WHEREAS the Presbyterian Church in Canada has accepted the reality that it is deeply divided on the issues surrounding human sexuality; and

WHEREAS protracted study and conversation on the issue have not revolved the differences and are unlikely to at any point in the future; and

WHEREAS some within the church see the push to full and complete inclusion as a human rights issue that must be eventually accomplished at all costs; and

WHEREAS others have clearly indicated that they cannot remain in a church that no longer makes room for what they believe to the non-negotiable historic orthodox understanding of the Scriptures; and

WHEREAS a division within the church would risk putting both those that leave and those who remain in positions where key administrative functions and valued ministries would become unviable; and

WHEREAS the best alternative to a paralyzing and destructive division at this point is a restructuring that would allow for shared administrative functions and collaborative ministries,  combined with the freedom for local congregations to align and collaborate more closely along doctrinal lines and convictions rather than geography; and

WHEREAS other denominations have successfully implemented non-geographic presbyteries; and

WHEREAS the current pandemic crisis has already pushed us to harness technology in ways that have eliminated geographic distance as a hurdle to shared ministry and collaboration; and

WHEREAS several of the Presbyterian Church in Canada’s existing geographically based presbyteries have already declined to the point of unviability and need to be redrawn; and

WHEREAS the Han-Ca East and Han-Ca West presbyteries already provide a robust test case of the feasibility of non-geographic presbyteries overlapping collaboratively with other presbyteries within the bounds of the Presbyterian Church in Canada; and

THEREFORE, the session of Cote des Neiges Presbyterian Church, humbly overtures the Venerable, the 146^th General Assembly mandate a committee that will research the issue and prepare for the 147^th General Assembly, recommendations for the restructuring of the Presbyterian Church in Canada into non geographic presbyteries in such a way that

• local congregations are given full liberty of conscience and action is matters relating to human sexuality,
• existing geographic presbyteries that have declined below the point of viability are redrawn
• we can preserve and maintain vital administrative functions (like the pension plan, the trustee board, etc.) and key shared ministries (like PWS&D, Presbyterians Sharing, the summer camps, etc.)