Committee of Elders

ELDERS COMMITTEE

TERMS OF REFERENCE

 
Purpose
 
To ensure the integration and spiritual well being of the congregation and to administer the sacraments of the church.
 
Membership
 
Elders are members of Orleans United Church and approved by the congregation at the congregational meeting upon the recommendation of the Committee of Elders. The term of office for an Elder shall be five years but this may be reaffirmed.
 
Youth representatives shall be considered “youth elders” and approved by the Committee of Elders. Their role will be to serve as leaders within the youth community in addition to carrying out of the full range of Elder responsibilities.
 
The Chair and Co-Chair of Elders shall be approved at the congregational annual meeting for renewable terms of office of two years.
 
The desired minimum number of Elders is thirty (30).
 
Responsibilities
 
The primary responsibilities of individual Elders and of the collectivity of Elders are to:
 
  • nurture the spiritual growth in the people of OUC and to promote a sense of belonging and community;
 
  • provide visible leadership within the church through the identification of Elders and participation in church worship services, activities and forums;
 
  • meet as necessary for spiritual nurturing, training, and sharing of information;
 
  • serve communion; keep the progress and needs of our student ministers and lay worship leaders in front of the Council and the congregation;
 
  • ensure support for baptismal and new member sessions;
 
  • oversee with the support of the Clergy church membership, approval of baptismal requests, participating in pre-baptismal preparation and thereafter nurturing the spiritual well being of "baptismal families", confirmations, and the conduct of weddings performed in the church. This includes the review and recommendation for the approval of Council any changes to OUC related policies and guidelines;
 
·         discuss and vote on motions affecting the spiritual life of the church. This may mean looking at United Church study documents to form an opinion about an upcoming issue, discussing local, national or church issues; and
 
  • serve as a member of OUC Council.
 
Duties
 
Specific duties include
 
  • Being a friendly and sympathetic ear to individuals when needed. (Note: The Pastoral Care Team provides the bigger part of the comfort-type visits, but an Elder can fill the gap between a person who needs pastoral care and someone who needs a friendly ear. An Elder can refer an individual to the Pastoral Care Team as necessary)
  • Asking for input on issues that affect the church and its members.
  • Presenting their members’ views at OUC Council.
  • Answering, or finding the person who can answer the members’ questions.
  • Helping out with the sacraments including:
    • Baptisms – handing out bibles and certificates
    • Communion
·         Helping out with:
    • Confirmation – handing out certificates
    • Baptismal and new member sessions
·         Attending Elders’ meetings
·         Attending Council meetings, whenever possible, to discuss and vote on issues there. 
·         Sharing their faith and concern for others and, at their best, be examples of faith and faithful action.
·         Being the “eyes and ears” of clergy, e.g. for a family whose weekly presence is not highly visible, an elder might be the first to advise Clergy of a move out of the congregation or a death in the family.
 
Meetings
 
Elders’ meetings are normally held bi-monthly but may be called for special purposes by the Chair. 
 
Agendas are prepared and distributed by the Secretary.  If an Elder has an issue they wish to discuss they may contact the Chair, Co- Chair or Secretary to have it included on the agenda.
 
Quorum shall be the lesser of seven (7) Elders plus one (1) Clergy OR one-third of the number of Elders whom have been approved by the Committee of Elders plus one (1) Clergy.
 
Meetings focus on:
 
  • Review and approval of baptisms, confirmations, weddings and new members; 
  • Preparations for any specific planned activities e.g. communion, participation in worship services, welcome tables, etc;
  • Building relations with other groups responsible for activities impacting spiritual well being in the church;
  • Discussion of issues relevant to the church. As a group we can provide feedback on issues which need to be considered by the church as a whole and might not otherwise be done at all. This may mean looking at UCC study documents to form an opinion about an upcoming issue, discussing local, national or church issues; 
  • Collective renewal as Elders, i.e. an opportunity to share our experiences and to support each other.
 
Sub-committees of Elders may be established and maintained as required. They will meet as determined by sub-committee members.
Revised Sept. 2008 
 
Download the Full Elders Handbook