Overture 33
On Amending G-12.0101, Synod Membership, to Make
It Possible for a Synod to Enroll Specified Persons as Members
of the Synod—From the Presbytery of Lake Huron.
The Presbytery of Lake Huron respectfully
overtures the 217th General Assembly
(2006) to direct the Stated Clerk to send the following proposed
amendment to the presbyteries for their affirmative or negative
votes:
Shall G-12.0101 be amended by inserting an
“a.” at the beginning of the current paragraph and
adding a new paragraph “b.” to read as follows:
[Text to be deleted is shown with a strike-through; text to
be added or inserted is shown as italic.]
“a. Synod is the unit of the
church’s life and mission which consists of not fewer
than three presbyteries within a specific geographic region.
... [The rest of the paragraph remains the same.]
“b. Each person elected an officer
of the synod (other than moderator), a member of the council
of the synod, a chairperson of a synod unit (committee, cabinet,
trustees, etc.), the moderator of Presbyterian Women of the
Synod and Presbyterian Men of the Synod, may be enrolled as
a member of the synod for the term of office.”
Rationale
The Book of Order permits presbyteries
to enroll officers, committee chairpersons, and council members
as members of the presbytery for the term of office. The Council
of the Synod of the Covenant believes
that the same privilege should be granted to synods. This would
allow persons in the specified positions to have both voice
and vote at meetings of the synod assembly, a privilege currently
denied to persons in key and responsible positions. It would
allow those persons and the groups they represent to have participation
and representation in actions taken by the assembly.
The Presbytery of Lake Huron, a member presbytery
of the Synod of the Covenant, concurs with the synod council.
The synod council does not have the authority to submit an overture
to the General Assembly and the synod assembly will not meet
until after the meeting of the 217th General Assembly (2006).
Therefore the Presbytery of Lake Huron submits this overture
on its own behalf and with the concurrence of the synod council.
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