As 2018 ends, we the Governing Board, are looking forward to General Conference 2019. We are expecting amazing things! We want to share some things we feel are very important to many of us as we prepare to move into our future.
Delayed Responses.
We offer our heartfelt apology to all who have written to us and have not received a response. The reasons are many, but that does not excuse the fact we did not communicate with you in a timely manner or not at all. Please forgive us and know that it is our goal to respond to all communications in a timely manner.
What do we mean by timely? You will receive an acknowledgement of our receipt of your e-mail or letter within at least 1 business day. We will then attempt to answer fully within 4 business days. This will vary depending on the amount of collaboration with others required to answer in detail.
Speaking of collaboration, we are sharing responsibilities so that more communication can take place in a more timely fashion. You may expect to hear from one person but actually hear from another, that’s okay. We believe working this way ensures timeliness and accountability. We look forward to hearing your thoughts about our process moving forward as well.
Local Congregations.
For every one of our congregations,
THANK YOU
for making MCC who we are. It can seem at times that local congregations are forgotten or removed from the day-to-day activities of the greater MCC. You are not forgotten. We know that you are the people that make all of this work. You are the people who show your local communities what it means to be people who walk in the light of Love. We also want to thank all of you who have entered agreements, caught up on assessments, or given above and beyond.
THANK YOU
.
All of you are MCC. We could not do the things we do without your prayers and your support.
THANK YOU.
MCC Staff.
To all the wonderful staff who have experienced first-hand the impact of the financial situation -
THANK YOU
. The impact of mid-year budget cuts impacted you directly. For those of you who resigned and those of you whose positions were reduced or eliminated, we extend our disappointment in having to make these decisions and our gratitude for the extraordinary service each of you have given to MCC. For those of you continuing, you have accepted added responsibilities while also experiencing pay reductions. Your hard work and your dedication is inspiring to us all. We hope you know how much we appreciate you and that we are here for you, always.
Rev. Elder Darlene Garner.
We would be remiss if we did not acknowledge that the abrupt departure of Rev. Elder Darlene Garner created room for mistrust and for harm amongst us. We
felt this loss as well, and like you, we long for healing for our whole body.
The timing of this event also made it so that we weren’t able to appropriately celebrate the many ways Rev. Darlene contributed to the rich history of MCC. We look forward to honoring and celebrating her 41 years of pioneering service with MCC at General Conference 2019.
2016 General Conference.
We offer our deepest apologies to the nominees for moderator who stood for election in 2016 and then left the 2016 General Conference without an elected Moderator. Thank you for your willingness to offer yourselves. We are working hard to ensure the issues that arose during 2016 do not arise in 2019.
The Moderator Nominating Committee (MNC) is working and has established timelines for their work. The nominees will not be revealed to the Board or to anyone outside of the MNC. We will all learn their identities at the same time, together. Additionally, the Governing Board and the Business Meeting Team are committed to a business meeting that is conducive to the election of the next Moderator. We will adhere to parliamentary procedure and to our own Bylaws throughout the Business Meeting.
Designated Funds.
We want to acknowledge that the use of designated funds without documented authorization did transpire. We have no documentary evidence of who authorized the movement of the funds and this means we have needed to move forward without fully comprehending prior events. This also means we, as a fiduciary body, have had a cloud of mistrust above us for quite some time now.
To address this there are multiple steps being taken. The minutes of Governing Board meetings will contain more information for better clarity for you, the denomination. We are taking steps to ensure all policies and procedures are adhered to by everyone in leadership. We are providing footnotes to the financial statements to be transparent regarding the status of the denomination’s finances. Additionally, we are taking steps to review our expenses to determine the best use of the precious dollars you send to us each month.
We ask for your prayers as we continue our pursuit of being the board you can rely on and trust. We hope you know what an honor and privilege it is to serve you, the people of UFMCC. You are the heartbeat of this organization and we love you.
See you at General Conference!
Blessings to each of you,
MCC Governing Board
Rev. Miak Siew, Vice Chair
Rev. Joe Cobb, Clerk
Dr. David Williams, Treasurer
Rev. Onetta Brooks
Rev. Victoria Burson
Bob Niehaus
Christy Temples
Marsha Warren
Rev. Elder Rachelle Brown, Interim Moderator
