Click here for a PDF version of the template and this article
What is a proposal?
Proposals call on the Regional Council or General Council to make a decision or set policy on behalf of the church. Proposals must reflect the responsibilities of the Regional Council or General Council. For example, if you would like the United Church of Canada to address a social justice or policy matter with the federal government, your proposal would be addressed to General Council. If you would like the Regional Council to adopt inclusive language commitments in its services of worship and business, the proposal would be addressed to the Regional Council.
Who can make a proposal?
Any member of the Regional Council, and any Community of Faith or other recognized ministry. A member of the Regional Council is: someone who is ministry personnel; an elected lay representative for a Community of Faith; or an individual who has been made a member of the Regional Council by an act of the Executive or the Annual Meeting (for example, a lay member of a Commission).
When can we make proposals?
Generally, proposals are submitted to the annual meeting of the Regional Council. Proposals that need to go to General Council must still be submitted to the Regional Council meeting. It’s strongly preferred that proposals be included in the official documents for the Regional Council meeting, so that delegates have time to reflect on it and staff have time to add and post the Proposal. Please check with your Regional Council office and/ or website for deadlines. Most Regional Council annual meetings happen in May or June, so the deadline is often no later than early April.
Who decides? The Proposal will be sent to the annual meeting of the Regional Council for discussion, discernment, and voting. The meeting has the right to make amendments to proposals to the Regional Council, and whether or not to submit the proposal to the General Council. In some circumstances, a proposal can be sent to the Regional Council Executive.
More information: The Manual (2021), Section F.1
And again, click here for the PDF version of the template and this article.
