The United Church of Canada uses a three-level model of governance, consisting of communities of faith; regional councils; and the General Council.
There are currently just over 2,000 communities of faith, which are the basic unit of the United Church, consisting of one or more congregations under the spiritual leadership of a minister or ministry team.[1] The community of faith is responsible for their day-to-day operations, including worship, programming, mission, building maintenance and finances, local committee work and projects. The community of faith, is also responsible for searching out and hiring church staff, including ministers, musicians and lay staff; maintenance and upkeep of their property and buildings; deciding when they worship, and how often; policies on candidacy for baptism and marriage (including, but not limited to whether the congregation will allow same-sex marriages to be performed in their building); Christian development and education within the congregation (Sunday School, youth and adult confirmation classes, Bible study, etc.); outreach projects to the community and wider world; and other day-to-day functions. Policy decisions at this level are usually made by a congregational Board or Council which can take one of several forms, as listed in the United Church policy and doctrine handbook, known as The Manual. Certain items, including budgets, major financial expenses, renovations, election of board members and changes to ministry personnel must be approved at a meeting of the full congregation. Other decisions must be approved by or made with the support of a Regional Council.
Communities of faith are grouped into sixteen regional councils, which are responsible for a variety of tasks, including the care and oversight of the communities of faith within it.
The regional councils draw their membership and leadership from their communities of faith, supported by paid resource staff — each community of faith, depending on its size, elects between 1-4 of its members to serve on the regional council. In addition to these lay members, all ministers, both active and retired, within the area of the regional council are also members of the United Church through the regional council. (This is unlike some other denominations where the clergy's membership resides within a local congregation or community of faith.) If needed, the regional council can also seek out other members of the wider church to sit on committees and task groups in order to better represent the diversity, skill and gifts of the entire United Church.
Regional councils are responsible for a variety of tasks within the wider church, including recognizing, supporting and living in covenantal relationship with ministry students, candidates and other personnel; supporting, servicing and overseeing the work of communities of faith; engaging in local, national and global initiatives and partnerships for mission, ministry, ecumenism and justice; implementing and setting policy; and, along with the General Council, working towards joining the church's "collective hearts, voices, and resources to witness to the gospel and vision of Jesus for a compassionate and just society, both in Canada and around the world."
General Council has 260 members:
The Executive then elects enough members to bring the total number to 260, choosing members who will ensure diversity in gender, age, racial and cultural identities and sexual expressions.
The term of service on General Council is three years. At the start of their term, all members meet in person to
Following their first meeting, the members of the General Council then meet annually, either through electronic means or in person, to fulfill corporate legal requirements and for other business as determined by the Executive. Between meetings of the full General Council, an Executive serves to deal with any urgent and emergent matters, although it is possible for the full body of the General Council to be recalled for special or specific purposes. The General Council is responsible for
The General Council Office consists of the Moderator, the General Secretary and other support staff to the General Council, as well as members of the four permanent committees of the General Council, seven major working units and various other committees and task groups. The General Council Office is under the complete direction of the larger General Council and has a mandate to carry out the work which is given to them by the General Council.[2]
| Name of Region | Description | Approximate Number of Communities of Faith in Region |
|---|---|---|
| Pacific Mountain Region | The majority of British Columbia Banff, Alberta Yukon | 174 |
| Northern Spirit Region | Northeastern British Columbia,including Fort Nelson, Fort St. John and surrounding areas. Northern Alberta, above and including Highway 13 The Northwest Territories | 95 |
| Chinook Winds Region | Southern Alberta, excluding Banff | 91 |
| Living Skies Region | Saskatchewan | 172 |
| Prairie to Pine Region | Manitoba All of Northwestern Ontario within the Central Time Zone | 144 |
| Canadian Shield Region | All of Northwestern Ontario within the Eastern Time Zone Northeastern Ontario Manitoulin Island Abitibi-Témiscamingue Region, Quebec Algoma District | 78 |
| Antler River Watershed Region | Southwestern Ontario, including London and Windsor | 141 |
| Western Ontario Waterways Region | Bruce Peninsula Huron County Perth County Kitchener-Waterloo Angus, Borden, Owen Sound and surrounding area | 138 |
| Horseshoe Falls Region | Hamilton Regional Municipality of Halton, including Oakville Niagara Region Norval, Georgetown, Acton | 143 |
| Shining Waters Region | The majority of the Greater Toronto Area. Muskoka Region Other communities north of Toronto, including Barrie and Orillia | 160 |
| East Central Ontario Region | Southeastern Ontario and Durham Region, excluding the Ottawa Valley, Brockville and surrounding areas. | 146 |
| Eastern Ontario Outaouais Region | Ottawa, Ontario and the Ottawa Valley Southeastern Ontario-Quebec border region including Brockville, Smiths Falls, Prescott and Hawkesbury | 133 |
| Nakonha:ka | All of Quebec, excluding the Outaouais/Pontiac areas Abitibi-Témiscamingue Region and the Gaspé Peninsula Nunavut | 76 |
| Fundy St. Lawrence Dawning Waters Region | Gaspé Peninsula New Brunswick Prince Edward Island | 116 |
| Bermuda-Nova Scotia Region | Nova Scotia Bermuda | 139 |
| First Dawn Eastern Edge Region | Newfoundland and Labrador | 88 |
From 1925 to 2018, the church used a four-court model of governance, consisting of pastoral charges; presbyteries; conferences and the General Council.
