SECTION 3: STANDING ORDERS
1. MEMBERSHIP AND ROLL
The Presbytery shall consist of all ministers of parishes within the bounds, and other ministers and deacons qualifying for membership in terms of General Assembly legislation, commissioned elders, appointed balancing elders and the Presbytery Clerk.
(a) The Roll of the Presbytery shall be made up as at the June meeting in each year, in accordance with Act VI 2023. The Roll shall be laid on the table at the first Ordinary Meeting thereafter.
(b) Each Kirk Session shall commission annually one of its number (or as otherwise provided for in General Assembly legislation) as a representative to the Presbytery.
(c) The Presbytery shall appoint annually enough balancing elders to ensure that there are as many elders as ministers. Kirk Sessions and Presbyters may submit the names of elders for consideration by the Business Committee for appointment as balancing Elders as vacancies arise. In selecting names to propose to Presbytery for appointment, the Committee shall have regard to the need to ensure that the membership of Presbytery is broadly representative of the make-up of the congregations within its bounds and that Presbytery has access to the range of skills and experience needed for its work.
(d) Elders’ commissions, which run from 1st July to 30th June, shall be forwarded to the Depute Clerk by 1st June, in order that proposals for committee membership may be prepared.
(e) Presbytery may appoint Corresponding Members, including but not limited to, MDS staff appointed in accordance with the Presbytery Plan, the Presbytery Treasurer, the Convener and Secretary of Guilds Together, Elder Trainers, Presbytery Safeguarding Trainers, Readers and Graduate Candidates. Ministry Candidates in the earlier years of training will be invited to have Corresponding Membership.
(f) Corresponding Members may attend all meetings of Presbytery and speak (except when Presbytery is exercising judicial functions or meeting in private) but cannot vote or propose a motion.
(g) When the Presbytery’s Depute Clerk, Treasurer, Buildings Officer, Mission Plan Implementation Officer and Communications Officer are not a member of Presbytery, they shall be a Corresponding Member.
2. MODERATOR
a) The Business Committee, having provided an opportunity for suggestions to be received, shall propose a Moderator and Associate Moderator.
b) Presbytery shall elect a Moderator and Associate Moderator from among its members at the February meeting, with the exception of those members who are also employees of the Presbytery.
c) The Moderator shall normally hold office for one year from the June meeting of Presbytery.
d) The Associate Moderator shall serve for one year and shall assume the office of Moderator at the June meeting of Presbytery.
e) In the absence of the Moderator, the Associate Moderator or immediate past Moderator shall preside, and if not present, a former Moderator shall preside, whom failing the
Presbytery shall elect a temporary Moderator for the meeting.
f) Should the Moderator or Associate Moderator cease to be a member of Presbytery during their term of office, their duties shall devolve upon a previous Moderator nominated by the Business Committee, until a new election can be organised.
g) The Moderator shall have no deliberative vote. In the event of a tie in voting, the Moderator shall have power to give a casting vote.
3. OFFICIALS
Presbytery shall appoint a Clerk, Depute Clerk, Treasurer and Auditor, who shall hold office at the will of Presbytery. The Treasurer need not be a member of the Presbytery.
4. ORDINARY MEETINGS
Presbytery shall normally meet for Ordinary Business on the first Saturday in February (all day meeting) the first Thursday in May (evening meeting), the fourth Tuesday in June (evening meeting), the second Tuesday in September (evening meeting) and the first Saturday in November (all day meeting). All meetings shall be in hybrid format.
5. SPECIFIC PURPOSE MEETINGS
Specific Purpose Meetings may be called, either by appointment of Presbytery or by the Moderator. Wherever possible, two weeks’ notice of such meetings shall be given to all members and corresponding members of Presbytery.
