Connexional Structures

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February 2017(updated May 2017)

CONNEXIONAL STRUCTURES

“There is widespread concern that the Methodist Church in Ireland is not effectively or fully aligned with God’s mission in Ireland. Yet increasingly we are seeking to respond to God’s gracious invitation to participate in His transformative mission to gather all humankind and all of creation into communion under the Lordship of Jesus Christ” (God’s Mission our Mission)

God is at work in and through the Methodist Church in Ireland; we see that in the faithful witness of congregations in villages, towns and cities across this island. We see and hear of God at work as lives are transformed, communities impacted through the work of Christians. We see God at work in congregations and individuals prayerfully wrestling with what it means to be faithful to God in their communities.

Our structures have served us well and hold within them principles which we need to preserve;

• we are a Connexion, which means that we support each other like a family does
• we make our decisions together so, under God, Conference is our authority and the place where final decisions are made
• local congregations are the focus of mission, and structures exist to resource those local congregations

However over many years Conference has kept coming back to the question; “Could we be organising ourselves better, particularly in a way that releases resources locally and which helps us respond to the challenges we are facing?”

2001 Conference Agenda makes reference to the need to streamline Connexional structures

2008 Conference debated a structure based on larger Circuits

2013 General Committee appoints a Working Party on Connexional Structures in the light of up-coming personnel changes

2014 General Committee appoints a Working Party on Accountability and a Working Party on Stationing who independently developed recommendations which had significant implications for the role of the District Superintendent

Our Connexion has been praying through and grappling with these issues for many years. This has been a long journey

Why do we need to change our structures?

These are some of the observations and comments which the Working Party has heard:

“I hope our minister isn’t elected as District Superintendent. He’s away too much already at Committees and that would make it even worse”

“Our Circuit is struggling, we know we need to do something but nothing changes”

“We felt alone when we faced conflict in our church”

“The Connexion doesn’t understand the challenges we are facing”

“We can’t get volunteers to serve on District Committees”

“We are so busy with Committees that we can’t get on with mission and witness”

Societies and Circuits are facing increasing complex challenges and opportunities. As a Connexion we are putting increasing pressure on our current District Superintendents who are usually carrying heavy Circuit responsibilities along with their District role. In addition, their period in office is often too short to allow for any development. For example, in the ten years to 2014 the Belfast District had seven different District Superintendents.

The Secretary of Conference has brought the challenges of our decline in membership to our attention. Many Districts are finding it difficult to fill the necessary District appointments. Even more importantly however, it is the view of the Working Party that not only are our current structures unsustainable, our structures, rather than supporting and releasing local societies for mission and service, are weighing us down and drawing people away from local needs and opportunities.

The aim of the proposals which are before us is to support local churches as they serve God in their communities through a structure which:

• is rigorous and provides accountability: Conference remains the place where final decisions are made
• comes alongside when we need support, for example when we face conflict or when we are grappling with difficult decisions
• provides consistent leadership: District Superintendents may serve for an initial period of five years with the possibility, after a Review, of an additional three years (After leaving office a District Superintendent may not be re-appointed for five years.) This time-frame allows the District Superintendent to know the District well and to offer support in enabling strategic, longer term vision.
• is responsive and allows both support and accountability for on-going change
• is outwardly focussed: the primary characteristic of the District Superintendent is that they are mission enablers
• is Connexional: the District Superintendent will know their District well, will make sure that the concerns and joys of their District are understood by the whole church and that the decisions Conference makes are implemented locally.
• supports circuits in implementing vision and managing change: One of the challenges which we face as a Connexion is that we are good at talking about vision and want to be faithful in responding to God but we are all, ordained and lay, very busy. So alongside development of vision, the District Superintendent will be key in implementation. This does not mean that they will do it all! It does mean that they, or their delegates will work alongside local churches enabling and encouraging them to do what God is calling them to do.

So what is being proposed?

(i)The joining of the eight current Districts into three geographically and numerically viable Districts

(ii)The appointment of a full-time separated District Superintendent for each District to provide oversight, leadership support and Connexional vision for the mission and ministry of Societies, Circuits and ministers.

