#acl ChurchFutureSteeringCommitteeGroup:read,write CouncilGroup:read EldersGroup:read All:read = Proposal for New Structures at Glen Waverley Uniting Church = A proposal to be put to the congregational meeting on 1 Jul 2013. An Executive Summary is available at ChurchFutureScProposalExecutive. == Preamble == Recognizing that * our congregation is seeking to worship, witness and serve our God in a faithful and life-giving way which looks to express hope for the future as well as honouring the past; * there have been difficulties within the Ministry Team for some years, culminating in the early resignation of Rev Rosemary Carter in Jan 2013; * a Church Life and Witness consultation was conducted by Rev Carolyn Kitto for the congregation with the approval of the Port Phillip East Presbytery in late Feb 2013; * at a congregational gathering on 3 Mar 2013 to hear the report on the Life and Witness consultation, it was announced that Rev Greg Fry would be concluding his placement at a date to be determined (subsequently established as 30 Sep 2013, with a ''Cutting of the Ties'' service on 30 Jun 2013); * at that congregational gathering, Rev Carolyn Kitto reported two persistent themes in her interviews with congregational members: i. a significant "dissonance" in the affairs of the congregation, and i. a need for structural change to improve "Spiritual oversight and leadership"; * a meeting of the Congregation on 17 Mar 2013 decided to adopt in principle the recommendations of Rev Carolyn Kitto, as written out by Presbytery Chair of Pastoral Relations Committee Rev Greg Crowe; * a Future Directions Steering Committee was established by that congregational meeting to propose a detailed implementation plan of the "in principle" recommendations; * many congregational members have made formal and informal submissions to the Future Directions Steering Committee; and * change takes time and courage, but may be very positive and inspirational: the Future Directions Steering Committee now having concluded its deliberations, proposes that Glen Waverley Uniting Church adopt the following resolutions: == Guiding Philosophy == The Steering Committee took as its most critical brief the restoration of a harmonious congregation. This was in response to both CarolynKitto and GregCrowe identifying that many issues of "dissonance" within the congregation have caused the congregation to falter on its way, and along with them, the Ministry Team. While restructure of spiritual leadership and church governance has been a necessary part of this process, the committee felt that this alone was futile unless the dissonance issues were also addressed. We have chosen to name this process "Building a Community of Love". Many groups already reach a deep level of fellowship, but what is required is more than fellowship. We need to establish deeper and greater levels of '''trust and kindness''' for each other, such as that explained in 1 Cor 13:4-7 and Eph 4:29-32. That cannot happen without a deeper sharing of the human hurts and hopes we all experience. We need to be '''honest and open''' with each other. Without sharing that vulnerability of each, we cannot possibly know or harmonise with each other. Most of all we hope to develop respect, empathy and tolerance with others' points of view so we can learn to support those who have different points of view than us and to participate in God's mission rather than be concerned about our personal preferences. We therefore propose that '''all''' church groups set aside 20 minutes of their regular meeting time to explore firstly, their spirituality and understanding of our scriptural base, and secondly, their human emotions, hopes, visions and hurts so that a deeper level of trust and respect for each other is established. To encourage development of our Community of Love, the Steering Committee therefore proposes that ##Recommendation 1 * '''Recommendation 1: ''All church groups, recognizing the importance of intentional worship, are encouraged to set aside time in group meetings to participate in a) deep personal reflection and sharing of concerns (10 minutes); b) interactive and reflective group bible study (10 minutes).''''' ##end ##Recommendation 2 * '''Recommendation 2: ''Every member of the congregation be encouraged to belong to a faith sharing and pastoral care group. Particular emphasis should be on developing cross age groups. Such groups would meet at a time to suit them and oversight would be through the Faith Development and Inclusive Mission Groups.''''' ##end == The Church Council == One explicit recommendation arising from the ChurchLifeAndWitness consultation was that the size of the Church Council should be reduced. "The Church Council would have 10 elected members plus ministers in placement and up to 2 co-options. All elected members would be Elders. These members would be elected after a process of discernment and prayer for identifying and calling of them for their gifts of spritual oversight and leadership." She also urges us to elect more younger members to Church Council. Whilst it is clear that the current councillors have been doing their duties to the best of their abilities, Carolyn suggested a fundamental