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User's Guide to the Assembly
In the name of Jesus Christ, WELCOME to all participants in the 2004 Assembly at St Andrew’s College, Christchurch
What is the General Assembly?
The Assembly is far more than a business and decision-making meeting. It is a national event in the life of our church: we come together to discern the will of God for the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand at this time, and we will do this in a variety of ways. We will worship together, enter into discussion, consider proposals, study the Bible, sing and eat and, at times, relax.
All we do will be directed towards the service of God. In prayer, we join hundreds of others not attending this Assembly but who have the highest hopes for what God can do with us together.
Those hopes grow from our Church´s belief that when we gather in openness to God's Spirit, God interacts with us, and Christ is present to us. In the tradition of Christian gatherings from the time of Pentecost we listen to each other and, through the multiplicity of voices, to God. Those who have been actively preparing over time believe this Assembly will help our Church grasp the opportunities at hand – opportunities for compassion and mission.
The 1998 Assembly determined that the Assembly, in its meeting and operations, has a primary purpose of encouraging and supporting the life and mission of congregations. This was reinforced by the 1999 Assembly, which decided that in meetings of the General Assembly significant time be given to the encouragement and empowerment of Presbyteries/UDCs and parishes for mission.
Assembly Theme
'Church in a new world: mission defined and mission driven' Like it or not – we are in a new world! In a generation there has been enormous change in lifestyles, world views and values, and today's church needs to find new ways of being and doing church in order to be faithful to the mission of Jesus Christ. In this Assembly there is an invitation to resist the temptation to look after ourselves first, and just tinker with what we are. Let us in faith allow mission to determine who we are and drive what we do: new church – light of the world, salt of the earth.
Who will be at Assembly?
There will be approximately 550 people at the 2004 General Assembly: <typolist> 378 commissioners – ordained ministers and elders commissioned to attend by their Sessions/Parish Council and Presbytery. About 18 youth representatives 2 representatives from the Association of Presbyterian Women. All these are the voting members of the Assembly. </typolist> In addition to these there will be a number of associate members – people representing committees and organisations who have input into the life of our church. They will usually be associated for a particular item of business. A special feature this Assembly is the "Children´s Assembly" with young people from all over the country coming to the Assembly to join in a programme designed for them that interfaces with the Assembly. As well we will have guests from overseas, several observers from New Zealand churches, and students from the School of Ministry who will also be observers of the Assembly. Observers have the right to be present in the debates, to enter into the discussion, but not to move motions or to vote.
Who are the key people and what is their role?
Moderator: the Rt. Rev Garry Marquand
Garry will be installed as Moderator on Sunday afternoon, at St Andrew´s College. His job is to preside at the Assembly, to keep us in order, and to arrange for us to be led in worship. He may be assisted by the immediate past Moderator, the Very Rev Michael Thawley.
Assembly Executive Secretary: the Rev Dr. Kerry Enright
As well as being the Executive Secretary between Assemblies, Kerry is the Clerk of the Assembly, and will ensure that the records and rolls are kept, and with the Convener of the Book of Order Reference Group, John Marshall, that our regulations are adhered to. Heather McKenzie will assist him.
Business Workgroup Co-Conveners:The Revs David Brown and Don Hall:
David and Don and their team are the ones who decide what the order of business will be, and how the Assembly will deal with it.
Local Arrangements Co-convener: Mr Tom Campbell
Tom and his team have been working for over a year to ensure that the running of the Assembly is smooth and effective. They are responsible for venue matters, for catering, for accommodation, for transport, plus a host of other essential items to keep us working comfortably.
Enhancement Team:
A feature of this Assembly will be the Mission Seminars on Wednesday afternoon. Eleven Mission Seminars will provide an important opportunity to explore our Mission Theme. Looking for some encouragement, inspiration and practical help for mission in your congregation? In presentation and discussion these Seminars will open your thinking to new ideas and action for the future.
Guest Speaker: Rev Dr Dean Drayton
We are privileged to have Dean Drayton with us to present four key-note addresses. He is currently President of the Uniting Church of Australia, and on staff at the United Theological College, Sydney. Dean has a passion for the mission of the church, is familiar with our NZ context, and has an engaging way of both rocking the boat and helping chart new directions for the Church.
Te Aka Puaho
Te Aka Puaho (the Maori Synod) has a special place in our church – by their presence helping us to keep true to our commitment to embody a bicultural partnership. The Synod may choose at any time to address the Assembly on matters that affect their life and spirituality
Assembly Chaplains
The Moderator has asked the Revs Diane Gilliam-Weeks, John Hunt, Sa Si´itia Asi and Lester Simpson to be Chaplains to the Assembly. As well as leading the early morning Communion Services and Close of Day devotions the Chaplains are available to listen and support others spiritually and pastorally. Please free to contact them.
Music and Worship Team:
The worship co-ordinator for the Assembly is Darryl Tempero.
