Friends of Historical Foundation at Montreat
Respond to COGA Action

by Jane Hines

The Board of Friends of the Historical Foundation at Montreat, Inc. held a called meeting on October 25 to consider its response to the recommendation of the Committee on the General Assembly that the Historical Foundation at Montreat be closed as of December 31, 2006. The Friends Board voted unanimously to respectfully appeal the COGA decision and its subsequent implementation.

In a letter dated November 14, 2005, James Cogswell, chairperson of the Friends Board, said: "The action was taken in light of the fact that COGA has not had opportunity to consider other possible options that would both save the Historical Foundation and relieve the Office of the General Assembly of responsibility for its support. We firmly believe that the closing of the Historical Foundation and the dispersal of its unique holdings is such a serious matter that it deserves a decision, not only by COGA, but by the General Assembly itself. Therefore we have requested that the COGA action be reconsidered, and that any implementation of that action be halted until the General Assembly may give this matter its serious consideration."

One of the strategies that the Friends Board voted to pursue is encouraging as many presbyteries as possible to endorse an overture to the 2006 General Assembly, proposing a separate self-perpetuating Board of Directors for the Historical Foundation. They have drafted a model overture and sent copies to friends of the Montreat Historical Foundation around the denomination. The response to date from presbyteries who are considering the overture has been most gratifying, Dr. Cogswell said.

Significant clauses in the model overture state: "WHEREAS the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly has announced that, because of the ongoing decrease in per capita income to the Office of the General Assembly, the Historical Foundation at Montreat should be closed and its holdings distributed between Columbia Seminary and the Presbyterian Historical Society in Philadelphia, with the present Historical Foundation building becoming a mere museum under the management of the Mountain

Retreat Association; and WHEREAS such an arrangement would destroy a precious heritage which has great potential for the life and ministry of the total church, as well as of partner churches around the world; and WHEREAS the Friends of the Historical Foundation at Montreat, Incorporated, a 501 C (3) non-profit corporation, is prepared to sustain the Historical Foundation financially as a self-standing independent institution, relieving the General Assembly of all financial responsibility for its restoration and continuing support, and...."

The resolution in the overture provides for all legal requirements to be met in carrying out the intent of the Friends Board to sustain the Historical Foundation at Montreat.