Lots happens in the Canadian House of Commons, the body in which elected Members of Parliament vote on proposed legislation when they're not acting like ill-behaved five-year-olds. Some of the bills presented are ground-breaking and some simply necessary for governance. Some are just boring, or at least they would seem that way to the majority of Canadians.
This past Monday the House dealt with one of those "get er done" items which couldn't have mattered to MPs, for the most part, but marked a significant change for the United Church as a denomination. After nearly a century of functioning with four levels of church governance our structure was officially altered by an act of Parliament. Here is the UCC press release:
The House of Commons passed the amendments to The United Church of Canada Act on April 2, 2019 by unanimous consent. Bill S-1003 contained the amendments to the church’s governing structure that were voted on at the 2015 General Council in Corner Brook, N.L. They were then confirmed by the majority of pastoral charges (congregations) and Presbyteries and enacted by the 2018 General Council in Oshawa, Ont., marking the most significant change to the church’s structure since its founding in 1925.
The amendments replaced the two middle courts of the church, Conference and presbytery, with a regional council model, made up of staff and volunteers to oversee ministers and pastoral charges (now called communities of faith). The Denominational Council is now the legal title for the General Council; however, we will continue to use the familiar name General Council. General Council has new financial responsibilities and will maintain the church’s broader relationships across the denomination—relationships with other faith groups and partners in Canada and around the world.
I've supported a three-court system of governance since proposals were made to make the change in the 1980's. Our traditional system was a concession to the founding denominations and was both cumbersome and difficult to actually find those who would serve at every level as the United Church membership shrank.
Will our new model be effective? Perhaps, by the grace of God. Given recent goofiness in the House it may also be time to find a more effective model than Parliament!
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