Office Bearers

GS 2025 Article 185 – Convening Church Guidelines

1.   Material

  • 1.1    Letter from the Aldergrove Steering Committee (12.1).
  • 1.2    Current Appendix 28 – Guidelines for General Synods.

2.   Admissibility

  • 2.1    The letter was declared admissible
    • Grounds: It is from the steering committee of the convening church and regards the operations of general synod.

3.   Observations

  • 3.1    Appendix 28, Section I.A currently permits the convening church to take “whatever measures are needed” to improve synod operations but offers little specific direction.
  • 3.2    The Aldergrove Steering Committee provided helpful reflections based on experience, including suggestions related to email organization, file management, spreadsheet tracking, and coordination with the federation website.
  • 3.3    In our current system, the full agenda (including appeals and church correspondence) is distributed to all synod delegates, while churches receive only the public portion of the agenda (excluding appeals and correspondence from churches).
  • 3.4    A clearer and more detailed description of the convening church’s role in agenda preparation would improve consistency, transparency, and efficiency in the lead-up to general synod, while still respecting synod’s authority and the confidentiality of certain materials.
  • 3.5    The Aldergrove Steering Committee raised the possibility of appointing a stated clerk to assist with synod planning and transitions.

4.   Considerations

  • 4.1    It is desirable to assist future convening churches by explicitly outlining best practices for agenda preparation and document handling.
  • 4.2    The proposed text provides such guidance without creating a new permanent office or interfering with synod’s freedom to alter the agenda.
  • 4.3    Including distinctions between what is sent to delegates versus what is shared with all churches preserves current confidentiality practices and honours ecclesiastical norms.
  • 4.4    Adopting this expanded description in Appendix 28 will promote greater continuity between synods and relieve future convening churches of unnecessary guesswork.
  • 4.5    While the idea of a stated clerk reflects a valid concern for continuity and administrative efficiency, these goals can be adequately achieved by strengthening the role of the convening church within the existing polity.
  • 4.6    For the benefit of the churches and all synodically-appointed committees, establishing the date of the next general synod in a timely fashion is important.

5.   Recommendation

  • 5.1    To revise the first paragraph of section 1.A of the Guidelines for General Synod (see Appendix 28 of the Acts of GS 2022) to read as follows:
    • 5.1.1    The convening church shall set the date on which Synod shall meet (cf. CO Art. 49). It shall give notice of this date to all the churches of the federation two years in advance of the date for the next general synod. It shall also publish this date at www.canrc.org.
  • 5.2    To replace the last paragraph of Section I.A of Appendix 28 – Guidelines for General Synods with the following:
    • 5.2.1    The convening church shall take responsibility for preparing a provisional agenda for synod. To this end, it shall receive and organize all submissions in an orderly and transparent manner. This includes:
      • 5.2.1.1   Creating a synod-specific email address for all synod-related correspondence and submissions.
      • 5.2.1.2   Acknowledging receipt of submissions and maintaining a tracking log that records the source, subject, date received, and format of each item.
      • 5.2.1.3   Assigning each submission to a suitable agenda category (e.g., reports, overtures, appeals, correspondence) and assigning each item a unique provisional agenda number.
      • 5.2.1.4   Standardizing document formats (e.g., searchable PDF) and applying consistent file naming conventions that reflect the agenda number, topic, source, and date.
      • 5.2.1.5   Coordinating with the federation’s website committee to ensure that all public materials are posted consistently and accessibly while also ensuring confidentiality of delegate-only items.
      • 5.2.1.6   Preparing a shared digital folder system for synod delegates, organized by agenda categories and item numbers, containing all submitted materials in downloadable form.
      • 5.2.1.7   Distributing the provisional agenda and supporting materials as follows:
        • 5.2.1.7.1     To all synod delegates: the full agenda with hyperlinks to all supporting documents, including appeals and church correspondence.
        • 5.2.1.7.2     To all churches and the federation’s website: the full agenda with hyperlinks only to public materials (i.e., reports and overtures). Items such as appeals or correspondence from individual churches are to be listed in the agenda but not made publicly available.
        • 5.2.1.7.3     Sending the provisional agenda to the churches and to the federation website 6 months and 6 weeks before synod.
        • 5.2.1.7.4     Sending provisional agendas to the delegates at intervals of approximately 6 months, 4 months, 3 months, and 6 weeks prior to synod.

ADOPTED