OCA Metropolitan Council meets October 16, 2007
On Tuesday, October 16, 2007, following a Divine Liturgy celebrated by His Beatitude Metropolitan Herman in St. Sergius of Radonezh Chapel, the OCA Metropolitan Council met from 10:15 am to 10:10 pm.
In his address at the close of the Divine Liturgy, His Beatitude asked the group to remember its high calling at all times. He spoke of the Church’s suffering, as well his personal pain at the strife and division within the OCA. He pointed out that the Special Investigation Committee’s membership will be open as an agenda item at the Joint Holy Synod - Metropolitan Council meeting on October 17.
OCA Chancellor, V. Rev. Alexander Garklavs, chaired the Metropolitan Council sessions. His Beatitude was with the Holy Synod, meeting in separate session. In his opening remarks, Fr. Alexander reminded the Council that we are all gathered together by Divine Providence, we are stewards of this experience, and that we need to speak the truth in love.
Over the course of the day, the Metropolitan Council discussed issues ranging from points of order and governance to the Special Investigation Committee and the 2007 budget. A summary of discussion highlights follows.
Points of Order:
The Council agreed that its members from the Midwest Diocese should be seated with full voting privileges, despite the withholding of assessments from that Diocese. This was motivated by a desire to ensure that our entire Church family be represented in the discussion of our current situation, and a spirit of mutual love and respect in a period of serious dialogue on critical issues.
All but one Council member signed statements acknowledging their responsibilities in accordance with the Ethics, Whistle-blowing and Conflict of Interest provisions of the Church’s Best Practices for Financial Accountability. (The one member who did not sign cited a letter from her hierarch being presented to the Holy Synod at this week’s meeting.)
The Council heard a report on the immigration status of Paul Bodnar, recently named as OCA Secretary, whose visa extension application is delayed in routine INS processing.
Governance:
Very Rev. Andrew Jarmus, Director of Ministries and Communications, presented a draft communications protocol for the Council’s ongoing consideration. Council Committee Chairs reported on the status of the Charters for their newly-formed Committees.
OCA Audit Committee Report:
V. Rev. Paul Suda reported a successful quarterly audit of central Church financial activities for the period April - June 2007.
Special Investigation Committee:
After lengthy deliberation, including informal discussion with His Grace, Bishop BENJAMIN, the Council passed a resolution, presented by V. Rev. Mark Sherman, Diocese of New England. Specific points of concern were the Council’s statutory financial and legal responsibilities and its obligation to assure the integrity and independence of the Committee’s work product. The resolution calls for an independent Special Investigation Committee that reports to both the Holy Synod and Metropolitan Council with specific provisions to protect the Committee from infringements on its independence.
15th All American Council (AAC):
Acting on a report from V. Rev. Myron Manzuk, Council Manager, the Metropolitan Council agreed on a series of recommendations to the Holy Synod, including the following: that Pittsburgh, PA, be the site and that November 10-13 be the dates of the 15th AAC. In comparison to previous All American Councils, this will be a relatively scaled-down event. Although early discussions about the upcoming AAC spoke about only allowing delegates to participate, it was the collective opinion of the Metropolitan Council that allowing observers to be present was crucial to preserve a spirit of being open and inclusive of all our faithful.
The Metropolitan Council proposed that the Pre-Conciliar Commission consist of the four members of the Chancery Administration Team (Chancellor, Secretary, Treasurer, and Director of Ministries and Communications), plus four other people, 2 men and 2 women, selected with a view to including younger Church members and members representing the geographic diversity of the Church. Parish assessments will be $8.00 per capita.
2007 Budget:
The Council as a body reviewed each line item of the 2007 budget to identify $250,000 in 2007 cost reductions necessitated by the withholding of assessments by the Diocese of the Midwest. After hearing recommendations for reductions of approximately $126,000.00 from Financial Committee Chairman, V. Rev. Matthew Tate, the Council explored various alternatives for further savings of $124,000.00, without decision. At the end of its late evening session, the Council reviewed the status of benchmarks set by the Midwest Diocese.
Council members agreed to deliberate further by starting tomorrow’s meeting at 9:00 am. At 10:00 am on October 17, 2007, a Joint Session of the Holy Synod and Metropolitan Council will take place.