The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland just concluded an almost two hour Special Meeting to deal with the crisis at the Presbyterian Mutual Society.

I followed it closely on Twitter but only got the live video stream working at the very end of the meeting so my comments reflect the official tweets from @pciassembly and a couple of other news sources that got their impressions up quickly.

Since my last update two weeks ago when the Special Meeting was called the Northern Ireland Government has been working on a plan to rescue the savers in the Society.  According to today’s Belfast Newsletter the proposed £225m package from the government would include a £175m government loan to the Society Administrator to accelerate payments to investors, and a £50m hardship fund from which the small investors could withdraw up to £20,000.

The call for the Special Meeting says regarding the church:

While not in a position to share a full written description of what they describe as ‘Plan B”, the First and deputy First Minister indicated that it would include a ‘hardship fund’. In addition to a contribution from government, they anticipated that a sum of at least £1m would be forthcoming from the Presbyterian Church in Ireland towards this ‘hardship element’.

The documents for the meeting include the Report and the Supplementary Report for the Assembly — the latter contains the proposed resolutions.

The Assembly was convened by the Moderator, the Rev. Stafford Carson, who called the meeting to order just after 2 pm local time with scripture reading and prayer.  A press report says that about 800 of the 1200 commissioners were present.  According to the official Twitter messages the Moderator offered an apology “on behalf of PCI for the distress and anxiety that the PMS crisis caused to savers” and “The church has not abandoned these people. We hope that this painful experience will not be prolonged much longer.”  He thanked those who have worked hard on behalf of the savers and asked the church to stay united as they work through this.

The Moderator said that while they still hold out hope for a “commercial solution” the possibility is looking “increasingly less likely.”  Consequently, participating in the government plan, the “Plan B” that is referred to, is advisable since it may be the only hope.  He said “We want to ensure that our actions promote and advance, and do not inhibit or prevent, a just solution” and “We must show we are not a reluctant church, being dragged along by Government.”

The Assembly then turned to the business:

Resolution 1 to receive the report of the Panel on the Financial Crisis was received.

The Twitter messages suggest that Resolutions 2-6 were also easily adopted:

2. That the General Assembly call on all congregations and members to continue in prayer and to offer practical support where possible for everyone who has been affected by financial hardship, including those caught up in the situation of the PMS.
3. That the General Assembly are acutely aware of the continuing distress of many savers who have been unable to access their savings in PMS.
4. That the General Assembly welcome the commitment of the Prime Minister to seeking a resolution of the PMS crisis and his acknowledgement of a moral obligation to do so.
5. That the General Assembly regret the delay and reaffirm the importance of seeking urgently a solution which will, if at all possible, give a full settlement to all claims, whether from “shareholders” or “creditors” and welcome the assurance that the “commercial” solution is still an option.
6. That the General Assembly commend the efforts of the Northern Ireland Executive, led by the First Minister and deputy First Minister, and encourage all politicians to work vigorously for a successful solution.

There was more discussion when they got to Resolution 7:

That in the event of the government failing to secure a “commercial” solution and the Northern Ireland Executive bringing forward a final and comprehensive proposal which includes a “Hardship” Fund element, the General Assembly agree in principle to contribute £1m.

One tweet quotes the Rev. John Dunlop – “The law does not necessarily serve justice – a hard lesson for us to learn” and then says that he “suggests creditors who are in line to get their money back plus 8% interest, forgo the interest and contribute to shareholders.” There were proposed amendments and word-smithing of the resolution and in the end the Assembly passed Resolution 7 and changed the wording so the end of the resolution now reads “…commits in principle to contribute £1m.”  Earlier discussion made clear that the concept for raising this money would be by voluntary contributions and not an assessment on the church.  (I will also note that the wording of the original in the tweets did not always correspond with the on-line text so there might have been a couple of different versions circulating.)

Finally, the Assembly passed Resolution 8

That the General Assembly instruct the Panel on the Financial Crisis to consider ways in which the necessary finance may be raised for the above contribution and to report to the June Assembly.

and concluded the meeting by singing that great Irish hymn “In Christ Alone.”

There are initial news reports from the Belfast Telegraph and the BBC about the meeting.  And clearly from Resolution 8 this will come back at the regular Assembly meeting in just under two months.

UPDATE:  The PCI has issued a summary of the meeting which contains the final text of the debated and amended resolution:

That in the event of the government failing to secure a “commercial”solution and the Northern Ireland Executive bringing forward a final and comprehensive proposal which includes a “Hardship” Fund element, the General Assembly agree in principle to contribute £1m, while the General Assembly affirm their view that the members of the PMS are thrifty savers and not risk taking investors.

Also, the Moderator has posted the full text of his remarks to the Assembly on his blog .