Church Annual Meeting agenda approved: New Business from floor

[Guest M Whitney]

The church's annual meeting is the only time during the year that anyone can bring up an item for discussion or consideration. When the agenda is approved containing "New Business, " the time for these entries from the floor, but none is specified in the approved agenda, when "New Business" comes up, is it open to the floor, or must any comments/considerations be specified in the approved agenda?

Thanks for any help: this will come up again.

[jstackpo]

RONR does not require that all items to be brought up appear in an agenda. Do your church rules require it?

If not, then "New Business" is indeed the time to bring up, well, new business.

[sMargaret]

An agenda ought to be a tool for conducting business, not a tool for avoiding business.

[Guest Guest]

Reply to JDStackpole:

Church by-laws specify that any specially called full congregational meeting during the year can only consider that for which the meeting was called. The annual meeting, however, IS the time when any and all concerns can be properly brought to the entire congregation. This year, for the first time and without notice, if an item for discussion was not placed on the agenda before it was approved, the "new business" portion of the approved agenda was skipped--because no one had added an item for consideration before approval of the agenda.

Heretofore the chairperson would ask if there was any new business from the attendees before proceding to the next agenda item.

Thanks for your input!

To sMargaret: I'm going to use that comment; thanks.

[Guest Goopher]

Do I understand correctly?

Q1. An agenda was adopted which contained the entry "New Business" (let's say as entry 5 of 7)

Q2. If yes to Q1, when the meeting finished with agenda entry 4, are you saying it went directly to item 6 (skipping New Business)?

If yes to both my questions, hmmm...

[Guest Edgar]

Heretofore the chairperson would ask if there was any new business from the attendees before proceeding to the next agenda item.

And that's what should be done hereinafter (p.360). See also FAQ #14.

[Guest M Whitney]

Reply to Goopher: Yes to both your questions...and hmmm.

Reply to Edgar: Thanks especially for the citation.

[sMargaret]

To sMargaret: I'm going to use that comment; thanks.

I wish I could recall where I got that comment from - could actually be from here. It's very good, isn't it?

[Gary Novosielski]

Thanks for any help: this will come up again.

You were right. It did come up again.