Supplemental Special Rules of Order for Virtual Attendance at Annual Meeting of St. Clement’s Episcopal Church, Rancho Cordova, California For Adoption at commencement of the 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting.
Date of 2021 Annual Meeting: January 31 following the 10am service
Preamble
- Supersede Regular Rules. These Supplemental Special Rules of Order for Virtual Attendance at Annual Meeting (hereinafter, “these Rules”) shall supersede the regular By-Laws regarding the holding of annual meetings of the parish, and the Constitution and Canon 36 of the Canons of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California and to the extent they are in conflict with the regular By-laws, Constitution and Canons, these Rules shall prevail.
- Purpose. The purpose of these Rules is to facilitate the calling and annual meeting of the parish during the Covid-19 Pandemic, since governmental restraints make it impossible to hold a face-to-face physical meeting of the parish.
- Adoption. These rules are to be adopted at the beginning of the Virtual Annual Meeting. If a parish adopts any additional rules, they are to be documented.
- Interpretation of Certain Constitutional and Canonical Terms. For purposes of annual meetings governed by these Rules, these terms shall have the following interpretation:
“Annual Meeting”: The meeting of clergy and laity of __________________________, conducted wholly or in part via remote electronic participation by its members.
“seat”: The ability to participate in the annual meeting via electronic connection
“voice”: The right to make oral statements during the annual meeting
“vote”: The right to cast an oral voice or electronic poll vote or file an electronic ballot during the annual meeting.
II. Connection Information
- The meeting will be held via zoom. The zoom link and password will be set forth in the Sunday Bulletin for the two Sundays prior to the Sunday of the Annual Meeting.
- Every member of the parish will register to attend the annual meeting by providing the parish administrator/secretary with their email address.
III.
Opening of Meeting and Quorum
- Login Time. The Secretary shall schedule the Zoom meeting service to begin at least 10 minutes before the start of each meeting.
- Signing in and out. Members shall identify themselves as required to sign in to the Internet meeting service, and shall maintain Internet and audio access throughout the meeting whenever present, but shall sign out upon any departure before adjournment.
- Quorum. Consistent with the Bylaws and Canon 36.3.2, those present at the zoom meeting shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business of the parish.
IV. Conduct of Meeting
1. Technical requirements and malfunctions. Each member is responsible for his or her audio and Internet connections; no action shall be invalidated on the grounds that the loss of, or poor quality of, a member’s individual connection prevented participation in the meeting.
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- Forced disconnections. The Rector/Priest-in-Charge/Sr. Warden may cause or direct the disconnection or muting of a member’s connection if it is causing undue interference with the meeting. The Rector/Priest- In-Charge/Sr. Warden’s decision to do so, which is subject to an undebatable appeal that can be made by any member, shall be announced during the meeting and recorded in the minutes.
- Assignment of the floor. To seek recognition by the Rector/Priest-In-Charge/Sr. Warden, a member shall use the Zoom “raise hand” request and await recognition. Once the pending action is completed, the Rector shall clear the online queue.
- Interrupting a member. A member who intends to make a request that under the rules may interrupt a speaker shall use the Zoom Chat feature for so indicating, and shall thereafter wait a reasonable time for the Rector/Priest-In-Charge/Sr. Warden’s instructions before attempting to interrupt the speaker by voice.
- Motions. Because the annual meeting will be held via zoom, Motions will not be considered. The purpose of the annual meeting will be to receive reports by title, hear the Treasurer’s Report and respond to questions re the same, and vote for vestry and convention delegates and alternates.
V. Floor Nominations and Voting
1. Nominations from the Floor. Any persons who have not been nominated in advance of the annual meeting may self-nominate or be nominated by others, by use of the Chat feature. Anyone so nominated shall confirm their willingness to serve.
Voting. Votes not requiring ballots may be taken by the Zoom polling feature. Other votes, including balloting for elections, shall be taken by the anonymous voting feature of the Internet voting service selected by the parish, using members’ assigned Voter ID code. It is agreed that married couples who share an email address shall be entitled to two votes for each candidate. Results of votes may be reported to the Rector/Priest-In- Charge/Sr.Warden by the Chair of the Balloting Committee or the Secretary.
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