What Is The General Assembly For and What Does It Do?
The Presbyterian Church has a hierarchy of courts – Session, Presbytery, and General Assembly – of which the Assembly is the highest. The Assembly has 3 major functions:
1. Legislative – making the regulations that give order to our life as a Church. The Assembly is the only court of our Church that can do this.
2. Administrative – exercising general oversight of the Church including activities and finance. The Assembly is the major policy-making body in the Presbyterian Church. Through ongoing consideration it establishes the basic beliefs, overall strategies, and direction for the whole Church. In somewhat quaint language, Book of Order Regulation 381 sets out the extent of its oversight of the whole Church. In general terms, the Assembly attends to all matters relating to the interests of the Church as a whole.
3. Judicial – deciding appeals and complaints from Presbyteries and other courts. In recent years the General Assembly has delegated its judicial function to Judicial Commissions. These Commissions are appointed by the Council of Assembly and act with the full authority of the General Assembly in relation to the judicial matters referred to them. The reports of the various Commissions will be lodged with Assembly but the Assembly does not debate them. The main agent of the Assembly, between meetings, is the Council of Assembly. It is advised by its policy groups, and is accountable to the General Assembly for stating policy, developing strategy and for the work of the Service Team (the employees of the General Assembly), who, with the Operational Groups (of volunteers in the Church), implement policy. <typohead type="3">Responsibilities (Commissioners, not Delegates.) </typohead> You are a Commissioner to the Assembly. That means you have been commissioned by your Presbytery or Union District Council to attend this Assembly. You bring your own gifts, informed by the views of others, to build up the body of Christ. You are not a delegate so you do not need to represent the views of your Presbytery, Union District Council, Session, Parish Council, congregation or anyone else. The views of others may inform yours, but they cannot direct you. To come with totally fixed views or having made firm commitments to particular outcomes limits our Church's openness to God. <typohead type="3">Worship </typohead> Each day there will be worship at different times during the Assembly, arranged by the Moderator, the Worship and Music Team and the Chaplains. Each morning at 7.30 am (from Monday – Friday), there will be an optional service of Holy Communion in the St Andrew´s Chapel. The Assembly Chaplains are available to pray with you if you contact them. <typohead type="2">How Does the Assembly Work?
</typohead>
<typohead type="3">Standing Orders </typohead> On Sunday afternoon, the Assembly will be asked to agree to work by a set of rules for conducting its business, called the Standing Orders. These are the guidelines for how we work. You can find them on page C 3 in the "Assembly Reports " which is the collection of reports of committees and other material that make up the papers for the Assembly. (This is often referred to as the White Book) The Assembly will deal with matters before it in four ways using both Full Assembly and Dialogue Group sessions. <typohead type="3">Full Assembly </typohead> The Full Assembly meets together to hear matters introduced to debate and make final decisions, or to hear about agreement, which has been reached in Dialogue Groups. When the Full Assembly meets, the ministers, elders and youth representatives who are commissioners will be asked to sit in the front section of the Auditorium and associates and observers (non voting) in the back section, or upstairs. In Full Assembly there may be debate on recommendations followed by voting or discussion that does not have to result in a decision. The Business Workgroup will make it clear which ?mode´ is being used. <typohead type="3">Dialogue Groups </typohead> Each Commissioner at the Assembly will be a member of a Dialogue Group, (comprising 15-20 members) to discuss the matters that need to be studied in depth. The Moderator, Garry Marquand, has appointed a Dialogue Group Moderator to chair each meeting, and a Dialogue Group Clerk is also appointed. There will be special Dialogue Groups for Associates and Observers as well. At the end of the discussion time, the Dialogue Group Moderator will check to see if the group is in agreement on what feedback it wishes to give to the matters being raised, to be reported to the Facilitation Group (see below). If the matter has been sent to the Dialogue Group for Study (see below), the Moderator will ascertain whether the group is for or against the recommendations. If it has been sent for Discussion (see below), as this is a way of seeking the mind of the Assembly before it is represented for debate, the response may be questions, statements or new or amended notices of motion. There will also be time to ask (by way of Notice of Motion) that material in reports is brought to the floor of the Assembly for debate. <typohead type="3">Facilitation Group </typohead> The Facilitation Group, which comprises representatives of the Moderator, the immediate Past Moderator, the Assembly Clerk and the Business Workgroup, will monitor the progress of matters, especially those being studied by Dialogue Groups. Sometimes they will arrange a meeting between those presenting reports and commissioners who have raised issues, in order to facilitate a resolution or ascertain a common mind. After each Dialogue Group meeting, they will report back to Full Assembly on all the issues raised and resolved, before debate and decision resume. <typohead type="3">Voting </typohead> If you are a voting member you will have received two "Indicator Cards" – one for ?yes´ and one for ?no´. The Moderator will ask you to show one of these to indicate your mind both in formal voting and in gauging the mind of the Assembly informally (eg. "are you ready to vote?") Keep your cards with you at all times. They are for your use only, and cannot be replaced. You will also be issued with a set of ballot papers that will be used when the Moderator agrees to a request from the floor "that a decision should be made by secret ballot." These are for your use only, and you need to keep them with you. <typohead type="3">So to the four ways of dealing with matters </typohead> Before the Assembly, the Business Workgroup will identify recommendations and matters being presented as either: <typolist type="1"> matters for study matters for discussion. matters for debate matters for decision. </typolist> Here is a summary description of how all this works. If you are not clear about any part, your Dialogue Group Moderator should be able to help. More details about the processes are in the Standing Orders. Matters for Study: (Standing Orders 15.1) These are matters that are deemed to require in-depth study. The issues will be introduced to the whole Assembly, questions for clarification asked and answered, and then they will be discussed in Dialogue Groups. At the end of the discussion, the Dialogue Group Moderator will work by a consensus process to determine if there is agreement in the group on the Notice of Motion as it stands, and report to the Facilitation group. If all the groups agree it will be reported to the Assembly at a later session as agreed: if 75% or more agree, then it is declared carried. If less than 75% agree, then the Facilitation Group will refer it and the comments made by Dialogue Groups back to the presenters for possible amendment, and new presentation to the Assembly, (and then to discussion, debate etc.) Matters for Discussion: (Standing Orders 15.2) These are matters with or without recommendations that are introduced and discussed in Full Assembly or in Dialogue Groups. This is the point in the process where questions for clarification are asked and answered. If the Assembly determines it should make a decision on any matter, it will move to debate or decision mode. (See below) Matters for Debate: (Standing Orders 15.3) These are matters, raised by Notice of Motion, on which there may be some debate (in Full Assembly). They will be introduced briefly and seconded, and debated until such time as the Moderator asks the Assembly if it is ready to vote (i.e. move to a decision). If the vote is unanimous it is declared agreed If it receives support of at least 60% of those voting it is declared carried If it receives between 40% and 60% support it is declared to be lying on the table If it receives less than 40% support it is declared lost Matters that are left lying on the table can be picked up and reconsidered at a later session, (presumably with some work done to find a common mind by the major parties to the debate). There are a number of procedural motions (see Standing Orders, 15.2) that apply during debate. They require 60% to pass. Matters for Decision: (Standing Orders 15.3ii) Matters that are considered to need no debate or study will be offered as part of a "Comprehensive Motion", which is a collection of recommendations that will be considered en bloc. In Dialogue Groups, or by notifying the Business Workgroup on the appropriate form, any matter in this category can be removed from the Comprehensive Motion for debate, study or discussion. Those matters left in the Comprehensive Motion will be put to the Full Assembly as one motion, on which there will be no debate. Throughout the Assembly, the Business Workgroup will keep you informed on the progress of matters through these processes. You will be issued with a timetable for each day, and lists of the Notices of Motion, with a recommended process for each. <typohead type="3">Notices of Motion </typohead> Any voting member can move a Notice of Motion, as long as it is seconded. If your Notice of Motion does not arise from the business of the Assembly the Business Workgroup must receive it by 12 noon, Monday 23 September. Other deadlines will be clearly given to the Assembly by the Business Workgroup. <typohead type="3">Timing </typohead> Presenters of reports will have had time allocated to them by the Business Workgroup. Presenters of overtures and notices of motion will have a total of 4 minutes to speak, move and second a motion. Other speakers will have 2 minutes unless the Moderator decides otherwise. Though presenters of reports will speak from a lectern at the front of the auditorium, during discussion and debate we use "roving microphones", which are handed to commissioners in their seats when the Moderator indicates that they have right to speak. During debates the lights to indicate speaking time will be visible to all in the Auditorium. The green light will turn to orange when there are 30 seconds left and red when the time is up. Presenters now favour extensive use of power point, and each Notice of Motion will be displayed clearly by this medium. <typohead type="3">Finding your way round the papers </typohead> Before the Assembly all Commissioners will have received the "Assembly Reports" and a separate printing of Extra Reports. You will notice these can be put together because the pages of the extra reports follow on from the Assembly Reports. You have been asked to bring a ring binder to hold your papers in. You can expect to get further sets of papers at the Assembly. Your loose leafed Assembly Reports is a work book. You are encouraged to write notes and comments on it. <typohead type="3">Reports </typohead> The reports from the various groups will be ordered under the work of the relevant Policy Groups. Most reports contain the following: <typolist type="1"> Order of Reference – this is what the Assembly asks the committee to do, a kind of job description.
Synopsis – some reports contain a list of headings or a summary of the report.
Recommendations (if any) – these will be the subject of debate and decision making.
Report – may be in parts.
Background
Matters referred to the committee/group at the last Assembly.
