Church Council

The Purpose of The Council

– To enable the ministry as defined in the vision to be carried out.
– To support a strong sense of ownership of the ministry by the
whole congregation.
– To ensure that council committees have open communication with
council as well as other committees.
– To establish performance standards for the congregation in terms
of its ministry.
– To reform or refine the structure when necessary and with
congregational approval
Duties and Responsibilities
As the court of the congregation the council shall be responsible for
those duties and responsibilities given to the session, Board of Stewards and
Official Board as defined in the appropriate sections of The Manual of The
United Church of Canada. The majority of those duties will be carried out
by committees of the council.
The following duties shall be carried out by the church council:
– Submitting a full report annually to the congregation on the life
and work of the church.
– Completion of statistical forms and submitting of same to General
Council.
– To oversee the election of church members to the Presbytery and
make available to the congregation action reports from Council,
Conference and Presbytery.
– To obtain contributions from the congregation for the total work of
the church, both locally as well as the mission and service fund.
– To authorize borrowing funds for day to day operations of the
congregation.
– To transmit from the pastoral charge to the Presbytery
representations concerning the pastoral relationship with Ministry
Personnel Staff.
– Give lawful direction to the trustees concerning property.
– To represent the congregation in meetings with the Presbytery
dealing with amalgamation, realignment, reconstitution, or the
disbanding of the pastoral charge.
– To forward applications for incorporation from bodies within the
pastoral charge to the Presbytery.
– Receive, judge and transmit petitions and appeals to the Presbytery
from congregation members.
– Receive recommendations from the appropriate committee for lay
members seeking to become Inquirers or Candidates and transmit
them to Presbytery
– Attend to matters that may or may not be covered by any other
body such as naming persons to a Joint Needs Assessment
Committee/Search Committee.
– The appointment of a Nominating Committee.

The Council will consist of twenty-four (24) members elected by the
congregation. They are required to be confirmed members of the church and
are known as “elders”. The Ministry Personnel Staff will serve as ex officio
council. In addition, the following shall serve on council as ex officio
members if they have not already been elected; one Presbytery
representative, one representative each from the U.C.W. and the Men’s
Club, as well as the Treasurer.

The Council shall meet bi-monthly while the committees meet on the
alternative months.