CONSTITUTION & BYLAWS King of Glory Lutheran Church Unit of Women of the ELCA

Transcription

1 ARTICLE I MEMBERSHIP AND NAME SECTION 1. Membership This congregational unit shall be a member of Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, hereinafter designated as "Women of the ELCA." (W-ELCA) SECTION 2. Name The name of this congregational unit shall be King of Glory Lutheran Church Unit of Women of the ELCA, hereinafter designated as "the Unit." ARTICLE II STATEMENT OF PURPOSE SECTION 1. Purpose As a community of women created in the image of God, called to discipleship in Jesus Christ, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we commit ourselves to grow in faith, affirm our gifts, support one another in our callings, engage in ministry and action, and promote healing and wholeness in the church, the society, and the world. SECTION 2. Commitment To accomplish the purpose of W-ELCA, women in this Unit shall commit themselves to a. Come together for study, support, and action; b. Participate in the ministry of W-ELCA beyond the congregation; c. Support financially the total program of W-ELCA; and d. Designate leadership that shall be in communication with the synodical and churchwide women s organization. ARTICLE III PARTICIPATION SECTION 1. Composition This Unit shall be composed of those women who participate in activities that indicate a commitment to the purpose of W-ELCA. SECTION 2. Participation Participation in this Unit shall be open to all women in the congregation and other women who subscribe to the purpose. SECTION 3. Congregational Membership Women elected to leadership in this Unit and elected as delegates to a convention of the synodical women's organization shall be members of this congregation of the ELCA namely King of Glory Lutheran Church. ARTICLE IV RELATIONSHIPS SECTION 1. Congregation This Unit shall participate in the life and work of King of Glory Lutheran Church and report to the annual meeting. It may report regularly to the congregational council, if requested. Page 1 of 5

2 SECTION 2. Cluster or Conference This Unit shall participate in activities within the cluster or conference to which it is assigned. Unit President shall attend the cluster planning President s meeting, and report back. If not available she is to appoint a member of the board to attend. SECTION 3. Synodical Women's Organization In an interdependent partnership with the Pacifica Synodical Women's Organization, this unit shall participate in the convention of the Pacifica Synodical Women's Organization by a. Electing a delegate and an alternate to represent the unit; and b. Cooperating in the process for nomination of offices and board members of the synodical women s organization. SECTION 4. Churchwide Women's Organization a. This unit may participate in the process for nomination of a delegate to the Triennial Convention. ARTICLE V MEETINGS SECTION 1. Program Women of this unit shall come together for regular monthly Board Meetings, with two summer months being optional; for study, support, and action. The Board shall consist of the Executive Board Members and other Unit Board Members. An official meeting cannot be held unless there are three quarters (3/4) of the Executive Board Members available. SECTION 2. General Business There shall be a general business meeting held at least once a calendar year. Presentations at the General Business Meetings may include but are not limited to: financial reports of Unit, ongoing and up-coming projects, elections of board members and any other business that may deem appropriate. Additional business meetings may be held as deemed necessary by the Unit board. ARTICLE VI LEADERSHIP SECTION 1. Leaders (Officers) This Unit shall have a president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer. These four (4) positions shall hereby be known as the Executive Board. A Bible study representative from each study group, staff liaison/council liaison, shall serve for a term of one year and make up the rest of the Unit Board. The president will be limited to one reelection with all other officers having unlimited reelection. In years ending in even numbers the President and Secretary shall be up for election. (Note: In the case of the President she shall only serve two (2) consecutive terms.) In years ending in odd numbers the Vice President and Treasurer shall be up for election. SECTION 2. Duties of Leaders (Officers) Page 2 of 5

