The documents in this section descibe the formal management structures of i-church. As a "fresh expression" of church, we are working hard to improve them and make them more transparent.
THIS IS A DRAFT DOCUMENT
Within the Community Membership, there are a number of special roles that members may take on —
Each Pastoral Group Leader is responsible for one Pastoral Group of Community Members.
Appointment: Pastoral Group Leaders are appointed by the Web Pastor on the advice of the i-church Council, who together endeavour to find sufficient PG Leaders for the needs of the i-church Community. To be considered as a potential PG Leader, a Community Member would normally be well-established in the i-church Community, or else come with recommendation from another part of the church (e.g. Missions to Seafarers, diocesan links). During the process of discernment, the Web Pastor verifies that the recorded address and phone number of the applicant are correct. At least two references will be taken up, at least one of which will be from a church leader. Where it is not possible to get a reference from an identifiable church leader in an accepted Christian church or denomination, further checks and references may be required. References and other documents are stored securely by the Web Pastor.
Responsibilities: Pastoral Group Leaders report to the Web Pastor. They have primary responsibility for the pastoral care and spiritual nurture of their group’s members. They are also responsible for leading and developing the group as a whole. They are considered to provide official i-church pastoral care.
PG Leaders are encouraged to help their members develop a Rule of Life, using the Rule of Life system provided or otherwise. If a member already has a spiritual director or equivalent, the PG Leader should not duplicate that work.
Each PG Leader is a moderator of the group’s private forum. PG Leaders are encouraged to seek the Web Pastor’s help when needed (respecting confidentiality). PG Leaders can view when each of their members last logged in or posted to the forums– after a period of inactivity, Leaders are encouraged to contact their members by email or telephone. If a group member would like a long period of inactivity but would like to remain in the i-church Community, they can be encouraged to transfer to the sleeping group. In this case, the PG Leader or the member asks the Web Pastor to transfer the member to the sleeping group.
Training and Supervision: The support, training, and supervision of the Pastoral Group Leaders is the responsibility of the Web Pastor.
A Pastoral Group Leader may request of the Web Pastor that a Community Member is made Assistant Leader of a group. The same process of appointment (references etc.) is followed as for a Pastoral Group Leader. The Assistant Leader’s responsibilities are agreed with the PG Leader. Assistant Group Leaders are considered to provide official i-church pastoral care.
The Web Pastor and the Assistant Pastors (the Pastors) together have the responsibility of pastoral care for the whole of i-church. Primary areas of responsibility may be allocated by the Web Pastor.
Appointment: The same process of appointment (references, etc.) is followed as for a Pastoral Group Leader. Assistant Pastors are considered to provide official i-church pastoral care.
Responsibilities: The team of Pastors are able to act as moderators in any forum. Although they do not generally participate in Pastoral Groups other than their own, they are able to if invited to do so for a particular reason. The Pastors are members of the i-church Council ex officio.
Each forum may be led by one or more hosts.
Appointment: Forum hosts are appointed by the Web Pastor on the advice of the Council.
Responsibilities: Forum hosts help to give a forum its character, they stimulate discussion, and help to guide the perplexed. Forum hosts moderate their forum(s) in accordance with the Moderation Guidelines and the Forum Rules. There is no pastoral care responsibility attached to this role.
There is a Welcome Team whose role is to foster the ministry of welcome within the whole membership of i-church, ensuring that new members of i-church feel welcome, and to get to know their way around relatively painlessly. The Welcome Team can invite new members to join the team, having sought the advice of the Web Pastor. Note this is not a pastoral care role.
There are many other very important roles taken by members – Individual and Community Members – within i-church. Without their contribution of time and talents, i-church could not run. Many formalised roles are mentioned on the Who’s Who page, and the Web Pastor appoints to these roles. Many more roles are quite informal, but no less important.
Every member in i-church is equally important and valued. Those in i-church who have been called to any kind of formal role are encouraged to exercise “servant ministry”, following our Lord’s example:
“The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them… but not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves.”
(Luke 14.25-6)
Last updated: 13 December 2006
i-church is a charitable company under UK law and as such it has a board of trustees. The trustees are nominated by the Bishop of Oxford according to the rules of the company. The trustees have the ultimate say in the running of i-church, as is the case in any charity.
In practice, the trustees concentrate on certain areas of i-church's life. They oversee the provision of proper, accountable, pastoral care; they make sure we remain at core an Anglican community, while being inclusive and welcoming; they watch over the financial and legal ramifications of what we do. As you can see, the board of trustees is central. What the trustees don't do is concentrate on the front-line, day-to-day running of i-church.
The Council is, as you know, elected by the i-church membership. (Technically speaking, the membership of the Council must be ratified by the trustees.) The role of the Council is formally to "support and advise the Trustees and the Web Pastor in the mission of i-church."
Terms of reference:
Standing Orders:
The Lay Chairman is elected annually by i-church Council members once elections for Council are completed (usually in April) and any new members have been admitted to the Council forum. Anyone who is not already an officer is eligible to stand. The Lay Chairman once elected by Council, is approved by the Trustees.
The Lay Chairman enables the i-church Council to carry out its role of planning the ongoing development of i-church. This involves the day to day running of the Council forums, setting the agenda, facilitating discussion, calling polls, and implementing Council procedures. In polls the Lay Chairman has a casting vote.
Currently, in the absence of a Web Pastor and with no Standing Committee, the Lay Chairman may make emergency decisions on behalf of the Council, consulting with others if there is time but acting alone if necessary and then reporting back on action taken.
The Lay Chairman handles the Grievance Procedure of i-church as published in Docs.
