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a. to develop, in conjunction with its presbyteries, a broad strategy
for the mission of the church within its bounds in accord with G-3.0000;
b. to initiate mission through a variety of forms in light of the
larger strategy of the General Assembly;
c. to develop, in conjunction with its presbyteries, joint plans and
objectives for the fulfillment of mission, providing encouragement and
guidance to its presbyteries and overseeing their work;
d. to implement, consistent with G-9.0104, the principles of
participation and inclusiveness in employing its personnel and in
establishing the membership of its committees, councils,
boards, and other policy-making and policy-recommending bodies, in order to
ensure fair representation in its decision making;
e. to develop and provide resources as needed to facilitate the
mission of its presbyteries, as well as guidelines and criteria for
evaluation;
f. to consult with its member presbyteries with regard to their
general mission budgets, the establishment of administrative staff
positions, equitable compensation, personnel policies, and fair employment
practices;
g. to coordinate the work of presbyteries’ committees on ministry and
assist its member presbyteries in matters related to the calling, ordaining,
and placement of ministers;
h. to facilitate communication among its presbyteries and between its
presbyteries and the General Assembly;
i. to facilitate joint action in mission with other denominations and
agencies in its region;
j. to provide services and programs for presbyteries, sessions,
congregations, and members within its area that can be performed more
effectively from a broad regional base;
k. to organize new presbyteries, to divide, unite, or otherwise
combine presbyteries or portions of presbyteries previously existing, and,
with the concurrence of existing presbyteries, to create nongeographic
presbyteries in order to meet the mission needs (G-11.0103a; G-12.0102a) of
identified racial ethnic or immigrant congregations; subject to the approval
of the General Assembly. Such presbyteries shall be formed in compliance
with the requirements of G-7.0201 and G-11.0102 and be accountable to the
synod within which they were created.
l. to serve in judicial matters in accordance with the Rules of
Discipline;
m. to warn or bear witness against error in doctrine or immorality in
practice in the area of its jurisdiction;
n. to review the records of its presbyteries and to take care that
they observe the Constitution of the church;
o. to maintain regular and continuing relationship to the General
Assembly, including
(1) seeing that the orders and
instructions of the General Assembly are observed and carried out,
(2) proposing to the General Assembly
such measures as may be of common concern to the mission of the whole
church;
p. to establish and maintain those ecumenical relationships which
will enlarge the life and mission of the church in its region;
q. to provide a system of administrative services to fulfill its
objectives and programs;
r. to establish and superintend the agencies and task forces
necessary for its work, including a synod council when the synod deems one
is necessary to provide for the regular review of the functional
relationship between synod’s structure and its mission;
s. to establish a nominating committee composed of equal numbers of
ministers, laywomen, and laymen (i.e., one third each). (G-9.0801,
G-11.0501, G-12.0102d, G-13.0111, G-13.0202)
t. to deal with prevailing, emerging, and emergency issues of racism,
racial violence, and racial injustices, as well as with any ideology that
promotes racial oppression in the church and in the surrounding political
and social contexts.
2.
MEETINGS G-12.0200
The synod shall hold a stated meeting at least biennially. The
moderator shall call a special meeting at the request or with the
concurrence of three ministers and three elders, representing at
least three presbyteries, all of whom must have been commissioners
to the last preceding stated meeting of the synod. The synod
may fix its own higher number. Should the moderator be unable to
act, the stated clerk shall, under the same conditions, issue the call.
If both the moderator and the stated clerk are unable to act, the most
recent moderator shall, under the same conditions, issue the call.
The General Assembly may direct the synod to convene a special
meeting for the transaction of designated business. Commissioners
to the special meeting shall be the commissioners elected to the last
preceding stated meeting of the synod or their alternates. A presbytery
may, however, elect a commissioner or alternate to replace
one who has died or changed presbytery membership. Notice of a
special meeting shall be sent not less than fifteen days in advance
to each commissioner elected to the last preceding stated meeting
of the synod and to the stated clerk of each presbytery. The notice
shall set out the purpose of the meeting and no other business than
that listed in the notice shall be transacted.
A quorum of the synod shall be determined by the synod. The
quorum shall include an equal number of elders and ministers,
representing at least three presbyteries or one-third of its presbyteries,
whichever is larger.
