The national Church’s policies on incorporated ministries were reviewed in the early 2000’s, leading to changes that were approved by the Church’s General Council in 2006. A number of existing requirements for supervision and approvals were changed or dropped, and some new ones (for example, supervision by Conferences) were put in place. The existing by-laws of all incorporated ministries refer to these old rules.

Changes in the by-laws of incorporated ministries are required to reflect these changes (for example, changing the requirement that approval of fundraising appeals be made for capital campaigns, not all fundraising) and to ensure that the ministry’s membership, board, and partners (including donors) know that the organization is committed to putting the requirements in place.

London Conference has developed standard clauses that conform to the new requirements and we will develop a new draft by-law for each incorporated ministry that requests this service. See our By-Law Writer tool and contact the Conference Office for more information.

London Conference has decided not to require existing incorporated ministries to amend their Letters Patent, just unincorporated ministries seeking incorporated status. But your by-laws must include clauses that match the requirements in the Guidelines that must be contained in the Letters Patent for new organizations. These are: 

• a majority of your board members are approved by Conference, and
• the Conference Executive Secretary is a non-voting corresponding member of the Board, and receives notice, agendas and minutes of meetings, and
• the property of a corporation that “ceases to function or its corporate existence is terminated” is vested in the United Church of Canada (this last clause continues from the previous rules and is already in the Letters Patent for most incorporated ministries)

The decisions made by General Council in 2006 (the national Church’s parliament) have been put into the Church’s Manual (our collection of church law, policy and procedures) and the Guidelines for Incorporated Ministries. While some incorporated ministries have questions and concerns about the transition, for example, to Conference supervision, we expect that Church-affiliated organizations will respect the decisions made by the national Church and make the changes required.

Through this website and the tools and experience we have developed, London Conference is making it as easy as possible to update your by-laws and practices to conform to the new Church requirements. 

The Committee has not discussed in detail or put in place what “sanctions” or “consequences” ought to be applied for non-compliance, and is confident that this will not be necessary.

Yes, the guidelines for incorporated ministries no longer require that Boards include United Church of Canada members – but you still may if you wish. The consultation that led to the 2006 decision heard that many incorporated ministries found it difficult to recruit for the expertise and experience they required for their programs from within the congregations in their area.

You may remove this clause when you update your by-law to conform with the new Manual requirements.

A draft by-law should be shared with the Committee before you seek the approval of your Board and your membership (at an annual or special meeting of members), so that its compliance with the United Church of Canada requirements are met. We can also give you suggestions on best practices in other areas covered by the by-law if you are reviewing the whole by-law, not just updating the Church-related clauses.

Once a final draft by-law is completed, the Committee will review it and seek approval for you from the Conference Executive and the national church office.

If you are just updating your by-law with the United Church of Canada requirements, you do not need a lawyer to draft the revisions because the standard Church clauses have been pre-approved.

If you are doing a broader review, then it would be useful and perhaps necessary to have a lawyer who is familiar with non-profit and corporate law review your proposed changes. Having someone write a totally new by-law “from scratch” with no direction or examples on current practices will take more time and will therefore cost you more money than reviewing already written material (for example, a policy manual, former by-law or another organization’s by-law) that state your wishes and current practices. 

Or you could use the sample by-law included in our By-law Writer tool to have us put your organizational and other details into by-law format, and then you simply have a lawyer review it on your behalf.

The United Church of Canada requirements are a small part of the contents of your by-law, and have been written and approved as standard clauses to ensure you are in compliance. 

It would be useful for you to incorporate your current organizational arrangements (for example, source of members and size of board) and up-to-date business practices (for example, requiring cheques to be signed by two approved directors) into a new by-law. However, Conference does not need to approve this material and will only comment on these other topics if you wish us to. We are happy to do so! 

Conference needs to see and review all proposed changes in by-laws to ensure that the required clauses are covered, and that other clauses do not contradict or invalidate the Church requirements.

