STRAITS AREA EMMAUS COUMMNITY
FINAL REVISION
PER June 2006

By Laws Revision 2006

ARTICLE I. NAME

The name of this community shall be The Straits Area Emmaus Community, hereinafter referred to as the Community.

ARTICLE II. PURPOSE

Section 1. The purpose of the Community shall be to inspire, challenge, and equip church members for Christian action in their homes, churches, places of work, and the world community through the Emmaus experience.

Section 2. The Community is affiliated with the International Emmaus Program of Upper Room Ministries, Nashville, Tennessee.

ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. All persons who have completed a weekend experience in the Straits Area Emmaus Community shall be members of the Community.

Section 2. Persons who have completed a Walk to Emmaus, Cursillo, Tres Dias, Keryx or recognized 4th Day Group weekend may become members by participating in the activities of the Community and asking the secretary or registrar of the Community to include their names on the mailing list.

ARTICLE IV. BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Section 1. Purpose: Direction of the Community shall be vested in a Board of Directors.

Section 2. Composition:
The Board should consist of at least twelve (12) elected lay members and three (3) clergy not to exceed fifteen (15) members and the Community Spiritual Director. In the event that three clergy cannot be found, qualified lay people can fill the clergy positions in order to maintain a fifteen member Board. The past chairperson may act as ex-officio if their term is expired.

Section 3. Terms of Office
a) Lay persons and clergy on the Board shall be elected by the Community members for three (3)-year terms in three (3) classes, each class having five (5) members (at least four (4) laypersons, one (1) clergy). (See Standing Rules for definition of these classes.)

b) Board members cannot succeed themselves in consecutive terms, a term being three (3) years. A mandatory two-year waiting period is required before re-election of any Board member.

c) Terms of office shall begin at the January Board meeting, however a new board member will not have voting rights until the March Board meeting. The term ends after the February board meeting following the year of their class
Section 4. Election of Board Members:
a) Board members are elected by the Community and must be members of the Community.

b) The nominating committee shall submit to the board a slate of seven (7) nominees to elect at least four (4) lay members and/or one (1) clergy. See Standing Rules for the formation of the nominating committee.

c) The ballot shall be provided to the Community members as part of the newsletter or available on website for downloading and shall be available by the end of October of each year.

d) Ballots are to be received by the board no later than the end of November of each year and will be counted by the nominating committee.

e) Election is by majority vote of the ballots cast. The new Board members will attend the January and February meetings without voting privileges prior to assuming their board positions at the March Board meeting.

f) The immediate past chair of the board may serve on the board as an ex-officio for one (1) additional year, or the normal period of the term, whichever is longer.

g) The board may appoint persons, upon nomination by the chair, to fill a vacant term until the next regular election for that term. Such persons are eligible for election by the Community to a full term, with service beginning at the end of the appointed term.

ARTICLE V. OFFICERS OF THE BOARD

Section 1. Officers
Officers shall be the Community Lay Director, Assistant Community Lay Director, Secretary, and Treasurer; and in case of absences will chair meetings in this order. The Assistant Community Lay Director must not be in his/her final year of Board membership and must have at least a year left in his/her term to serve as chair if elected to that position. Officers can accept responsibility for serving on a Standing Committee in addition to an elected position on the board.

Section 2. Election of Officers
Officers shall be elected by the Board members annually at the January Board meeting and will assume office at the beginning of the March Board meeting.

Section 3. Spiritual Director
The Board of directors will annually select the Community Spiritual Director, who has full voting privileges on the Board. Term of office will begin with the March Board meeting. The Community Spiritual Director may be replaced during the term by ten (10) affirmative votes. The Community Spiritual Director will be limited to three (3) consecutive terms and must have a two-year waiting period before re-election.

ARTICLE VI. MEETINGS

Section 1. The board shall meet monthly in regular meetings unless otherwise ordered by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the board in a regular meeting.

