THE ST. STEPHEN'S DIACONAL COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
IN THE DIOCESE OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK
PREAMBLE
We the Diaconal Community of the Diocese of Rochester, New York, joining together for our mutual support and growth in the Christian ideal, strive to promote through word and deed, the motto
"We have come to serve"
Furthermore, we strive to promote and to develop the ministry, which we share with the Bishops, Priests, and Laity for the welfare of all God's people.
ARTICLE I -- NAME
Section I: The name of this organization shall be:
St. Stephen's Diaconal Community Association (SSDCA)
We, as members of the diaconal community of the Diocese of Rochester, establish this association to build and nurture community among deacons, candidates, aspirants, wives, widows and families. Specifically, we join together to promote the spiritual life and to support diaconal ministry and life with special attention to those in formation as they discern their vocation. We do this out of a sense of the unique bond we share, a bond of charity, prayer, obedience to our bishop, service and witness. As a result of this association, we hope we all will grow as witnesses to Christ, the servant.
ARTICLE III -- PURPOSES
Section I: to serve and glorify -Almighty God as ordained servants of the Church of the Diocese of Rochester, New York.
Section II: to demonstrate our love, loyalty, and fidelity for our Bishop. .
Section III: to further the education and spiritual growth of our members.
Section IV: to foster love, understanding, and cooperation among the clergy, religious, and laity of the Diocese of Rochester.
Section V: to develop and maintain a strong sense of community among the members and their families.
Section VI: to maintain the welfare of the Deacon Community by being sensitive to the changing needs of the membership.
Section VII: to be a voice within the Church and community, speaking out on significant issues that affect all God's people.
Section VII: These purposes will be accomplished by:
A. Meeting regularly to identify, discuss and evaluate the pastoral needs of the Diaconate Community.
B. Cooperating with the Office of the Diaconate and the Deacon Personnel Board in conducting programs to further the education and spiritual growth of our members.
C. Undertaking specific projects that enhance and maintain a strong sense of community.
ARTICLE IV -- MEMBERSHIP
Section I: Active members shall consist of:
A. All permanent deacons and their wives or widows who reside within and / or are incarnated in the Diocese of Rochester and who are in good standing with the Diocese and are in concert with Rome.
B. All in formation for the permanent diaconate of the Diocese of Rochester, and their wives.
Section II: Members are requested to maintain voting membership in The St. Stephen's Diaconal Community Association as provided for by this constitution and its by-laws. Voting Membership is secured by payment of dues as defined by the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE V -- OFFICERS
Section I: The officers of this Association shall be a president, vice president, regional vice-presidents secretary, and treasurer.
Section II: The officers shall serve a maximum term of two years and they may be considered for a second consecutive term.
Section III: Nominations for the various offices shall be presented to the membership before the annual retreat. Elections shall be conducted at the annual retreat, with provision for write-in votes.
Section IV: The candidate receiving a simple majority of the votes cast shall be elected. In the event of a tie vote or a non-majority vote, a runoff election shall be held. If a tie vote or a non-majority vote still exists after the second ballot, lots shall be drawn to determine the winner.
Section V: The officers shall assume duties on 1 November
Section VI: If a vacancy in an officer position occurs, the Executive Committee shall fill the remaining term of that office, excepting the office of president, which shall be filled by the vice-president.
Section VII: The Past-President will serve as an ex officio of the Executive Committee for one term of two (2) years directly after the completion of term as president.
Section VIII: The Director of the Diaconate for the Diocese of Rochester will serve as an ex offico member of the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE VI -- DUTIES
Section I: The President of the Association shall:
A. Preside at all meetings
B. Call and preside at all meetings of the Executive Board.
C. Prepare the agenda for all meetings
D. Appoint chairpersons to committees and appoint all new members of the Executive Board.
E. The president shall be an ex-officio member of all committees.
F. The president with the approval of the Executive Board shall appoint a Nominating Committee.
G. The president with the approval of the Executive Board shall appoint an Auditing Committee.
H. The president shall uphold and enforce this Constitution.
I. The president is expected to represent the interests of this association.
Section II: The Vice-President shall:
A. Perform the duties of the President in the event of the president’s absence or incapacity to serve
B. Serve as President-Elect for the next term of office.
C. Assume basic responsibility for membership by:
1. Developing a list of possible new Board Members for the nominating committees use.
2. Contacting eligible Board Members regarding second term.
3. Contacting Board Members who have missed two (2) unexcused meetings.
Section III: The Regional Vice-Presidents are responsible for assisting, advising, and supporting the president of the SSDCA in:
B. The pastoral-spiritual development, well-being, and formation of association members.
C. These responsibilities will be accomplished by:
1. Attending monthly meetings to identify, discuss and evaluate the needs within the diaconate community.
2. Participate as a voting member of the board.
3. Serve as the liaison between the board and the diaconate community by seeking input and advice from association members.
4. Disseminate information to the diaconate community within their areas of assignment.
5. Serve on the association board for a period of two years.
6. Participate in sub-committees for the board providing brief reports, in writing, of committee work at each association meeting.
7. Promoting membership and participation of association activities to the diaconate community within their areas of assignment.
Section IV: The Secretary shall:
A. Keep permanent records of the proceedings of each meeting and of the Association.
B. Keep on file the Constitution and amendments thereto.
C. Furnish new members with a current copy of the Constitution and membership roster.
D. Serve as the secretary of the Executive Board.
E. Furnish a copy of all approved meeting minutes to the Office of the Director of the Diaconate.
Section V: The Treasurer shall:
A. Receive and hold in trust all money belonging to the Association.
B. Keep an accurate account of the receipts and expenditures, and pay all authorized bills.
C. Submit a written financial report to the Executive Board and to the Office of the Director of the Diaconate during the first quarter of a new year.