The national church in 2006 adopted new measures to ensure effective communication and oversight of incorporated ministries. These included having the Church’s chief staff person in each Conference be a “corresponding member” of all boards, without a vote but receiving minutes and agendas and being available to attend board meetings.

So YES, please add the c-aPlease enable javascript.londonconference [dot] ca (Conference Executive Secretary) to your e-mail group or mailing list for Board materials.

The national consultation that led to the 2006 policy changes found that your concerns were common in older, well-established ministries, particularly those operating government-funded health and housing services. So the new Manual wording and guidelines recognize a “legacy status” for incorporated ministries who do not need or wish to have Church supervision or affiliation.

The Guidelines contain details on the process to negotiate a new status, outside the Church.

Church bodies would no longer nominate or appoint individuals to your organization’s membership or Board, and there would be no formal legal connection or oversight or formal affiliation. However, volunteer and financial contributions made by local congregations or other Church-affiliated groups could continue.

The national review that led to the 2006 policy changes found that supervision by presbyteries and congregations was inconsistent and in some cases approvals and reviews were not being done. 

So the 13 Conferences were given the role, as they are more likely to have the geographic size and volunteer and professional resources to work with incorporated ministries in a more consistent way.

Some parts of the relationship between presbyteries and incorporated ministries have changed, but not all. Using your questions as examples:

• Conference now approves board slates (a majority of the Board membership, not all individual members as your executive did under the old rules) – see the Board nominee information form [DOC #4] that goes to Conference
• If the camping corporation and Presbytery agree that you would approve their capital project list, then that could continue – but since the camping ministry is independent legally and in operating its programs, it would be more common for presbytery (among others) to suggest what its priorities are, and for the camping ministry to include this advice as it sets its capital and operating priorities for outdoor camping 
• financial contributions from presbytery and individual congregations, UCW’s and other Church-based groups can certainly continue
• you can continue to have presbytery representatives on the camp’s board, as long as this is in their by-law

The camping corporation is separate legally and operationally from the Presbytery and should not be seen as a committee or outreach program of Presbytery. The camping ministry’s board meetings and annual members’ meetings must have their own agenda and notice (according to its by-laws) even if the memberships are similar to that of Presbytery executive or court.

To improve participation and save travel time, the camping corporation could certainly schedule its meetings for the same day and place as a presbytery meeting, but they should be held before or after the Presbytery meeting or in a different meeting room.

No. The camping organization’s Board is there to lead and make decisions and its membership and volunteers do the work of the ministry. None of these activities is part of Conference’s role.

The Conference focus is on governance, financial health, and compliance with key standards. Approvals and reporting relate to these areas, as in the past, not to operational and program matters. But as part of its mandate in section 429 of “oversight … of the ongoing activities of the incorporated ministry,” the Conference committee will also (on your request) advise on resources and on working with groups doing similar work, for example, by convening and attending the meetings of the Conference-wide camping committee. 

Yes to the first question. Your board can have presbytery and Conference representatives -- as long as they are not a majority of the board, since the Conference needs to be independent in doing its supervision function.

No to the second question – this can continue and is a good method of communicating with congregations about the camping ministry and your programs, and involving congregation members in your work and outreach.

Neither requirement is new and both are less onerous than the previous requirements. Conference will certainly do all it can to expedite any necessary approvals, starting with early discussion with the Committee or the Conference Executive Secretary of your plans.

Land transactions are major decisions for incorporated ministries, and Conference’s role is to confirm that good practices have been followed (for example, the impact on your operation and budget, and having the necessary technical and legal analysis done). 

The requirement to discuss capital fundraising proposals reflects Conference’s information-sharing and broad geographic interests on behalf of the larger Church. The new requirement directly states Conference’s interests in preventing overlapping or competing fundraising activities by Church-affiliated organizations – not making decisions for you or preventing successful and needed outreach to the community and donors.