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Houston & Killellan Kirk Session – 15th September 2009
Team 5 (Session Effectiveness)
Training
Members have discussed the recently completed training course for elders taken by Stanley Simpson, one of the Greenock and Paisley Presbytery ‘adult trainers’. Since the arrangements were made, his church has been reassigned to another presbytery.
The course, held on Sunday afternoons, was poorly attended. Why?
- Elders may feel they have no need for training
- Sundays afternoons were inconvenient
- The topics were thought not to be relevant
- The format was uninviting
- Techniques used were uninspiring
Would a residential course be better? That could not alter the need to identify the essential themes. Should the effort be directed towards care for our organizations and their leaders? If there is to be a substantial influx of new elders are they alone to receive training? Would the prospective change in constitution give rise to training opportunities or needs? Should we look elsewhere for expertise in delivery of training?
D. McLay
Eco – congregation
An initial meeting was held on Thursday 10th September to discuss the way forward with this project.
Present: Eleanor Hood, Isobel Grant, Steve Randtoul
Apologies: Kay Crawford, Roy Anderson
The eco-congregation website provides a toolkit which sets out a step by step procedure for congregations to work through to become an eco –congregation and attain an Eco- congregation award. First thing is registration with eco – congregation but before this we have to
· Provide contact details
· Obtain formal approval by the Kirk Session
· Undertake a check –up or audit of where we are now and our potential to develop i.e. to become more eco- friendly
· Order resource modules which eco – congregation will send us free of charge.
At our meeting we went through the audit to the best of our ability. For the answers there are 3 options – Yes, No and Potential to Develop. Some things we were doing already but we felt that we had the potential to develop under all the categories.
The categories are
Worship and Theology
Children’s work
Youth Work
All- age and Adult Education
Church Property
Church Management
Church Land
Personal lifestyle
Community outreach
Overseas Concerns
Some of these categories will involve consultation with conveners and leaders but we agreed to ask eco-congregation to send all the modules and we can take it from there. There is potential for both the Sunday Club and the Youth Organisations to be involved. For example one of the suggestions on the audit was to organise a practical environmental/ conservation event (with young people from the whole community)
We spent some time discussing Fair Trade products. The use of these comes under Church Management while selling the products is under the category of Overseas Concerns. We will encourage all organisations to use Fair Trade products. We were not sure however that having a Fair Trade stall at the end of the Church service each week would be particularly helpful. Instead we wondered about a Fair Trade cupboard in the Hall which could be opened when the organisations were there, however there were concerns about perishable goods and the management of this. Another suggestion was an insert of a Fair Trade Order Form in the Order of Service.
We also discussed the directive from the General Assembly about measuring and reducing our Carbon Footprint. This initially applied to Church Buildings only but they have now provided another module Climate Change to include what individuals can do.
For the Church Buildings part we are given a formula to apply to the gas/electricity we consumed in 2008 to calculate the Carbon Footprint. The treasurer/ finance committee will have to provide us with copies of the bills so this can be calculated. The module will provide suggestions of how we can attempt to reduce our consumption
Subject to the Kirk Session’s agreement we will proceed with the registration and requesting the relevant modules.
Eleanor Hood
September 11, 2009
Local Mission and the Young Church team report – 18TH August 2009.
The team recommend the following to Session for ratification:
1. The Session adopts, for use, the form piloted last session for the reporting back on Elders’ visits to organizations.
2. The recipient for the gifts from the Gift service at Christmas time to be Glasgow City Mission.
3. The Kirk guarantees to donate to our Missionary partners at Mwandi the minimum sum of £500 annually for the next 3 years. – this sum to be raised mainly from retiral collections and any deficit made up from Kirk funds. This should allow Ida and Keith to plan the use of the funds.
4. The e-mail addresses of members of the congregation and permission to use these for Kirk purposes should be requested by Elders when they visit prior to the next Communion.
5. The retiral collection at Harvest will go to our Missionary partners. 6. The pew ‘welcome’ cards and ‘new to the district’ cards will be introduced this session – Fabric committee are investigating the best way of displaying these on the pews.
Welcome Material – update.
1. As stated at the last meeting, the ‘Fillan bear’ card is ready and will be used at the Cradle roll service and future Sundays. 2. The Welcome leaflet is at the final stages and should be printed very soon hopefully ready in September. . 3. The Welcome pack – written content is almost agreed and the printing and presentation will be addressed next. It is unlikely that this will be ready before Nov/Dec. 4. A new visitors book has been identified and will be in use soon.
