|
Committees
and Commissions
The
Synod of the Trinity has numerous committees and commissions
to assist in carrying out the mission of the Synod.
Below are descriptive paragraphs of the purpose, responsibilities
and composition of each of the following groups:
Committee
on Ecumenical Relations
The
purpose of the Ecumenical Relations Committee of the Synod
of the Trinity is to
work
with the Synod Co-Executive(s) to coordinate the Synod’s
relationship to the Pennsylvania Council of Churches and
the West Virginia Council of Churches.
The
responsibilities of the Ecumenical Relations Committee include
the following:
- Review,
coordinate and evaluate the work of the two State Councils
of Churches;
- Publicize
events, programs and actions of the Councils;
- Recommend
to the Synod persons to serve on the State Councils; and
- Recommend
funding to the Synod.
The
Ecumenical Relations Committee shall be composed of six
persons appointed by
the
Moderator of the Synod on a three-year rotation basis who
will be eligible for re-appointment once. No more than four
persons will be from either of the states. The Synod Co-Executive(s)
shall serve as staff resource for the Committee.
Committee
on Presbytery Records
The
Committee on Presbytery Records shall conduct an annual
review of presbytery records as prescribed by the Rules
of Discipline (D-3.0100c). The Committee shall
review
the minutes of the presbyteries, and a statement attesting
to the review shall
be
signed by the Committee Chairperson or the Chairperson's
designee. The report of
the
Committee shall be circulated to each presbytery annually
for reaction on the part of the presbytery. Any request
for a presbytery to remove or modify an exception shall
be directed to the Stated Clerk of the Synod for further
consideration by the Synod.
The
official action of the Synod, with regard to the presbytery
minutes, shall be communicated to each presbytery through
its Stated Clerk and the action of Synod recorded in the
minutes of the next stated meeting of the presbytery.
The
Committee on Presbytery Records shall consist of a Chairperson
elected by Synod
for a three-year term, with the members being the Stated
Clerk of each presbytery and the Stated Clerk of Synod.
The chairperson shall not serve more than two consecutive
terms.
Committee
on Representation
(per
Book of Order, G-9.0105)
To
assist in carrying out the church's commitment to inclusiveness,
(Book of Order,
G-4.0403
and G-9.0104) the Synod's Committee on Representation (COR)
exists and functions in accordance with the criteria and
guidelines set forth in the Synod's Standing Rule 37.01
and as set forth in the Synod's COR Manual of Operations.
The
main function of the Synod COR is to advise the Synod Nominating
Committee regarding the effectiveness of, and adherence
to, the principles of participation and inclusiveness within
the membership of Synod committees, subcommittees, teams,
and task forces, in order to ensure fair and effective representation
in church decision making.
The
committee is to be composed of nine members, in three classes
of three persons each, with each class serving a three-year
term. However, the Synod's recent season of Sabbath,
and the extension of the length of service of committee
members while the Synod's self-study was conducted, left
the committee in need of new committee members when the
new structure began. New committee members are currently
being sought. Once the committee is back to its full
compliment of members, it will schedule a time to convene,
elect a Chair at its first meeting, and again take up its
tasks on behalf of the church and the Synod.
Communications
Review Task Force
The
purpose of the Communications Review Task Force is to review
the communication needs of the Synod of the Trinity and
to make recommendations to the Synod for a comprehensive
communication strategy.
The
responsibilities of the Communication Review Task Force
include:
- Carry
out a comprehensive review of the communication needs
of the Synod
in light of the new Synod structure, including:
(a) The report from the 2001 Communication Consultation;
(b) The 1997 Doug Bedell Communication Assessment; and
(c) The present Synod communication system, including
the website.
- Compose
recommendations and a timeline for implementation for
a Synod
of the Trinity Communication Plan.
The
Task Force shall be composed of five persons chosen by the
Transition Task Force. The Synod Co-Executive(s) and appropriate
office staff person(s) will provide staff support to the
Task Force.
Finance
& Budget Committee
This
Committee shall have oversight of the fiscal operations
of the Synod. Further details about the composition,
duties, and responsibilities of the Finance & Budget
Committee will be forthcoming.
Grants
& Scholarships Review Committee
The
purpose
of the Grants and Scholarships Committee of the Synod of
the Trinity is
to
provide general coordination and oversight for the Synod
scholarships and grants programs.
