St. Joan of Arc Bylaws
From "Saint Joan of Arc Parish Diamond Anniversary 1920-1995"
Copyright (c) 1995, St. Joan of Arc Parish
It is hereby decreed that the corporate powers of this Church Corporation shall be exercised in all things in conformity with the laws and discipline of the Roman Catholic Church existing in the United States of America, and in conformity with the Statutes of the Diocese of Trenton, New Jersey.
This Church is always bound to receive as Pastor thereof, and this Church Corporation as one of its Trustees, such priest as the Rt. Rev. Bishop of this Diocese, or, in his absence, the Vicar General thereof, or, in the case of a vacancy in the office of Bishop of the Diocese, the Admnistrator of the Diocese, may, from time to time, appoint; and whenever any Pastor thereof shall be removed by the Rt. Rev. Bishop. the Vicar General, or the Administrator of the Diocese, or refuse or neglect to serve as Trustee, such Pastro shall cease to be a Trustee of this Corporation, and shall no longer be recogniztzd as Pastor of this Church, or congregation.
The officers of this Church Corporation shall be a President, a Treasurer and Secretary: the Rt. Rev. Bishop shall be ex officio President of the Board Trustees; the Treasurer and Secretary shall be elected annually, and each shall continue in office until a successor be elected.
At any meeting of the Board, a majority of the Trustees shall constitute a quorum for the transition of business, but no proceedings, orders, or acts whatsoever of said Trustees shall be valid or effectual in law, except the same receive the sanction of the Rt. Rev. Bishop, or, in the absence of the Rt. Rev. Bishop, of the Vicar General, or, in case of a vacancy in the office of Bishop, of the Administrator of the Diocese for the time being.
Meetings of the Board of Trustees shall be held at such times as the said Board may direct. Special meetings may be called at any time by the Rt. Rev. Bishop, Vicar General, Administrstor of the Diocese, or Pastor.
The Treasurer, under the direction of the President, shall keep regular accounts of all the Receipts and Disbursements of this Corporation, which accounts shall, at all times, be open to the inspection of the Trustees. The funds of this Corporation shall be kept on deposit in the name of this Corporation, and in some safe bank. All checks shall be signed by the Treasurer. The accounts of the Treasurer shall be examined by two members of the Board at least once a year: and on the first of January, in each year, a Statement of such accounts, together with a Statement of the assets and liabilities of the Corporation, shall be prepared and printed, or written, for the information of the congregation, and laid before them. A copy thereof shall be forwarded to the Rev. Chancellor of the Diocese, to be delivered to the Rt. Rev. Bishop, or, in his absence, to the Vlcar General, or Administrator, as aforesaid.
The Pastor shall, under the direction of the Rt. Rev. Blshop, have the custody of the books and papers, and keep the corporate seal of the Church. The Secretary shall keep the Minutes of the meetings of the Board, and give notice of general and special meetings.
No member or members of this Board shall have any power or authority to sign any note, or bond, or mortgage, or any other evidence of debt whatsoever, or to contract any debt whatsoever, or liability of any kind on the part of this Corporation, except in pursuance of a special resolution of the Board of Trustees for that purpose, entered on its Minutes and signed by, at least, three Trustees, in conformity with Article IV. of these By-Laws.
No lay person can be elected a member of the Board of Trustees, who is not a pewholder in the Church, and who is not, at least, a yearly communicant.
The presiding officer of this Board of Trustees shall be the Bishop of the Diocese, or in his absence, the Vicar General of the Diocese, or in the case of a vacancy in the office of Bishop, the Administrator for the time being, or by permission of the Bishop or Administrator, the Pastor, who is also a member of this Board of Trustees. The Bishop of the Diocese, or in his absence, the Vicar General, or in case of a vacancy in the said office of Bishop, the Administrator of the Diocese, may adjourn any meeting, at any tame, of his own motion, for not more than ten days.
These By-Laws cannot be repealed, changed, or modified, nor any additional By-Laws adopted, unless by the unanimous vote of all the members of the Board, of whom the Bishop must be one. Any proposed change therein must be presented in writing and entered on the Minutes. The vote thereon shall not be taken until the next subsequent meeting of the Board.