Barbara Ann Brown
14/08/09.
Suggested Procedure for the Nomination and Election of new Elders to the Kirk Session.
At the Kirk Session meeting on 17th March 2009 the KS were presented with the various ways that new elders or previously ordained elders from other congregations may be elected.
This paper is a draft suggestion of the procedure for the Admission of New (or previously ordained) Elders to be undertaken by the congregation and Kirk Session of Houston & Killellan Kirk.
NOMINATION (Recommendation/ Suggestion for Consideration)
In the interests of complete openness and inclusiveness the thoughts of our Congregation should be taken into consideration. Members are therefore invited to suggest names of individuals they think suitable for the Office of Ruling Elder.
The consent of the nominee does not require to be obtained at this juncture as at this stage it is a recommendation
Pulpit intimation to be intimated on two Sunday's prior to Nominating Papers being issued. We may have these Papers available for two Sundays if the KS so agree.
The Nominating Papers signed by the person proposing to be placed into a sealed container to adhere to confidentiality.
STAGE 2
The Nominating / Suggestion Papers container to be opened by the Session Clerk, Deputy Session Clerk and Minister. Identity and eligibility of persons nominated to be checked against the Communion Roll.
List of suggested persons to be brought to Kirk Session meeting for open discussion. (This part of the meeting to be held 'In Private' so that strict confidentiality may be observed. It is also vitally important that these discussions do not lead to embarrassment for anyone so nominated)
Elders to remember that at this stage the names are only suggestions and that those persons deemed suitable will then be approached by the Minister/ Session Clerk/Deputy Session Clerk so that their interest in considering becoming an Ordained Elder may be obtained.
The acceptability of those invited to become Ordained Elders is the decision of the Kirk Session only.
Throughout this process STRICT CONFIDENTIALITY MUST BE OBSERVED and adhered to.
STAGE 3
An informal 'gathering' would be arranged for the proposed new elders to meet a cross section of the Kirk Session to allow open discussion re the duties of the Eldership in Houston and Killellan Kirk.
STAGE 4
If those approached wish to proceed to Ordination and the Kirk Session agree a date is set for a Service of Ordination & Admission.
An Edict is served to the Congregation on two Sundays to the effect that if anyone has objection to the life and doctrine of any or all of the proposed they should submit their objection in writing to the Session Clerk prior to a meeting of the Kirk Session to be held not less than seven days after the serving of the intimation and certifying that if no such objection be raised, the KS will proceed to Ordination.
In regard to determining the number of persons to be added to the KS at this juncture it is suggested that NO definite or maximum number be agreed.
The qualities required of a Ruling Elder and a description of the role and duty of elders will be part of the Nomination Form.
Elder's Nomination Paper
Our Ministries and Mission contribution to Church of Scotland in Edinburgh in 2009 – Total contribution - £84624.
Over the years, members of our congregation have often asked for details of how the annual contribution we make to Edinburgh is allocated and at last we are in possession of that information.
The figures set out below, based on our Church income, show how our contribution is used to support Parish ministries, Mission and renewals and general support and services for congregations.
Parish Ministries (87% of our total contribution) - £73623
This covers the cost of our Minister’s stipend, employers national insurance and pension contributions and our contribution to the cost of Ministries in other parishes and for the training of Ministries.
Mission and Renewal (5.5% of out total contribution) - £4654
This supports the Church’s work in resourcing congregations for Christian education and outreach, in caring for the vulnerable in Society in partnership with the Church in some of the poorest parts of the world and in providing a Christian perspective on the issues of today.
Support and Service for Councils and Congregations (7.5% of our total contribution - £6347
This provides financial, legal, safeguarding and other services and meets the cost of the General Assembly and the Moderator.
It should be noted that Ministries and Mission contributions only provide part of the total funding required for the work of the Church shown above.
Friends,
As you see from the above information, your offerings as the congregation of Houston and Killellan Kirk play a vitally important role within the Church of Scotland.
The Kirk Session commend and thank you for our annual givings that allows Houston and Killellan Kirk to make a valuable contribution in maintaining the ordinances of Ministry across the remote and rural parishes as well as urban priority areas
Donald.
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