GC 2020 – Gracious Affiliation as a Part of the Plain Grace Plan – a Flow Chart

GC 2020 – Gracious Affiliation as a Part of the Plain Grace Plan – a Flow Chart

Frank Holbrook 2 GC 2020

Gracious Affiliation as a Part of Full Communion

 

I recently wrote a post discussing why a Full Communion Agreement is used in the Plain Grace Plan (“PGP”). That post can be found here.  As that post noted, many people have a reflexive negative reaction to the idea of being in “Full Communion” with a Full Communion Expression (“FCE”). The post explained that a Full Communion Agreement under the PGP is not an implicit endorsement of the FCE; under the PGP the Full Communion Agreement is one of three documents that establish the interdenominational framework for the PGP plan of separation. Today’s post explains one of the three agreements used as a part of Full Communion in the PGP; that agreement is the “Gracious Affiliation Agreement”. A flow chart is also included to help explain the processes highlighted here.

The Four Step Process for Entering into a Gracious Affiliation Agreement

 

The right side of the flow chart shows that agreement comes into effect using a four step process. First, GCFA drafts a standardized agreement. GCFA has to complete their work of preparing a standardized form agreement on or before May 1, 2021. This date was selected since by May 29, 2021, all petitions to join will have been filed and all petitions must be acted upon by June 30, 2021 (See ¶431B).

 

The second step is having the Gracious Affiliation Agreement signed by the Council of Bishops and submitted to the Qualified Expression so it may be presented to the Qualified Expression’s organizing conference. This happens no later than June 30, 2021 (See ¶431B).

 

The third step is to have the organizing conference approve the Gracious Affiliation Agreement. This will occur between May 1, 2022 through June 30, 2022. Once the organizing conference has authorized entering into the agreement, it is signed by an authorized representative of the Qualified Expression. (See ¶431D).

 

The final step is to have the Qualified Expression submit the signed agreement back to the Council of Bishops. This happens no later than August 1, 2022. As soon as the Qualified Expression meets the requirements set out in ¶431E, the Qualified Expression converts into a Full Communion Expression and the Gracious Affiliation Agreement takes effect. Essentially, by August 1, 2022 new denominations will be created and in Full Communion with the United Methodist Church.

 

The Three Financial Implications of the Gracious Affiliation Agreement

 

The Gracious Affiliation Agreement has three financial aspects that are shown on the left side of the flow chart.

 

First, it adopts the provisions of ¶431F dealing with Missional Support through 2028. This paragraph provides a formula for calculating each FCE’s share of Missional Support, a method for invoicing the FCE for its share, the time for payment. ¶431F also includes the concept of “Net Missional Share” to insure that a new FCE is not required to pay more than the United Methodist Church is paying on a pro rata basis. This is to insure that the missional support payments are based on actual giving, not budgeted amounts.

 

Second, it adopts the provisions of ¶1510 dealing with Pensions. Frankly, this paragraph probably should, and probably will, be amended. ¶1510 was an attempt to use Wespath’s best efforts in 2019 to deal with the pension issue. Wespath has revised its earlier provisions and has submitted a provision that it believes is an improvement. The Wespath information may be found here.  The PGP believes that Wespath’s guidance will be invaluable and the PGP should defer to Wespath on pension issues.

 

Third, it adopts the asset division provisions of ¶2554 and the release of the trust clause found at ¶2555. The asset division is tied back to the Missional Support Formula as a way of attempting to insure compliance with the Missional Resource Commitment made by the FCE. The trust clause is released by the FCE meeting its Missional Resource commitment. However, payment deficiencies in an FCE’s Missional Resource commitment should be satisfied during the asset division process.

 

The Enforcement of the Gracious Affiliation Agreement

 

The enforcement of the Gracious Affiliation Agreement is handled by the Dispute Resolution Agreement, one of three agreements (found in the center column of the flow chart) that establish the interdenominational framework for the PGP plan of separation. The potential for invoking the Dispute Resolution Agreement as part of asset division is represented by the dotted line on the flow chart.

 

Some people reading the PGP have questioned the need for the independent dispute resolution process created by the Dispute Resolution Agreement and the effectiveness of the process. An example is the following comment about the PGP that recently came to my attention: “How is the arbitration/DRA decision more effective than a current Judicial Council ruling? I may be missing it but it seems like just a different group making decisions which may be ignored.” I think there are two embedded questions to be addressed.

 

If the question is: “Why don’t we just use the judicial council?”, the answer is because the role of the United Methodist Church Judicial Council is to decide disputes within the denomination. This may not be the point of the rhetorical question listed above, but some people seem to have a hard time grasping the fact that under the PGP each Full Communion Expression is a new denomination. The PGP recognizes the need for an independent entity to decide disputes between denominations. People need to understand that the PGP does not leave the United Methodist Church as an umbrella organization that governs the FCEs. Each FCE is co-equal with the United Methodist Church. The Judicial Council is not a vehicle to decide interdenominational disputes and probably lacks jurisdiction to undertake that role.

 

The second embedded question is: “Will the Dispute Resolution Process be effective at insuring compliance with its decision?” I believe so. Ultimately, an arbitration decision is enforceable in a court of law. As a retired attorney I am not trying to advocate or create legal proceedings. In fact that PGP has been designed to avoid disputes and provide a mechanism for resolving disputes without judicial intervention. However, if parties cannot reached a mutually acceptable decision, an arbitration decision by an independent arbitrator cannot merely be ignored. Court enforcement is the remedy of last resort. Ultimately judicial enforcement solves the problem of a party who chooses to ignore their agreement and an arbitrator’s decision.

 

I hope that this explanation and flow chart help explain the Gracious Affiliation Agreement used in the PGP.

 

Post script

Thanks for taking the time to take a look. If you support the Plain Grace plan please share your support with others using e-mail, social media and most importantly by word of mouth. The PGP has no institutional support which is both good and bad. The bad part is that it started with a base of zero support. The good side is that it carries no institutional baggage. Without grassroots support the PGP will fail; if it does, at least those who tried can say they gave it their best effort. My hope is that all who serve at GC 2020, no matter what the outcome, will receive their thanks by hearing the words “Well done good and faithful servant”.

 

Download (PDF, 96KB)

 

 

RELATED BLOG

2 comments found

comments user

ldcj October 13th, 2019

Reading this convoluted explanation hurts my head. Particularly the time travel statement that “Essentially, by August 1, 2002 new denominations will be created and in Full Communion with the United Methodist Church.” Say what?

    comments user

    Frank Holbrook October 13th, 2019

    The typo has been corrected; 2002 now reads 2022. Thanks.