Meeting Minutes List

Describe the item or answer the question so that site visitors who are interested get more information. You can emphasiFinance, Administration, & Benefits Commission
AGENDA NOTES – THURSDAY, October 8, 2026
ATTENDING:
1 Harrison Bell
2 Sam Gregory
3 Vivian Kinnear
4 Bishop Auta (NT)
5 Luvo Thwethwa (SAT) OUT
6 Sung-Soo Kim
7 Jennifer Lineberry OUT
12 MEMBERS; 2 STAFF ATTENDING
8 Sherry Austin
9 Chris Akers
10 Jim Noble
11 Joy Perry
12 Matt Seel
13 Rhonda Bourgeois OUT 14 Richard Croll
15 Olandor Boyce (LT) OUT 16 Lyndsey Clark
STAFF:
1 Molly Williams
2 Mike Schafer OUT
3 Matthew Conover
WELCOME AND PRAYER –HARRISON
APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES FROM LAST MEETING – VIVIAN
Matt Seel moved to approve the September 24 meeting minutes, and Jim seconded the motion. Sam submitted one typographical correction. The motion carried, and the minutes were approved with the correction applied.
JULY 2026 FINANCIAL REPORT-MOLLY AND MATTHEW
Molly presented the July 2026 financial report. Matthew reported that the operating reserve is $3.1 million, equivalent to approximately six months of operations, and has never been used. Because the 2027 budget is expected to reach approximately $9 million, the appropriate reserve level may need to be reassessed during budget development. Molly also confirmed approximately $310,000 in non connectional funding revenue from dividends, interest, direct contributions, and unrealized gains, bringing the total to approximately $762,000. The Commission will discuss designated funds scheduled to expire at year-end during a November meeting.
Matthew will follow up on tracking non-U.S. conference connectional funding data. Matthew confirmed non-U.S. church contributions are under $5,000 so far, but growing monthly; Mega Manila is preparing to contribute. Chris suggested tracking non-U.S. church data separately and by conference. Molly will send the financial documents to Vivian for archives. Matt Seel moved to approve the July 2026 financials, and Richard seconded. The financials were approved.
BENEFITS TASK FORCE PROPOSAL
Harrison presented a structured proposal for two task forces of 12 members each to address the benefits transition mandated by new church law. He emphasized the human and pastoral element that must be included because changes to health insurance directly affect people's lives and must be
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handled with care. He also stressed the importance of early ongoing communication with annual conferences to reduce anxiety.
The Commission approved the two-task-force plan. Matt Seel moved to approve the proposal, and Chris seconded. Harrison will email commission members within a few days to request nominations. Harrison and Matthew will coordinate communication of the plan to the Connectional Council and conference superintendents. In-person task-force meetings are anticipated and will be included in the 2027 budget.
WESPATH/INTERNATIONAL RETIREMENT BENEFITS UPDATE
Matthew confirmed that Wespath will not enter discussions without legal authorization from an individual or conference empowering it to act on that party’s behalf. Bishop Auta offered to ask his conference’s legal advisors to contact Wespath on the conference’s behalf and connect them with Matthew. Matthew will continue pursuing a legal pathway to access and potentially transfer the Wespath pension funds. This work is expected to fall within the scope of Task Force 2.
GENERAL CONFERENCE PETITION SUMMARY
Sam provided a rapid summary of key petitions passed at General Conference and their impact on the Commission's work.
Petition 1216: Connectional funding calculation — no major formula changes, but implications for benefits funding need clarification.
Petition 1283: Conflicts of interest — Connectional Council and Assembly of Bishops must develop a conflict of interest policy within 90 days (by end of year); all commission/council members must sign acknowledgment upon enactment.
Petition 1101: Commission name change: “Pensions" removed from the name; now Finance, Administration, and Benefits Commission (FABC), effective January 1. Kingdom Advancement and Discipleship, Doctrine, and Ethics commissions are also officially renamed.
Petition 1134: Each commission will now select its own officers, effective with new commissions onboarding November 1.
Petition 1194: A conference superintendent will be assigned to each commission, beginning sometime in November; the Assembly of Bishops will determine assignments. Petition 1066: Removed the 90% budget limitation — the Commission is no longer constrained to budgeting only 90% of the prior year's connectional funding.
Petition 1108: Mandates development of a plan to transition benefits packages to annual conferences (the basis for the task force discussion).
Petition 1330: A resolution on benefits and fundraising for non-U.S. clergy was not adopted but was referred to the Commission for study — fits within Task Force 2's scope.
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Petition 1064: Annual conferences must conduct audits, reviews, or national equivalents annually; language was broadened to accommodate non-U.S. contexts; the Commission may need to guide what this means in various locales.
The Commission must prepare for the conflict of interest policy rollout before year-end. A connectional funding calculation guide for churches and conferences remains an open action item. The Commission should be prepared to guide non-U.S. conferences on audit/review requirements.
AUDIT SEQUENCING – 18-MONTH TRANSITIONAL PERIOD VS. 2025 AUDIT
The group reaffirmed the prior decision: proceed with the 2025 audit first due to the requirements of the Lilly Grant. The 18-month transitional period audit will be deferred and conducted afterward, potentially with a different firm. If a review (rather than full audit) is ultimately chosen for the 18 months, it must be brought before Connectional Council. The Connectional Council will be informed of the audit sequencing approach.
CLOSING PRAYER – SAM
NEXT MEETING: October 22, 2026, at 7 AM; New Commission: November 5, 2026 at 7 AM.
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