Annual Reports
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GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2014 2014 ANNUAL REPORTS PresbyterCHURCH IN IRELAND an Tuesday 1 Business 2 SPUD 3 General (p/t 1 – Appointments) 4 Presbyterian Women 5 Youth and Children 6 PresbyterCHURCH IN IRELAND an Mission in Ireland 7 GENERAL ASSEMBLY Union Commission 8 Wednesday H Mission Overseas 1 Christian Training 2 2014 2014 General (p/t 2) 3 United Appeal 4 Trustees 5 ANNUAL REPORTS Trusts 6 Thursday H Judicial Commission 1 Special Judicial Commission 2 Applications Commission 3 ORDER OF BUSINESS Special Commission (Principal) 4 Notes: (i) Business commences at 9.30 a.m. on Tuesday, Education 5 Wednesday and Thursday. Social Witness 6 (ii) An “Introduction to Assembly Business” will be Finance and Personnel 7 given in the Assembly Hall on Tuesday at 9.00 a.m. (iii) Communion will be held on Tuesday at 11.45 a.m. and Worship on Wednesday and Thursday at 12.15 p.m. The break for lunch will be at 1p.m. each day. (iv) Figures in brackets refer to page numbers in the Annual Reports. i NOTES ii MONDAY, JUNE 2 Assembly Buildings 7.00 p.m. – Service of Worship Constitution of Assembly Election of Moderator TUESDAY, JUNE 3 9.30 a.m. – 1. BUSINESS BOARD: Report and Resolutions (1-8). Arrangements Committee. 2. Overture anent Appendix 1 of the Code (9). 3. Reports of Presbyteries (10-16). 4. SPUD YOUTH ASSEMBLY: Report and Resolutions (279-281) 5. Reception of Corresponding Members and Delegates. Church of Scotland: Rt Rev John Chalmers, Rev Mary Ann Rennie; Mr Angus Hogg United Reformed Church: Mr John Ellis; Rev Nigel Uden Presbyterian Church of Wales: Rev Trefor Lewis Church of Ireland: Rt Rev John McDowell, Rev Canon Ian Ellis The Methodist Church in Ireland: Rev R Kenneth Lindsay; Mr David Twyble Irish Council of Churches: Mr Mervyn McCullagh Society of Friends: Eleanor Gaw Presbyterian Church USA: Rev Doug Baker Presbyterian Church of South Sudan: Rev Peter Gai Lual, Rev John Yor Nyiker Deng Reformed Church in Romania: Bishop István Csury; Mr Janos Antal Presbyterian Church of East Africa: Rev David Gathanju Presbyterian Church of Pakistan: Rev Dr Maqsood Kamil Iglesia Evangelica Espaniol: Rev Alfredo Abad Times in brackets may be anticipated but should not be passed. iii NOTES iv (10.15) 6. GENERAL BOARD (Appointments): Report and Resolutions (17-65). (11.00) 7. PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN: Report and Resolution (160-165). (11.30) Intermission. 11.45 a.m. Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Memorial Roll. 2.00 p.m. – 8. BOARD OF YOUTH AND CHILDREN’S MINISTRY: Report and Resolutions (190-202). Ministry Opportunities; Research and Education; Ministry Resources; Ministry Events. (3.00) 9. BOARD OF MISSION IN IRELAND: Report and Resolutions (124-153). Strategy for Mission; Research and Resources; Church Architecture. 10. Overtures anent Pars 10-14 and 212 of the Code (153-158). (3.45) Intermission. (4.30) 11. DONABATE MEMORIAL (158-159). (4.45) 12. UNION COMMISSION: Report and Resolutions (85-104). 13. Overtures anent Pars 82(4); 128(3) of the Code (104). (6.00) Close of Business. Times in brackets may be anticipated but should not be passed. v NOTES vi WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4 9.30 a.m. – 14. BOARD OF MISSION OVERSEAS: Report and Resolutions (105-123). Outreach Ministries; Leadership Development; World Development; Mission Involvement. (10.30) Intermission. (10.45) 15. BOARD OF CHRISTIAN TRAINING: Report and Resolutions (203-216). Training and Resources; Ministerial Studies and Development; UTC Management. 16. Overtures anent Pars 30(1); 30(3); 30; 35; 73(b); 177(2); 180(1); 201(1); 202(3); 202(7); 72(e); 285; 217(1)(b)(iii); 217(2)(b); 217(3) of the Code (217- 218). 11.45 17. Forces Chaplaincy. 12.15 p.m. – Worship. 2.00 p.m. – 18. GENERAL BOARD: Report and Resolutions (17- 65). Memorial Record, Priorities, Planned Giving; Doctrine; Moderator’s Advisory; Church and Society; Global Concerns; Church Relations; Reception of Ministers and Licentiates; and Elders’ Terms. (3.45) Intermission. Times in brackets may be anticipated but should not be passed. vii NOTES viii (4.00) 19. GENERAL BOARD (cont’d): Report and Resolutions (17-65). 20. Overtures anent Pars 75(a); 132; 161(1)(b); 162(2); 128(1); 128(2); 268-288 of the Code (65-78). (5.00) 21. UNITED APPEAL BOARD: Report and Resolutions (264-271). (5.30) 22. TRUSTEES: Report and Resolutions (274-278). 23. Overture anent Par 97(h)(iv) of the Code (278). 24. COMMISSION ON TRUSTS: Report and Resolutions (272). 25. Overtures anent Pars 122; 126(5); 130 of the Code (273). (6.00) Close of Business. 7.45 p.m. – Evening Rally. THURSDAY, JUNE 5 In Private 9.30 a.m. - 26. JUDICIAL COMMISSION: Report and Resolution (79-80). 27. Overtures anent Pars 127(1); 127(2)(a); 137; 230(3)(a); 219(3)(b)(i); 111(6); 311(4)(a); 313(2); 317(a) of the Code (80-81). 