Additional matters
Future work or priorities </typolist> <typohead type="4">Overtures/Petitions/References/Memorials (refer to your Book of Order Regulations No 409 – 425) </typohead> These are concerns brought to the Assembly, each in a particular format, through the Presbyteries, sometimes with the Presbytery´s backing (adopted and transmitted), sometimes by an individual congregation or person (transmitted simpliciter). You will find these in the Assembly Reports after the reports. <typohead type="2">Local Arrangements
</typohead>
<typohead type="3">Registration </typohead> You must register at the help desk in the Foyer of St Andrew´s Senior College Centre at St Andrew´s College Saturday 18th September 3.00 pm to 5.00 pm and on Sunday 19th September from 9.00am to 9.30pm. The Local Arrangements Committee will have a "Help Desk" staffed all of the time, in the foyer of the Senior College Centre. On registration, you will be given an Assembly Bag that includes your name-tag, dialogue group number and other sundry items. Please take time to read this material. As you come into the venue for each session, check on the tables for additional papers. All sessions listed below are part of the Assembly so will involve you. <typohead type="3">Powhiri </typohead> We will be welcomed to Christchurch by the local Maori people (the tangata whenua). As the guests (manuhiri) we ask you to gather in the Gymnasium by 1.00 pm. <typohead type="3">Opening Service </typohead> The opening of the Assembly on Sunday afternoon will be held at St Andrew´s College in the Gymnasium starting at 1.30pm. <typohead type="3">First Business Session </typohead> Following a break for afternoon tea, at 4.00 pm we will hold our first Business Session in the School Gymnasium, which is our main venue for the Assembly. <typohead type="3">The St Andrew's College Venue </typohead> The plenary sessions of the General Assembly will be held in the gymnasium of St Andrew´s College. We are very grateful to the College for making so many of their facilities available to us. A few of the staff of the College will still be in residence. You are asked to keep to those areas allocated to the Assembly. Do not enter the School Office at all. Contact a member of the Local Arrangements Committee. Some of the Dialogue groups are upstairs, so if you have mobility needs please advise the Local Arrangements Committee, if possible before you arrive. <typohead type="3">Meals </typohead> We will go across to the Student Dining Room and Cafeteria for our meals, often in two sittings. Morning and afternoon teas will be served continuously in the Cafeteria. At these times, please organise your leaving of the Assembly Auditorium so that it is during a less significant moment in the business. Buses will be available at the beginning of each day from Rangi Ruru, to travel to St Andrew´s College. They will return immediately at the end of each day´s proceedings. An early bus will be available for those who wish to participate in the early morning Communion Service. There is no parking available in the school grounds. <typohead type="3">Safe Environment </typohead> The Assembly would wish to be a safe environment for all who come to bring their concerns. We ask that you be respectful of all people, and keep to the "Ground Rules" that will be issued at the Assembly. It is not appropriate to make personal remarks during debates or to applaud. Though these days the Assembly is more relaxed than in earlier years, it is still the supreme court of the church, so appropriate standards in discussion, debate and dress are expected. The church has for some time chosen to use inclusive language as it addresses the people of God. We invite you to do so wherever you can. The Moderator has appointed Assembly Chaplains to be available to anyone who finds the matters discussed or the process of the Assembly distressing, and they will be available as contact persons for matters of sexual harassment. <typohead type="3">Attendance </typohead> The Assembly will open with a Powhiri at 1.00 p.m. on Sunday 29 September 2004 and conclude at 12.30pm on Friday 24 September. You need to be present for the whole Assembly and this includes the Mission Seminars on Wednesday afternoon. If for some urgent reason you need to be absent, you must seek permission from the Business Workgroup. You will need to speak to the Rev Bob Reid to do this. <typohead type="3">Communications </typohead> Please be aware that only the Moderator has the authority of the Assembly to speak to the media. If you are asked questions, please refer them to the Media Office. It is expected that you will report to your home parish on the Sunday following the Assembly, there will be material available to help you with this. A timetable will be printed for each day so that you know what issues are to be dealt with at what times. There are pay phones in prominent places at the venue. The emergency contact phone for the Assembly is 027 273 – 1449. Help is always available. Even "seasoned" Assembly attendees need help from time to time. Those responsible for various parts of the Assembly are keen to discuss questions with anyone. They are a friendly lot! On mat
User's Guide to the Assembly
In the name of Jesus Christ, WELCOME to all participants in the 2004 Assembly at St Andrew’s College, Christchurch |
What is the General Assembly?
The Assembly is far more than a business and decision-making meeting. It is a national event in the life of our church: we come together to discern the will of God for the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand at this time, and we will do this in a variety of ways. We will worship together, enter into discussion, consider proposals, study the Bible, sing and eat and, at times, relax.
All we do will be directed towards the service of God. In prayer, we join hundreds of others not attending this Assembly but who have the highest hopes for what God can do with us together.
