K. Virginia Coleman
General Secretary
The United Church of Canada
3250 Bloor Street West
Etobicoke, Ontario
M8X 2Y4
416-231-3103 fax

re: Executive of General Council Response to Issues raised by the Interview of the Moderator, the Right Reverend Bill Phipps, with the Ottawa Citizen

I appeal pursuant to The Manual 076, as a member of the Order of Ministry, the above referenced decision to the Judicial Committee of the United Church of Canada.

Theological Basis

He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? MIC 6:8 RSV

All things should be done decently and in order. 1CO 14:40 RSV

As street and court chaplain for the Ottawa Presbytery, I learned from the courts that 'justice must not only be done, but also be seen to be done' by the public.

As executive director of the Union Mission, I learned to relate to my staff with kindness, but decisions could not be kind to one person as that would make them unkind to another - decisions to be kind must be fair to all persons concerned.

As one who bears the name of Jesus, I must walk as a faithful servant before my God.

Within our church courts we must be faithful to God and fair to all, and as we are in the public eye justice must not only be done but also be seen to be done. There can be no shalom without justice (The Manual 065(b)).

Whereas

. the Moderator the Right Reverend Bill Phipps was reported to have stated to the Editorial Board of the Ottawa Citizen certain statements allegedly in contradiction of the Doctrine of the United Church as set forth in Section 2 of The Basis of Union.

. the Executive of General Council had before it for consideration a petition from Oshawa Presbytery, transmitted with concurrence from Bay of Quinte Conference Sub-Executive, and also letters specifically requesting that the Moderator be removed from office, all as a consequence of the said statements.

. the Executive of General Council heard evidence from the General Secretary, the General Secretary of Theology, Faith and Ecumenicism, the Chair of the Moderator's Advisory Committee, and from the Moderator himself, the Right Reverend Bill Phipps.

. the Executive of General Council has made a response which addresses the Moderator's statements as if they were made by one who was a member of a congregation of the United Church (cf. "... we do not believe that faithfulness consists in assenting to particular statements. Rarely, if ever, do we use doctrinal standards to exclude anyone from the circle of belonging.") and not as a member of the Order of Ministry (cf. The Basis of Union 11.2, and The Manual sections 026(b), 027, 031(e)ii, 032(a), 066).

. in the statement "... we do not believe that faithfulness consists in assenting to particular statements. Rarely, if ever, do we use doctrinal standards to exclude anyone from the circle of belonging" the Executive of General Council ignores altogether the fact that a profession of their faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to Him (The Basis of Union 5.8.1) is a doctrinal standard required for everyone who seeks to be a member, and that a similar doctrinal requirement is applied to every office holder in the United Church of Canada at the time of their induction.

. the Church by definition is composed of only those persons who publicly profess faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to Him as divine Lord and Savior (The Basis of Union 2.15).

. by The Basis of Union there can be no other standard for membership.

. at the time of his ordination the Right Reverend Bill Phipps by the Service Book for use in Church Courts (1994) was required to have been asked:

"Do you believe in God who created and is creating,
who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh,
to reconcile and make new,
and who works in us and others by the Holy Spirit?"

. the Right Reverend Bill Phipps was also required to be asked:

"Will you exercise your ministry in accordance with the scriptures and in continuity with the faith of the church?"

. The Manual references the faith and practice of the United Church in the standards by which discipline is to be exercised within the United Church are those standards that are perceived in the Holy Scriptures as set forth in the Old and New Testaments and the faith and practice set forth in the Basis of Union which are in substance agreeable to the Word of God (The Manual 066).

. the Conference shall examine each Candidate on the Statement of Doctrine of the United Church and shall, before ordination, commissioning, or admission, be satisfied that such Candidate is in essential agreement therewith, and as a member of the Order of Ministry of the United Church accepts the statement as being in substance agreeable to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures (The Basis of Union 11.2).

. in the statement "... we do not believe that faithfulness consists in assenting to particular statements. Rarely, if ever, do we use doctrinal standards to exclude anyone from the circle of belonging" the Executive of General Council ignores that 'essential agreement' with the doctrinal articles of The Basis of Union is a requirement of ordination.

. the Executive of General Council has made a response which recited non-doctrinal standards found in the arguments for continuity, context, and diversity which are not found in the Doctrine of The Basis of Union as "doctrinal standards", has ignored Doctrine as being in substance agreeable to the teaching of Holy Scriptures (The Basis of Union 2.0, 11.2, and The Manual 066), and in so doing has imputed that there is a doctrinal standard within the United Church of Canada which supersedes the Doctrine as expressed in The Basis of Union, and has applied these as "doctrinal standards" to the decision making process.

. the Executive of General Council Response recited criteria in the arguments for continuity, context, and diversity, for which no authority exists.

. these criteria are purportedly applied to ascertain the "place" of Section 2 of The Basis of Union.

. Section 2 of The Basis of Union is referred to as an "attempt" to set forth in continuity with the Biblical faith, which takes Section 2 of The Basis of Union completely out of context.

. Section 2 of The Basis of Union declares that the statements of doctrine are a brief summary of our common faith and commend it... as in substance agreeable to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures.

. there is no authority provided for the statement that the Doctrine in Section 2 of The Basis of Union is merely one of a number of "official statements and documents" of equal subordinate status to other statements approved by the General Council.

