Top court rules on financial, clergy issues
|
Members of the 2008-2012 Judicial Council of The United Methodist Church are,
from left: Ruben Reyes, the Rev. Dennis Blackwell, the Rev. Kathi Austin-Mahle,
the Rev. Belton Joyner, the Rev. Susan Henry-Crowe, Jon Gray, Angela Brown,
Beth Capen and the Rev. Bill Lawrence. A UMNS file photo by Neill Caldwell.
|
By Linda Bloom*
Nov. 2, 2009 | DURHAM, N.C. (UMNS)
Local United Methodist churches cannot arbitrarily choose which
general church programs to support financially, according to the
church’s top court.
The Judicial Council has upheld the decision by Bishop Larry Goodpaster
that the Western North Carolina Annual (regional) Conference’s “Choice
Empowerment” plan is a violation of Paragraph 247.14 of the United
Methodist Book of Discipline.
|
Judicial Council members Belton
Joyner (left) and Susan Henry-Crowe participate in an oral hearing. A
UMNS photo by Taylor Mills.
|
That case was one of 21 docket items considered by the nine-member
council when it met Oct. 27-31. Among other issues, the council
addressed questions on the participation of retired clergy in local
churches, pension and health insurance plans and representation to the
church’s legislative body.
The Choice Empowerment plan essentially gives churches permission not
to pay what is requested of them, the council’s decision said. The
bishop had noted a “substantial decline in connectional support” during
the five years the plan has been in effect.
“One of the basic principles of The United Methodist Church’s
connectional system is to provide ministries and outreach in ways and
places that individual churches are not able to do alone,” the council
pointed out. “This philosophy is built upon a belief in shared
responsibility for the extension of mission and ministry of the whole
church to the world.”
Payment in full of these apportionments “is the first benevolent responsibility of the church,” the decision said.
Oral hearing
How clergy participate in local churches after retirement was addressed
during the council’s Oct. 29 oral hearing. The clergy executive session
of the Eastern Pennsylvania Annual (regional) Conference had asked for
a decision on whether a retired elder could serve as chairperson of a
local church committee on finance. Such a position is usually held by a
lay member.
The case affects the Rev. Stanley Menking, a member of Mt. Pocono (Pa.)
United Methodist Church, who argued before the council that the
Discipline allows retired clergy the same privileges as other members
of the local charge conference.
If bishops are able to deny them such opportunities for service,
“countless congregations” would be denied the chance “to benefit from
the experience, talents, gifts and graces gained from the years of
faithful service of the 16,000 retired elders in The United Methodist
Church,” he said.
The council agreed that a retired elder can serve as chairperson of the
local church committee on finance. In a dissenting opinion, Jon R. Gray
said the council had no jurisdiction in the matter because it was a
policy issue.
Retirement issues
In a separate case involving retired clergy, the Judicial Council
agreed with California-Nevada Conference Bishop Warner H. Brown Jr.
that the conference is entitled to set the rate it pays for retired
clergy, as long as it does not cut compensation.
In a brief, the United Methodist Board of Pension and Health Benefits
argued that the church mandated an automatic 2 percent increase in
payment through its Clergy Retirement Security Program.
The council decided, however, that the conference can either retain the
same “past-service annuity rate” for retired clergy from one year to
the next or increase it without restriction.
In a concurring opinion, Ruben T. Reyes said the decision was a “plain
and simple” issue. “The bottom line is that the yearly option to retain
the same rate or hike it belongs to each annual conference,” he wrote.
Other rulings
In other business, the Judicial Council:
- Ruled the secretary of the General Conference has the
authority to determine the number of delegates that each annual and
missionary conference will elect to the General Conference within the
provisions of the Constitution and the legislative enactments of the
General Conference.
- Affirmed the ruling of
Bishop Jonathan Keaton that a request for a decision of law in the
Detroit Annual Conference regarding identifying local church membership
in the Reconciling Ministries Network was “moot, hypothetical and
improper.”
- Found that the Louisiana Annual
Conference did not violate the Discipline by establishing clergy
compensation before knowing the cost of health insurance premiums
because such a cost is a benefit, not compensation.
- Upheld
a decision by Bishop Mary Ann Swenson regarding implementation of the
California-Pacific Conference’s Annual Conference’s Clergy Benefit
Charge to cover the costs of the health premiums for retired and
incapacitated clergy.
The full decisions from the Judicial Council’s October meeting, Decisions 1120 to 1141, will be posted this week at http://archives.umc.org/interior_judicial.asp?mid=263.
*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.
News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Related Articles
Judicial Council voids sexuality statement
Council rejects resolutions on same-sex marriages
Church court OKs lease for Bush library
Judicial Council elects first woman president
Church court: structural changes require legislation
Resources
Fall 2009 Judicial Council docket
Judicial Council decisions
About the Judicial Council
Comments will be moderated. Please see our Comment Policy for more information. |
Korean News
We invite you to join the dialogue. Share your comments.
Post a comment