Those hopes grow from our Church´s belief that when we gather in openness to God's Spirit, God interacts with us, and Christ is present to us. In the tradition of Christian gatherings from the time of Pentecost we listen to each other and, through the multiplicity of voices, to God. Those who have been actively preparing over time believe this Assembly will help our Church grasp the opportunities at hand – opportunities for compassion and mission.
The 1998 Assembly determined that the Assembly, in its meeting and operations, has a primary purpose of encouraging and supporting the life and mission of congregations. This was reinforced by the 1999 Assembly, which decided that in meetings of the General Assembly significant time be given to the encouragement and empowerment of Presbyteries/UDCs and parishes for mission.
Assembly Theme
'Church in a new world: mission defined and mission driven'
Like it or not – we are in a new world! In a generation there has been enormous change in lifestyles, world views and values, and today's church needs to find new ways of being and doing church in order to be faithful to the mission of Jesus Christ. In this Assembly there is an invitation to resist the temptation to look after ourselves first, and just tinker with what we are. Let us in faith allow mission to determine who we are and drive what we do: new church – light of the world, salt of the earth.
Who will be at Assembly?
There will be approximately 550 people at the 2004 General Assembly:
- 378 commissioners – ordained ministers and elders commissioned to attend by their Sessions/Parish Council and Presbytery.
- About 18 youth representatives
- 2 representatives from the Association of Presbyterian Women.
- All these are the voting members of the Assembly.
In addition to these there will be a number of associate members – people representing committees and organisations who have input into the life of our church. They will usually be associated for a particular item of business.
A special feature this Assembly is the "Children´s Assembly" with young people from all over the country coming to the Assembly to join in a programme designed for them that interfaces with the Assembly.
As well we will have guests from overseas, several observers from New Zealand churches, and students from the School of Ministry who will also be observers of the Assembly.
Observers have the right to be present in the debates, to enter into the discussion, but not to move motions or to vote.
Who are the key people and what is their role?
Moderator: the Rt. Rev Garry Marquand
Garry will be installed as Moderator on Sunday afternoon, at St Andrew´s College. His job is to preside at the Assembly, to keep us in order, and to arrange for us to be led in worship. He may be assisted by the immediate past Moderator, the Very Rev Michael Thawley.
Assembly Executive Secretary: the Rev Dr. Kerry Enright
As well as being the Executive Secretary between Assemblies, Kerry is the Clerk of the Assembly, and will ensure that the records and rolls are kept, and with the Convener of the Book of Order Reference Group, John Marshall, that our regulations are adhered to. Heather McKenzie will assist him.
Business Workgroup Co-Conveners:
The Revs David Brown and Don Hall: David and Don and their team are the ones who decide what the order of business will be, and how the Assembly will deal with it.
Local Arrangements Co-convener: Mr Tom Campbell
Tom and his team have been working for over a year to ensure that the running of the Assembly is smooth and effective. They are responsible for venue matters, for catering, for accommodation, for transport, plus a host of other essential items to keep us working comfortably.
Enhancement Team:
A feature of this Assembly will be the Mission Seminars on Wednesday afternoon. Eleven Mission Seminars will provide an important opportunity to explore our Mission Theme. Looking for some encouragement, inspiration and practical help for mission in your congregation? In presentation and discussion these Seminars will open your thinking to new ideas and action for the future.
Guest Speaker: Rev Dr Dean Drayton
We are privileged to have Dean Drayton with us to present four key-note addresses. He is currently President of the Uniting Church of Australia, and on staff at the United Theological College, Sydney. Dean has a passion for the mission of the church, is familiar with our NZ context, and has an engaging way of both rocking the boat and helping chart new directions for the Church.
Te Aka Puaho:
Te Aka Puaho (the Maori Synod) has a special place in our church – by their presence helping us to keep true to our commitment to embody a bicultural partnership. The Synod may choose at any time to address the Assembly on matters that affect their life and spirituality
Assembly Chaplains
The Moderator has asked the Revs Diane Gilliam-Weeks, John Hunt, Sa Si´itia Asi and Lester Simpson to be Chaplains to the Assembly. As well as leading the early morning Communion Services and Close of Day devotions the Chaplains are available to listen and support others spiritually and pastorally. Please free to contact them.
Music and Worship Team:
The worship co-ordinator for the Assembly is Darryl Tempero.
What Is The General Assembly For and What Does It Do?
The Presbyterian Church has a hierarchy of courts – Session, Presbytery, and General Assembly – of which the Assembly is the highest.
The Assembly has 3 major functions:
1. Legislative – making the regulations that give order to our life as a Church. The Assembly is the only court of our Church that can do this.
2. Administrative – exercising general oversight of the Church including activities and finance. The Assembly is the major policy-making body in the Presbyterian Church. Through ongoing consideration it establishes the basic beliefs, overall strategies, and direction for the whole Church. In somewhat quaint language, Book of Order Regulation 381 sets out the extent of its oversight of the whole Church. In general terms, the Assembly attends to all matters relating to the interests of the Church as a whole.
