Terms of Reference for Committees
Communications
Purpose:
The Communications Committee will facilitate open communication between Council, Ministry Personnel, the Congregation and the community.
Membership:
- Chair
- The Messenger Team Lead
- Parkdale Webmaster
- Publicity Representative
- eNewsletter Editors
- Members and adherents of the Congregation
Duties and Responsibilities
1. Maintaining a variety of communication tools in order to publicise and promote Parkdale’s services, events and activities to a diverse audience both within the church and within the neighbouring community.
The Messenger: The Messenger is a printed, monthly newsletter that contains, among other things, a message from the Minister, articles submitted by members of the congregation, highlights of events that took place during the past month and notices of upcoming events. The Messenger has been an integral part of Parkdale’s life for many years.
Website: The objective of the website is to make it both a useful tool for the congregation and something the community accesses to learn about Parkdale and its many activities.
Social Media: Both Twitter and Facebook are being used to promote Parkdale.
eNewsletter: The eNewsletter is an electronic, monthly newsletter that is emailed to the congregation to promote the next month’s activities and highlight special Parkdale news.
Signage: The Communications Committee is responsible for purchasing outdoor signs and banners to promote Parkdale’s events, indicate parking lots, mobility challenged parking, etc.
2. Promoting Parkdale events that are open to the public, such as the Rummage Sale and the Yuletide Bazaar, by:
- Sending notices to churches, schools, the media, community websites, etc.;
- Posting notices in the neighbouring community; and
- Maintaining a publicity database of contact information.
Faith Formation And Christian Enrichment
Purpose:
The Faith Formation and Christian Enrichment Committee encourages and supports learning programs for people of all ages. The purpose of this Committee is to help all persons in the Congregation to know God’s love as it is revealed in Jesus Christ, to grow in their understanding of the Christian faith, and to be involved in the Mission of the Church.
Membership:
- Chair
- Representative of the Church School
- Representative of the Youth Group
- Minister of Youth & Children
- Members and adherents of the Congregation
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Studying the educational needs of the Congregation and providing leadership in setting goals for the program.
- Remaining informed regarding developments in curriculum, policy and program resources for the Christian education of persons for whom the Congregation has responsibility.
- Selecting appropriate curricula.
- Leading in the recruitment and training of teachers and leaders of Sunday and midweek groups within the Christian development program of the Congregation.
- Supervising and coordinating the total educational program of the Congregation, including the Church School and all other Sunday and midweek activities; the Committee will endeavor to reach all families, adults, young adults, youth and children of the Congregation, and to encourage congregational participation in the faith formation programs of the Church.
- Developing and managing the Committee’s budget.
Finance
Purpose:
The Finance Committee is responsible for the oversight of the financial affairs of the Congregation including the preparation of a budget, regular reports to the Church Council, and the timely receipt and disbursement of funds on a day-to-day basis on behalf of the Church Council and the Congregation.
Membership:
- Chair
- Treasurer
- Donations Coordinator (termed Envelope Steward in The Manual)
- Members and adherents of the Congregation
- A minimum of three members of the Finance Committee will have been designated as Financial
- Trustees (see Section 1, subsection F: Elections and Terms of Office).
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Administering the financial operations of the church, including the Operating Account and Church Funds including, but not limited to, the General Fund, Capital Fund, Mission & Outreach Fund, and the Memorial Fund in accordance with the policies associated with those Funds.
- Overseeing the investment of assets in the Memorial Fund in collaboration with an appointed broker on a regular basis, and monitoring the Memorial Fund against the approved Investment Policy Statement (IPS)
Records
- Maintaining a record of receipts, disbursements, bank balances and investments of all accounts administered by the Committee. Records should be kept for seven years to comply with CRA regulations.
Revenues:
- Arranging for internal control to ensure safeguarded procedures for the counting, reconciling and depositing of offerings and all other funds received by the Church.
- Maintaining a record of each person’s givings through the year, providing periodic “yearto- date” statements of givings and income tax receipts to each person.
- Receiving and banking any other revenues received.
Disbursements
- Arranging payment of all invoices and required payments.
- Arranging that all required payments are made to staff.
Financial planning
- Preparing an annual budget in consultation with all Committees and Groups for approval at the Annual General Meeting.
- Together with the Stewardship Committee, developing and implementing revenue generation programs to meet budgeted expenses.
