council recommendations to congregation

[Guest Rev Julie]

So, our church council will be recommending a bid on some capital improvements to our church building at a congregational meeting. The congregation must vote on whether or not to accept this bid. Does the congregation simply vote "yes" or "no" as the recommendation comes from council (which has already moved, seconded, and voted to accept the bid), or does someone from the congregation then need to move to accept the bid along with a second followed by a vote? I know that when recommendations come from a committee no second is needed and there is simply a vote. Is this the same sort of situation? Thank you.

[Atul Kapur]

The church council appears to operate similar to a committee under RONR. As the recommendation is coming from a body with, presumably, more than one member of the congregation, no second should be needed (but if someone objects, it would likely be quicker to have another member of the council second the motion than to educate the congregation). It should be worded as a motion made by the member reporting on behalf of the council with a wording such as, "That the church approve the bid as recommended by the council." This motion, the same as any main motion, is debatable, amendable, and requires a majority vote.

Unless your church has special rules, you cannot just have a motion and a vote, without giving your membership an opportunity to debate it or amend it if they desire.

Edited January 9, 2024 at 04:35 PM by Atul Kapur

[Rob Elsman]

I'm not sure whether this council is in the nature of a board or committee; but, either way, at the conclusion of the presentation of its report, the reporting member can move the adoption of the recommendation in the report or the chair can assume that the proper motion was made if the reporting member forgets.

As already noted, a second is not necessary, but no harm is done if someone hollers out, "Second!"

Whether or not the recommendation comes to a final, direct vote cannot be predicted with certainty. There are also other ways that a main motion can be disposed of.

Finally, it should be noted that some communities operate under special procedural rules that differ significantly from the common parliamentary law, so special care must be taken to observe all that is to be observed.