The Regional Synod of New York, Incorporated, Revised, May 1994
Article I: Membership
Article II: Meetings
Article III: Officers
Article IV: Elections
Article V: Duties of Officers
Article VI: Permanent Committees
Article VII: The Executive Committee
Article VIII: Special Committee
Article IX: Order of Business
Article X: Suspension and Amendment
Article I: Membership
Section I. The Synod shall consist of four ministers and four elders from each of the Classes within the Regional Synod having a communicant membership of 5,000 or less. An additional minister and elder shall be elected in those Classes with a communicant membership in excess of 5,000 on the basis of one minister and one elder for each 1,000 additional communicant members. Said additional delegates shall serve on action committees as designated by their Classis and approved by the Executive Committee. The President and Vice President currently in office shall also be members of Synod.
Section 2. The Synod, by majority vote, may seat as delegates to a particular meeting thereof, other members of any Classis who are present at the meeting to fill any vacancies in the delegation of that Classis.
Section 3. Delegates shall begin their term of office at the beginning of the Annual Meeting of the Synod in the year of their appointment. Their responsibility shall continue until the beginning of the Annual Meeting of the Synod in the year in which their term expires.
Article II: Meetings
Section I. The time and place of meetings of the Synod shall be set by the Executive Committee, and may be changed by the Executive Committee if found necessary or desirable. Two regular meetings shall be held each year, the Annual Meeting in the Spring and a second meeting in the Fall.
Second 2. Special meetings of the Synod shall be called by the President upon written application by four ministers and four elder delegates. Three weeks notice shall be given to the members of Synod of such meeting, and this notice shall state the particular business for which the meeting is called, but a special meeting may transact any business which would be legal at a regular meeting.
Section 3. A quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting shall be a majority of the minister delegates and a majority of elder delegates, provided at least five Classes are represented.
Section 4. All persons otherwise qualified to vote at corporate meetings of this Synod, who are not of full age but who have attained the age of 18 years, shall be entitled to vote for all purposes at any such meeting.
Article III: Officers
Section 1. The officers of the Synod shall be the President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Stated Clerk and Treasurer.
Section 2. The officers shall be chosen from among the ministers and elders within the bounds of the Synod, whether or not they are delegates from a Classis.
Section 3. The terms of office for the President and Vice Presidents shall be one year, and for the Stated Clerk and Treasurer, three years.
Section 4. The officers shall serve as the Trustees of the Corporation.
Section 5. One or more Temporary Clerks shall be appointed by the President at each session of the Synod to hold office for the duration of that session only.
Article IV: Elections
Section 1. Nominations for all elected officers, chairpersons, vice chairpersons, and members of permanent committees, and any other officers or representatives of the Synod to be elected, shall be made by the Executive Committee.
Section 2. Additional nominations for any office may be made from the floor of Synod.
Section 3. All officers shall take office at the close of the meeting at which they are elected.
Article V: Duties of Officers
Section I. The President shall preside over all meetings of the Synod and of the Executive Committee and of the Trustees. He/she shall state and explain the business to be transacted, enforce the Rules of Order, and maintain the decorum and dignity belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ.
Section 2. It shall be the duty of the President, at each annual meeting of the Synod, to present to Synod a Report on the State of Religion in the Synod, based upon his/her personal observations while in office, and upon the reports submitted by the several Classes.
Section 3. The First Vice President shall perform the duties of the President at the request of or in the absence of the latter. If the President shall vacate his/her office for any reason, the First Vice President shall become President and the Second Vice President shall become the First Vice President.
Section 4. The Stated Clerk shall keep an accurate record of all transactions of the meetings of the Synod, and shall have the approved minutes of each session authenticated and signed by the officers thereof. He/she shall have printed and distributed to the Classes a sufficient number of copies of the minutes for the use of Synod. He/she shall preserve on file all communications and documents of the Synod as directed by the Synod or Executive Committee.
Section 5. The Treasurer shall collect from the several Classes the assessments laid upon them by the Synod, keep an accurate record of all receipts and disbursements as directed by Synod, and shall make a report at each annual meeting.
Section 6. The Trustees shall hold title to all of the real, personal, and temporal properties of the Synod, subject to the directions and instructions of Regional Synod at any duly constituted meeting of the Regional Synod.
Section 7. The temporary Clerk or Clerks shall assist the Stated Clerk in such ways as he/she may request.
Article VI: Permanent Committees
Section I. The Permanent Committees of the Synod shall be: (a)Spiritual Life and Education; (b)Mission, Outreach and Social Concerns; (c)Planning,. Development and Revisioning; (d)Human Support; (the foregoing to be referred to as Action Committees); and (f) Judicial Business.
Section 2. The members of the Action Committees shall be those members of the Regional Synod elected by the several Classes and designated by each Classis to their committee assignment. One minister and one elder from each Classis shall serve on each committee. Action Committees so constituted may elect as full committee members additional persons, not members of Regional Synod, when deemed advisable or necessary .
Section 3. The Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of each Action Committee shall be elected annually by the Regional Synod, from the membership of Synod.
Section 4. The Committee on Judicial Business shall consist of three ministers and two elders, elected for a team of 5 years, so arranged that the term of one member expires each year. Members of this Committee need not be members of Regional Synod.
