Ministries Council |
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INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the Ministries Council. On this page you
can find read about our:
Remit
Committees
Task groups
Remit
The remit of the Ministries Council is the enabling of ministries in every part of Scotland and elsewhere, where appropriate, giving special priority to the poorest and most marginalized, through the recruitment, training and support of recognized ministries of the Church and the assessment and monitoring of patterns of deployment of those ministries.
In the fulfilment of this remit, the Council offers strategic leadership in the development of patterns of collaborative ministry which enable the Church of Scotland to be effective in its missionary calling and faithful in its participation in the one ministry of Jesus Christ, and operates within the following spheres of work:
Priority Areas - Following the Gospel imperative of priority to the poor
- Working directly in support of the poorest parishes in Scotland to enable and resource ministries and to build communities of hope;
- Assisting the whole Church in fulfilling its responsibility to the gospel imperative of giving priority to the poorest and most marginalized in society;
- Enabling and supporting work in partnership with ecumenical, inter-faith and statutory agencies to achieve the goal of alleviating poverty in Scotland.
Vocation & Training - Identifying and Providing the Human Resources for Ministries
- Developing and implementing patterns of enquiry and assessment and vocational guidance which enable the identification of appropriately called and gifted people to train for recognized ministries;
- Developing and implementing training patterns for those accepted into training for the recognized ministries of the Church;
- Enabling the transfer of people from other denominations into the ministries of the Church.
Support & Development - Offering pastoral support and enabling lifelong learning
- Delivering pastoral support to those involved in the recognized ministries of the Church through the development and resourcing of local pastoral networks, direct one-to-one engagement and the provision of occupational health support, counselling, mediation and conflict resolution services;
- Promoting and providing vocational guidance and life-long learning opportunities for ministries personnel through in-service events, self-appraisal processes and a study leave programme;
- Supporting those engaged in chaplaincy services both directly employed by the Council and employed by other agencies.
Planning & Deployment - Presbytery Planning, Emerging Ministries and Employment Issues
- Working with Presbyteries, for effective deployment of ministries to meet the needs of the parishes of Scotland and charges in the Presbytery of England, including consulting with congregations and other denominations where appropriate;
- Working in partnership with other agencies of the Church and ecumenical partners, to enable the emergence of ministries to meet the needs of the people of Scotland in every part;
- Ensuring best practice in the employment, care and support of staff, including setting appropriate terms and conditions, offering developmental training to staff and those responsible for their management.
Finance - Ensuring good management of funds and monitoring budgets
- Planning strategically for the future funding of the recognized ministries of the Church;
- Managing the funds and overseeing the budgeting processes of the Council to ensure that maximum benefit is derived for the Church's ministries through the use of income and capital;
- Preparing recommendations on the level of stipends and salaries and liaising with Pension Trustees on matters relating to the setting of the Standard Annuity and discretionary increases in pension, and negotiating and reaching agreement with Pension Trustees on funding rates.
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Committees
The policy development and implementation of the work
of the Ministries Council is managed under the following
committees:
Strategic Planning Group- comprises the Convener, Vice-Conveners and senior staff of all five areas (including Finance) of the Council and is empowered by the Council to engage in broad-ranging thinking regarding the future outlook and plans of the Council. It reports directly to Council and brings forward to it ideas and consultation papers offering options as to the future strategic direction of the Council’s work. Though a key part of the Council’s work, it is a consultative and advisory group rather than a decision-making one.
Vocation and Training Committee - responsible for the development and oversight of policy in relation to the enquiry and assessment process for full time and auxiliary ministers of Word and Sacrament, Deacons and Readers, together with the admission and re-admission of ministers. It is further responsible for the supervision of those in training for the recognised ministries of the church, and operates with powers in relation to both of these areas of work to make recommendations on suitability for training and readiness to engage in ministries at the end of a training period. This work is implemented primarily through two Task Groups: Assessment Task Group and Candidate Task Group.
Planning and Deployment Committee - responsible for the overall planning of the deployment of the Church’s ministries, primarily through the ongoing monitoring of the development of presbytery plans. The committee also oversees work on emerging ministries (including new charge development work) and deals with all issues relating to policy in respect of employment matters. The committee receives regular reports from the three task groups relating to the above remit.
Support and Development Committee
- implements the council's policies for pastoral care
and the promotion of development of those involved in
the recognised ministries such as study leave and personal
appraisal. It also deals with the work of interim ministry,
new charge development, area team ministry and chaplaincy
work.
Finance Committee
- deals with the National Stipend Scheme, vacancy
schedules, maintenance allowance, hardship grants and
bursaries and stipend advances.
Priority Areas Committee
- develops, encourages and oversees the strategy within
priority area parishes by developing resources to enable
congregations to make appropriate responses to the needs
of people's lives in Scotland. It also co-ordinates
the strategy of the wider Church in its priority of
Scotland's poorest parishes.
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Task groups
The council also has several ad
hoc task groups. These include:
- Accompanied Review Task Group
- Assessment Task Group
- Candidate Task Group
- Chaplaincies Task Group
- Communications Task Group
- Curriculum Development Task Group
- Emerging Ministries Task Group
- Employment Issues Task Group
- Health and Healing Task Group
- Interim Ministries Task Group
- Pastoral and Spiritual Care Task Group
- Presbytery Planning Task Group
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Extranet
Visit our extranet site - provided for staff, office bearers
and those in the ministries - for specific information
on the council's minutes and meeting dates.
Contact us
If you have any difficulty using this section of our website,
please contact the webteam
using our feedback form.
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