Meeting Schedule (2024/2025)
Regular Presbytery Meetings are generally on the 4th Tuesday of the month, starting at 7pm. Meetings alternate between regular business meetings and meetings where members break into their respective committees.
Sometimes there is a dinner before the meeting that all attendees are invited to attend.
| Date | Location |
| 24th September (Regular) | Knox, Oakville (89 Dunn Street, Oakville, ON, L6J 3C8) Dinner beforehand at 6pm, please RSVP if attending. |
| 1st October (Emergent) | St Andrew’s Brampton. (44 Church St E, Brampton, ON L6V 1G3) |
| 22nd October (Committee) | Zoom Online Meeting |
| 26th November (Regular) | |
| No meeting in December | |
| 28th January (Committee) | |
| February (Regular) | |
| March (Committee) | |
| April (Regular) | |
| May (Committee) | |
| June (Regular) |
The Presbytery Business Committee meets one week prior to the Presbytery meetings. Please submit all reports via the Clerk no less than 10 days before the scheduled Presbytery meeting…
Committees of the Presbytery
A Presbytery functions by having all of its members pull together to get things done! We do this through that most Presbyterian of things, COMMITTEES! These are working teams that each take on an area of responsibility within the Presbytery as a whole.
The Presbytery of Brampton has five (5) Standing Committees that require staffing throughout the year. These include:
- Nominations
- Congregational Life
- Ministry
- Missions
- Pastoral Guidance
Two other committees do work on an as-needed basis. These are the Sexual Abuse and Harassment Committee (which only has work if there is a complaint against a Minister or Elder that falls into this category) and Standing Orders (which reviews the practices and procedures of the Presbytery, updating them as necessary).
Last of all is the Business Committee, which is made up of the heads of all committees, plus the Moderator, the Clerk / Deputy Clerk, the Treasurer, the Past Moderator, and the Incoming Moderator once they are elected. Business Committee ensures that all matters coming to the floor of Presbytery are decently presented and in good order and that they are given their proper amount of time on the Docket of each meeting.
So, what do the five Standing Committees do?!
The Nominations Committee is responsible for things like keeping track of who is on what committee, who will be serving as commissioners to Synod or General Assembly, and assigning interim moderators to vacant pastoral charges. This is a very person-oriented committee that requires making connections between ministers and elders and positions where they may be suited to serve. The full responsibilities of the NomCom is spelled out in Section 10 of the Standing Orders.
The Congregational Life Committee is generally charged with fellowship, education, and growth events within the congregations of the Presbytery. They often get charged with planning workshops on specific matters facing congregations, such as children’s education, elder training, stewardship, etc. CLC also schedules out the worship services for the various Presbytery meetings throughout the year. If you like planning events for others to attend, this may be th team for you! Their jobs are spelled out in Section 11 of the Standing Orders.
The Ministry Committee deals with all matters relating to ministry personnel, including ordained clergy within the Presbytery, as well as students seeking ordination. They will examine candidates who apply for seminary and monitor their progress, provide pastoral support to ministers on sick leave, and conduct exit interviews with ministers who are leaving the Presbytery. Again, this is a very people-oriented group, and their duties are found in Section 12 of the Standing Orders.
The Missions Committee not only promotes mission opportunities from the Church within the Presbytery, they also examine mission opportunities within the Presbytery, examining what the congregations of the Court are potentially able to get behind and make happen. At this time, they are also conducting discussions about the future shape of ministry in the various regions of the Presbytery, in order to see how God is continuing to reform the mission of both Churches and congregation. If “mission” work lights you up, see Section 13 of the Standing Orders to see everything else about this team (and understand that that description does not stand in the way of new ideas!).
Finally, the Pastoral Guidance Committee comes alongside ministers and congregations in need of pastoral guidance within the bounds of the Presbytery. They visit congregations and clergy who may be struggling with present realities of church work, and they occasionally review the records of congregations to ensure that they are in proper order. If problems or concerns are reported to the Presbytery, PGC usually goes in first to assess the situation before recommending a future course of action. If you have a heart for coming alongside those who are in crisis, section 14 of the Standing Orders outlines the duties of this team and how you could fit in.
With these committees healthy and functioning at full strength, this Presbytery is also healthy and able both to respond to crises that arise within its bounds and to see where God is leading the various congregations into areas of ministry they may not have considered before. While it is preferable that the Rep Elder serve on one of these committees, there is nothing preventing a congregational elder from volunteering for a role on one of them! If you see yourself or someone on your Session as having the skills and gifts to fit into one of these groups, please put their name forward to the Clerk, the Deputy Clerk, or the head of the NomCom!