Special Meeting

[Tom Coronite]

A church provides for 2 annual meetings in its bylaws (1 in fall, 1 in winter; 1 financial matters, 1 general matters)

This church announced considering choosing a new pastor at its fall annual meeting. They then “remember” that their bylaws mandate that the choosing of a new pastor must be done “by a vote of two-thirds of the members present at a special meeting of the Church duly called for the specific purpose of electing the Pastor.”

Would scheduling a special meeting at 11am and the regular annual meeting at 11:30am on the same day be considered one meeting?

It seems to me that if the church is still assembled in this room/area, and the only difference is the chair states this meeting is adjourned, now the other meeting will start, it’s still one meeting. Am I wrong?

Edited August 12, 2021 at 03:55 AM by Tom Coronite

[Richard Brown]

28 minutes ago, Tom Coronite said:

A church provides for 2 annual meetings in its bylaws (1 in fall, 1 in winter; 1 financial matters, 1 general matters)

This church announced considering choosing a new pastor at its fall annual meeting. They then “remember” that their bylaws mandate that the choosing of a new pastor must be done “by a vote of two-thirds of the members present at a special meeting of the Church duly called for the specific purpose of electing the Pastor.”

Would scheduling a special meeting at 11am and the regular annual meeting at 11:30am on the same day be considered one meeting, since a meeting is the members being assembled in one room or area with no cessation and the members do not separate.

It seems to me that if the church is still assembled in this room/area, and the only difference is the chair states this meeting is adjourned, now the other meeting will start, it’s still one meeting. Am I wrong?

Long time no see, Tom. Welcome back! 

I would consider the special meeting at 11 AM and the annual general meeting at 11:30 AM to be two separate meetings. In fact, that is exactly what I was going to suggest before I had even finished reading your question. You have your special meeting at 11 o’clock to elect a new pastor, that meeting adjourns, and then you call the annual general meeting to order at 11:30 or as soon thereafter as you can. They are separate meetings even though the members don’t physically leave.

 

[Tom Coronite]

Thanks, Richard. As I’m considering more and reading, I’m changing my opinion. I’m glad you’ve confirmed my revised opinion.

[Rob Elsman]

My own sense of it is that the special meeting should be held sufficiently in advance of the regular meeting to permit the matter to be deliberated fully and disposed of without the threat of running into the looming regular meeting.  One-half hour to deliberate about and elect a new pastor?  Maybe not. ☹️

[Tom Coronite]

Point well taken, Rob, and I’m sure they will be aware. Without going into a lot of detail and thus straying far from a parliamentary discussion, these meetings are somewhat perfunctory, at least in this tradition. A search committee typically vets candidates for months, even years, and presents the best candidate. By this time, (ideally) everyone’s questions are answered already.

But to your point, I did advise them to ensure each meeting was distinct and no corners were cut to make it work. I would prefer the meeting be on another day, but that’s me. They simply overlooked this provision in their bylaws. Thank you for your observation.

[Shmuel Gerber]

On 8/11/2021 at 11:22 PM, Tom Coronite said:

at its fall annual meeting

I would call it the annual fall meeting. You can't have two "annual meetings" of the same assembly  every year.

Edited August 13, 2021 at 11:19 PM by Shmuel Gerber