General Board of Pension and Health Benefits’ Board of Directors Intercedes in Oregon Pastor’s IRS Tax Levy

For Immediate Release
April 26, 2007

Contact: Colette Nies, Managing Director—Communications
(847) 866-4296 or cnies@gbophb.org

Fort Worth, TX—The General Board of Pension and Health Benefits of The United Methodist Church (General Board) concluded its Board of Directors meeting last week in Fort Worth.

Among considerations was a request by the Reverend John T. Schwiebert (retired clergyperson in the Oregon-Idaho Conference of The United Methodist Church) and his wife, Patricia, which was presented at the Board of Directors’ January Public Forum and referred to committee for resolution.

Late last year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) placed a levy on the retirement benefits of Rev. Schwiebert, who had refused to pay 2002 and 2003 federal income taxes as an expression of conscientious objection because a portion of taxes are used for military support.

The levy was served on the General Board as the administrator of the retirement plan in which Rev. Schwiebert is a participant. In recognition of its obligation to obey the law, the General Board began payment of the levy, while the Board of Directors referred the Schwieberts’ request (that the General Board not pay the levy) to the Fiduciary and UMC Principles Committees. The committees reviewed possible courses of action that would be in concert with Church teaching and in support of Rev. Schwiebert’s act of conscience.

After prayer and thoughtful deliberation, the General Board’s Board of Directors has unanimously decided to continue to comply with the levy against Rev. Schwiebert—but under protest.

The General Board is preparing a letter for the IRS, expressing strong feelings that this levy forces it to be a collection agent for the IRS in a dispute between the federal government and a Church member who is acting out of conscience and with regard for long-standing Church teaching.

In this letter, the General Board will respectfully ask the IRS to understand that the amounts levied against Rev. and Mrs. Schwiebert are not amounts that they failed to pay through fraud or neglect. They are amounts that they quite openly refused to pay because of religiously based conscientious objection to the primary purposes for which the money was to be used, namely U.S. military activity—including the war in Iraq.

Neither Rev. nor Mrs. Schwiebert derived any financial benefit from their refusal to pay these taxes. The reduction of Rev. Schwiebert’s monthly pension benefit in response to the current levy not only creates a hardship for him and his wife, but also for the persons with whom they live in an intentional Christian servant community affiliated with their local United Methodist Church.

Understandably, Christians may disagree on the legitimacy of war, but The United Methodist Church has stated clearly that “war is incompatible with the teachings and example of Christ.” (¶165C, The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church 2004.)

The General Board also plans to urge the U.S. president and United Methodist congressional representatives to consider enacting new federal laws, such as H.R. 2631, proposed in 2005, that provide for alternative tax payments for conscientious objectors to war in the same way that selective service laws provide for alternative service for conscientious objectors to military service.