Secretary, Region 15
c/o Atlantic School of Theology
660 Franklyn Street Halifax,
NS B3H 3B5
rbartlett@astheology.ns.ca
November 30, 2018
To: Presbyteries of Region 15 and Bermuda Synod
Dear Friends,
As the end of the calendar year approaches, the shift to the three-council model of governance is soon to be upon us. That means that several familiar aspects of our life are winding up in presbytery and conference and new things are beginning in the Region.
On behalf of the Transition Commission, we are asking you to make sure that all the pastoral charges within your bounds are aware of the following.
#1. Membership in Regional Council. a. All ministry personnel, active and retired, are members of Regional Council; b. Lay members are elected according to a familiar formula: a. 1 rep per community of faith with 100 or fewer resident members; b. 2 reps from every community of faith with 101-200 resident members; c. 3 reps from every community of faith with 201-300 resident members; d. 4 reps from every community of faith with more than 300 resident members. Please note, current representatives to Presbytery are eligible to become representatives to Regional Council but must be elected as such at a congregational meeting.
#2. Human Resources. Please note that the talents and experience of the current presbyters will be crucial in the work of the Region. We invite you to bring your enthusiasm and dedication to this new ministry. There will be committees/teams for virtually every aspect of our life and work, although some of these will be organized differently from the past.
In addition, the new structure calls for local clusters to provide a focus for any number of shared interests that we want to keep alive. These could focus on worship, mission, learning, collegiality, justice work, strategic planning – the only limit is our imagination! There will also be networks of folk in different parts of our country focused on particular issues or projects. There is only minimal definition provided by the General Council for clusters and networks. One place to think of them is to sustain relationships outside the Presbytery that you may have developed.
Please circulate the “Gift Inventory” through your congregations prior to December 31st. Those gifts and skills and that experience are too precious to lose. There’s an online form used by the Conference Nominating Committee that may be familiar. We’re using that and it can be accessed at https://marconf.ca/nominations-form/ This is the place to express interest. Please note that we may not be able to accommodate everyone’s expressed interest in their first choice.
#3. Winding up work. If you haven’t already, the Presbytery should be deciding which files need to be destroyed and which forwarded. A checklist has been provided a couple of times by David Allen, Remit Implementation Project Leader (June 28, 2018). Conference Archivist Sarah Wallace can give direction on preparing records for the United Church Archives.
Please note: After January 1, 2019, Presbyteries have no authority to initiate new activities or expenditures. Several Presbyteries have asked officers to continue in place to complete previously authorized work. That is fine. However, after January 1, any financial requests should go to the Regional Office. All monies should, therefore, be transferred to the Region.
#4. Mission Support Grants Ministries that previously received monies through Mission Support Grants and direct grants from Conference and /or Presbytery have all been informed about the decisions for 2019. If any group missed the application notice they should contact the Conference Office (until December 31st) or the Region 15 Office (after January 1st) immediately.
#5. Communication The Transition Commission is committed to doing our best to keep everyone in the loop. Effective January 1st, the Transition Commission becomes the Regional Executive until the first meeting of the Regional Council. a. Transition Commission and Regional Council Executive meeting minutes will be posted on the Region website; b. A new governance model is taking shape and will be posted as soon as possible. Please note that this is a living document that will see many changes as we move into the new reality; c. The Nominations Committee will be contacting people regarding roles in the new structure. Please consider their requests carefully. d. Financial questions regarding the new Region should be directed to Jennifer Whittemore Jwhittemore@united-church.ca or Faith March-MacCuish, FMacCuish@unitedchurch.ca e. Pastoral Relations/Pastoral Oversight questions should be directed to Regional Minister, David Hewitt, DHewitt@united-church.ca f. Justice/Outreach questions should be directed to Laura Hunter, LHunter@unitedchurch.ca g. Youth Ministry questions should be directed to Lauren King, Lking@united-church.ca h. Property Questions should be directed to Faith March-MacCuish, FMacCuish@unitedchurch.ca
#6. The inaugural Regional Council Meeting will occur at Mount Alison University, May 23- 26th, 2019. Many more details to follow!!
We also would like to announce that we have hired our last staff position which will be serving Regions 14 and 15. The position of Administrative Support/Office Manager Assistant has been filled and the new staff person is Tracey Rose. Tracey says that in the four years she has lived in Maritimes the smell of the salt in the air, the lush greenness, the small town feel and the people have helped her settle into community and she is home. Tracey comes with training in Conflict Resolution and Negotiation, Project Leadership and management, Special Events Management, and office Administration. Tracey will begin her position with Region 14 and 15 in January. Please join me in welcoming Tracey Rose to our team.
With best wishes from the Region 15 Transition Commission as we approach this exciting time in our church’s life.
Faith March- MacCuish Ross Bartlett
Executive Minister, Secretary,
Region 15 Region 15 Transition Commission
