I first learned of the current controversy about the United Thank Offering (UTO) from reading postings on the House of Bishops/Deputies listserve. Then Elizabeth Keaton wrote about it on her blog Telling Secrets, and re-posted a statement from elected province representatives serving on the UTO board spelling out the issues.
In 2008 the United Thank Offering Committee, a working committee of General Convention, sought approval from Executive Council to incorporate as an independent 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization. Executive Council felt that this might affect the church’s connection to UTO, and so the Council appointed an ad hoc task force to study the proposal. Just this past July, the UTO board drafted a memorandum of understanding between the UTO board and church administration (actually,The Episcopal Church acting legally as Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, DFMS, its official name). The Presiding Bishop invited UTO board members to meet with her and work on the bylaws specifying the relationship between UTO and the church. Apparently before that meeting could take place, legal council for DFMS presented the UTO representative with a completed revision of the bylaws, with no input from the UTO board. Earlier this month, four UTO board members resigned in protest and made public the results of negotiations (or more correctly, the non-negotiation) with the church.
The significance of this situation, according to the statement released by the UTO board representatives from several provinces, is that “the proposed bylaws will sever the relationship between UTO and Episcopal Church Women (ECW).” The board will no longer be autonomous, and granting of monies will be through DFMS, not UTO. Also, there would be no UTO presence at General Convention every three years except through representatives of DFMS. The signers of the statement particularly lamented the fact that the core values of their organization would be lost in the proposed new bylaws. The UTO would no longer be described in their bylaws as “a daily ministry of prayer and gratitude for blessings received”, but as simply fulfilling the goal of “raising money to support mission.”
Most importantly, in my view, is that these actions by the national church serve to minimize the contributions of the laity. ECW is a lay organization, and has historically operated in tandem with but organizationally independent of The Episcopal Church. Its large monetary grants, through the UTO, are the fruits of spiritual discipline by its members. The UTO offering serves not only to raise money for mission projects, but also to strengthen the spiritual life of individuals while building a community of faith. On the face of it, this attempt to force new bylaws on the organization in order to consolidate administration of grant monies is destructive of the spirit of this influential lay organization.
Noting that there will be a meeting of the House of Bishops in Nashville beginning on September 19, the UTO board representatives ask that church members write to their bishops this week. There needs to be a conversation about this issue, and it should include diocesan bishops.
I have written a letter to Bishop Love of Albany. I hope that others will write to Bishop Love as well, or to the bishop of your own diocese. Here is my message:
Dear Bishop Bill,
I’m sure you are aware of the controversy about the proposed new by-laws for the UTO. In your bishop’s meeting this week you will have a chance to learn more of the details and to speak with your fellow bishops about it. Please express your support for an independent UTO with a continuing connection to ECW. The UTO originated, and has always been administered, as an independent charitable effort by lay women. It is important to maintain and foster lay leadership at all levels of the Church, and both the UTO and ECW are a very vibrant and visible expression of the laity’s mission. I urge you to be a champion of the UTO and call for a reconsideration of the hastily formed plan for reorganization.
Yours in Christ,
John White
Thanks to the Rev. Doctor Elizabeth Keaton for bringing this issue to our attention.
Recent Comments