tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post3323253178655569407..comments2024-03-23T18:50:32.902-04:00Comments on Telling Secrets: Hell hath no furyElizabeth Kaetonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787552280232329081noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-70372759210898773382013-09-09T15:05:21.243-04:002013-09-09T15:05:21.243-04:00My own opinion (for what it is worth) is that the ...My own opinion (for what it is worth) is that the TEC, with its declining revenues, saw the UTO as a cash cow and wanted to bring its money under the parent institution's control.<br /><br />The sane thing to do would have been to grant the ECW/UTO the umbrella of TEC's tax status, but tell the UTO board, "You all have been doing a wonderful job for well over a century. We trust you; keep it up." And with the quality of the board members that you mention, I have no doubt that the UTO would have done so. They may not have supported the same things that the upper management of the TEC would have chosen, but they would have made wise choices.<br /><br />If and as word gets out that the UTO is just a collection agency for the TEC, I suspect that donations to the UTO will drop off noticeably. Telling people you do not trust them tends to have negative repercussions.Charlie Suttonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08726338596245954419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-52121797177876918872013-09-09T14:08:44.560-04:002013-09-09T14:08:44.560-04:00Why do we have so much confidentiality in the chur...Why do we have so much confidentiality in the church in general? Why were the members under a confidentiality agreement at all? I find that vestries go into executive session too often and word always leaks out. Even with personnel searches, and I was involved in a rector search, should be more open. We had to sign the same confidentiality forms. It was stupid because people wanted to know why certain people made the cut. They pledge too. You are serving them. And, people did talk anyway. If a process is healthy, I don't see why there is so much secrecy in all of our operations. Governments manage to make decisions and hire competent people with an open meeting law. Matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16855171851801011788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-12763890474880511752013-09-09T02:32:54.534-04:002013-09-09T02:32:54.534-04:00Sandra,
Do you know why the option of creating a ...Sandra,<br /><br />Do you know why the option of creating a separate corporation for UTO was rejected? <br /><br />Incidentally, the IRS regulations on group exemptions require an annual submission from the parent body that includes a list of "subordinates" who have "ceased to exist, disaffiliated, or withdrawn their authorization to the<br />central organization." <br /><br />That suggests something different from the customary understanding of "control." If you're subordinate, you CAN'T "withdraw authorization."Jeremy Bonnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16915767119353670952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-70517867962235689962013-09-08T19:21:32.915-04:002013-09-08T19:21:32.915-04:00Thank you for this perspective, Sandra. I think th...Thank you for this perspective, Sandra. I think the issue is that four members of the UTO Board - 4 intelligent, educated, dedicated women who comprised 1/2 the board - resigned IN PROTEST. That's an important distinction. They resigned IN PROTEST of the 'proposed' bylaws and MOUs. Because the committee operated under a signed agreement of confidentiality, it's hard to know just how the 'proposed' documents were presented. <br /><br />We do know that1/2 the board - who are clearly understanding of (and some experienced with) the IRS regulations - resigned IN PROTEST. <br /><br />We also now know the content of those proposed documents and they are so far from the tone and content of the advice of EC as to cause concern, in and of themselves. <br /><br />My question is, with 1/3 of the 12 member Board of UTO remaining, how can they possibly enter into a decision making process for the whole? Ought not time be given for them to get themselves back up to a full compliment of members, especially since they are still grieving the loss of their President who died in January? <br /><br />My hope is that, in October, the EC puts this entire matter on hold until the UTO board is able to get back on its feet and we study other models - like ER&D - of "autonomy and independence" that the EC recommended. <br /><br />We have too much recent history of a rush to "restructure" - and a response from GC to do that revisioning and restructuring ourselves. From my perspective, this is another verse in that very sad song.Elizabeth Kaetonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06787552280232329081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-13269812123902392282013-09-08T16:57:34.517-04:002013-09-08T16:57:34.517-04:00I was a member of the INC-055 Task Force from 2009...I was a member of the INC-055 Task Force from 2009 to 2012. I also served on the study committee that preceded the task force and met in the summer of 2008. At the time I was a member of the Executive Council and chaired the Executive Council’s International Concerns Committee for the 2006-2009 triennium. <br /><br />I have been aware of and committed to the UTO since I was a very little girl. I remember the blue box on the window sill above the kitchen sink and watching my mother and my father drop coins into the box. The current confusion about the UTO and its role in the life of the Episcopal Church is a matter of great sadness to me and to many many others. Much has been posted on the internet in recent days that is confusing and misleading and does nothing to further the important work that the UTO has performed for 125 years and continues to perform.