Section 5. The Chairperson of the Committee on Judicial Business shall be elected for one year, from among the members of the Committee.
Section 6. The function and procedure of the Committee on Judicial Business shall be the same as those of the similar Committee of the General Synod.
Section 7. Committee Responsibilities:
a. The Spiritual Life and Education Committee is concerned with worship, education retreats, Bible Study, special services and events. It is responsible for working with local churches in the revitalization of spiritual life, education and youth activities on an ongoing basis.
b. The Mission, Outreach and Social Concerns Committee is concerned with encouraging a broader perspective to mission, including the revitalization of the life and mission of the congregations and Classes. It is responsible, at the request of the Classes, for reevaluating the focus of the congregation and its mission activity in light of the particular neighborhood and municipality in which the congregation serves. It shall make recommendation to the Synod regarding issues of social and Christian concern on which it deems appropriate action should be taken. Programs of evangelism and outreach are included in this action committee.
c. The Planning, Development and Revisioning Committee is responsible for new congregations coming into the Synod and planning for church starts, in partnership with the Classes; concerned with planning, for the revisioning of existing churches in renovation of buildings, relocation or major changes in program emphasis or staffing, relating to issues of fund raising, church and Classis advocacy, and church planning; responsible for examining new models of ministry to better respond to the congregational needs, social context and fiscal situations of the churches.
d. The Human Support Committee is responsible for the care of the clergy, candidates for ministry and technical assistance for church treasurers, secretaries, clerks, and consistory training.
Section 8. Each Action Committee shall report to regular meetings of the Regional Synod and its Executive Committee, and shall present annual budget recommendations for its program area to the Executive Committee.
Article VII: The Executive Committee
Section I. The Executive Committee of the Regional Synod shall consist of the five officers of the Synod (President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Stated Clerk, and Treasurer), the immediate past President, the Chairperson of the Judicial Business Committee, the Chairperson or Vice Chairperson of each of the four action committees of Synod, the Presidents of each of the Classes of Synod, the -Clerks of each of the Classes of Synod, one person from each of the RCA Racial Ethnic Councils, an additional woman chosen by the women delegates to the Synod. In addition, the Executive Minister, the RCWM Synodical Consultant, one of the members of the General Synod Council appointed by a Classis of the Synod, and the Executive Director of the Warwick Center shall serve as members without vote.
Section 2. The function of the Executive Committee shall be:
a. To act for the Synod between sessions, as instructed by it, and to carry out any matters referred to it by Synod.
b. To concern itself with the conditions and problems of the Classes and bring to the Annual Meeting of Synod recommendations for action.
c. To act as a program committee for the meetings of Synod, arranging an agenda and order of business to expedite the business of Synod.
d. To stimulate and oversee the work of the Action Committees.
e. To prepare and present to the Annual Meeting of Synod a budget and recommendations for raising funds necessary to meet it.
f. To call and employ a full time Executive Minister who shall have executive responsibility for the entire program of the Synod; supervise and evaluate job performance of any and all other program staff of the Synod; represent the Regional Synod of New York as directed by the Executive Committee; and perform such other duties as directed by the Executive Committee.
g. To employ part time Synod Area Ministers who, working under the direction of the Executive Minister, will be responsible for furthering the mission of the Synod within their designated areas.
h. To employ a full time Synod Administrative Assistant whose responsibility will be to implement the administrative and secretarial work of the Synod as directed by the Synod Executive Minister.
I. .To employ or contract for the services of other persons necessary to the program of Synod on the basis of definite contract periods.
To approve job descriptions for all staff personnel and review job descriptions and performances at least annually.
Section 3. The Executive Committee shall have authority to fill any vacancies that may occur among the Officers and Synod elected Committee Chairpersons and Vice Chairpersons of the Synod, until the next regular meeting.
Section 4. The Executive Committee shall constitute subcommittees for finance, nominations, and promotion, named by the President, which shall present appropriate recommendations to the Executive Committee for action.
Article VIII: Special Committees
Section I. Special Committees on (a) Synodical Minutes; (b ) Classical Minutes; (c) Resolutions and Overtures shall be appointed by the President at each annual meeting, and shall report at the meeting at which they are appointed.
Section 2. The President may also appoint such other special committees as may be found desirable from time to time.
Article IX: Order of Business
Section I. A devotional service, conducted by the retiring President, shall be held at each annual meeting.
Section 2. The program and order of business for each meeting of the Synod shall be planned by the Executive Committee.
Section 3. All meetings of the Synod shall be opened and closed with prayer.
Article X: Suspension and Amendment
Section I. These Bylaws and Rules of Order may be suspended in whole or in part for a session or part of a session by two-thirds vote of the members present, provided that such action does not conflict with any provision of the Book of Church Order of the Reformed Church in America.
Section 2. These Bylaws and Rules of Order may be amended at any regular session of the Synod by a majority vote of the members present, provided that the substance of the proposed amendment has been submitted in writing and made a part of the record of the previous regular session.
Section 3. Six certified copies of the Bylaws and Rules of Order shall be on the President's table at each session of the Synod for the convenience of the members.
Note: Upon motion duly made, seconded and carried, the revised Bylaws and Rules of Order were approved in second reading at the Synod Annual Meeting, May 1994.