(iii)The re-defining of the current District administrative layer to reflect contemporary practice and make it fit for purpose

(iv)The creation of a “Connexional Team” to enable more effective collaboration and efficient decision making across the Connexion. It is proposed that this will comprise of various Connexional roles along with the District Superintendents, working collaboratively, accountable to each other, and reporting to the General Committee and Conference.

This is what the proposed structure looks like:

This is simply an overview. Details are in the Report which came to Conference in 2016 and in the 2017 Conference Agenda

Frequently Asked Questions

As the members of the Working Party have gone to Synods, had conversations locally and received feedback a number of questions have come up again and again.

Do the proposals give too much authority to the District Superintendent?

The model being proposed is one of collaborative leadership, in which the District Superintendent enables and empowers the Societies on their District to do the work of ministry. The role of the District Superintendent is to offer supervision and support, not to micro-manage the Circuits on the District.

Conference is our authority as a Connexion. Within that, the Manual of Laws already gives significant authority to the District Superintendent, stating for example,that the District Superintendent “shall exercise careful supervision of the working of the Circuits under their jurisdiction” and that “A District Superintendent shall visit any Circuit in the District when he/she considers it desirable” (10.17)

These proposals maintain the principle that the Circuit Superintendent is responsible for the faithful administration of their Circuit. The District Superintendent can choose whether or not to attend Circuit Executive meetings and whether or not to chair but they will receive Minutes which will help them to understand and support each Circuit in its ministry.

This knowledge and understanding of the Circuits in their care will also help the District Superintendent in their role as Stationer and in the allocation of Home Mission grants which will also lie with the Connexional Team.

The removal of the District Synod does mean that that the District Superintendent is responsible for the communication between Circuits and Connexional Committees and Conference. In this they are the servant of Conference.

The proposed legislation contains checks and balances with the aim of ensuring that the relationship between District Superintendent and Circuit Superintendent is a good and supportive one

(i)The appointment process will look for people who are skilled in collaborative leadership

(ii)Should a Circuit Executive or Circuit Superintendent feel that a District Superintendent is acting unfairly or that they are holding back or disadvantaging the work of the Circuit, or that relationships have broken down, they will have the ability to bring the situation to the Connexional Team

But what happens if the District Superintendent and the Circuit Superintendent disagree?

If this were to happen, any minister or Circuit who feel themselves to be at odds with their District Superintendent will be able to appeal to the Connexional Team, and if needed to the General Committee and Conference.

Our church wants to build a new hall. What would the process be under the proposed legislation?

When the local Society believes that they need a new hall in order to fulfil their mission, it will be discussed at the Circuit Executive. The District Superintendent will need to be part of that discussion and may resource it by, for example, asking some property experts on the district to speak with the local Circuit to refine the plans. When the Circuit is agreed then the District Superintendent will take the proposals to the Connexional Property Board who will make their referrals and recommendations both to the Circuit and to Conference.

In this the DS acts in accordance with our existing legislation which makes it clear that the District Superintendent is responsible for ensuring that Circuit questions are referred in a timely and correct manner to the appropriate Connexional Committees and that Connexional policies are implemented on her/his District.

Does this mean that there will not be any more Synods?

There will no longer be Representative District Synods. However, we are a Connexion and it is important that we get to know each other beyond our own Societies and Circuits. Meeting together helps us to do that. So there will be Gatherings for planning, fellowship, inspiration and teaching. These may be for the whole District, if for example there is an issue which the District needs to think through together, or an issue which Conference has asked the District to discuss. There will be times when only part of the District gathers. It may be that the District Superintendent sees links in terms of interests or opportunities between Societies and Circuits which are not geographically side by side but in which circuits could be a support to each other and he/she may gather those Circuits. Districts will gather in different ways as guided by local needs and in ways which are supportive and useful.

Ministerial Synods will need to be held if there are candidates for the ordained ministry, to elect Ministerial representatives to Conference and unless otherwise arranged by the District Superintendentto deal with the questions of ministerial character and ability.

There will be some diversity in District gatherings because the needs of each District will be different. However the Connexion is clearly structured with clear lines of accountability and process. Our Connexional identity will be strengthened by the fact that the Connexional Team will be well informed as to the work of each District and, under God, will be developing our united strategic thinking.