change of focus for the church council, away from being business driven to being faith formation and mission driven. The new council will take on the spiritual leadership of the congregation more strongly than it has in the past and most of the business of the congregation will be given to the groups that are carrying out its mission. This will help overcome a number of issues within the congregation including permission giving, a move to a more strongly faith-based community, building on the relational community that already exists at GWUC. It will also refresh and focus the cooperation between the Ministry Team and the Church Council. The Steering Committee has endeavoured to hold true to the brief that it was to find "a pastorally sensitive way" to implement the recommendations and "how they will be brought to the congregation for approval". This means addressing how we are to move from a Council of 23 elected members to 10 elected "Elders and Councillors", and in concluding the terms of the existing group of 35 Elders. The fundamental difficulty has been that (as pointed out by several members of the congregation) the UCA Constitution and Regulations allow '''no''' mechanisms for concluding the terms of existing councillors and elders ''in toto'' (there are mechanisms to deal with transfers, resignations and discipline, but these are not applicable in this context). The preferred mechanism identified by the Steering Committee is to ask all existing councillors and elders to accept these recommendations, and in that spirit, voluntarily resign from Church Council and the Eldership. We recognise that there are those who will not feel called to this action, and hence we need to suggest an alternative pathway for such people. The suggested pathway is that they serve out their terms, participating in the administrative and worship life of the church as they feel called, and that we move gradually to the situation of having one Church Council of 10 elected "councillors and elders", and no separate Elders' Council. The roles of existing elders would be taken over by a variety of new worship and pastoral support teams (see below), whose membership would be open to all church members. The role of the new Church Council would be, as the Regulations state (3.1.2(a)): ''The Church Council shall give priority in its life to building up the Congregation in faith and love, sustaining members in hope, and leading the Congregation to a fuller participation in Christ’s mission in the world. This priority shall be reflected in the agenda of its ordinary meetings.'' The Regulations go on to state (3.1.2(b)) in more detail the specific duties, but the detail of these is not relevant here. An information session is proposed for July to provide such detail and to be an opportunity for discernment for prospective nominees and those wishing to nominate others. The recommendation below addresses the need to adjust the number of elected councillors. It does not affect the other composition of council, which, according to the regulations, include "the Ministers, Interns, Youth Workers and Lay Pastors who are serving in approved placements in the Congregation" and "not more than two other members or members-in-association of the Congregation to membership of the Church Council for such term not exceeding two years [to be co=opted]". Note that to reduce the load on the ministry team (bearing in mind recommendation 8), it is suggested that '''not all''' members of the Ministry Team attend all council meetings. The steering committee is not recommending a quota system to have 50% of the new council members under 55. There is no mechanism in the Uniting Church Regulations to allow this, and it is recognized that people will not naturally vote for councillors they do not know. However, the committee does recognise that it is imperative for a generational change in leadership at GWUC take place for its health and vitality. It should be noted that many of the younger people in the congregation have attempted to be a part of the governance of this and other churches, and have not found it life giving or inclusive. Consequently they are very wary about taking on such roles. The Steering Committee believes that the changes suggested in this report are imperative to assist with this process. If such a change does not take place in the next year or two, then the new council as a matter of great importance needs to address the reasons why. It needs to be recognised that there are many people under 55 with fantastic skills who have built their own businesses, run companies and are on company boards, so there is substantial leadership and governance experience amongst them. ##Recommendation 3 * '''Recommendation 3: ''That the congregation proceed to call for nominations for the 10 elected members to the new church council, and that elections be held in time for the new council to take over responsibility from the existing church council from 1 Sep 2013. Existing Councillors will be asked to voluntarily stand down from the council, unless elected as councillors from 1 Sep 2013. A service of thanksgiving to be held early in Sep 2013 for those councillors voluntarily standing