Meeting Report

The Holston Chapter of the Wesleyan Covenant Association met Saturday, March 19, for a time of worship and to conduct annual business.

During the day, those in attendance heard the basic goals of the Holston WCA:

First, to encourage and support a vote during a meeting of the Holston Annual Conference regarding whether the conference as a group should move to the Global Methodist Church; and if that proves to not be possible,

Second, to advocate for the development of a transfer process for churches that is simple, allows property to transfer cleanly, accounts fairly for any pension liabilities that may exist, and has nothing in it looking like an exit fee.

The Holston WCA also is seeking to organize groups of traditional Methodists in churches unlikely to move to the GMC so they can plan for their futures as Methodists, too.

A video of the worship time can be watched here, while a video of the business meeting can be watched here.

During the business meeting, the WCA also distributed a “Statement of Intent” for churches and other groups of Methodists to use once they have determined they want to join the Global Methodist Church. That statement is part of a document titled “Looking Ahead.”

During the Question and Answer session, some in the gathering asked for a comparison between the UMC Discipline and what is currently the Transitional Book of Doctrines and Discipline of the GMC. That comparison can be viewed here.

During the business session, individual WCA members and representatives of WCA member churches elected the following to the WCA Board, effective Saturday, March 19:

Chair: Rowland Buck (clergy)
Vice-Chair: Charles McEntyre (laity)
Treasurer: Gregg Benefiel (laity)
Secretary: Todd Chancey (clergy)*

David Bowden (laity)
Ronnie Collins (clergy)
David Duggan (laity)
Maria Grimm (clergy)
Jake Herron (clergy)
Doug Jennings (clergy)
Fielden Sanders (laity)
Becky Wilder (laity)
Russ Young (clergy)

Serving at the Discretion of the Board:
President: Chuck Griffin (clergy)
General Counsel: Joe Manuel (laity)

The body also elected delegates to the Wesleyan Covenant Association’s Global Legislative Assembly, set for Friday, May 6, in Indianapolis, Ind. This is the day before the WCA’s More Than Conquerors event, a time of worship and learning.

Lay Delegates are: Gregg Benefiel, David Bowden and Charles McEntyre.

Clergy Delegates are: Rowland Buck and Chuck Griffin, with Todd Chancey serving as first alternate.

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*The Rev. Chancey was elected board secretary via an email vote by the board after the meeting.