Section 2: Quorum

Two-thirds (2/3) of the current number of directors serving on the Board of Directors at a duly called meeting shall constitute a quorum.

Section 3. Special Meetings

Special board meetings may be called by the chair or when requested in writing by two-thirds (2/3) members of the board. The scope of this meeting will be limited to the topic for which it was called.

ARTICLE VII. COMMITTEES

Section 1. At the January meeting each year and after the election of officers, the Board of Directors shall name board members to chair the Standing committees. The new chair will be trained by the current chair of the standing committee. The new chair will assume sole responsibility of the committee as of the March Board meeting. The Standing Committees are listed in Standing Rules.

Section 2. The Chair of the Board will be an ex-officio member of all standing committees.

ARTICLE VIII. WALK TO EMMAUS

Section 1. To the best of its ability, the Community shall follow the guidelines of The Upper Room program in the presentation of the three-day (72-hour) experience Walk to Emmaus as defined by the most recent edition of the Upper Room Emmaus Handbook published by the Upper Room.

Section 2. The Board of Directors shall have general oversight in all matters relating to the local Walk to Emmaus Community.

Section 3. The Board of Directors shall choose a Lay Director for each Community Walk to Emmaus weekend. See Standing Rule for the selection process.

Section 4. The Weekend Spiritual Director for each Community Walk to Emmaus shall be selected by the board from a list of eligible clergy supplied by the Community Spiritual Director. See the Director's Manual and Upper Room Emmaus Handbook for list of qualifications and responsibilities.

Section 5. The Board of Directors will annually sign the Letter of Agreement from the Upper Room Emmaus office in Nashville and will follow its requirements.

ARTICLE IX. AMENDMENTS

Section 1. Any community member as defined in Article III may present proposed amendments to the Board one (1) month in advance of a monthly board meeting for consideration. It should be brought before the board and the board is to table it for one month allowing for prayful consideration. At the next month's meeting, the board will vote on the amendment at the time.

Section 2. If the amendments are voted in the affirmative by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the board, they will be circulated to the membership through the Community newsletter, and if no petitions signed by at least twenty-five (25) community members objecting to the new amendments are received, the amendments will be considered adopted. Any objections must be received within sixty (60) days of mailing of the notification. If an objection petition is received, the amendment will be considered void.

Section 3. If the board then wishes to submit the amendment to the entire Community for a vote, it may do so. A majority or plurality of votes cast by the membership will decide the matter.

Article X. Standing Rules:

Standing Rules should contain only such rules as may be adopted without previous notice by a majority vote at any business meeting. The vote on their adoption, or their amendment, before or after adoption, may be reconsidered. At any meeting they may be suspended by a majority vote, or they may be amended or rescinded by a two-thirds vote. If notice of the proposed action was given at a previous meeting or in the call for this meeting, they may be amended or rescinded by a majority vote. As a majority may suspend any of them for that meeting, these rules do not interfere with the freedom of any meeting and therefore require no notice in order to adopt them. Generally they are not adopted at the organization of a society, but from time to time, as they are needed. Sometimes the by-laws of a society are called standing rules, but it is better to follow the usual classification of rules as given in this section. The following is an example of a standing rule:

Resolved, that the meetings of this society from April 1 to September 30 shall begin at 7:30 P.M., and during the rest of the year at 8 P.M.

No Standing Rule, resolution, or motion is in order that conflicts with the constitution, or by-laws, or rules of order, or other Standing Rule.

ARTICLE XI. RATIFICATION

Upon approval by the Steering Committee or Board of Directors, the newsletter editor will publish the by-laws by sending them to the members of the Community. A request for a vote will be included. Ballots are to be received by the Board no later than the end of the month following the month of publication. The by-laws take effect immediately upon certification by the Board that a majority of the mail ballots cast by the Community approves them.

ARTICLE XII. BY-LAWS REVIEW

Beginning with the Year 2003, these By-Laws will be reviewed by a Board appointed committee every five (5) years.

Last Revision: June 2006