1. General Council Executive November 18-20, 2017
NEW COVENANT PROCESS
General Council Executive
November 18-20, 2017

2. WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?
The Church has passed three remits that collectively dismantle the current pastoral relations system:
transfer and settlement
the three council model remit
office of vocation remit
(subject to final approval at GC43)

3. WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?
With the proposed changes due to remits, the Church needs a new understanding of covenant, along with supporting policies and processes.
The changes are representative of what was harvested from the Effective Leadership and Healthy Pastoral Relationships Conference tests. All of the changes to pastoral relations policy also need to fit within the changes to polity and policy that were made by the 42nd General Council in the direction given by comprehensive review, specifically the three-council model, office of vocation and the transfer and settlement remits.

4. WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?
To ensure that the ministry personnel of The United Church of Canada are effective leaders. To ensure that the covenants between our ministry personnel and our communities of faith are healthy.

5. WHAT HAS CHANGED?
The proposed changes to our understanding of covenant, and related policies and processes, are shaped by the results of the Effective Leadership and Healthy Pastoral Relationships Conference tests.

6. WHAT HAS CHANGED?
The Office of Vocation will be responsible for oversight and discipline of ministry personnel and will be supported by paid accountable staff at the GCO and in the regions. The region will be responsible for supporting ministry personnel, mission and programs.
The Effective Leadership and Healthy Pastoral Relationships tests removed oversight and discipline and pastoral relations from presbytery to Conference, with staff support at the Conference level in response to research that reported presbyteries struggling with the dual relationship of collegiality and oversight.
This slide is not specifically about the new covenant policy. It is about what changes are happening to our jurisdictional structure. Our current pastoral relations process and oversight and discipline processes are all the responsibility of the presbytery. In our new three council system, the pastoral relations – or new covenant policy and process – sit primarily in the region while the professional and educational support of ministry personnel, oversight and discipline sit with the office of vocation with staff support in the regions and the in the denominational council.

7. WHAT HAS CHANGED?
Parties to a covenant have expanded beyond ministry personnel, pastoral charge and presbytery. In this model covenants may include ministry personnel, communities of faith, and regions, and may also include other parties that are integral to living out the Gospel in community as God calls us.
The Church has made “its response to Truth and Reconciliation Commission Call to Action #48, adopting and complying with the principles, norms, and standards of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as the framework for reconciliation.” The Church has also made a commitment to become an intercultural church which “means living together with a respectful awareness of each other’s differences. We do this by examining ourselves, building relationships, and distributing power fairly.” The current pastoral relations system of policies may not reflect these commitments.
The covenant policy needs to be expanded to take into account the settlement of ministers to ministries previously known as presbytery recognized ministries.

8. WHAT HAS CHANGED?
The joint needs assessment process no longer exists. It is replaced by the following three components:
Living faith stories
Community covenant profiles
Ministry personnel profiles

9. WHAT HAS CHANGED? Living faith stories are:
A community of faith’s articulation of its understanding of the Gospel and how to live out the Gospel in its own context.
Stories can be told in any number of ways: in print, through storytelling, in film or video, art projects, photography, or liturgy.
The purpose of the living faith story is to tell it continually, so that the story is foundational to the life, ministry and leadership of the community of faith. It is not a tool for pastoral transitions.

10. WHAT HAS CHANGED?
Community covenant profiles are created at a time of change in covenant and include the following:
living faith story
position description
financial viability
demographics

11. WHAT HAS CHANGED?
Community covenant profiles: The profile is posted to an online database, where it is searchable by ministry personnel who are available for covenant.

12. WHAT HAS CHANGED?
Ministry personnel profiles are three-part, online profiles, hosted by a central database.
The three parts are:
The anonymous skills and gifts profile
The resume
The record of eligibility/accreditation
The ministry personnel profile, once listed as available for covenant, is searchable by communities of faith.

13. WHAT HAS CHANGED?
Ministry personnel profiles: A minister’s profile is marked as “available for covenant” when they are in search of a new covenant.
The ministry personnel profile, once listed as available for covenant, is searchable by communities of faith.

14. WHAT HAS CHANGED?
The Joint Search Process would change. The vacancy and availability lists have been replaced by an online database that uses filter-based sorting. Both community covenant profiles and ministry personnel profiles are posted to the database.

15. WHAT HAS CHANGED?
Joint Search Process: Ministry personnel profiles are posted anonymously. The search is the responsibility of the community of faith, with support from a regional liaison. Community of faith search teams are trained by the region and with denominational resources.

16. WHAT HAS STAYED THE SAME?
The denomination is still responsible for setting policy.
A request to change a covenant may be made by one of the parties to the covenant.

