Kairos Palestine Document Endorsed for Study and Report
Assembly returned to the report of the ecumenical and interfaith relations committee, again asking if a document crafted by Palestinian Christians should “be sent to congregations, presbyteries and appropriate committees and agencies of the church for study and discussion.”
The document, titled A Moment of Truth: A word of faith, hope and love from the heart of Palestinian suffering, and also commonly referred to as the Kairos Palestine Document, includes language some commissioners worried was too strong, and which some organizations, including the Canadian Jewish Congress, have criticized.
“Kairos can’t be sent on its own,” said Rev. Mark Lewis of the Presbytery of Waterloo-Wellington. “It has very strong words and someone must provide context for those words.” He went on to suggest the Presbyterian Church in Canada may chose to formally adopt the document in the future, and secular society will ask if the church considered dissenting voices as it came to its decision.
Following discussion, assembly passed an amended version of the recommendation which included several additional documents intended to give context to the Kairos Palestine statement. These include: a cover letter and study guide from the ecumenical and interfaith relations committee and the responses of the Canadian Jewish Congress, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, the World Council of Churches, the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Canadian Friends of Sabeel.
Committee to Review Funding Formula for Regional Staff
Rev. Dr. Gerard Booy of the Presbytery of Westminster moved that assembly strike a special committee to review the “funding formula and the consequences of that formula” that provides synods with funds to pay for regional staff. The committee will report to the next assembly.
Regional staff positions were created in 1994 when educational consultant positions, previously funded by the Women’s Missionary Society, and mission superintendant positions, funded by the Life and Mission Agency, were merged. Regional staff were overseen by synods, with the WMS providing $390,000 each year, and the LMA covering the remainder in the form of a block grant administered through Canada Ministries.
Faced with financial difficulties, the WMS was forced to halve its funding to the regional staff beginning in 2009. The LMA covered the shortfall for 2009 and 2010 by drawing funds from undesignated bequests, and synod conveners were invited to help craft a new funding formula at a September 2009 meeting. The new formula provided each synod with funds for at least one regional staff person, with the remainder divided among the synods based on their membership.
The synod of British Columbia took the biggest hit under the new formula; its grant was set to fall by $74,000—50 per cent of its total grant in previous years.
“In making this amendment we’re not trying to be difficult,” said Booy. “We certainly understand that the LMA is in a difficult situation when it comes to the funding … I just think it’s not time to draw a line and say this is a done deal. “
“Synod conveners were asked for their direct participation in re-jigging the formula,” said Rev. Daniel Cho, outgoing convener of the LMA. “This is their product; for the court to ask the LMA to disregard the formula and come up with a new one is impractical. A lot of care has been taken in the process up to this point.”
Rev. Heather Vais of Oak Ridges presbytery described the two days of prayer and debate with synod conveners that lead to the new formula, but spoke in favour of the motion to reconsider it. “The real problem is not the formula,” she told the court. “It’s the money, man. Give us the money and we’ll do something with it.”
The motion passed by a slim margin, and the new committee will face the concerns raised in three overtures: one from the Synod of Southwestern Ontario and one from the Presbytery of Seaway-Glengarry, both of which called for the restoration of previous grant levels, and one from the Presbytery of Winnipeg asking for additional funding for regional staff travel expenses. The committee’s mandate will include seeking out possible new sources of funding to fill the shortfall created by the WMS cut.
Later in the day, Vais, who was named convener of the special committee, called on the members of the court to think about and find new sources of funding for “a ministry the court seems to think very important.”
Ecumenical Visitor – Rev. Emmanuel Ariel of the Church of North India
Rev. Emmanuel Ariel thanked Presbyterian World Service and Development for their ongoing support of projects in India, and the Women’s Missionary Society for funding a hostel soon to be built in Jobat.
Ariel told the assembly of his harrowing experience among the wheat fields of his home parish in Amkhut. In January 2004, he was among 16 Bhil Christians arrested and imprisoned on charges of murder. An attack on Amkhut’s church by a group of radical Hindus had left one Hindu dead; the Christians were accused of the crime.
“We were able to preach to many in this ‘captive audience,’” Ariel said of his time in prison. “We prayed for God’s guidance.”
Ariel, who is dean of the Diocese of Bhopal, and the principal of Amkhut School were eventually released on bail, but the remaining prisoners were only released following a ruling by India’s Supreme Court in May 2006.
Presbyterians Encouraged to Support Crieff Hills
A report from the Maclean Estate committee, which is responsible for property bequeathed to the church by Colonel J. B. Maclean, contained several recommendations aimed at promoting Crieff Hills Retreat and Conference Centre:
- Congregations are encouraged to support Crieff’s building campaign.
- Congregations and presbyteries within a reasonable distance of Crieff are encouraged to promote the programs and facilities at Crieff for their seminars, retreats and conferences.