Presbyters in good standing in other governing bodies of this
church or in any other Christian church, who are present at any
meeting of the synod, may be invited by the synod to sit as
corresponding members, with voice but without vote.
Each presbytery shall participate in the synod’s responsibility
and service through its elected commissioners to the synod. Each
presbytery shall elect at least one elder and one minister to serve as
commissioners to synod. The synod council, if there is one, shall be
elected by the synod from the commissioners and non-commissioner
ministers and elders from the presbyteries of the synod. The
synod shall devise a process of rotation of members on synod council
from among the presbyteries to ensure compliance with the provisions
of G-9.0104 and G-4.0403. The synod shall provide a process for assuring
balance on committees so that all presbyteries
are fairly represented and for assuring attention to the principles of
participation and representation expressed in G-9.0104.
3. OTHER PROVISIONS G-12.0300
Each synod shall establish a committee on representation, as
required by G-9.0105, which shall advise synod’s nominating committee
of any need for nominations in particular categories needing
increased representation. The committee on representation shall
report at least biennially to synod progress toward fair representation
of the categories of persons listed in G-4.0403.
The synod may authorize the administrative staff services of a
synod executive and may establish other staff positions as needed.
The executive shall be nominated to the synod by its council or by
a special representative nominating committee elected for that purpose.
In the employment of all personnel, including administrative
staff, the synod shall observe the principles of fair representation
and consultation set forth in G-9.0404, and the provisions of the
churchwide plan for equal employment opportunity and affirmative
action. (G-13.0201b) The synod may authorize synod
administrative staff services for a presbytery at the request of the
presbytery. (G-11.0303)
The synod shall have a synod general mission budget to support
the church’s mission within its region. As the synod raises and
expends those funds, it shall do so in the light of the priorities of the
whole church. The synod shall make its plans and determine its
general mission budget after receiving recommendations from the
General Assembly and in light of the comprehensive strategy of the
whole church.
The synod shall keep a full and accurate record of its proceedings
which shall be submitted to the next succeeding meeting of the
General Assembly for its general review and control. It shall report
to the General Assembly the number of its presbyteries and, in
general, all important changes that have occurred within its bounds.
The synod shall have a full financial review of all books and
records relating to finances once a year by a public accountant or
public accounting firm. Such auditors should not be related to the
treasurer (or treasurers).
Terminology in this section is meant to
provide general guidance and is not intended to require or not
require specific audit procedures or practices as understood within
the professional accounting community.
The synod shall obtain property and liability insurance to
protect its facilities, programs, staff, and elected and appointed
officers.
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a. to develop strategy for the mission of the church in its area
consistent with G-3.0000;
b. to coordinate the work of its member churches, guiding
them and mobilizing their strength for the most effective witness
to the broader community for which it has responsibility;
c. to initiate mission through a variety of forms in light of
the larger strategy of the synod and the General Assembly;
d. to implement, consistent with G-9.0104, the principles of
participation, inclusiveness, and affirmative action in employing
its personnel and in establishing the membership of its
committees, councils, boards, and other policy-making and
policy-recommending bodies, in order to assure fair representation
in its decision making and in the election of commissioners
to synod and the General Assembly. Its committee on
representation shall report directly to the presbytery, and shall
be empowered to make recommendations to correct situations
of unbalanced representation, including the recommendation
that the nominating committee reconsider its nominations;
e. to counsel with a particular church where the various
constituencies of the congregation are not represented on a
session;
f. to provide encouragement, guidance, and resources to its
member churches in the areas of leadership development,
church officer training, worship, nurture, witness, service,
stewardship, equitable compensation, personnel policies, and
fair employment practices;
g. to provide pastoral care for the churches and members of
presbytery, visiting sessions and ministers on a regular basis
(G-11.0502c);
h. to organize new churches and to receive and unite
churches in consultation with their members. When two or
more churches of a presbytery unite, the pastor or pastors of
the former churches may continue as or become pastor or
pastors of the united church if the uniting churches agree and
specify those relationships in the plan of union, with the