Reporting
- Preparing regular financial statements for the Council and for discharging the Committee’s oversight role.
- Presenting to the Congregation at the Annual General Meeting detailed statements of operating receipts and disbursements for the preceding church year, and the budget for the ensuing year, showing the estimated amounts required to carry on the work of the Church.
- Preparing and submitting annual financial reports to the nation office of the United Church of Canada.
Compliance
- Ensuring compliance with CRA regulations, including filing an annual return by the deadline to maintain charitable status and payment of payroll source deductions.
- Ensuring appropriate signing authority for financial matters related to the Church. The signing authority for all disbursements, bank accounts and related documents administered by the Finance Committee shall require two signatures from designated persons.
- Recommending an independent experienced individual to review the church financial reports in place of a formal external audit as defined by the current UCC Handbook for Church Treasurers.
Other
- Attending to such other duties as the Committee or Congregation may direct.
- Appointing a Donations Coordinator who is a member of the Committee.
Membership Development and Roles
Purpose:
The Membership Development and Roles Committee promotes the welcoming of all persons, caring for one another, and helping individuals to participate and give leadership in the Worship, ministry and activities of the Church. The Committee plays an important role in greeting visitors and making them feel welcome, as well as offering information about Church activities and events. This ongoing hospitality role includes reaching out to newer members to ensure that they can be involved as part of the Parkdale family. Coloured name tags identify Committee members to indicate their availability to offer assistance or information. This Committee is also tasked with overseeing records around current church membership through the work of the Clerk of the Rolls and with maintaining historical records of the church through the work of the Archivist.
Membership:
- Chair
- Clerk of the Rolls
- Archivist
- Members and adherents of the Congregation
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Greeting visitors at each service and making them feel welcome, as well as offering information about Church activities and events. This hospitality role includes reaching out to newer members to ensure that they can be involved as part of the Parkdale family.
- Hosting pre-service breakfasts for those new members who are joining Parkdale by profession of faith, reaffirmation of faith or by transfer from another church. This provides an opportunity to meet ministerial staff, chairs of Committees as well as the Chair of Council and to learn about the roles these people play at Parkdale.
- Developing and managing the Committee’s budget.
Duties and Responsibilities of the Clerk of the Roles:
The Role Clerk, in conjunction with the Ministry Personnel and the Office Manager, will be responsible for:
- Keeping the Membership Roll of the Congregation, recording the date of admission, transfer, removal, suspension, or other action concerning each member. (Historical Rolls).
- Revising the Membership Roll annually.
- Maintaining a Church Directory of Members, Children and Adherents.
- Preparing submissions for the Annual Report (Membership Roll, In Memoriam, Baptisms, and New Family Members).
- Overseeing the admission of persons into full membership, their removal and the granting of certificates of transfer of membership.
- Ensuring the maintenance of the register of baptisms, marriages and deaths.
- Ensuring that the membership and baptismal statistics are submitted annually to Ottawa Presbytery and to United Church national headquarters.
Duties and Responsibilities of the Archivist:
- Ensuring that Minutes and other important church records are preserved.
- Researching the records as needed, and making them available, as appropriate, to others who wish to use them for research.
- Maintaining an accessible repository of approved Council policies and directives.
Ministry and Personnel
Purpose:
The Ministry and Personnel Committee is primarily responsible for the support and oversight of full and part-time members of the staff of the Church. This Committee does not replace the Joint Needs Assessment Committee in the event of a change in the pastoral relationship or a vacancy.
Membership:
Not less than three nor more than seven members, who shall be representative of the members of the Congregation, and may include one of the lay representatives to Presbytery. No members of the church staff, including members of the Ministry Personnel, shall be members of this Committee.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Providing a consultative and supportive agency for the staff of the Pastoral Charge and for members and adherents of the Congregation.
- Reviewing working conditions and remuneration for the staff of the Pastoral Charge and make appropriate recommendations to the Church Council.
- Overseeing the relationship of the staff of the Pastoral Charge to members of the Congregation and others.
- Overseeing the relationship between and among different members of the staff of the Pastoral Charge with respect to their responsibilities and authority.
- Consulting with all members of the staff of the Pastoral Charge about their plans for continuing education, and ensuring that those eligible avail themselves of the provisions for continuing education and that money and time are made available.