But people won’t travel to District Gatherings if the Districts are as large as the Working Party is suggesting

Well we have to be honest and admit that on many existing Districts, we are not travelling for District meetings at the moment. Methodist people are committed to God and to the church and will travel for what matters to them. If Gatherings are for training, inspiration and prayer, the Working Party believe that people will travel, and that Connexionalism will be strengthened as our Gatherings and links become a real support rather than seen only as an administrative hoop.

The existing Midlands and Southern District which has such a strong District identity and sense of mutual support already shows how geographical boundaries can be overcome.

Surely the proposed Districts are too big?

The Western District is made up of 24 Circuits, the Eastern 27 and the Southern 18. These are obviously larger than our current Districts and each of them contains a range of cultures, interests and challenges. However, none of these proposed Districts has as many Societies as the Birmingham District, for example. Some British Methodist Districts also cover a large geographical area, Scotland is one District, as is Wales the East Anglia District is composed of the counties of Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk, the Northampton District is about 100 miles in length and is composed of 23 Circuits, but the number of Churches on each circuit ranges between 6 and 20. Our conversations with colleagues in the British Methodist Church indicate that the size of Districts which the Working Party is suggesting is manageable.

The new structures will encourage Circuits to work more closely together, and District Superintendents will be able to see similarities, in contexts, challenges and ideas between different Circuits and encourage them to support each other.

Are we asking too much of these new District Superintendents?

The job description is significant. The first two items on the “job description” are development and implementation of vision for the District. (This will involve the facilitation of Gatherings for strategic planning, fellowship and inspiration which that development and implementation demand). The DS is also aMission encourager and enabler. These aspects alone indicate that there will be a considerable workload. But many, ordained and lay, already carry significant workloads. The District Superintendent of the Western District and in particular the District Superintendent of the Southern District will have long distances to travel. However the road system is good, and, depending on where the District chooses to site the manse in the Southern District the vast majority of Circuits can be reached within 2 and a half hours driving.

District Superintendents will need to delegate and build teams. They may wish to appoint a Lay Leader on the District, or delegate some of their representative role to local Circuit Superintendents. All ministers need to discern and then focus on their priorities, and balance rest with work, this role will be no different.

What we are hearing at the moment is that added pressure is being placed on District Superintendents because their District responsibilities are taking them away from their circuits. Being stationed as District Superintendent in a fulltime capacity will take away that added pressure.

For how long will the District Superintendents serve?

The Working Party want to strike a balance between ensuring continuity, so that District Superintendents have time to get to know their Districts and work with them and wanting the roles to be shared rather than limited to a small group. So the proposal is that a District Superintendent would be appointed for a period of seven years, and that during the sixth year the District Superintendent Selection Panel will review the appointment and may issue an invitation to serve for a further three years. After leaving office a District Superintendent may not be re-appointed for five years.

What implications do these changes have for the role of the President?

The model which the Working Party is proposing is one of collaborate leadership therefore for their time of office the President will be part of a collaborative leadership team. The President will fulfil the representative role which they do at the moment. With the Lay Leader he will chair the meetings of the Connexional Team and will preside at Conference.

Some have asked whether we should move to a model of a longer period of office for the President. The Working Party is not bringing this recommendation. We believe that the continuity of leadership which such a move would give is provided for in the Connexional Team. Furthermore the financial and personnel implications mitigate against this proposal. For such a proposal, a manse would be required and an additional minister removed from Circuit,

What happens if a District Superintendent is elected as President?

If the District Superintendent is not able to serve in this role, either because they are elected as President or through illness, or Sabbatical, then the President on the advice of the Connexional Team, will appoint an ordained minister of the District to serve as Temporary District Superintendent on a part-time basis.

Why are there not equal numbers of lay and ordained people on the Connexional Team?

One of the strengths of Methodism is its emphasis on the priesthood of all believers and a desire to release all Christians, ordained and lay for the ministry into which God has called them. The appointment of the Lay Leader in recent years has rightly highlighted that emphasis. Our website clearly states “Lay and ordained people, both men and women are involved at decision making at all levels”. While the numbers are not equal these proposals do maintain that important principle.