That the Assembly:
30.1 encourage participation in celebrations of the centenary of Australian federation with a view to drawing attention to the influence of the churches;
30.2 amend the mandate of Historical by:
(a) inserting a new mandate point 1 to read "To foster interest in the Church's heritage", with subsequent renumbering;
(b) deleting the words "foster interest in the Church's heritage, and" from mandate point 6.
Rationale:
Fostering interest in the Church's heritage is the primary interest of the Historical
Reference Committee and encapsulates their essential task.
31. PRIORITY PLACEMENTS (Presbytery
of Bremer Brisbane, Qld)
That the Assembly:
31.1 affirm that Regulation 2.7.4(i) gives expression to the polity of the
Uniting Church in Australia in that it recognises that
"government in the Church belongs to the people of God by virtue of the
gifts and tasks which God has laid upon them", and that
"the Uniting Church is governed by a series of inter-related councils",
and that
"each council will recognise the limits of its own authority and give heed
to other councils of the Church..." (Basis of Union, para 15)
31.2 (a) request the Standing Committee, on the advice of the Legal Reference Committee, to amend Regulation 2.7.4(i) to provide for face to face consultation with all Ministers, congregations, presbyteries and other bodies concerned;
(b) recognise that Regulation 2.7.14 fails to express clearly the consultative process necessary in that congregational and presbytery placements are made by the presbytery which has pastoral oversight of ministers and congregations in terms of Regulation 3.4.4(a) and Constitution clause 15;
(c) request the Standing Committee, on the advice of the Legal Reference Committee, to amend Regulation 2.7.14(a) to provide that the criteria for determination by the Synod of Priority Placements shall be discussed with a congregation or other concerned body where the minister is currently placed prior to the name being given to another congregation or agency;
(d) request the Standing Committee, on the advice of the Legal Reference Committee, to amend Regulation 2.7.14(c) to limit approaches to ministers by the Placements Committee normally to those who have completed 3 years or more in their existing placements;
31.3 request the Synod Secretaries to amend the National Handbook of Procedures for the Placement of Ministers section 3 to conform to the Regulations as amended.
Rationale:
In recognition of the fact that Priority Placements are necessary, due regard
needs to be taken of the disruption that this causes the Minister concerned
and the Congregations affected.
The current Regulations [2.7.4 and 2.7.14] do not appear to express the spirit
which underlies the polity of the Church. This proposal will:
(a) ensure that the Regulations regarding Priority Placements fully reflect
the spirit and especially the consultative process enshrined in para 15 of the
Basis of Union, and
(b) alert the Assembly to the fact that the National Handbook of Procedures
for the Placement of Ministers fails to adhere to the requirements of the Regulations
in regard to Priority Placements.
32. SYNOD OF TASMANIA (Synod of Tasmania)
That the Assembly authorise the Standing Committee to act on receipt of any
proposals or requests from the Synod of Tasmania which relate to the bounds
of the Synod and/or the Presbytery of Tasmania or to the dissolution of the
Synod or to new arrangements for the government and administration of the church
in Tasmania which would require Assembly approval.
Rationale:
While the Synod has no specific plans or ideas in relation to the possibilities
raised in this proposal, it is possible that within the next three years some
specific plans may emerge. The Synod has decided to establish a task group to
consider various issues about the future shape of our church government and
administration in Tasmania. It therefore seems wise for there to be a specific
authorisation to the Standing Committee to act, on receipt of proposals from
the Synod.
33. TERM OF OFFICE OF SECRETARY OF
SYNOD (Synod of New South Wales)
That the Assembly request the Standing Committee, on the advice of the Legal Reference Committee, to amend Regulation 3.5.19 as follows:
"3.5.19 The initial term of office shall normally be for five years. The appointment shall be reviewed in the penultimate year of the appointment and in the penultimate year of any extension of appointment. Terms of reappointment may be for periods of up to five years."
Rationale:
There are two aspects of change in the above proposal - the timing of the review
and the term of any extension.
Experience in NSW Synod would suggest that the final year may on occasions be too late to be initiating a review, particularly if the outcome was a recommendation that an appointment not be extended. The preferred time would be the final quarter of the penultimate year. If others prefer a late time for the review, possibly the regulation could be amended to state "shall be reviewed commencing no earlier than the final quarter of the penultimate year of the appointment."
It is the view of the Council of Synod that an extension of appointment of only three years is unreasonably short to enable continuity of executive leadership and longer term planning. If a Synod has confidence to extend an appointment for three years, there would seem to be no reason why it could not be extended for a period of up to five years. The specification of a period "up to five years" would allow either the Synod or the Synod Secretary to propose a lesser period if circumstances so warrant it. It is also noted that in relation to the appointment of the Assembly General Secretary the period has been an initial six years with a six year extension.
It is noted that in relation to the Assembly General Secretary, Regulation 3.6.16 authorises the Assembly itself, the Council involved, to determine both the period of initial appointment and the period of extension of appointment, whilst the proposed amendment to Regulation 3.5.19 does not seek that total flexibility. The Council of Synod believes it is not unreasonable to seek opportunity for a Synod Secretary appointment of five years initial, plus up to five years of extension of appointment.