- Reviewing and evaluating semi-annually the effectiveness of the staff of the Pastoral Charge as those persons and positions relate to the mission of the Pastoral Charge, as defined by the Church Council.
- Maintaining close liaison with the Presbytery Pastoral Relations Committee.
- Reviewing regularly the responsibilities of all staff of the Pastoral Charge and revising position descriptions when required or requested, in consultation with relevant Committees and/or groups.
- Participating in the development of job descriptions and terms of employment details for the new staff of the Pastoral Charge.
- Considering holiday and other leave requests from staff so that arrangements can be made for alternate coverage.
- Ensuring the development and maintenance of appropriate recording of staff leave, hours worked, overtime, etc.
- Ensuring the development and regular review of personnel management policies of the Pastoral Charge.
- Communicating as necessary with other Committees.
- Carrying out other duties as outlined in the current Handbook for Ministry and Personnel Committees of the United Church of Canada.
- Developing and managing the Committee’s budget.
Mission, Outreach, and Justice
Purpose:
The Mission, Outreach and Justice (MOJ) Committee provides leadership in assisting the congregation to understand and engage in God’s mission, particularly beyond the “walls” of the congregation. This Mission of God is one of wholeness, love and justice for all people and all of creation; and includes a call to live in such a way as to transform our community and our world. The MOJ Committee is dedicated to supporting individuals and organizations locally, nationally and globally. Exercising oversight of the congregation’s “In from the Cold Ministry”.
Membership:
- Chair
- IFTC representative
- Members and adherents of the Congregation
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Enabling the Church to discover and be aware of the compelling Biblical basis for understanding and engaging in the many facets of God’s mission.
- Concerning itself in the human and social issues existing in the community and world, increasing awareness of them in the Church, and promoting opportunities for the congregation to participate actively in outreach and justice initiatives.
- Making recommendations to Council on the use of Church funds to advance Parkdale`s Christian mission which includes outreach programmes, justice, peace and development.
- Participating, through the United Church of Canada’s Mission & Service Fund (M&S), in the support of those in need both in Canada and overseas.
- Working in partnership with the Presbytery Justice, Ecumenical and Global Relations (JEGR), and Church in Society Committees.
- Identifying and cooperating with the world-wide church of Jesus Christ, our sisters and brothers of other faith communities and other people of goodwill.
These duties & responsibilities are accomplished in a variety of ways, among them are the following tasks:
- Disseminating information to the congregation about local, national and global initiatives of both Parkdale and the United Church of Canada’s Mission and Service Office.
- Providing the congregation with opportunities for learning and enhanced awareness (e.g. films, speakers, ad hoc events, workshops, and mission trips).
- Embarking on discovery projects such as to learn more about the issues facing Canada’s First Nation, Inuit and Métis communities.
- Supporting the Church`s “In From The Cold Ministry”.
- Developing and managing the Committee’s budget.
Pastoral Care Team
Purpose:
To oversee the ministry of care-giving
Membership:
- Chair
- Ministry Staff
- Members and adherents of the Congregation who have received appropriate training.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Providing occasional and chronic visitation as required. The Pastoral Care Visitation Team provides an audio record of church services for shut-ins upon request.
- Providing short-term, focused pastoral care as required.
- Maintaining contact with all members/adherents for communication and pastoral care.
- Arranging transportation for Special Communion services and for Sunday services upon request.
Additional activities of the Pastoral Care Team:
- Organizing Special Communion services, including transportation and fellowship and refreshments following services.
- Ordering and arranging for the delivery of Easter lilies.
- Undertaking continuing education either by attending events organized by Pastoral Care Ottawa, by having relevant speakers at Pastoral Care Committee meetings, or through book studies.
- Arranging and/or providing meals through the Caring Kitchens program.
Property Trustees
Purpose:
The Property Trustees are accountable for the upkeep of the physical assets, building and property, the office facilities and supplies; equipment required by other groups and Committees; and to oversee (coordinate and regulate) the use of church facilities by church and non-church members.
Membership:
- Chair
- Members and adherents of the Congregation up to a maximum of 12 Committee members
- The Office Manager will attend Property Trustees meetings to provide information of space
- rentals and other relevant issues as outlined in the job description. This is not an ex officio
- position.
