Consultation on Simplifying Church Processes
We would like to hear from you.
We are embarking on a project to revise the United Church's procedures and practices to make them less complex and more accessible.
The Executive of the General Council has identified the need for United Church policies and processes to be simplified. As part of this work, The Manual will be revised to make it shorter and more user-friendly, and reflect these simplified processes. This work flows from directions given by the Executive in May 2010 based on Planning for a Future Grounded in Faith and Action, and will link with projects already underway through task groups established by the Permanent Committee on Ministry and Employment Policies and Services. These directions will shape the United Church for the next three years and beyond.
Whatever your views, this is your chance to tell us what you think. Specifically, tell us:
· What church processes create barriers and barricades for you or your congregation, presbytery, or Conference in getting on with ministry?
· How could our processes be changed to free people to live out their faith and offer their gifts and talents more effectively in congregations?
· What processes need to be revised to support and enable ministry personnel at all stages of their ministries?
· What processes need to be revised to promote the healthy functioning of congregations?
· How could we recast our processes to facilitate and encourage, rather than prescribe and constrict, ministries?
Alan Hall, Executive Officer Human Resources, and Cynthia Gunn, legal counsel, are the lead staff assigned to review The Manual. Along with a small steering group of General Council and Conference office staff, they will coordinate with the work of the Permanent Committee on Governance and Agenda, and the Permanent Committee on Ministry and Employment Policies and Services and its existing task groups on pastoral relations, oversight and discipline, candidacy pathways, and recruitment of ministry personnel. Proposals will be developed for the consideration of the Executive and, ultimately, the 41st General Council (2012).
The General Secretary will provide a progress report to the Executive in November 2010, with some draft revisions of The Manual reflecting revised processes expected to be ready by May 2011. This timeline will allow for a year of conversation within the church and further work before the 41st General Council in 2012. The revisions proposed through this process will be submitted through the Executive to the General Council for decision.
Your comments, advice, expressions of frustration or hope, and suggestions are invited. We look forward to hearing from you.
Please send your comments by Friday, October 1, 2010, to:
Cynthia Gunn
Legal/Judicial Counsel
The United Church of Canada
3250 Bloor Street West, Suite 300
Toronto, ON M8X 2Y4
E-mail: cgunn [at] united-church [dot] ca
Fax: 416-231-3103 Attn: Cynthia Gunn
It seems to me that the future of the church is very uncertain. Many would say that ‘staying the course’ will ultimately lead to the death of the entire institution. There may be renewal and new life by ‘changing the course’, but what might that look like? What does the church need to be about to be relevant today? What kind of leadership will we need as we go forward? Are we willing to continue to be part of a church community that bears little resemblance to the one we now know?