Thursday Business By Susan Tanner Dr. Leslie Holmes presented his retiring Moderator’s address. “If 2020 were a new set of
clothes, we would take it back for a return. What has happened in 2020 is enough to shutter the church. Noone has authority over the church other than Jesus Christ. If you aren’t meet- ing, shame on you. We are called to meet. The state of the church has three primary purposes: exhaulting the Lord in Worship, equipping the laity through work, and to evangelize the lost. We need to get back together and worship.” The Moderator’s Challenge can be read in full in the July/August 2020 issue of The ARP
magazine. Preparing the church for the return of Christ Jesus which is affirmed in Ephesians 4:11-13. The purpose of the theme is to focus our attention on faith as Christ-like deeds. “We are to engage our faith and explore the extended meanings of our confession as we prepare for the appearance of the Bride and the Victor of Calvary.” Due to health issues, Dawn Lewis, Women’s Ministries President, was unable to attend.
Rev. Mark Miller prayed for the women and the work they do for the church. Business began with Index 10 Special Committee on the ARP Retirement Plan (Blue Rib-
bon Committee). The committee investigated the Ministers’ Retirement plan. Their report to Synod laid out the details of the plan including contribution rates, covered participants and the funding status. There are 621 participants in the current Retirement Plan. The plan has been underfunded since 2012. The Blue Ribbon Committee designed a Phase 1 “which is only the beginning of a long work-out process that will involve difficult decisions and that will likely require years to implement.” Jan Sattem, Good Shepherd ARP Church, suggested for the court to think big. “The sen-
sible thing is to pray. Don’t be men of little faith but of great faith,” Sattem said. Drew Sev- erance reminded the court that Boards and Agencies do work on behalf of the Synod. “We are family,” he said. Ed Fleagle also mentioned the court as family reminiscing when Synod helped them after a recent hurricane. Rev. Andrew Di Iulio, Devenger Road ARP Church, started the evening session with a
devotion from John 17 which discusses the love of God the Father, the grace of Christ the Son and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. True union with Christ will always result in union with others. “The best way to get to know someone is at prayer meeting,” Di Iulio said. Following the devotion and more discussion, all recommendations from the MBRC were presented and were approved as Phase 1.
• Entry of new participants to the current defined benefit plan will be closed effective January 1, 2021.
• Future participants who become employed on or after January 1, 2021, be enrolled in a new defined contribution plan, specifically a 403(b)(9) plan.
• Implementation of the new defined contribution plan will be administered by the Board of Benefits.
• The current defined benefit plan participants will continue to accrue benefits at the 2.00% rate, though this will be subject to consideration by the Board of Benefits as to whether those benefits continue to accrue until retirement or whether future accruals will be made in the defined contribution plan at some point.
• A reallocation of at least $3,000,000 from the net assets of Synod boards and agencies to the ARP Retirement Plan Trust Fund was approved, with the sources of the reallocation to be identified and determined by a committee chosen by the Moderator.
• An annual allocation of 20% from the Denominational Ministries Fund (DMF) to the ARP Retirement Plan Trust Fund, to be made for an indefinite period of time beginning in 2021, was approved, with “an indefinite period of time” understood to mean until such time as the unfunded liability is fully funded.
The evening session closed with a long silence of prayer. “Give us unity and shared concern for Your glory. Work powerfully to remedy this issue,” Vice Moderator Rob Patrick prayed.?
Newly Ordained/Received Ministers Andy Webb, Jon Oliphant, Jonathan Williams, Raul Bermudez, Dean Frank- lin, Brad Anderson, Trevor Raborn.
Group Pics
Students Under Care Present at Synod Ben Alexander, David Henderson, Josh Adair (In the Family Life Center Bobby Duran and Richard Mounce.)
Interns A special thank you to the First Presbyterian Church Interns for going above and beyond during Synod from helping with screenings, giving directions, passing microphones, and much more. Ronny Hull, Beck Otersen, Troy Cash, Billy Pierce, Richard Mounce, Josh Adair. (Not pictured Josh Fleming and Devon Coleman)
Retired Ministers Present at Synod Calvin Draffin (40 years). In the family Life Center, Greg Slater (43 years).
November/December 2020 25
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