39th General Council

The memorandum below was sent by General Secretary Nora Sanders to Presbytery Secretaries and Conference Executive Secretaries on December 3, 2007:

Greetings to you as we enter this season of Advent.

Enclosed you find six (6) Remits [PDF: 10 pp/46 KB] which were authorized to be sent to Presbyteries by the 39th General Council, meeting in August 2006 in Thunder Bay, Ontario. You will also find attached six (6) voting sheets upon which to record your "yes" or your "no" vote, together with the return information and deadline.

Each Remit contains:

1. a brief summary of the action of the 39th General Council,
2. the current wording of relevant sections of the Basis of Union,
3. the proposed new wording of the same sections, and
4. a question for you to discuss.

When voting, you are considering both the question posed, as well as the proposed new wording of The Basis of Union.

The results of the votes for the Remits will be reported to the 40th General Council when it meets in Kamloops, B.C. in August 2009.

If a particular Remit receives at least a simple majority, the General Council may decide to go ahead with the change. If the Remit does not receive a simple majority, the General Council cannot approve the change.

Your participation in this process is a vital contribution to the work of the 40th General Council, for the Commissioners who will gather in Kamloops to discern God’s will for our church.

May God’s blessing be upon each of you as you engage in this ministry of administration in the name of The United Church of Canada.