Proposals

There were three proposals received by the Proposals Committee, one of which was a suggested change in the by laws. A by law amendment must be approved by two different Assemblies.

BY LAW AMENDMENT PROPOSAL

The by law change, submitted by the St. Sahag and St. Mesrob Church of Wynnewood, PA, was a proposal to limit delegates to two four-year consecutive terms. The rational behind the proposals was to apply the same rules to delegates as is applied to parish council members. It would also provide new ideas and skills by requiring increased turn-over in the delegates.

The Diocesan Council said it was against the proposal because it could be a burden on smaller parishes. Some delegates disagreed with the rational, saying delegates provide an institutional memory. Others said parish elections serve as a check on delegates overstaying in the Assembly.

An on-going project to revise the by laws includes such a term limit on delegates.

According to the by laws, such by law changes are required to be sent to delegates at least two months before the meeting. This proposal was not, and thus delegates determined the proposal was out of order and thus was not considered.

PROPOSAL: COMMITTEE NAME CHANGE

The Diocesan Council submitted a proposal to change the name of the Clergy Relations Committee to the Clergy Benefits Committee to better reflect the scope of its activities.

Delegates had several suggested amendments, including adding the word “disability” to the list of committee responsibilities and increasing the number of clergy on the committee from two to three, who are joined by three lay members. Some delegates said increasing the number of clergy on the committee would make a committee of six, which could lead to tie votes.

Some delegates also suggested it was important to have a majority of lay members on the committee dealing with clergy benefits because it would remove any possibility of conflict of interest. Others said since the Committee doesn’t actually make changes, but makes recommendation to the Diocesan Council, that any such influence or tie votes would be settled by the Council members.

Delegates passed an amendment to clarify the duties of the committee. Delegates did not pass the amendment to expand membership of the Committee.

The amended proposal was approved.

PROPOSAL: REPORT ON CLERGY SUPPORT

St. Mary Church of Washington, D.C., submitted a proposal requesting the Diocesan Council to prepare a report on clergy compensation. They’re looking for detail on the amount the Diocese will supplement compensation of clergy’s pay from the parish. Also requested is a report on the current pay of clergy and the amount each is paid over or under Diocesan guidelines.

The rational behind the proposal was to provide transparency and clear up misunderstandings. It does not call for disclosure of names or identifying information in the report.

The present practice is a guideline is sent to the parishes and considered to be the minimum, however individual parishes and clergy can come to their own arrangement. Those arrangements are reviewed by the Diocesan Council when the budgets are reported in the parish’s annual report.

The Diocese does not have a policy to assist parishes, but the Primate said when a parish calls for help in raising funds he helps. The Primate said that, for example, the St. Mary Church was looking for a new priest and didn’t think they had the budget to afford their selected candidate. The Primate helped the parish raise funds to cover the gap.

“I am open with any parish that needs my help to raise funds or in any other way,” the Primate said.

The delegates voted against the proposal requesting the report.

Posted by Jake at May 5, 2007 12:02 PM