The memorandum below was sent by General Secretary Nora Sanders to Presbytery Secretaries and Conference Executive Secretaries on December 1, 2009:
Greetings to you as we enter this season of Advent, a time of waiting and preparing for the birth of the Christ child.
In August, 2009, the 40th General Council authorized six remits to be sent to presbyteries. One of those remits will also go to pastoral charges. The first two remits were sent to you in September, 2009.
At this time, I am sending Remit 3 [PDF: 9 pp/40 KB] to you, together with a voting form, a copy of the Report of the Transfer and Settlement Task Group [PDF: 10 pp/241 KB] that was provided to the 40th General Council, and Suggested Study Questions [PDF: 1 p/15 KB].
The voting form is to be used to record your vote, and also contains instructions on returning the form.
Please note that the deadline for returning the voting form for this remit is April 30, 2010.
The 40th General Council decided that the changes in Remit 3, if approved, would come into effect on July 1, 2010. This remit requires approval by a two-thirds majority of presbyteries by the deadline.
The Executive of the General Council meets from May 1 to 3, 2010. At that meeting, it will declare the voting results for Remit 3.
The remit contains a brief summary of the action of the 40th General Council and a question for discussion. It also contains the current wording of the relevant sections of the Basis of Union and the proposed new wording of the same sections.
In voting, you will be responding to both the question posed in the remit and the proposed new wording of the Basis of Union.
The Report of the Transfer and Settlement Task Group and Suggested Study Questions are intended to inform your discussion of the remit.
Your participation in this process is a vital contribution to the work of discerning God’s will for our church. May God’s blessing be upon each of you as you engage in this ministry of administration in the name of The United Church of Canada.