Tom Mostert, president of the Pacific Union Conference, announced to executive committee members in June that two of the union’s four officers will retire this year.
Wayne Shepperd, vice president since 1993, will retire Oct. 1 after 44 years of church leadership. His replacement will be voted at the August meeting. Leon Sanders, treasurer since 2000, and auditor, under-treasurer or Association secretary/treasurer since 1967, will retire Dec. 31. Sanders’ replacement will be voted in November.
The committee voted funds to acquaint new members with Adventist pioneer, Ellen G. White. White’s "Conflict of the Ages" series normally sells for $70, but the publishers will discount that by $20 for new members — if local conferences add $10 and the union adds $5. New members can now buy the set for $35. Contact an Adventist Book Center for details.
Committee members approved $56,000 from the Evangelism Endowment Fund: $17,000 for Health Works Under the Banyon, $2,000 for Roseville church’s nativity scene ministry, $12,000 for Mountain View’s University of U Welcome Wagon and $25,000 for an Adventist Beliefs DVD Series. Total evangelism endowment funding for 2005 stands at $290,000.
The committee approved several ordinations to ministry: Matthew Vixie, Ariz.; Bruce Blum and Mike Thompson, Northern Calif.; Carlos A. Camacho, Kurt King and Dewald Kritzinger, Southeastern Calif. The committee recognized commissioning to ministry for Sherilyn O’Ffill, Northern Calif., and Andrea King, Christi Oberg and Yamilet Rodriquez-Bazan from SECC. They also voided two ordinations: Larry L. Crane and Samuel Kaligithi, both from Central Calif.
Several appropriations were voted: $7,000 from the Providential Openings Fund for a Hawaii Conference mission trip to western Samoa; $2,500 from the Union Operating Fund for the Religious Liberty Litigation Fund; and $7,000 from the Special Projects Fund for Religious Liberty’s Ten Commandments website and a related brochure.
The committee approved a $3,000 capital reversion to the St. Helena Spanish church for remodeling, plus two construction loans: $400,000 to the Bakersfield Bilingual church (CCC) and $330,000 to the Victorville church (SECC). Mostert commended the SCC for repaying $2.5 million of their Newbury Park loan, “indicating the improved financial condition of that conference.”
During his financial report, Sanders discussed recent changes in tithe distribution. Between 2000 and 2004, tithe used by the General Conference to support the international ministry of the church gradually decreased from 30 percent to 25 percent (a 16 percent decrease), and the union’s share decreased from 10 percent to 9 percent (a 10 percent decrease).
With less tithe used at the GC and union levels, more is available in local conferences. How much? During the gradual phase-down, conferences in this union received an extra $20 million. “In 2005 alone, the benefit to local conferences is $7.7 million,” Sanders said. “But since some of that money was already being appropriated to conferences, the actual increase is closer to $5 million.”
"So why don’t our conferences feel like they have more money for hiring pastors and doing evangelism?” Sanders asked. His answer: most of the increase has been absorbed by cost of living increases, retirement funding and healthcare costs. “So although it doesn’t feel like we have more money, several conferences would have had severe financial crises if the change had not occurred,” Sanders explained.
In his secretary’s report, Ernie Castillo showed that during the last 10 years, for every 100 people baptized in the Pacific Union, 47 other people were dropped from membership for apostasy, or because they couldn’t be located. But the percentage of members lost varied widely — from 23 percent in the Nevada-Utah Conference to 98 percent in SCC. Castillo suggested the higher numbers dropped in SCC were largely due to aggressive cleaning of church books to reduce insurance premiums. Other conference percentages: Arizona, 36; Hawaii, 47; Central Calif., 38; Northern Calif., 42 and Southeastern Calif., 49.
On March 31, Pacific Union membership was 207,907, including 1,397 baptisms during the quarter.
