Committee on Permanent Secretaryship
https://archives.anglican.ca/link/official9503
- Date
- 1943 September
- Source
- General Synod. Minutes
- Type
- Resolution
- Mover
- Chancellor Harris
- Seconder
- Col. J.H.V. Preston
- Prologue
- The Report of the Committee on Secretaryship was presented by Chancellor Harris. (See p. 343).
- Text of motion
- That the report be received. CARRIED in both Houses.
- Notes
- XXV. Report of Committee on a Secretaryship
- To the General Synod of the Church of England in Canada.
- We have been requested by the Primate to present the arguments pro and con in respect of the appointment of a full time Secretary of the General Synod.
- The Hon. Clerical Secretary
- 1. At the present time, the Honorary Clerical Secretary of the Lower House, is elected at the opening session of the Synod. During the session, he keeps the minutes of the Lower House and of Joint Sessions, and later prepares the Journals of the Synod for printing, and is an exceedingly important officer of the Synod. His duties are defined by Section 16 of the Constitution.
- Between sessions of the Synod he performs similar duties for the Executive Council at its annual meetings, and for the Executive Committee of the Council.
- When a session of the Synod is to take place, he receives all notices of motion, memorials and reports and in association with the Executive Committee of the Council and the Agenda Committee, prepares the Convening Circular, containing all such material, sending copies to all members of the Synod -- a heavy task.
- He also receives all certificates of election of members of the Lower House, and is an important member of the Committee on Elections and Credentials.
- There is considerable correspondence throughout the year about changes in the representation of Dioceses in the Executive Council and changes in Committees, and respecting business coming before the Executive Council.
- All records are in his custody.
- For these duties, the clerical Secretary is usually voted an honorarium of $100.00 at each session of the Executive Council. ($200.00 in 1941) paid from the revenue from the Executive Council Fund. At the last session of the Synod in Halifax, an honorarium of $400.00 was voted to the Clerical Secretary and $100.00 to the Lay Secretary, we believe that in all these instances the honorarium was well earned.
- The Proposal
- 2. What is now proposed is the enlargement of the duties of the Clerical (or Lay) Secretary so that he will give his full time to the work of the Synod.
- A survey of the Synod organization will show that to the duties of Secretary of the Lower House, outlined above, can well be added the following duties:
- - (1) Secretary of the following Committees:
- -- (a) Apportionment -- This committee organized since the last Synod has had, and will continue to have a very great and important task to do. It is now added to the work of Canon R.A. Hiltz of the G.B.R.E.
- -- (b) Faith and Order, Life and Work.
- --This important Committee with great possibilities, also has Canon Hiltz as its secretary.
- -- (c) Reunion -- This Committee with equally great opportunities has Canon W.H. Davidson [sic i.e. Davison] of Montreal as its secretary.
- -- (d) Evangelism -- A very active Committee with inter-Church contacts has as its secretary, Canon Judd of the Council for Social Service.
- -- (e) Reorganization of the Synod. This important and active Committee formed since last Synod has as its Secretary, Mr. G.E. Main, General Secretary of the Pension Board.
- -- (f) Among other standing Committees with Honorary Secretaries chosen from among their membership, which may require clerical assistance from time to time are:
- --- Archives
- --- Higher Education of the Clergy
- --- Business relating to the Prayer Book and Hymnal
- --- Church House management
- --- Church Year Book
- --- Statistics and State of the Church
- --- Memorials to Deceased members
- --- Elections and Credentials.
- The work of several of these committees is growing in volume and importance. At present each of the General Secretaries of the four principal Departments of the Synod -- Missions, Education, Social Service and Pensions -- is burdened with the work of one or more of these Committees. Each of these Departmental Secretaries has already a full load of work and responsibility. Transfer of this extra work now imposed on these Departmental Secretaries, to another man would relieve the Departmental Secretaries and give them more time for their own assigned tasks.
- During the past six years some twenty committees and boards have been set up by the Executive Council or appointed by the Primate. The organization of these Committees has been imposed in most instances on the Primate, the secretarial work has nearly always been assigned to a Departmental Secretary or the Chairman of the new committee. With a full time secretary of the Synod available this work would naturally be his task.
- In a word, with the great increase in the work of the General Synod, its Executive Council, its five or six departments and its many Committees, more secretarial assistance has become an obvious necessity.
