K. Virginia Coleman
General Secretary
The United Church of Canada
3250 Bloor Street West
Etobicoke, Ontario
M8X 2Y4
416-231-3103 fax

I appeal, as member of the Order of Ministry, the Executive of General Council Response to Issues raised by the Interview of the Moderator, the Right Reverend Bill Phipps, with the Ottawa Citizen to the Judicial Committee of the United Church of Canada.

Theological Basis

He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? MIC 6:8 RSV

All things should be done decently and in order. 1CO 14:40 RSV

As street and court chaplain for the Ottawa Presbytery, I learned from the courts that 'justice must not only be done, but be seen to be done' by the public.

As executive director of the Union Mission, I learned to relate to my staff with kindness, but decisions could not be kind to one person as that would make them unkind to another - decisions to be kind must be fair to all persons concerned.

As one who bears the name of Jesus, I must walk as a faithful servant before my God.

Within our church courts we must be faithful to God and fair to all, and as we are in the public eye 'justice must not only be done, but be seen to be done'.

Whereas

a. the Executive of General Council has made a response which addresses the Moderator's statements as if they were made by one who was a member of a congregation of the United Church (cf. "... we do not believe that faithfulness consists in assenting to particular statements. Rarely, if ever, do we use doctrinal standards to exclude anyone from the circle of belonging.") and not a member of the Order of Ministry (cf. The Manual sections 026(b), 027, 031(e)ii, 032(a)).

b. the Executive of General Council has made a response which includes documents not cited as Doctrine in The Manual of the United Church of Canada, (cf. Statement of Faith [1940], A New Creed [1968 revised 1994], The Lordship of Jesus [1978], The Authority and Interpretation of Scripture [1992]), when The Manual makes no such provision for these documents with respect to the Order of Ministry (cf. The Manual sections 011(b), 026(b), 027, 031(e)ii, 032(a), 066, 067).

c. the Executive of General Council has made a response which implies in the mind of the reader that official statements are Doctrine (cf. "... affirm the doctrine of the United Church ... and expressed further in such documents as the "New Creed" [1968, as further revised in 1994], "The Lordship of Jesus" [1978] and the Authority and Interpretation of Scripture [1992]), making a transition from official statements to Doctrine without first complying with The Manual requirements in section 505(a).

d. the United Church of Canada defines itself and its governance with The Manual and within such references and sets forth The Basis of Union as the Doctrine of the United Church of Canada, requiring 'essential agreement' only with the doctrinal statements set out in The Basis of Union by the Order of Ministry (sections 026(b), 027, 031(e)ii, 032(a)).

e. the United Church of Canada appears to be making decisions by increment. By making decisions along the way we confuse the decision making process, so that many feel the decision is already made by the time we get to the process where the decision is to be made. The transition from study to official statement to Doctrine is confused in the mind of the typical member of the church.

f. my concern is with the far reaching implications of this response on the United Church of Canada, and not with the Moderator.

g. the Executive of General Council has made a response which is seen to be unjust in the public eye, is inimical to the doctrinal statements in The Basis of Union of the United Church of Canada, and is wrong by the bylaws governing the United Church of Canada (The Manual sections 076(e)ii, iii, iv).

h. the Ottawa Citizen published the Executive of General Council Response on its front page (Ottawa Citizen, November 25, 1997) and The Basis of Union on the seventh page, leaving question in the minds of thoughtful readers with respect to the justice and kindness of the response and the Doctrine of the United Church of Canada.

i. the events that gave rise to this response are in the public eye, and bring ridicule and scorn upon the United Church of Canada (cf. the editorial cartoon and editorial, The Globe and Mail, November 26 and 27, 1997).

Appeal

1. I appeal the Judicial Committee of the United Church of Canada to rule on whether the response of the Executive of General Council failed to recognize the requirements of Order of Ministry as distinct from those of members of congregations, with respect to "... we do not believe that faithfulness consists in assenting to particular statements. Rarely, if ever, do we use doctrinal standards to exclude anyone from the circle of belonging" and The Manual (sections 026(b), 027, 031(e)ii, 032(a)).

2. I appeal the Judicial Committee of the United Church of Canada to declare that the response of the Executive of General Council unlawfully included as statements of doctrine (cf. Statement of Faith [1940], A New Creed [1968 revised 1994], The Lordship of Jesus [1978], The Authority and Interpretation of Scripture [1992]) which The Manual does not reference as Doctrine in applying the provisions of The Manual (sections 011(b), 026(b), 027, 031(e)ii, 032(a), 066, 067), and which cannot be relied upon to modify or change doctrinal statements in The Basis of Union without a remit pursuant to section 8.6.2(1) of The Basis of Union (see also The Manual section 505(a)).

3. I appeal the Judicial Committee of the United Church of Canada to formally declare what is Doctrine and what is not Doctrine of the United Church of Canada.

4. I appeal the Judicial Committee of the United Church of Canada to require the Executive of General Council to affirm as the Doctrine of the United Church of Canada the doctrinal statements set out in The Basis of Union.

5. I appeal the Judicial Committee of the United Church of Canada to require the Executive of General Council to publish the findings of the Judicial Committee.

Conclusion

'Justice must not only be done, but be seen to be done' decently and in order.

Rev. Don Anderson
White Lake Pastoral Charge

cc Renfrew Presbytery
Bay of Quinte Conference