General Synod 2003: Bills

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This is a thumbnail image of the Archbishops, Bishops, Honorary Secretaries and Members at General Synod

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The following Bills were lodged with the Honorary Secretaries of the General Synod before 1 April 2003: Click on the Bill name for the full text of each Bill
Bill No 1 REV CANON RB ROUNTREE VERY REV MAJ BURROWS
	(at the request of the General Synod)
To carry into effect a Resolution of the General Synod of 2002 to amend the Book of Common Prayer by altering the wording of certain texts to follow the English Language Liturgical Consultation (ELLC) version amended as set out in the accompanying Schedule.

Bill No 2 REV CANON RB ROUNTREE LADY SHEIL
	(at the request of the General Synod)
To carry into effect a Resolution of the General Synod of 2002 to amend the Book of Common Prayer by including therein The Order for Confirmation as set out in the accompanying Schedule.

Bill No 3 REV CANON RB ROUNTREE VERY REV MAJ BURROWS
	(at the request of the General Synod)
To carry into effect a Resolution of the General Synod of 2002 to amend the Book of Common Prayer by including therein Holy Baptism in the context of Morning or Evening Prayer as set out in the accompanying Schedule.

Bill No 4 REV CANON RB ROUNTREE VERY REV MAJ BURROWS
	(at the request of the General Synod)
To carry into effect a Resolution of the General Synod of 2002 to amend that part of the Book of Common Prayer entitled Prayers and Thanksgivings by substituting, for the above-mentioned part of the Book of Common Prayer, Some Prayers and Thanksgivings from earlier editions of the Book of Common Prayer or from Alternative Prayer Book as set out in the accompanying Schedule.

Bill No 5 REV CANON RB ROUNTREE VERY REV MAJ BURROWS
	(at the request of the General Synod)
To carry into effect a Resolution of the General Synod of 2002 to amend the Book of Common Prayer by including therein Daily Prayer as set out in the accompanying Schedule.

Bill No 6 REV CANON RB ROUNTREE VERY REV MAJ BURROWS
	(at the request of the General Synod )
To carry into effect a Resolution of the General Synod of 2002 to amend that part of the Book of Common Prayer entitled The Order for the Visitation of the Sick by substituting, for the above mentioned part of the Book of Common Prayer, Ministry to the Sick and others requiring particular pastoral care as set out in the accompanying Schedule.

Bill No 7 REV CANON RB ROUNTREE VERY REV MAJ BURROWS
	(at the request of the General Synod )
To carry into effect a Resolution of the General Synod of 2002 to amend that part of the Book of Common Prayer entitled A Penitential Service by substituting, for the above-mentioned part of the Book of Common Prayer, Service for Ash Wednesday as set out in the accompanying Schedule.

Bill No 8 REV CANON RB ROUNTREE VERY REV MAJ BURROWS
	(at the request of the General Synod )
To carry into effect a Resolution of the General Synod of 2002 to amend that part of the Book of Common Prayer entitled The Psalter by substituting, for the above mentioned part of the Book of Common Prayer, The Psalter from Common Worship – Services and Prayers for the Church of England for use in churches of the Church of Ireland.

Bill No 9 REV CANON RB ROUNTREE VERY REV MAJ BURROWS
	(at the request of the General Synod )
To carry into effect a Resolution of the General Synod of 2002 to include with the Book of Common Prayer, The Ordinal as set out in the accompanying Schedule.

Bill No 10 REV CANON RB ROUNTREE VERY REV MAJ BURROWS
	at the request of the General Synod )
To carry into effect a Resolution of the General Synod of 2002 to amend that part of the Book of Common Prayer entitled General Directions for Publick Worship by substituting, for the above-mentioned part of the Book of Common Prayer, General Directions for Public Worship as set out in the accompanying Schedule.

Bill No 11 REV CANON RB ROUNTREE VERY REV MAJ BURROWS
	at the request of the General Synod )
To insert in the 2004 edition of the Book of Common Prayer a Preface to precede the Preface prefixed at the revision of 1926.

Bill No 12 LADY SHEIL REV CANON RB ROUNTREE
	(at the request of the General Synod )
To bring into operation the provisions of certain statutes of the General Synod and to make provision for ancillary matters concerning the 2004 edition of the Book of Common Prayer.

