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Elders' Corner
Elders, we seek your wisdom is a new feature of the Elders’
Institute. We present real life situations and ask how you would
address the situation should it occur in your congregation. There are
no trick questions. Likely, there will be not only one but many good
suggestions.
Please submit your answer or download the scenarios and take them to
your session for further discussion.
Let's hear from you!
Ruling elders have asked this question in different ways and in different places across the country:
I was ordained as an elder at my last church and was a ruling elder when we moved. I resigned as an elder just before we moved hoping to become a ruling elder at my new church. That was several years ago and I have never been elected as a ruling elder. What is my position in the Presbyterian Church having gone through being ordained as an elder and yet not being a ruling elder? I am sure this has happened to many, with people on the move more than ever. Also, with the new term service for elders, many elders in the Church become non-ruling elders after their term. In my home church they use nonruling elders (after their term) to fill in when needed, but since I was never a ruling elder at my home church, I am treated as just another parishioner. Are there any rules for us non-ruling elders?
The short answer is ruling elders are ordained for life but may be called to serve in various capacities throughout their lives. How do we balance adherence to our polity with pastoral care and concern? Some churches honour non-serving elders by naming them elders emeritus, using them as mentors to new members or young adults.
Click here to download the question (PDF).
Bronwyn, from Saanich Peninsula Presbyterian Church on Vancouver Island, replies as follows:
When you were ordained in your last church as an elder, you acknowledged the awesome responsibility of life long service to God as an elder. Now you have relocated to a new church. With this move comes a wondrous opportunity to serve with grace in capacities you may never have dreamed of.
Try to live each day secure in the knowledge that your spiritual leadership is given with humility and respect, compassion and understanding because God’s Grace surrounds you.
In His time, you may discover that you are called to consider active ruling eldership in this church. In the meantime, be at peace and do not fret over semantics and power of position.
Elizabeth Duncan, an elder at Varsity Acres Presbyterian Church in Calgary asks:
When it is time for an elder to relinquish his/her position in the rotation for term eldership, can he/she automatically remain on session at will, or must there be an election?
Don Muir, Associate Secretary and General Clerk of the General Assembly Office, gave this response:
Under the term service model for eldership, now employed by 180 sessions in our denomination, elders are ordained for life but serve on session for a term of six years at a time. Every two years, one third of the session fulfills its term.
At this point in the process, sessions are sometimes tempted to do one of two things.
1. Some sessions insist that elders who finish their term take a one-year sabbatical before they can be re-elected. This is contrary to our polity that states elders “may stand for re-election at the end of each term” (Book of Forms section 108). When an elder’s term ends, the elder is as eligible as any other member of the congregation to be elected to the session. Of course, an elder may choose not to be included on the ballot.
2. Other sessions assume that those who finish their term don’t need to be re-elected. They believe that if elders are willing to continue serving they may be automatically returned to the session for another six-year term. As noted in the paragraph above, our polity states there must be an election at the end of each term. This honours the discernment process by which a congregation confirms an elder’s call to service. The elder, if re-elected, returns to the session with the confidence that the congregation continues to identify his/her God-given gifts for this ministry at this time in its history.
Click here to download the question (PDF).
Past case studies are also available to download here.
Download the current or past case study and take it to your session
for discussion or submit your response and suggestion.
We’re waiting to hear from you!
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You can submit your answer right away—just fill in the form below.
The answers will be published in a future newsletter and there will be
a prize for the best answer. If you have questions, please contact the
Elders' Institute. (See Staff &
Contacts for contact information.)
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