We’re launching a new column talking about our region’s Finance and Extension Board (“F&E” to most of you who know us), giving you news about our work and sharing how what we do at F&E connects with the life of your community of faith in the CrNRC territory.
Let’s start with a bit of history: F&E was established as an independent corporate body by federal law in 1926 soon after the creation of the United Church of Canada. It merged the much older Presbyterian Board of Trustees of the Presbytery of Montreal and the Methodist Union of the City and Suburbs of Montreal and was designed to provide financial and organizational support to the mission of the new United Church.
Back in 1926, F&E was focused on the original Montreal Presbytery of the United Church but has expanded its responsibilities across Quebec as the boundaries of presbyteries shifted and the Church’s new regional council structure was created. The constitution of F&E was updated in 2020 with the approval of the General Council of the United Church of Canada.
We have a broad mandate involving the stewardship of the financial and property resources of the Church in our region for ministry and mission. We’re probably best known as the group that manages the F&E endowment (much more on that in a later column). However, our constitutional “objects and powers” go far beyond our fiduciary role, tasking us with the encouragement and support of ministry and mission more generally. That’s the “extension” part of our name.
For example, the very first “object and power” in F&E’s constitution is:
…to enable and facilitate by way of financial and material assistance and expertise, the extension of the United Church of Canada, including the visioning, transformation, establishment and reorganization of communities of faith of all types (including without limitation pastoral charges, congregations, outreach ministries, chaplaincies, faith-based communal living, house churches, online communities, and others), in accordance with the policies and decisions of the General Council and/or the Regional Council;
F&E is also charged with seeking “… to further the connexional spirit and to promote the spiritual and temporal welfare of the communities of faith and other ministries of the United Church of Canada…”
And no, that’s not a typo in “connexional”. That little “x” represents one of the deepest theological and organizational roots from our Methodist heritage. “Connexionalism” is the belief that the church is a network of interconnected relationships, where no congregation, community-based mission, or individual member is isolated. It emphasizes mutual support, accountability, and shared mission. This kind of connection (or “connexion” as John Wesley spelled it) strives for unity, pooling resources for outreach and ministry. Christians grow in faith and engagement through communal interaction, leading to spiritual growth and social-justice action that embodies the “connexion” among believers (and, often, with non-believers) to accomplish God’s mission in the world.
Let us know if you have any questions or want more information about F&E. Drop our Board Secretary, Caroline, or our Chair, Peter, a note at feendowment@gmail.com.
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