<br /><br />Since its founding, the UTO has been an integral part of the life of Episcopal church women and its support has been critical in many parts of the Anglican communion, especially for the support of missionaries. That work must continue.<br /><br />However, the UTO must comply with legal and accounting requirements for not-for-profits promulgated by the Internal Revenue Service and it must comply with generally accepted accounting principals to protect the contributions that many faithful people have made over the years. In order for an organization to use the tax id number and tax exempt status of another organization, the IRS requires that the organization with the tax id number demonstrate certain elements of control over the organization that is using its tax id number and tax exempt status. <br /><br />Prior to 2007, the legal relationship between the UTO and the ECW and DFMS was fuzzy at best. As part of the well-documented study undertaken at the behest of the Presiding Bishop, it became necessary to make certain that the UTO complied with IRS regulations and with the regulations and procedures of DFMS. The INC-055 Task Force worked very closely with representatives of the UTO and indeed, Sarita Redd, who was the president of the UTO until her untimely death last January, was a member of the Task Force. Early on in its work, the INC-055 Task Force discussed the option of the UTO forming a separate corporation. That idea was rejected by the INC-055 Task Force and by the UTO Board. The report of INC-055 was never intended to be an end. It was intended as a starting point with the clear understanding that the UTO Bylaws would have to be re-written to comply with current procedures of both the IRS and DFMS. In addition, a formal Memorandum of Understanding would be prepared to set forth the relationship between the UTO and DFMS.<br /><br />The proposed Bylaws and MOU that have been posted on the internet are just that, they are proposed and not final documents. It seems premature to attribute various motives to the Presiding Bishop and members of the DFMS staff or to the current and resigned members of the UTO Board. What seems appropriate is to let the UTO Board members who remain react to the draft bylaws and MOU and let the Executive Council have an opportunity to review and discuss this issue at its meeting in October. <br /><br />Sandra McPhee<br />Sandra McPheenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-10306656132315910712013-09-07T14:22:56.691-04:002013-09-07T14:22:56.691-04:00As I said: Women + Money + Autonomy = Trouble. Big...As I said: Women + Money + Autonomy = Trouble. Big Trouble. Trouble with a capitol "T" and that rhymes with "P" and that stands for Power.<br /><br />I feel very confident that the protest resignations by 4 UTO Board Members will result in the scrapping of the proposed bylaws and MOU and lead us to a new understanding of how to be "nimble" for mission. Elizabeth Kaetonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06787552280232329081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-35774116535229901622013-09-07T13:59:42.228-04:002013-09-07T13:59:42.228-04:00What i do know is follow the money...this is about...What i do know is follow the money...this is about money and power. very simple. i also know that the coins i put into my 3 uto boxes (for 50+ years) are very personal to me. i follow the grants, and feel intimately connected to these small goodnesses. my message to the PB, COO, and others is 'keep your hands off my blue boxes and my coins'. i feel very strongly about this, and about what is apparently a denigration of lay people and their leadership.pat royaltyhttps://www.facebook.com/pat.c.royaltynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-8816233747728718482013-09-07T12:24:44.741-04:002013-09-07T12:24:44.741-04:00Anonymous - I don't usually allow anonymous co...Anonymous - I don't usually allow anonymous comments but since yours is a question - and a good one at that - I will allow it.