 1.8.5: Appeal for Removed Website Content.
• 4.4.3: Sexual Misconduct and related policies.
• 1.7.6: Admittance to the General Conference of Elders.
• Working with the Doctrine Committee regarding any proposed edits or changes to their Scopes and Responsibilities.
• A review and discussion with the Council regarding Point 12 in the Elder Recommendation Policy [4.5.1.1].

Mr. Dowd noted that these policies will not be discussed during these meetings – mostly due to time with the shorter May Council meetings. The Roles and Rules Committee will be ready to present these items for discussion at the August Council meetings. He then presented what will be presented during this week of Council meetings:

• Lead the discussion regarding the annual assessment of the President.
• Lead the discussion regarding the annual assessment of the Secretary.
• The Doctrinal Advisory Committee has a seat term expiring and will need to be filled.
• The Prophecy Advisory Committee has a seat term expiring and will need to be filled.
• The Employment Committee needs some repopulating.
• After this current Council’s business concludes on Thursday, will assist the Secretary in the discussion regarding the appointment of a new Chairman of the Council and the GCE.
• Populate committees of the Council once the new Council is seated.
• Clean-up of SharePoint site.

After presenting his report, Mr. Dowd then read the process of how to select a new Chairman of the COE after a term has expired as well as the expectations for the position that each member must consider.

Members on the RRC: Scott Ashley, Dan Dowd (chair), Tim Pebworth

Chairman Martin made a few comments and then turned the floor over to Brian Shaw for the next item on the agenda: the presentation of the proposed Holy Convocation paper.

Mr. Shaw began by thanking the Council and GCE for the input they received since the last Council meetings. He then gave a short review of why this paper was proposed and its purpose. After the revised paper was read in its entirety, Mr. Shaw opened the floor for any questions, comments, and/or suggestions. After a thorough discussion, it was decided that the EC take the suggestions and comments that were offered, and resubmit the edited paper by Thursday for Council approval. 

Chairman Martin then turned the floor over to Darris McNeely to discuss the next item on the agenda, the proposed revision of the Travel Policy.

Mr. McNeely proceeded to give a quick overview of the current policy. He then explained that this particular policy was approved by the Council and has not been altered since its approval. However, Mr. McNeely further explained that some feel that in its original form, it’s causing concern and confusion within the field ministry. He then mentioned that what’s being presented at this point is for clarification purposes only and not a revision of the policy. He stated that the concern seems to be generated by confusion on the differences between our Travel Policy and Reimbursement Policy. Mr. McNeely asked Joe Green (HR Manager) to give a few comments on this matter for further clarification. Mr. McNeely then opened the floor for any questions and comments. It was decided that the Travel policy was good as stated and that no edits were needed.

Darris McNeely then presented the next item on the agenda, a discussion on the Local Church Building Policy. He began by explaining that there was no need to alter the policy, but due to a recent purchase, a few questions concerning certain details within the policy needed to be addressed. He then presented the policy along with the questions and opened the floor up for discussion. It was decided to remand the policy to the committee to clarify the concerns by creating an analytic frame that contains consistency, clarity, and transparency for the purchasing of local buildings and its impact on the church’s resources. Chairman Martin moved to accept the proposed remand and it was unanimously passed.

Charles Melear then presented the next item on the agenda, an overview of the GCE Planning Committee’s report. Mr. Melear began by presenting a handout with a few statistics comparing this year’s attendance in comparison to previous years’ attendance. He then presented his personal thoughts along with feedback from the committee. He mentioned that the Holiday Inn staff were very appreciative of the conference and the members who attended. Mr. Melear then presented the dates of the 2025 GCE. He ended his presentation by opening the floor for any questions or comments. The Council offered some suggestions to consider for next year’s GCE along with positive feedback.

Peter Eddington then presented the next item on the agenda, a report on sermon downloads. He began by passing out a document that outlined the last twelve months’ statistics for the UCG YouTube sermon page, Beyond Today YouTube page, ucg.org website, and other Media statistics. Mr. Eddington then explained each section and opened the floor up for any comments or questions.

At 12:03 p.m. the Council took a break for lunch.

Chairman Martin called the Council to order at 1:30 p.m. and immediately went into the scheduled executive session for the remainder of the day to discuss the following:

• Ordination/credentialing requests.
• Annual review of the President.

At 6:35 p.m. the Council came out of executive session and adjourned for the day.

Wednesday, May 8, 2024

Chairman Len Martin called the morning session to order at 9 a.m. Eastern and the meeting was opened with prayer by Brian Shaw. All twelve Council of Elders (Council) members were present.

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

• Legal updates.
• Populating Subcommittees.
• Doctrine Committee update.
• Annual review of Secretary.
• Ballot on ordination/credentialing requests.