The Lay Chairman also handles discipline within Council. Should a Council member behave in a way which is unbecoming of their position, the Lay Chairman will discuss this with the member. Should resolution not be reached in this way, the Grievance Procedure will be used and the member may be suspended for a period of time if this is considered to be in the best interests of reaching a fair decision. The Trustees will be informed if the Lay Chairman considers it necessary to use the Grievance Procedure for a Council member.
As Council members are approved by the Trustees, they may only be excluded from Council in the final instance by the Trustees. It is the responsibility of the Lay Chairman to ensure the Trustees receive the necessary information to enable them to make their decision.
The Lay Chairman acts as the voice of the Council in conveying Council decisions to the membership and in consulting members about the development of the community. S/he delegates tasks to sub-committees and working groups as appropriate to carry out the work of Council. The Lay Chairman helps each Council member to use their talents and interests in their work in Council by assigning them tasks to take forward and report back on.
The Lay Chairman works with the Council Secretary to ensure that internal record keeping is in accordance with Council procedure and that the membership receives a monthly report on Council activity. S/he hosts a quarterly meeting in chat with members where questions can be asked and suggestions received. S/he also hosts a monthly Council meeting in chat.
The Lay Chairman works with the Web Pastor and other officers to further the mission and ministry of i-church as directed by the Trustees. S/he fulfils the Council’s duty to report to the Trustees and to implement any policies and procedures required by the Trustees. S/he attends Trustee meetings as required.
The Lay Chairman, along with the Web Pastor, Deputy Lay Chairman and PR officer may act as the public face of i-church at conferences etc and give presentations or interviews on behalf of i-church as agreed by Council and Trustees.
The Deputy Lay Chairman carries out the duties of the Lay Chairman in their absence and supports the work of the Lay Chairman on a day to day basis. In addition, the Deputy may be asked to chair a discussion where there might be a conflict of interest if it was chaired by the Lay Chairman.
When the Council votes, all members of the Council have one vote, including co-opted members and ex officio members. If necessary the Chairman of that discussion has an additional, casting vote. A vote is carried when the number of votes in favour is greater than the number of votes against a motion, providing always that the number of council members participating in the poll is greater than 50% of the current full Council membership.
The Council shall appoint a member of the Council to be Lay Chairman and one to be Deputy Chairman to serve until the next Council convenes.
Nominations for the Chairman and Deputy will be sought from within the membership of the Council, and will be open to any council member who does not hold another office.
The Secretary of the Council or the Web Pastor will nominate a date not less than seven (7) days from the notification of an election when nominations must be received. Nominations will take the form of members indicating if they are willing to stand for either/both positions.
If more than one nomination is made then voting for Lay Chairman will take place immediately following the deadline for nominations.
Voting shall be by poll. Voting shall take place over a seven (7) day period. Should there be a tie a second poll will take place. Should all votes have been cast before the seven day period expires, the result may be declared.
Once the Lay Chairman is elected, a poll to elect the Deputy Chairman will be held if there is more than one nomination. Voting will take place over a seven (7) day period. A second poll will take place in the event of a tie. Should all votes have been cast before the seven day period expires, the result may be declared.
The process for reports on Council business to members should be as follows:
The council report is posted in 'How i-church works' in the second week of the month (8th-14th). Reports from groups (currently Finance, Publicity, Engine Room, Worship Leaders) should be received in the first week of the month (1st-7th) and a brief precis of group activity should be included in the report to members. The secretary should publish the report in council first and this way it can be proofread or briefly checked. It should be posted in 'How i-church' works 24 hours later incorporating any adjustments for typos etc.
The Treasurer's report should be published separately as it's a significant document in its own right. This should also be in the second week of the month and should go in 'How i-church works'.
Reports from groups can take the form of 'Nothing to report' if necessary but should be substantive at least quarterly.
The monthly Council and Treasurer's reports are collected for future reference in Docs.
Every three months (November, February, May and August) there will be an Open House for members to ask questions of council members about the reports or any other matter of concern to them.
These rules are to be read in conjunction with Policy Po8 in i-church Docs.
Council will appoint a Returning Officer to oversee and conduct the election.
The Returning Officer shall not be eligible to stand for election nor shall he/she be entitled to vote in the election save in the event of a tie for any vacancy, whereupon the Returning Officer shall vote in such a way as to break the tie.
The Returning Officer shall announce (as directed by Council):
There shall be at least a 24 hour period between the period of nomination and the commencement of voting. Voting will commence within 72 hours of the close of nominations.
The Returning Officer will provide the Trustees with a complete list of all nominated candidates within 24 hours of the close of nominations. The Returning Officer will validate and certify that all candidates, nominators and seconds are enrolled members of i-church.
All discussion and debate regarding matters relating to candidates in the election shall not be permitted once voting commences. The Returning Officer shall have power to delete any and all such postings immediately at his/her absolute discretion.
The Returning Officer shall publish the list of valid nominations received no later than 7 days after nominations commence and maintain the list as further nominations are received.
The Returning Officer will send copies of the raw election data to two members of i-church not involved in the election to verify that the data processed in the STV software is correct. These verifying members will be agreed with Council. Technical Admin will have to arrange for these verifying members to have access to the raw data as processed by the voting application.
All candidates will be sent a full copy of the results and the results sheets as soon as practicable and no later than 3 days after voting ceases.
The results of the election will be published in i-church Times (or the equivalent) in alphabetical order of first name and in the following manner.
I declare that Bertha B, David D and Elizabeth E are duly elected to Council to serve until yyyy.
The result of the election will be posted as soon as is practical after the Trustees have approved the successful candidates.
All substantive communications with any person or organisation outside council are recorded in the Correspondence forum for future reference.