17. WHAT HAS STAYED THE SAME?
Notice policy – the requirement to give adequate notice before meetings (The Manual B.5.4)
Complaint policy – how to raise concerns about ministry personnel and/or communities of faith has not changed (The Manual J.8 and J.9)

18. General Council Executive November 18-20, 2017
OFFICE OF VOCATION
General Council Executive
November 18-20, 2017

19. Office of Vocation Record of Proceedings 42nd General Council CR6 p146-147
The office of vocations [sic] will be overseen by an elected body honouring and living into intercultural mission and ministry, as described in Vision for Becoming an Intercultural Church; consisting of a balance of ministers whether ordained, diaconal, or designated lay ministers and lay people, with a variety of active experience.

20. WHAT’S CHANGED? OV – Responsibilities
establishing standards for training and accreditation of ministry personnel according to denominational policies;
supporting and responding to requests for assistance from regional councils;
administering the Discontinued Service List (Disciplinary and Voluntary);
The points that are not bolded are responsibilities that are currently held by Conferences or at the denominational level. The bold points are new responsibilities.

21. WHAT’S CHANGED? OV – Responsibilities
maintaining a list of trained conflict resolution facilitators;
maintaining a list of recognized Interim Ministers, and those trained for the Ministry of Supervision;
establishing and implementing standards for admitting ministers from other denominations and re-admitting ministers;

22. WHAT’S CHANGED? OV – Responsibilities
establishing standards for training and accreditation of ministry personnel according to denominational policies;
establishing expectations and standards for continuing education, formation, and professional development of ministry personnel according to denominational policies;

23. WHAT’S CHANGED? OV – Responsibilities
determining the person’s fitness and readiness for accreditation to ministry;
maintaining registry of accredited ministry personnel;
disciplining of ministry personnel including formal hearings and complaint;
supporting and responding to requests for assistance from regional councils.

24. WHAT’S CHANGED? Councils on Learning – Assessment Boards
Remit 7 Candidacy Pathway passed.
Candidacy Boards deal with matters concerning candidacy including receiving concerns from The Circle of Accompaniment (phase 3)
Determining the length of Supervised Ministry Education, each period of SME and the nature of SME placement (phase 4)
The Candidacy Pathway remit was based on the 4 court model. Now that the all of the other remits have passed, the pathway must be implemented within the structure of the three council model and the office of vocation.

25. WHAT’S CHANGED? Councils on Learning – Assessment Boards
Remit 7 Candidacy Pathway passed.
Assess the promise, suitability, readiness, and effectiveness of each candidate for ministry (phase 5)
It has the authority to end candidacy
The Candidacy Pathway remit was based on the 4 court model. Now that the all of the other remits have passed, the pathway must be implemented within the structure of the three council model and the office of vocation.

26. WHAT’S CHANGED? Councils on Learning – Assessment Boards
Given that the Office of Vocation is to determine the person’s fitness and readiness for accreditation to ministry, and that many programs preparing candidates and DLM applicants for ministry are field based, it is proposed that the Candidacy Boards, referred to in this OV draft as the Assessment Board/ Council on Learning be part of the Office of Vocation.

27. WHAT’S CHANGED? Councils on Learning – Assessment Boards
The Board of Vocation determines candidacy and termination of candidacy on recommendation of the Assessment Board. The Assessment Board/Council on Learning makes decisions about Supervised Ministry Education with respect to individual candidates.

28. WHAT’S CHANGED? Councils on Learning – Assessment Boards
These Boards could also make decisions about Interim Ministry designation and recognize Educational Supervisors.

29. WHAT HAS CHANGED? WHAT IS THE SAME?
Same: Processes for reviews and formal hearings. Changed: Who has responsibility to order and conduct reviews and act on the recommendations. Same: Church discerns call and cares for candidates. Changed: Candidacy pathway.

30. WHAT HAS CHANGED? WHAT IS THE SAME?
Same: GC/GCE sets policy. Changed: Board of Vocation sets standards. Same: candidates and ministry personnel are accountable to the denomination. Changed: Oversight and discipline of ministry personnel moves to Office of Vocation from presbytery.
The office of vocation is responsible for the support of United Church ministers through their whole vocational life, from their inquiry into ministry through to their retirement. There has been much focus on the movement of oversight and discipline processes from presbytery (regions) to the office, and it is important to make clear that while the formal discipline of ministers is a part of the role of the office of vocation, it is a small role. Candidacy, continuing education, professional development and support of ministry personnel are central to the role of the office of vocation of ministry personnel.

31. BOARD
ASSESSMENT
BOARDS
Standards for
Accreditation
Complaints
Committee
Review task group
(reviewers)
Formal hearing task group
(formal hearing panels)
OFFICE OF VOCATION supported by OV Ministers and LEAD team staff. Indigenous office within OV.

32. EL&OV Q1.
Overall, do you feel that these proposals will serve communities of faith and ministry personnel?
EL2.    Advantages and limitations of anonymous ministry profiles on the Covenant Hub?
EL3.    Advantages and limitations of the use of technology in finding new pastoral relationships?
OV2.   OV decides fitness and readiness.  The region confirms call or appointment and decides whether to order or admit.  Your thoughts on this.
OV3.   What does "accreditation" of ministry personnel mean to you?