CHAPTER X. THE FINANCE
1. THE YEARLY COLLECTION (MISINALE).
- A collection of money is to be made each year. The collection should not be made later than the end of March each year.
- The money from the yearly collection is to be divided into three in accordance with the following:
a) The first is Conference Money.
e) The second is Education Money.
f) The third is Trustees’ Money.
The yearly collection money will still be divided equally, for the Conference, Education and Trustees even if the target is not reached in any Parish.
- The Chief Church Treasurer and the Assistants:
a) The Chief Church Treasurer is the President of the Church, and the Assistants are the Chairing Minister, The Head Secretary, A Committee each in Tongatapu, Vava’u, Ha’apai, ‘Eua, Niua Toputapu, and Niua Fo’ou.
b) All insurance Policies, Trustees’ Records, mortgages, loans, money withdrawals, and any loans of any part of the Fee Wesleyan Church of Tonga, should not proceed unless approved by the Conference or Conference Committee and the loans will be lawful once this is done. And all paperwork in relation to that loan if approved should be signed by two people from the four people whose names appear below:
a) The Church President.
e) The Head Secretary of the Church.
f) The Financial Secretary.
h) The Church Lawyer.
i) To appoint a Church Auditor to audit Church funds.
2. DONATED MONEY
i. The Money to be Donated by every Catechumen is twenty cents (24s) each Quarter.
ii. There shall be donations in every chapel on Sunday before the Quarterly Meeting is held.
iii. That the Donated Money is not to be used for anything else, except for the pay of the Ministers.
3. THE GIFT TO THE MINISTERS.
- The gift to the Ministers is to be paid from the Donated Money and the Quarterly donations.
- The gift to the Ministers who have a ministry:
a) The sum to be fixed by the Yearly Conference.
e) The Conference can authorise the Quarterly Meetings to give a gift to a Minister who has no ministry, but this does not include the retired Ministers.
f) The Conference can authorise the provision of financial assistance to Ministers from time to time.
h) For the pay of every Minister who works in the two Departments (Christian Education and Evangelism) from the donated money in order to allow for the expenses of both Departments from the Yearly Income.
3. The policies for the Overseas Ministers and Missionaries:
If there are any Overseas Ministers and Missionaries who are not ministers that are supported by the Church in Tonga, the gift to them will be in accordance with the determinations of the Overseas Work Company in Australia for their equivalent workers.
4. THE GIFT FOR STEWARDS
i. For the gift to the Local Stewards to be the same at $10.00 each Quarter. This will be obtained from the Local Funds.
5. THE RETIREMENT FUND
i. The pension for the Ministers and the Ministers’ Widows, the one that was created by the Conference in 1951, to assist Ministers’ Widows, will be kept and explained by the President of the Church. He can appoint someone to assist him in carrying out this task.
ii. The Minister will forward his Birth Certificate to the President at the time that he is appointed to a Ministry or position that is shown in the list of the Reassigned positions of the Conference.
iii. Every Minister who has a Ministry will pay $4.00 a month towards the Retirement Fund. And the Conference will pay $48.00 every year because of every Minister who is in a Ministry and this must be paid quarterly. If at the end of the Quarter, the Minister has fully paid, the Conference will add another $3.00 each quarter for the Retirement Fund for that Minister.
iv. The Retirement Fund will be deposited in a bank in Tonga or overseas, and the President, in his wisdom, will use some of the money to purchase Bonds or put into Investment Funds.
v. The President will be authorised to use the Financial Books and to deposit the money in accordance with the above clause (4).
vi. If a Minister becomes a Retired Minister, he will be entitled to all the money that he has contributed to the Retirement Fund, and the money he is entitled to as recorded in his financial book.
vii. If a Minister reaches the age of sixty-five (65), he can receive part or all of his contribution from the Retirement Fund and the entitlement that is recorded in his financial book. If a Minister wishes to do this, then he will notify the President in writing. The President and the Conference Committee has the authority to pay that money.
viii. At the end of the Quarter following the retirement of a Minister, he will begin to receive a yearly donation of $7.00 of every year that he was a Minister with a Ministry. This donation will be paid by Quarterly instalments and will continue until the end of the Quarter before the death of the Minister.