28. SPECIAL (JUDICIAL) COMMISSION: Report and Resolution (82). Times in brackets may be anticipated but should not be passed. ix NOTES x 29. COMMISSION ON APPLICATIONS: Report and Resolution (83). 30. SPECIAL COMMISSION ON THE APPOINTMENT OF PRINCIPAL OF THE PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGICAL FACULTY, IRELAND: Report and Resolution (84) (10.15) Intermission. In Public (10.30) 31. BOARD OF EDUCATION: Report and Resolutions (219-226). (11.30) 32. BOARD OF SOCIAL WITNESS: Report and Resolutions (166-182). Specialist Ministries; Older People Services; Family Services; Adult Services. 33. OLD AGE FUND MEMORIAL (182-183) 12.15 p.m. – Worship 2.00 p.m. – 34. BOARD OF FINANCE AND PERSONNEL: Report and Resolutions (227-263). Pensions and Assessments; Personnel; Property and Management; Finance, Legal and IT. 35. Overture anent Par 257(2)(a) of the Code (263). Lapsed Business. (3.45) Intermission. (4.00) Lapsed Business. BUSINESS BOARD: Final Report. CLOSE OF ASSEMBLY. Times in brackets may be anticipated but should not be passed. xi NOTES xii BUSINESS BOARD A Guide to Assembly Procedure 1. Members of Assembly consist of all ministers in active duty or retired and some elders, ex officio, together with a representative elder from each established congregation plus other elders commissioned by Presbyteries to correspond with the number of ministers serving in special appointments. Deaconesses, representatives of the Women’s and Youth Movements and some others have now been invited to “sit and deliberate” as associates – i.e., to take part with members freely in debate but without voting. The Assembly quorum is fifty members. 2. While members should bear in mind any opinions or concerns of their Congregations, Kirk Sessions or Presbyteries, neither ministers nor elders attend as “delegates”, obliged to vote as instructed by any of these. The Assembly should be a gathering of fully responsible, free Christian men and women, always open to spiritual guidance and information on a Church-wide basis, not a device for counting up decisions already made elsewhere. 3. The Moderator is chairman of the Assembly, in charge of proceedings, but he should not take sides in debates. Former Moderators may deputise from time to time at his request, should he wish to take part in debate or to withdraw from the House. When the Moderator rises to speak at any point all other members must yield to the Chair. Members should stand when the Moderator enters or leaves at the beginning or end of proceedings. Members may enter or leave at any time during proceedings, but should do so with as little disturbance as possible. It is a courtesy in so doing to give a slight bow to the Chair. 4. The recommended form of address to the House is simply “Moderator” (not “Mr.” Moderator, etc). Speakers should face towards the House and the microphones, not towards the Moderator. 5. Committees: Work for which the Assembly is responsible is generally entrusted to various permanent or temporary (“ad hoc”) Committees. These must each present a report to the xiii Assembly. Working Committees concerned with related matters are grouped under a supervising Board. A Commission of Assembly is a Committee entrusted with the executive powers of the Assembly, within the terms of its appointment. Members of Committees, etc., are appointed by the Assembly on the nomination of various bodies and have a Convener in charge. 6. Reports. While the Assembly is obliged to “receive” the report of each Committee, etc., it does not “adopt” or accept responsibility for the contents of any report. Reports carry only the authority of the Committee concerned and not of the Assembly. If found too unsatisfactory the report or a section of it, may be received and referred back. This is done by an amendment to resolution 1. Any matter to which the Assembly is to be committed must be stated in a specific resolution. Resolutions should be kept to conclusions, rather than include arguments in support such as are appropriate to speeches. Similarly, speeches in the Assembly carry the authority only of the speaker. 7. Reports, together with any appended resolutions, are first of all “presented”, usually by a Board or Committee Convener. There is then an opportunity for questions to be asked. These should quite strictly be asked only for further information or explanation, whether of something in the report or not in the report but for which the Board, etc., carries responsibility; they should not be rhetorical or debating “questions”, to score a point. 8. Questions, which should be written out and placed in the box provided in good time, will normally be limited to two per person and ten minutes in all, unless the Moderator judge that a particular subject merits an extension of these limits. 9.