Ken Giese: "Wolf Sowing Discord?"

Dear Friends,

It is with great sadness and grave concern that I write to you all regarding the current crisis gripping the United Church of God. Clearly, we are a house divided against itself and in danger of disintegrating. We have been told that there is a rebellion in our midst, led by wolves who are causing division and seeking to draw brethren to themselves in an effort to “start their own church”. Our current leadership continues to accuse dedicated pastors with decades of faithful service and experience of leading an organized conspiracy, while at the same time, dismissing some 2,000 Latin American brethren and their pastors without due process, demonizing anyone who would question their authority and demanding the support of members and ministers alike despite their egregious misconduct. The income of the United Church of God is dropping precipitously, morale is sinking and we are about to lose what we have all worked together to build under Christ’s direction for fifteen years. Enough is enough.

 As many of you know, on November 4, 2010, I resigned from my responsibilities as an employed pastor of two UCG congregations (Reno, NV and Sacramento, CA) due to the fact that I could no longer in good conscience support the actions and decisions of the current Council of Elders majority or their appointed administrators. As I wrote to Dennis Luker and Victor Kubik, despite the fact that I resigned from employment, I wanted to retain my membership in the United Church of God as well as my status as a credentialed elder in UCG in hopes that the current Council of Elders and our administrators would accept responsibility for this debacle and seek reconciliation and peace rather than confrontation and war. Sadly, they have chosen the latter.

 As one who has been identified as a wolf who is sowing discord, I would like to set the record straight. The last thing I or any of my fellow elders want to do is leave the United Church of God and start another organization. NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. We (some current COE members, former administrators, regional pastors, concerned elders and members) have been working diligently behind the scenes to bring the current Council of Elders majority and our administrators to the table for frank discussions on our current state of affairs as well as exploring methods and means whereby we could all work together to bring reconciliation and peace, but our efforts have been consistently rebuffed and ridiculed. We desperately want to remain a part of the United Church of God, but we are being falsely accused and forced out by those who have clearly disqualified themselves as our spiritual leaders.

 Therefore, I am calling upon the General Conference of Elders to step up and demand that the current Council of Elders and their appointed administrators be held accountable for bringing the United Church of God to the point of imminent disintegration. I encourage GCE members to fulfill their responsibility as the only “members” of the corporation – The United Church of God, an International Association. I encourage the GCE to call for a special meeting for the purpose of restructuring the organization with new leadership. Our current leaders have proven themselves incapable of correcting the problems that are clearly facing us all.

 Please do not let the cries of “foul” deter you from taking these appropriate and necessary steps. If these actions do not take place, the United Church of God has little chance of surviving intact.

 In light of my personal circumstances and the fact that roughly one-half of the Sacramento UCG congregation has stopped attending, I feel compelled to offer a place of refuge for myself as well as those members who feel they have been forced out of the United Church of God. At the same time, I would love to remain a member of UCG as well as a credentialed elder in UCG and work with the entire GCE in taking the necessary steps noted above, but I cannot in good conscience do so. Therefore, I hereby resign as a member of the United Church of God and as a member of the General Conference of Elders, effective immediately. This coming Sabbath, November 27th, I plan to meet with other brethren who no longer feel they can affiliate with the United Church of God. My purpose is not to start a church . . . I am attempting to provide a place of refuge in hopes that we can eventually return to fellowship in a healthy, vibrant and Godly United Church of God.

May God bless and guide us all in these difficult and challenging times.

Sincerely,

Kenneth Giese

UCG Hit List of Ministers Removed From Office So Far In 2010 Updated 12/7

UCG Ministers who have resigned or been kicked out of UCG in the last year:

Mr. David Baker, December 2010, resigned Council of Elders
Mr. Michael Blackwell, December 2010 resigned Council of Elders
Mr. David Treybig, December 2010. resigned Council of Elders
Mr. Neil Hart, December 2010, resigned  12/4/10

Mr. Jim Franks, December 2010, resigned from the Council of Elders

Mr. Alfredo Arboleas, December 2010, removed from UCG ministry

Mr. Eleodoro Avila, December 2010, removed from UCG ministry 

Mr. Alberto Gonzalez, December 2010, removed from UCG ministry

Mr. Jaime Guiñez, December 2010, removed from UCG ministry 

Mr. Adan Langarica, December 2010, removed from UCG ministry 

Mr. Luis Mundo, December 2010, removed from UCG ministry 

Mr. Fermin Nain, December 2010, removed from UCG ministry 

Mr. Jaime Ortiz, December 2010, removed from UCG ministry 

Mr. Manuel Quijano, December 2010, removed from UCG ministry   

Mr. Pablo Dimakis, December 2010, resigned form UCG ministry

Mr. Ron Kelly, December 2010, removed from ministerial duties

Mr. Jonathan R. Pinelli, November 2010, resigned from UCG ministry

Mr. Paul Carter, November 2010, resigned from UCG ministry

Mr. Ken Giese, November 2010, resigned from UCG ministry

Mr. Tim Waddle, November 2010, removed as Associate Senior Pastor of East Africa

Mr. Tom Clark, November 2010, removed as Associate Senior Pastor of Ghana

Mr. Larry Salyer, November 2010, removed from UCG ministry

Mr. Edwardi Hernández, November 2010, resigned from UCG ministry

Mr. Ken Giese, November 2010, resigned as pastor

Mr. Larry Salyer, October 2010, relieved from ministerial duties

Mr. Paul Suckling, October 2010, relieved of his position as Senior Pastor of the United Kingdom

Regional Pastors removed: 

Bruce Gore, Lyle Welty, Mike Hanisko, Todd Carey, Jim Servidio, Jim Haeffle, Greg Sargent, Larry Grieder,  Larry Neff, Dennis Luker  

Mr. Graemme Marshall - August 2010 - resigned from UCG- Canada ministry

Mr. Hendren  - August 2010 - removed from ministry

Mr. Mendez - August 2010 - removed from ministry

Mr. Garcia - July 2010 - removed as Deacon

Mr. Lovelady - July 2010 - resigned as Treasurer / HR Director

Mr. Walker - June 2010 removed as Director of Spanish Work, removed from the ministry

Mr. Roybal - June 2010 - removed from UCG ministry

Mr. S Langarica - June 2010 - removed from UCG ministry

Mr. David Campbell - June 2010 - resigned from UCG-Canada ministry 

THE following were made in cognito by UCG brass.  Their ultimate fate is still unknown.

Mr. Alfredo Arboleas

Mr. Eleodoro Avila

Mr. Pablo Dimakis

Mr. Jaime Guiñez

Mr. Alberto Gonzalez

Mr. Adan Langarica

Mr. Luis Mundo

Mr. Fermin Nain

Mr. Jaime Ortiz

Mr. Manuel Quijano

Mr. Sanchez

These men while removed or resigned their position continue to be employed as paid elders

Johnson - May 2010 - not reconfirmed as Corporate Secretary

Horchak - May 2010 - position on the Ministerial Services team was eliminated when Victor Kubik came in as interim operations manager.

Thompson - May 2010 - position on the Ministerial Services team was eliminated when Victor Kubik came in as interim operations manager.

Register - May 2010 - resigned as Director of Educational Services, his position on the Ministerial Services team was eliminated when Victor Kubik came in as interim operations manager.

Kilough - April 2010 - asked to resign as President

Franks - April 2010 - asked to resign as Operations Manger of Ministerial services

Salyer - April 2010 - resigned as Operations Manager of Media

Kilough - July 2009 - resigned from CoE

Thompson - July 2009 - resigned from CoE

Foster - July 2009 - removed as Council Reporter