Congregational Meeting - 24th October 2010

Notice of Congregational Meeting to be held on Sunday 24th October 2010 at 1215 and related Report on Congregational Management: Moving to the Unitary Constitution

_____________________________________________________________________ 1. Introduction The management of a congregation lies primarily in the hands of the Kirk Session. But - depending on the history of the congregation - another body may be involved and in Barony St John’s that body is the Congregational Board. Churches like Barony St John’s, which have a Kirk Session and a Congregational Board, are following what is known as the ‘Model’ Constitution. 2. Congregational Management The affairs of a congregation fall into one or other of two categories: Spiritual or Temporal. Spiritual Matters: these are the responsibility of the Kirk Session and include: the spiritual welfare of congregation and parish; worship and the organisational life of the congregation. Temporal Matters: in Barony St John’s, ‘temporal matters’ are currently the responsibility of the Congregational Board and (in general) are to do with finance and property. 3. Changing the Constitution If Barony St John’s were to move from the Model Constitution to the Unitary Constitution then the Kirk Session would be responsible for the Spiritual and Temporal Affairs of the congregation. There would be no separate Congregational Board. The current committees would continue to function and additional committees with specific remits would be set up: Proposed Committee Structure • Business • Property & Finance • Ways & Means • Children & Young People • Worship & Witness • Church & Community The main change (in respect of the existing committees) is to the reporting structure. At present committees (Property, Finance and Ways and Means) report to the Congregational Board. Congregational Groups (such as the Guild and the Sunday School) report to the Kirk Session. Under the Unitary Constitution, all committees and congregational groups would report to the Kirk Session. Committee Convenors and leaders of congregational organisations would be members of the Business Committee and would have an input into setting the agenda for the Kirk Session. 4. How will the change affect Elders and Board Members? At present all elders are also members of the Congregational Board so they take responsibility for both spiritual and temporal matters already. The main change for elders (who are not convenors of committees) will be their attending one meeting instead of two. There will no longer be a need to call joint meetings for the ongoing Project work in respect of the church building and it will prevent any confusion about reporting structures for the Project work. An elected Board member who is not an elder can become a member of one of the proposed committees (or simply continue in membership of an existing committee) and members of the congregation can be co opted onto committees as and when required. Membership of Business Committee will, however, be restricted to the Minister, the Session Clerk, the Treasurer, the Roll Keeper, the Presbytery Elder, the President of the Guild, and the Convenors of the other committees. Any Board member (currently elected) who wishes to become an elder would be warmly welcomed but this is not mandatory. Board members who do not wish to become elders can attend meetings of the Kirk Session and their voice can be heard. But they will not be able to vote on issues - should a vote be required. 5. Procedure for change A joint meeting of the Congregational Board and the Kirk Session was held on Tuesday 24th August 2010 and, after lengthy consideration, the elders and Board members present voted to change the constitution. The next step in the process is to hold a meeting of the Congregation to consider the issues around change. This meeting will be held on Sunday 24th October 2010 at 1215 (immediately following morning worship). If this meeting votes to move to the Unitary Constitution, then Presbytery is informed of their decision. If the Presbytery concurs, it will send Extract Minutes of the Kirk Session, the congregational meeting and the Presbytery to the Principal Clerk who will arrange for the Delegation of Assembly to issue the official Deed of Constitution. Dorothy Granger Updated 25.8.10