down.''''' * '''Recommendation 3b: ''That congregation recognises that a generational change in church leadership is of great importance for the future vitality of GWUC and that active steps are made towards this goal.''''' * '''Recommendation 3c: ''That the congregation notes that the Council will continue to include up to two co-opted members of the congregation, and encourages the Ministry Team to identify one of their number who shall be the designated Council member from the Ministry Team.''''' ##end A proposed timetable setting out the details of the dates involved is at SaltTimetable. == Eldership == Eldership is an important role within our Congregation, and in coming into line with the regulations, our understanding of it will alter. Within the proposed structure, the Church Councillors will be holders of the title Elder as well as Councillor. Understandably, a congregation with the breadth and depth of ours needs the loving support, nurturing and involvement of more than 10 individuals. Our congregation will still require pastoral care, people to welcome Church goers (new and existing), to visit, to serve Eucharist and to love and support members of our congregation and our community. Those who currently undertake the formalised role of Elder will be asked to stand down - from the title, not the care, the love and support which goes along with it. And we will need more individuals to take on elements of the roles which were formally part of the Elder roles as defined by GWUC - caring for our members. If you are a current member of the Council of Elders, you will be asked to resign this position if the proposed structure is approved. Your continued involvement with the duties of the Elders will be appreciated, and your enthusiasm in the transition to the proposed new groups structure will be valuable. If you do not wish to resign as an Elder, your wish will be respected, and you will remain an Elder until your term expires. ##Recommendation 4 * '''Recommendation 4: ''That the congregation acknowledge the devoted service of the many elders called to serve at Glen Waverley since Union, and recognizing the need for a clear spiritual direction for the church, approve the new identity of 10 joint Elders and Councillors from 1 Sep 2013, and encourage all existing Elders to voluntarily stand down as elders (unless elected as new councillors and elders), and transfer their service roles to the new worship and pastoral task groups. A service of thanksgiving to be held early in Sep 2013 for those elders voluntarily standing down.''''' ##end == The Mission Groups == The Mission Groups take over responsibility for much of the day-to-day running of the church. While this is officially part of the council's responsibility (see Regulations 3.1.2(b)), the new Church Council will delegate such powers to the Mission Groups as is necessary to discharge these responsibilities, thereby freeing Council's time to focus upon spiritual leadership and vision. This has been a stumbling block to the current Council, and is the main motivation for Carolyn's recommendations to reduce the size of Council. Carolyn recommended that each Mission Group have at least one councillor as a member of its coordinating committee, and this Steering Committee agrees with this proposition. The Mission Group Coordinating Committees will have oversight of all the programs and teams under their aegis (see below for examples) and will have budgetary power to allocate resources to these task groups. It is recommended that each Mission Group have a member of the Ministry Team attached to it, who will have primary responsibility for coordinating ministry engagement with the mission area and providing spiritual oversight and leadership, and will attend meetings of the Coordinating Committee. Note that other members of the Ministry Team will not be excluded from membership of any of the associated Mission Group activities (see below for Ministry Team resource allocation guidelines). It is understood that as we link all existing GWUC groups to the Mission Groups, these Groups may expand and change in their operation. Mission Group convenors will be key lay leaders and will need significant mentoring and support as we transition into the new structure. It is suggested that training be provided to these lay leaders. In some Mission Groups, there may be distinct task teams, such as: * Holy Communion Team * Welcoming Team * Prayer Team * Pastoral Team * Stewardship Team * Confirmation Team * Music Team * Spiritual Growth Team * Fellowship Team * Hospitality Team The Mission Groups, their programs and task teams are as identified in [[ChurchFutureScServiceGroups|a separate list of Church Groups]] (the list is not definitive). Each Mission Group will delegate their responsibilities to these task teams, and each task team will call members of the congregation with relevant gifts to serve within the teams. Previous Elders will be urged to follow their calling into the Communion, Welcoming, Prayer and Pastoral Teams as per their preferences currently recorded in the EldersRosterPreferences wiki page. All members of the congregation and especially retiring Elders and Church Councillors will be encouraged