The United Church provides numerous supports to its congregations, camps, education centres and outreach ministries. The following documents explain what the church is doing in the area of financial supports as well as what it does to support responsible decision-making within the United Church.
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Administrative Standards
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Candidacy and Internship Guidelines
- CAN 210
: Process for Discernment and Candidacy [PDF: 6 pp/42 KB] - CAN 213: Procedures for the Presbytery/District Education and Students Committee [PDF: 4 pp/33 KB]
- CAN 233: Interviewing Inquirers and Candidates for the Order of Ministry [PDF: 20 pp/81 KB]
- CIB 270(b): Procedures for the Conference Interview Board [PDF: 2 pp/25 KB]
- SME 221: Supervised Ministry Education: An Overview [PDF: 13 pp/75 KB]
- SME 222: Lay Supervision Team: A Guide [PDF: 11 pp/83 KB]
- SME 223: Process for Supervised Ministry Education [PDF: 5 pp/43 KB]
- SME 224: Financial Information for Supervised Ministry Education [PDF: 10 pp/70 KB]
- SME 226: Learning Together: A Covenanting Resource for Supervised Ministry Education [PDF: 21 pp/112 KB]
- SME 227: Procedures for the Conference Committee on Internship and Educational Supervision [PDF: 2 pp/26 KB]
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Congregation Organization Handbook
- Congregation Organization Handbook [PDF: 35 pp/358 KB]
- Produced by the General Council's Support to Local Ministries Unit as a guide to pastoral charge structures, this handbook addresses efficient organization of a local congregation. For everyone from ministry personnel, staff, Board, committee, or church group members, to seasoned veterans of church administration.
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Discernment of Ministry
- DIS 200: Discerning a Call: Guidelines for Inquirers, Congregations, and Discernment Committees [PDF: 26 pp/240 KB]
- A guide to support those being called to be Order of Ministry or Designated Lay Ministry personnel in The United Church of Canada.
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Emergency Plan
This denominational plan includes protocols for the General Council Office, Conferences, presbyteries/district, and congregations. We encourage you to review and adapt these guidelines for your local context.
Employment Guidelines for Lay Employees
The following resources support concepts embodied in the Duty of Care program. For more information on this program, see Duty of Care.
- Employment Guidelines for Lay Employees in Pastoral Charges and Other Church-Related Organizations [PDF: 38 pp/575 KB]
- A resource to help pastoral charge and organizational employers discharge their duties as employers of lay employees in the United Church and its related organizations.
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Financial Handbook for Congregations
The full Financial Handbook for Congregations is published for 2008. It details for treasurers and other financial leaders what’s new for 2008.
To download the Handbook:
A print version of the Handbook (#CH10468) can be ordered from UCRD. It will be available by mid-February.
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Host a Global Partner
- Sharing Mission: A Handbook for Receiving Global Partner Personnel in Mission
- This newly revised resource is for Conferences, presbyteries, and pastoral charges that receive or are planning to receive partners in residence, interns, and others from global partner churches.
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Pastoral Relations
- Dispute Resolution Policy Handbook [PDF: 29 pp/289 KB]
- The Dispute Resolution Policy of the United Church, adopted in 1997 and amended in 1998 and 2000 with background and annotations.
- Faithful Footsteps: Screening Procedures for Positions of Trust and Authority in the United Church of Canada [PDF: 23 pp/363 KB]
- This handbook is provided by the Support to Local Ministries Unit of the United Church to help our institutions, organizations, ministries, camps and congregations understand the principles of screening, as one measure of our "Duty of Care", and to put these procedures into practice in the recruitment and selection of both staff and volunteers. Three sample forms from the handbook are available (as PDF files).
- Guide des comités conjoints d'évaluation des besoins [PDF: 39 pp/177 KB]
- Ce guide aidera le comité en évaluant le ministère et la mission de la charge pastorale ainsi que la relation que vous entretenez avec votre communauté avant d'entreprendre une recherche de personnel.
- Guidelines for Committees Requiring a Police Records Check [PDF: 20 pp/119 KB]
- All ministry personnel in pastoral charges or outreach ministries are in positions of trust. Police Records Checks are one part of the whole screening process for individuals in ministry.
- Guidelines for Developing Ministry Personnel Position Descriptions [PDF: 7 pp/78 KB]
- These guidelines have been developed to assist pastoral charges to create written position descriptions for ministry personnel. These guidelines may also be adapted and used for other church positions.
- Handbook for Joint Needs Assessment Committees [PDF: 34 pp/248 KB] Revised November 2007
- The handbook for the Joint Needs Assessment Committee, the first step in the two-step process of examining the needs of your pastoral charge with relation to pastoral relationships. (Step 2: JSC)
- A Nov. 2007 letter from General Secretary Nora Sanders discusses the process of the Joint Needs Assessment in discerning the needs of congregations.
- Handbook for Joint Search Committees [PDF: 36 pp/265 KB] Revised November 2007
- The handbook for the Joint Search Committee, the second step in the two-step process of examining the needs of your pastoral charge with relation to pastoral relationships. (Step 1: JNAC)
- Handbook for Ministry and Personnel Committees [PDF: 44 pp/267 KB]
- This handbook will assist the M&P Committee in its work as a confidential, consultative body that acts as a liaison between the ministry personnel and other employees of a pastoral charge and the pastoral charge itself.
- Handbook for Admission of Ministers from Other Denominations to the Order of Ministry of The United Church of Canada [PDF: 61 pp/551 KB] Updated 2007
- The United Church, as a united and uniting denomination, has always welcomed ministry leadership from other denominations within the Christian tradition.
- Related forms: Admission Forms (300 Series)
- Interim Ministry Handbook [PDF: 23 pp/61 KB]
- In the life and work of the Pastoral Charge, the time between regularly settled ministers often provides a critical opportunity for reassessment and growth. This resource outlines the purposes and goals of Interim Ministry and what is required by Congregations and Conferences in relation to Interim Ministry and Interim Ministers.
- Sexual Abuse Policy
- Official policy and procedures document, approved in 1992 and revised in 2006. NEW
- Understanding the Sabbatical Policy for Ministry Personnel in Pastoral Relationships [PDF: 4 pp/185 KB] NEW January 2006
- This guide offers an introduction to the terms and conditions for sabbaticals for ministry personnel in pastoral relationships.
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Restorative Care Plan
- Restorative Care Plan [PDF: 33 pp/92 KB]
- The Restorative Care Plan (RCP) is a self-insured income replacement plan, designed to significantly reduce a pastoral charge's Section 037 financial responsibility while ensuring early and appropriate medical intervention, emotional support, and pastoral care to the disabled minister.
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Section 429 Guidelines
- Section 429 Guidelines for Incorporated Ministries [PDF: 40 pp/360 KB]
- Includes the official policy on United Church of Canada incorporated ministries and multi-party incorporated ministries, and guidelines for implementing the policy.
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Trustees Handbook
- Congregational Board of Trustees Handbook, 2004 Edition [PDF: 64 pp/259 KB]
- This resource provides the answers to questions that frequently arise for United Church of Canada congregational trustees. It helps explain the provisions for trustees which are found in The Manual. The Congregational Board of Trustees Handbook is a excellent reference for both experienced and new congregational trustees. This handbook is also available in print from UCRD. Product # 500 000 005, $10.95.
The United Church of Canada/L'Église Unie du Canada
Supported by donations to the Mission and Service Fund.
© 2008 The United Church of Canada/L’Église Unie du Canada. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives (by-nc-nd) Licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca. Any copy must include this notice.