» Print Version

Overture 3

About Payment Of Ministerial Stipends.

At Knox Church, Ahuriri, on Thursday the 21st February 2002, the Presbytery of Hawke's Bay met and was constituted.

Among other things it was agreed to transmit simpliciter the following Overture from St Stephen's Church, Napier, to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand, appointed to meet in Wellington on 22 September 2002.

Whereas the current system of payment of ministerial stipends requires each parish to be wholly responsible for paying its minister's stipend;

And whereas there is clearly disparity in the ability of parishes to pay the ministerial stipend because of the demographic and social and economic factors and also because of relative size of parishes;

And whereas the exercise of Christian ministry is not linked to the realisation of economic or monetary gain, but is rather undertaken for the glory of God and is its own reward and therefore is a reflection of the grace which is God;

And whereas the Christian imperative in the writings of the Christian Scriptures (New Testament) emphasises the sharing of resources for the common good of all;

It is hereby overtured that the General Assembly investigate the feasibility of the payment of ministerial stipends within the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand from a common fund contributed to by every parish on a pro rata scale, and in doing so to be informed by the way this system functions in the United Reformed Church in England.

Or that the General Assembly determine otherwise as in its wisdom it shall consider best.

The Presbytery appointed Mr Kerry Marshall and Mrs Penny Marshall to support the overture before the Assembly.

Extracted from the records of the Presbytery by

Nolan Martin

Presbytery Clerk

[ Previous | Next ]

home page   |   email the webmaster   |   A to Z Index   |   return to top