Nominations for church governance bodies now open

Nominations for positions on the boards, councils, commissions and committees of the LCANZ are now open.

Appointment to these governance bodies is for a synodical term. Apart from the General Church Board (GCB), whose members are elected at General Synod and take office at the end of Synod, all other positions change at the beginning of the new year. Like GCB, the LCANZ Assistant Bishop will be elected at the upcoming Convention of General Synod, which will be held in Adelaide in October this year.

Current members of governing bodies who wish to be considered for reappointment need to complete a nomination form and submit it to nominations@staging.lca.org.au prior to 30 June 2024. If a member of a governing body has been appointed during this synodical term to fill a casual vacancy, they will also need to re-nominate for the coming term if they wish to continue. All nominations will be considered, and the appointment process is spelled out in the related Terms of Reference (TORs). The relevant TORs are available through the governing and advisory bodies list on the Nominations webpage at www.staging.lca.org.au/nominations

Nominees need to provide proof of a current Working with Children Check or its equivalent and all appointees for the next term will need to have completed Safe Church training – or an equivalent, to comply with the LCA’s Child Protection Policy.

The Standing Committee on Nominations (SCoN) will provide recommendations for appointment to the various appointing bodies for their decision. This will be done in time for all nominees to be advised of the outcome before the end of 2024. Consideration is given to required skills (see the Competencies list on the Nominations webpage), as well as aiming for a spread of ages and geographic locations, and gender balance. Synod has also previously resolved to encourage the appointment of young people aged 18 to 30 on all governance bodies. Recently, the College of Bishops determined that Special Ministry Pastors (SMPs) can be considered for the role of pastor on governance bodies.

Current governance bodies are required to revise their Terms of Reference and, if this has not yet been completed, should do so as soon as possible. All changes to TORs must be submitted to the Standing Committee on Constitutions and the appropriate approving body for ratification. If changes are made, the approved TORs must be forwarded to SCoN so that the Nomination Form can be individualised for each group. In reviewing TORs, please ensure that all sections are fit for purpose.

Nominations will close on 30 June. An electronic document will be prepared which lists nominees for governance bodies and limited information about them. This will be available before Synod.

The Nominations webpage is currently being updated with any revised TORs and governance body listings, refreshed nomination forms and an updated Frequently Asked Questions.

In a recent letter to all chairpersons of LCA boards, councils, commissions and committees, SCoN chairperson Colleen Fitzpatrick encouraged those leaders to ‘feel free to approach potential members who have the skills that are required, and encourage them to nominate’ if there were members of their group who was not seeking re-appointment. ‘Our governing bodies are skills-based, and hence we need to ensure that the required skills mix is available.’

She also requested leaders of governing bodies to complete a skills matrix including details of those possibly re-nominating to assist SCoN in considering nominations and recommendations for appointment.