concurrence of the presbytery;
i. to divide, dismiss, or dissolve churches in
consultation
with their members;
j. to control the location of new churches and of churches
desiring to move;
k. to take special oversight of churches without pastors,
including the authority to select, train, examine, and commission
lay pastors and may authorize them to administer the
Lord’s Supper (G-14.0801c(1));
l. to enter into covenant relationship with those preparing to
become ministers of the Word and Sacrament by enrolling
them as inquirers, to receive inquirers as candidates, and
to certify candidates as ready for examination for ordination;
m. to elect elder and minister readers of examinations for
candidates for ordination at the request of the Presbyteries’
Cooperative Committee on Examinations for Candidates;
n. to ordain, receive, dismiss, install, remove, and discipline
ministers, to plan for the integration of new ministers into
the life and work of presbytery, to establish minimum
compensation and benefit requirements for all pastoral calls
(G-14.0506e) and for all calls to Certified Christian
Educators and guidelines for compensation and benefits for
Certified Associate Christian Educators employed by the
churches of the presbytery (G-14.0705b(2)), to provide services
of recognition for Certified Christian Educators and Certified
Associate Christian Educators (G-14.0705b(1)), and to
find in order, approve, and record in the presbytery minutes the
full terms of all calls, and changes of calls approved by the
presbytery;
o. to establish the pastoral relationship and to dissolve it at
the request of one or both of the parties, or when it finds that
the church’s mission under the Word imperatively demands it;
p. to designate ministers to work as teachers, evangelists,
administrators, chaplains, and in other forms of ministry
recognized as appropriate by the presbytery. Such ministers
may administer the Sacraments at times and places approved
by a governing body, or in conformity to other conditions
specified by a governing body. The applicable provisions of
W-2.3000, W-2.4000, and W-3.3600 shall be followed;
q. to receive under its care persons preparing for professional
service in the church, and to commission them when
appropriate (G-14.0102);
r. to serve in judicial matters in accordance with the Rules
of Discipline;
s. to assume original jurisdiction in any case in which it
determines that a session cannot exercise its authority. Whenever,
after a thorough investigation, and after full opportunity
to be heard has been accorded to the session in question, the presbytery of
jurisdiction shall determine that the session of a
particular church is unable or unwilling to manage wisely the affairs of its
church, the presbytery may appoint an administrative
commission (G-9.0503) with the full power of a
session. This commission shall assume original jurisdiction of
the existing session, if any, which shall cease to act until such
time as the presbytery shall otherwise direct;
t. to maintain regular and continuing relationship to the
higher governing bodies of the church, including
(1) electing commissioners to the synod and to the
General Assembly and receiving their reports,
(2) seeing that the orders of higher governing bodies are
observed and carried out,
(3) proposing to the synod or the General Assembly such
measures as may be of common concern to the mission of
the whole church;
u. to establish and maintain those ecumenical relationships
which will enlarge the life and mission of the church in its
district;
v. to establish and superintend the agencies necessary for its
work, including a presbytery council, providing for the regular
review of the functional relationship between presbytery’s
structure and its mission. The presbytery may, by its own
established rules, assign to its council responsibility for action
between meetings of presbytery on such specific areas of its
responsibilities as it shall deem appropriate, assign to its
committee on ministry those powers specified in G-11.0502h,
and assign to its committee on preparation for ministry
authority to dismiss candidates, enroll inquirers, and certify
candidates as ready for examination for ordination; with
the provision that all such actions be reported to the next
stated meeting of the presbytery (G-9.0403, G-14.0310a;
G-14.0507);
w. to establish a nominating committee composed of equal
numbers of ministers, laymen, and laywomen (i.e., one third
each);
x. to review session minutes and records at least once each
year;
y. to consider and act upon requests from congregations for
permission to take the actions regarding real property as
described in G-8.0000;
z. to authorize specific elders for periods not exceeding one
year at a time, to administer or preside at the Lord’s Supper in
specific circumstances and with proper instruction by
presbytery in the doctrine and administration of the Lord’s
Supper, when it deems it necessary to meet the needs for the administration of
the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper that
cannot otherwise be met;
aa. to deal with prevailing, emerging, and emergency issues
of racism, racial violence, and racial injustices, as well as with
any ideology that promotes racial oppression in the church and
in the surrounding political and social contexts.
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