- The Custodian will attend Property Trustees meetings as outlined in the job description. The
- custodian is an ex officio member of the Property Trustees.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Church building and property
- Maintaining the Church land and building, including the heating, electrical, plumbing, furnishings, security and similar matters.
- Arranging adequate insurance coverage, including property and public liability.
- Negotiating and administering of contracts for services related to the management of the building and property.
Custodial
- Overseeing (in conjunction with the Church Office Manager) the work schedule of the custodial staff.
- Taking an active role in the hiring process for custodial staff in conjunction with the Ministry and Personnel Committee.
- Providing input to the Ministry and Personnel Committee for job descriptions, performance reviews, rates of pay and other matters related to the management of paid personnel.
Room allocations
- Overseeing the policy for use of church space, and determining fees.
- Directing questions related to the use of the Sanctuary and Worship spaces to the Worship Committee.
Other
- Developing and managing the Committee’s budget.
Recruitment and Succession Planning Committee
Purpose:
This Committee is responsible for identifying and recruiting members of the congregation to serve on the Council and various Committees.
Membership:
- Chair of Committee
- Chair of Council
- Vice-chair of Council
- Coordinating Minister
- Members and adherents of the congregation
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Recommending individuals to chair the Council’s standing Committees, and any special groups that may be formed (e.g. Joint Needs Assessment Committee, Joint Search Committee, various projects or working groups.)
- Developing and managing the Committee’s budget.
Stewardship
Purpose:
The Stewardship Committee recognizes that everything we have (our time, talents and treasures) belongs to God and that we are called to use these resources for God’s purposes in the world. We also recognize that we are called to share these God-given gifts – we give generously because we have received abundantly. The Stewardship Committee helps ensure that stewardship education is accorded proper emphasis in the work of the Council and in the life of the Congregation. In this capacity, the Committee serves to encourage and help congregants discover and deploy their spiritual gifts in Parkdale’s ministries and beyond; to nurture stewardship formation; to engage the congregation with respect to our spiritual relationship to money and resource consumption; and to challenge the Parkdale community to live with respect in creation.
Members:
- Chair
- Members and adherents of the Congregation
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Initiating and coordinating a regular awareness and education program to make the Congregation aware of Parkdale’s Mission, and motivate the Congregation to meet the Mission.
- Working with the Finance Committee to ensure that the Congregation is fully aware of the church’s financial position, and help to develop options for the Congregation’s givings.
- Liaising with other groups and Committees to generate ideas and initiate projects to fulfill the financial and other resource requirements needed to achieve Parkdale’s stewardship program.
- Maintaining the Congregation’s awareness of its environmental stewardship responsibilities.
- Developing and managing the Committee’s budget.
Worship Committee
Purpose:
The Worship Committee is responsible for the Ministry of Worship, including the Ministry of Music, for all ages of the Congregation and those we seek to draw into our congregation.
Membership:
- Chair
- Coordinating Minister
- Music Director
- Choir Representative
- Members and adherents of the Congregation
Duties and Responsibilities:
Worship
- Supporting the Ministry Personnel, the Music Director and others who give leadership in Worship.
- Planning and visioning regarding Worship in collaboration with the Ministry Personnel.
- Keeping a pulse on the congregations’ ideas and concerns regarding Worship and the Ministry of Music.
- Overseeing, in cooperation with Ministry Personnel, the policy on baptisms and confirmations of children and adults.
Participants in Worship
Recruiting and supporting participants for the following:
- Ushering and greeting for Sunday morning service,
- Lay readers
- Communion servers and element preparation
- Audio/Visual technical support
- Meditation Group
- Supporting of substitutes in the event of absence (regular or emergency) in the pulpit.(Arrangement done by ministerial staff)
Sanctuary and Worship Spaces
- Managing materials used in Worship including:
- Flowers, banners, symbols and decorations in the Sanctuary
- Miscellaneous liturgical items
- Approving alternate uses of the Sanctuary and Worship spaces. The church office follows A Policy for Church Facility Use.
Ministry of Music
- Negotiating and administering the contract with the Music Director.
- Supporting the Choir, DaleSong and other groups and individuals participating in the Ministry of Music.
- Planning and visioning regarding the Ministry of Music along with the Ministry Personnel and the Music Director.
Other
- Developing and managing the Committee’s budget.