GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2013 2013 ANNUAL REPORTS PresbyterCHURCH IN IRELAND an Tuesday 1 Business 2 SPUD 3 General 4 Wednesday H CHURCH IN IRELAND Presbyter an Mission in Ireland 1 Presbyterian Women 2 GENERAL ASSEMBLY Social Witness 3 Mission Overseas 4 Christian Training 5 Youth and Children 6 2013 2013 United Appeal 7 Thursday H Finance and Personnel 1 ANNUAL REPORTS Trustees 2 Trusts 3 Education 4 Union Commission 5 Judicial Commission 6 ORDER OF BUSINESS Special Commission 7 Notes: (i) Business commences at 9.30 a.m. on Tuesday, Nomination Commission 8 Wednesday and Thursday. (ii) An “Introduction to Assembly Business” will be 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 3 Millennium Forum, Londonderry 7.00 p.m. – Service of Worship Constitution of Assembly Election of Moderator TUESDAY, JUNE 4 9.30 a.m. – 1. BUSINESS BOARD: Report and Resolutions (1-8). Arrangements Committee. 2. Reports of Presbyteries (9-14). 3. SPUD YOUTH ASSEMBLY: Report and Resolution (296-297). 4. Reception of Corresponding Members and Delegates. Church of Scotland: Rt Rev Lorna Hood, Rev Eleanor McMahon and Mr W Campbell McGregor United Reformed Church: Rev Michael Jagessar, Rev Melanie Smith Presbyterian Church of Wales: Rev. Dafydd Andrew Jones Church of Ireland: Rt Rev Ken Good, Mr Sam Harper The Methodist Church in Ireland: Rev Ian D Henderson, Mr Hamilton Blain Irish Council of Churches: Pastor Corrina Diestelkamp Presbyterian Church USA: Rev Doug Baker CCAP Blantyre Synod, Malawi: Rev Alex Maulana Presbyterian Church of South Sudan: Rev Peter Gai Lual, Rev John Yor Nyiker (11.00) Intermission. Times in brackets may be anticipated but should not be passed. iii NOTES iv 11.45 a.m. Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Memorial Roll. 2.00 p.m. – 5. GENERAL BOARD: Report and Resolutions (15- 96). Memorial Record; Doctrine; Moderator’s Advisory; Church and Society; Priorities; Global Concerns; Church Relations; Reception of Ministers and Licentiates; Fixed Terms; Planned Giving. (3.45) Intermission. (5.30) Close of Business. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5 9.30 a.m. – 6. BOARD OF MISSION IN IRELAND: Report and Resolutions (145-165). Strategy for Mission; Research and Resources; Church Architecture. (10.45) Intermission. (11.00) 7. PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN: Report and Resolution (166-170). (11.30) 8. BOARD OF SOCIAL WITNESS: Report and Resolutions (171-187). Specialist Ministries; Older People Services; Family Services; Adult Services. Times in brackets may be anticipated but should not be passed. v NOTES vi 12.15 p.m. – Worship. 2.00 p.m. – 9. BOARD OF MISSION OVERSEAS: Report and Resolutions (124-144). Outreach Ministries; Leadership Development; World Development; Mission Involvement). (3.15) Intermission. (3.30) 10. BOARD OF CHRISTIAN TRAINING: Report and Resolutions (201-222). Training and Resources; Ministerial Studies and Development; UTC Management. (4.30) 11. BOARD OF YOUTH AND CHILDREN’S MINISTRY: Report and Resolutions (188-200). Ministry Opportunities; Research and Education; Ministry Resources; Ministry Events. (5.15) 12. UNITED APPEAL BOARD: Report and Resolutions (280-286). Lapsed Business (if any). (6.00) Close of Business. 8.00 p.m. – Evening Celebration. Times in brackets may be anticipated but should not be passed. vii NOTES viii THURSDAY, JUNE 6 9.30 a.m. – 13. BOARD OF FINANCE AND PERSONNEL: Report and Resolutions (231-279). Pensions and Assessments; Personnel; Property and Management; Finance, Legal and IT. 14. TRUSTEES: Report and Resolutions (288-292). 15. Overtures anent Pars 97(h); 286(2); Appendix 15 of the Code (292-295) 16. COMMISSION ON TRUSTS: Report and Resolutions (287). (10.45) Intermission. (11.00) 17. BOARD OF EDUCATION: Report and Resolutions (223-230). Lapsed Business (if any) 12.15 p.m. – Worship 2.00 p.m. – 18. UNION COMMISSION: Report and Resolutions (101-123). Times in brackets may be anticipated but should not be passed. ix NOTES x 19. Overtures anent Par 128(1); Par 82(4); Par 274(8) of the Code (123). Lapsed Business (if any) (3.30) Intermission. In Private (3.45) 20. JUDICIAL COMMISSION: Report and Resolution (97-99). 21. SPECIAL COMMISSION: Report and Resolution (100) 22. NOMINATION COMMISSION: Report and Resolution (100) In Public 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. After Questions, the presenter of the report formally proposes the appended resolutions in block and another person seconds, with a speech taking up any other aspects requiring treatment. Where it is considered helpful the seconder may speak before questions to clarify issues which may arise during questions. 10. The Resolutions are then taken in succession. The first of these is always “that the report be received”. This is the point where members may discuss (not ask questions about) any xiv matters in the report or for which the Board, etc., should bear responsibility, but which do not arise under any subsequent resolution. 11. Unless otherwise arranged, speeches are limited as follows:- Presenting a group of reports and resolutions 10 minutes Seconding a group of reports and resolutions 7 minutes All other speeches 5 minutes If lapsed business accumulates, the normal abbreviated timings are as follows:- Proposing a group of Reports 10 minutes reduced to 7 Seconding a group of Reports 7 minutes reduced to 5 Other speeches 5 minutes reduced to 3 A flickering light is given 1 minute before the end, a steady light for 30 seconds and a buzz when the time is up. Before commencing, speakers should announce their name and congregation or for Women’s and Youth representatives, their name and Presbytery. Apart from the proposer (or alternatively the seconder) having the right to speak again in closing the debate, no one may speak twice in debating any one resolution or amendment, except to clarify some misunderstanding.