Churches may get up to 18 additional months for discernment
Churches that choose to become independent will not “share in liquid asset distribution,” according to a report released today by the yearly meeting transition team. The team met Saturday, June 3, to continue work on the restructure of Northwest Yearly Meeting.
Camp boards of Tilikum, Quaker Hill, Quaker Cove and Twin Rocks reported changes they anticipate in light of the NWYM restructure. Boards of George Fox University and Friendsview Retirement Community will be asked to provide similar reports.
Dave Green, Silas Olson, Roger Watson and Gordon Crisman were named to work out the details of a possible fiduciary trust.
Churches that haven’t discerned whether to stay with the yearly meeting or leave the yearly meeting by June 30, 2018, “should notify the Administrative Council for up to an 18-month extension.” Churches still in “process as of December 2019” may request additional time, and the Administrative Council will make decisions about such requests “on a case by case basis.”
Click here for the full report.
Group hopes to avoid splitting ‘non-theological’ assets
A report from the yearly meeting transition team, released yesterday, identified one research item, one item of discussion, three recommendations and one next step. Two of the recommendations in the 278-word document were clarifications from the working group’s last report.
The transition team identified a fiduciary trust as an ongoing research focus. The trust would allow Northwest Yearly Meeting and the new coalition of monthly meetings to avoid splitting as-yet-undefined assets by “holding certain assets that are non-theological in nature” and distributing the dividends of these assets proportionally between the two groups.
Superintendent Retha McCutchen has not yet responded to an emailed request for clarification as to which assets might be included in this trust, and according to one member of the group, others are remaining “silent, at least for the time being, in agreement with the stated policy” of the transition team. McCutchen confirmed in an earlier email that “the group decided that I would be the spokesperson for all communication from the group and its work.”
The three recommendations from the transition team are “to the Administrative Council.” Earlier language from Presiding Clerk Brad Holton said the team would report to the council, leaving some ambiguity about what deliberative body has final approval. Holton had earlier written that the Administrative Council “is committed to completing the transition” but that the transition team would “facilitate the creation of a newly formed yearly meeting.”
The recommendations, the first two of which are clarifications of an earlier report, include the following:
- All current churches (whether they choose to stay in NWYM, join a new YM, or go independent) will retain their property along with any associated debt.
- Employed pastors and staff (current and future) will continue to have access to the 401(k) pension plan and be able to contribute new funds.
- All current churches will have access to the Friends Church Extension Fund.
The transition team reported ongoing discussion of Quaker Hill, Quaker Cove, Twin Rocks, and Tilikum camps. The team has asked each individual camp board to review its “bylaws and policies and report back to the transition team” whatever changes seem best in light of the yearly meeting restructure.
The transition team did not list Twin Lakes Friends Camp, nor has it commented on the disposition of that property, 22 acres on Upper Twin Lakes near Rathdrum, Idaho.
The next meeting of the transition team is scheduled for Saturday, June 3, and members plan to “look at related organizations” during that meeting.