Renewal & Development

What forms of leadership will best suit our time and our calling as we participate in God’s mission?

The 39th General Council directed that a process be developed to “engage the whole church in a time of discernment concerning the meaning of ministry in The United Church of Canada,” with particular attention to

• a theology of call and vocation
• the theology of ordered ministry
• the theology of lay pastoral ministry
• the theology of lay ministry
• the ecumenical implications

The Task Group on the Meaning of Ministry, established by the Executive of General Council, is now inviting the church to begin this process.

Help spread the word: This brochure [PDF: 2 pp/515 KB] can be photocopied two-sided and folded in half to create a simple four-page brochure.

Invitation to a Discernment Process

There have been numerous studies on ministry in the church through the last few decades. Why another one now? While other studies have consulted widely, this is an opportunity to invite the whole church to take a step back and ask if we are on the right path.

A critical step in spiritual discernment processes is identifying and exploring the right questions. The four key questions below have been formulated by the task group as a starting point to the study. But other important questions may be identified by you—the church.

From the foundations of the church, we believe that God has called people to be part of the one ministry of Jesus Christ. The particular roles and responsibilities of those called to leadership, however, have varied with time and place. In this “third generation” of the United Church, what forms of leadership will best suit our time and our calling as we participate in God’s mission?

The Four Questions

As a group or as an individual, please respond to one or more of the questions below, or name and respond to your own question. Responses will be read and summarized by the Task Group on the Meaning of Ministry and reported to the Executive of General Council in anticipation of the 40th General Council in August 2009.

1. The place and authority of those who undertake professional ministry

The 17th Article of Faith in the Basis of Union of the United Church, Of the Ministry” reads: “We believe that Jesus Christ, as the Supreme Head of the Church, has appointed therein an ordained ministry of Word, Sacrament, and Pastoral Care and a diaconal ministry of Education, Service, and Pastoral Care, and calls men and women to these ministries; and that the Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, recognizes and chooses those whom He calls, and should thereupon duly ordain or commission them to the work of the ministry.” (The Manual, 2007)

Question: Within the ministry of the whole people of God, what is the place and authority of those who undertake professional ministry? Please comment separately on ordered and lay professional ministries.

2. How might people best be educated, equipped, and supported for the role

Historically, the United Church has been part of the Christian church that has valued both a “learned clergy” and the Christian education of laity and lay leaders. In part, this commitment developed in the context of a society in which access to education was limited and ministers and doctors were often the most highly educated persons in the community.

Question: How might people best be educated, equipped, and supported for the role of minister today?

3. The relationship of ministers to the church and its people

A recently published ecumenical study, God’s Potters by J. Carroll (Eerdmans, 2006), suggests that there are three prevalent models of pastoral leadership in North American churches:

1. ministry as an office, in which the pastoral leader stands as the inheritor and communicator of the church’s tradition
2. ministry as a profession, where ministry is defined by education and competency
3. ministry as a calling, where an inward summons shapes character and spiritual depth

Question: How would you define the relationship to the church and its people of those you recognize as your ministers? Please describe the relationship and their role.

4. Our current practice of ministry

“A Song of Faith,” adopted by the General Council in 2006 proclaims:

We are each given particular gifts of the Spirit.
For the sake of the world,
God calls all followers of Jesus to Christian ministry.
In the church,
some are called to specific ministries of leadership,
both lay and ordered;
some witness to the good news;
some uphold the art of worship;
some comfort the grieving and guide the wandering;
some build up the community of wisdom;
some stand with the oppressed and work for justice.
To embody God’s love in the world,
the work of the church requires the ministry and discipleship
of all believers.

Question: How does our current practice of ministry equip us to be faithful disciples in today’s world?

Another question?

Is there another question that the church needs to consider in exploring the meaning of ministry today? Please name the question and respond.

How to Submit Your Response

1. You are invited to respond in whatever groupings work for you:
   • a study group of lay people in your congregation
   • a group of ordered or designated ministers who wish to gather
   • individual responses
2. If you believe that there is an important question not among the four suggested, please record it and let us know.
3. Please respond to one or more questions, in order of importance. Keep the response to each question to one page or less. Respond in writing by mail or e-mail by October 15, 2008.
4. Please specify the question(s) you are responding to, and describe your group:
   • Individual / Group of 2-5 / Group of 6-9 / Group of 10 or more
   • (all that apply) Designated / Ordered / Lay

Send to:

Meaning of Ministry
The United Church of Canada
3250 Bloor St. West, Suite 300
Toronto, ON M8X 2Y4
E-mail: Meaning of Ministry