Church of the Good Shepherd
3700 Rutherford Street
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17111-1940
The Reverend Kathleen J. Baker, STM, Pastor
Congregational Meetings
Officers
Congregation Council
Standing Committees
Revisions
SECTION
II. CONGREGATIONAL
MEETINGS
Item
1.
The semi-annual
congregational meetings shall be held in the months of May
and November, the place to be determined by the Congregation
Council.
Item
2.
At the semi-annual
meetings, the pastor, professional staff, and the treasurer of
the
congregation shall each submit a written report. Each organization and committee within the congregation
shall also submit a written report for the November meeting.
Item3.
At the semi-annual
meeting in May the report of the audit committee for
the previous year shall be submitted.
Item
1.
[At its first meeting after the annual
congregational meeting,] [t]The
Congregation Council shall [elect] consist of a president, a
vice-president, a secretary, a treasurer, who will serve both the
Congregation
Council and the congregation in their several capacities. [The
president shall
be chosen from the membership of the Congregation Council.] The officers shall be
elected by the Congregation Council by written ballot at the first
Congregation
Council Meeting in January of each year and shall serve for one year. The pastor will convene the January meeting
until the officers are elected. Their
terms shall begin immediately upon election and end at the first
Congregation
Council Meeting in January when their successors are elected.
Item
2.
An interim pastor shall serve
as an ex-officio member of the congregation and Congregation Council
during a
pastoral vacancy.
Item
3.
The council secretary shall
keep accurate minutes of all meetings of the congregation and of the
Congregation Council, which shall be preserved permanently in its
archives.
Item
4.
The treasurer shall keep the
books of account of the congregation. They shall receive all funds and
disburse
them on proper orders, making monthly remittance of benevolence
receipts to the
treasurer of the synod.
Item
5.
The treasurer shall make
written report of all transactions to the Congregation Council monthly
and to
the congregation, [together with a satisfactory audit,] at its semi-annual
meetings. All financial officers shall give corporate surety, in
amounts
determined by the Congregation Council, for which the premiums shall be
paid by
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and/or the congregation.
Item 6.
The president
shall preside over the monthly council meetings and the semi-annual
congregation meetings. The president,
with the pastor, selects members of the mutual ministry committee.
Item 7.
The
vice-president shall act in the place of the president when the
president is
unable to act.
SECTION
IV. CONGREGATION
COUNCIL
Item
1.
All elections of lay members
of the Council shall be by written ballot and the result recorded in
full by
the secretary.
Item
2.
Nominations for Congregation
Council membership shall be made by the Nominating Committee.
Additional
nominations may be made from the floor, with the consent of the
nominees. A
majority of the votes cast shall be necessary to election.
Item
3.
The Congregation Council shall
meet regularly each month at a time and place to be determined by the
Council.
Special meetings may be called by the pastor or the president of the
Council on
his own initiative. Special meetings shall be called if requested in
writing by
one half of the members of Council.
Item
4.
The following shall constitute
the Order of Business at regular meetings:
a. Devotions
b. Optional
period for the study of the life and work of the Church
c. Roll
call and action on excuses for absence
d. Reading
of minutes
e. [Reception of petitions and communications] President's
report
f.
Report
of the pastor
g. Report
of the treasurer
h. Report
of standing committees
i.
Report
of special committees
j.
Other
reports
k. Unfinished
business
l.
New
business
m. Adjournment
SECTION
V. STANDING
COMMITTEES
Item
1.
At its first meeting in each
congregational year, the Congregation Council shall appoint as many
standing
committees as the local and wider concerns of the congregation shall
require.
Each committee shall normally be chaired by a member of the Council
and, in
addition, other persons on the active roll of confirmed members of the
congregation. Although appointed by and responsible to the Congregation
Council, these committees shall be recognized as representative of the
interest
of, and performing essential services for, the congregation as a whole.
The
pastor and president of the Congregation Council shall have voice and
vote in
all committees.
Item
2.
Except as stipulated in the
following paragraphs, the duties of all committees shall be assigned by
the
Congregation Council, along with such instructions as in its judgment
are in
the best interests of the congregation. All actions of committees shall
be
subject to review by the Council.
Item
3.