. the Executive of General Council has made a response which includes documents not cited as Doctrine in The Manual of the United Church of Canada, (cf. Statement of Faith (1940), A New Creed (1968 revised 1994), The Lordship of Jesus (1978), The Authority and Interpretation of Scripture (1992)), and other "doctrinal standards", when The Manual makes no such provision for these documents with respect to the Order of Ministry (cf. The Basis of Union 11.2, and The Manual 026(b), 027, 031(e)ii, 032(a), 066).

. the United Church of Canada defines itself and its governance with The Manual and sets forth Section 2 of The Basis of Union as the Doctrine of the United Church of Canada, requiring 'essential agreement' only with the doctrinal statements set forth in The Basis of Union by the Order of Ministry (The Basis of Union 11.2, and The Manual 026(b), 027, 031(e)ii, 032(a)). There is no requirement of the Order of Ministry for 'essential agreement' with any other document of the church with respect to doctrine.

. the Executive of General Council did decide that the views expressed were personal to the Moderator and not in his capacity as Moderator.

. the Executive of General Council did implicitly recognize the statements as being in congruence with the stated policies and statements of the United Church of Canada.

. the Executive of General Council did implicitly decide that the statements were within the requirement of 'essential agreement' with the doctrinal statements of the United Church of Canada.

. the Executive of General Council did implicitly decide that the pain in the body of Christ was caused by diversity of interpretation, and not by the statements of the Moderator.

. the Executive of General Council Response has an express finding and a recital of an acknowledgement "that there is pain in the body of Christ", requiring that its response deal with resolution of conflict.

. the Executive decided not to apply the provision of The Manual 065 through 075, and elected to treat the matter as being solely of an administrative concern.

. the Executive of General Council has made a response which implies in the mind of the reader that official statements are Doctrine (cf. "... affirm the doctrine of the United Church as set forth in... the Statement of Faith (1940) and expressed further in such documents as the "New Creed" (1968, as further revised in 1994), "The Lordship of Jesus" (1978) and the Authority and Interpretation of Scripture (1992)"), and other "doctrinal standards", making a transition from official statements to Doctrine without first complying with the requirements of The Basis of Union 8.6.2(1) and The Manual 505(a).

. there exists a process in The Manual to modify or change Doctrine if it be found in error or incomplete.

. the United Church of Canada appears to be making decisions by increment. By making decisions along the way we confuse the decision making process, the process being prejudiced because in the minds of many people the decision has already been made and acted upon.

. there are far reaching implications of this response on the United Church of Canada, irrespective of the Moderator.

. the Executive of General Council has made a response which is seen to be unjust in the public eye, is inimical to the doctrinal statements in The Basis of Union of the United Church of Canada, and is wrong by the bylaws governing the United Church of Canada (The Manual sections 076(e)ii, iii, iv).

. the Ottawa Citizen published the Executive of General Council Response on its front page (Ottawa Citizen, November 25, 1997) and the doctrinal statements of The Basis of Union on the seventh page, leaving question in the minds of thoughtful readers with respect to the justice and kindness of the response and the Doctrine of the United Church of Canada.

. the events that gave rise to this response are in the public eye, and bring ridicule and scorn upon the United Church of Canada (cf. the editorial cartoon and editorial, The Globe and Mail, November 26 and 27, 1997).

Appeal

1. I ask the Judicial Committee of the United Church of Canada to declare that the response of the Executive of General Council failed to recognize the requirements of Order of Ministry as distinct from those of members of congregations, when they stated "... we do not believe that faithfulness consists in assenting to particular statements. Rarely, if ever, do we use doctrinal standards to exclude anyone from the circle of belonging"... and with respect to the polity within The Basis of Union 11.2, 11.3 3, also interpreted in the bylaws of The Manual 026(b), 027, 031(e)ii, 032(a).

2. I ask the Judicial Committee of the United Church of Canada to declare that the response of the Executive of General Council wrongly included as statements of doctrine (cf. Statement of Faith (1940), A New Creed (1968 revised 1994), The Lordship of Jesus (1978), The Authority and Interpretation of Scripture (1992)) and other "doctrinal standards" which The Manual does not reference as Doctrine in applying the provisions of The Basis of Union 8.6.10, 11.2, 11.3 3, and The Manual 026(b), 027, 031(e)ii, 032(a), 066, 067(d)), and which cannot be relied upon to modify or change doctrinal statements in The Basis of Union without a remit pursuant to The Basis of Union 8.6.2(1) and The Manual 505(a).

3. I ask the Judicial Committee of the United Church to declare that Executive of General Council failed to resolve the issues of the complaint that had been referred to it by the Bay of Quinte Conference, and those who wrote to the Executive of General Council, and to return the issue to the Executive of General Council for resolution.

4. I ask the Judicial Committee of the United Church of Canada to formally declare what is Doctrine and what is not Doctrine of the United Church of Canada.

5. I ask the Judicial Committee of the United Church of Canada to require the Executive of General Council to affirm as the Doctrine of the United Church of Canada the doctrinal statements set forth in The Basis of Union, or in the alternative, to require the Executive of General Council to immediately seek amendment to The Basis of Union and immediately seek approval of the New Doctrine by way of remit to all Pastoral Charges and Presbyteries.

6. I ask the Judicial Committee of the United Church of Canada to require the Executive of General Council to publish the findings of the Judicial Committee.

Conclusion

Justice must not only be done but also be seen to be done. There can be no shalom without justice.

Rev. Don Anderson
White Lake Pastoral Charge

cc Renfrew Presbytery
Bay of Quinte Conference