ACB Pastor

Thank you again for your helpful response! I think we will need to revisit our governing documents and make some changes and additions for the future.

Thank you for your helpful comments. We have two documents for the church. The first is the constitution that outlines our statement of faith and the organization in the United States with which we are most closely aligned. In that document Robert's Rules is referenced as such: Article IX: Powers of the Congregation (A) General (1) The congregation as a body, through the voting members, shall be responsible for administering and managing all its external and internal affairs. The establishment and conduct of all institutions and societies within the congregation shall at all times be subject to the approval and supervision of the congregation. The power and authority of the congregation shall be exercised through the congregational meeting, called and held in conformity with civil laws and provisions of the constitution and the by-laws of the congregation. (2) In all matters not specifically provided for, procedure shall be according to Robert's Rules of Order. (Bold emphasis is mine) The German registry of social organizations requires us to file a German "Articles of Incorporation" that might be considered bylaws (?), but is used to meet their requirements. The election procedures are outlined in the Vereinssatzung / Articles of Incorporation under the following article: Article 5: Extended Executive Board/ (B) Elections to the Church Council (1) Elections shall be conducted at the Spring Congregational Meeting, the date of which shall be announced two months in advance. (2) Two weeks before the Spring Congregational Meeting, the Nominating Committee (see below, Article 6(B)(f)) shall present the slate of nominees to the membership in writing, at which time the slate shall be closed. (Bold emphasis is mine) My question is once we reach the agenda item for Report of the Nomination Committee and elections of new officers, can we take nominations from the floor as outlined in RONR page 435? Or, does this provision stating that that the "slate shall be closed" means that no further nominations can be taken, ven from the floor? Thank you so much for your considerations of this matter!

I hope that the ensuing postponement of the elections can be resumed at the next called meeting and either the slate readmitted or a new slate put forward. Yes, this has put the current officers in a bit of a quandary as they were hoping to be relived of their office following the elections, but now find themselves continuing until the election can proceed. They are trying to work for the good of the organization albeit on shaky ground.

I see that RONR calls for nominations from the floor, but we do not have bylaws. We only have the Articles of Incorporation that call for a nominating committee and the closing of nominations two weeks before the annual meeting. If nominations are closed as stated can the chair still call for nominations from the floor? That would actually be a welcome option by the organization.

The rules in RONR provide that after the nominating committee presents its report, the chair must then call for nominations from the floor. You will need to determine if your bylaws have rules that are inconsistent with that, which would take precedence. I see that RONR calls for nominations from the floor, but we do not have bylaws. We only have the Articles of Incorporation that call for a nominating committee and the closing of nominations two weeks before the annual meeting. If nominations are closed as stated can the chair still call for nominations from the floor? That would actually be a welcome option by the organization.

At our annual spring meeting to elect new board officers a group of people were unhappy with the work of the nominating committee (outlined in our "Articles of Incorporation"). The election was in process when objection was made and a debate ensued that admittedly was not handled well by the chair. The assembly moved to suspend elections to a later date. It was unclear whether it was to allow for more nominations by "written petition" or for clarification on our procedures. Since the Nominating Committee presented a full list of nominees to satisfy the slate and nominations were closed two weeks before the annual meeting, can the assembly circumvent the procedure to reopen nominations or take nominations from the floor at the meeting? Here are the pertinent places outlining elections and the nomination process in our Articles of Incorporation. By the way, our constitution reads: "In all matters not specifically provided for, procedure shall be according to Robert's Rules of Order." Yes, we have both a constitution and Articles of Incorporation. The election procedures are outlined in the Articles of Incorporation under the following article: Article 5: Extended Executive Board/ (B) Elections to the Church Council (1) Elections shall be conducted at the Spring Congregational Meeting, the date of which shall be announced two months in advance. (2) Two weeks before the Spring Congregational Meeting, the Nominating Committee (see below, Article 6(B)(f)) shall present the slate of nominees to the membership in writing, at which time the slate shall be closed. Our Articles of Incorporation call for a Nominating Committee (Article 6: General Assemblies/ (B) Meetings/ (5) Procedures/(f) The Nominating Committee). Types of Nominations: · Proposals by the Committee; · Proposals by the General Assembly: Upon written petition, a candidate shall be placed on the slate of nominees when he/she signifies his/her intent with the signatures of five members of the General Assembly. The committee must receive all written petitions three weeks prior to the date of the election. For anyone interested, I have attached our articles of incorporation. Articles-Incorporation-Revised_November-2015.doc