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THE UNITED REFORMED CHURCH

Minutes of the General Assembly of the United Reformed Church 2002

Friday 5 July Second Session

The Chaplain led the Assembly in prayer.

The Clerk presented the minutes of Thursday 4th July. The Assembly approved the minutes subject to minor corrections.

The Moderator invited the Synod of Scotland to make its presentation.

Mission Council

The Moderator invited the Revd Elizabeth Welch, immediate past Moderator, to present the report of Mission Council. Comments and questions on the report were taken, except that matters concerning the ethical investment policy (paragraph 2.3) were deferred to a later session when a resolution on that subject of which notice had been given would also be taken.

Under Standing Order 4b the Moderator indicated that all speeches during the debate on Resolutions 10 to 18 would be limited to three minutes.
 

The Convener of the Task Group on Authority, the Revd Adrian Bulley, moved adoption of Resolution 10:

Resolution 10 Task Group on Authority

General Assembly reaffirms that:

i) Decisions about candidates' suitability for ministry remain within the councils  of the church. (3.1.2)

ii) Decisions on academic and formational matters fall within the remit of colleges  and courses. (3.1.3/4)

The Revd John Bremner proposed the following amendment:

After the word "remain" insert "solely" and after "within the" insert "competence of the".

The amendment was seconded by the Revd George Gibson.

After discussion, and on a vote, the amendment was not carried.

After further debate, the Moderator called upon the Assembly to vote:

Resolution 10 was carried.

Mr Bulley moved adoption of Resolution 11:

Resolution 11 Task Group on Authority

General Assembly encourages the Training and Ministries Committees to continue their consideration of the procedures for the selection, training, call and ordination of ministers. (3.2.1)

After brief discussion, the Moderator called upon the Assembly to vote.

Resolution 11 was carried.

Mr Bulley moved adoption of Resolution 12

Resolution 12 Task Group on Authority

General Assembly affirms that task groups, regardless of their purpose, should be given very clear remits and there should be equal clarity about to which council or committee of the church the group will report. (3.3)

There being no discussion, the Moderator called upon the Assembly to vote.

Resolution 12 was carried.

Mr Bulley moved adoption of Resolution 13:

Resolution 13 Task Group on Authority

General Assembly affirms the present practice (function 2(5)(A)(ix)), namely that, where it deems right, the General Assembly remits questions, with clear guidelines as to the process, to other councils of the church and, having considered the responses, makes decisions following debate. (3.4.6)

Mr Bulley responded to questions, and the Moderator called upon the Assembly to vote.

Resolution 13 was carried.

Mr Bulley moved adoption of Resolution 14:

Resolution 14 Task Group on Authority

i) In order to promote clearer communication and share good practice between the councils of the church, and to ensure a greater sense of relevance between the councils of the church, the General Assembly urges local churches, district/area councils and synods to consider the suggestions in 3.5A of the report and take appropriate action. (3.5A)

ii) General Assembly asks Mission Council to issue guidelines:

a) to advise district/area councils on ways of appointing representatives to General Assembly which both offer continuity and respect the church's policy on equal opportunities; and

b) on the more effective sharing of reports and decisions with district/area councils and church meetings. (3.5A)

iii) General Assembly agrees that the proposals for a radical review of the church's structure should be remitted to Mission Council, though consideration should not be given to this until after the Task Group on Personal and Conciliar Leadership has completed its work, so that such consideration may be given in the light of the theological work on episcope which will be contained in its report.

There being no discussion, the Moderator called upon the Assembly to vote.

Resolution 14 was carried.

Mr Bulley moved adoption of Resolution 15:

Resolution 15 Task Group on Authority

General Assembly asks the Training Committee to evaluate training materials already available within the church, and to review them with a view to producing materials that could be more widely used to assist representatives to understand their roles within the various councils of the church. (3.6)

After brief discussion, the Moderator called upon the Assembly to vote.

Resolution 15 was carried.

Mr Bulley moved adoption of Resolution 16:

Resolution 16 Task Group on Authority

General Assembly reaffirms the use of existing function 2(5)(A)(ix) to cover contentious issues rather than the procedure suggested by the Working Group on the Authority of General Assembly and Other Councils in the Human Sexuality Report 1999. (3.8)

There being no comments or questions, the Moderator called upon the Assembly to vote.

