I
PREAMBLE
II
FUNCTION AND STRUCTURE
(Who, How, When)
a) Immediate need for pastoral care: Illness, Funeral, Crisis Counseling, and Weddings.
b) Personal or family illness.
c) Unexpected business demands.
d) Extraordinary distance to travel by those laboring outside the bounds of Presbytery.
e) Honorably retired.
III
OFFICERS
1.
The Stated Clerk shall be allowed a
compensation for
his services, a sum for the necessary expenses of the office and a sum
for
secretarial support as fixed by the Presbytery.
His duties are:
a)
To keep a record of all proceedings of
Presbytery and
to submit the same annually to the General Assembly for review.
b)
To refer all communications to the proper
Committees as
they are received.
c)
To report on requests for excused absences
from
meetings of Presbytery with recommendations on how to handle.
d)
To prepare and distribute to Sessions and
Teaching
Elders a copy of the minutes of Presbytery within forty-five (45) days
after
each meeting.
e)
To file one copy of the minutes of
Presbytery with the
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly.
Three copies will be retained for the Review of Presbytery
Records
Committee of the General Assembly.
f)
To handle all correspondence addressed to
the
Presbytery and for the Presbytery.
g)
To serve as an ex-officio member of the
Court Duties
Committee.
h)
To serve as Parliamentarian for Presbytery
Meetings,
unless the Moderator appoints someone else.
i) To prepare the docket,
distribute supporting documents;
mail notice of meetings to include time, date, and directions to the
meeting to
Teaching Elders and Clerks of Session ten (10) days prior to the next
meeting.
j)
To prepare, publish and distribute a
directory of
Presbytery annually.
k)
To notify in writing fifteen (15) days
after the
meeting of Presbytery each member who has been elected or appointed to
a
committee of Presbytery.
l)
To refer all communications to the proper
Committees,
when practicable, prior to meeting of Presbytery and report such
referrals to
Presbytery.
m)
To report to Presbytery all other
communications
intended for the court.
n)
To properly sign and issue all papers
authorized by
Presbytery and to also cause to be signed all papers requiring the
signature of
the Moderator or Trustees of the Presbytery.
o)
To maintain a website for the Presbytery.
p)
To maintain the Presbytery rolls and to
submit the
annual enrollment report to the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly.
1.
The Recording Clerk and the Assistant
Recording Clerk
shall be elected at the October Meeting and shall serve for a period of
three
years.
2.
The recording clerks may be re-elected by a
two-thirds
(2/3) vote of the members of Presbytery present and voting.
Duties are:
a) Responsibility for taking accurate minutes of the proceedings of the meetings of the Presbytery as directed by the Stated Clerk.
b) Transmitting completed copy of the minutes to the Stated Clerk within thirty (30) days after each meeting.
c) The Recording Clerk shall serve as the webmaster for the Presbytery’s website.
Duties are:
a) To keep accurate records of all income and expenses for the Presbytery.
b) To disburse funds based on line items in the Presbytery Budget or other specific Presbytery action or adjustments made by a Presbytery committee. A committee may adjust the line item amounts in its portion of the Budget as long as the total amount budgeted to the committee is not increased and the adjustment is approved by at least 2/3 of the Committee present when a quorum exists. Budget adjustments are to be communicated to the Treasurer and reported to Presbytery at the next stated meeting.
IV
COMMITTEES
A. Permanent Committees of the Presbytery shall consist of the following six:
B. Membership in each Committee shall consist of two classes except for the Candidates and Credentials Committee, the Court Duties Committee, the Joint RUF Committee, and the Ministerial and Church Relations Committee which shall consist of three. Each committee shall have two Teaching and two Ruling Elders per class, each class serving the number of years equal to the number of classes for their committee. Ideally, the Mission of Presbytery Committee will consist of 2 REs and 2 TEs from each of the 3 regional networks. Class members shall be elected at the October Stated Meeting of Presbytery each year and can serve consecutively for no more than six years. A committee is authorized to carry on its business even if vacancies exist in its membership so long as its membership includes at least one Teaching Elder and one Ruling Elder per class. Vacancies may be filled by Presbytery at any meeting.
C. A Committee quorum shall include at least two Teaching Elders and two Ruling Elders.
D. Committees are required by Presbytery to provide written reports to the Stated Clerk a minimum of 15 days prior to a stated meeting to be produced and distributed by the Stated Clerk.
E. The expenses of the committee are to be borne by the Presbytery.
F. New members elected to the committees at the October meeting will begin participating on the committee at the January meeting.
G. Attendance by teaching and ruling elders is expected at all Presbytery Committee meetings. Exceptions for excused absences are to be made to the committee’s chairman before the meeting. The following guidelines are valid excuses for absences from such meetings.
