Covenant News

Closing Session Focuses on Bylaws Amendments

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (June 23, 2004) - The closing business session of the 119th Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) focused on amendments to the Covenant's Constitution and Bylaws that more closely align Covenant Bible College International (CBCI) to the ECC.

Delegates approved amending part of the church Bylaws providing for ECC to become a corporate member of Covenant Bible College International (CBCI) together with the Evangelical Covenant Church of Canada. The amendments will change the wording in Article 8.2.d of the Bylaws, making the president of CBC an advisor on the ECC's Executive Board. It changes Article 12.1, defining CBCI as "a Colorado not-for-profit corporation" of the ECC. And it adds a new section, 12.4, to acknowledge CBCI's mission.

For more than 60 years, CBC has been under oversight of the Evangelical Covenant Church of Canada. Founded in 1941, CBC had been an individual campus in Canada and still has a campus in Strathmore, Alberta, after having been housed in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, for most of its history.

During recent years, CBC has expanded its influence, with campuses in Windsor, Colorado, and in LaMerced, Ecuador, and now operates as CBCI. The fact that there are two campuses outside of the Canada Conference's boundaries prompted a reconsideration of the manner in which the campuses relate to the Covenant as a whole. A report given to delegates stated that the partnership "will enhance cooperation in ministry and bring about appropriate mutual accountability." The proposed changes were presented to delegates attending this spring's Canada Conference Annual Meeting and were spread on the minutes for action at the 2005 conference annual meeting.

Because of the new partnership, ECC will have certain reserved powers and will have rights of approval/disapproval over the following:

• Amendment, modification or repeal of CBCI's articles of incorporation and Bylaws
• Selection of and/or removal of CBCI's president and campus executive directors
• Merger or dissolution of CBCI or the sale of assets outside of the ordinary course of business
• Any act that would jeopardize CBCI's status as a tax-exempt organization
• Creation or dissolution of any affiliate or subsidiary of CBCI
• Amendments or modifications to CBCI's mission statement

As part of section 12.4, it is noted that the Evangelical Covenant Church of Canada appoints the directors of CBCI.

In other amendments, delegates also approved changing:

• Article VIII, Section 8.2, ii (b) of the Bylaws, which asks the ECC nominating board to recommend candidates for various board positions by September 1 of the previous year instead of October 1. This is done to allow the Board of Nominations to prepare for their fall board meeting more adequately.
• Article VII, Section 7.4.d of the Bylaws, which gives the ECC Department of World Mission up to 26 delegates to the Annual Meeting of the ECC. Previously, World Mission regions were given two delegates per region.
• Article VII, Section 8.1.j of the Bylaws, which gives the ECC's Board of Benevolence approval to the salary of the president of Covenant Ministries of Benevolence (CMB) – previously, the Board of Benevolence had say in salaries of the CMB president, as well as the president of Covenant Retirement Communities, president of Emmanuel Medical Center, president of Life Center on the Green and president of Swedish Covenant Hospital.
• Article VII, Section 7.10.m.iii of the Bylaws, which asks that a two-thirds vote of the Annual Meeting of the ECC be needed to either remove or reinstate suspended members of the ECC's Executive Board – previously it took a majority vote. This decision to amend the article is in line with the Illinois General Not for Profit Corporation Act.

In other news:

• Palmberg recognized ECC Executive Board chair Catherine Gilliard and other board members, giving outgoing board members Charles "Chuck" Thorpe, Nancy King, Rich Berry, Jim Ahlberg and Doug Hample special gifts and thanking them for their extended service.
• Outgoing moderator Kristine Strand was given a bouquet of flowers and a special gavel by Palmberg, who noted that Strand's professionalism and sense of humor made her a key asset to the past two Annual Meetings.
• ECC's Vice President of Administration Mary Miller recognized Strand, vice moderator John Martz, parliamentarian Duane Aschenbrenner, secretaries Karen Johnson, Tricia DeKok and Denise Erickson, along with Annual Meeting coordinator Eric Palmquist. Palmquist has served at seven Annual Meeting events. He is a recent graduate of North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago.
• Delegates approved allowing the ECC to move toward become a charter member of Christian Churches Together in the U.S.A. Palmberg introduced the organization to delegates, stating that the interaction with a diverse number of church denominations – including Roman Catholic and Lutheran denominations - was a healthy step for the Covenant. Palmberg said that he thought this association with Christian Churches Together would provide "a united witness" on various issues pertinent to current society and provide a place of dialogue among denominations as they followed Christian faith in their various forms. It has already been given approval by the Covenant's Executive Board. More information about the organization can be found on the Internet at: www.christianchurchestogether.org.
• Don Meyer, executive minister of Covenant Communications, distributed a Delegate Summary Report that distills the various decisions and actions taken during the three-day meeting into a concise format. The report is intended to assist delegates in making reports to their respective congregations. Downloadable copies of the report will be found on the Covenant website at www.covchurch.org.

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