6. CONDUCT OF BUSINESS
a) Presbytery business shall be conducted in accordance with the Standing Orders of the General Assembly, save where specified differently in these Standing Orders.
b) The quorum for all Presbytery meetings shall be 3, of which 2 must be ministers.
c) Meetings shall take place in-person, online or by hybrid format as required for the expeditious transacting of Presbytery business.
d) When the Presbytery has been constituted, the draft minutes of the last ordinary meeting and any subsequent meetings, being circulated to all members by the Clerk beforehand, shall be submitted for approval.
e) A record of attendance shall be kept. After Presbytery is constituted the Presbytery Clerk shall report any additions to the Roll since the last ordinary meeting. New members shall be welcomed by the Moderator.
f) The order of business, as circulated in the documents sent by the Clerk prior to the meeting, with amendments proposed by the Business Committee, shall be agreed by the Presbytery.
g) After the order of business is agreed it shall be competent to move at any time that a matter (in whole or in part) be taken in private, such a motion to be voted on without debate. However, as much as possible, matters should be taken in open court.
h) Any member of Presbytery wishing to give notice of motion shall submit the same in writing to the Clerk prior to the meeting of Presbytery.
i) After committee reports are presented and the deliverance has been moved, questions shall be taken. The deliverance shall then be considered section by section. Any amendments are to be disposed of before counter-motions. The Presbytery votes ‘For’ or ‘Against’ an amendment. In the case of a counter-motion the Presbytery shall vote ‘For’ the motion or ‘For’ the countermotion. Finally, the deliverance as a whole is to be put to the Presbytery for approval.
j) All speakers should use microphones.
k) Speakers must address the Moderator and should preface their speech with ‘Moderator’, followed by their name if speaking for the first time at any meeting.
l) No member may speak more than once on the same matter, except by the permission of the Moderator, apart from
(i) the original mover of any motion, who may answer questions or give explanations in the course of the debate and who shall have the right of reply immediately before the relevant committee convener closes the debate, and
(ii) the committee convener whose report is under consideration, who shall have the right of replying to the debate, and in so replying thereby closing the debate.
m) Motions, amendments, and counter-motions should be sent in writing to the Clerk prior to the meeting to allow them to appear on the screens, but in any case, immediately they have been seconded.
n) Questioning: When a Presbyter intends raising a question or making a comment, the response to which is likely to require research in terms of finance, statistics, or interpretation of Church Law, then courtesy requires that advance notice be given to those likely to be involved in the response.
o) Point of Order: Where a genuine point of order over procedure is raised, the challenger shall state the grounds for raising it usually referring to the Standing Order the challenger believes has been infringed; the speaker may reply briefly to explain why they consider they are not out of order; but no other member may speak except by permission of the Moderator. The Moderator shall then give his or her ruling, but before doing so may invite the court to vote on the matter. The Moderator’s ruling can be challenged, and, if it is, a vote will have to be taken.
p) Other than with the special permission of the Presbytery the maximum time-limit for speeches shall be as follows:
• Convener presenting a Report, introducing an Overture, presenting a Petition – 10 minutes;
• Mover of a Notice of Motion, moving counter-motions, seconding motions, making comments – 5 minutes;
• Guest speakers – 15 minutes;
• Speeches about Translations, Demissions, Tributes – 3 Minutes.
Time limits do not apply when the Presbytery is either:
a) dealing with matters under the Barrier Act;
b) acting judicially.
A member of Presbytery may dissent from any decision made by the Presbytery and this dissent will be recorded in the minutes, if both: a) the member gives intimation of dissent before the meeting proceeds to the next business; b) the member has taken part in the vote on the matter under discussion.
Fast-track business: It is important that Presbyters should read the committee reports in advance of the meeting, in order to be aware of items of business, which have been designated for fast-tracking. When compiling the report of a Standing Committee, the convener should clearly identify any sections of the proposed deliverance, which are of a routine or administrative nature and which the committee considers can be ‘fast-tracked’ rather than requiring oral presentation and debate by Presbytery. An explanation of proposed ‘fast-track business’ should be outlined in the committee’s report. After submitting the agenda, the Business Convener will formally move the adoption of all fast-track business. If any Presbyter considers a fast-tracked item to be deserving of debate, then they may ask for the item to be withdrawn from the fast-tracking section of a Deliverance when the Business Convener moves adoption of the agenda. If such a request is seconded, approval shall be given. As a courtesy, it is asked that the Business Convener and the appropriate committee convener be informed of this request in advance.
