TUESDAY, March 29, 2011
The Executive of the Montreal Presbytery held its stated meeting, called by the Chair, Rev. Shaun Fryday, on Tuesday March 29, 2011 at the Church Centre, 301 Lansdowne Avenue, Westmount, Quebec. Quebec. Rev. Shaun Fryday, Chair, presided.
Present: Rev. Shaun Fryday, Chair; Rev. Daryl Macdonald, Acting-Secretary; Mr. Fred Braman, Rev. Barbara Bryce, Rev. David Lefneski, Rev. Patricia Lisson, Rev. Darryl Macdonald, Mrs. June Millar, Rev. Phyllis Smyth, Mr. Roger Snelling, Mr. Paul Stanfield, Rev. Faye Wakeling, Mr. Rod Young
Regrets: Rev. Arlen J. Bonnar
Corresponding Members: Ms. Lynda Ecott, Rev. Wendy MacLean, Mrs. Shirley Stark, Rev. Doug Stewart
Rev. Shaun Fryday, Chair, constituted the meeting at 3:30 p.m. and opened with prayer.
The Executive agreed to name Rev. Darryl Macdonald as acting-secretary for the duration of the meeting.
Motion: (Roger Snelling/Rod Young) that the Executive of the Montreal Presbytery approve the adoption of the agenda and set the time of adjournment for 5:00 p.m. Carried
The Chair reported that Rev. Arlen Bonnar, Presbytery Secretary, had sent his regrets due to a conflicting medical appointment.
The correct spelling of Christian Direction was noted.
Motion: (David Lefneski/Rod Young) that the Executive of the Montreal Presbytery approve the adoption of the minutes of its meeting held February 22, 2011. Carried
Central Korean
Rev. Wendy MacLean reported that she would follow up on the Executive’s directive to invite members of the disbanded Central Korean United Church to transfer their membership to another United Church congregation. Rev. MacLean will discuss this issue with Rev. Maki Fushi, staff person from the General Council Communities in Ministry.
Ecumenical Representation
Rev. Arlen Bonnar will contact the director of the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism regarding United Church representation at ecumenical events.
Budget Scenario Working Group
Mr. Fred Braman reported on behalf of the Budget Scenario Working Group. The working group is looking at the possibility of reducing expenditures for the current year.
The Presbytery must look at establishing a funding formula that will sustain the investment capital in the coming years.
The working group has identified five areas to consider when moving toward sustainable budgets in the future.
1) The working group is looking at options to reduce renting costs by downsizing the Presbytery space to three offices in an existing church or mission.
2) In the past, the Presbytery has kept its assessments low and Presbytery expenditures have been subsidized by the investments held by the Finance and Extension Board. The working group is recommending a modest increase of 5% so that income derived from assessments will grow from $135,000 to $140,000.
3) The working group is recommending terminating the retainer for the Employment Law Services programme, once having dealt with any outstanding business. This has been an effective programme but should be terminated as a cost containment measure.
4) The Staff were asked to leave the Executive meeting for the next part of the report dealing with staff.
Motion: (Fred Braman/David Lefneski) that the Executive move in camera to discuss issues concerning the Presbytery staff. Carried
Rev. Darryl Macdonald assumed the responsibility for recording the minutes.
Motion: (Fred Braman/David Lefneski) that the Executive move out of camera. Carried
Rev. David Lefneski will follow up on business arising from the discussion.
5) It is recommended that the Bursaries Programme should remain intact. Extension and Survey grants awarded to congregations for property renewal should be recouped and the money returned to the Finance and Extension Board if the church property is sold within ten years.
Mr. Braman asked the Executive to give the Budget Scenario Working Group permission to explore, in a concrete way, alternative space options for the Presbytery offices. There was general agreement that the working group should look for options.
Union Building Task Force
Mr. Braman reported that Union United Church has been meeting in the Rosedale Queen Mary building and the move has been successful. The architect has submitted a quote to prepare drawings for the new building. The task group will ask for time on the April or May Presbytery agenda to update everyone on the progress of re-building. Once the architect has submitted the costs for re-building, the Central Building Committee will unveil their fund raising campaign. The Congregation will need to raise half of the expected costs and arrange financing for the other half. The task force has recommended that the manse be sold. Rev. Shaun Fryday asked that the Presbytery find a representative to replace him on the task force.
The Acting Secretary reported that he had received the following correspondence.
The Appointment and Vacancy lists are available from the Presbytery office.
The Education and Students committee had received the Student Supply confirmation letter regarding Mr. Mark Hammond, student interns at Richelieu Valley.
The request from Rev. Rosemary Lambie to be a Voluntary Associate Minster was referred to the Pastoral Relations committee.
The request from Lacolle-Clarenceville Pastoral Charge regarding the Henrysburg Church Trust Fund was referred to the Administration and Finance Committee.
A letter requesting more youth delegates to Presbytery will be dealt with at the next Presbytery meeting.
Chair
The Chair presided at the covenanting service for Rev. Barend Biesheuvel and Trinity-Anjou Pastoral Charge. The April Executive meeting will be held at SouthWest Mission. The April Presbytery visioning process will examine the standing committees of the Presbytery. All committee chairs will be asked to take five minutes to explain their committee’s mandate, name the members, and explain any perceived future needs. All members of the committees should be present for the presentation. Faith Development will bring forward the proposal that responsibility for French ministry will be part of its mandate.