34. DUTIES OF A MINISTER (Church Polity)
That the Assembly request the Standing Committee, on the advice of the Legal Reference Committee, to amend Regulation 2.3.10 by the addition of a new sub-section to read:
"(c) providing for other persons to preside at worship and/or preach within
the pastoral charge;"
and re-number the existing sub-sections (c)-(k) to (d)-(l).
Rationale:
1. The Minister in placement in a congregation or group of congregations is responsible to the Presbytery for the exercise of ministry within the pastoral charge, including leadership of worship and preaching (Constitution clause 15). The Minister's responsibility extends to others exercising such ministry by invitation within the pastoral charge.
2. A similar provision existed in the previous Regulations under the responsibilities of the Parish Council, but it was omitted in the re-drafting of the Regulations following the introduction of the one church council. The last Assembly did not authorise the deletion of this provision and it appears to have dropped out inadvertently.
3. It seems more appropriate that the provision should appear under the Duties of a Minister rather than being related to the management of church property.
35. CLAUSE 39 PROCESS RE ORDINATION
AND HOMOSEXUALITY
(Presbytery of Stirling, WA)
That the Assembly determine that if and when it decides to adopt a proposal which deals with whether or not homosexual people may or may not be ordained, it determines the subject to be an issue which should be dealt with under clause 39 of the Constitution and that the concurrence be determined by a simple majority of congregations.
Rationale:
The Constitution and Regulations of the Uniting Church in Australia provide
for a series of inter-related Councils as the means through which it seeks to
organize its life and witness. Each of these Councils has areas of unique responsibility
as well as responsibilities which may be shared or delegated to other Councils.
Each of these Councils is made up of representatives.
The Assembly (being one of those Councils) has the responsibility of determining matters of doctrine, worship, governance and discipline. Thus it is appropriate for the Assembly to consider matters such as whether or not the Uniting Church should (or should not) ordain homosexual people.
At the same time the Constitution of the Uniting Church also recognises that there may be occasions when the issue/s being considered by the Assembly are such that it is appropriate for the matter to be referred through a range of optional processes which will then determine the final position to be adopted.
This process is described in clause 39 of the Constitution:
"On matters which, by a two thirds majority vote, the Assembly deems to
be vital to the life of the Church, the Assembly shall seek the concurrence
of Synods and/or Presbyteries and/or Congregations as the Assembly may determine."
It is the view of the Stirling Presbytery that the matter of whether or not the Uniting Church may or may not ordain homosexual people is such an issue.
A simple majority of congregations would clearly reveal the mind of Uniting Church people without having to go through the longer process of referral to Presbyteries and Synods.
The Stirling Presbytery would respectfully point out that this proposal neither supports one outcome or another. It simply is of the view that, should the matter come before the Assembly for determination, it be considered a matter "vital to the life of the Church" and be dealt with in terms of clause 39 of the Constitution.
36. EX-OFFICIO MEMBERSHIP OF PRESBYTERY
(Presbytery of Maroondah, Vic)
That the Assembly request the Standing Committee, on the advice of the Legal Reference Committee, to amend Regulation 3.4.15 to include a new clause
"(a) The Chairperson and Secretary of the Presbytery."
and to make any required consequential amendments.
Rationale:
There is, at present, an inconsistency between the Regulations covering the
membership status of the primary officers of a presbytery and those relating
to the Synod and Assembly. In the case of the latter, the membership of the
body concerned is defined as including the President or Moderator and the General
Secretaries, while presbyteries are required to elect these officers from among
their membership. The intent of this recommendation is to ensure that presbyteries
have the same freedom and flexibility in the appointment of officers as currently
exists in these other councils of the Church.
The following points are made in support of the proposal.
1. The Regulations covering the membership of both the Assembly and the Synod provide ex-officio membership to the Moderator [3.5.2(a)] and to the President [3.6.2(a)] and to the relevant General Secretaries.
2. The Regulations appear to be silent about any requirement that the chairperson or secretary must be a member of the presbytery, but require that these officers be elected. However, it seems to be implied that this is a requirement, as it would appear impractical to operate with one or both not being members. This is inconsistent with the explicit inclusion of those officers in the membership lists for Synod and Assembly.
3. While in the case of Ministers serving in placements, their induction vows require participation in presbytery activities as part of their placement, it is highly likely that a lay person elected as, say, chairperson, will not have time to fulfil that role and still effectively act as a congregational elected representative. As a consequence, the electing congregation of a lay chairperson may in reality be deprived of part or all of its lay representation. This problem is exacerbated by recent changes to the Regulations which mean that many congregations only have one representative, and also highlights the potential for a conflict of interest when the officer concerned is the sole representative.
4. Ex-officio membership frees the presbytery to choose the 'best' person for each role, without having to be concerned at the possible consequences of finding that an officer loses membership status as an elected congregational representative during a term of office, either through a (presumably unlikely, but beyond the control of the presbytery) failure to be elected, or through the effect of the ten-year rule in Regulation 3.4.18.
5. While there is provision to co-opt a person to act as an officer, co-option is only for one year, whereas the terms of office of Chairperson and Secretary are up to five years. Ex--officio membership would be a simpler means of providing membership for the full term of office.
6. It is also inappropriate that the (albeit mild) restrictions on co-options, such as a limitation on the number from any one congregation, should act as possible constraints on the ability of a presbytery to elect who it wants for its Chairperson and Secretary.