The Nominating Committee of the Standing Committee of district delegates to the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference are presenting the following ballot for the 2023 Conference. The elections will be held during the annual meeting taking place in Cincinnati, Ohio, on July 4-8, 20223.
The Church of the Brethren’s Pastoral Compensation and Benefits Advisory Committee held a retreat on Nov. 14 and 15.
Beginning on Sept. 26 and concluding on Oct. 22, members of the Pastoral Compensation and Benefits Advisory Committee will offer an introductory workshop on five different occasions to introduce the new pastoral compensation tools recently approved by the Annual Conference. The workshop is open to all and will be particularly helpful to church board chairs, pastors, and treasurers.
The Annual Conference on Tuesday, July 12, adopted a new “Integrated Annual Ministry Agreement and Revised Guidelines for Pastors’ Salaries and Benefits” (new business item 5) and a “Revised Minimum Cash Salary Table for Pastors” (new business item 6) as presented by the Pastoral Compensation and Benefits Advisory Committee (PCBAC).
The Standing Committee of district delegates from the 24 Church of the Brethren districts began meeting in Omaha, Neb., on the evening of July 7, through this morning. It was presided over by Conference moderator David Sollenberger, moderator-elect Tim McElwee, and secretary James M. Beckwith. One of its primary functions is to make recommendations on the new business items and queries coming to Annual Conference.
The business items for the Church of the Brethren’s Annual Conference on July 10-14 in Omaha, Neb., are now posted online. The Conference is returning to a full business agenda complete with queries and other new business after several years in which the compelling vision took precedence.
A letter from the Pastoral Compensation and Benefits Advisory Committee has expressed the group’s support to the ministers in the Church of the Brethren. The letter acknowledged the particular challenges for ministers during the COVID-19 pandemic and shared information about a number of resources that are available for ministers and congregations experiencing financial hardship.
he Pastoral Compensation and Benefits Advisory Committee met virtually for their annual retreat on Oct. 18-20. New laity members Art Fourman (2020-2025) and Bob McMinn (2021-2026) had plenty of time to get to know returning members, secretary Dan Rudy (clergy, 2017-2022), chair Deb Oskin (secular compensation professional, 2018-2023), Gene Hagenberger (representative of the Council of District Executives, 2021-2024), and Nancy Sollenberger Heishman (ex officio, director of the Church of the Brethren Office of Ministry).
The Church of the Brethren Office of Ministry has sent out its annual e-packet of documents for the Cash Salary Guidelines and Table for pastors for the upcoming year, 2022. The packet has been provided to the 24 district offices across the denomination, and select documents also are available to download from the Office of Ministry webpage for forms at www.brethren.org/ministryoffice/forms.html.
The Church of the Brethren Annual Conference affirmed board-elected and constituency-elected directors and trustees for the denomination’s Mission and Ministry Board and the Conference agencies Bethany Theological Seminary, On Earth Peace, and Brethren Benefit Trust (BBT). Also affirmed were district executive representatives to the denomination’s Leadership Team and the Pastoral Compensation and Benefits Advisory Committee.