What is a REMIT you ask?
Well….
Very simply stated a remit is a motion (a formal proposal made in a deliberative assembly), which has come to UCC General Council requesting an amendment be made to the church legislation; found in the Basis of Union that governs The United Church of Canada. This is one way the church does its work and safeguards its members.
The United Church 37th General Council (August 2000) authorized TWO REMITS to be sent to Presbyteries and to Pastoral Charges (us). Remit 6 concerned use of the term “full” when describing membership in the UCC, and Remit 7 concerned the concept of changing our structure from four courts to three councils.
The United Church requires that remits be discussed thoroughly by the church; 2/3 of Presbyteries are required to respond. When a remit is sent to Pastoral Charges as well, 2/3 of the Pastoral Charges must also respond.
The results of the votes for the remits will be reported to the 38th General Council (August 2003). If a particular remit receives at least a simple majority, and the required minimum of 2/3 of the Presbyteries and Pastoral Charges have voted, the General Council may decide to go ahead with the change. If the remit does not receive at least a simple majority and/or not enough of the Presbyteries and Pastoral Charges voted, the General Council cannot approve the change.
Do you agree that the use of the word “full” to describe
membership
in the United Church should be discontinued, and that
the Basis of Union be amended?
Rationale
The 37th General Council determined that the use of the word,
“full”,
to describe members and membership in the United Church should be
discontinued
and authorized a remit to test the will of the church on this matter.
Notes
This remit arose out of the Division of Mission in Canada (DMC) report Belonging: Privilege & Responsibility
With regard to our current situation, the report says:
The concepts of ‘Member’ and ‘Full Member’ introduce confusion and discomfort for many people involved in the United Church. The process (of review undertaken by the committee appointed to study the matter) surfaced the anomaly that it is not possible for a person to make an adult profession of faith and ‘only’ become a Member of the universal Christian Church, without also and at the same time becoming a Member of a United Church congregation.
The report contains a series of resolutions.
Table groups at the 37th General Council meeting had the opportunity to respond to the report. They had mixed response to these resolutions including the one leading to this remit.
Though the implications of this remit affect more than children, the focus of discussion at the General Council meeting tended to shift toward its impact and implications for children and how we speak of their membership.
On the one hand, there was overwhelming consensus on the value, presence and participation of children in the life and work of the church. However, there was less clarity about their status as members.
Part of the struggle concerns the difference between being a
member
of the church universal (usually associated with baptism) and
membership
in the church particular (held through association with a congregation
in a denomination). Some names suggested for those children
baptized
and being raised within a congregation setting included junior members,
novice members, associate members and others.
These notes were prepared by and for BC Conference and are
strictly
meant to contribute to the conversation concerning remits
A Discussion Process for the Session or Board of a Pastoral Charge.
How does one become a Member of a congregation in the United Church of Canada?
i. Profession of faith
ii. Baptism (including children)
iii Be a child of a member
iv. Transfer membership from another congregation or Denomination.
Answer: All of the above.
Who has voting privileges at the annual meeting of your congregation/pastoral charge?
Who has voting privileges concerning a change in pastoral relations?
Answer:
Those members of a congregation who are entitled to vote at all meetings are persons in full membership whose names are on the roll of the Congregation. (Basis 5.8.2, By-Laws 133) In order to be able to vote as a right, one has to be both a Full member and named in the historic roll; that is, not deleted as a result of a revision of the roll. In addition, with the consent of these, Adherents who contribute regularly to the support of the Congregation may vote on Temporal Matters. (Also Basis 5.8.2, By-Laws 133) Hence, at least some people who are not Full Members may vote on some things some of the time, but only upon the agreement of the Full Members.
“Adherent” and “Temporal Matters” are both defined in the United Church’s By-Laws. “Spiritual Matters” are not defined, but it appears that our system operates on the assumption that anything that is not a Temporal Matter must be a spiritual matter.
“Temporal Matters” mean those transitory and secular affairs that
pertain to the life, work, and finances of the Congregation.
Temporal
Matters are stated not to include: the calling of a member of the
Order of Ministry; a request to a Presbytery for an appointment; the
election
of an Elder or a Trustee; the order of worship the discipline of the
United
Church; the amalgamation of Pastoral Charges or Congregations, or
property
matters requiring the consent of the Presbytery. Even when
Adherents
are permitted to vote, there are certain kinds of Decisions in which
they
may not participate by voting.
If this remit passes, how would the voting for matters about
pastoral
relations be affected?
7 Number of Church Courts: A Choice for a Changing Church
i. Do you agree that the church should move from a four court
system
to a three council system, with the power currently assigned to the
Presbytery
and Conference collapsed into one council?
ii. Do you agree that the Basis of Union should be amended as
indicated
in the official remit document?
iii. Do you agree that the names of the councils in the Basis of
Union should be as indicated under the “Proposed” section of the
official
remit document or as approved by the 38th General Council, if that
General
Council determines to move ahead with the change of structure?
