​​                                                         The Church Council Structure

The Council consists of: Minster, Lay representative to Four Rivers Presbytery, the chairs or designates of Faith Formation and  Education, Pastoral Care, Ministry and Personnel, Trustees, UCW, Stewardship, Finance, the Chair of Council (elected by the congregation), and the secretary of Council (elected by the congregation). The Council will meet monthly. They will have the authority to constitute TASK GROUPS in order to accomplish its mandate as given by the congregation and The Manual of The United Church of Canada. The Council will receive reports from each of the four ministry units (Faith Formation and Education, Ministry and Personnel, Stewardship and Pastoral Care), exercise oversight of the ministry units, and serve as the primary conduit of information and resource to the congregation, Four Rivers Presbytery, Bay of Quinte Conference, and the General Council.  The Chair of Council cannot chair a ministry unit nor should they be a leader of a ministry team or task group.  The Executive is comprised of the current, past and chair-elect of council, the minister and the secretary and any other members deemed necessary to deal with the issue at hand. The executive will only meet to deal with emergencies that cannot wait until the monthly meeting or need to be dealt with by a smaller group.

Mission Units

The four Mission Units meet prior to each congregational meeting (3 times a year) and are comprised of the leaders of each ministry team and up to one (1) other representative. The primary responsibility is to convey information in a timely manner to the Council and exercise oversight over the ministry teams within that unit. The four Mission Units cover the four primary areas of congregational life: Faith Formation and Education (Learning), Ministry and Personnel (Being), Stewardship (Doing), and Pastoral Care (Caring). The teams of each unit thus cluster around common goals, objectives, and interests within the congregation’s life and work. It is hoped that each Ministry Team becomes mutually supportive and nurturing of one another within their Mission Unit. The chairs of each unit are to be selected from within all the unit's teams and do not have to be a team chair.

1.  Faith Formation and Education Unit

As the name suggests the FFE Unit is responsible for those areas to do with how our faith is formed, nurtured, and supported throughout the course of our lives. This unit also includes all of the small group ministries in the congregation as they serve to both nurture and educate (via primary and secondary exposure) the whole congregation. Each ministry team thus represents one specific interest or ministry team. Currently they are, yet are not limited to:

  • Worship Team
  • Cool Christian Kids, Little Lambs & Youth
  • United Church Women
  • Adult Learning
  • Bee's Knees

 
Each team is to have a Leader, who, along with up to one additional representative from the team, sits on the FFE unit. The Leader and representative are to be selected by the team.

2.      Ministry and Personnel Unit

 This unit is to care for how we are with one another. Every congregation has employees, whether paid or volunteer. They are people who have discerned for particular jobs and trusts within the congregation. As such they need a Unit and Team to whom they are able to address issues related to employment conditions, job performance, job expectations, evaluation, remuneration and policies related to these areas. There are two teams within this unit: the Ministry and Personnel Team and the AFFIRM Team. The Council representative from this Unit must be a member of the M&P Team.

 3.  Stewardship Unit

Stewardship is not just about money. It is about how we manage who we are as Christian people with all of the time, talent, and resources that each individual has received as a trust from God. As such, the stewardship unit pulls together those areas concerning what we do together. The unit has six (6) teams who select a Team Leader from within and up to one representative to send to the unit meetings.  The chair of the unit may be selected from any of the teams and does not have to be a Team Leader from one of the Ministry Teams.  The teams currently are, yet are not limited to:

  • Finance
  • Property
  • Outreach & Social Action
  • Mission & Service
  • Annual Stewardship Campaign
  • Team Earth


4.  Pastoral Care Unit

No family of human beings can exist for long without finding a way to care for one another. This is the central rallying point of this unit, in that it tries to gather together teams of people who have both an interest in and the spiritual gifts necessary for exercising pastoral care within the congregation.  All members of the congregation are encouraged to reach out to one another at any time, regardless of any formal visitation connection through the pastoral care program.  The minister, pastoral care chair and church administrator all work closely together to ensure that the pastoral care needs of the congregation are being met at any given time. It is also recognized that there are those who may be in need of pastoral care but are not yet members of our church family. In this regard Pastoral Care overlaps closely with the Outreach Programs of the church.

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T E A M S

COOL CHRISTIAN KIDS (CCK), LITTLE LAMBS AND YOUTH TEAM
Description:  To offer young people opportunities to seek understanding by engaging in spiritual formation through various activities including crafts, music, sports and discussion and to encourage them to live out their faith at home, in school, in their communities and the broader world. Cool Christian Kids