The United Church of Canada is governed by congregational structures including a number of local boards, committees and meetings. We have the following at St. James.

The Congregational Meeting — The congregational meeting of the pastoral charge (St. James United Church) is the highest court within the congregational structure. All committees and their actions are accountable to the Annual Congregational Meeting through their annual reports, which are first presented to the Official Board. It is a responsibility of the Congregational Meeting to have oversight of the whole of congregational life. A Congregational Meeting can be called at any time. The minister or a representative from Presbytery must be present to constitute a meeting. For information about procedures leading to the Annual Congregational General Meeting on April 11, 2010, click here.

The Official Board – consists of the members of Session ( the elders), the Committee of Stewards and representatives of all other committees of the church. It meets quarterly and receives regular reports from Session, Stewards, Trustees and Ministry and Personnel. The Board gives feedback and direction on behalf of the congregation. The minister or a representative of Presbytery must be present to constitute a meeting. The chair of the Official Board is Rev. Arlen Bonnar.

The elders of the Court of Session are responsible for the spiritual life and worship of the church. It is also the duty of Session to maintain the congregational membership role and oversee our outreach. The Outreach, Christian Education and Music Support committees report to Session. The Clerk of Session is Lorna Willey.

The Court of Session of St. James United is asking the congregation to fill out the following questionnaire. This information will be invaluable to us as we plan content for both weekly services and on-going programs. Download the survey here – DOC (MS Word) file.

The Board of Trustees oversees the material and physical aspects of the church. They hold the church property “In Trust” for the Presbytery of Montreal and The United Church of Canada. They also oversee all preservation and restoration work of the church buildings and manage all trust funds. The Chair of Trustees is Randolf Harrold.

The Committee of Stewards is responsible for overseeing the financial operations of the congregation. A member of the committee is designated as the congregational treasurer. At St. James, the Stewards also oversee any rentals within the church building. The Chair of Stewards is Sandra Skelly

The Ministry and Personnel committee is responsible for overseeing all staff employed by the congregation. They meet annually and individually with the staff for staff for support and evaluation. They make recommendations to the Official Board on issues relating to salary and job descriptions. The Chair of Ministry and Personnel is Valerie Shannon.

If you have any questions for any of these committees, send an email to the chair of that committee at james@qc.aibn.com.

St. James sends delegates to the local gathering of churches – the monthly meetings of the Montreal Presbytery of the United Church of Canada; the annual gatherings of the regional body – the Montreal and Ottawa Conference of the UCC; and the triennial meetings of the General Council of the United Church of Canada whose national office in Toronto coordinates church affairs. Read here the report of Ryan Fea, a delegate from St. James to the General Council in August 2009 in Kamloops, BC. (A report of the 2010 meeting of Conference is available on our news page.)

The information on this page is an overview. For more information consult the United Church Manual available on the General Council website of the United Church of Canada.

The United Church of Canada held its national 85th anniversary service in Toronto on June 20th in another "Cathedral of Methodism" -- Metropolitan United Church. Our own Every Kid Choir participated. The service opened with greetings and prayers to the Creator from a native elder.