The health of the Presbyterian Church was an unofficial theme at the November meeting of the Life and Mission Agency committee, as the convener, Rev. Daniel Cho, began the meeting with an Arab proverb: “He who has health, has hope. He who has hope, has everything.”
“We've been struggling with numbers for a long time,” said Cho. “We need to focus on that, but our strategies should not just be about numbers, but about health. What can we do to strengthen our roots, our leaders, our congregations? If we neglect that aspect, then this is strictly a numbers game, and what good is that?”
LMA general secretary Rev. Rick Fee encouraged committee members to get young people involved in mission, and to go on mission trips themselves, noting that their experiences will be a valuable resource to the church. “We have to be mission-minded and conscious of the decisions we make now because it will affect the future.”
The health of the LMA's relationship with the Presbyterian Record was also on the agenda. The magazine's editor David Harris was invited for a question and answer that focused primarily on the magazine's advertising policy.
“We're trying to define how the Record fits into the church,” said Rev. Terry Hastings of Knox, Stratford. “We want to better understand that from the perspective of how the editor and the board see it, versus how we see it.”
“Our readers are members of the PCC, and we're telling the story of their church primarily, though we talk about other faith issues in Canada and internationally,” responded Harris. “We're there to serve that market, so, therefore, there is a close relationship.”
Until 2000, the magazine was governed by a standing committee of the General Assembly, although it was generally understood that it was a “hands-off” relationship. In 2000, the Record became a separate entity when it became a federally incorporated not-for-profit. Last year, it also became a registered charitable organization. It is governed by a board of directors, whose membership is approved by assembly.
Committee members had numerous questions about the Record's advertising policy — especially the inclusion of polybagged non-PCC catalogues like World Vision and Canadian Food for the Hungry International.
Ann Taylor, president of the Atlantic Mission Society, asked whether this resulted in loss of givings to the PCC. Harris replied that while no specific research on that is available, the evidence seems to be that more choice encourages more giving. (For example, charitable donations rose about 50 per cent for both PWS&D and World Vision from 2003 to 2006, according to their published annual reports.)
Besides discussions about the Record (including two in camera sessions with staff), the committee also received updates from staff.
Lori Ransom, healing and reconciliation animator, reported that her department still has “a long way to go” in encouraging congregations to reach out to aboriginal people. She said most of the funding that has been distributed for healing and reconciliation projects has gone to existing native ministries.
The resource production and communication department noted that it will work on a large-scale, coordinated communication strategy for the church in the near future. It is hoped that the new website will soon enable presbyteries, synods and congregations to have their sites linked through the PCC website. The process of searching for a new communications coordinator is also underway.
Canada Ministries reported that the church has to look more and more at its multicultural ministries, and ask if the church is doing its best to welcome them into the fold, to help newcomers adapt to the PCC's structures, and to include them in events and on committees.
Herb Gale reported that the planned giving office is trade-marking the ProVisionaries logo, which is the name given to the network of congregations that have committed to planned giving. Twenty-nine congregations were part of the network as of Nov. 2007.
PWS&D said it is planning on applying for more CIDA interns, and ideally, they want to fill those positions with young Presbyterians. Interns work with PWS&D partners around the world. Ken Kim, associate secretary, also noted that refugees and migrants are a major issue that needs continuing study.
The committee also adopted the terms of reference for a new Hungarian advisory committee that will advise and consult with Canada and International Ministries on issues such as translating, determining where Hungarian congregations might be needed and consulting about grants and mission work. The committee will be a resource to presbyteries when needed.
Druse Bryan, president of the Women's Missionary Society, said although the WMS “has a great history, it does have to change and adapt.” She said the society is examining how it is structured, and how it carries out mission. The new president of the Atlantic Mission Society, Ann Taylor, reported that the AMS' givings have gone up thanks to a new strategy where each auxiliary decides where it wants its money to go.
