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Trustees of the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church
The current board is the legal successor of many separate corporations. The Trustees of the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church is the oldest of these corporations. The Trustees were established by the General Assembly in 1836 and incorporated by act of Legislature of Kentucky in 1840. Trusteeship is an important function of the present board in its foundation programs which provide for the creation and administration of trusts and endowments for the benefit of all portions of the church.
Created by the Assembly and chartered by the State of Indiana in 1881, the Board of Ministerial Relief developed programs for the benefit of retired clergy and clergy spouses, eventually establishing the Thornton Home in Evansville, Indiana, for clergy and clergy spouses, and later a children's home in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and still later the Cumberland Presbyterian Children's Home in Denton, Texas. After its original incorporation in Indiana, it was later incorporated in Kentucky, and still later in Texas. Its "responsibility for the care of the aged, infirm and disabled ministers and widows of ministers" of the church was transferred in 1949 to the then newly chartered Board of Finance. Benefits for retired clergy and their spouses are an important continuing function of the present board in its now expanded responsibilities for benefits programs for all church employees as well as clergy and clergy spouses.
The Endowment Commission was created by the Assembly following the first World War and chartered by the State of Tennessee in 1919, this commission focused on foundation work through raising endowment funds for Bethel College and the Theological Seminary.
The Board of Tithing and Budget began as a committee on tithing elected by the General Assembly in 1913. This original committee was restyled the Board of Tithing and chartered by the State of Tennessee in 1914. Later, in 1923, the functions of the Budget Committee were added and the name was changed to Board of Tithing and Budget. This board, for the first time in the history of the church, focused on the need for nurture of Christian stewardship among Cumberland Presbyterians.
Chartered by the State of Tennessee in 1949, the Board of Finance became the legal successor to the corporations of the Trustees, Educational Endowment Commission, and Board of Tithing and Budget, above, and to the responsibilities of the Board of Ministerial Relief in the area of benefits for retired clergy and their spouses. For the first time the church had one board for its work in stewardship, foundation, and benefits. It also had a board charged with developing and recommending the budget for the work of the General Assembly. Because of this budget emphasis and the financial aspects of stewardship, foundation, and benefits, the new board was called, simply, the Board of Finance.
In order to give renewed emphasis to the foundation work of the Board of Finance, the words "and Foundation" were added by the Assembly in the early nineteen-seventies. Shortly thereafter, the word "management" was added in recognition of the board's newly acquired responsibilities for management of the Book Store and Frontier Press as well as its continuing responsibilities for the management of the Church Center property. (Note: these name changes were not filed with the State of Tennessee until 1983.)
The Board of Stewardship, Foundation and Benefits was proposed as a corporate name change in 1995 to more truly express the nature of the current work of the board. The word "stewardship" replaced the word "finance." "Finance" was originally a way of combining "tithing," "budget," "endowment," and "trustees" into one. "Endowment" and "trustees" were later restored to the name in the form of "foundation." Budget responsibilities were removed from the board in the early nineteen-seventies. In a real sense, the present board is most directly the successor of the Board of Tithing and Budget. "Stewardship" restored the emphasis carried in "tithing." Providing benefits to employees, never represented in the name, has over the years grown into a major responsibility and "benefits" replaced the word "management" which was originally included in relation to duties no longer performed by the board: i.e. management of church center property, the book store, and Frontier Press.
The Board of Stewardship, Foundation and Benefits has a rich history in the life and work of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Through this brief history, we hope you can see the growth of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and its journey towards wholistic stewardship.
Page updated on March 6, 2002