Apart from Supplementary Reports and Vacancy Procedure Committee Reports, only in exceptional circumstances and with the agreement of the Convener of the Business Committee may a report be given orally or a late written report be circulated. Any paper so presented must be in the hands of all Presbyters at the meeting and read by them priorto any discussion commencing. The Presbytery shall not review its own decisions but shall return to the same subject only where altered circumstances produce a fresh proposal, or where the law of the Church requires the matter to be decided anew.
7. CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Presbyters have a legal duty, as charity trustees, to act in Presbytery’s best interests when making decisions, even if doing so conflicts with their own interests or those of a relative or friend, or with the interests of the congregation that appointed them. Should a member of Presbytery believe that there may be an actual or potential conflict of interest for them in the business before Presbytery or one of its Standing Committees, he or she should declare it at the start of the meeting at the indicated point in the Agenda, failing which, at that point when the relevant item of business is reached. A full explanation of what can comprise a conflict of interest, and how a conflict can be managed, is provided in the Presbytery’s Code of Conduct.
8. PRESBYTERY PAPERS
Presbytery papers are circulated to enable informed discussion to take place at Presbytery meetings. All members and corresponding members are expected to respect this intention. If a paper is labelled confidential it must not be shared or circulated without permission from the
Presbytery Office. In particular, Presbytery papers should not be passed to the media without the specific approval of the Business Committee. Any breach of this shall be considered to constitute contempt of court.
9. USE OF DELEGATED POWERS
In the event of a decision being required in relation to a matter which is judged by the Moderator (whom failing a predecessor), Clerk and the Convener and Vice Convener of the Business Committee to be administrative and/or non-contentious and where it is considered that a delay would be unhelpful to those affected, powers are given to the Moderator,
Associate Moderator (whom failing a predecessor), Clerk, Depute Clerk and the Convener and Vice Convener of the Business Committee, in consultation with any other appropriate Committee Convener or member, to act on behalf of Presbytery.
Provided that, where any action is taken by a Standing Committee in respect of any of the foregoing delegated powers, the Standing Committee exercising the delegated power shall make a full report to Presbytery of action taken and approvals given, such reports to be made at the meeting of Presbytery next succeeding the exercise of the delegated power. Where aStanding Committee makes a determination in the exercise of a delegated power it shall inform the Presbytery Clerk within forty-eight hours of such determination in order that the Presbytery Clerk may inform a congregation of any rights it may have in respect of such determination.
Vacancy Procedure Committee Matters
For Vacancy Procedure Committee matters (other than routine matters, such as the replacement of an Interim Moderator) and also where there is another matter in which the Moderator, Clerk, Depute Clerk, Convener and Vice Convener of the Business Committee judge that Presbytery should be given an opportunity to discuss it, the Presbytery Clerk shall contact all members of Presbytery to inform them of what is being proposed. Four members of Presbytery or, where appropriate, four members of the congregation affected, may request that the Presbytery meet to discuss the proposal. If no such request is received within 7 days of the Clerk contacting Presbytery, it shall be assumed that the proposal has been approved.
Planning Matters
The Planning Committee shall have delegated powers to approve a Basis of Adjustment which is in accordance with an approved Presbytery Mission Plan and where the congregations named in the Basis have approved it.
Property Matters
All proposed alterations and repairs for Category B buildings between £5000 and £25,000 (this being the limit for such repairs) may be approved by the committee using powers.
All proposed alterations and repairs for Category A buildings between £5000 and £25,000 do not require Presbytery approval but should be submitted to the committee for its information and noting.
All proposed alterations and repairs for Category A buildings between £25,000 and £50,000 may be approved by the committee using powers.
All proposed alterations and repairs for Category A buildings costing in excess of £50,000* may be approved by the committee and then transmitted to the General Trustees for their approval.
If a congregation’s request for repairs or alterations is not approved by the Committee using powers, the congregation may appeal to the Presbytery and the matter will be taken to its next meeting.