ix. A Retired Minister, if he wishes, can be paid a lump sum equal to the donation for ninety-six months (96) in place of the donation referred to in Clause 8. Should the Minister wants this, he will notify the President in writing and he or his Widow will not be entitled to any further share of the Retirement Fund after receiving the lump sum.
x. At the end of the Quarter after the death of a Retired Minister receiving a donation in accordance with Clause 8, his Widow will receive (if she was the Minister’s wife at the time he became a Retired Minister) from the Retirement Fund a yearly donation for six-seventh (6/7) of the donation that her husband received. This donation will be paid by Quarterly instalments, and this will continue until the end of the Quarter before the death of the Widow.
xi. A Widow who receives a Quarterly donation in accordance with Clause 10, can receive a lump sum if she wishes, to replace the Quarterly donation. The money will be limited to six-seventh (6/7) of the difference between the donation for ninety-six (96) months and the months that her husband had received the donation. If a Widow wishes to do that, then she will notify the President in writing, and she will no longer receive any share of the Retirement Fund.
xii. If there is a Minister in a Ministry, his Widow will receive all the Money that her husband paid and the entitlement money.
xiii. At the end of the Quarter after a Minister in a Ministry passes away, his widow will begin receiving from the Retirement Fund a yearly donation equal to six-seventh (6/7) of the donation that her husband would have received when he retires(d) if he had continued in a Ministry until he reaches the age of seventy (70). This donation is to be paid in Quarterly instalments and will continue until the end of the Quarter before the death of the Widow.
xiv. It is permitted for a Widow of a Minister to be paid a lump sum, equal to the donation for eighty-four months (84), in place of the Quarterly donation referred to in Clause 13. If a Widow wishes to do this, then she will notify the President in writing and she will receive no further share of the Retirement Fund after the lump sum has been paid.
xv. If a Minister dies and his Widow predeceased him, the President and the Conference Committee will conclusively determine how to implement any decision about the money that was contributed by the Minister and his entitlement.
xvi. If the Minister is survived by his children, the money can be distributed amongst them, or held in trust to cover their educational expenses.
xvii. If there are no children, the President and the Conference Committee can consider whether there is a person or persons who should receive the whole or part [of the money].
xviii. If it happens that a person is not entitled to receive the money or part of it, that money will revert to the Retirement Fund.
xix. The decision of the President and the Conference Committee will still remain in relation to all matters and that will be final and conclusive.
xx. If a Minister retires from his Ministry before he reaches the age of sixty-five (65), due to ill health, and this has been confirmed by a Doctor, he will receive (and his widow) a donation from the Retirement Fund in accordance with Clause 6, 7 and 8, but to be understood that the yearly donation to be paid to him for the duration of that Minister’s life will be no less than the lesser of the amount of money and the Retirement Money that he anticipates to receive if he retires at the age of seventy (70).
xxi. If a Minister ceases to be considered a Minister in accordance with the decision of the Conference, or by his resignation, he will receive all his contribution to the Retirement Fund, together with his entitlement, but he will not receive any other donation from the Retirement Fund.
xxii. If a Minister takes temporary leave due to illness, he will be allowed to maintain his position in the Retirement Fund by paying one hundred and eight dollars ($108) a year, during the time that he is away from his Ministry.
xxiii. If there is a Minister who stops or is not assigned a Ministry at a Conference, that time will not be counted in determining his share in the Retirement Fund (but he will be allowed, if he wishes, to pay his contribution of $48 a year).
xxiv. If a Minister has been told by the Conference to study overseas, if he wishes, then he will be allowed to continue his contribution to the Retirement Fund in accordance with Clause (3) above and he will be considered as being in a Ministry for the purposes of the Retirement Fund.
xxv. If a Minister works in a Department but not in the Conference, and he still continues his involvement with the Retirement Fund by paying his contribution, he will be allowed to do this, but it will be up to the Educational Institution or the Department that he works at to be responsible for the amount of money in clause (3) above.
xxvi. If a Widow of a Minister remarries, then her entitlement to the Retirement Fund will cease.