| Name of Conference | Regions Covered | Names of Presbyteries | Regions Covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Native Circle Conference[3] | First Nations congregations across much of Canada including: British Columbia Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba Ontario Quebec | All Tribes Presbytery | First Nations in Alberta |
| Great Lakes Waterways Presbytery | First Nations in Ontario and Quebec | ||
| Keewatin Presbytery | First Nations in Northern Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario | ||
| Plains Presbytery | |||
| British Columbia Conference[4] | Cariboo Presbytery | Central and Interior British Columbia | |
| Comox-Nanaimo Presbytery | Northern Vancouver Island | ||
| Fraser Presbytery | Southwestern BC mainland | ||
| Kamloops-Okanagan Presbytery | South-Central BC and the Okanogan Valley | ||
| Kootenay Presbytery | Southeastern BC mainland | ||
| Prince Rupert Presbytery | Northwestern BC mainland | ||
| Vancouver-Burrard Presbytery | City of North Vancouver, Northern area of Vancouver, Pemberton, Squamish, West Vancouver, Whistler | ||
| Vancouver South Presbytery | Ladner, Richmond, Tsawwassen First Nation, Southern Vancouver | ||
| Victoria Presbytery | Southern Vancouver Island, Gulf Islands, Victoria | ||
| Westminster Presbytery | Burnaby, Coquitlam, New Westminster, Port Moody | ||
| Alberta Northwest Conference[5] | Alberta Yukon Northwest Territories Northeastern British Columbia | Calgary Presbytery | Calgary |
| Coronation Presbytery | |||
| Edmonton Presbytery | |||
| Foothills Presbytery | South-Central Alberta including Banff | ||
| Northern Lights Presbytery | Northwestern Alberta, Northeastern BC, Yukon, Northwest Territories | ||
| Red Deer Presbytery | Red Deer and Central Alberta | ||
| Saint Paul Presbytery | North-Central Alberta | ||
| South Alberta Presbytery | Southern Alberta | ||
| Yellowhead Presbytery | Northeastern Alberta | ||
| Saskatchewan Conference[6] | Saskatchewan | Chinook Presbytery | Southwestern Saskatchewan |
| Good Spirit Presbytery | Eastern Saskatchewan | ||
| Prairie Pine Presbytery | Western Saskatchewan | ||
| River Bend Presbytery | Saskatoon and Central Saskatchewan | ||
| Tamarack Presbytery | Northern Saskatchewan including Prince Albert | ||
| Twin Valleys Presbytery | Southeastern Saskatchewan including Qu'Appelle | ||
| Wascana Presbytery | The city of Regina and surrounding areas | ||
| Conference of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario[7] | Manitoba Northwestern Ontario | Assiniboine Presbytery | Southwestern Manitoba including Brandon |
| Agassiz Presbytery | Southern Manitoba | ||
| Cambrian Presbytery | |||
| Northland Presbytery | Northwestern and Western Manitoba | ||
| Selkirk Presbytery | Southeastern Manitoba | ||
| Winnipeg Presbytery | |||
| Manitou Conference[8] | Northeastern Ontario Manitoulin Island Abitibi-Témiscamingue Region, Quebec | North Bay Presbytery | The city of North Bay and surrounding area |
| Spirit Dancing Presbytery | Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Cochrance, Kapuskasing, Timiskaming, Timmins and surrounding areas | ||
| Sudbury Presbytery | Elliot Lake, Manitoulin Island, Sudbury and surrounding areas | ||
| London Conference[9] | Southwestern Ontario Algoma District | Algoma Presbytery | The Algoma District and the Eastern coast of Lake Superior including Sault Sainte-Marie, Manitouwadge, Wawa |
| Elgin Presbytery | Elgin County | ||
| Essex Presbytery | Essex County including the city of Windsor | ||
| Huron-Perth Presbytery | Huron County and Perth County | ||
| Kent Presbytery | Chatham-Kent | ||
| Lambton Presbytery | Lambton County | ||
| Middlesex Presbytery | Middlesex County | ||
| Oxford Presbytery | |||
| Hamilton Conference[10] | Bruce Peninsula Hamilton Niagara Region Kitchener-Waterloo | Bruce Presbytery | Bruce Peninsula |