At 12 p.m. the Council took a break for lunch.

At 4:53 p.m. the Council took a break for dinner.

At 6:30 p.m. the executive session ended and the Council adjourned for the day.

Thursday, May 9, 2024

Chairman Len Martin called the morning session to order at 9 a.m. Eastern and the meeting was opened with prayer by John Elliott. All twelve Council of Elders (Council) members were present.

Chairman Martin reviewed the day’s agenda and presented the first item to discuss. Mr. Martin read a request by Steve Myers (operation manager of Ministerial and Member services) to remand to the Ethics committee a review of the Scopes and Responsibilities of the Expelled Elder Appeal Committee documents (Pastor Policy manual 1.7.3 and 1.7.4) with the goal of bringing them into agreement with the recently revised documents of the Member Appeal Committee. The request was approved.

Chairman Martin proceeded to the next item on the agenda, proposing a resolution to remand the editing of a statement within our “The Rapture vs. the Bible” booklet to the Doctrine Committee. Mr. Martin then read the resolution. Dan Dowd moved to approve the resolution as read, it was unanimously passed.

Chairman Martin then turned the floor over to Brian Shaw to present the “Holy Convocation” study paper with the suggested edits that were received from the earlier meetings as well as additional input from MMS.

Mr. Shaw proceeded to explain that the edits made were to the introduction and conclusion sections of the study paper. Mr. Shaw then read the edited sections, then opened the floor for comments and questions. After additional edits were made, Mr. Shaw moved that the study paper be accepted as edited and sent to Peter Eddington for further edits and proofing; it unanimously passed.

Chairman Martin then presented Brian Shaw a gift for his years of service on the Council. Mr. Shaw then shared his gratitude and personal thoughts about the opportunity granted to him to serve on the Council of Elders.

Deputy Chairman Aaron Dean presented a gift to Chairman Martin for his four years of service as the Chairman of the Council. Mr. Martin then gave a few personal comments about his years of service as chairman.

At 8:53 a.m. the Council adjourned the 2023-2024 Council meetings.

At 9:01 a.m., as required in Bylaw 8.3.1, Secretary Frank Dunkle opened the 2024-2025 Council meetings with John Elliott seated on the new Council. Len Martin opened with prayer.

Secretary Dunkle then asked the Council members who wanted their names to be removed for consideration for the office of Chairman. Before the ballots were cast, the Council took some personal time to reflect. At 9:34 a.m. the Council then prepared to nominate and ballot. Frank Dunkle opened the process with prayer.

The Secretary then conducted the balloting process for the office of the Chairman. Tim Pebworth was elected Chairman of the Council of Elders.

Secretary Dunkle then asked the Council members who wanted their names to be removed for consideration for the office of Deputy Chairman. Before the ballots were cast, the Council once again took some personal time to reflect. At 10 a.m. the Council then prepared to nominate and ballot. Tim Pebworth opened the process with prayer.

The Secretary then conducted the balloting process for the office of Deputy Chairman. Rex Sexton was elected Deputy Chairman of the Council of Elders.

At 10:17 a.m. the meeting was adjourned.

At 10:18 a.m. Chairman Pebworth called a new meeting to order to populate the committees of the Council and select their respective chairs. He took time to make a few personal comments about being selected as the new Chairman of the Council of Elders.

Chairman Pebworth then turned the floor over to Dan Dowd to lead a discussion concerning the population of committees. He began by giving a quick overview of the process and went through the committees to determine who desired to continue or step down from each of the committees. Mr. Dowd then proceeded with the process of repopulating the vacant spots. Each committee then privately met to appoint a chair.

The following are the updated committees and their chairmen:

• Doctrine Committee: Jorge de Campos, John Elliott, Mario Seiglie (chair) and Rex Sexton.
• Education Committee: Aaron Dean, Jorge de Campos, John Elliott (chair), Darris McNeely, and Paul Wasilkoff.
• Ethics Committee: Aaron Dean, Dan Dowd, Mario Seiglie, and Rex Sexton (chair).
• Executive Committee: (pending decision of new Chairman).
• Media and Communications Committee: Scott Ashley, Jorge de Campos, Len Martin, Victor Kubik, and Paul Wasilkoff (chair).
• Roles and Rules Committee: Scott Ashley, Dan Dowd (chair), and Len Martin.
• Strategic Planning and Finance Committee: Scott Ashley, Aaron Dean, Len Martin, Darris McNeely (chair), and Victor Kubik.

Mr. Dowd moved to approve each committee as they are populated. All committee assignments passed. Mr. Dowd turned the floor over to Chairman Pebworth.

At 11 a.m. the Council ended business and adjourned the meeting.
-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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