General Assembly Annual Meetings 2003 - Edinburgh

General Assembly of Unitarian
and Free Christian Churches

2003 Annual General Meetings - Edinburgh









 

MOTIONS FOR THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2003

Motions In accordance with the GA Constitution: motions for the Annual Meeting should be received by the General Secretary on or before 14 February 2003 giving the names of the proposer and seconder. Background papers on the motions are requested, but are not a formal requirement.

(a) Motions submitted by district associations or affiliated societies must be supported by a majority of the relevant governing body of the association or society. They should be submitted officially by the Secretary or Chair of the body.

(b) Motions submitted by congregations or fellowships must have been adopted by vote of a general meeting of the congregation or fellowship. They should be submitted officially by the Secretary or Chair of the group.

(c) Motions submitted by ministers, lay pastors, lay leaders or Council members must be endorsed by at least twelve such individual voting members of the Assembly and their signatures should be appended to the motions received by the General Secretary. Requisite notice of motions submitted will be given by circular and in The Inquirer at least thirty days before the start of the Meetings.

Motions received for the Annual Meetings 2003

The following motions had been received by the deadline for the 2003 Annual Meetings:

1) FROM THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY COUNCIL

That this General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches is pleased to receive the application for membership as a Provisional Fellowship from The Unitarian Fellowship of Durham and welcomes it onto the General Assembly’s Roll of Congregations.

2) FROM THIRTEEN FULL MEMBERS

That this General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches votes to change our system of governance to have a nationally elected full-time paid leadership, and instructs Council to develop proposals for presentation and ratification at the 2004 Annual Meetings.

3) FROM THE EAST MIDLAND UNITARIANS

That this General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, whilst welcoming the generous grant from a charitable trust to continue a fortnightly edition of The Inquirer until August 2004, urges the Inquirer Board to seek ways to continue this commitment which we, the East Midland Unitarians, consider vital to the movement.

4) FROM THE FOY SOCIETY

That this General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, mindful of the importance of representative Annual Meetings to the vitality of our movement, instructs the General Assembly Council to set criteria for future Annual Meetings which will ensure that venues and pricing structures are selected which offer low cost options with a view to maximising attendance.

5) FROM THE RICHMOND AND PUTNEY UNITARIAN CHURCH

That this General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, mindful of the danger to world peace from the stockpiling of weapons brokered through the international arms trade:

  • calls on all members to support efforts by Oxfam, Amnesty International, the International Action Network on Small Arms and others to secure a new International Arms Trade Treaty to stop the flow of arms to potentially abusive regimes;

  • notes the legislation passed by the British Government during the year 2002 with a view to government control of intended arms export on the part of agents operating within British jurisdiction;

  • regrets the incomplete range of this legislation;

  • and, while welcoming the recent international conference convened by the British Government on arms control, urges Her Majesty’s Government to strengthen its legislation and its implementation;

  • and furthermore urges it, as representing the world’s second largest arms-exporting country, to press for new international controls over arms sales.

6) FROM THE MIDLAND UNION

That this General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, recognising the uncertainty caused by the fundamental changes in Charity Law now envisaged by the Government, the approaching demise of those smaller Congregations unlikely to survive the death of their aging memberships and the reduced financial and staffing capacity of Essex Hall to cope with tasks which could be undertaken without charge by the Charity Commission:

Urges every Congregation which has not already done so to take immediate steps to ensure that:

  1. Its bookkeeping and Annual Report & Accounts fully comply with statutory requirements.

  2. Its Constitution complies with best modern practice in defining the policies and procedures required to administer its affairs and in particular that this includes a Winding Up Clause guiding future trustees about the disposal of its assets in a manner designed to continue the work of the Unitarian Movement.

  3. It is well-placed, where permitted to do so, to register as a Charity in its own right, thus relieving Essex Hall of the cost and responsibility of annually checking its Report and Accounts and for certifying to the Charity Commission its compliance with Charity Regulations.

7) FROM TWELVE FULL MEMBERS

That this General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches affirms the importance of Ministry in the Unitarian Movement and the desirability of this being reflected in its structures. Accordingly, it requests the Council to ensure that the work of the Ministry Committee is continued in a unified way, either as a Ministry Commission, or, failing this, incorporated into one other Commission.

PROCEDURAL MOTIONS

  1. That Reverend Austin C Fitzpatrick be appointed President of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches for the year 2003-2004.

  2. That this seventy-fourth General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches expresses its gratitude for the services provided by the Alan Ruston as President during the year 2002-2003.

  3. That the Dawn Buckle be appointed as Vice-President for the year 2003-2004.

  4. That the Thanks of the Assembly be given to Michael J Tomlin for his services as Honorary Treasurer, to district association and local treasurers and collectors for their help.

  5. That Michael J Tomlin be appointed Honorary Treasurer for the year 2003-2004.

  6. That Messrs Edmund Gibbs & Co be re-appointed as Auditors.

  7. That the Report of the General Assembly Council and the Accounts of the General Assembly be received and adopted.

  8. That greetings be sent to kindred churches and societies abroad.

  9. That the thanks of the Assembly be given to the Rev Jane Barton for conducting the Anniversary Service, and to the Rev John Clifford for preaching the Assembly Sermon.

  10. That the thanks of the Assembly be given to Kerr Jamieson, organist for the Anniversary Service, and to local Unitarians who arranged other music for the Meetings.

  11. That the thanks of the Assembly be given to all the local Unitarians, especially from the sponsoring district, the Scottish Unitarian Association, for their inestimable help in organising the Meetings.

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