Pastoral Relations
Pastoral Relations policies govern search, selection, calls, and appointments between Ministry Personnel and United Church of Canada Communities of Faith.
DOES YOUR CONGREGATION HAVE A PASTORAL CHARGE SUPERVISOR? Just a reminder to all Communities of Faith that are without a minister but have a Pastoral Charge Supervisor that it is the policy of our Regional Council that all PC Supervisors are financially reimbursed by your pastoral charge for their work with you. $30/hour (including any travel time to and from meetings), plus $.55/km for travel. All reimbursements are to be paid directly to the PC Supervisor. Thank you for your attention to this.
The role of Pastoral Relations is to:
- Providing support to Communities of Faith as they live out their ministry, including Intentional Interim Ministry, cooperative arrangements, innovative ministries, Ecumenical Shared Ministry, lay leadership, amalgamation, disbanding, and closure
- Support to Communities of Faith without regularly called or appointed ministry personnel
- Training and accreditation of Lay Licenced Worship Leaders and Sacraments Elders
- Support Communities of Faith with regards to training M&P Committees and Councils, as well as preventative dispute resolution
- Support to Communities of Faith and Ministry Personnel in early interventions in pastoral conflict and J8 (congregational) Reviews
- Support other work that will help the life of Communities of Faith with respect to their pastoral relationship
- Support clustering of Communities of Faith as needed with respect to oversight, pastoral relations, M&P work, and other ministry-related areas
- Foster support and collegiality for ministry personnel, such as facilitating local gatherings of ministry personnel
For more info, visit: United Church of Canada – Pastoral Relations
Gatherings of Ministry Personnel
In order for Ministry Personnel to have the chance to come together for support and conversation, there will be a number of gatherings held each year in various locations throughout our Regional Council and will be announced in the weekly EOORC Newsletter and the Events section of the website. These gatherings are open to all Ministry Personnel no matter where in our Regional Council you might be serving.
Communities of Practice
Smaller “Communities of Practice” may also be created by Ministry Personnel who may want to gather with other Ministry Personnel who share more specific concerns or commonalities. These informal smaller communities are meant to be places of support and reflection, and are generally self-created and self-directed. If you are interested in creating a Community of Practice feel free to be in direct contact with other Ministry Personnel, or be in touch with Rev. Whit Strong wstrong@united-church.ca who will provide any support needed to get underway.
Admission Matching Committee – Zoom Open House
Are you from a church without a minister? Are you a member of a search team and looking for your next ministry personnel? Are you a pastoral relations liaison? If so we would like to an hour long Open House with the Admission Matching Committee through Zoom on Sunday April 21st at 4 pm EST.
The Admission Matching Committee is part of a pilot project to bridge the gap between Ministers who are available and excited to work in The United Church of Canada and Communities of Faith who need a minister. As a follow up to two previous Open Houses where we provided an overview of the program, this Open House will provide you with an opportunity to meet the four ministers still seeking a match through this program and to ask any questions you might have. This information should be relevant to search team members and pastoral relations liaisons, regardless of whether or not you attended one of our previous program.
To register for this free program, please send your name, location, email, and reason for registering to Beverly at btyhurst@united-church.ca.
Important Announcements
Retired Ministers: If you are a retired minister and wish to retain your Voluntary Associate Minister status, please complete the VAM form right away. Only those who have the form submitted by April 30th will be approved as VAMs at the AGM 2024. The form can be found here.
Supply Ministers: We have become aware that several of our EOORC Communities of Faith has been approached by people who are presenting themselves as “ordained ministers” and that they are available to do pulpit supply, as well as perform the Sacraments. Just a reminder that the only ministers that are authorized to offer pulpit supply on an ongoing basis or to celebrate the Sacraments in a United Church Community of Faith are active UCC clergy, retired UCC clergy, or clergy of other denominations that have been assessed and approved by the United Church (General Council Office) to offer ongoing Pulpit Supply or to preside over the Sacraments. If you have any questions, please contact Rev Whit Strong, EOORC Pastoral Relations Minister. wstrong@united-church.ca
Ministry Personnel Policy Changes
Travel allowance in 2024 will be $.55/km
Salary increase for 2024 will be 6.3%
The 2024 Salary Schedule is now available on the UCC website and available in PDF format: 2024 salary-schedule-ministry
Minimum Phone/Communications Allowance
Motion 19/20-62 “that EOORC PR Commission recommends to the Executive a minimum allowance of One thousand dollars per year ($1000/yr) for a communications package for all calls and appointments and recommends this amount not be pro-rated.” Please use this as additional supporting information:
- The $1000/year is a minimum number. It is not to be pro-rated according to the hours of the appointment/call.
- Churches need to realize the fact that having access to internet and Wi-Fi is a necessity and not just because of Covid-19.
- This is something that Liaisons should discuss with search committees.
- There must be a certain level of technical support to encourage ministers to consider applying for a call or appointment.
The unanimous consensus of the Commission was that the recommendation remains at $1000/yr. for phone/communications.
Resources
General information about denominational Pastoral Relations policies may be found in The Manual, particularly in the sections noted below:
- Section I – “Pastoral Relations” (page 140)
- Section J – “Oversight, Conflict Resolution and Discipline” (page 165)
Minimum Salaries & Reimbursements for Ministry Personnel (2024)