General Questions

General questions about the Ministry of Pastor

1. What do Pastors do?

Pastors undertake significant ministries on behalf of the Church – sometimes in congregations and sometimes in other settings.

A Pastor may undertake general pastoral and worship responsibilities in a congregation, be a youth worker, an evangelist or a family and children’s worker. They may even use these ways of describing themselves and their work. A person will only be described as “Pastor” if that is what their Position Description says. The 11th Assembly report on this ministry described the ministry of Pastor in the following way:

  • Teaching the beliefs and practices of the Church; and/or
  • Pastoral oversight of members of and / or groups operating under the auspices of the Uniting Church; and/or
  • Leadership of worship of congregations or faith communities of the Uniting Church; and/or
  • Evangelism or service beyond a gathered congregation but which is exercised under the auspices of the Uniting Church

2. Who can be a pastor?

Not everyone who undertakes these important roles in the life and witness of the church will be a Pastor for the purposes of the Regulations.

A person is a Pastor, for the purposes of the regulations, when they exercise a significant ministry that is recognised by the Church (i.e. the Presbytery or the wider Church) as being a suitable location for this ministry [see Reg. 2.14.5].

Where a role is involved in the areas mentioned in 2.14.2, the position is normally remunerated or involves a significant amount of time then it is likely that the person will be regarded as a Pastor.

To be a Pastor a person must have been a confirmed member or member in association in the Uniting Church for a period of 12 months prior to being appointed to their position.

Persons who are not confirmed members or members in association can be appointed to these positions through the appointment process but they will not be a Pastor for the purposes of the Regulations.

3. Why have Pastors at all?

The Church has always taken seriously the need for those people who represent the Church in ministry, and in particular represent us to people outside the life of the UCA, to be suitably qualified and prepared for their ministry. When people exercise ministry in the name of the whole church, or significant representative ministry on behalf of  a local congregation, the Church has two duties:

  • To ensure that people are not put in places of responsibility that are beyond them; and 
  • To ensure that people who rely on the ministry that is offered can have confidence that it is up to an appropriate standard both ethically and in terms of competence.

The way the Church has sought to do this in the past has been through recognising certain ministries. These have been both lay and ordained. Over the years since union, the number of ministries has increased compared to those that were in place in the uniting churches.

The 11th Assembly received and accepted a report that proposed a simplification of the system of lay specified ministries and which seeks to ensure that whoever serves in a significant representative ministry on behalf of the Church is in a specified relationship with the Church.  The aim is to have a simpler, flexible/adaptive and more comprehensive system for the oversight and support of significant representative ministries that are undertaken on behalf of the Church.

4. I am already employed but want to be recognised as a Pastor. What do I do?

You should first contact your Presbytery and advise them of your desire to be recognised as a Pastor. The Presbytery will be able to begin the process with you.  If you want some information you can also contact the Ministry of Pastor Consultant.

5. Do teachers in UCA schools have to come under the ministry of Pastor regulations?

When we talk about teachers in UCA Schools with respect to the Ministry of Pastor, we must focus on what they are teaching and not just that they are teaching. This means that teachers who are primarily teaching NSW Board of Education subjects, would NOT come under the ministry of Pastor regulations as they are not teaching the beliefs and practices of the UCA.

Teachers who are primarily teaching General Religious Education (GRE) would also NOT come under the ministry of Pastor as they are not teaching the beliefs and practices of the UCA in particular.

When it comes to Special Religious Education (SRE) when group teaching happens (what is normally referred to as Joint Denominational Scripture) then this would NOT come under the ministry of Pastor.

However, when the teaching is not ecumenical or within the above mentioned joint Denominational Scripture structure, and especially when the scripture class is designated as Uniting Church Scripture, then Presbytery will need to consider the position description and ministry location for its appropriateness for the exercise of the ministry of Pastor. This is because in these cases there is a higher possibility that the person who is teaching would be teaching the beliefs and practices of the UCA.

 

Questions for Employers

Questions related to Agencies orCongregations

1. Do I have to send all position descriptions via the Presbytery?  

Yes. The Presbytery is responsible to approve the terms and conditions of all position descriptions, even if the position is not a ministry of pastor position.

2. Do positions that are bona fide short term appointments of 12 months or less come under the ministry of Pastor Regulations?

No. Any position that is for 12 months or less and that has no possibility of continuing (written or implied) would not come under the ministry of Pastor Regulations

3. What is a bonafide fixed term position or contract?

 A fixed term contract of employment may only be offered:

  • for the completion of a specifically funded task(s) or project – not subject to recurrent funding; or
  • to relieve an employee who is undertaking a specifically funded task(s) or projects for a defined period; or
  • to relieve a vacant position arising from an employee taking extended leave such as annual, sick, long service, parental leave or absence on workers compensation; or
  • to relieve in a vacant position arising from an employee taking leave without pay in conjunction with parental leave; or
  • for the temporary provision of specialist skills that are not available within the organization for a specified period of time; or
  • to fill short term vacancies during the recruitment or selection process resulting from the cessation of employment of an existing employee;

 Provided that:

  • the fixed term shall not exceed 12 months; and
  • remuneration will be paid at a casual rate of pay inclusive of casual loadings and a 1/12th component in lieu of an entitlement to paid leave; and
  • the duties performed do not constitute the core work of the employer and are not ongoing to the operational requirements of the employer; and
  • the incumbent to the fixed term contract is not an existing employee of the employer; and
  • the incumbent to the fixed term contract is not being employed to fill a position previously held by a permanent employee except under circumstances specified in a) – f) above; and
  • when offering fixed term employment the employer shall, advise the employee in writing of the temporary nature of the employment, the actual duration of the fixed term employment and that employment beyond the end date of the fixed term employment is not expected or guaranteed; and
  • the employment of the employee cannot be terminated before the end date of the fixed term contract other than for cases of willful misconduct without paying out the unexpired term of the fixed term; and
  •  where the employee remains in the workplace past the end date of the fixed term contract, the fixed term nature of the contract is negated and the employee has ongoing employment with the employer, unless a once only short term extension to the fixed term contract of no more than 6 months has been negotiated between the parties before the end date of the original fixed term contract.

4. Do these regulations apply to existing employees in continuing employment prior to 1 January 2009? 

No. The ministry of Pastor Regulations only apply to eligible positions which commence after the 1st January 2009.

5. Do these regulations apply to all employees in eligible positions from 1 January 2009? 

Yes.  As long as the Presbytery has designated the position location as appropriate for the exercise of the ministry of Pastor.