REFERRED: Second Proposed Amendment(s) to the Canons
Proposed Amendments:
1) Repeal Title I. Canon 14. Section 4.
Sec. 1. At each Annual Convention an assessment shall be made upon all Parishes in the Diocese, according to the formula set forth in Section 2 of this Canon.
2) Renumber Title I, Canon 14, Section 5 as Section 4 of the same Title and Canon
3) Repeal Title II. Canon 9.
CANON 9: Of Clergy Pensions
Sec. 1. Congregations that on October 1 of any year shall have failed to pay The Church Pension Fund assessment(s) in full for the preceding twelve months shall be, ipso facto, suspended from the union with the Convention of the Diocese of Ohio and shall remain thus suspended until this delinquency shall have been canceled by payment. There is no power entrusted to the Convention or any Committee thereof to waive this fault.
4) Repeal Title II, Canon 10, Section 3
CANON 10: Of Lay Pensions
Sec. 3. Congregations that, on October 1 of any year, have not fully funded a lay pension plan as described herein, shall have seat and voice, but no vote at any Convention of the Diocese until any delinquency has been cured. There is no power entrusted to the Convention or any committee thereof to waive this failure.
5) Renumber Title II, Canon 10 as Canon 9 of the same Title
6) Renumber Title II, Canon 11 as Canon 10 of the same Title
7) Enact Proposed Canon 11 of Title II
Title II, Canon 11: Of Representation at Diocesan Convention
Sec. 1. Any parish which has not paid all of its Diocesan Fund assessment for the year immediately prior to the year in which each annual meeting is held shall not be entitled to lay representation in Convention until such apportionment is paid, unless, by a majority vote of the Convention, voting by orders, the parish is granted representation, and every parish shall remain liable for all of its unpaid assessments, unless, by a majority vote of the Convention, voting by orders, that liability (or any portion thereof) is excused; Provided that such parish shall, at least 120 days prior to the date of convention, request in writing to the Ecclesiastical Authority, that it be entitled to representation at such Convention or that its unpaid assessments (or portion thereof) identified by amount and year of assessment be exonerated, or both, and that it be granted a hearing on its above requests. Such request shall contain an agreement by the Vestry of such parish that it will make a full disclosure of all facts and circumstances requested of it. Thereafter:
(a) A hearing on such a request from any parish shall be held before the Standing Committee not less than 10 days prior to the Convention. Such parishes shall receive at least 30 days written notice of the time and place of such hearing.
(b) At the hearing, the Standing Committee may adopt such rules as appear to be in the best interest of the Diocese, and may, prior to the hearing, require of such parish that it fully disclose its resources to such person or persons as the Standing Committee designate for such purpose.
(c) The Standing Committee shall make its recommendation to the Convention on the requests made by the parish.
Sec. 2. Any parish three or more months in arrears in payment of any assessment levied for The Church Pension Fund for clergy pensions shall be denied lay representation in the Convention.
Sec. 3. Any parish three or more months in arrears in payment of any assessment levied for The Church Pension Fund for lay pensions, or three or more months in arrears in funding an alternative lay pension plan, shall be denied lay representation in the Convention.
Sec. 4. If a parish for any reason whatsoever is not represented in Convention, it shall nevertheless be bound by all acts of that Convention.
Sec. 5. The lay delegations to the Convention from each parish shall not be seated in Convention unless the Secretary of Convention has determined that the parish corporation is in good standing in the office of the Secretary of State of Ohio. Any parish may satisfy this requirement by providing to the Secretary of Convention a current certificate of good standing issued by the Secretary of State of Ohio.
Rationale of the Proposer
The current canons are punitive and inflexible. They do not take into account that a failure to pay assessments or pension contributions may have resulted from oversight or from financial inability. They cast a broad net which captures the inadvertent and the incapable together with the intransigent. They do not embody the possibility of forgiveness and understanding and provide a poor witness to our life together as the Body of Christ.
The Proposed Canon 10 accomplishes the same punitive goal with regard to those parishes who willfully and without good cause fail to pay assessments or fund pensions, while permitting those who do so for reasons of financial hardship or through inadvertence to so demonstrate and thus escape disenfranchisement from Convention upon recommendation of the Standing Committee and vote of Convention.
The Proposed Canon 10 is a slightly altered form (edited to fit our diocesan canonical language) of Title II, Canon 3, of the Canons of the Diocese of Kansas where this manner of dealing with the problem of arrearages has worked for several years.
Rationale of the Committee’s Recommendation to Refer
The Committee on Constitution and Canons recommends that these proposed amendments, and the preceding amendment, be referred to a committee appointed by the Bishop. Such committee would undertake a comprehensive review of the Diocesan Fund and make recommendations to the 193rd Annual Convention of the Diocese of Ohio. Such a comprehensive review would include, but would not be limited to, the current funding mechanism for supporting the mission and ministry of the diocese, the system of reporting and making payments, and consequences for non-compliance with the diocesan canons.