| Erie Presbytery | Brant County, Haldimand County, Norfolk County | ||
| Halton Presbytery | Regional Municipality of Halton including Oakville | ||
| Hamilton Presbytery | The city of Hamilton | ||
| Niagara Presbytery | The Niagara Region | ||
| Waterloo Presbytery | Cambridge, Guelph, Kitchener-Waterloo and surrounding areas | ||
| Toronto Conference[11] | The Greater Toronto Area Muskoka Region | Living Waters Presbytery | Muskoka Region and communities north of Toronto including Barrie |
| Northern Waters Presbytery | Angus, Borden, Durham, Owen Sound and surrounding areas | ||
| South West Presbytery | Southwestern region of the Greater Toronto Area | ||
| Toronto Southeast Presbytery | Southeastern region of the Greater Toronto Area | ||
| Bay of Quinte Conference[12] | Southeastern Ontario | Four Rivers Presbytery | Brockville, Smiths Falls, Perth and surrounding areas |
| Four Winds Presbytery | Bath, Harrowsmith, Kingston, Wolfe Island and surrounding areas | ||
| Hills and Shores Presbytery | Brighton, Campbellford, Cobourg, Trenton and surrounding areas | ||
| Kawartha Highlands Presbytery | Beaverton, Haliburton County, Kawartha Lakes | ||
| Kente Presbytery | Belleville, Madoc, Prince Edward County | ||
| Lakeridge Presbytery | Ajax, Oshawa, Whitby and surrounding areas | ||
| Shining Waters Presbytery | Bancroft, Peterborough and surrounding areas | ||
| Upper Valley Presbytery | Arnprior, Denbigh, Pembroke, Renfrew and surrounding areas | ||
| Synode Montréal et Ottawa Conference[13] | Ottawa, Ontario Most of Quebec Nunavut | Le Consistoire Laurentien | Laurentians, Numerous francophone congregations throughout Quebec |
| Montréal Presbytery | Laval, The city of Montreal, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and surrounding areas | ||
| Ottawa Presbytery | The city of Ottawa, the Eastern Ottawa Valley and Gatineau, Quebec | ||
| Quebec-Sherbrooke Presbytery | Western, Central and Northern Quebec and the entirety of Nunavut, including the Côte-Nord region, the Eastern Townships, Nord-du-Quebec region and Quebec City | ||
| Seaway Valley Presbytery | Southeastern Ontario-Quebec border region including Prescott and Hawkesbury | ||
| Maritime Conference[14] | Gaspé Peninsula New Brunswick Nova Scotia Prince Edward Island Bermuda | Bermuda Synod | Bermuda |
| Chignecto Presbytery | Southeastern New Brunswick and Western Nova Scotia including Amherst, Moncton, Sackville, Springhill and surrounding areas | ||
| Halifax Presbytery | Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia | ||
| Inverness-Guysborough Presbytery | Northeastern mainland of Nova Scotia and western Cape Breton including Guysborough County and Inverness County | ||
| Miramichi Presbytery | Northern and Northeastern New Brunswick, Gaspé Peninsula including Miramichi, Bathurst, Campbellton, and Percé | ||
| Prince Edward Island Presbytery | Prince Edward Island | ||
| Pictou Presbytery | Northwestern mainland of Nova Scotia including Pictou County and Antigonish County | ||
| Saint John Presbytery | South-Central New Brunswick and the city of Saint John | ||
| South Shore Presbytery | Southern Nova Scotia including the South Shore | ||
| Saint Croix Presbytery | Southwestern New Brunswick | ||
| Sydney Presbytery | Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Victoria County and Richmond County | ||
| Truro Presbytery | |||
| Valley Presbytery | |||
| Woolastook Presbytery | Central and Western New Brunswick including Fredericton, Edmundston | ||
| Newfoundland and Labrador Conference[15] | Newfoundland and Labrador | Western District | Western Newfoundland and Labrador including Port-aux-Basques, Saint Anthony, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Forteau, Labrador |
| Eastern District |