THURSDAY'S NEWS

Motion limiting tenure withdrawn
(from Elaine Whitehouse, Communications Dept, RCB)

A motion seeking to limit to nine consecutive years the tenure of lay members of select vestries, diocesan and general synods and all other church committees was withdrawn following advice from the Assessor.

Mr Michael Davey advised the Synod that the tenure of members of select vestries, diocesan synods and the General Synod was governed by the Constitution of the Church of Ireland, which meant that a bill was required to effect changes and a motion would not suffice.

The Rev Kevin Brew of Connor Diocese, asking the Synod’s permission to withdraw Motion No 9, said he had been struck by a passage in the report of the Synodical Reform Working Group in which it was suggested that tenure might be limited to three triennia.

He cited the example of the Moravian Church, which was much smaller than the Church of Ireland but had recently passed legislation limiting tenure on its central bodies to nine years.

Mr Brew believed that the Church of Ireland should “have faith in what God could raise up” from among its members and he told the Synod that he would be bringing a bill in 2004 to make the changes.

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