Section VI: The Executive Board shall consist of the President, Vice-president, the Regional Vice-Presidents, the Secretary, and the Treasurer,
A. The duties of the Executive Board will be to advise the President by:
1. Assisting on the preparation of the agenda for meetings.
2. Act as an advisory and policy-making committee for the Association.
3. Recommend special assessments, which shall be voted upon by the membership of the Association.
4. Meeting prior to each association meeting or at the request of the President
Section VII: Standing Committees:
A. Nominating Committee:
1. This committee will try to include at least one member of each of the following two groups:
a. Permanent deacons
b. Wives and widows of the permanent deacons
2. It is the responsibility of this committee to interview and recommend potential Board Members.
B. Audit Committee:
1. The audit committee members will be three (3) persons at large who have experience with budgets, administration, and or accounting.
2. It is the responsibility of this committee to review the financial activities of the treasurer and submit the following financial reports:
a. To the Executive Board by July 15.
b. To the Director of the Diaconate by July 15.
c. To the membership at the annual retreat.
Section VIII: Ad Hoc Committees or Task Forces shall:
A. May be named according to need.
B. The description of the purpose of each committee is the responsibility of the association executive board.
C. The committees are directly accountable to the association’s executive board, through their respective chairperson.
ARTICLE VII -- MEETINGS
Section I: There shall be at least one general meeting each year, ordinarily to be held in connection with the annual Diaconal Retreat.
Section II: Special meetings may be called by the President, the Executive Board, or by a special written petition of at least 10% of the Association’s voting membership. The president must call a special meeting of the voting membership within one (1) month of receipt of a lawful written petition.
Section III: Petitions must state the purpose of the meeting, and no other business shall be transacted at the meeting so ordered.
Section IV: Within five days of receipt of a valid petition, the President or appropriately directed officer must send out notices calling for a special meeting. Such notices must be sent out at least fifteen days in advance of the determined date of the special meeting. In no case, however, should a special meeting occur more than thirty days after receipt of the petition.
Section V: For any motion to be considered as passed by the Association, the said motion must receive an affirmative number of votes equal to at least a majority of the a quorum number of voting Association members present at the legal meeting at the time the vote on the motion was taken.
Section VI: A meeting of the Association shall be considered to be a legal meeting for voting purposes if a quorum of the voting membership of the Association is present. A quorum shall consist of one third of the voting membership of the Association.
ARTICLE VIII -- AMENDMENTS
Section 1: This document may be amended by a two thirds majority of the voting membership, provided that the amendment(s) has (have) been submitted in writing to the members at least fifteen days in advance of the meeting during which they are voted upon.
Section II: Amendments to this Constitution may be voted upon once each year at the annual retreat or special meeting.
Section III: Proxy voting and voting by mail may be utilized when amending this constitution. The proxy ballot and the mail ballot shall be counted as voting membership in attendance for purposes of a quorum.
ARTICLE IX -- BY-LAWS
Section I: The membership year shall begin and end with the annual retreat.
Section II: Dues for voting membership in this association will be determined by the Executive Board. Financial inability to pay dues shall not automatically subject a member to loss of membership. Wives of deceased Deacons are exempt from paying dues and maintain voting rights.
Section III: All matters of decision for this Association will be determined by the process of consensus except for those situations as designated in this Constitution. At meetings, this Association will assure that the principles of equality, harmony, and efficiency are practiced by insuring the following “four basic meeting principles” for its voting members:
A. Every member has rights equal to every other member.
B. The will of the voting majority must be carried out.
C. The minority must be heard, and its rights protected.
D. Only one topic will be considered at a time.
Section VI: Meeting procedures for the Executive Board, Committees, and Association Member Meetings will ensue the following “Rules of Order:”
A. There is no limit to the number of times a member may speak to an issue.
B. Only one member can speak at a time.
C. It is not necessary to address the chair before speaking.
D. The chair need not leave that post in order to speak, make motions, or vote.
E. Motions need to be seconded.
F. Action cannot be taken without the introduction of a motion.
Section V: When following these “Rules of Order,” if the chair discovers that any of the four basic meeting principles are being abused, the chair may then introduce more formal parliamentary procedures as outlined in the “Robert’s Rules of Order.”
Section VI: Whenever a member makes a request prior to a meeting for the presence of either a certified sign-language interpreter (s) for the hearing impaired or a bilingual interpreter(s), the Association shall be responsible to provide this request.
Section VII: All written communication to non-English- speaking members, when requested by the member, shall be provided to those members in their language.
Section VIII: To amend the Association’s Constitution the following procedure must be followed:
A. A special committee is appointed by the President and approved by the Executive Board to review the Association’s objectives, structure, function, or any other area the board directs.
B. The special committee reviews and drafts change to the Constitution.
C. The amended Constitution is mailed to Executive board members for their review. Each Board member returns, within one month of receipt, the amended Constitution to the special committee with their comments or suggested changes.
D. The special committee will review all comments and suggested changes from the board members.
E. The special committee will mail to each Executive Board member for their examination a revised amended Constitution incorporating any necessary changes.
F. At the next scheduled Executive Board meeting, the chair will have a meeting agenda item to vote (yes or no) without discussion on the revised amended constitution.
G. A simple majority of yes votes of Executive Board present at a scheduled Executive Board Meeting will be necessary to forward the proposed amended constitution to the membership for their vote.
Section IX: A two-thirds (2/3) majority of the voting membership is needed to amend the constitution.
Section X: The Constitution and By-Laws will be reviewed every two (2) years.
Section XI: The Executive Board may create By-Laws in order to carry out this Constitution.
Section XII: The Executive Board will determine if a tithing to the St. Lawrence Fund is possible at the first scheduled Executive Board Meeting following the annual retreat.