Proposed Covenant Bylaw Changes

To our beloved Covenant Family:

We pray that you and your ministries are filled with the resurrection hope in this Easter season.

In two months, we will gather for the 134^th Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church. We look forward to connecting with delegates from Covenant churches and celebrating our ministry together. If you have not already done so, we encourage you to register delegates from your congregation to be with us June 27-30 in Omaha, Nebraska. In addition to electing leaders, welcoming new churches, ordaining and commissioning ministers, taking action on a budget, and making other important decisions, delegates will vote on the following proposed amendments to the Evangelical Covenant Church Bylaws and to the Covenant Pension Plan.

The amended Section 12.2 paragraph h. of the Bylaws would read:

Section 12.2. Covenant Ministries of Benevolence.

Current:

1. Covenant Ministries of Benevolence has the following affiliated corporations, among others: Covenant Retirement Communities, Inc.; EMC Health, Inc.; LifeCenter on the Green, Inc.; and Swedish Covenant Hospital. Each of these affiliated corporations may have affiliated corporations, institutions, and entities of its own.

Proposed:

1. Covenant Ministries of Benevolence has the following affiliated corporations, among others: Covenant Living Communities and Services; EMC Health, Inc.; and Swedish Covenant Health. Each of these affiliated corporations may have affiliated corporations, institutions, and entities of its own.

Proposed Amendments to Covenant Pension Plan.

In accordance with Section 11.1 of the COVENANT PENSION PLAN (“PLAN”), The Evangelical Covenant Church, as sponsor of the PLAN, is providing notice of certain proposed amendments to the PLAN, including, but not limited to:

• Closure of the PLAN to new entrants effective 12/31/19;
• Recalculation of Actuarial Equivalence for Lump Sums, and the opening of a Lump Sum buyout window for Terminated Vested participants in 2020;
• New Rules regarding Mandatory Contributions and In-Service Distributions after age 65;
• New Rules regarding Non-Vested Terminations.

 No later than May 10, 2019, a more comprehensive educational update will be broadly distributed so that delegates and churches can better understand the implications of these proposed PLAN amendments. The full text of the amendments will be finalized and approved by the Board of Pensions and Benefits in May, which will then recommend approval of the amendments to the Executive Board of the Evangelical Covenant Church.

The full text of these amendments will be available with the delegate notebook before the end of May on www.covchurch.org. We encourage your church’s participation in Gather 2019 (Ministerium Annual Meeting and Evangelical Covenant Church Annual Meeting). Information on how to register and/or obtain delegate information is available at www.covchurch.org, under the Events tab.

For further information or questions regarding this communication and/or the proposed amendments you may contact us at (773) 784-3000 or email us as recommended below.

Thank you for your continual partnership in ministry.