Note #9126 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:
06080 Feb. 11, 2006
Hesitant council votes down plan for new PC(USA) relief agency
Proposal unlikely to make deadline for vote in this year's General Assembly
by Alexa Smith
LOUISVILLE - After nearly two hours of debate, the General Assembly Council (GAC) voted on Saturday (Feb. 11) to postpone until April a decision whether to create a corporation to manage Presbyterian relief-and-development programs.
The council will take up the matter again during its next meeting, in April, but Saturday's voice vote makes it unlikely that the denomination will be able to set up such a corporation before the 2008 General Assembly.
Feb. 15 is the last day to have materials ready for consideration by this summer's General Assembly. The creation of a new corporation would require GA approval.
The proposal called for a new corporate entity to house Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA), the Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP) and the Jinishian Memorial Program (JMP), effective next Jan. 1.
Two other programs - Self-Development of People (SDOP) and the International Health Office - would have been considered for inclusion at a later date.
PDA, PHP and SDOP are all funded by the One Great Hour of Sharing Offering, the largest of the denomination's annual offerings.
Saturday's debate focused on how to create a board of directors tightly bound to the church but having the legal right to manage its own finances and eligibility for corporate matching gifts. Proponents argued that it could then attract a broader funding base and maximize its outreach.
"If it's a good idea now, it'll be a good idea in April, and it'll be a good idea two years from now," said Elder John Bolt of Charleston, WV, who argued for the postponement on behalf of the Congregational Ministries Division Committee (CMDC).
Bolt said "broader questions still need to be answered" before enacting such a dramatic shift in the PC(USA)'s relief work. Those questions include conflict with other denominational fund-raising efforts, including the current $40 million Joining Hearts & Hands campaign; concern about the wisdom of moving forward while the church is reviewing its mission-funding systems; and whether the denomination's advocacy work would be hampered if the new corporation were eligible for corporate or governmental funds.
Carolyn McLarnan, of Hattiesburg, MS, the chair of the Global Service and Witness Subcommittee (GSWS) of the Worldwide Ministries Division, read a prepared statement in which she noted that the proposal clearly states that advocacy would be one of the purposes of the corporation.
McLarnan addressed other members' questions about control of the new entity. "Who owns our funds, the church or the corporation?" she asked rhetorically. "The question is, who owns the corporation?, and the church clearly owns the corporation. If the corporation ceased to exist, the funds would revert to the church."
GSWS member Gordon Edwards of Stillwater, OK, told the council that the status of the proposed corporation would increase the visibility of the whole church because it would qualify for listing among donor agencies acknowledged in the media in times of disaster. Churches are not eligible for such listing.
Edwards said that the study team had a "strong concern" that the corporation "not" be a separate entity, but be closely linked to the work of the GAC and the denomination.
The proposal included several provisions intended to establish such links; for example, the president of the corporation's board would report to WMD Director Marian McClure.
Moderator Rick Ufford-Chase suggested that the entire GAC serve as the board and create a management committee to handle direct oversight.
Ufford-Chase said he was nervous that creating a new corporation largely independent from the church could lead to conflict - if, for example, church and corporation had divergent goals.
Eric Graninger, the PC(USA)'s general counsel, said the proposal was not workable under corporate law. "The board of directors cannot delegate its authority to a board of non-members," he said. Even if an advisory body were created for oversight, "each and every action" would require approval by the board.
GAC member Ken Newbold, of Rose Hill, NC, said it is possible to incorporate legally, then decide later to change or dissolve the body.
But many council members were anxious about the lack of detail in Newbold's suggestion.
The Rev. Dan Schomer moved for postponement, citing "substantial reasons" to delay.
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