1. Immediate need for pastoral care: (Funeral, Illness, Crisis Counseling, and Weddings).
2. Personal or family illness.
3. Unexpected business demand
4. Extraordinary distance to travel by those laboring outside the bounds of Presbytery.
H. Excuses for excused absences are to be made to the chairman prior to the meeting.
V
COMMITTEE ON COURT DUTIES
The
functions of this committee include the
following:
VI
COMMITTEE ON MISSION OF PRESBYTERY
The
functions of this committee include the
following:
A. To identify communities within the bounds of Presbytery that need new congregations and that could benefit most from Presbytery-wide funding and oversight. To work with and encourage churches and church partnerships that desire to plant daughter churches. To oversee the development of church planting projects approved by Presbytery. This committee is also responsible for Youth Work, as well as Youth Camps, for Presbytery. It also seeks to encourage and promote at the presbytery level all areas of ministry for which the PCA Committee on Mission to North America is responsible.
B. To encourage support of the Committee on Mission to North America of the General Assembly.
C. To propose budgets for church planting works and assist the church planter in seeking funds needed from Presbytery, churches, and individuals.
D. To recruit qualified men to serve as church planters; to refer all candidates for church planting to the Candidates and Credential’s Committee prior to calling them for church planting.
E. To recommend to presbytery the method of oversight for mission churches according to BCO 5.3.
VII
COMMITTEE ON MISSION TO THE WORLD
The functions of the
committee include the following:
A. To keep the churches of Presbytery aware of the challenges and needs of World Missions, to encourage support of the Committee on Mission to the World of the General Assembly.
B. To encourage annual World Missions emphasis in each church.
C. To publicize annually a report of the names of missionaries receiving support from the churches of Presbytery and distribute this report among the churches of Presbytery.
D. To emphasize the annual offering for World Relief.
E. To identify eligible missionaries and arrange their itineration among the churches of Presbytery.
F. To correspond with and encourage missionaries who are members of the Presbytery.
G. To keep Presbytery informed of new developments in the program of the General Assembly’s Mission to the World Committee.
H. To plan for and arrange annually a Presbytery Conference for members of World Missions Committees in the local Churches for the purposes of updating information, exchanging ideas and input for the area World Missions Conferences and local Church World Mission Conferences.
VIII
COMMITTEE ON CANDIDATES AND CREDENTIALS
The functions of this committee include the following.
A. To carry out the provisions of BCO 19-2a and 19-2b for licensure and internship. To receive letters on all licentiates annually.
B. To oversee the internship of each Licentiate according to the formula approved by the Presbytery.
C. To act as a commission of Presbytery (BCO Chapter 15) to dismiss Licentiates and Candidates under care. The Committee will inform the Stated Clerk of its actions immediately and will report its actions to the Presbytery at the next Stated Meeting.
D. To examine Candidates for ordination (BCO Chapter 17). To carry out the provisions of BCO Chapter 21. To recommend the time of ordination and installation and the election of a commission to act for Presbytery in this matter.
E. To examine ministers called to Churches in the Presbytery or to other approved ministries. To carry out the provisions of BCO Chapter 21. To recommend a time for the installation service and the election of a Commission to act for Presbytery in the matter (BCO Chapter 15).
F. To present ministers being called to the Presbytery after verifying their credentials. The Presbytery will not ordain/approve a man to work outside the bounds of Presbytery until that work has been approved by the Presbytery.
IX
COMMITTEE ON MINISTERIAL AND CHURCH RELATIONS
The functions of this
committee include the following:
A. To provide effective orientation for new Ministers. To provide oversight for all Teaching Elder members of the Presbytery in service out of bounds or without call.
B. To provide oversight for all Teaching Elder members of Presbytery in service out of bounds or without call and, at his request any Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church in America who resides in the bounds of this Presbytery though his membership is elsewhere.
C. To approve changes of calls for JRP Assistant and Associate Pastors who are called to an Associate or Full Pastoral position within Presbytery. To approve a time for the installation service and the election of a commission to act for Presbytery in the matter. BCO Chapter 15)
D. To carry out the provisions of BCO Chapter 23 regarding dissolution of Pastoral relations and to determine that both the Pastor and Congregation has acted in accordance with BCO. To report the action to Presbytery for concurrence. Upon action of the Presbytery the Stated Clerk is authorized to send letters of the Dismissal to the receiving Presbytery. The Presbytery shall appoint an interim moderator for the session.
E. To act as a Commission of Presbytery (BCO Chapter 15) in the dissolving of pastoral relationships in cases where the Pastor and Congregation concur, or where no Congregation is concerned, to dismiss ministers. The Commission will report its actions to Presbytery at the next Stated Meeting, where, if approved they become the action of Presbytery.
F. The Procedure listed below will be followed by Pastors and the Committee in the dissolution of Pastoral Relations. (These rules are not additions to the Constitution of the Church but are the Presbytery’s statement of how it will implement the duties required by the Constitution, and therefore may be waived upon a two-thirds vote of Presbytery so long as the requirements of the Constitution are themselves maintained, CF BCO Chapter 23).
