Friends Of Holy Trinity Church, Meldreth Registered Charity No. 289736 |
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1. The Friends of Holy Trinity Church, Meldreth is a Society of those who through the payment of an annual subscription wish to assist the Priest in Charge and Parochial Church Council in caring for the Parish Church.
2. (a) The Society is established for charitable purposes only.
(b) The Object of the Society is the provision of financial assistance for the care, preservation and improvement of the fabric of Holy Trinity Church, Meldreth and for the general maintenance and support of the church and its activities and services, its ornaments and furnishings and for those purposes but not otherwise to raise funds, including the use of some of those funds for the purchase of books and other articles for resale, to assist and advise the Priest in Charge and Parochial Church Council and for Members to give their personal services with a view to promoting, so far as may be charitable in law, public interest in the Church, its history and its work. The Society recognises that the Priest in Charge and Parochial Church Council is the body responsible for the care, maintenance, preservation and insurance of the fabric of the Church and ornaments and furnishings thereof and has ultimate control of all works done within and upon it.
3. The Society may collect and receive subscriptions or donations (whether inter vivos or by will) or money investments or other property of whatsoever nature for the furtherance of the Object of the Society as defined in paragraph 2 hereof.
4. The Society shall be managed by a Committee of management to be known as the Committee of the Friends of Holy Trinity Church, Meldreth (hereinafter called "the Committee") which shall have power to conduct its business including the summoning of meetings, the deposit of money at a proper bank and custody of documents, provided that sums of money paid to the Priest in Charge and Parochial Church Council or their agents for any particular item which exceed £500 shall be subject to approval by the Annual General Meeting called with not less than 14 days notice or an Extraordinary General Meeting called with not less than four weeks notice.
5. The Priest in Charge of Meldreth shall, by virtue of his office, be Chairman of the Committee.
6. The Committee shall consist in addition to the Priest in Charge of not more than eight persons of whom four shall be elected by the Priest in Charge and the Parochial Church Council at least one of whom shall be a member of the Parochial Church Council and four shall be elected by the membership of the Society at its Annual General Meetings from those proposed by the Committee or those properly nominated under Clause 8 hereof. The Committee shall have power to co-opt for a period of three years not more than three persons having special knowledge or experience of value to the Society.
7. The members of the Committee elected as aforesaid shall hold office for two years, except that the first members so elected only shall hold office as to one half of those elected by the Priest in Charge and Parochial Church Council and of those elected by the Annual General Meeting for a period of one year and as to one half for two years and those to retire shall be chosen by ballot.
8. Upon the members of the Committee ceasing to hold office at the expiration
of their term of office as provided in Clause 7 hereof of the following procedure
shall apply:-
(a) Not less than two weeks before the date of the expiry of their term
of office as prescribed in Clause 7 hereof the Priest in Charge and Parochial
Church Council shall elect two members to serve on the Committee for a period
of two years, subject to clauses 10 and 11 hereof, such notice to be received
by the Hon. Secretary of the Society in writing, countersigned by the person
nominated.
(b) In the even of the failure at any time of the provisions of this
Clause for the election or nomination of members of the Committee, the Priest
in Charge and Parochial Church Council shall have power to make such regulations
to enable the Committee to continue its work as they shall in their opinion
think fit.
9. A retiring elected member of the Committee shall be eligible for re-election for not more than three consecutive occasions i.e. serving no more than four consecutive terms, but this limitation shall not apply to those elected to the office of Hon. Treasurer or Hon Secretary or Hon. Membership Secretary or Hon. Vice Chairman.
10. No person shall be entitled to act as a member of the Committee until he/she has indicated his/her acceptance and willingness to act in accordance with this Constitution.
11. Members of the Committee shall be subscribing members of the Society and in selecting such members consideration shall be given to securing as wide a representative body as possible.
12. The continuing members of the Committee may act notwithstanding any vacancy in their number.
13. Every casual vacancy in the membership of the Committee may be filled by co-option by the Committee provided that a member so co-opted shall hold office only until the next Annual General Meeting when he may be elected for the unexpired term of office of the member in whose place he is appointed.
14. Officers shall be elected by the Committee from their number if vacancies occur between AGMs.
15. The Honorary Treasurer and Honorary Secretary and the Honorary Membership Secretary and the Honorary Vice Chairman shall be elected or re-elected by the Annual General Meeting. Only members of the Committee shall be eligible for election.
16. The Committee shall meet at least twice in each year and a special meeting may at any time be summoned by the Chairman or by the Vice-Chairman or by any five members of the Committee upon not less than seven clear days' notice being given to the other members of the Committee of the matters to be discussed.
17. (a) There shall be a quorum when four members of the Committee are present at a meeting and every matter shall be determined by the majority of the members present and voting on the question.
(b) In the case of equality of votes the Chairman of the Meeting shall have a second or casting vote.
18. If at any time appointed for a meeting a sufficient number of members to form a quorum is not present, the meeting shall stand adjourned sine de and a special meeting shall be summoned on a date as convenient as may be. Any meeting may be adjourned by resolution.
19. The Committee shall have power to invest money belonging to the Society in any manner permitted by law whether in Trustee securities or otherwise and may from time to time vary such investment with power nevertheless to retain for such period as in its absolute discretion it shall think fit any investments whether of a kind hereby authorised or not, given or bequeathed to the Society.
20. Except in special circumstances, with the approval in writing of the Charity Commissioners for England and Wales, no member of the Committee shall take or hold any interest in any property belonging to the Society otherwise than as a Trustee for the purpose thereof or receive any remuneration or be interested in the supply of work or goods at the cost of the Society.
21. The provisions of the Constitution may be deleted, varied or added to from time to time by a Resolution passed at the Annual General Meeting of the Society provided that notice to make a change has been given to the Hon. Secretary not less than four weeks before the date of the meeting and that the Hon. Secretary gives notice at least fourteen days before the Annual General Meeting to each member of the Society specifying the terms of the Resolution and passed by not less than two-third of the total number of members present and voting, provided that no such deletion, variation or addition shall be made without the consent of the Priest in Charge and Parochial Church Council nor shall such deletion, variation or addition be made under which any property of the Society or the income there from shall become applicable to or for any object or purposes which is not charitable in law and provided that no alteration to clause 2 hereof shall take effect until the approval in writing of the Charity Commissioners or other authority having charitable jurisdiction shall have been obtained.
22. The Committee may appoint and may determine the appointment of a Custodian Trustee of a Trust Corporation of not less than three persons to act as Trustees for the purpose of holding any monies or property belonging to the Society.
23. The Society may be dissolved by a Resolution passed by two-third majority of those present and voting at a Special General Meeting convened for the purpose of which twenty-one days' notice shall have been given to the members. Such Resolution may give instructions for the disposal of any assets held by or in the name of the Society provided that if any property remains after the satisfaction of all debts and liabilities such property shall not be paid to or distributed amongst the members of the Society but shall be give nor transferred to such other charitable institutions having objects similar to some or all of the objects of the Society as the Society shall determine and in so far as effect cannot be given to this provision then to some other charitable purpose.
(Amended 11 May 2007)