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The United Church of Canada has a structure of four levels or 'Courts' -- the local congregation as embodied in the Session, the congregation's governing board; the district Presbytery; the regional Conference; and the General Council.
The heart of the United Church beats most strongly at the local or congregational level. Here, members meet week by week for worship and praise, study, work and fellowship. Each congregation is organized separately under its Session or equivalent governing board although two or more congregations may be served together as one pastoral charge under one minister.
The Presbytery covers a wider geographic area and has oversight of usually between 20 to 50 pastoral charges. All ministers must belong to a Presbytery and each charge is proportionately by membership represented by an equivalent number of lay persons. The Presbytery has various administrative functions as well as the general oversight of the health and well being of the congregations within its area of jurisdiction, and meets on a regular basis, as often as monthly. There are 94 Presbyteries organized within the United Church.
Conferences, meanwhile, cover a larger more regionally based geographical area and oversee the work of the Presbyteries. All members of Presbytery whether clergy or lay are automatically members of Conference which meets on an annual basis. There are thirteen Conferences within the Church, each with its own executive secretary and administrative staff.
The Conference in turn elects delegates (Commissioners) to the General Council, the highest court of the Church, which meets on a biennial basis. Here, policy decisions are made affecting the whole work of the Church in areas of programme and administration. The General Council or its working executive group, refers decisions made to the appropriate administrative Division/Council within the national Church for implementation. The six Council/Divisions are: Division of Communication, Ethnic Ministries Council, Division of Finance, Division of Ministry Personnel and Education, Division of Mission in Canada, and Division of World Outreach.
(The above was reprinted from the United Church of Canada website)
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