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Elders' Role in Church Governance
- 1. Elders’ Training 1b Functions of Elders in the URC
- 2. Aim of the Elder’s Meeting “........shall exercise oversight of the spiritual life of the church.”
- 3. The Role of the Elders Meeting in the URC 1. Foster concern in the congregation for witness, service, evangelism, education, ecumenical action 2. See that worship is offered ... 3. Ensure pastoral care is undertaken ... 4. Nominate from its members a Church Secretary 5. Arrange for pulpit supply ... 6. Keep the roll of members ...
- 4. The Role of the Elders Meeting in the URC 7. Oversee work among young people ... 8. Advise on the election of Elders ... 9. Consider suitability of candidates for ministry ... 10. Recommend arrangements for buildings ... 11. Act on behalf of the Church Meeting & bring concerns to the wider Church ... 12. To build up the common life of the Church ...
- 5. How do you feel about it ?
- 6. The duties of Elders . . . Duties can appear daunting but not meant for each Elder on his/her own, rather Elders acting together as a team. • Effectiveness of the Elder comes from being part of the Eldership Team • That is where the mind of Christ is sought and found before decisions are made. “Elders do not need to be senior in years – what matters is that they are mature and maturing Christians.” Good selection & preparation procedures are needed.
- 7. Working as a team .... What’s the difference between a ‘team’ and a ‘group’ .... ? “Do all the members of my group share at least one goal that can be accomplished only through the joint efforts of all?” In any organisation there may be many groups and many teams – and we can
- 8. How well do we know each other as opposed to the ‘images’ we have of each other? How easy is it to come out from the masks we wear and roles we assume?
- 9. Councils of the URC In our present structure the Councils of the URC are: a) The Elder’s meeting within the Local Church b) The Church (ie congregational) Meeting of the Local Church c) The Synod d) The General Assembly of the URC denomination
- 10. National context ... The URC belongs to or is affiliated with: CTinE – Churches Together in England CYTUN – Churches Together in Wales ACTS – Action of Churches Together in Scotland Regionally in County Ecumenical bodies – served by appointed Officers Locally through ecumenical groupings such as “Churches Together in (............name of town)”
- 11. The URC in its wider context ... Member of Council for World Mission (CWM) – 32 denominations around the world Member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) – World wide World Council of Churches (WCC) – Protestant and Orthodox Denominations Conference of European Churches Member of World Convention of Churches of Christ
Editor's Notes
- The function of the Elders’ Meeting The Manual lists 12 tasks for the Elders of a church: to foster in the congregation concern for witness and service to the community, evangelism at home and abroad, Christian education, ecumenical action, local inter-church relations and the wider responsibilities of the whole Church; to see that public worship is regularly offered and the sacraments are duly administered, and generally to promote the welfare of the congregation; to ensure pastoral care of the congregation, in which the minister is joined by elders having particular responsibility for groups of members; to nominate from among its members a church secretary (or secretaries), to be elected by the church meeting, to serve both the church meeting and the elders' meeting; to arrange for pulpit supply in a vacancy; to keep the roll of members (see paragraph 2 (1)) and (as an aid to the discharge of the congregation's pastoral and evangelistic responsibility) lists of names of adherents and children attached to the congregation, and in consultation with the church meeting to maintain standards of membership and to advise on the admission of members on profession of faith and by transfer, on the suspension of members, and on the removal of names from the roll;
- to be responsible for the institution and oversight of work among children and young people and of all organisations within the congregation; to call for the election of elders and advise on the number required; to consider the suitability of any applicant for recognition as a candidate for the ministry or for service as a CRCW and to advise the church meeting about its recommendation to the synod; to recommend to the church meeting arrangements for the proper maintenance of buildings and the general oversight of all the financial responsibilities of the local church; to act on behalf of the church meeting and bring concerns to the wider councils of the United Reformed Church; to do such other things as may be necessary in pursuance of its responsibility for the common life of the Church.
- In small groups of 3 or 4 share which of these pictures most closely represents the way you feel about your Eldership and why.
- These duties and requirements appear at first sight to be quite daunting. They are not, however, meant for each Elder to carry out on his/her own, but for the Elders acting together as a team. Say that the effectiveness of the Elder comes through being part of the Eldership Team where, we believe, the mind of Christ is sought and found before decisions are made. Ask the question “What makes An Effective Team?’’ ....Write up responses on a flip chart. Affirm the contributions made and add to them any from the following list which have not been covered. 1. Having a sense of one shared purpose 2. All members feeling involved, needed and affirmed 3. Good communication within the team and between the team members and to and from the team 4. Trust 5. Shared training to do the task and be the team 6. A commitment to the role and the vision Seeking the mind of Christ also applies to the Church Meeting and to the other Councils of the Church. This is integral to Reformed thinking, based on the doctrine of the Priesthood of all Believers. It is when Christians come together as the Body of Christ that priesthood happens. “Elders do not need to be senior in years – what matters is that they are mature and maturing Christians.” Good selection & preparation procedures are needed. Ask how many of the existing Elders underwent some kind of training and orientation before or just after being first ordained. Is Discipleship a priority for us ...and if not, why is that so? Is there anything we can do to change/improve this in our church? How do we as a local church implement better training and skill development for our Elders ....and for other members of the congregation in order for them to more fully exercise their ministry? Are you a “F A T” Elder? Requirements for those in any form of Christian leadership but especially the Eldership is being: FAITHFUL to God and the people entrusted to your care and oversight APPROACHABLE so that people know and feel they can speak to us about matters that they have a concern about and that we as Elders have an integrity that encourages feelings of trust and conversations being held in confidence. TEACHABLE because we need to have an open mind that need not accept everything but also does not readily refute what is not known to us or in our comfort zone.
