LIVING WATERS ASSOCIATION OF THE ABCNYS
CONSTITUTION
Recognizing a need for fellowship and mission which we as individual American Baptist Churches cannot completely fulfill by ourselves, we are banding together as the Living Waters Association of the American Baptist Churches of New York State (ABCNYS) so that we may respond more effectively to the call of God to be the Body of Christ.
ARTICLE I – Purpose
The purpose of the Living Waters Association of ABCNYS (hereinafter the Association) is threefold.
1. to promote Christian fellowship and interaction among member churches
2. to provide resources for the development and growth of member churches
3. to practice our Christian mission:
(a) within the territorial boundaries of the Association
(b) around the world through ABCNYS and ABCUSA
ARTICLE II – Membership
The membership of the Association shall consist of American Baptist Churches in the south-central Finger Lakes area which choose to align with the association upon majority vote of the Program Board.
ARTICLE III – Governing Body
The Association shall be governed by a Program Board which will consist of delegates from each association church, professional church leaders, and representatives from auxiliary organizations.
1. Two lay delegates shall be chosen by each of the churches in the association.
2. Ordained American Baptist clergy, including institutional and military chaplains,
both active and retired and non-ordained professional American Baptist church
leaders who are members of churches in the association are delegates by virtue of
their office. This membership shall be determined by the professional listing in
the ABCNYS Annual.
3. The Program Board will elect a moderator, an assistant moderator, secretary, and
treasurer from among the membership of churches in the association.
4. The Program Board shall meet at least three times each year, as set forth in the
by-laws.
ARTICLE IV – Executive Committee
The Executive Committee will plan the agenda for the Program Board meetings and coordinate dates and projects among the standing and ad hoc committees. It will be responsible for the ongoing work of the association between Program Board meetings.
1. The Executive Committee shall consist of the moderator, assistant moderator,
secretary, treasurer, chairs of the standing committees and chairs of any active
ad hoc committees.
2. The Executive Committee shall meet at least once prior to each Program Board
meeting to plan the agenda for that meeting and to conduct any other business
that may be required.
3. The Executive Committee shall have such other responsibilities as the Program
Board shall assign to it.
ARTICLE V – Amendments
This constitution may be altered or amended upon written notice of proposed change(s) having been given at one Annual Meeting, with the vote taking place at the next Annual
Meeting. A minimum of 50% of the member churches must be present, with a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote necessary to effect change(s). There shall be no proxy votes.
BY-LAWS
Program Board Membership
1. Delegates from the member churches shall be selected by the member churches.
The churches are encouraged to have active delegates and should notify the
association secretary of their names and addresses.
2. Auxiliary representatives to the Program Board shall include the Associate
Executive Minister (ABCNYS), delegates to the ABCNYS Mission Board from
the association, the election district representative to ABCUSA if they are a
member of an association church, representatives from the ABW/CSA,
ABM/CSA, youth ministries/CSA, the area Ministers Council and any other
organizational representatives that the Program Board votes to accept.
Responsibilities of the Program Board
1. Every member of the Program Board shall be a member of a standing committee
and/or a member of the executive committee.
2. The Program Board will promote and support the interaction of small groups of
churches who band together for broader programming (clustering).
3. The Program Board chooses the program and mission emphases for the
Association upon recommendations from the standing committees and by
interaction with the standing committees.
4. The Program Board shall set the dates and locations for its February, May, and
September meetings. (These shall be held at each church in the Association in a
consecutive process.)
5. It instructs the convocation committee to develop association rallies to reflect the
program and mission emphasis for each year.
Composition of the Standing Committees
1. The convocation committee shall have a minimum of 3 (three) members and the
other standing committees shall have a minimum of 5 (five) members.
2. Standing committees will be staffed voluntarily from among the members of the
Program Board.
3. The standing committees at their own option may sub-divide into task oriented
groups if it will facilitate the implementation of the work of the committees.
4. Any standing committee may co-opt non-delegate members to serve within the
committee if needed to fulfill its responsibilities as instructed by the Program
Board.
Responsibilities of the Standing Committees
The responsibility of the standing committees is to identify, develop, and implement the program and mission emphasis for the Association within their particular area of concern:
The Convocation Committee is responsible for association wide meetings particularly the Fall and Spring rallies.
