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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, September 15, 1980
Page 5
FROM MINISTERIAL SERVICES
Policy on Ministers Flying Airplanes
Recently we have had several men request permission to fly airplanes in
order to reduce the travel time to outlying areas within their circuits.
Some feel they can fly for just about the same cost as,or less than,driv
ing; however, in figuring the costs, they don't consider the liability
exposure that the Church is open to when they fly a private plane.
Whenever a minister flies on Church business in a private airplane,
whether he pilots the plane or someone else does, the Church would be
liable for any damages resulting from an accident. This liability is
extremely large due to the possibility of crashing into populated areas,
etc.
In order to obtain liability insurance coverage, we would have to file
a separate report on each pilot giving his health, his flying experience,
how much he would be flying, where he would be flying, and so forth.
Because of the cost of insuring the Church against such a large liability
exposure, Mr. Armstrong has set the policy that ministers are not to pilot
airplanes as a part of their jobs, nor should they have a member or some
other private individual fly them on Church business. Ministers should
make business flights only with commercial or chartered airlines and then
only when the expense for doing so has been approved.
I have discussed this with Mr. Armstrong personally and he was quite
alarmed that some men have taken it upon themselves to do this without
checking with him first. Mr. Armstrong's feeling, having discussed this
with our pilots, is that a man who only flies occasionally wouldn't be
experienced enough to be a safe pilot and those who would fly enough to
be proficient would be sacrificing their commitment to the ministry.
Therefore, it is Mr. Armstrong's decision that ministers should not pilot
planes'!!- �� y t�e.
International News
Report From New Zealand Christ is continuing to abundantly bless His
Work in New Zealand and the South Pacific. Income for August was 24.3%
up on the same month last year, and the year-to-date increase now stands
at 30.7%.
A glance at our income graph for the past few years is an inspiring
sight. For a number of years the income was reasonably stable. Then,
suddenly, in January 1979, the very month the receivership crisis broke
and Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong stepped in to put God's Work back on the
right track, the income leaped up by 30%. And ever since that time it
has continued to run at a level of 30% ahead of the previous year!
Figures have now been finalized for our householder card promotion of The
PLAIN TRUTH earlier in the year. A total of 5300 cards were returned.
This is a response rate of 1%, at a cost-per-response of $1.80. House
holder cards will be distributed to the remaining half of the country in
October.