- Use the question to generate some discussion about being a team .... Tease out main ideas. The 2nd bullet point “Do all the members of my group share at least one goal that can be accomplished only through the joint efforts of all?” is one of many definitions that could be used to characterize what a team is. The most important points are with respect to “members” and “joint efforts” showing a high degree of collaborative work that underpins team work. Skills of Team Leadership (to share these with the Elders and could be basis of further discussion) 1. Stewardship of resources 2. Communication 3. Motivation 4. Setting realistic goals and objectives 5. Delegation 6. Making decisions 7. Putting people before projects 8. Helping people be successful 9. Understanding and resolving conflict 10. Building commitment Is it possible for the Elders to distinguish what groups exist in the church ...and how many actually operate as teams?
- To be members of a team implies that we know each and have an openness and honesty with each other. What masks do we wear when encountering one another...is there a “church face” and a “private face” and even a different “public face” we have?
- Ask participants if they were representatives to (a previous District Council or) Synod or if they have ever attended General Assembly. Ask what their feelings are about these meetings. The Manual states that the (current) Councils of the United Reformed Church shall be: a. The Church Meeting and the Elders’ Meeting of each Local Church b. The Synod c. The General Assembly The oversight of the United Reformed Church is the concern of all three parts of the structure. Make the following points. 1. Each part of the structure is brought to life by people who are elected to their task. Some people, normally Elders, are appointed to represent the Local Church, for example, at Synod. Other appointments might be to Committee work on behalf of the wider Church Councils e.g. An Elder who has skills in building may be appointed to the Synod Property Committee. 2. At each level, committees and task groups, and paid and unpaid staff members, service the work of the Church. For example, Secretary for Training and Secretary for Ministries, who hold Assembly appointments; Moderators, who are appointed by Assembly but serve in Synods; Synod Clerks who are appointed by the Synod they serve. These people are all members of Local Churches. 3. The Moderator of General Assembly is chosen through a process of Synod nomination and prayerful election by vote in Assembly. 4. The General Assembly is the final authority, under the Word of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is also the central organ of the Church’s life. New policies can begin in any part of the structure. Resolutions come from Local Churches, Synods and Assembly itself. The members of Assembly, apart from ecumenical representatives, are all members of Local United Reformed Churches or Local Ecumenical Partnerships. Essential points about the structure of the United Reformed Church a. The structure has an up and down movement, people from Local Churches sit on the Councils. There is no hierarchy of government. Question: What are the positives and negatives associated with a non-hierarchical system? b. Decisions made collectively in the various Councils are sometimes brought to General Assembly. Often Assembly will send resolutions back to the Local Churches and Synods for debate and more testing. Question: What was the last issue that came from Assembly which was discussed in your Elders’ Meeting? c. Ministers of Word and Sacrament and Church Related Community Workers work alongside lay people at every level. Question: How, in your Church, is the role of Minister of Word and Sacrament viewed? d. The URC believes that the mind of Christ is revealed to us in our meetings together as we are open to respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit. We are seeking the will of God not merely the will of the people. Question: In our Elders’ Meeting and Church Meetings, in what ways are weopen to the leading of the Holy Spirit? e. The structure is designed to help the Church to live out its Mission under God. Question: Does it? If so, how? If not, why not?
- The United Reformed Church in its International, Tri-National Regional and Local Contexts. The Tri-National Context The United Reformed Church belongs to Churches Together in England, an English Ecumenical Body including the Roman Catholic Church. The United Reformed Church in Wales is part of CYTUN, which is Churches Together in Wales. CYTUN is the Welsh word for “together”. The United Reformed Church in Scotland is part of ACTS, which stands for Action of Churches Together in Scotland. The United Reformed Church is a member of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI). The Regional Context In England, most Counties have their own Ecumenical Bodies. The United Reformed Church is a member of all of these. It is these Regional Ecumenical Bodies which provide the Sponsoring Bodies for Local Ecumenical Partnerships. The Local Context Locally, most United Reformed Churches are involved in Churches Together in ….. (a local area) or in Councils of Churches.
- The Worldwide Context The United Reformed Church is a member of the Council for World Mission (CWM) in which the Overseas Mission work of the Presbyterian Church of England and the work of the London Missionary Society and the Commonwealth Missionary Society came together in 1977. CWM is an international partnership in mission exchange between 32 Churches in Europe and four other continents. The United Reformed Church is a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches – the Presbyterian and Reformed family of Churches all over the world. The United Reformed Church is a member of the World Council of Churches which is made up of Protestant and Orthodox Denominations. The United Reformed Church is part of the Conference of European Churches. The United Reformed Church is a member of the World convention of the Churches of Christ.