UCG Announces Council Meeting Agenda

Melvin Rhodes, Chairman of the Council of Elder of the United Church of God (UCG) posted the following:

In a few days the Council of Elders will be starting an historic week of meetings.

For the first time we will be holding our quarterly meetings by video conference. This will enable the church to save money on travel, hotel and meal expenses.

Because of time differences we will start our meetings at 4 pm Eastern Daylight Savings Time each day. This is 10 pm in Italy where new Council member Carmelo Anastasi lives; and 6 am in Australia where Bill Bradford lives. We hope to finish each evening’s session by 8 pm.

Our meetings begin Monday, August 6, and continue through Thursday, August 9.

On the agenda for this session is a lengthy discussion on a proposed “Public Proclamation Identity” that seeks to fulfill the Media Strategy #9 from the 2012-13 Strategic and Operation Plan. We will also be discussing the future of the Strategic Planning and Finance Committee and the viability of the church fulfilling its mission statement.

A ruling has been requested for Sabbath attire – what is appropriate Sabbath wear at church services for men who speak, lead songs and give opening and closing prayer. The Council will discuss this issue before ruling on it.

In addition, we will hear the regular quarterly reports from the president and operation managers. Other items to be discussed are on the agenda.

UCG is historically known for using a lot of committees and meetings. That has been a major way in which it tends to govern itself. There have been various articles from UCG in the past on appropriate attire (mainly for women), and now it seems to feel it needs to make some definitive guidelines for men involved in public aspects of church services.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

Polycarp, Herbert W. Armstrong, and Roderick C. Meredith on Church Government What form of governance did the early church have? Was it hierarchical? Which form of governance would one expect to have in the Philadelphia remnant? The people decide and/or committee forms, odd dictatorships, or the same type that the Philadelphia era itself had?
Unity: Which COG for You? Why so many groups? Why is there lack of unity in the Churches of God? Has it always been this way? What can/should be done about it?
Differences between the Living Church of God and United Church of God This article provides quotes information from the two largest groups which had their origins in WCG as well as commentary.
Concerns about Church of God, a Worldwide Association This seems to be the largest group that came out of the United Church of God. Here is some history and concerns about it.
Should the Church Still Try to Place its Top Priority on Proclaiming the Gospel or Did Herbert W. Armstrong Change that Priority for the Work? Some say the Church should mainly feed the flock now as that is what Herbert W. Armstrong reportedly said. Is that what he said? Is that what the Bible says? What did Paul and Herbert W. Armstrong expect from evangelists?
The Laodicean Church Era has been predominant circa 1986 A.D. to present. These are non-Philadelphians who mainly descended from the old WCG.