Report to the Members of General Synod

Since it began in 1971, the Continuing Education Plan (CEP) has given hundreds of clergy and lay employees the opportunity to develop their interests, further their education, and enrich their lives.

All members of the clergy automatically join the CEP on their first day of employment with a participating diocese. Lay employees of the Church or other participating organizations, may join the Plan with their employer’s approval. Upon joining the Plan an account is set up and benefits accumulate. The employer contributes 75% of the annual assessment and the member contributes 25%. A bonus is paid each time the account is used. Continuing Education funds may be used for:

• any continuing education program or course of study
• books or other materials
• computer hardware or software

With the exception of Montreal and Toronto (who have their own diocesan plans) all dioceses, the National Office and the Church Army participate in the Continuing Education Plan.

The Pension Office is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Plan. Policy decisions, educational support to members, and the authorization of sabbatical and special grants are the responsibility of the Continuing Education Administrative Unit. The Unit includes the Administrator of the Plan, the Director of Pensions or the Deputy Director of Pensions, and five members appointed by (presently the Council of General Synod), and meets twice a year. The cost of the meetings is minimal and is charged to the Fund.

As of December 31, 1997, the total assets of the Fund amount to $2,001,302.00. Of this amount, $1,562,834.00 represents members’ contributions, $436,863.00 represents accumulated interest earnings and $1,605.00 represents reserve funds.

The Plan is currently providing a 15% bonus for usage for active members. The following is a summary of the number of benefit applications and the amount paid (including the bonus for usage) in 1997 with comparative figures for 1995.

The allocation of funds for diocesan education events from the Salary Source Account is based on membership. Dioceses with up to 50 active members receive $25.00 per member and those dioceses with more than 50 active members receive $20.00 per member. The number of Diocesan Educational Events held were: 15 in 1995, 13 in 1996 and 13 in 1997, using a total of $79,541 from the Salary Source Account.

The Strategic Plan, adopted by General Synod 1995, called for the re-structuring of national committees. For the Continuing Education Plan, this meant that the Pension Committee was assigned the responsibility of overseeing the Plan and for reporting on its behalf to the Council of General Synod.

A resolution of the 1995 General Synod also directed the Pension Committee to "prepare a proposal to revise the Continuing Education Plan so that both costs and benefits of the Plan are revised to reflect increased costs of continuing education and that the proposal be submitted to the Council of General Synod for appropriate action."

As a result of the General Synod resolution, the Pension Office conducted a survey of the dioceses in the Fall of 1996 in order to determine whether or not they were in favour of increasing the contributions to the Plan. Based on the responses, it was clear that the majority of dioceses were in favour of increasing the contributions to $600 a year on a phased-in basis. Following the approval of COGs, contributions to the Continuing Education Plan as of January 1, 1998 were increased to: $400.00 annually in 1998, $500.00 annually in 1999 and $600.00 annually in the year 2000. The ratio of cost sharing remains the same at 75% employer and 25% employee.

Continuing with the implementations of the Strategic Plan, the Administrative Unit recommended to the Pension Committee that changes be made to Section 4.b)(iii) of Canon XII governing the Continuing Education Plan, to allow the Pension Committee to appoint new members to the Unit, (not the Council of General Synod as before).

Section 6.b) of Canon XII also states that CEP Funds shall be invested in the Consolidated Trust Fund of the Anglican Church of Canada. As the Consolidated Trust Fund is managed by the Financial Management and Development Committee, the Administrative Unit requested the Pension Committee to consider transferring the CEP Funds from the Consolidated Trust Fund to an investment vehicle under the administration of the Pension Committee. The Pension Committee recommended to the Council of General Synod that this section be amended.

Various Regulation amendments were approved by the Council of General Synod.

Members of the Plan continue to receive a fully paid subscription to the Journal, "Practice of Ministry in Canada". The October 1997 meeting of the Administrative Unit agreed to renew the subscription to this Journal for a further two year period from February 1, 1998 to January 31, 2000. The annual subscription rate, paid by the Plan, is $17.00 per member.

The Unit continues to work on a national sabbatical policy, and is doing research of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the United Church, Baptist Church and the Presbyterian Church with regard to their policies on sabbatical/education leave, and provisions for continuing education for their members.

Appendix A provides a summary of the sabbatical grants by diocese which were approved by the Administrative Unit for the ten year period from 1988 to 1997.

The Administrative Unit is constantly reviewing the provisions of the Canon and Regulations of the Plan to ensure that they reflect current needs of clergy and lay workers for continued study, and that members of the Plan are encouraged to take full advantage of the opportunities provided through the Plan.

The Unit is confident that it is thoroughly adhering to its mandate regarding the administration of the Plan, the review of policy, and communication of educational issues and opportunities.

Respectfully submitted,

Canon Carol Throp

Chair, CEP Administrative Unit

Members of the CEP Administrative Unit are:

The Ven. Rodney Andrews (Algoma)

The Rev. Dorothy Daly (Algoma)

The Ven. Bill Graham (Huron)

The Ven. Archie Skirving (Huron)

Mrs. Jenny Mason (Administrator)

Ms. Jer Homavazir (Staff Recorder)