GA06 faces a decision on whether to confirm the ruling of the 2004 Assembly, which excludes from the offices such as minister and elder anyone in a sexual relationship outside marriage. The ruling does not apply to homosexual persons who have been licensed, ordained or inducted prior to 2004.
General Assembly 2004 voted to adopt this ruling ad interim, meaning that it applied immediately. The motion then had to be approved by a majority of presbyteries before it could be sent back to GA06 for adoption. The presbytery vote was conducted during 2005, with a majority of presbyteries voting in favour of the exclusion motion.
GA06 has several options. It can choose to vote or not vote on the proposal to make the exclusion binding. If it chooses not to vote and to move on to the next item of business, then the proposal lapses. This would mean that the 2003 Church Judicial Commission decision would be the most recent interpretation of the Church’s policy. The commission, headed by Sir Duncan McMullin, determined that there was no binding rule preventing the licensing, ordaining or inducting of homosexuals.
If GA06 votes on the motion, then it will be either passed or lost. If passed, then it would be confirmed as a binding rule. If lost, the McMullin decision would represent the most recent interpretation.
The review proposes that the remuneration for a senior minister increase by nearly $6,000 over the two years from 1 July 2007 over and above the normal increases. This comes out of a context in which ministers’ income has fallen behind wage movements since 1987, because it has been linked to the consumer price index rather than the wage index, to which the paper proposes it should in future be linked. The proposal also suggests, among other things, that parishes should, at their discretion, be able to pay to their minister another 20 percent on top of stipend without presbytery approval.
The paper before GA06 proposes that the training of ministers move away from a residential course in Dunedin to internships in parishes around the country. The Centre for Christian Leadership would be a training network offering seminars and refresher courses for all leaders within the Church. Assembly Executive Secretary the Dr Rev Kerry Enright says that whatever model is used for leadership training, there are some core values for the Presbyterian Church, such as having an educated ministry that will remain. “What we aim for is to provide the best training possible within the financial capacity we have.”
This proposes that the doctrinal basis of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand should be re-articulated for a new generation. In practice, this means adopting a new confession of faith. All ministers and elders when ordained or inducted state their belief in the fundamental doctrines of the Reformed faith, drawn from the Westminister Confession of Faith. That Confession was drawn up in 1647. Mr Enright describes the new statement being presented to GA06 as a “robust Reformed confession, consistent with our tradition”.
Mr Enright says many parts of the existing Book of Order cause difficulties because of a lack of clarity and inconsistency with the direction of the Church and the law of the land. Parts of it from 1876 are out of date. The Book of Order Rewrite task group has been working since 1997 on the version that is being presented to GA06. It is written in clearer language and aims to make procedures more flexible, compliant with today’s legal environment and consistent with the mission of the Church.
The task group reviewed Assembly Assessment and has recommended a retention of the assessment with several alterations. Mr Enright says there has been strong support for the basic elements of the existing Assembly Assessment in the feedback received to date. The alterations proposed include increased flexibility for parishes that encounter exceptional financial circumstances, such as receiving bequests tagged for specific non-core purposes.
Another potential hot topic is the General Assembly meeting review’s suggestion to reduce numbers attending Assemblies to between 230 and 250 people.
More information about these matters can be obtained from presbytery or by visiting the General Assembly section of the Presbyterian website.