3 The duty of all officers shall be to faithfully pray for the women of King of Glory and Church as a whole. President: 1. Shall conduct all Unit board meetings. 2. Shall solicit event coordinators and committees and support their efforts. 3. Shall collect from event coordinators Event Summaries after EVERY event. 4. Attend (or appoint an alternate) new member orientation at King of Glory in order to speak about the activities and functions of W-ELCA. 5. Attend Cluster and Synodical W-ELCA events as the King of Glory representative, and encourage other women to participate and support the cluster, synodical and national events. An alternate representative shall be appointed if the president is unable to attend. 6. Shall prepare an agenda for the monthly board meeting to be presented to the other leaders prior to the meeting. 7. Shall be watchful of resources, speakers, and possible programs for all areas of the women s ministry. 8. Shall organize a Board planning meeting in January for the purpose of planning the coming year s events and training/orientating new board members. 9. Shall prepare the Units President s report for the Congregational Annual Meeting (report is typically due in late December). 10. Attend or appoint an alternate to be present at the Annual KOG Calendar Planning Meeting. 11. Outgoing President shall turn over to the newly elected President within thirty (30) 12. Shall regularly attend events sponsored by Women s Ministry. Vice President: 1. Shall assume the duties of president, when necessary, and preside at the Unit board meetings in her absence. 2. Shall be watchful of resources and possible programs for all areas of the women s ministry. 3. Attend synodical and cluster events, and encourage other women to participate and support these events. 4. Send Unit newsletter and bulletin information to the church office by the weekly or monthly deadline set by the office. 5. Follow up with the event coordinators to insure event announcements appear in the newsletter/bulletins as appropriate, to effectively publicize each event. 6. Outgoing Vice-president shall turn over to the newly elected Vice-president within thirty (30) 7. Shall maintain Unit bulletin board and get information from Synodical Board and Pacifica Board for posting to keep KOG women updated. 8. Shall regularly attend events sponsored by Women s Ministry. Page 3 of 5

4 Secretary: 1. Shall maintain accurate minutes of all board meetings. 2. Shall make ready the monthly minutes to be mailed/ ed to the Board Members prior to the next board meeting. 3. Handle correspondence from the board as necessary. 4. Outgoing Secretary shall turn over to the newly elected Secretary within thirty (30) 5. Shall regularly attend events sponsored by Women s Ministry. Treasurer: 1. Shall receive, record and compile accurate records of all financial transactions of Unit. 2. Shall prepare a monthly financial report to be presented at the board meeting. 3. Shall submit all Unit financial books to the yearly auditing committee of King of Glory. (Typically done in January. If applicable, both incoming and outgoing treasurers shall attend audit.). 4. All payments shall be made by check, regardless of the size of the transaction, so as to provide accurate records of all transactions. 5. All monies shall be counted and deposited as soon as possible. All monies shall be deposited no more than seven (7) days upon receipt. 6. Shall order the first year s Lutheran Woman Today subscription for the new members of King of Glory as it is approved by the board. 7. Obtain necessary paperwork from the bank to revise account signatures as needed. At least two board members shall be authorized signers on the bank account. 8. Checks over the amount of $ shall require two (2) signatures. This shall be an internal requirement, not a bank requirement. 9. Treasure shall prepare a report of the financial status for the general business meeting. 10. Treasurer shall get Board approval prior to moving funds from one bank to another. 11. Prepare Unit Working Budget with input from Secretary and one other Board member. The budget shall be ready no later than the March meeting of W-ELCA. 12. Outgoing Treasurer shall turn over to the newly elected Treasurer within thirty (30) 13. Shall regularly attend events sponsored by Women s Ministry. Bible Study Representative: 1. Shall be appointed by the individual Bible Study Groups to attend monthly board meetings, or appoint an alternate. This is a voting position. 2. Shall relay announcements of upcoming events to Bible Study members, and return members input to the board. Staff/Council Liaison: 1. Attend Unit Board meetings, providing the board with information about scheduling, policies, upcoming events, and other activities at King of Glory. 2. Keep the King of Glory staff up-to-date on the proceedings of the W-ELCA Board. Page 4 of 5

5 3. Follow up on any questions the Board has of the King of Glory staff. 4. This is a non-voting position. ARTICLE VII NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS SECTION 1. Nominating Committee There shall be a nominating committee of at least three persons to present nominees for president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer for election by this unit. Nominating committee shall have a copy of duties of office at their disposal. SECTION 2. Elections All elections shall be for a term as described in Article VI, Section All Board members shall be members of KOG and in good standing. 2. Elections shall be held annually. 3. Terms shall begin at the start of the fiscal year or in the case of appointment as deemed appropriate by the Executive Board. SECTION 3. Mid-Term Vacancy Should a vacancy occur mid-term on the executive board then the executive board shall appoint an individual to fill the term. The board shall fill this position within thirty (30)days of notice of vacancy. ARTICLE VIII FINANCE SECTION 1. Fiscal Year The fiscal year and the budget year for this unit shall be January 1 through December 31. SECTION 2. Financial Accountability An annual accounting compilation or review of this Unit's financial records may be conducted by a financial review committee of the Unit. A financial review committee shall be composed of at least two women from the Unit. ARTICLE IX CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS SECTION 1. Amendments This constitution may be amended at any general business meeting or special meeting of this Unit by a two-thirds vote of the KOG women present, provided the proposed amendment has been presented at the previous meeting and is consistent with the purpose of W-ELCA. PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Women ELCA, King of Glory Lutheran Church, Fountain Valley, California, held on June 13, Page 5 of 5