19 March 2020
Dear Assembly Delegates
Postponement of the Assembly
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and on behalf of the Board of Directors, Trustees and the wider CWM family, we greet you.
We write to inform you that at a special meeting of the Board of Directors, held last evening, 18 March, the decision was reached to postpone the Assembly until June 2021. The Board, in coming to decision, took into account the global Coronavirus pandemic and its impact on travel and social gathering as we all work together to contain the virus and minimise the risk to everyone. We very much regret that we should have to come to this decision but under the current circumstances, and being uncertain as to when normalcy will return to the global community, we consider it prudent to act decisively at this time.
We will continue our preparation for the Assembly, which will be held at the same venue in Johannesburg, South Africa under the same theme, Rising to life with Jesus. We sincerely hope that you will still be available to serve in this role one year hence.
In the meantime, the election of the Boards of Directors and Trustee Body, which was due to take place at the Assembly, will now be conducted electronically by the Member-representatives at an Electronic Annual General Meeting. Your role in this regard is to elect the Moderator and Treasurer and to nominate the candidates to make up the slate that the Nominations Committee (NC) will present to the Member-representatives when they meet electronically for the AGM. Accordingly, we will be organising an electronic meeting in the region when you will have an opportunity to formally nominate three persons for consideration by the NC. We will also provide an opportunity for the youth in each region to come together electronically to nominate one youth each, from which the NC will be able to present two to the AGM to form part of the Board. In due course, the Mission Secretary for the region will be in touch with you to further this matter.
We all share the disappointment that Assembly 2020 had to be postponed but we are equally mindful of our responsibility to self and to others in this time of global threat to our health and wellbeing.
May the sustaining grace of the triune God surround you in this time and always.
Shalom,
Collin I. Cowan
General Secretary