08 Jul GS 2019 art 144

GS 2019 Article 144 – Appeal of Tintern Spring Creek re: GS 2016 Art. 103 (Confidentiality)

1. Material

• 1.1    Appeal to GS 2019 from church of Tintern Spring Creek re: the confidentiality of GS 2016 Art. 103 (8.6.12.1)

2. Admissibility

• 2.1    Since the matter concerns an appeal of a decision of GS 2016 it is admissible.

3. Observations

• 3.1    GS 2016 declared Article 103 of the Acts “confidential” and hence did not make it available to all church members but only to consistories. No grounds were provided.
• 3.2    The Tintern Spring Creek CanRC appeals this decision on the following grounds:
  • 3.2.1    GS 2016 did not provide grounds for declaring this Act confidential;
  • 3.2.2    Past synods have regularly published similar or sensitive decisions;
  • 3.2.3    Though the matter involved a discipline case, the behavior or beliefs triggering the discipline were in the public domain. Keeping Synod’s judgments confidential on that behavior and/or beliefs does not assist elders in guiding the thinking and/or behavior of church members;
  • 3.2.4    Publicly promulgated errors should be met with publicly pronounced judgments.

4. Considerations

• 4.1    When General Synod makes decisions on matters involving sensitive personal information that has never been made public and which, in view of the 9^th commandment, ought not to be made public, these decisions are to be put into the confidential acts.

5. Recommendation

Synod decide:

• 5.1    To deny the appeal and thus the request to as yet publish GS 2016 Art. 103 as an appendix to the Acts of GS 2019.

ADOPTED