Commissioners OK
bookkeeping items
By Craig M.
Kibler
The Layman
Online
Thursday, July 1,
2004
RICHMOND, Va. – With little discussion, the 216th General
Assembly on Wednesday night approved a number of routine bookkeeping
chores from the General Assembly Committee on Pensions, Foundations and
PILP.
Commissioners:
- Confirmed Robert E. Leech as president and CEO of the
Presbyterian Foundation.
- Confirmed the Rev. James "Jay" Hudson a president and
CEO of the Presbyterian Investment and Loan Program.
- Heard an update from John Bartholomew, of the Committee on the
Review of the Presbyterian Loan and Investment Program. "We
were delighted with the consistent evidence that PILP board and
staff ere focused on the mission of the church," he said. The
committee gave the program high marks, Bartholomew said, with the
review based on "church-relatedness, policy procedures and
program effectiveness."
- Disapproved, with a comment, an overture from the Presbytery of
Abingdon to appoint a task force to review the medical plan of the
Board of Pensions. The comment says, "That the concerns raised
in the overture be referred to the General Assembly Committee on
Review for the Board of Pensions and reported to the 217th General
Assembly (2006)."
This recommendation received the most comment, with some
commissioners arguing for an independent review and others saying that
the overture will be referred to the oversight board for the General
Assembly Committee on Pensions, Foundations and PILP, which is
independent. In the end, commissioners voted 3-1 to disapprove.
- Directed the Board of Pensions to revise its rules for the
calculation of salary for churches with a clergy couple installed to
one position. · Created a fund to provide shared equity loans
for pastors serving churches where the average cost of a home is
twice the U.S. average.
- Disapproved an overture from Providence Presbytery that sought to
appoint a task force to review the pension and medical plans of the
PCUSA for the same reasons as the overture from the Presbytery of
Abingdon.
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