On January 21, AD 2017 the Chaplaincy Council and the Task Force for an Anglican Church in Amersfoort (TACA) met with Archdeacon Paul Vrolijk to agree on the steps to take for Holy Trinity Utrecht and All Saints Amersfoort to become independent chaplaincies by AGM in the Spring of 2019. This is simply to lay out the specific practical steps to meet the plan set out in our Vision for a Church Plant in Amersfoort, agreed upon in the Council meeting of two years earlier, 21 January AD 2015.
At the recent meeting this January, Council members present agreed unanimously on the following:
- For this year and next (2017 and 2018) Utrecht and Amersfoort will continue to work under one central AGM (Annual General Meeting) with 1 central Standing Committee and 1 central Chaplaincy Council.
- The Chaplaincy Council will meet less often than it has and will focus on issues common to both Utrecht and Amersfoort, and only in the passing of motions brought to it from each congregation that require Chaplaincy Council approval (usually decisions related to finances).
- Starting this year each congregation will have its own leadership team to deal with as many local issues as possible. This will be new for Utrecht, who will need to establish a leadership team like Amersfoort, Zwolle and Groningen already have.
- Amersfoort and Utrecht will both hold local annual meetings prior to the AGM as is already done in Zwolle and Groningen.
- Each local annual meeting in Utrecht and Amersfoort will need to decide on the following:
- election of the local leadership team made up of 7 people:
- 3 proposed representatives to Chaplaincy Council (to be appointed at AGM)
- 1 proposed warden and 1 deputy warden (to be appointed at AGM)
- 2 additional proposed representatives each to the local leadership team in Utrecht and Amersfoort (again to be appointed at AGM)
- We continue to hold open a position on the Chaplaincy Council for one representative each from Groningen and Zwolle, should someone be willing to serve.
- We also intend to devolve the charitable giving fund, meaning Amersfoort will have its own account and a way of making decisions about its charitable givings. As well, the givings and expenses of Utrecht and Amersfoort will continue to be centrally administered, but we have begun and will continue to gain a clearer idea of precisely what are the contributions and expenses of each of these two congregations.
- In order to define who can vote at local annual meetings in Utrecht and Amersfoort, our electoral roll officer has already prepared a revised Electoral Roll which will be published, to verify the different local rolls (or sectors on the general roll). (Please see article from Sheila Kooijman that follows.)
These new Local Leadership Teams in Utrecht and Amersfoort will evolve to become the new Chaplaincy Councils of Utrecht and Amersfoort at the AGM in 2019, when the two, God willing, will become separate independent chaplaincies. If you have any questions about this, please speak with David or Grant or with members of the Chaplaincy Council.
May God continue to lead us and may we seek always to be faithful to his guiding.
In the love of Christ,
David