PART 7 – BOARD OF DEACONS
Qualifications
33 (1) Deacons:
(a) shall be Members;
and
(b) are expected
to qualify in accordance with Acts 6:1-6 and Romans 12 and will
possess those talents or gifts necessary to
perform the duties required of the
assignment.
(2) The following persons are disqualified
from being elected as deacons:
(a) anyone who is less than 18 years of age; and
(b) anyone who has been found to be of unsound mind by
a court in Canada or
elsewhere.
Composition and election
34 (1) The board of deacons shall be elected by the Members.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), before an
election at which it is proposed to change the
number of deacons, the Congregation shall determine by
ordinary resolution the
number of deacons between a minimum of 4 and a maximum of
20 that shall
constitute a full board of deacons.
(3) No decrease in the number of deacons
may shorten the term of a deacon currently
in office.
(4) The board of deacons shall consist of:
(a) the officers which shall be the:
(i) chairperson;
(ii) vice-chairperson;
(iii) secretary;
(iv) treasurer; and
(b) the number of deacons required to
constitute a full board of deacons as
determined in subsection (2).
Duties and powers
35 (1) The board of deacons shall manage
the activities and affairs of the Congregation.
(2) Without restricting the generality of subsection (1), the
board of deacons shall:
(a) report on its actions to the Congregation;
(b) establish remuneration for:
(i) each member of the pastoral staff;
(ii) the custodian;
(iii) the office secretary; and
(iv) all other remunerated church workers as
may be approved by the
Congregation;
(c) maintain a register of Members entitled to
vote as required by the Act;
(d) subject to subsection 38(2), fill a vacancy
within the board of deacons;
(e) name delegates to the meetings of other
bodies with which the Congregation
is affiliated subject to section 66;
(f) name representatives to such other service
organizations of which the
congregation has agreed to become a part;
and
(g) at its discretion, and when practical,
submit to the Congregation any issue
for guidance and direction.
Terms of office
36 (1) The term of office of a
deacon shall:
(a) be two years; and
(b) begin on July 1 following the semi-annual meeting
at which he or she was elected.
(2) Officers may be re-elected to a
second consecutive term in the same office only
once but they may be re-elected to that office after a
period of absence of one year
or more.
(3) After having held an office for two
consecutive terms, a person may be elected to
another office.
(4) There shall be no limit on the number of times that deacons may be re-elected.
(5) A deacon elected or appointed to fill a
vacancy created by another deacon leaving
office before the expiry of his or her term of office shall
hold office for the unexpired
portion of the predecessor’s term.
Ceasing to hold the office of deacon
37 A deacon ceases to hold office when he or
she:
(a) is succeeded by an elected successor;
(b) dies;
(c) resigns from office by written notice to the board
of deacons;
(d) no longer meets the requirements of a deacon as set
out in the Act and these
bylaws; or
(e) is removed from office by the Members.
Removal of deacon from office and filling the vacancy
38 (1) The Members may, by ordinary
resolution at any meeting of the Congregation,
remove a deacon from office.
(2) A vacancy created by the removal of a
deacon from office may be filled by the
Members at the meeting at which the deacon was removed or,
if not so filled, a
meeting of the board of deacons may fill the vacancy.
Calling meetings of the board of deacons
39 (1) Subject to subsection (4), the
board of deacons shall meet at the times and
places that the deacons determine are appropriate.
(2) Notice of the date, time and place of
each meeting of the board of deacons may be
given to each deacon:
(a) at the previous meeting;
(b) in writing; or
(c) by e-mail.
(3) Deacons shall be provided with an
agenda for the upcoming meeting as early as
possible in advance of the meeting.
(4) The chairperson may, or on the written
request of a quorum of deacons shall,
call a special meeting of the board of deacons.
(5) The notice of a special meeting shall
specify the business to be discussed at that
special meeting.
(7) A deacon may waive, in any manner,
notice of meeting of the board of deacons,
and attendance at a meeting of the board of deacons is a
waiver of notice of
meeting, except where a deacon attends the meeting for the
express purpose of
objecting to the transaction of any business on the grounds
that the meeting was
not lawfully called.
Pastoral staff at meetings of the board of deacons
40 Members of the pastoral staff:
(a) are entitled to attend meetings of the board of
deacons at the discretion of the board;
(b) when in attendance at a meeting of the deacons, may
take reasonable part in
the discussion
except where it involves their remuneration and other benefits
or their performance appraisal; and
(c) are not entitled to vote.
Quorum
41 (1) A quorum of the board of deacons
shall be a majority of the total number that
constitutes a full board of deacons as determined under
subsection 34(2).
(2) No business may be conducted at a meeting of the board of
deacons unless a
quorum is present.
(3) If there is a vacancy on the board of
deacons, the remaining deacons may
exercise all the powers of the board as long as a quorum
remains on the board of
deacons.
Transaction of business
42 (1) The board of deacons may exercise
its power:
(a) by resolution passed at a meeting of the
deacons at which a quorum is present; or
(b) by written resolution signed by all of the deacons
entitled to vote on the
resolution at a meeting of the board of deacons.
(2) A written resolution signed under
subsection (1)(b):
(a) is a valid resolution of the board of deacons; and
(b) must be filed with the minutes of board of
deacons.
(3) Where a vote on a resolution at a
meeting of the board of deacons results in a tie:
(a) the motion is lost; and
(b) neither the chairperson nor the person presiding in
the chairperson’s place is
entitled to cast a second vote to create or to
break a tie.
Disclosure of conflict of interest
43 The rules relating to deacons’ conflict of interest are those set out in the Act.
Indemnification of deacons
44 The rules relating to the indemnification of deacons are those set out in the Act.