Christian Life is responsible for supporting the professional leadership of member churches (i.e. ordination, ministerial standing, continuing education) and leadership development (i.e. Lillie Carmer fund management, the lay ministry program, officer and board training, Christian Education, youth ministry, stewardship, etc.) These functions may be delegated to sub-committees such as the association committee on ministry. Local Mission is responsible for advancing evangelism, missions, social concerns, camping, institutional support, etc. relating to the people and churches within the boundaries of the association and ABCNYS.
Wider Mission is responsible for advancing evangelism, missions, social concerns, camping, institutional support, etc. relating to programs, people, and activities that encompass national and international mission.
The Responsibilities of the Executive Committee
1. The executive committee shall be responsible for preparing the agenda for the
Program Board.
2. It shall be responsible for implementing the directives of the Program Board.
3. It shall be responsible for maintaining the ongoing work of the Program Board
between Program Board meetings.
4. The executive committee shall appoint the nominating committee.
5. The executive committee may suggest persons to serve on the various ABC/NYS
standing committees or teams.
Responsibilities of the Nominating Committee
The nominating committee shall be responsible for providing a slate of needed officers for the Program Board prior to the February meeting of the Program Board.
Terms of Executive Officers
1. The moderator will serve a two year term and may not succeed himself/herself.
2. The assistant moderator will serve a two year term and may not succeed himself/
herself.
3. The secretary and the treasurer will each be elected to a two year term and may
serve two full consecutive terms of office and then must retire from office for at
least one year.
4. The offices of moderator and assistant moderator shall be up for election in the
same year.
5. The offices of secretary and treasurer shall be up for election in the same year.
Duties of the Executive Officers
The Moderator
1. It shall be the responsibility of the moderator to convene any meeting of the
executive committee and/or the Program Board and to implement the agenda
prepared for these meetings by the executive committee.
2. It shall be the responsibility of the moderator to maintain the established
minimum number of delegate members for each standing committee.
3. It shall be the responsibility of the moderator to nominate to ABC/NYS Mission
Board or State Standing committees a person to fill any vacancy occurring
between annual elections. The person, if approved by the executive committee,
will serve until the next annual election of the Program Board.
4. The moderator is the official representative of the Association at any function at
which the Association is requested to be represented unless the Program Board
or moderator appoints another person to represent it at a particular function.
Assistant Moderator
In the absence or inability of the moderator to perform any of the above functions, the assistant moderator is authorized by virtue of his/her offices to act in place of the moderator.
Secretary
1. The secretary is responsible for preparing and distributing copies of the minutes
of all Association business meetings to each church in the Association and
specifically to each delegate to the Program Board and to the associate executive
minister (ABC/NYS).
2. The secretary is responsible for notifying the executive committee members of
any meeting at which their attendance is required.
3. The secretary is responsible for notifying the Program Board delegates of the
date of the regular Program Board Meetings.
Treasurer
The treasurer is responsible for collecting all receipts of the Association and disbursing any monies that the Program Board and/or executive committee approves.
1. The Treasurer is responsible for maintaining clear and accurate records of all the
Association’s finances.
2. The Treasurer is responsible for notifying each church of the association
when the Association dues are due and payable and the per capita amount
that is currently being requested. This information shall be provided in a
business format.
3. The Treasurer will upon the recommendation of the executive committee and/or
Program Board disburse funds from the Lillie Carmer Fund for educational
scholarships.
Full Membership Meetings of the Association
1. There shall be at least two meetings for member churches of the Association each
year. The Spring Fellowship meeting and the Fall Program meeting. It is
preferable that these be held in June and October. The Convocation Committee
has primary responsibility for planning these meetings.
2. Other meetings, conferences, and workshops may be held for the Association as
the need and/or interest arises.
3. All membership meetings shall be announced at least one month prior to their
occurrence by at least one mailing.
Amendments
These By-Laws may be altered or amended at any regular of special meeting of the Association, provided that prior written notice of the proposed change(s) shall have been
mailed at least thirty (30) days prior to the meeting to each member church. A minimum of 50% of the member churches must be present, and a simple majority shall effect the
change(s). There shall be no proxy voting.
Conduct of Business
All meetings of the Association shall be governed by Roberts Rules of Order, unless
otherwise provided for in these By-laws.
Amended Constitution and By-Laws adopted February 29, 2004, at the Annual Meeting of the Chemung-Steuben Association in Montour Falls, NY. The Association’s name was
changed to “Living Waters Association ABCNYS” at the February 19, 2006, Delegates’
Meeting at Ithaca, NY.