The
responsibilities of this Committee include:
-
Provide oversight for all Synod grants programs, including
Mission Program Grants and other church development grants,
Hunger, Peacemaking, Mission Travel and other grants programs
that exist or may be established by the Synod. Specific
responsibilities include:
a. Establish review teams for each grant program;
b. Regularly review policies and procedures for
all grant programs;
c. Coordinate publicity for all grant programs;
d. Receive recommendations from appropriate review
teams and make
final decisions related to grants
applications; and
e. Report all decisions to the Synod for information.
- Provide
oversight
for Synod Scholarship programs, including the Synod of
the Trinity Educational Scholarship, the Racial Ethnic
Educational Scholarship, the Rusch-Shepard Memorial Scholarship,
the Mary Meade Maxwell Church Vocation Scholarship, the
Mary L. Clark Ministry Study Grant, and any other scholarship
programs that may be established by the Synod.
a. Establish review teams for each scholarship program;
b. Regularly review policies and procedures for
all scholarship programs;
c. Coordinate publicity for scholarship programs;
d. Receive recommendations from appropriate review
teams and make final
decisions related to scholarship
applications; and
e. Report all decisions to the Synod for information.
The
Grants and Scholarships Review Committee of the Synod of
the Trinity shall consist of nine persons appointed by the
Moderator of the Synod who will serve on a three-year rotation
basis. Members shall be eligible to serve two terms.
At least four committee members shall be racial ethnic minority
persons.
Nominating
Committee
Some
of the tasks of the Nominating Committee for elections for
Synod positions are:
1. Nominate a Moderator
and Vice Moderator to the Synod, with regard for
diversity and inclusiveness. The nomination of a Vice
Moderator shall
ensure laity/clergy balance;
2. Determine the rotation of presbytery representatives
on Synod committees;
3. Nominate the chairpersons for Synod committees
to the Synod, for election
at the first meeting of the year;
4. Nominate members
of the Committee on Representation, in accordance with
Standing Rule 23.33;
5. For the Permanent
Judicial Commission: Nominate, through the presbyteries,
twelve members for six-year non-renewable terms serving
in equal classes.
No more than one member should be from the same presbytery;
6. For the Committee
on Presbytery Records: Nominate the Chairperson;
7. The Nominating Committee
shall nominate, for election by Synod, persons
to fill all Synod positions not otherwise provided for in
these standing rules.
The
Nominating Committee shall choose from among its members
one person to serve
in
an ex-officio capacity with the Committee on Representation.
The
Nominating Committee shall annually present to Synod the
names of representatives to the Pennsylvania Council of
Churches' Board of Directors. These shall be the Synod
Co-Executive(s) and one layperson, plus additional representatives
according to the formula determined by the Council.
At least one of the additional representatives shall be
either a woman, a youth, or a racial ethnic person.
The
Committee shall nominate to Synod persons for each of the
program committees
of
the Pennsylvania Council of Churches.
The
Committee shall also present to Synod the names of eight
representatives, two
from
the Presbytery of Upper Ohio Valley and six from the Presbytery
of West Virginia
to
the West Virginia Council of Churches.
In
presenting these nominations, the Committee will consult
with Synod Staff. When additional or emergency representation
to the Pennsylvania Council of Churches is needed, the Moderator,
in consultation with the Chairperson of the committee responsible
for ecumenical relations and the Co-Synod Executive(s),
shall appoint such
persons as may be required.
The
Nominating Committee will present nominations for election
by Synod to the Board of Directors of the Westminster Foundation
of West Virginia in accordance with the by-laws of that
organization.
Synod
representatives to General Assembly entities will be nominated
by this Committee upon the request of the General Assembly
Nominating Committee.
The
Nominating Committee shall consist of nine persons in three-year
terms, elected
by
the Synod according to Form of Government 9.0800.
One-third shall be lay men,
one-third
shall be lay women, and one-third shall be clergy.
The Nominating Committee of Synod shall indicate to each
presbytery which of these three categories it is to nominate.
In addition, one member of the Committee on Representation,
chosen by that
committee, shall serve on the Nominating Committee in an
ex-officio capacity. The
Nominating Committee shall elect its own Chairperson and
Clerk annually from among its membership. No one may
serve concurrently as a Synod commissioner and also as a
member of the Nominating Committee.