The Chair reported that Rev. Ellie Hummel, Rev. Barbara Bryce, Rev. Cathy Hamilton, and Ms
. Debbie Beattie had been appointed as members of the Montreal Presbytery Nominating Committee.There will be a combined meeting of the Good Samaritan Foundation and the Griffith McConnell Board. David Armour, Director of Philanthropy for the United Church will attend.
The Executive felt it important to follow through with plans to meet with Rev. John Forster following his resignation.
The Executive agreed to extend time of adjournment to 5:15 p.m.
Vision and Transformation
The Vision and Transformation Minister, Rev. Wendy MacLean, outlined the areas in which she has been working.
There have been a number of meetings with members of the Japanese United Church. The congregation would like to change the name of their church to reflect its multicultural membership. Rev. MacLean has contacted Rev. Maki Fushi, General Council staff person for Communities in Ministry, about this congregation and invited her to come to Montreal. An event entitled "let us build a house where love can dwell" has been organized and is open to all. This event will look at changing and building relationship. Rev. Fushi will gather all ethnic ministers to meet this coming Fryday.
Richelieu Valley Pastoral Charge and Mount Bruno United Church have been sharing space in the Mount Bruno building. A liaison committee has been established and the two congregations have decided to form a two-point charge. They plan to share the expenses of the building and worship together but keep separate Church Boards and identities.
The members of the Administration and Finance Committee are acting-trustees for St. Johns United Church (Richelieu). Presbytery representatives attended both English and French annual meetings.
An overview of French ministry happening in the Montreal Presbytery was presented at the February meeting.
Project Passerelle, the emerging mission and ministry in French project, will be presented at the next Pastoral Relations Committee meeting.
Christ Church has been given permission to sell its building. The congregation has received an offer from a French Baptist congregation. The offer includes the provision that Christ Church may remain in the building. The congregation is looking at this relationship in a prayerful and thoughtful way.
Rev. MacLean reported that she has organized a study group based on the book Born of Water Born of Spirit, which lifts up the ministry of call.
Pastoral Relationship
The Chair of Pastoral Relations reported that the committee had met with representatives from the Justice Global and Ecumenical Relations Committee to discuss the McGill Chaplaincy position. Rev. Macdonald reviewed the history of the position over the last several years. The current chaplain is Rev. Neil Whitehouse. There is concern that he is in a ministry that is not supported by any one denomination. By naming this a Presbytery recognized ministry Rev. Whitehouse will be accountable to the United Church through the Montreal Presbytery. It was further clarified that the position would remain a Presbytery recognized ministry only while a United Church person was in place. This means that the designation of Presbytery recognized ministry is not tied to the position. The Ecumenical Chaplaincy Committee is the employer and not the Montreal Presbytery. This designation does not require any extra financing other than mission support money that may be given to McGill. The McGill Ecumenical Chaplaincy Committee is a registered charity.
The Presbytery should organize a covenanting service for Rev. Whitehouse.
Motion: (Darryl Macdonald/Barbara Bryce) that the Executive of the Montreal Presbytery declare the position of Ecumenical Chaplain at McGill University to be a Presbytery recognized ministry when the position is held by a United Church minister. Carried
It was noted that the chaplain would not be considered a staff person of the Montreal Presbytery.
Presbyterial
The Presbyterial is holding its annual meeting at SouthWest United Church. Rev. David Lefneski will preside at the communion and Rev. Patricia Lisson is the guest speaker.
Guiding Principles
Rev. David Lefneski and Rev. Patricia Lisson presented a document entitled "the principles guiding the 2012 budget year". Rev. Lefneski explained that the ideas offered in the document were to invite conversation and offer some help in processing the information gleamed from the presentations in Presbytery. These presentations relate to Presbytery ministries, sources of funding, the work of Presbytery and budget process. The tools needed to set budget priorities are the information gathered about ongoing work and principles on which to base future decisions. It is hoped that that these theological and guiding principles will be woven into budget decisions for 2012 and reviewed annually before the budget process
It was noted that the Presbytery had prepared, in the past, both theological and mission statements, which should be included in on-going discussions.
The Executive discussed its role in working with the Presbytery to help it discern its direction and future budget decisions. The opinion of the Executive was divided on how extensively it should be involved. Some individuals felt that the whole of Presbytery should participate in all discussions and own the process.
The Executive agreed to hold a retreat in June 2011 to discuss any information gathered and identify the theological and guiding principles emerging from both this process and other information that would be helpful (previous conversations, documents). The information gathered would be taken to the Presbytery for its consideration for comment, clarification, and general discussion.
The Executive agreed to extend the meeting for ten minutes to 5:25 p.m.
Motion :(Fred Braman/David Lefneski) that the Executive agree to having a retreat in June 2011 to identify the theological and guiding principles for the 2012 budget year. Carried
Motion: (Phyllis Smyth) that the Executive adjourn its meeting at 5:35 p.m.
Rev. Shaun Fryday Rev. Darryl Macdonald
Chair Acting- Secretary
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