4.81. Rights of higher courts. The presbytery by its own authority may appoint its meetings in any church within its bounds and the Assembly or any committee thereof may appoint its meetings in any church the Assembly's jurisdiction. 4.82. Assessors. Where there is a session the presbytery may, at the request of the session or on its own authority, appoint assessors to sit and act with the session and to have for the time specified the full powers of ordinary members. 4.83. Application for advice. Sessions may at all times apply for advice and assistance to the presbytery or, through the presbytery, to the Assembly. 5 THE PRESBYTERY CONSTITUTION 5.01. Presbytery. A presbytery is a court of the church immediately above the session. Congregations while organised for the orderly administration of their own affairs are integral portions of one and the same church having a common doctrine and being subject to a common government which is exercised by ministers and elders from congregations within a given area who form a presbytery. 5.02. Powers of presbytery. its responsibilities the presbytery shall: (a) supervise all matters relating to doctrine, discipline and in the congregations and all their associations and societies, within its boundaries, (b) deal with all matters affecting the teaching and character of the ministers, licentiates and deaconesses residing within its boundaries,
(h) ministers eligible for a call who have been appointed to an appointment charge for a period of at one year or appointed to work as an assistant to a minister of a pastoral charge and who have been granted a seat in the presbytery, and ministers under appointment by the Committee on Ministry and Mission to serve in a Home Mission Station for a period of at least one year, and which Home Mission Station has elected to pay Assembly assessments. (i) elders from pastoral charges or home mission stations within its bounds in favour of whom written commissions have been sustained by the presbytery, provided that an additional may be commissioned from a pastoral charge for every ordained minister inducted and serving in the pastoral charge as an associate or colleague. (j) elders of sessions within its bounds who are conveners of standing committees of the Assembly, chairpersons of boards or councils of the Assembly, full-time officers of committees of the Assembly appointed to their offices by the Assembly, the Chairman of Trustees, and principals of church schools regularly appointed, (k) acting elders appointed by the presbytery from sessions within its bounds to give parity with ministerial members of presbytery. Such appointments shall be made annually following the receiving of elders' commissions and after the presbytery roll has been prepared. Ministers eligible for a Call who have been appointed by the Ministry and Mission Committee to exercise an intentional transition ministry for a period of at least one year. 5.05. Assessors. The Assembly may, upon cause shown, appoint members of one or more presbyteries to act as assessors to another presbytery for the conduct of a particular case which being disposed of their commission is closed. The Assembly at the request of a presbytery or on its own initiative may appoint assessors to sit and act with a presbytery and to have until the next meeting of the Assembly the full powers of ordinary members. 5.06. Deaconesses and home missionaries. A presbytery may extend privileges equivalent to those of an associate member to deaconesses serving within its bounds under appointment by or with the approval of the
commissions are in proper form and that any commission in favour of an elder of another session than that issuing the commission is accompanied with a certificate setting forth that the said elder is an acting elder of such session. Commissions unaccompanied by such certificates are received with the understanding that if the certificate is not forwarded to the clerk of the Assembly before the commencement of the Assembly the commission will not be sustained. 5.71. Ministerial changes reported. The of presbytery shall send to the clerk of the Assembly and not less than thirty days before the meeting of each Assembly a detailed report of all ministerial changes which have occurred within the bounds of the presbytery during the previous twelve months. 5.72. Nomination of presbytery representatives. A presbytery is required to nominate its representatives to the standing committees of the Assembly at the last ordinary meeting of the presbytery before 1 March in each year. The nominations are forwarded to the clerk of the Assembly for the guidance of meetings of standing committees in making their nominations in March preparatory to the list of standing committees being presented to the Assembly. 2. Amend 8.10 so that it will read: 8.10. Meets annually. The Assembly prior to its close shall fix the time, date and place of its next annual meeting which shall generally be no later than 31 July in the following year. PART III 1. Delete the Ministry and Mission Committee regulations (A7) and insert the new regulations.