United Church of Canada. Working Group on the Changing Church.

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Authorized form of name

United Church of Canada. Working Group on the Changing Church.

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        Dates of existence

        1994-2000

        History

        In 1994, the 35th General Council acknowledged a need for new life in the structures of the church. It encouraged Conferences, Presbyteries, Pastoral Charges, “being open to the life giving transforming spirit of God” to evaluate present structures, to experiment with new structures (if desired) and to share these experiences with the rest of the church.

        The Council appointed a task group (later called Working Group on the Changing Church) to facilitate a process of consultation, support and initiative for changes that would best enable the church to carry out its mission of new models and structures. These included a revision of the four-Court system and a three-Court model that would reduce the number of decision-making and oversight bodies. The Executive, in 1997 created a task group with unit representation, known as the “Internal Task Group” (ITG), to “bring a design for a new model for structure of the General Council Offices and to include in its report, information regarding the potential cost savings, potential impact on staff and volunteers, potential impact on the church’s mission, plus a plan for implementation. The Executive agreed that the report should be given to the Working Group for the Changing Church for inclusion in its report to the 37th General Council. The latter report (the work of an Internal Task Group) was attached to the main body of the Working Group Report. The final report presented to General Council contained a comprehensive description and financial implications of only one model.

        In August 2000, the General Council approved the re-organization of the General Council offices, including its governance structures. The Council did not pre-determine the shape of a new organizational structure, but asked the General Council Executive to have oversight of the process. A New Directions committee was appointed by the Executive (Nov, 2000) to guide the redesign and bring recommendations on new structures. Two Change Teams (Staff and Volunteer) were also appointed, to coordinate the implementation of the change process.

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        ON00340

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