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The Office of Vocation is supported by staff in the General Council Office and deployed Office of Vocation ministers.

To carry out its responsibilities, the Office consists of the Board of Vocation and several committees and commissions.

Structure of the Office of Vocation
Office of Vocation structure as of January 2026

Board of Vocation

The elected member body accountable for the work of the Office of Vocation to the General Council.

Vocational Standards Committee

Implements the policies set by the General Council by recommending standards to the Board of Vocation in the areas defined by The Manual, section E.2.2

Credentialing Committee

Supports processes for ministry partners, admission applicants, and chaplaincies, and determines and responds to applications from ministry personnel who wish

  • to be readmitted from the Discontinued Service List
  • to be intentional interim ministers
  • to become educational supervisors (see Process for Credentialing as an Educational Supervisor under Downloads, below)

Response Committee

Determines the best process to follow with respect to concerns raised about ministry personnel and ensures there are trained and supported reviewers, investigators and conflict resolution facilitators and people with other expertise as required

Remedial Committee

Assesses findings related to the effectiveness of a ministry personnel or investigations about alleged breach of ethical standards, and may initiate formal complaints

Admission Board

Assesses ministers from other denominations seeking to be admitted to The United Church of Canada, deciding suitability and eventual completion of the admission process.

Candidacy Boards

Enact the Candidacy Pathway—name candidates for ministry, terminate candidacy, determine readiness for accreditation for commissioning to diaconal ministry, ordained ministry, and designated lay ministry; the Indigenous Candidacy Board serves the Indigenous Church.

Helpful Videos

Note: Some of these videos were created when the Office of Vocation was first introduced in January 2019. They are still relevant to understanding how the Office of Vocation functions, but the structural organization chart has been updated, and the membership of the various committee has continued to evolve.

Downloads