3. Judicial – deciding appeals and complaints from Presbyteries and other courts. In recent years the General Assembly has delegated its judicial function to Judicial Commissions. These Commissions are appointed by the Council of Assembly and act with the full authority of the General Assembly in relation to the judicial matters referred to them. The reports of the various Commissions will be lodged with Assembly but the Assembly does not debate them.
The main agent of the Assembly, between meetings, is the Council of Assembly. It is advised by its policy groups, and is accountable to the General Assembly for stating policy, developing strategy and for the work of the Service Team (the employees of the General Assembly), who, with the Operational Groups (of volunteers in the Church), implement policy.
Responsibilities (Commissioners, not Delegates.)
You are a Commissioner to the Assembly. That means you have been commissioned by your Presbytery or Union District Council to attend this Assembly. You bring your own gifts, informed by the views of others, to build up the body of Christ.
You are not a delegate so you do not need to represent the views of your Presbytery, Union District Council, Session, Parish Council, congregation or anyone else. The views of others may inform yours, but they cannot direct you. To come with totally fixed views or having made firm commitments to particular outcomes limits our Church's openness to God.
Worship
Each day there will be worship at different times during the Assembly, arranged by the Moderator, the Worship and Music Team and the Chaplains. Each morning at 7.30 am (from Monday – Friday), there will be an optional service of Holy Communion in the St Andrew´s Chapel.
The Assembly Chaplains are available to pray with you if you contact them.
How Does the Assembly Work?
Standing Orders
On Sunday afternoon, the Assembly will be asked to agree to work by a set of rules for conducting its business, called the Standing Orders. These are the guidelines for how we work. You can find them on page C 3 in the "Assembly Reports " which is the collection of reports of committees and other material that make up the papers for the Assembly. (This is often referred to as the White Book)
The Assembly will deal with matters before it in four ways using both Full Assembly and Dialogue Group sessions.
Full Assembly
The Full Assembly meets together to hear matters introduced to debate and make final decisions, or to hear about agreement, which has been reached in Dialogue Groups.
When the Full Assembly meets, the ministers, elders and youth representatives who are commissioners will be asked to sit in the front section of the Auditorium and associates and observers (non voting) in the back section, or upstairs.
In Full Assembly there may be debate on recommendations followed by voting or discussion that does not have to result in a decision. The Business Workgroup will make it clear which ?mode´ is being used.
Dialogue Groups
Each Commissioner at the Assembly will be a member of a Dialogue Group, (comprising 15-20 members) to discuss the matters that need to be studied in depth. The Moderator, Garry Marquand, has appointed a Dialogue Group Moderator to chair each meeting, and a Dialogue Group Clerk is also appointed.
There will be special Dialogue Groups for Associates and Observers as well.
At the end of the discussion time, the Dialogue Group Moderator will check to see if the group is in agreement on what feedback it wishes to give to the matters being raised, to be reported to the Facilitation Group (see below).
If the matter has been sent to the Dialogue Group for Study (see below), the Moderator will ascertain whether the group is for or against the recommendations.
If it has been sent for Discussion (see below), as this is a way of seeking the mind of the Assembly before it is represented for debate, the response may be questions, statements or new or amended notices of motion.
There will also be time to ask (by way of Notice of Motion) that material in reports is brought to the floor of the Assembly for debate.
Facilitation Group
The Facilitation Group, which comprises representatives of the Moderator, the immediate Past Moderator, the Assembly Clerk and the Business Workgroup, will monitor the progress of matters, especially those being studied by Dialogue Groups.
Sometimes they will arrange a meeting between those presenting reports and commissioners who have raised issues, in order to facilitate a resolution or ascertain a common mind. After each Dialogue Group meeting, they will report back to Full Assembly on all the issues raised and resolved, before debate and decision resume.
Voting
If you are a voting member you will have received two "Indicator Cards" – one for ?yes´ and one for ?no´. The Moderator will ask you to show one of these to indicate your mind both in formal voting and in gauging the mind of the Assembly informally (eg. "are you ready to vote?") Keep your cards with you at all times. They are for your use only, and cannot be replaced.
You will also be issued with a set of ballot papers that will be used when the Moderator agrees to a request from the floor "that a decision should be made by secret ballot." These are for your use only, and you need to keep them with you.
So to the four ways of dealing with matters
Before the Assembly, the Business Workgroup will identify recommendations and matters being presented as either:
- matters for study
- matters for discussion.
- matters for debate
- matters for decision.
Here is a summary description of how all this works. If you are not clear about any part, your Dialogue Group Moderator should be able to help. More details about the processes are in the Standing Orders.