Resolution 16 was carried.

Consideration of Resolution 17 was deferred to a later session. With the permission of the Assembly Mr Bulley moved adoption of Resolution 18 in the following slightly amended form:

Resolution 18 Task Group on Authority

General Assembly agrees to make the following changes to the Standing Orders of the Assembly with effect from the close of the annual meeting of the Assembly in 2002:

Add the following to Standing Order 3f:

"The Moderator may rule that a proposed amendment should be treated as an alternative motion under Standing Order 3k."

Add new Standing Order 3k:

"Alternative (but not directly negative) motions may be moved and seconded in competition with a motion before the Assembly. After any amendments duly moved under Standing Orders 3f, 3g and 3h have been dealt with and debate on the alternative motions has ended, the movers shall reply to the debate in reverse order to that in which they spoke initially. The first vote shall be a vote in favour of each of the motions, put in the order in which they were proposed, the result not being announced for one until it is announced for all. If any of them obtains a majority of those voting, it becomes the sole motion before the Assembly. If none of them does so, the motion having the fewest votes is discarded. Should the lowest two be equal, the Moderator gives a casting vote. The voting process is repeated until one motion achieves a majority of those voting. Once a sole motion remains, votes for and against that motion shall be taken in the normal way and in accordance with Standing Order 6." (3.9.2b)

Mr Bulley, assisted by members of Assembly, demonstrated how this could be applied in a meeting of Assembly.

After discussion, the Moderator called upon the Assembly to vote.

Resolution 18 was carried.

Communications and Editorial Committee

The Moderator invited the Convener, the Revd Graham Cook, to present the report of the Communications and Editorial Committee.

Mr Cook responded to a number of questions.

Mr Cook moved adoption of Resolution 28 and with permission Dr David Goodbourn of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland spoke, introducing ROOTS.

Resolution 28 ROOTS

General Assembly commends ROOTS, the new lectionary-based resource programme to support the worship and learning of the whole church community, to all local churches.

There being no discussion, the Moderator called upon the Assembly to vote.

Resolution 28 was carried.

Reception of Inter-Faith Guest

The Convener of the Inter-Faith Relations Committee, Mrs Daphne Beale, introduced a member of the Scottish Inter-Faith Council, Mrs Sharon Schlesinger from the Glasgow Jewish Representative Council. The Moderator greeted Mrs Schlesinger who then addressed the Assembly.

Following a break, the Revd David Thompson took the chair.

Ruiton Secession Request

The Moderator outlined the procedures for dealing with petitions to secede. The General Secretary reported that the local church at Ruiton had declined to send representatives to the Assembly.

On behalf of Mission Council, the Revd Keith Forecast moved adoption of Resolution 26. In doing so, he reported on the work of the Mission Council Commission appointed to investigate the request.

Resolution 26 Secession

General Assembly does not agree to the secession of the local church at Ruiton (West Midlands Synod) and requests the congregation, district council and synod patiently to seek ways of restoring fellowship.

After considerable debate during which it was made clear that the Ruiton church had been informed that attendance of their representatives would have been at the Assembly's expense, the Moderator led the Assembly in prayer and invited the Assembly to vote. The Moderator called for tellers to count the votes indicated by show of hands. 210 votes were cast in favour of the resolution and 254 against.

Resolution 26 was not carried.

The Revd Richard Langdon proposed and the Revd Phillip Jones seconded the following resolution:

General Assembly agrees that the local church at Ruiton (West Midlands Synod) be permitted to secede from the United Reformed Church.

There was no debate and the resolution was carried.

The Revd John Waller resumed the chair.

Moderator 2003-2004

Mr John Seager, Convener of Tellers for the election of the Moderator of Assembly, reported that 498 ballot papers had been received, three of which had been spoilt. He announced that the Revd D Alasdair Pratt had been duly elected as Moderator of Assembly for 2003-2004. The Moderator greeted Mr Pratt on Assembly's behalf.

After worship led by the Chaplain, Assembly adjourned.

Saturday 6 July 2002 First Session