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NEWS FROM COUNCIL OF ASSEMBLY

From the Council meeting, 29 – 30 Oct 2004

New Convener, Kerry Stotter, acknowledged General Assembly’s demand for responsibility and accountability from Council of Assembly, and talked of the importance of communication, effective stewardship of resources, and engagement with the wider church in the Council’s work. Kerry set the scene for Council with a call to action - “Let’s do it” - as he encouraged Council members to “make challenges into opportunities” in the work ahead.

Tribute was paid to previous Convener, Shirley Fergusson, who was thanked (in absentia) for her “tremendous” effort and excellent contribution to Council of Assembly.

Council members were also reminded of their primary responsibilities: advancing the policy and decisions of Assembly and setting the Church’s strategic direction.

Finance update

Andrew Jackson, Assistant to Assembly Executive Secretary (Finance), joined the Council meeting and advised:

• Audit of the 2004 Assembly Annual Accounts had been completed, and the financial report and supplementary information would be sent out by the end of November.
• Two new appointments had been made to the finance team: a Senior Accountant and a person (on a project basis) to work on the outstanding debtors. Andrew reported the large amount of money owing as a matter of concern.
• The new computer system is working well now, and staff are having another training session to build understanding of functionality. There are some minor modifications to be made that will make the invoices and statements easier to understand.

In response in questions from Council about whether General Assembly trust funds could be accessed to cover the financial shortfall, Andrew advised the trusts could only be used for the purposes stated in their terms of trust, and were not able to be used for general purposes.

Andrew noted a large number of parishes had yet to send in their statistics, and Council agreed that parishes be reminded to send in statistics as soon as possible to aid planning.

The Administration and Finance Policy Group confirmed they are looking at ways of working more effectively. Convener, John Trainor, advised proposed changes would be put to the next Council meeting for consideration.

Service of Appreciation – Mission Resource Team

A service of appreciation to recognise the contribution made by the Mission Resource Team, including current and past co-directors, was held on Friday evening.

The way forward

Council undertook to look at its own structure including that of its policy groups and to update the Directions planning statement. The Convener, Deputy Convener and Assembly Executive Secretary are going to meet with Policy Group Conveners before the end of 2004 to explore opportunities for Policy Groups to work together in development of policy and strategy.

Moderator’s Report

Moderator Garry Marquand initiated a discussion on openness and transparency, with regard to Council’s relationship with the Church as a whole. (See section below on Communication for more information.)

Garry also presented information about trends in church attendance over the last 20 years. He will be presenting this information during visits to presbyteries over coming weeks and months.

Communications

Council recognised it needs to communicate better and build on the way it engages with the wider Church. General Assembly also gave this feedback. Council agreed to undertake a review of the processes used for communication and feedback will be sought over the next three months. Comments can also be directed to the Communications Manager or any Council member.

Implementation of General Assembly decisions

Assembly Executive Secretary (AES) confirmed that information had been issued to parishes and presbyteries to aid the implementation of General Assembly decisions. Council discussed the decisions that were made, and advised that further information would be available by end December 2004.

• National Tasks – a process to engage in dialogue with the wider church about national functions is being developed by Council. Feedback gathered through this process will contribute to the development of the 2005/06 budget. More information will be sent out about this in due course.
• Staff changes mandated by General Assembly – AES spoke of changes to the Service Team as a result of Assembly decisions. During this discussion, Council affirmed the position description (subject to feedback from presbyteries) and process for appointing the new National Mission Enabler. AES also reported on changes in staffing within Communications, Ecumenical Relations and Finance.

Effective Governance

To help council members (new and existing) understand their responsibilities, an independent expert, Tony Hassed, was invited to speak to the Council on governance best practice. The presentation was thought provoking and challenged council members to consider more effective ways of operating. Council noted these comments, and will be considering changes such as shorter meetings and different ways of managing matters to improve decision-making timeliness. Council was also encouraged to focus on strategic rather than management matters.

Reflections on General Assembly

The Council reflected on the process of Assembly, and noted that their feedback would be included in the formal review process, which is led by the General Assembly Business Work Group.

Policy Group Updates

Conveners of each Policy Group presented oral reports to Council on focus for the future:

Equipping the Leadership (EtheL)

Conveners Peter Winder and Susan Jones talked of building on the work of the last two years: implementation of decisions relating to leadership made by General Assembly, and development of an overall strategy to guide the next phase of EtheL’s work.

Connecting with Society

Convener Sally Carter spoke of the need to resource congregations to understand their communities. Sally also noted the work of Churches’ Agency on Social Issues as part of Connecting with Society’s work.

Administration and Finance

Convener John Trainor reported the priorities for the Administration and Finance Group as (1) restoring the reputation of finance among the wider church, (2) providing good quality management accounts, and (3) collecting outstanding debts and Assembly Assessment.

Resourcing for Mission (ReforM)

Conveners Lisa Wells and Peter Dunn spoke of furthering the congregational appraisal process, currently in pilot stage. This process encourages congregations to assess where they are at now, and where they wish to go in the future.

They also spoke of another key initiative, which involves the “deliberate focus of resources”. This process provides a framework for congregations to review the resources they have engaged in people, buildings and investments, and encourages them to free resources up to enable mission.

ReforM recognised the need for a new model of engagement with the wider church in light of the changes to the Mission Resource Team (who have historically been involved in delivering programmes).

Overseas Partnership and Mission

Nicola Watkin talked of (1) determining how Global Mission can continue to be effective under the new resourcing model, (2) focussing on ecumenical issues at local and national levels, and (3) supporting churches to ensure ecumenical and global mission matters are considered a core part of being church, rather than an add on.

Read the Policy Group reports General Assembly for information about the work undertaken during the last two years.

Kerry Stotter (Convener)

Helen Bichan (Deputy Convener)