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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Rules of order for the GC44 Annual General Meeting.
The Call to Ministry is a sacred trust. The covenant of Ordered Ministry is Celebrated in sacred ceremony. In addition to this covenant, members of the order of ministry are also employees who deserve the rights and privileges of all workers in any station of life.
A nominee for Moderator must be a full member, lay or ordered, of The United Church of Canada but is not required to be a Commissioner of the General Council.
That the 41st General Council 2012, in order to continue the work of the Beaconsfield Initiative in the Cordillera region in the Philippines, direct the Executive of the General Council and General Secretary, General Council to:
We believe God/Jesus Christ/the Holy Spirit is calling the church to recognize the lifelong call to ministry and faithful service in response to that call of many current Designated Lay Ministers. While their practice of ministry is indistinguishable from that of ordered ministers in the eyes of many church members, DLMs have been frustrated, hurt and disappointed at continuing to be limited to appointments and not eligible for call, paid at lower minimum salary schedule than ordered ministers, and retaining no status as ministry personnel between appointments and in retirement in many regional councils.
Since at least 2010, the Manual has stated that ministry personnel not in a call or appointment in a pastoral charge, community of faith, paid accountable ministry, or recognized ministry must be in “formal association” with a pastoral charge/community of faith in order to carry out the “functions of ministry.”
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.
WHEREAS The United Church of Canada, through its Commission on Christian Marriage and Divorce, has encouraged frank discussion of such subjects as sex, marriage and relationships between men and women, on a high level of respect for the dignity of these relationships as given of God to mankind, and particularly in order that youth may be properly instructed in such matters; and
The current phase of the theological dialogue between the Anglican Church of Canada and the United Church of Canada resumed in January 2012 with a shared mandate to discern “whether God is calling us into a new stage in our common life.”The 2010 General Synod of the Anglican Church specifically asked the dialogue to focus its work on “an examination of the doctrinal identities of the two churches and the implications of this for the lives of the churches, including understandings of sacraments and orders of ministry.” Meeting once annually, the members of the dialogue have rediscovered the degree to which our two churches share a common faith, context, history, geography, and commitment to carrying out God’s mission in the world. We have spent considerable time examining the theological positions and practices related to orders of ministry, sacraments, and creeds.
Ministry personnel who are order of ministry and are appointed to administrative positions in the General Council and regional council offices (Manual section I.1.2.5) retain ministry personnel status and accountability to the Office of Vocation for compliance with the Ethical Standards and Standards of Practice for Ministry Personnel. Appointments to staff positions can be without term; the General Council and regional council offices are considered ministry sites.
