January 2024 Table Talk
Updating our Church Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation
At the Annual Meeting on January 21, 2024, the congregation will be asked to approve updated church bylaws and Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation. The current documents are badly out of date and have been revised to reflect current practices. Approval of the updated documents will not change how we currently operate because, while we have changed our way of operating over the past 20 years, we have not changed
the documents that specify how we operate. There are eight major changes to the documents:
1.All elders are now elder trustees. Formerly there were two separate categories. For each elected church office (elders, deacons, and members of the congregation on the Nominating Committee) the number of office holders is now expressed as a range rather than a fixed number. For example, instead of requiring 16 elders we now stipulate between seven and twelve. 2. The length of a term of office for elders and deacons is now stated as two years instead of three. This has been our practice for several years. The total number of continuous years one can serve as deacon or elder remains at six. 3. While the existing bylaws specify the first Sunday in November for the election of officers, the updated bylaws specify a month (October) and allow for a later meeting if the Nominating Committee needs additional time to identify candidates. 4. A section concerning the Bowen Endowment Funds has been added and the duties of the Treasurer amended to state that the Bowen Endowment Funds are not part of the Treasurer’s responsibilities. 5. The president of the corporation is now a member of the congregation rather than the pastor, because, technically, the pastor is not a member of the congregation/corporation. 6. The various approved changes to the original Articles of Incorporation (1967 and subsequent) have been consolidated in the restated articles. 7. The bylaws now specify that the articles of incorporation are to be amended in the same way as the bylaws. 8. A number of minor editing changes were made to update the language (e.g., references to the Book of Order) in both documents. The revised bylaws and amended and restated articles of incorporation have been reviewed and approved by both Session and CPC’s legal counsel. I would like to thank Pastor Laura Batten-Carbaugh, former Pastor D. J. Loscher, Martha Johns, and Ron Kelley for their participation in the lengthy redrafting process. If you would like complete copies of the updated bylaws and/or the Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation, please contact me at mikemiller47@verizon.net.
The Monthly Newsletter of Colesville Presbyterian Church
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