Bill No 13 LADY SHEIL REV CANON RB ROUNTREE
	(at the request of the General Synod )
To carry into effect a Resolution of the General Synod of 2002 to correct inaccuracies and contradictory directions and to remove infelicities of diction in the statutes set out in the accompanying Schedule, which statutes will form part of the text of the 2004 edition of the Book of Common Prayer.

Bill No 14 LADY SHEIL THE HON MRS JUSTICE C MCGUINNESS
	(at the request of the General Synod )
To carry into effect a Resolution of the General Synod of 2002 to amend, in Chapter IX of the Constitution, Canons 5, 6, 10, 12, 13, 16, 26, 31 and 32 (hereafter referred to as “the said Canons”) of the Canons of the Church of Ireland by substituting, for the said Canons, the Canons set out in the accompanying Schedule.

Bill No 15 LADY SHEIL THE HON MRS JUSTICE C MCGUINNESS
	(at the request of the General Synod )
To consolidate enactments in regard to the Constitution.

Bill No 16 MR S GAMBLE MOST REV JRW NEILL
	(at the request of the General Synod )
To provide for the establishment of a Severance Fund for clergy.

Bill No 17 MR WF BAKER VEN REB WHITE
	(at the request of the General Synod )
To amend Chapter IV of the Constitution.

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Click HERE to download the Bill Pamphlet in .PDF format.

Click HERE to download the proposed amendments to Liturgical Bills nos. 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 9 and 13 in .PDF format.

Note - you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these files.

NOTE

This pamphlet contains those Bills which were lodged with the honorary secretaries at least six weeks before the first day of the session.

A Bill is a proposal for legislation which, if passed, will become a Statute, binding on all members of the Church of Ireland. The procedure is designed to ensure that the proposed legislation is considered carefully, both in principle and in detail, and that there is a day's interval for reflection before final approval is given.

The Bills will be taken into consideration in the order in which they appear in this pamphlet, unless the Synod directs otherwise. On the first stage, the proposer moves "That leave be given to introduce Bill no. __" unless leave has been given in the previous session. This is a formal motion which is normally put to the Synod without debate, but in certain circumstances one speech in support of the motion, and one in opposition to it, may be permitted.

If that motion is passed, the Synod proceeds to the Second Reading, when the principles of the Bill are open to debate. At the conclusion of the debate on this stage, the motion "That the Bill be approved in principle and given a second reading" is put to the Synod. If this motion is passed, indicating that the Synod approved the Bill in principle, the Committee stage follows.

In the case of Special Bills leave to introduce such a Bill may only be given at an ordinary session of the Synod; leave having been given, the Bill shall be deemed to have been read a first time, but it shall not be processed further until the next ordinary session when it will come before the Synod for second reading.

On the Committee stage, the Bill is considered in detail, the clauses being put to the Synod one by one for debate and decision. The clauses are taken first in their order; then, the schedules (if any); and, finally, the Preamble (the introductory matter). Amendments, notice of which was given to the honorary secretaries not later than the Friday before the session, will appear on the agenda paper for the first day; no other amendment may be moved on Committee stage except with the leave of the Synod. An amendment is taken on the clause to which it relates, and is disposed of before the clause itself is put to the Synod.

In the case of Special Bills, an amendment can be moved on Committee stage only if notice has been given in the previous session except for any dealing with omissions or grammatical errors.

When the Committee stage has been concluded, the Bill is reported to the Synod, and a day - usually the third day - is fixed for the remaining stages.

On the third day the Report stage is taken. Any amendments which have been lodged with the honorary secretaries before the close of business on the second day will appear on the supplemental agenda paper for the third day. After these amendments have been disposed of - or immediately if there are not any amendments - the Synod proceeds to the Third Reading. At this stage, debate is confined to the provisions of the Bill, and at its conclusion the motion "That the Bill be now read a third time and passed" is put to the Synod.

A simple majority of the House of Representatives is required to pass any and every motion during the passage of a Bill through the Synod, except when

a vote by orders has been requisitioned by ten members of either order (which may be done on any motion), in which case a simple majority of each order, voting separately, is required.
a two-thirds majority of each order, voting separately, is required to pass the Second Reading and the Third Reading of a Bill which proposes a modification or alteration in the articles, doctrines, rites, rubrics or formularies of the Church.

For fuller information on Bill procedure reference should be made to Part II of Chapter I of the Constitution and to the Standing Orders. A leaflet on Bill procedure is available on application to the Honorary Secretaries.

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