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Dear friends,
Below you will find a link to a cover letter and document from the Governing Documents Review Committee. I appointed this group in February to review and revise our Constitution, Bylaws, and Standing Rules. We have completed our work by presenting a new Constitution and Bylaws to the Mission Council. Earlier this week the Mission Council voted unanimously to recommend this new Constitution and Bylaws for your approval at a congregational meeting to be held after worship on October 23.
- The new Constitution and Bylaws was written to address three goals: to simplify and streamline our governing structure, to encourage leadership development, and to clarify role confusion. We’ve made a number of adjustments to how we structure our work to attempt to meet these needs (the cover letter explains these changes in detail).
- The change that will be most noticeable to many members is that we are shifting to a July-to-June fiscal and program year. This allows us to complete the budget and nominating process in the late spring, as our program activities start to wind down, rather than in October and November, which are busy months for us as a church and for many of us personally. This also allows for the change-over in leadership of Missions and program ministries to take place over the summer rather than in the middle of the school year, which we believe will provide a smoother transition.
- If approved, the new Constitution and Bylaws will become effective July 1, 2017.
- To facilitate the change to a new fiscal year, on October 23 the congregation will vote on a six-month budget through June 2017. This budget essentially will be an extension of our current budget, with no salary or program increases. We will complete a full budget preparation process in the spring for the 2017-2018 fiscal year.
- To facilitate the change to a new program year, those currently serving in leadership positions will be asked to consider extending their terms by six months. For example, if you are a Deacon whose term is supposed to end in December 2016, we will ask you to continue serving until June 2017. Because this is a longer commitment than what anyone agreed to when they were asked to serve, we will give everyone the opportunity to opt out if they are unable to serve this extended term, and the Mission Council and I will work to find replacements as needed.
For a much more detailed overview and to read the proposed Constitution and Bylaws itself, please click here to download the cover letter and document. We will also have some printed copies available in the narthex for the next few weeks.
If you have questions about the new document or the transition process, members of the Governing Documents Review Team will be available in the Farkas Room after worship on October 9 and October 16 and will be glad to talk with you.
Thank you so much for your dedication to God and to First Christian Church.
Blessings,
Libby Carpenter
Moderator
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