- Clergy and church workers are encouraged to take advantage of new personal retreat facility for study and renewal.
Clara Henderson Honoured
Assembly approved a moment of appreciation for former Presbyterian missionary Clara Henderson, who spent almost two decades in Malawi working with the music department of Blantyre synod, the southern synod of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian. While there, she sought to encourage the creation of indigenous music and its use in worship.
She recently earned a doctorate in enthomusicology at Indiana University for academic work focused on music and dance among the women’s guilds of Blantyre synod.
Photography Policy Approved
In response to a request approved at the 2009 assembly, the Communications office proposed a photography policy for future General Assemblies. The new guidelines include identification for representatives of the media, and flash photography will not be permitted during assembly’s worship services.
Justice Ministries Looks at Reconciliation and Carbon Emissions
The report of the Justice Ministries department included several recommendations passed by the assembly:
- Presbyteries and sessions are encouraged to discuss opportunities for building contacts with aboriginal people in their communities, and to consult with the healing and reconciliation animator if they require seed funding.
In response to an additional motion passed at last year’s assembly, Justice Ministries has begun looking into the “cost of holding a carbon-neutral General Assembly.” To assist in the process, a number of recommendations were passed, to take effect at the 2011 assembly:
- Commissioners and resource people are to record their air and automobile mileage on travel reimbursement forms to generate baseline data for the assembly’s carbon footprint.
- The baseline data is to be used to assist the church in developing policies and strategies that will reduce the assembly’s footprint.
- The criteria for evaluating potential assembly locations will include questions of energy efficiency and environmental programs and policies at potential sites.
In its ongoing work to combat poverty, the department asked the church to endorse the Dignity for All Campaign, which assembly approved, and urged individuals to sign the campaign’s postcard.
A supplementary report updated the church on the status of Kairos, an ecumenical justice agency supported by the Presbyterian Church. The Canadian International Development Agency cut the group’s funding last November, denying Kairos $7 million.
As the result of an additional motion, the Moderator will write to the Prime Minister to “express disappointment” for the way in which Kairos and its members have been treated. The courts and congregations of the church are also urged to communicate with their members of parliament and the Prime Minister “expressing fervent hope that a resubmission from Kairos to CIDA will be considered favourably.”
Church to Develop ‘New Ministry Opportunities’
In a highly debated additional motion, Rev. Peter Bush of the Presbytery of Winnipeg proposed, “in the spirit of taking bold risks” that the church commit to the vision of planting 10 new congregations each year for the next five years, beginning in 2012. He emphasized that planting a congregation does not need to be done in the “traditional ways,” but can be done in “new and innovative ways.”
The motion was tabled at a previous sederunt, but was picked up again with renewed vigor.
An amendment aimed at adding “or alternative ministries” to the 10-per-year goal was eventually replaced by a final motion which eliminated the numerical goal entirely.
“We have to focus on the dream, not the outcome,” said Rev. Derek Macleod of the Presbytery of East Toronto, suggesting that attaching numbers to a dream is not in the spirit of the Emmaus Project.
Assembly instead passed a motion to “encourage presbyteries to be bold and imaginative in the development of new ministry opportunities, including the planting of new congregations.”
Church Expresses ‘Disappointment’ Over Failure of Kyoto Protocol
Assembly returned to a recommendation by the International Affairs Committee that the Moderator write to the Minister of Foreign Affairs “to encourage the government of Canada to work for and support an internationally-negotiated, binding agreement that builds on the Kyoto Protocol” at a December climate change summit in Mexico City.
Concerns that the original motion was too soft were alleviated by a new amendment, which passed quickly. It stipulated that the Moderator will write to the Minister, with copies sent to the leaders of opposition parties, to “express disappointment” with Canada’s failure to adhere to the original goals of the Kyoto Protocol, and to work toward a binding agreement at the upcoming summit.
An additional motion also passed, asking the Moderator to write to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to urge transparency in their deliberations and reports.
Education and Reception Process Stirs Discussion
In response to an overture originally referred to the Clerks of Assembly and then passed on to Ministry and Church Vocations, the court upheld the current practice for selecting members for the committee on education and reception.
The LMA selects six members of the 11-member committee; other groups, namely Canada Ministries, the Order of Diaconal Ministries, and the three theological colleges, select each of the remaining five.
In response to three overtures crafted by three sessions, Ministry and Church Vocations was asked to reevaluate the current educational standards for ministers seeking to transfer into the Presbyterian Church from another denomination.
The report agreed that the assembly’s guidelines, which were last reviewed in 2002, should be revised, and asked for an additional year to prepare a more substantial response for the 2011 assembly.
A notice of motion made by Rev. Dr. David Sherbino drove the discussion into an unscheduled evening sederunt. He put forward a set of courses intended for ministers who studied at non-Presbyterian seminaries, but who are seeking to become part of the Presbyterian Church.
