Author: walrus76

• The Presbytery celebrated the organization of New City Church, Newmarket, the installation of Teaching Elder Albert Kooy as its pastor, and the ordination & installation of its first ruling elders.
• The Presbytery also celebrated the installation of Teaching Elder Christo Heiberg as assistant pastor of Providence Community Church, St. Catharines.
• The Presbytery made a number of changes to the standing rules, as follows:
  • The Candidates and Credentials, Ontario subcommittee was renamed “Candidates and Credentials, Ontario and Quebec” to reflect the new boundary changes.
  • The two subcommittees of MNA were merged to form one centralized MNA Committee.
  • Because we have moved from two to three stated meetings a year, the session records are now to be submitted to the third stated meeting of presbytery.
  • The Shepherding Committee was formed.
• Teaching Elder Stephen Welch was confirmed as removed from the rolls of Eastern Canada Presbytery, having transferred to Hanover Presbytery, a different church body.
• The Presbytery sustained Mr. Luke Bert’s ordination exam; he was ordained on the spot and received as a member of Presbytery. He was authorized to labor out-of-bounds in Quebec as a professor of Old Testament at SEMBEQ seminary and a teaching elder at Église Évangélique Baptiste de Shawinigan-Sud.
• The Presbytery sustained Mr. Paul Dunk’s licensure exam and licensed him to preach the gospel.
• The Presbytery sustained Mr. Raymond Wong’s candidacy exam and took him under its care, appointing Dan MacDonald and Lyndon Jost as his oversight committee.
• Licentiate and candidate Chris Pignatiello was placed under the care of Albert Chung, as Mr. Pignatiello has begun a church planting internship at Trinity Grace Church (non-PCA) in Toronto.
• The Presbytery approved an inter-presbytery agreement with New York State Presbytery (PCA) to permit Teaching Elder John Garnet (Jean) Zoellner to remain a member of NYS Presbytery while ministering within Eastern Canada Presbytery’s geographical boundaries.
• The Presbytery renewed TE Paul Vanden Brink’s appointment as evangelist for Grace Valley Mission for another year.
• The Presbytery unanimously approved the 45^th GA’s proposed amendment to BCO 25-3 to increase the quorum for congregational meetings in which the church is considering withdrawing from the PCA.
• A significant number of changes were made to the committees and officers. Most notably,
  • TE Ben Jolliffe was appointed as moderator.
  • The MNA subcommittees merged to form one centralized committee.
  • TE Ben Jolliffe was tasked with chairing the new Shepherding Committee and removed from the Ministerial Committee pending his consent.
  • World Missions, Ministerial, and obviously the Shepherding Committee saw the most number of changes to its appointments.
• The next meeting of Presbytery was set for Friday, February 23, 2018 at 10 AM at Grace Toronto Church.

*not all actions of the presbytery are listed here for the sake of confidentiality

• A Presbytery Delegate Travel Fund was set up in order to assist delegates from churches who require financial aid to travel to presbytery meetings. The Standing Rules were amended accordingly (5.c.iii.).
• The Presbytery took under its care a new candidate, Mr. Joe (Kar Ho) Choi and appointed TE Dan MacDonald and TE Lyndon Jost as an oversight committee.
• Candidate Clovis Oliveira’s name was removed from the roll, as he has accepted a call in Brazil.
• The Presbytery approved an overture to be presented to the 45th General Assembly to restore the original boundaries of Eastern Canada Presbytery.
• TEs Albert Kooy, Ben Jolliffe, and Kevin Rogers were reappointed as evangelists for their respective mission churches for another twelve months.
• TE Gene Haas stepped down from the ministerial committee. TEs Ben Jolliffe (new chair), Bill Radford, and Dan MacDonald were appointed as new members of the committee.
• Commissioners for the 45th General Assembly were appointed as follows: TE Lyndon Jost to RUM, TE Kyle Hackmann to Overtures (by special approval), TE Bill Radford to MNA (in the absence of a ruling elder), and TE Ben Jolliffe to MTW.
• The next Stated Meeting of Presbytery was scheduled for Friday, June 23, 2017, 10 AM at New City Church, Newmarket, Ontario.

*not all actions of the presbytery are listed here for the sake of confidentiality

• The Presbytery received all 6 recommendations of the commission tasked with creating a public use statement explaining the situation between a former minister and Grace Toronto Church.
• The Presbytery adopted all 7 recommendations of the commission that investigated the abrupt dissolution of pastoral relations between a minister and Westminster Bible Presbyterian Church.
• The Presbytery examined and approved Mr. Philip VanAndel and Mr. Dan Vanderkooi, ruling elder (RE) nominees for New City, Newmarket, as candidates eligible for election by their congregation.
• It was reported that the 45th General Assembly (June 12-16, 2017) approved Eastern Canada Presbytery’s overture to restore its original boundaries.
• The Presbytery approved TE Stephen Welch’s transfer to Hanover Presbytery pending his reception at their meeting in September 2017.
• Mr. Hobbe Smit of New City Church, Hamilton, was taken under care of the Presbytery. TE Connan Kublik, TE Moses Lee, RE John Belder, and RE Varun Rana were appointed as his oversight committee.
• Rev. Christo Heiberg, a minister in good standing in the URCNA, was examined and received as a minister in the PCA and a member of Eastern Canada Presbytery, pending confirmation of his dismissal from the URCNA.
• A commission consisting of the Ontario elders, convener TE James Quadrizius, was appointed to install Christo Heiberg as assistant pastor at Providence Community Church in St. Catharines.
• Mr. Josh Darsaut of New City, Newmarket, was licensed by the Presbytery to preach the Gospel within its bounds.
• The Presbytery did not sustain the examination of the candidate for ordination.
• The Presbytery approved the motion that TE Michael Butterfield remain on its roll as being without a call until its next summer meeting.
• The Presbytery approved the petition from New City Church, Newmarket, to organize as a particular church.
• The Presbytery approved the call from New City Newmarket to TE Albert Kooy to be its pastor.
• The Presbytery formed a commission to organize the congregation at New City Newmarket on September 24, 2017, convener TE Brian So, pending the congregation’s regular election of its ruling elder nominees.
• The next Stated Meeting of Presbytery was scheduled for Friday, October 20, 2017 in Moncton, New Brunswick, hosted by Redeemer Community Church.

*not all actions of the presbytery are listed here for the sake of confidentiality