Matters for Study: (Standing Orders 15.1)
These are matters that are deemed to require in-depth study. The issues will be introduced to the whole Assembly, questions for clarification asked and answered, and then they will be discussed in Dialogue Groups. At the end of the discussion, the Dialogue Group Moderator will work by a consensus process to determine if there is agreement in the group on the Notice of Motion as it stands, and report to the Facilitation group. If all the groups agree it will be reported to the Assembly at a later session as agreed: if 75% or more agree, then it is declared carried.
If less than 75% agree, then the Facilitation Group will refer it and the comments made by Dialogue Groups back to the presenters for possible amendment, and new presentation to the Assembly, (and then to discussion, debate etc.)
Matters for Discussion: (Standing Orders 15.2)
These are matters with or without recommendations that are introduced and discussed in Full Assembly or in Dialogue Groups. This is the point in the process where questions for clarification are asked and answered. If the Assembly determines it should make a decision on any matter, it will move to debate or decision mode. (See below)
Matters for Debate: (Standing Orders 15.3)
These are matters, raised by Notice of Motion, on which there may be some debate (in Full Assembly). They will be introduced briefly and seconded, and debated until such time as the Moderator asks the Assembly if it is ready to vote (i.e. move to a decision).
If the vote is unanimous it is declared agreed
If it receives support of at least 60% of those voting it is declared carried
If it receives between 40% and 60% support it is declared to be lying on the table
If it receives less than 40% support it is declared lost
Matters that are left lying on the table can be picked up and reconsidered at a later session, (presumably with some work done to find a common mind by the major parties to the debate).
There are a number of procedural motions (see Standing Orders, 15.2) that apply during debate. They require 60% to pass.
Matters for Decision: (Standing Orders 15.3ii)
Matters that are considered to need no debate or study will be offered as part of a "Comprehensive Motion", which is a collection of recommendations that will be considered en bloc.
In Dialogue Groups, or by notifying the Business Workgroup on the appropriate form, any matter in this category can be removed from the Comprehensive Motion for debate, study or discussion.
Those matters left in the Comprehensive Motion will be put to the Full Assembly as one motion, on which there will be no debate.
Throughout the Assembly, the Business Workgroup will keep you informed on the progress of matters through these processes. You will be issued with a timetable for each day, and lists of the Notices of Motion, with a recommended process for each.
Notices of Motion
Any voting member can move a Notice of Motion, as long as it is seconded. If your Notice of Motion does not arise from the business of the Assembly the Business Workgroup must receive it by 12 noon, Monday 23 September. Other deadlines will be clearly given to the Assembly by the Business Workgroup.
Timing
Presenters of reports will have had time allocated to them by the Business Workgroup.
Presenters of overtures and notices of motion will have a total of 4 minutes to speak, move and second a motion. Other speakers will have 2 minutes unless the Moderator decides otherwise.
Though presenters of reports will speak from a lectern at the front of the auditorium, during discussion and debate we use "roving microphones", which are handed to commissioners in their seats when the Moderator indicates that they have right to speak. During debates the lights to indicate speaking time will be visible to all in the Auditorium. The green light will turn to orange when there are 30 seconds left and red when the time is up.
Presenters now favour extensive use of power point, and each Notice of Motion will be displayed clearly by this medium.
Finding your way round the papers
Before the Assembly all Commissioners will have received the "Assembly Reports" and a separate printing of Extra Reports. You will notice these can be put together because the pages of the extra reports follow on from the Assembly Reports.
You have been asked to bring a ring binder to hold your papers in. You can expect to get further sets of papers at the Assembly.
Your loose leafed Assembly Reports is a work book. You are encouraged to write notes and comments on it.
Reports
The reports from the various groups will be ordered under the work of the relevant Policy Groups.
Most reports contain the following:
- Order of Reference – this is what the Assembly asks the committee to do, a kind of job description.
- Synopsis – some reports contain a list of headings or a summary of the report.
- Recommendations (if any) – these will be the subject of debate and decision making.
- Report – may be in parts.
Background
Matters referred to the committee/group at the last Assembly.
Additional matters
Future work or priorities
Overtures/Petitions/References/Memorials (refer to your Book of Order Regulations No 409 – 425)
These are concerns brought to the Assembly, each in a particular format, through the Presbyteries, sometimes with the Presbytery´s backing (adopted and transmitted), sometimes by an individual congregation or person (transmitted simpliciter).
You will find these in the Assembly Reports after the reports.
Local Arrangements
Registration
You must register at the help desk in the Foyer of St Andrew´s Senior College Centre at St Andrew´s College Saturday 18th September 3.00 pm to 5.00 pm and on Sunday 19th September from 9.00am to 9.30pm.
The Local Arrangements Committee will have a "Help Desk" staffed all of the time, in the foyer of the Senior College Centre.
On registration, you will be given an Assembly Bag that includes your name-tag, dialogue group number and other sundry items. Please take time to read this material.
As you come into the venue for each session, check on the tables for additional papers.