<br /><br />First - and I'm not being trite here - pray. Pray, as St. Paul says, without ceasing. <br /><br />Second - DO NOT STOP PUTTING YOUR COINS IN YOUR LITTLE BLUE BOX. That would be the worst thing to happen. Indeed, I put four quarters in my Blue Box just this morning - one in thanksgiving for each of the four UTO board members who resigned. <br /><br />Third - send an email to the PB, the POHOD, the VPHOD and the President of the UTO, urging them to honor the "creative tension" between the autonomous nature of mission and the regulatory nature of the institutional church. <br /><br />I think that's a good start for those of us who sit in the pew, praying for peace in the world, peace in the church and peace in our families. Elizabeth Kaetonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06787552280232329081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-61432572973535263272013-09-07T12:20:20.077-04:002013-09-07T12:20:20.077-04:00Jeremy - I do not presume to know the motives of t...Jeremy - I do not presume to know the motives of the PB. It appears that she has not been well advised on this matter. Indeed, the folks she appointed to work with the Board of UTO apparently ignored the recommendations of the EC Advisory Group. Whether or not the PB attends to the details of such matters is unknown to me. I suspect, however, that she trusts those she appoints to do a task will carry it out in the spirit of the advice given by members of the EC. They clearly did not do this.<br /><br />I think the evidence is clear - and has been affirmed by the courts - that TEC is a hierarchical organization. You may disagree and your evidence may even be compelling but the truth is that nothing - NO THING of any canonical substance - happens in TEC without the approval of General Convention. That sounds pretty hierarchical to me. <br />Elizabeth Kaetonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06787552280232329081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-39722911823540484322013-09-07T09:07:58.978-04:002013-09-07T09:07:58.978-04:00What can a person in the pew do about this?What can a person in the pew do about this?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-69028721891079551552013-09-07T03:35:32.066-04:002013-09-07T03:35:32.066-04:00Elizabeth+
Do you really think that what is happe...Elizabeth+<br /><br />Do you really think that what is happening could have got so far without at least the tacit approval of the Presiding Bishop? She is the chief executive officer of the denomination and one who has made her position very clear on many other issues. <br /><br />Her statement (to which you link) appears to accuse those UTO members who resigned of attributing "inappropriate and unhelpful motives" (so presumably it's their fault). She also notes that UTO has never been a separate corporation. If so, wouldn't it have been better to offer to assist UTO to incorporate as a separate entity, if they still felt concerns about coming under DFMS? <br /><br />Where does the buck stop in a supposedly hierarchical organization? (Obviously I don't believe that TEC is that, and have documented the evidence for that, but I assume you do.)Jeremy Bonnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16915767119353670952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-15071392120510410842013-09-06T20:37:12.431-04:002013-09-06T20:37:12.431-04:00Marthe - It's just all so transparently clear,...Marthe - It's just all so transparently clear, isn't it? I have been sent a copy of the bylaws and I agree with Ann's assessment. The MOU is even more patently clear. <br /><br />If this weren't part of a pattern, I'd love to be able to dismiss it. But, it is, so I can't. <br /><br />Makes me furious. And, sad. Elizabeth Kaetonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06787552280232329081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-74351435104869069502013-09-06T20:34:04.863-04:002013-09-06T20:34:04.863-04:00Bateau - I hear you. I don't know if 815 will....Bateau - I hear you. I don't know if 815 will. What a mess.Elizabeth Kaetonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06787552280232329081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-18797432178008436922013-09-06T20:19:26.119-04:002013-09-06T20:19:26.119-04:00While I'm not intimately acquainted with all t...While I'm not intimately acquainted with all the facts of this matter, I read this and hear "regulatory function" as "reign in your women" as slightly frantically stated by insecure men trying to take control of the funds they can't or won't raise, "traditionalists" under the influence of a tad too much sherry trying to take credit for work they admire but actually have no connection to and will, inevitably misunderstand and drop out of sheer boredom once they have the control they seek. Sad, the desperate need of those who fear their own marginalization to wreck others' work rather than doing the real hard work of creating new channels and collaborations for a deeper understanding of the Word and the Work. Keep it up fellas and you may just find yourselves in a men only splinter group, not the "mainline" you allegedly cherish to the detriment of your own sanctuary.Marthenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29373297.post-18880551717429607162013-09-06T20:19:07.348-04:002013-09-06T20:19:07.348-04:00With the Chruch's books in such a mess - read ...With the Chruch's books in such a mess - read too little income for planned outgo - the best way to kill the UTO is to associate it with anything from 815. There is not a lot of trust out here in the land of the great unwashed and not well connected.Bateau Masterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17641991475361553674noreply@blogger.com