to volunteer for a range of church programs and task teams to enable the Mission Groups to achieve their Christ-centred goals. ##Recommendation 5 * '''Recommendation 5: ''That the congregation adopt the new governance structure transferring day-to-day stewardship of church life to the four Mission Groups: Faith Development, Inclusive Community, Community Hub, and Outreach, including the formation of specific task teams within Mission Groups where needed.''''' ##end ##Recommendation 6 * '''Recommendation 6: ''That the congregation calls upon all members to join in the activities of at least one Mission Group so that all members shall be seen as servants of the community.''''' ##end == The Support Groups == A church of Glen Waverley Uniting Church's size has a large investment in the assets needed to maintain its mission life, and it is appropriate to have dedicated groups to manage the church's ''property'', ''finances'', and ''communication'' processes. Each of these has its own legitimate call upon church resources, and must be resourced appropriately. The responsibilities of each of the Support Groups will remain much as it is at the moment, viz '''Property Committee''', '''Finance Committee''' and '''Communications Committee''', subject to any new direction from the Church Council. ##Recommendation 7 * '''Recommendation 7: ''That the congregation affirm the continuing need for the current responsibilities of each of the Property Committee, Finance Committee, and Communications Committee, and asks each of them to review their operations in the light of these new church structures, and any new directives from the new Church Council.''''' ##end == The Ministry Team == Each Mission Group must have at least one ministry team member associated with it, and one member is to be identified as the primary ministry team support person for the group. The primary Ministry Team member would be normally expected to attend all meetings of that Mission Group and to have a spiritual leadership role in the group. Each Ministry Team member engaged with a Mission Group is to nominate the number of hours per week (total 40) allocated to each Mission Group, and the budgeted stipend will be allocated pro rata against each Mission Group. The Ministry Team are all members of Church Council, but it would normally be the case that only one Ministry Team member need attend, unless there are special circumstances. This is identified as a mechanism to ease the meeting time load upon the Ministry Team. This nominated council member would be expected to actively liaise between Council and the Ministry Team, to ensure a consistent and cooperative approach to the mission and vision of the church. ##Recommendation 8 * '''Recommendation 8: ''That the congregation requests the Ministry Team to identify amongst themselves their time allocation to each of the four Mission Groups, and to nominate the primary Ministry Team member for each Mission Group, and for the new Church Council.''''' ##end (Author's note: The question has been asked as to whether all members of the Ministry Team should have access to Council agendas and minutes. While the liaison role mentioned above is intended to relieve other members of the MT from the routine involvement in Council matters, it is not intended to exclude them. They ''should'' have access to Council agendas and minutes, as they are indeed members of Council, by UCA Regulations.) == Procedural Comment == The Steering Committee has thought very deeply about the matters raised in this proposal. We do not feel that the church has the option of picking and choosing amongst the recommendations. If we are indeed to move forward, then all recommendations need to be adopted simultaneously. While this recommendation is not meant to exclude minor adjustments of words, we counsel strenuously that to detract from the intent of just one of these recommendations may prejudice the whole vision. There is also a question of how these new structure transitions are to be managed. We feel that this is appropriately the responsibility of the new Church Council, and hence we recommend as a blanket provision that all future visioning, strategy planning and transition management be the responsibility of the new council. This Steering Committee will have a number of suggestions arising from our discussions that can be passed onto the council to assist them with their deliberations. We therefore add this procedural recommendation: ##Recommendation 0 * '''Recommendation 0: ''That these recommendations be taken ''en bloc'' and voted upon as a single group. The new Church Council is to take responsibility for all subsequent management and implementation of these plans beyond 1 Sep 2013.''''' ##end == Members of the Steering Committee == * Brace Bateman, 9807 3941, batemanb@netspace.net.au (convenor) * Belinda Chung, 9802 7263, belindachung33@gmail.com (8am worshipper) * Mark Easton, 8802 8496, mark.easton@monash.edu (4:30pm worshipper) * Margaret Fraser, 9803 7653, margaret.fraser@optusnet.com.au (9:15am worshipper) * John Hurst, 9803 9346, ajh@ajhurst.org (11am worshipper) * Bronwyn Lowe, 9885 8514, b.lowe2@pgrad.unimelb.edu.au (7pm worshipper) ---- CategoryChurch