Search PNC News for stories of people and churches in our UCC Conference:

Annual Meeting approves leaders, funds, resolutions

Acting moderator Andy CastroLang, pastor of Westminster UCC in Spokane, conducted Annual Meeting before being elected moderator.

Andy CastroLang

She took on responsibility as acting moderator when moderator Tim Devine stepped aside mid-year.

There was a quorum of 65 of 80 PNC churches with a total attendance of 294 at the meeting. Its business included:

Wendy Blight

• Wendy Blight of Alki UCC and Conference treasurer, reported that this year begins a new fiscal year, running from June 2014 to May 2015. It includes salary and benefits for a coordinator of program development and implementation.

She reported that a two-year management review report was completed and the board accepted it. Those doing the review recommended 1) accounting for Church Development Committee loans to local churches; 2) determining the original value of fixed assets, such as camps, buildings and land, and 3) accounting for the permanent and temporary restricted endowments.

Liberation UCC choir gives concert.

• Judith Rinehart Nelson of Zion-Philadelphia in Ritzville reported on a proposed bylaw change for the moderator and vice moderator to have the option to serve two years.

• Conference bookkeeper Michelle Doherty reported that 42 percent of conference income comes from the camps.

The next largest is from OCWM.

“If the PNC received $60 for every member each year in OCWM, we could accomplish a lot,” she said.

Edie Lackland

• Edie Lackland, of the Stewardship Committee, said that 70 percent of funds coming for OCWM stay in the conference and 30 percent goes to the national.

“We will not nibble at that, because the national UCC needs it,” she said.

• The budget passed.

• A resolution passed to endorse I-594, calling for a mandatory background check and to educate congregations about gun violence.

• Another resolution that passed calls for educating congregations on the living wage and income inequality, listening to workers and employers and walking with them to a living wage future. It also encourages local churches to consider endorsing the Church Council of Greater Seattle’s Living Wage Principles.

• Nominations presented by Debbie Baden of the Ministry

Linda Purdy sprinkles people in worship.

Resources Committee were approved and then new leaders were installed.

• Meighan Pritchard, the UCC minister for environmental justice, said General Synod 2013 at Long Beach adopted a resolution on divestment from or shareholder activism with fossil fuel companies. Both the United Church Funds and the UCC Pension Boards are developing investment opportunities free of fossil fuel companies.

For information-fuel-free investments email pritchardm@ucc.org.

Dee Eisenhauer invites Lyndel and Don Maier to sign a petition.

Share this article on your favorite social media