#24 of 54. Letter/email from Robert Kyte, May 30, 2007

“From my perspective, I don’t see what would be accomplished by taking this matter to a broader church audience. In fact, it may only execrate the situation in making wider known the statements made about you and your family. I would also suggest that until you have attempted resolution through an agreed resolution process that it is not appropriate to do so, if it ever is.” —Robert Kyte in an email dated January 3, 2008.


LETTER

May 30, 2007


James Coffin
[Home address listed]

Lincoln E. Steed
[Home address listed]

Gentlemen:

I received the May 15, 2007, letter from Jim addressed to various Church leaders in North America and the General Conference. Hal Thomsen and I then discussed this matter by telephone since Hal is out of the area on itinerary. In your most recent letter, Jim, you refer to the processes outlined in Matthew 18 for resolving disputes. At least in our reading, this seems to be a different direction for resolving matters between your and your brother-in-law, Lincoln, than for the Church as Lincoln’s employer to take some kind of unilateral action.

At the end of my telephone conversation with Hal, we agreed that I would contact both of you as well as do a follow-up letter indicating the availability of a conciliation and dispute resolution procedure under North American Division policy BA 45, a copy of which is being sent with this letter for your review. The procedure outlined in this policy is suitable for disputes at all levels of the Church, from Church member disputes to various institutional and conference related disputes. Thus, it would be seem that this is a possible path to resolution of the differences expressed in the relationship between the Coffin family and the Steeds. Hal and I would like to encourage you to review this dispute resolution process, and if you are willing to abide by the procedure outlined, then either of you can submit a request to Carolyn R. Forrest, Director of Human Resources for the North American Division, to put in motion a dispute resolution procedure. Obviously, this procedure requires the consent and involvement of both of you in order for it to move forward. Therefore, once one of you has initiated a request to Carolyn Forrest for moving forward with a conciliation and dispute resolution procedure in this matter, I will suggest that she contact the other of you to determine your willingness to be involved in that procedure as well.

You can contact Carolyn Forrest at the North American Division office. Her email address is __________________. We urge that any further dealings on this process be directed to Carolyn Forrest.

We hope that this alternative will offer a viable way for these matters to be resolved for all that are involved. We wish you God’s blessings and leading in these matters.

Very truly yours,


Robert E. Kyte
General Counsel

REK:mw

xc:
Halvard B. Thomsen
Eugene Hsu
Jan Paulsen
Don Schneider
John Graz
Carolyn Forrest
Michael F. Cauley, President, Florida Conference

Copyright © 2008 James Coffin