Permanent
Judicial Commission
This
is the court of judicial process for the Synod. It
shall function as directed in Chapter Four of the Rules
of Discipline.
The
Permanent Judicial Commission's responsibility is to meet
to consider cases brought before it. If there are
no cases, it may meet for education and training.
The
Commission is staffed by the Stated Clerk, and it shall
consist of twelve members elected for six-year terms, serving
in equal classes. Each class will contain two ministers
of the Word and Sacrament and two elders. Members
shall be nominated by Synod's Nominating Committee and elected
by Synod, giving due attention to the principles of inclusivity
set forth in Form of Government Chapter 4.0400 and elsewhere,
as well as to a rotation of members among the various presbyteries
of the Synod. No person having served on the Permanent
Judicial Commission for a full term of six years shall be
eligible for re-election until four years have elapsed.
The Commission shall elect from among its members a Moderator
and a Clerk. In case a time should arise when the
Permanent Judicial Commission has no Moderator, the Stated
Clerk shall be authorized to convene the Commission and
preside for the election of a Moderator.
Personnel
Committee
The
purpose of the Personnel Committee is to oversee, support
and review the structure and management of staff relationships
and performance.
The
responsibilities of the Committee include the following:
-
Oversee the process of managing relationships and performance
of the
Synod exempt and non-exempt staff;
-
Provide for annual and comprehensive evaluations of the
work of staff, in consultation with the appropriate committees,
task forces, and supervisory staff;
- Propose
personnel policies to the Synod;
- Propose
compensation levels (ranges for each factored position)
to the Synod;
- Recommend
adjustment in compensation for each employee;
- Resource
Synod search committees and be available to train and
assist
presbytery search committees, as requested;
- Conduct
periodic review of the current staffing model; make appropriate
recommendations to the Synod;
- Ensure
that job descriptions for Synod staff are reviewed frequently
and
kept current; make appropriate recommendations to the
Synod;
- Provide
reports of anticipated needs to the Finance and Budget
Committee
and the Planning, Evaluation and Review Committee;
- Implement
the consultation with presbyteries called for in the Book
of Order
on the election of executives (G9.0701b); on the establishment
of administrative staff positions, equitable compensation,
personnel policies, and fair employment practices (G-9.0404
and G-12.0102f); and on the employment of all personnel
(G-11.0303);
- Review
grievances as provided in personnel policies.
The
Personnel Committee shall have nine members, including a
chairperson, in equal classes serving three-year terms,
elected by the Synod according to the rotation among the
presbyteries specified by the Nominating Committee.
The length of service for each member shall be limited to
two terms of three years each.
Self-Development
of People Committee
The
purpose of this Committee is to review grant applications
which are intended to assist projects for and by poor and
disadvantaged people within the bounds of the Synod of the
Trinity. The Committee is part of and funded by the
Presbyterian Church (USA) National Self-Development of People.
A
major responsibility of this Committee is to establish partnerships
through outreach, solidarity, and financial support, with
groups of people who are oppressed by poverty
or
social systems, who want to take charge of their own lives
and who have organized
to
affect their own conditions.
The
Committee will be composed of a minimum of nine and a maximum
of thirty-one members; at least 75% of those members will
be members of the Presbyterian Church (USA), and a majority
of the members will be of a racial-ethnic mix designated
by the national office. Every other year the Synod's
Committee must be recertified by the national office, and
a
training session must take place for committee members every
two years.
TAS2TE
of Ministry Administrative Committee
The
purpose of the TAS2TE of Ministry Administrative Committee
is to provide administrative oversight, program coordination,
and ongoing leadership decision-making for the program.
The
responsibilities of the Committee include the following:
- Establish
criteria for persons serving on the Leadership Teams;
- Establish
a rotation system for the Leadership Teams;
- Coordinate
arrangements for the meeting site;
- Annually
choose persons to serve on Leadership Teams for TAS2TE
I, II and III;
- Provide
periodic review of the curriculum;
- Conduct
financial oversight and make budget recommendations to
the Synod;
- Execute
contracts for site, facilities, and contract staff;
- Provide
publicity, program interpretation, and marketing; and
- Manage
research and development for the program.
The
TAS2TE of Ministry Administrative Committee shall be composed
of six persons elected by presbyteries on a three-year rotation
basis.
Back
to "About Us" |