Rationale
The 37th General Council determined that the structure of the United Church should be changed from a four court structure ) Session, Presbytery, Conference, General Council) to a three council structure (Pastoral Council, Regional Council, General Council). (The names for the new councils will be finally determined by the 38th General Council.) The 38th General council (to be held in 2003) will have before it for consideration the results of this remit and a full report from the Executive of the General Council, which spells out the details of the three councils, including the financial resources, size and location of the regional bodies, and staff structure.
This remit is to test the willingness of the church to move from a four court system to a three council system, with the powers currently assigned to the Presbytery and Conference collapsed into one council and the duplication removed.
This remit also seeks the permission of the church to insert the names of the councils as approved by the 38th General Council should that Council determine to move ahead with the change of structure.
Notes
This remit arose out of the report A Choice for a Changing Church. This report comes out of a five year process that attempts to identify and to address some growing concerns within the church. The response that forms the substance of this remit concerns the structure of the church.
The most commonly cited reasons for the need to change the
structure
include: the difficulty of finding people to assume
responsibilities
that are often heavy and complex; and the frustration of people working
in various courts of the church with matters involving duplication of
work,
slowness of response or inefficiency of operation. As well, many
worry about a growing sense of distance that people in pastoral charges
exhibit with decisions or actions of church courts, particularly those
of a conference or General Council.
The pivotal recommendation is that the United Church of Canada moves to a three Council system of governance from its current four court system. There would be a General Council and a series of Regional Councils, within which would operate Pastoral Councils. This is distinguished from the current General Council, system of Conferences, Presbyteries and Pastoral Charges.
As far as proves feasible, the privileges and responsibilities of the presbyteries and conferences would be rolled together.
The authors of the report became convinced, as a result of their research and work, that the church exhibits a readiness to accept structural change, providing some fundamental concerns are addressed.
Initial response to proposed three court models indicated support for:
• Reduced layers of governance, therefore an enhanced
decision-making
process
• More local power to determine spending and mission priorities
• Less duplication and therefore better use of human and financial
resources
• Clearer lines of accountability
• Paid staff in the Pastoral Relations and Ministry Vocations area
• Retaining the familiarity of the known
Concerns included:
• Structural change must not lead to loss of “national” identity and reduce the United Church to a collection of independent and only loosely connected parts.
• We must not become a church of the “have” and the “have-nots”. Any restructuring must ensure that we are still a “united” church, linked to and concerned for each part of the whole.
• If restructuring removes a “level” of the church’s decision-making structure, we must not reduce the opportunities and responsibility for participation of lay and ordered people.
• If the structures beyond the Pastoral Charge are streamlined, they must not become so large or so distant that congregations feel isolated and unknown, and their members discouraged from participating in decision-making.
• The Courts of the church must meet frequently enough to be able to respond in a timely fashion within the areas of their responsibility. They must also meet frequently enough to provide support and collegiality to members and congregations within their bounds.
• Structural change is unsettling and highly disruptive. If energy and patience are required of church members to relate to one another in new ways and learn to work differently, it must be ‘worth it’. The change must be warranted and it must be significant.
• Any new structures of decision-making must be sustainable in
terms
of the financial cost and the human energy required.
If the three council model were adopted, the details of the transition would go to an Implementation Group to consider. Such matters would include the exact boundaries of each region, the type of staff in each region, the level of appropriate financial assessments and the optimum regional configuration.
This remit focuses exclusively upon the principle of the move to a three council system from the current four court structure.
A Sketch of the Current System
The United Church of Canada is currently organized into four distinct levels and units of operation: the pastoral charge, the presbytery, the conference and the General Council. (See appropriate descriptions in The Manual.)
The pastoral charge is the basic building block. A presbytery oversees a number of pastoral charges; a conference oversees a number of presbyteries and the General Council oversees the conferences. So, for example, Squamish United Church is located in Vancouver-Burrard Presbytery, which belongs to the British Columbia Conference, one of the thirteen conferences of the United Church of Canada overseen by the General Council.
The pastoral charge is primarily focused around worship, Christian development, pastoral care, evangelism and outreach.
The Presbytery has oversight of the ministries (pastoral charges and others) within its bounds and holds Order of Ministry personnel (actual and potential) to account. The membership of a presbytery is drawn from Order of Ministry and within a Pastoral charge.
The Conference has oversight of the Presbyteries within its bounds and consists of members of the Order of Ministry and lay members of the United Church. Conference is responsible for determining the number and boundaries of the Presbyteries within its bounds, have oversight of them, and review their records. They are responsible for the election of members of the Order of Ministry and lay members to the General Council.
The General Council consists of equal numbers of members of the Order of Ministry and members of the laity elected by the Conference. A regular meeting is held every second year and General Council has the full power to determine the number and boundaries of the Conferences, have oversight of them, and review their records. General Council legislates on matters respecting the doctrine, worship, membership and government of the Church, subject to the Basis of Union. They regulate courses of study for Candidates for the Order of Ministry and determine the missionary policy of the Church. General Council is to “… adopt such measures as may tend to promote true godliness, preserve the unity and well-being of the Church and advance the kingdom of Christ throughout the world”. (Basis of Union 8.6.10)