World Affairs Committee

MANDATE

AIMS
The aim of the World Affairs Committee is to connect the missiology (the theology of mission), and the life and work of The United Church of Canada and its global partners with Toronto Conference, its Presbyteries, Presbyterials, Mission Units, and Pastoral Charges. The World Affairs Committee works with the Justice, Global and Ecumenical Relations Unit in the integration into its life and work of an analysis of economic justice, care for the integrity of God's creation, gender justice through the lens of the Gender Justice & Partnership Guidelines of the former D.W.O., systemic justice, racial justice, people to people exchanges, and a partnership model for mission.

Following the lead of the Toronto Conference Executive which has organized its work around the themes: nurturing spiritual life, developing healthy ministries, striving for justice, the World Affairs Committee has agreed to reflect in its mandate how our work reflects those themes. Primarily, the focus of the ministry of World Affairs is in striving for justice. The way in which it undertakes this ministry is meant to also nurture the spiritual life of people in the Conference, in part by expanding our experiences and understandings of God. Through the practice of partnership models of ministry, the World Affairs Committee assists the Conference in developing healthy ministries.

NURTURING SPIRITUAL LIFE

• Storytelling within Toronto Conference about global partnerships.
• Mission Education: Educational events including the Mission Study. Other areas might include education around other W.C.C. themes (Decade to Overcome Violence: Churches Seeking Reconciliation and Peace) or themes such as the Ecological Sabbath.
• Partnership Building: Education, support and facilitation of mutuality in mission, twinning, partner in residence, face to face, faith to faith, and other partnership opportunities.

DEVELOPING HEALTHY MINISTRIES

• Enabling communication on World Affairs issues to and from: pastoral charges, presbyteries, presbyterials, mission units, Justice, Global and Ecumenical Relations Unit, and ecumenical and interfaith networks, coalitions and partners.
• Liase with the following Conference committees: Church in Society, Inter-Church/Inter-Faith, Ethnic Ministries
• Support the presbyteries in the following ways:
  • consultation with presbytery representatives for the purpose of coordinating activities and developing support strategies
  • communicating and interpreting to the presbyteries the actions of General Council and its units and the actions of conference
  • communicate concerns and stories from pastoral charges and presbyteries to General Council and conference
    
• Support the Conference U.C.W. in the following ways
  • consultation with the U.C.W. representative to World Affairs for the purpose of coordinating activities and developing support strategies
  • communicating and interpreting to the U.C.W. representative to World Affairs the actions of General Council and its units and the actions of conference
  • communicate concerns and stories from Conference U.C.W. and its presbyterials to General Council and conference
    
• Mission Interpretation Coordination: Communicate with and support overseas personnel from Toronto Conference, distribution of letters from overseas personnel, provide a resource pool of speakers who may be returned overseas personnel, representatives from partner churches and agencies, or conference members with related experience
• Mission Personnel Facilitation: Discern with those seeking overseas ministry opportunities

STRIVING FOR JUSTICE

• Help our constituency understand the Global World & Church today.
• Research and Educate on Global Justice Issues: Promotion of resources to aid this
  e.g. Kairos (national ecumenical coalition formed July 2001), the Mission Study (Mandate Magazine), the Observer, the Globalization resource "To Seek Justice and Resist Evil"
• Prophetic Witnessing to governments, corporations and agencies, public
• Research and Action: raise awareness and act in solidarity
• Peace and Justice Working Group: Study and action group on peace and disarmament issues -Urgent Action Network: responding to crisis through letter writing, e-mails and faxes

MEMBERSHIP
As voting members
Chairperson - appointed by Conference
Five (5) Members at Large - appointed by Conference
Mission Personnel Facilitator
Mission Interpretation Coordinator
Urgent Action Network Coordinator
Liaison with Peace and Justice Working Group
Nine (9) Presbytery Representatives
Returned Overseas Personnel, as per policy
One (1) Conference U.C.W. Representative
Corresponding member: the Justice, Global and Ecumenical Relations Unit staff liaison.

A recorder will be appointed from within the committee.

Quorum will constitute one third of the voting membership

Approved by Toronto Conference Executive – April 10, 2002