1st GCE of the new triennium

Greetings friends! I have survived my first meeting of the GCE. Please find below a report that I prepared for my Presbytery which met last night! Please let me know if you have questions.

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Report from General Council Executive
David Hewitt, elected Ministry Personnel Representative
Maritime Conference

The Executive of the General Council met at the General Council offices, Toronto, from November 13 to 16, 2009. The Executive and committees work to carry forward the work and ministry as approved and directed by the actions of the 40th General Council, recently meeting in Kelowna, BC in August 2009.

There are over 70 people in the room when the Executive (GCE) meets, the majority of whom are the elected voting members: 26 Conference reps, 4 members at large, 5 Permanent Committee chairs, 2 Francophone reps, 2 Ethic Ministries reps, our representative to the World Council of Churches, the General Secretary, Moderator and past Moderator. The 13 Conference Executive Secretaries/Speaker are corresponding members, and a variety of General Council staff move in and out as required.

40% of the voting members of the GCE are new, including me! As this newly constituted executive gathered for the first time, significant portions of time were spent in reviewing our governance model and the role and processes of the executive. Even more time was spent examining, exploring and refining the 5 themes that were adopted by the 40th General Council to inform our work over the next three years:

• emerging church
• authentic relationships with youth and young adults
• faith formation
• outreach, social action, care of creation
• becoming a whole people

While we offered some substantial insight as to the meaning of these themes for the work of the General Council Executive, committees and staff, there is still work to be done before it will become clear how these themes may inform not only our Call to ministry, but also our assignment of dollars and staff time. The General Secretary, Nora Sanders, and the Permanent Committee on Governance and Agenda has some important work to do between now and our May 2010 meeting.

Former moderator Bruce McLeod led us in theological reflection to begin and end the meeting. A copy of the text of Bruce's remarks will be sent to us soon. A phrase that has stuck in my mind since Friday's address went something like this, "as followers of Jesus, it's important to keep him in sight. Don't fall too far behind, don't barge ahead as if we know exactly where he's going and can get there first."

We received accountability reports from a variety of bodies including:

• Moderator
• Moderator's Advisory Committee
• General Secretary
• General Secretary's Supervision Committee
• General Council Accommodations Task Group (next GCO location?)
• World Council of Churches rep, Carmen Lansdowne
• GC40 Agenda and Planning Committee
• Permanent Committees on Finance, Governance and Agenda, Ministry and Employment Policies and Services, Programs for Mission and Ministry

We also dealt with approximately 80 separate pieces of business relating to the actions taken by GC40 or ongoing work of the General Council. Some highlights:

• GC40 approved a Statement on Ministry which, among other things, determined that the court of designation for Designated Lay Ministers shall no longer be the Conference, but the Presbytery. The GCE approved a number of manual changes that would put this decision into action. Such changes do not take effect until 90 days after the release of a new Manual, which means that 2010 will be the last Annual Meeting of Conference that will recognize and designate Designated Lay Ministers. After that, such designation will take place at the Presbytery level only.
• a declaration of concern about how hosting the Vancouver Olympic Games may have given rise to abuses and oppression of poor and homeless people, and restrictions on the right to free speech.
• approved the granting of license for sacraments to retired Designated Lay Ministers, when needed.
• clarifying that it is the Presbytery, not the Pastoral Relations Committee, that appoints representatives to JNAC, JSC and IM Transition Committees.
• clarified the notice of pastoral charge meeting for pastoral relations matters: 2 Sundays plus a day in all cases. Meetings for any other purpose will only require notice in worship at least once before the meeting.
• approved as directed by GC40 further study and development on the Candidacy Pathway, including possible trial implementation in up to 3 Conferences. One of the significant initiatives in the Candidacy Pathway is the relocation of the Internship requirement to post-graduation.
• referred amendments to the Pension Fund "Statement of Belief and Principles" and "Terms of Reference" back to the Permanent Committee for MEPS for further work specifically in regards to socially responsible investing and referencing MAR 19, which raised concerns about Goldcorp.
• approved in principle a campaign on Major Gifts and Legacy Giving. This will include signficant support for congregations.
• agreed to strongly and annually urge the Government of Canada to target development assistance to attaining the UN Millennium Development Goals.
• approved the broadening of Extra Measures Initiatives beyond the testing done in Bay of Quinte.
• approved the Moderators "Plan for Participating in God's Abundant Healing of Creation."
• clarified that only the General Secretary may offer "rulings." Executive Secretaries may offer "interpretation."
• clarified the role of the Committee of Stewards with respect to assisting the work of the Stewardship Committee of the Pastoral Charge.
• clarified that Designated Lay Ministers must be members of the United Church.
• modified the definition for Quorum at Presbytery.

Please contact me if you have questions about any of this work, or other items of concern. Please also check my blog at http://discerningtheway.blogspot.com/, where I will occasionally post up thoughts and impressions on our work.

Respectfully submitted,

David Hewitt