*This will happen in one of three ways: either the cost of the present work exceeds £50,000, or the cost of the present work PLUS the cost of the work at the same building which has been authorised by Presbytery in the past three years exceeds £50,000, or the cost of the present work PLUS the cost of work at the same building which you are likely to have to carry out in the next three years exceeds £50,000.
10. CITATIONS
In any situation where the law or practice of the Church requires that a formal edict, notice or citation should be sent to a congregation or to an individual, it shall be considered sufficient for this to be transmitted by email when this facility is available to recipients. Citations from Presbytery to a congregation regarding attendance at a Presbytery meeting should be read to the congregation on at least the two Sundays prior to the meeting.
11. STANDING COMMITTEES
a) The Standing Committees shall be as follows:
Business
Finance and Stewardship
Property
Safeguarding
Planning
Church in Community
Vacancy Procedure
(b) Support Committees shall be as follows:
Congregational Support
Mission
Ministries
(c) Other Committees shall be as follows:
Complaints
Staffing
(d)The Business Committee shall comprise a Convener, a Vice-Convener and the Conveners of the other Standing Committees and the Support Committees, together with two additional ministers or Deacons and two elders (all four to be elected by Presbytery for three years), the Moderator, Clerk, Depute Clerk, Treasurer and other Presbytery staff as appropriate.
(e) Conveners of Standing and Support Committees shall be nominated by the Business Committee and be appointed by Presbytery at its June meeting.
(f)Conveners of Standing and Support Committees shall serve for four years and shall not normally be eligible for re-appointment.
(g) Membership of each Standing and Support Committee should normally be limited to 15 members, however a Convener may request of the Business Committee that their committee be increased beyond this figure.
(h) Members of Presbytery appointed to Standing and Support Committees are expected to participate fully in the business of the committees.
(i) Members of Standing and Support Committees shall be appointed by the Presbytery on the nomination of the Business Committee at the June meeting of Presbytery to serve from the first day of July following the said June meeting of Presbytery.
(j) Members of Standing and Support Committees shall normally be appointed for four years in the first instance and be eligible for re-election for a further four years. No member shall normally serve for more than two consecutive terms of office.
(k) Each Standing and Support Committee should, if possible, include representation from the different areas of the Presbytery.
l) Each Standing and Support Committee shall appoint a Vice-Convener and Minute Secretary.
m) Presbytery shall appoint a Convener-Designate to each Standing and Support Committee to serve alongside the Convener during the latter’s final year of office.
n) The frequency, scheduling, location and format of Standing and Support Committee meetings shall be for Conveners to determine in consultation with their members.
o) Standing and Support Committees may co-opt additional non-voting members (who need not be members of Presbytery) who have a specific interest and expertise to offer, such co-options to be reported to the Business Committee
p) The Moderator, Clerk and Depute Clerk are entitled (ex officio) to attend meetings of Standing and Support Committees and should be specifically invited if their advice or expertise is required.
q) A Convener who is unable to attend a meeting of the Business Committee should appoint a deputy to attend in their place.
r) Standing Committee Reports and Deliverances should, as far as possible, be circulated in draft to Committee members prior to submission to the Presbytery by the day after the meeting of the Business Committee.
12. REVIEW OF PRESBYTERY DECISION
Decisions of Presbytery shall not be reviewed within six months, without the suspension of Standing Orders.
13. AMENDMENT OF STANDING ORDERS
a) Any proposal for the alteration of Standing Orders shall be either:
a) on the report of the Business Committee and intimated to Presbytery;
ii) by notice of motion sent in writing to the Clerk in time to be circulated in advance to all members of Presbytery;
b) Standing Orders may be amended on such a proposal or motion receiving a simple majority of those present and voting at the meeting at which it is considered.
14. SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS
The Presbytery may, on the motion of any member and on cause shown, suspend Standing Orders, or any of them, provided that such Motion shall receive the support of at least two thirds of those voting when the question is put by the Moderator, and provided that such suspension shall not contravene any General Assembly legislation or regulations or be otherwise ultra vires.