The Council of Presbytery

The Council of Presbytery (Council)

Description (According to the Standing Rules)

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1. The general purpose of the Presbytery Council is to promote the growth, work and health of the
Presbytery as an instance of the Body of Christ. It shall have special concern for the relationship of the
Presbytery to its congregations, and the coordination and effectiveness of the work of its Committees and
Roundtables.
a) The Council shall have Presbytery-wide responsibility in the specific areas of:
-Ministry and Mission Vision and Planning
-Finance and Property Administration
-Spiritual Transformation
-Lay Leadership Development
b) The Council shall review at least annually the functional relationship between the Presbytery's
structure and its Mission Statement.
c) It shall review and evaluate at least annually the goals and accomplishments of Presbytery's
Committees and Roundtables.
d) It shall carry out an on-going planning process.
e) It may appoint task forces of limited duration to complete work not already included in the work of
the Committees and Roundtables.

2. The Council shall maintain and promote communication and cooperation between the Presbytery, and
the Synod, General Assembly, and ecumenical partners.

3. The Council shall have the following committees:
a) Finance
b) Property
c) Committee on Nominations of the Council, which shall consist of the Moderator, the Vice-Moderator,
and the Chair of the Council.
d) Council’s Committee on Congregational Development (CCCD)

Council Committee on Emerging Faith Communities (CCEFC)

4. The chairs of all Council committees must be members of the Council. Except as provided above,
Council shall determine the number, responsibility and size of its committees. Members and chairs of Council
committees shall be appointed by the Council's Committee on Nominations for confirmation by the Council at
its January meeting.

5. The Council, through its Committee on Nominations, shall nominate to the Presbytery for election
at its January Stated Meeting the members and chair of the Nominating Committee of Presbytery.

6. The Council shall act as the Board of Trustees of the Presbytery, constituting itself for this purpose
in accordance with the laws of the State of New Jersey.

7. The Council shall be required to report, at each Stated Meeting of Presbytery, every item of business
transacted by it. Its decisions shall be immediately operative wherever power has been conferred, but may be
reviewed and reversed by Presbytery.

8. The Council shall propose annually, for Presbytery’s review and approval at the November Stated
Meeting, a budget that is supported by a per capita apportionment, voluntary mission contributions, and other
assets. The per capita apportionment shall be equal to, or lesser than, administration cost.

MEMBERSHIP:
The Council of Presbytery shall be composed of the following Ministers and Elders, and other lay
persons (the latter of whom may participate in the Council’s proceedings with voice but not vote):

Moderator and Vice Moderator of Presbytery.

Immediate Past Moderator of Presbytery, who shall chair the Council, beginning on the first of January.

Twelve (12) members-at-large, divided as equally as possible between Ministers and Elders; and up to
three (3) otherwise qualified, non-ordained persons who are members of the Churches of the Presbytery (the
latter of whom may participate in the Council’s proceedings with voice but not vote); widely representative of
the Presbytery, and organized into three (3) classes of up to five (5) persons each. Such persons shall be
nominated by the Nominating Committee, for election by the Presbytery, with provision, as always, for
nominations from the floor.

The Stated Clerk, who shall be the Secretary of the council, members of the Presbytery staff, and the
Treasurer, shall all be ex-officio members without vote.

A quorum shall consist of a majority of the voting members.

MEETINGS: The Presbytery Council meets the first Tuesday of the month, except during the summer, at 7:00 PM at the Presbytery office. Meetings usually conclude at 9:15 PM.

APPORTIONMENTS
The Council shall recommend to Presbytery annually the several sums to be paid by each Church to be
allocated to the budget.
The Stated Clerk, in conjunction with the Treasurer of the Presbytery, shall notify each Church of its Per
Capita Apportionment as determined by Presbytery.
The Per Capita apportionment is due in January, but may, by arrangement with the Treasurer, be remitted
in monthly or quarterly installments within the calendar year.

COMMISSIONS
Except as specified in the next sentence below, the membership of any administrative commission
established by Presbytery shall be nominated by the Council, through its Committee on Nominations, and elected
by Presbytery, after opportunity has been given for other nominations from the floor.
Membership of a commission to ordain or install a Pastor, however, shall be nominated to the Presbytery
by the Committee on Ministry.
The Stated Clerk shall provide constitutional and other services to commissions, and shall facilitate
communication between the commissions and the Presbytery.

JUDICIAL PROCESS
1. Whenever it becomes necessary, the Council’s Committee on Nominations (comprised of the
Moderator, the Vice-Moderator, and the Chair of the Council), together with the Stated Clerk, shall appoint an
Investigating Committee for judicial process, in accordance with the Rules of Discipline (D-10.0201b).

2. When the Stated Clerk receives a written statement from the Clerk of Session of a congregation
requesting that the Presbytery assume original jurisdiction of the Session for purposes of judicial process, the
Presbytery agrees to assume such original jurisdiction of that particular Session for the sole, specific, and limited
purpose of performing the functions of the Session required under the Rules of Discipline. The request shall be
from the Session and shall include reasons for the request. Upon assumption of original jurisdiction of a Session
for Judicial Process, the Presbytery shall proceed by way of paragraph #1 above to form an Investigating Committee, in accordance with the Rules of Discipline (D-10.0201).

MEMBERS:

Class 2013:

Elders : Stephen Adubato, Barbara Ryder (Chair), Paul Talarico (V-Moderator)

Revs: Jonathan Brown, Justin Choi, Debra Given (Moderator)

Class 2014:

Elders: Florence Ditko (EFC Chair)

Revs: Peter Strand, Raymond VandeGiessen, Reda Soliman

Class 2015:

Rev. Anna Taylor-Sweringen

Elders: Barkley Calkins, Lucy Janjigian, Robert Ryder (Finance & Property Chair)

Ex-Officio:

Revs: Marianne Rhebergen (Transitional Leader), Gregory Keosaian (Stated Clerk), David Baer (Assistant to the S.C.)