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GCE Summary, November 22-23, 2024

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by Lori-Ann Livingston

The General Council Executive (GCE) met in person in Mississauga, Ontario, on November 21-23, 2024. Each day, the GCE began by committing to Equity Aspirations (About Anti-Racism webpage > Downloads). The Moderator, The Right Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne, could not attend because she is ill. The Very Rev. Dr. Richard Bott, former Moderator, facilitated the meeting in her absence.

The meeting wrapped up a week of meetings with Regional Council Executive Ministers and General Council Executive Ministers, Senior Leads and Directors. The meetings were punctuated by worship, prayer and reflection led by Rev. Hoeun Lee on Friday and The Very Rev. Dr. Richard Bott on Saturday.

Highlights from the meeting include the following:

FRIDAY

The consent items included approval of several nominations, including Category H Commissioners for the 45th General Council and invitations to 26 global and ecumenical partners to accompany the work of the 45th General Council, as well as amendments to The Manual, including an updated policy on post-pregnancy parental leave.

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Pension Board Accountability Report

Presented by Alan Hall, Executive Officer, Shared Services, and Anne Soh, chair of the Pension Board, the report outlines the board's engagement with the Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE). This included 51 engagement initiatives with 25 companies, such as adding disabilities and racial equity to their engagement criteria, resulting in Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and Bank of Montreal (BMO) agreeing to conduct racial equity audits in November 2023. 

As a leader in religious investor circles, and as part of its Strategic Plan, the Pension Board committed to   improve efforts around engagement, proxy voting, and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

Co-sourced with TelusHealth, the new state-of-the-art system pension and benefits administration system (PABAS) went live for administrators on November 5. The member portal and self-serve tools will be rolled out over the next three months, and will bring greater efficiency and timeliness to the administration of the plans.

The full report can be read on the Commons.

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Pension and Benefits

Alan Hall, Executive Officer, Shared Services, and David Dawrant, Director of Pension and Benefits Administration and Project Manager for PABAS, presented Group Benefits plans. Two GCE members – Rev. Mitchell Anderson and Kit Loewen – sit on the working group tasked with developing a benefits/funding policy and statement of investment policies and procedures (SIPP).

Among the recommendations approved were the establishment of a benefits committee that would have dedicated oversight of the benefit plan. The committee will be a separate body with expertise and would provide rigour around how decisions are made in a fluctuating environment.

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SATURDAY

The second day of GCE opened with worship dedicated to honour and remembrance. Several moments of silence were spent remembering members of the United Church, global and ecumenical partners who died in the past year, and those who have made contributions to Mission and Service and other United Church funds in their honour.  

The United Church of Canada Foundation

Jim Simpson, chair of The United Church of Canada Foundation, joined the GCE meeting to reflect on the ongoing relationship between The United Church and the Foundation, noting the Foundation was named by Future of Good as #7 in Canada's top 50 most equitable investors.

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The Total Compensation Task Group

The Total Compensation Review Task Group continues in a process of discernment. They offered updates and sought clarifying direction from the GCE, as guidance to address questions that have arisen.

The final report will be made to GCE in March 2025.

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Nominations

Lynella Reid-James, chair of the nominations committee, and Diane Bosman (staff support) spoke to the vital role of volunteers in the health of the denomination and the critical importance of having diverse perspectives at the table. The committee does this work on behalf of the Executive, the General Council, and the Board of Vocation.

As the United Church approaches the ending of the 44th General Council and the start of the 45th, the committee is preparing to discern the appointment and reappointment of more than 200 faithful members for the committees, boards and task groups of the church in the spring of 2025.

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Report of the Special Interlocutor

Sara Stratton, Reconciliation and Indigenous Justice Animator, attended the release of the second and final report by Kimberly Murray, the Special Interlocutor for Missing and Disappeared Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites associated with Indian Residential Schools. Murray, who was appointed in June 2022, presented her findings in Gatineau, QC, on Oct. 29.

Stratton explained that the Special Interlocutor made no recommendations, but identified 42 obligations for the government, churches and institutions and wider Canadian society, with the primary obligation being to Survivors who pursued the truth of the unmarked burials and deaths. Stratton also outlined how the United Church can choose to support the findings through education and advocacy. Critical to the report is a human rights framework and a deepened understanding of the concept of enforced disappearances. The archival work of The United Church’s Bringing the Children Home initiative was lifted as a model in the report.

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Consultation with OMGS Task Group

The last time a review of the roles of Moderator and General Secretary happened, it was 1997, although the 37th General Council made Manual changes to the role of the Moderator and General Secretary in 2000. This task group was established in September 2022.

While the report is not complete, the task group tested some of its ideas with the GCE. One small change to the number of commissioners needed for a nomination was introduced to capture the current nominee process for Moderator. This was approved, as was a referral of several items back to the sub-committee for further clarification.

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General Secretary and Moderator's accountability reports

On Friday, the General Secretary emphasized in his accountability report that multiple stories are important to gain context and understanding of context, and that several things can be true at the same time. His full report can be found on the Commons in the current meeting date in the governance folder.

The Moderator's accountability report is also available in the same location.

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Interim office space

In May 2024, the United, Anglican, and Presbyterian churches had signed leases to share national office space at the redeveloped site of Bloor Street United Church at 300 Bloor St. West in Toronto; the move-in date is scheduled for late 2026.

The current lease agreement will expire in February of 2026. There is a very limited option for renewal at the current location.

The GCE directed the General Secretary to explore and assess interim office location options and develop a project plan that is operationally and financially viable, and to terminate the current office lease at the end of its term on February 28, 2026, if another financially viable space is located.

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Save the dates

The Centennial service will be held at Gower Street United Church in St. John's, NL, on June 8, 2025. Keep up to date on Centennial commemoration by signing up for the Centennial newsletter.

The 45th General Council is in Calgary, AB, Aug. 7-11, 2025. Deadlines and dates for preliminary work can be found on the GC44 website. On Dec. 1, a new search-based General Council website will be launched and fully integrated with the Commons.

To review the proposals and reports provided for the GCE for this meeting, go to commons.united-church.ca > Governance > General Council Executive > GC44 Executive (2022-2025) > Meeting Documents > 2024-11-21-23 GCE.