1. A Teaching Elder shall tender his resignation in writing, not to his congregation, but to the Presbytery (BCO 32-1), specifically to the Ministerial and Church Relations Committee.
2. If the resignation is in order, the committee will so inform the Session of the Church which should then call a Congregational Meeting for the purpose of the Congregation either contesting or concurring with the resignation.
3. The Congregation should then communicate its action to the Committee through its commissioners, either in writing or in person.
4. If all parties concur, the Committee will then, as a Commission of Presbytery, dissolve the relation effective on the date requested.
5. Notice also the provision of BCO 23-1: “In any case the Minister must not physically leave the field until Presbytery or its Commission empowered to handle uncontested requests for dissolution has dissolved the relation.”
6. In all cases it is very important that these steps be followed in order. Otherwise the rights and responsibilities of all parties are compromised.
a) of the pastor
b) of the Congregation to contest the dissolution or not
c) of the Presbytery to evaluate the situation and act accordingly
d) of the Congregation in acting to secure a Stated Supply and erect a Pulpit Committee.
G. When a Pastor or Church first begins to consider dissolution of the Pastoral Relation, for the peace and purity of the Church, this Committee should be informed.
H. To counsel a Church without a Pastor to carry out the provisions of BCO Chapter 20. The Session shall notify the Committee of its needs and should seek the counsel of this Committee regarding both a Minister and Pulpit Supply. The Committee will confer with the Minister elect and the Session concerning the terms of Call.
I. To inquire and offer counsel, at the invitation of the Minister or Session or at the instruction of Presbytery when Congregations encounter problems or when a Minister encounters problems personally or in relationship with his Congregation. If it deem wise the Committee shall report on the matter to the Presbytery with recommendation for further procedures.
J. To receive and report to Presbytery, with or without recommendation, any communication dealing with a possible change in a TE’s views in regard to the constitutional standards.
K. Any inquiry of a particular church concerning membership in James River Presbytery will begin in this Committee. However all examinations of Teaching and Ruling Elders will be handled by the Candidates and Credentials Committee of this Presbytery.
L. To encourage Churches seeking Ministers to secure data forms from the clerk of the General Assembly before approaching a candidate.
M. To keep Ministers and Churches informed of the ministry and services of the Board of Annuities and Relief for the General Assembly.
X
JOINT COMMITTEE ON REFORMED UNIVERSITY MINISTRIES
The functions of this
committee include the following:
A. To act in a sessional manner on behalf of the Blue Ridge and James River Presbyteries and to provide oversight, accountability, and encouragement to the campus ministers and their ministries.
B. To prepare, submit, and oversee the budgets of each campus ministry.
C. To care for each campus minister and his family through regular communication, campus visits, and prayer.
D. To take responsibility for and give assistance to each campus ministry’s financial outlook and development efforts.
E. To care for and give oversight to any campus interns who are placed within the bounds of our Presbytery.
F. To recruit, through cooperation with RUM nationally, new campus ministers for colleges and universities across our Presbytery.
G. To work with and serve local churches and laity through educating them about the PCA’s college ministry, and about what steps are involved in beginning a new campus work within the bounds of our Presbyteries.
H. To promote the vision of RUF across our Presbytery, seek increased support among our churches for our denomination’s college ministry.
I. To maintain a balance between the expansion of this Gospel ministry across the Blue Ridge and James River Presbyteries and fiscal responsibility.
J. To maintain the Affiliation Agreement between our Presbyteries and RUF nationally, serving as liaisons with and conduits for RUF nationally and our Presbyteries.
The Presbytery may establish Ad-Interim Committees and Commissions to deal with matters before it at any time, with the following limitations:
A. Each
Committee shall consist of at least
two Teaching Elders and two Ruling Elders.
Each Commission shall consist of at least three Teaching Elders
and
three Ruling Elders.
B. A quorum shall consist of at least two Teaching Elders and two Ruling Elders, except for a Committee of four members, in which case any three members shall constitute a quorum. Presbytery may establish a larger quorum so long as it consists of an equal number of Teaching Elders and Ruling Elders.
C. The Moderator shall appoint the members of a Committee. Presbytery shall elect the members of a Commission.
D. The Moderator shall appoint the convener of a Committee or Commission. At its first meeting, the Committee or Commission shall elect its chairman and recording clerk.
E. No Committee or Commission may continue past the next two stated meetings of Presbytery except as authorized by a majority vote of Presbytery at the meeting during which the term of the Committee or Commission is otherwise to expire.
F.
The
Committee or Commission shall report to the next stated meeting of
Presbytery
and each such meeting thereafter until it has submitted its final
report. The final report shall contain at
least a
summary of actions; conclusions; and recommendations and advice, if any. The Committee or Commission shall strive
toward submission of its report no later than two weeks prior to the
meetings.
Last amendment was made on January 17, 2009