Nov 2005

At the November ASC meeting the Assembly General Secretary presented an interim report about proposals regarding people in committed same-gender relationships being in leadership roles.

At its meeting in March 2005 the ASC resolved that proposals regarding people in committed same-gender relationships being in leadership roles must be received by the Assembly General Secretary no later than December 31st 2005.

To date a total four Synods and seven Presbyteries have submitted proposals in this area for consideration at the 11th Assembly. The General Secretary advised the ASC that proposals will continue to be received up until the December 31 deadline and that once reviewed they would be made available publicly.

“A meeting of the Proposals sub committee of the Assembly Business Committee will be convened in January to review all proposals on sexuality that have been submitted. If there are any constitutional issues or issues relating to the clarity of any of the proposals, the Proposals Committee will raise these with the proposers, but there will be no requirement that proposals be changed in any way,” Rev. Corkin said.

This work will be completed by February 28 2006 and a report will be brought to the March meeting of the Standing Committee outlining the full list of proposals that have been received.

All proposals coming to the Assembly, including those related to people living in committed same gender relationship, will also be made available on the 11th Assembly website at the appropriate time. Proposals can be submitted to the Triennial Assembly by the Assembly Standing Committee, Assembly agencies, Synods, Presbyteries and two members of the Assembly. For more information on the timelines for submitting each type of proposals click here.