ABC District BOD Letter to Members Regarding the ASC Settlement

I’ve just received a copy of a letter the post-restructured ABC District BOD sent to the membership about the LCC – ASC Settlement.

The original copy of the letter is here and my backup copy is here. The copy I have is a graphical image so I typed the letter contents in this blog post by hand – any errors in transcription are all mine.

I’ll have fair bit to say about this letter in a later post.

ANO

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To our brothers and sisters of the ABC District:

You may have heard the news about the Alberta Securities Commission matter and the settlement agreement signed by former members of the District as well as by myself as the current Chairman of the Board of ABC District. I believe it is important to provide you with some context for this settlement.

I begins with a reminder of who we are.

For a very long time, we have organized ourselves in such a way that congregations and church workers could support one another and work together beyond our local ministries. Alberta British Columbia District was never a third party organization or some kind of consulting firm or professional corporation, but it has always been our own office. It has been us, and we ourselves – congregations and pastors and church workers – have together been the authoritative body as we sent our delegates and met in Convention

Our entire structure and the traditions and customs of our organization were built and developed over many years. This work was done through many conventions that approved particular work plans and voted on various resolutions. Then, we elected representatives from among our church workers and congregations in order to do those things we asked them to do. For this reason, the problems that we have faced that have led to so much anger and confusion and sorrow and even shame belong to all of us together to sort out.

These will remain our problems, our solutions and our prayers until the final set of resolutions of Convention can be worked upon and the District can finally be resolved as our October, 2018, Convention has resolved it should be dissolved. 

This means that what is done on your behalf moving forward is not so much about individuals as it is about whom these individuals represent. I signed the settlement documents as your representative firmly convinced that a settlement is a more reasonable way for us to move forward in the process than a hearing. The men who were named in the settlement were named representatives of the Board and of the District administration in general, and signed as representatives. The payment, then, is being paid out by those ware being represented, not by individuals, and the amounts will be covered by our insurance policy.

The settlement itself is not part of any lawsuit, but has to do with a branch of the Government that deals with a particular set of regulations and standards and has its own responsibilities to meet. The legal, law suit, part of things, in the way that we usually think of legal things, comes next as the Representative Action and its defence proceeds.

It is our mandate as the current Board of Directors of Lutheran Church Canada Alberta British Columbia District to make sure that everything that we must do together is done in good order to resolve the problems that we share.

We pray for everyone involved, knowing very well that we have responsibilities to all of you, as you do to us, as laid out in our bylaws. 

At the same time, we have mutual responsibilites as children of God laid out clearly in God’s Word. 

We ask for your prayers for humility and wisdom and fortitude as we work on your behalf and trust in God’s mercy for the sake of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Lutheran Church Canada Alberta British Columbia District, 

Rev Roland Kubke, the Chairman of the Board