There shall be a Committee on
Christian Education. This committee, in association with the pastor,
shall
oversee the conduct and promotion of the schools and the activities of
all
organizations within the congregation. It shall encourage the use of
teaching
and worship materials published or approved by the Evangelical Lutheran
Church
in America, and seek to introduce the church’s periodicals and books of
family
devotion into the homes of the congregation. One of the primary aims of
the
Committee on Christian Education shall be to bring the call of the
ministry of
the Gospel and to other full-time church vocations to the attention of
qualified youth of the congregation.
Item
4.
There shall be a Committee on Property
[Building and Maintenance]. This committee shall see to the proper
maintenance
and protection of all property of the congregation, and shall take care
that
the same is kept in good repair and adequately insured.
Item
5.
There shall be a Committee on
Evangelism. This committee shall stimulate and lead all members of the
congregation in continuous and, from time to time, concerted endeavors
to
reawaken the spiritually indifferent and to each others, who are as yet
unwon,
with the Gospel and attach them to Christ's Church. To this end, the
committee
shall devote itself to deepening the spiritual life and shall
periodically
study the congregation in the context of its surrounding community. The
Committee shall publicize the activities of the Congregation to members
and
non-members, as appropriate.
Item
6.
There shall be a Finance and
Administration Committee, of which the treasurer shall be an
ex-officio
member. It shall prepare a draft budget, including a salary proposal,
for the succeeding year, including this congregation’s full indicated
share in
support of the wider ministry being carried on in its behalf by the
Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America and the synod, and shall submit such draft
budget to
the Congregation Council for its action and later presentation to a
congregational meeting. The committee shall exercise oversight of all
the financial
affairs of the congregation to make sure that they are being conducted
efficiently, giving particular attention to the prompt payment of all
obligations and to the regular forwarding of benevolence monies to the
synodical treasurer. It shall also provide for annual audits of the
accounts of
the treasurer, as well as of the accounts of the schools and
organizations
within the congregation. The
Committee is responsible for reviewing and recommending, as necessary,
changes
to the costs and methods of operation of the Office.
Item
7.
There shall be a Committee on
Mission and Ministry. The purpose of this committee shall be to extend
Christian compassion and helpfulness to the ill, the aged, the
orphaned, the
underprivileged, the imprisoned and, in general, to persons of all ages
in need
of aid in body or soul. It shall strive to enlist in these efforts as
many
possible of the individual members and organizations of the
congregation. This
committee shall further have the duty to study social conditions,
primarily in
the local community, in order to bring the cleansing and healing light
of
Christian truth to bear upon critical problems through thoughtful
Christian
discussion of facts and issues.
Item
8.
There shall be a Committee on
Stewardship, of which the treasurer shall be an ex-officio member. It
shall be
the function of this committee to evoke and promote the expression of
Christian
faith in daily living; to teach the Christian use of money; to diffuse
knowledge of the congregation’s local, national and worldwide
ministries; and
to lead all its members to higher levels of proportionate giving for
the Lord's
work. This committee shall also be responsible for the annual Every
Member
Response (Visit) and other congregational efforts which lead to
informed and
grateful giving.
Item
9.
There shall be a Committee on
Worship and Music. It shall assist the Congregation Council in seeing
that the
services of God’s house are conducted regularly and in accordance with
the
liturgy of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, that competent
ushers
are recruited and trained, and that hymnals and other devotional
materials are
provided and properly cared for. This committee shall supervise, and
strive to
advance the welfare and effective service of, the choirs of the
congregation.
It shall arrange for the care of paraments, vestments and musical
instruments
and, in consultation with the pastor, the organist and choir directors,
it
shall furnish music supplies appropriate for use in the worship of a
congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Item
10. There
shall be a Committee on
Mutual Ministry. The purpose of this committee shall be to: 1)
recommend
creation of an/or changes in staff positions necessary to carry out the
work of
the congregation; 2) recommend candidates for vacant staff positions;
3) serve
as liaison between the staff members and the Congregation Council as
well as
the congregation at large; and 4) offer support and counsel to members
of the
staff on a regular basis and as specific needs arise. It will further
be the
duty of the committee chairperson and/or designated representatives of
the
committee to meet with staff personnel annually for a review of
accomplishments, goals and compensation. The committee [shall] may
submit to the Finance and Administration Committee a
prepared salary
proposal for each member of the staff prior to the preparation of the
next
year's spending proposal.
Item 1. Bylaws
may be adopted
or amended at any legally called meeting of this congregation with a
quorum
present by a majority vote of those voting members present and voting.
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