- (2) At present the Primate is performing a large share of the routine work of the Synod, which a General Secretary might very well do. The Primate of the Church has not only the onerous duties of that office to perform, but in addition bears the full responsibilities of a Diocesan bishop and usually in addition those of a metropolitan bishop. In our opinion he should be relieved as far as possible of correspondence and routine duties relating to the General Synod and its activities. His health and strength demand this as well as the interests and welfare of the Church. He should not be as now, subject to the strains of office work, but freed as far as possible for personal and public contacts and spiritual leadership.
- Whether the Primate resides in Toronto or in Eastern Canada or Western Canada, he needs at Church House, a full time official, who can be the link between him and his work and the work of the Synod, its departments and committees.
- What has been said about the Primate is true also in respect of the Prolocutor who now has no one at Church House to whom he can turn over routine work and correspondence. If he is to be an effective member of all Boards, Councils and Committees he must be kept in touch with the work of the Synod and its departments and Committees, and given some clerical assistance in performing the task assigned to him.
- (3) If a full time secretary can be employed it would undoubtedly make more effective between sessions, the work of the Executive Council and its Executive Committee. Matters sent to specially appointed committees would have the immediate assistance of the Secretary. The Executive Committee of the Council can be made of considerable more practical value as a clearing house, steering Committee and coordinating Committee only if it has an efficient Secretary whose duty it may be to carry out its resolutions and plans.
- The Arguments Contra
- Against such proposal three arguments are advanced or expressed:
- (1) The fear that he would be a kind of super-secretary, exercising control over other Departmental secretaries, a General Secretary of the Church rather than of its Synod, interfering with departments and even Diocesan rights. It is of course necessary to make a clear definition of his field of action and of his duties, that he will take care of this objection and if he works under the direction of the Synod, its Executive Council and the Executive Committee of the Council, all representative of the whole church, there should be no real chance of setting up a dictatorship.
- (2) The second objection voiced is the expense likely to be involved. His work may be as important as the work of any other Departmental Secretary. His task will be to do most of the work not assigned to the Departmental Secretaries and his remuneration should be on an equally fair scale.
- He should have an office at Church House with the assistance of a stenographer-secretary. Office expenses would have to be estimated but there there would seem to be little if any need for any allowance for expenses. An estimate of $6000 would seem to be adequate for all these purposes and if the right man can be found the experiment would be justified in the interests of the Church in Canada.
- (3) The difficulty of finding a man is also advanced. He should it is argued, have unusual personal qualifications and appropriate background and training; not a young man, but one experienced in the ways of our Church organization; possessed of the right personality, viewpoint and attitude; well and favourably known throughout the Church. We believe that if there is a need for such a man as defined above, one can be found well qualified within the ranks of the Church in Canada.
- Appropriate notices of motion have been given in the Convening Circular for the purpose of bringing this whole question before the Synod.
- Reginald V. Harris
- While I agree with Chancellor Harris' argument in the main, I feel that the expense involved is an insuperable argument against the creation of the salaried position of Secretary of the General Synod at the present time, and until funds are forthcoming from some source other than the assessment of the Dioceses. War conditions make the expenses of holding the General Synod very high and if we are to have another Session at a cost of 24,000.00 even if it is only held at the end of four years, it will involve an annual assessment of $6,000.00 plus about $2,000.00 to pay for the organized publicity which has been so successful in raising the apportionment needed for the Church's work.
- Until this question of a source of money to meet the expenses can be solved, I would suggest the matter be postponed and efforts made to get volunteers among the clergy and laymen to do the work which has been so carefully outlined by Chancellor Harris.
- J.P. Bell
- Sept. 1st, 1943.
- Subjects
- Church of England in Canada. Committee on Permanent Secretaryship
- Church of England in Canada. Committee on General Synod Secretaryship
- Church of England in Canada. General Secretary
- Church of England in Canada. General Secretary - Office
- Church of England in Canada. Clerical Secretary - Office
- Church of England in Canada. Lay Secretary - Office
- Church of England in Canada. General Synod - Structure
- Church of England in Canada. Executive Council
- Church of England in Canada. Primate - Office
- Church of England in Canada. Prolocutor
- Church of England in Canada. Executive Council. Executive Committee
- Church of England in Canada - Finance