This Library contains documents from all recent United Church governance meetings, including General Council and its Executive. It also includes “Our Beliefs Explained” official policy documents dating back several decades. If you can't find something you think should be included, contact gcbusiness@united-church.ca.
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Helpful topics
Like many other faith groups in Canada, congregations of The United Church of Canada have always accepted responsibility for ensuring that their paid accountable leaders are housed for the duration of their ministries. While for many decades this housing was a manse held in trust by the congregation, the past fifty years have seen a significant shift away from the provision of manses toward the provision of a housing allowance.
The current formulation of the Cost-of-Living Group Assignments (COL) are creating inequities between pastoral charges located in the same city. Final decisions on appeals of COL assignments are made at the General Council Office using third party data, however using the hard data alone has created unhelpful disparities between churches in the same community. There is currently no mechanism for those with local knowledge of their own communities to correct these irregularities.
Sabbaticals are a key way to help our ministry personnel to be re-energized and strengthened for their ministries into the future. Healthy ministry personnel and healthy congregations make the wider church healthier too.
The M&P committee has developed organically over the life of the United Church of Canada, permitting both flexibility and confusion. Simultaneously, requirements for employers have evolved separate at both the federal and provincial levels, and vary by province.
It is becoming increasingly important for ministry personnel and lay leaders to be well versed in handling conflict as it arises in our communities of faith, and to be equipped to help lead people through change.
We believe that God is calling us to address an injustice concerning ministry personnel access to ‘ChurchHub’ information for communities of faith that are in the search process.
I believe the Holy Spirit is calling the church to overhaul the human resources processes used to address concerns raised by ministry personnel in regard to working conditions and to encourage the church to provide more effective interventions to ensure safe and healthy workplaces.
The 44th General Council directed that a total compensation study for ministry personnel in the pastoral relations system and for ministry personnel and lay employees in General Council and regional councils staff systems be undertaken, reporting back to the 45th General Council. In November 2023, the Executive of the General Council established a Total Compensation Review Task Group to look at compensation practices through lenses of equitableness, adequacy, and sustainability.
While there is a great deal of accountability for ministry personnel within the denomination, there is little accountability for the vocational office overseeing the review and discipline process.
The Pacific Mountain Regional Council is aware that those in ordered ministries have their salaries and benefits continued for 6-months if they die while in ministry. However, this policy does not apply to the General Council staff. Salary and benefits terminate immediately at the time of death.