All sessions listed below are part of the Assembly so will involve you.
Powhiri
We will be welcomed to Christchurch by the local Maori people (the tangata whenua). As the guests (manuhiri) we ask you to gather in the Gymnasium by 1.00 pm.
Opening Service
The opening of the Assembly on Sunday afternoon will be held at St Andrew´s College in the Gymnasium starting at 1.30pm.
First Business Session
Following a break for afternoon tea, at 4.00 pm we will hold our first Business Session in the School Gymnasium, which is our main venue for the Assembly.
The St Andrew's College Venue
The plenary sessions of the General Assembly will be held in the gymnasium of St Andrew´s College. We are very grateful to the College for making so many of their facilities available to us.
A few of the staff of the College will still be in residence. You are asked to keep to those areas allocated to the Assembly. Do not enter the School Office at all. Contact a member of the Local Arrangements Committee.
Some of the Dialogue groups are upstairs, so if you have mobility needs please advise the Local Arrangements Committee, if possible before you arrive.
Meals
We will go across to the Student Dining Room and Cafeteria for our meals, often in two sittings.
Morning and afternoon teas will be served continuously in the Cafeteria. At these times, please organise your leaving of the Assembly Auditorium so that it is during a less significant moment in the business.
Buses will be available at the beginning of each day from Rangi Ruru, to travel to St Andrew´s College. They will return immediately at the end of each day´s proceedings. An early bus will be available for those who wish to participate in the early morning Communion Service.
There is no parking available in the school grounds.
Safe Environment
The Assembly would wish to be a safe environment for all who come to bring their concerns. We ask that you be respectful of all people, and keep to the "Ground Rules" that will be issued at the Assembly.
It is not appropriate to make personal remarks during debates or to applaud.
Though these days the Assembly is more relaxed than in earlier years, it is still the supreme court of the church, so appropriate standards in discussion, debate and dress are expected. The church has for some time chosen to use inclusive language as it addresses the people of God. We invite you to do so wherever you can.
The Moderator has appointed Assembly Chaplains to be available to anyone who finds the matters discussed or the process of the Assembly distressing, and they will be available as contact persons for matters of sexual harassment.
Attendance
The Assembly will open with a Powhiri at 1.00 p.m. on Sunday 29 September 2004 and conclude at 12.30pm on Friday 24 September. You need to be present for the whole Assembly and this includes the Mission Seminars on Wednesday afternoon. If for some urgent reason you need to be absent, you must seek permission from the Business Workgroup. You will need to speak to the Rev Bob Reid to do this.
Communications
Please be aware that only the Moderator has the authority of the Assembly to speak to the media. If you are asked questions, please refer them to the Media Office.
It is expected that you will report to your home parish on the Sunday following the Assembly, there will be material available to help you with this.
A timetable will be printed for each day so that you know what issues are to be dealt with at what times.
There are pay phones in prominent places at the venue. The emergency contact phone for the Assembly is 027 273 – 1449.
Help is always available.
Even "seasoned" Assembly attendees need help from time to time. Those responsible for various parts of the Assembly are keen to discuss questions with anyone. They are a friendly lot!
On matters of procedure or wording for notices of motion and guidance on the church´s regulations see the Assembly Clerk (Kerry Enright), the Assistant Clerk (Heather McKenzie) or one of the Business Workgroup.
For questions on the order of business see one of the Business Workgroup
On matters relating to the buildings, the facilities, accommodation or transport, see the Local Arrangements Committee.
Conclusion
We hope this information will be helpful as you come to the Assembly. One of the strengths of our church is its ability to meet together as the Body of Christ, and order its life accordingly.
See you there!
David Brown and Don Hall
Assembly Business Workgroup Co-conveners
Kerry Enright
Assembly Executive Secretary
Tom Campbell
Local Arrangements Committee Co-conveners ters of procedure or wording for notices of motion and guidance on the church´s regulations see the Assembly Clerk (Kerry Enright), the Assistant Clerk (Heather McKenzie) or one of the Business Workgroup. For questions on the order of business see one of the Business Workgroup On matters relating to the buildings, the facilities, accommodation or transport, see the Local Arrangements Committee.
Conclusion
We hope this information will be helpful as you come to the Assembly. One of the strengths of our church is its ability to meet together as the Body of Christ, and order its life accordingly. See you there! David Brown and Don Hall
Assembly Business Workgroup Co-conveners Kerry Enright
Assembly Executive Secretary Tom Campbell
<typohead type="2">Please Note</typohead>
There is no Assembly Business on Wednesday Evening. This is free time and you will need to make your own arrangements for an evening meal. Restaurants and Take Away’s are available within easy walking distance of St Andrew’s College and Rangi Ruru.
<typohead type="2">Also Note</typohead>
There is to be NO SMOKING anywhere at St Andrew’s College and Rangi Ruru including outside buildings and in the grounds.