“There are many candidates from other schools and traditions who for some reason have become interested in entering the Presbyterian Church,” said Sherbino, who is also a professor at Tyndale Seminary. “But the need to commit a year to a year and a half is prohibitive for some, especially for those who have families, and for whom ministry is a second career. Many head into other denominations who open them with open arms.”
Rev. Dr. Stephen Farris, a commissioner from the Presbytery of Westminster and dean of St. Andrew’s Hall at the Vancouver School of Theology, admitted he has felt the frustration expressed by some members of the court, and apologized if he has added to it. But he urged the assembly to avoid forsaking “one of the hallmarks of Presbyterianism: an educated clergy. We must change, but we must change carefully … Be careful what you ask for; you may get a Unitarian minister with only four courses in theology.”
The motion was eventually defeated.
Ministry and Church Vocations Tackles Ministers’ Housing and Mental Health
An overture from Boularderie Pastoral Charge in the Presbytery of Cape Breton asked for guidelines to assist congregations when ministers serving different pastoral changes share a manse, and therefore receive housing benefits from both charges. It focused on a situation in which one church maintains a manse, while the other provides a cash housing allowance.
In response, Ministry and Church Vocations wrote: “To meet the requirements of Canadian human rights legislation, each minister receives a full housing benefit from his or her pastoral charge. If the pastoral charge providing the cash allowance redirected the cost of one-half of the manse utilities to the pastoral charge with the manse—and reduced the minister’s cash allowance by the same amount—this would be discrimination based on marital status and a violation of the minister’s human rights.”
Assembly agreed to send a proposed policy for dealing with mental health issues to sessions, presbyteries and synods for study and report by Dec. 1, 2010. An amendment, which passed, suggested the department still explore the possibility of providing resource people to small synods and presbyteries which may struggle to deal with mental health issues among their members.
On the tail of the amendment, the department announced a new two-year pilot project which will provide counseling and consultation for church employees and their families.
Planned Giving
Rev. Dr. Herb Gale stepped away from his role as Moderator to present the report of the Planned Giving office. The presentation included reading the named of those who left gifts to the church in their wills, followed by the doxology.
Congregations are also encouraged to designate one Sunday in the year to highlight the ministry of Planned Giving.
Clerks of Assembly
The Clerks of Assembly returned to their report to examine once again how—or whether—elders should be commissioned by their presbyteries to administer communion in rural and remote areas.
The report and proposed legislation will be sent to session, presbyteries, the committee on theological education and the committee on church doctrine for study and report by Jan. 31, 2011.
Five changes to the Book of Forms will be sent to presbyteries under the Barrier Act. If at least two-thirds of presbyteries are in favour of the changes, they could be approved by the 2011 assembly. These include revisions in the areas of shared ecumenical ministry, judicial process, and the elimination of mandatory retirement age for ministers.
A set of revised terms of reference for the committee to nominate standing committees were also approved.
A number of proposed changes to the Book of Forms will also be sent to sessions and presbyteries for study and report. These include processes for signing a call form at a congregational meeting (rather than allowing call forms to circulate afterwards), allowing sessions to bestow the term “elder emeritus” on members of session who have left or retired, and an additional option to be offered to an investigating committee that feels there is not enough evidence to lay a charge under the church’s judicial process.
The assembly also endorsed a decision not to create or enforce an often-cited but nonexistent “rule” which suggests the assembly refuse to deal with matters that have been addressed and settled within the last five years. Although the clerks will advise the committee on bills and overtures that no “five year rule” exists, the committee is welcome to make recommendations as it sees fit on any given overture.
In response to an overture asking for synods to be dissolved, the clerks suggested this was not the time to embark on a multi-year study. A similar study focusing on General Assemblies was drawing toward a close this year.
An additional motion was driven by frustration when a decision to reevaluate funding for regional staff emerged after the budget had already been passed. The court ruled that, at future meetings of assembly, the adoption of the budget will take place after all financial matters pertaining to agencies and committees have been settled, although the budget can be brought forward for consideration at an earlier time.
Stewardship
The Stewardship office commended congregations for their generous support in difficult financial times, noting that contributions to Presbyterians Sharing, the church’s main fund, came to $8.4 million in 2009, 1.3 per cent less than 2008 contributions.
The report offered four recommendations. All of which were adopted:
- Sincere appreciation is extended to all the individuals and congregations that supported Presbyterians Sharing in 2009.
- Congregations are encouraged to try at least one new thing to raise additional funds for 2010.
- Congregations should try at least one new thing that shows mission stewardship in action, and they should share their experience with the Stewardship office.
- Congregations, presbyteries and synods should find ways to connect with the mission and stewardship programs of the PCC. That might include doing a mission study, learning more about Presbyterians Sharing, hosting a mission speaker, going on a mission trip, or sending youth on a Youth in Mission trip.
