At the November meeting of the Assembly Council discussions focused on the size and number of national church committees and an update on the denomination’s finances.
The council is tasked with carrying out the work of the General Assembly, the highest court of the Presbyterian Church. It met at Crieff Hills Retreat and Conference Centre Nov. 24-26.
Review of National Committees
Over 300 staff and volunteers serve on over 60 committees at the national church level, reported an ad hoc committee charged with reviewing the number, size and scope of national committees. Committee work also takes up a significant amount of staff time, with some staff members serving on more than 40 committees, the report said.
In a survey of national committees performed by the group, most respondents said their committee was doing important work and did not require significant change. Some suggested their committee could be made smaller.
“Based solely on the responses to the survey, it is not possible to recommend significant changes,” the review committee said in its report. “This does not necessarily mean that significant changes are not needed.”
The committee put forward a few recommendations. Among them was a set of governing principles which, with some modification, the council agreed to endorse in principle.
During the discussion, some members expressed concerns about how far Assembly Council’s mandate reached when it came to creating, dissolving or amalgamating national committees, and suggested the final decisions should rest with the General Assembly.
Rev. Dr. John Vissers, director of academic programs at Knox College, Toronto, and moderator of the 2012 General Assembly, suggested the work could lead “toward a restructuring without naming it a restructuring.”
“We need to be aware the decisions we are making could have consequences we have not thought through,” he said.
The council agreed to refer some recommendations that aimed to make changes to specific committees back to the review committee for further work.
The council also agreed to add two members to the review committee; it will continue its work and report back to the council.
Assets of Dissolved Congregations
The Commission on Assets of Dissolved and Amalgamated Congregations does not normally report to meetings of the Assembly Council, but it presented a report for information.
When a congregation in the Presbyterian Church closes, its assets are vested with the Trustee Board on the date of dissolution. Its presbytery is required to craft a mission plan, which describes how the presbytery will use the money it receives from the dissolved congregation. This plan must be approved by the CADAC.
The commission’s report expressed two concerns. First, some presbyteries and congregations choose to give money from dissolved congregations to groups and charities outside of the Presbyterian Church. And secondly, some congregations do so before their date of dissolution, a practice the CADAC said is equivalent to “stripping assets.”
“While the trustee board does not technically have any role regarding congregational assets until they ‘vest’ upon dissolution, the CADAC feels a duty to realize all of the assets of a dissolved congregation on behalf of The Presbyterian Church in Canada and is concerned when some are disposed of so close to a dissolution,” the commission said in its report.
“In light of the needs of the Pension Plan and the many needs of The Presbyterian Church in Canada, the Assembly Council most probably in the near future will need to discuss and determine if any action or recommendations about the two concerns raised here need to be taken.”
Presbyterians Sharing Income
Stephen Roche, the church’s chief financial officer, presented an update on the church’s financial situation saying “there’s a bit of good news and a bit of bad news.”
Presbyterians Sharing, the national mission and ministry fund of the national church is $167,000 behind budget. However, donations from individuals have provided almost $100,000—almost double the budgeted amount of $50,000.
The fund is supported primarily through voluntary contributions from congregations. It’s too early to tell if this year’s increase to pension plan contributions (which are mandatory for all congregations) will affect how much they provide to Presbyterians Sharing, Roche said.
The 2014 budget set Presbyterians Sharing income at $7.5 million from congregations and $250,000 from individuals.
Pension Plan Update
The pension board continues to look into a number of options to address a $57 million solvency deficit in the church’s pension plan. Unless some alternative action is taken, the church will need to provide an additional $330,000 a month beginning in July 2014 to gradually fund the liability. This would most likely come from increases to congregations’ contributions.
As many congregations are already struggling with the contribution increases that came into effect this year, the board is pursuing other options that would either exempt the pension plan from solvency funding requirements or provide letters of credit to cover the deficit until interest rates rises.
Letters of credit are guarantees from a financial institution that it will provide the funds stipulated in the letters of credit if it is called upon to do so.
Financial institutions usually ask for security—either in cash, assets or a mix of both—to issue letters of credit. The report to the council included a proposal to be discussed with banks. It suggested the church could offer its two buildings in Toronto, and the General Assembly could agree to set aside funds from dissolved and amalgamated congregations to be held in a segment of the church’s portfolio as security against the letters of credit. If a bank agrees to the plan, it will have to go to General Assembly for approval.
The pension board is also doing a sustainability study to determine whether the current plan will be able to meet its future obligations to its members given current trends in congregations, members, retirement rates, mortality, etc.
“What’s the kind of promise we’re going to make going into the future?” he said. “Is it sustainable? In other words, are we going to be able to meet our promise?”
The Pension and Benefits Board has also decided to issue pay direct drug cards. Members of the church’s health and dental plan will be able to present their card to a pharmacist to pay for generic prescription drugs. It will also cover a dispensing fee of up to nine dollars. The cards will come into effect Jan. 1.
Other Business:
- The church’s Archives will be compiling more documents for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s research centre. These will include recent documents such as the moderators’ comments to the TRC.
- The council dissolved its long-range planning committee “with a view to incorporating its mandate more fully into the work of Assembly Council.” A new committee will focus on creating a concise vision statement for the national church.
- Next year marks the 20th anniversary of the church’s Confession to Aboriginal Peoples. There are plans to mark the occasion during the General Assembly.
