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Reinstatement to the Roll of Ministers

General Assembly approves the following procedure regarding applications for reinstatement to the Roll of Ministers of the United Reformed Church.

a) Ministers who have been removed from the Roll of Ministers by resignation or by Assembly decision, and who wish to apply for re-instatement, shall in the first place consult the Moderator of the Synod of the area where they reside. The application procedure may not normally commence until five years have elapsed from the date their name was removed from the Roll.

b) The Secretary for Ministries shall be informed by the applicant, who will be advised of the procedure to be followed.

c) The Secretary for Ministries will notify the relevant Synod officer where the applicant resides of the application, and will ask the Synod and District to arrange an interview with the applicant. The Secretary for Ministries will ask the Synod that the following documents be obtained by them :

i) A personal statement from the applicant which covers :

• the reason(s) for the deletion or resignation, and a reflection on the circumstances surrounding it

• an outline of the applicant’s personal development and journey of faith since the deletion or resignation

• current employment

• the reasons for seeking reinstatement, including their current conviction of call to the ministry.

ii) At least two personal references in support of the applicant
 

iii) A commendation from the applicant’s local church

iv) A statement from the Moderator of the Synod where the applicant resides, or an equivalent officer in an overseas church, where appropriate

v) A medical report, together with a psychiatric evaluation if appropriate

d) It should be noted that where the applicant has moved into a different Synod or Area/District since their name was removed from the Roll, the Synod handling the application will seek the observations of the present Moderator of their previous Synod, and of their previous District. The purpose of this enquiry is to ensure clarity regarding the reason why the applicant’s name was removed from the Roll.

e) Within this process consideration should be given to the views and needs of the congregations where the applicant has served.
 

f) The Synod officer will forward these papers (except the medical report) to the District or Area Council where the applicant now resides, and ask them to interview him/her and report their observation as to his/her suitability for re-instatement.

g) All these papers (except the medical report) will be sent to the Ministries Committee of the Synod where the applicant now resides, who will interview him/her, and report to the Secretary for Ministries. 

h) All these documents, including the medical report at this stage, will be made available to the Accreditation Sub-Committee, which will interview the applicant. The Sub-Committee will have the right to seek the advice and participation of an outside expert if specialist understanding would help them in their judgement.  Following this final interview the Committee will decide whether or not to re-instate. The Secretary for Ministries will inform the applicant and his/her Synod of the decision as soon as possible.

i) For each of the interviews the convener of the interview panel shall notify the applicant in advance of the main concerns raised and issues to be discussed.

j) On receipt of the decision of the Accreditation Sub-Committee, it shall be open both to the applicant and to the Synod to request a further hearing by the Ministries Committee. This hearing will be before a group from the Ministries Committee composed of those who have had no previous involvement with the reinstatement request. Such an application must be made to the Secretary for ministries not more than 21 days after the date of the notification of the decision of the Accreditation Sub-Committee to the applicant. There shall be no appeal from the decision of the Ministries Committee.

General Assembly 2004