Archives for: September 2019

There were 2 posts published in September 2019.
23 Sep, 2019

Guide to making a Proposal for GA

So you have an idea for a proposal for General Assembly, but how do get it to the floor of the debating chamber.

In principle,

  1. You will take your written proposal to the Session Clerk at your local church
  2. The Session Clerk will give it the Session to discuss and vote on.
  3. If they agree, they will send it to your Presbytery to discuss and vote on
  4. If they agree it will be sent to General Assembly to be discussed and voted on.

But before you start with this process, ask yourself, does this idea actually need to go to Assembly, if we can do your idea within the existing legislation, we don’t need to go to GA where your idea maybe shot down, let’s figure out how we can make it happen. Speak to PYM, we can help you think through your idea.

If it does need to go to Assembly, you should also ask your friends at church, your minister and elders what they think of your idea.

If your idea includes changes to the Book of Order, before you write your proposal speak to the Book of Order Advisor for advice. Currently, that would be Matthew Hague ( 021 374 426)

If your idea includes financial implications to the national church, you should speak to the Convenor of the resource subcommittee for advice. Currently, that would be Craig Donaldson (03) 230-4560

Writing your proposal

After seeking advice, you are now ready to write your proposal. Have a look at this example proposal from GA16.

You will see there are two sections. Recommendations and Proposal.

The recommendations are what you want, and what people will vote on. The Proposal is the arguments why people should agree with your recommendations.

So write your recommendations succinctly, And with your proposal, write your arguments in order of significance. In this section, you may want to think of counter-arguments and make arguments against these also.

An example.
You may be thinking we want the Presbyterian Church to support the government’s goal of planting one billion trees over the next 10 years, by planting 1000 trees each year for ten years. Without any problem, you could list of environmental reasons why this would be a good idea.

This would be an admiral recommendation, but if you left it like that, no doubt delegates may ask, how is this going to happen, and where is the money going to come from.

Say your church had a field and was committed to planting trees yourself, a better proposal would say, our church is going to plant 1000 trees in the next ten years in a field we own. We recommend other congregations support this effort and look for opportunities to do likewise. This would be much more likely to get voted through.

But the reality is, does this even need to go to Assembly? Would a better way, not be to just plant your trees, and share the story with the church through the communication department, through national resourcing departments, Presbyteries and inspire others to follow.

22 Sep, 2019

Common Prayer App Launches, Allowing Users to Pray In Sync

Social activists Shane Claiborne & Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove offer a modern take on an ancient way of practicing faith with this new cutting-edge Common Prayer App

Grand Rapids, Mich., Nov. 29, 2012 – In a world where social classes are extremely divided and cultures remain separate rather than unified, the Common Prayer app may just be the common prayer that a socially, racially and politically segregated world needs to be transformed.

Following the release of Common Prayer on paperback, which sold 56,000 copies, the Common Prayer app is available  on both Android and Iphone.

“This is truly a different kind of app,” authors Claiborne and Wilson-Hartgrove share. “It’s not one you try to pick up and simply read. In fact, this is a daily tool to be used at users convenience…meant to bring ultimate convenience and community. It’s a devotional broken up into days and times, so that everyone can essentially pray together.. on their schedule.”

Broken into easy-to-follow tabs, the Common Prayer app is accessible to someone who’s followed the Christian faith their whole life and someone who’s never held a Bible in their hands. Divided into tabs for different parts of the day, Common Prayer aims to connect people of faith around the globe, across cultures, theologies and continents. For one year, they will be praying the same prayers every day (at their desired time) and subsequently discover the richness and power in this tradition. The Common Prayer appcontains:

  • Evening prayers: Seven prayers; one for each night of the week
  • Morning prayers: 365 prayers; one for each morning of the year
  • Midday prayer: One prayer; to pray during the day throughout the year
  • Occasional prayers: Multiple prayers; to be used on special occasions like holidays and gatherings
  • Songbook: Collection of best-loved songs of faith from all around the world

At the basis of the Common Prayer app, social activist, renowned author and the often controversial Shane Claiborne and sought after speaker and author Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove are setting out to enliven the ancient and historical practice called “liturgy.” An all-inclusive invitation, Claiborne holds certain that liturgy, a traditional act of praying collectively, has the power to transcend culture, create community and move hearts.

“Liturgy,” the authors note “invites us into a new ‘we’…The Church actually reflects the most diverse community in the world—white, black, and all shades in between, rich and poor, all walks of life… called together to bring our lives and our cultures and become a new community.”

“The world the liturgy reveals may not seem relevant at first glance, but…the world it reveals is more real than the one we inhabit day by day…outlasting McDonalds and Wal-Mart, America and South Africa,” they write. “The songs and readings and prayers of the liturgy are more ancient and true than any culture or empire.”

With the Christian faith home to more than 38,000 different denominations, it’s a known fact that the greatest barrier to becoming a Christian is the alarming amount of division seen within the church. Perhaps not any longer.

Common Prayer App from Andy Anderson on Vimeo.