ABC By-Laws:

    ARTICLE I. Name
     The name of this Group shall be ABC Fourth Day Emmaus Group, hereinafter referred to as the Group. ABC is a double acronym that stands for All Because of Christ and/or All Bastrop County.

    ARTICLE II. Purpose
     Section 1. The purpose of the Group shall be to inspire, challenge, and equip church members for Christian action in their homes, churches, place of work, and the world Group through the Emmaus experience. Therefore, the Group exists to help each member 1)work toward the expansion of his or her own inner spiritual life, and 2)become a more active disciple of Christ in the world through his or her church.

    Section 2. To these ends, the Group shall gather at least monthly for the sharing of Word and Table, unless the Group votes to do otherwise.

    ARTICLE III. Affiliation
     The Group is affiliated with the International Emmaus Program of Upper Room Ministries, Nashville, Tennessee and the Southwest Texas Conference Emmaus Group.

    ARTICLE IV. Membership
     Section 1. All persons who have completed a weekend experience of The Walk to Emmaus sponsored by the Group shall be members of the Group.

    Section 2. Persons who have completed The Walk to Emmaus, Cursillo, Tres Dias, Via de Cristo, Kairos, Chrysalis or other internationally recognized “three day weekend” may become members by participating in the activities of the Group.

    ARTICLE V. Board of Directors
     Section 1. Purpose
     Direction of the Group shall be vested in a Board of Directors, hereinafter referred to as the Board.

    Section 2. Composition
     The Board shall consist of fifteen (15) members elected by the Group, and the Group Spiritual Director, who is elected by the Board. All sixteen members of the Board shall have one vote on the Board.

    Section 3. Terms of Office

  1. Board members, except for the Group Spiritual Director, shall be elected by the Group for three (3)-year terms in three (3) classes. Each class shall have five (5) members, all of whom may be lay members, but not less than four (4) in each class shall be lay members.
  2. Board members, except for the Group Spiritual Director and the Group’s representative on the Southwest Texas Conference Emmaus Group Board of Directors (hereinafter referred to as SWTC Board), cannot succeed themselves in consecutive terms, a term being three (3) years. An outgoing board member must wait a period of one year before being eligible for reelection to the Board. However, an outgoing board member may be appointed to fill a vacancy as provided for in Article V, Section 4D. The Group’s SWTC Board representative, upon re-nomination by the nominating committee and reelection by the Group, may serve a second three (3)-year term as a member of both Group Board and SWTC Board.
  3. Terms of office shall begin June 1 and shall terminate May 31, except for officers, who shall serve until election of new officers in June as provided for in Article VI.
    Section 4. Election of Board Members
  1. Board members, except for the Group Spiritual Director, are elected by the Group. The Board shall be elected from those members of the Group who regularly attend a church, a reunion group, and the Group gatherings.
  2. The nominating committee shall submit to the Board a slate of at least five (5) and not more than seven (7) nominees to elect five (5) board members. If the SWTC Board representative’s term is expiring, the nominating committee shall also declare one or more of the nominees to be eligible to serve in that capacity. It is desirable to have at least three (3) members from each town within the Group on the Board. The makeup of the Board shall reflect the openness to diversity that Upper Room Ministries promotes.
  3. The Group shall elect the new board members at the Group gathering in May. Nominations may be received from the floor, in addition to those proposed by the Board. Voting may be by show of hands or by written ballot. The five nominees having the highest number of votes shall be elected to the Board. If the SWTC Board representative is to be voted on, that board member position shall be elected first to be followed by voting for the other four members.
  4. The Board may elect persons, upon nomination by the Lay Leader, to fill a vacant term until the next regular election for that term. Such persons are eligible for election to a full term by the Group at such regular election. A board member who misses more than three (3) meetings in the course of a year may be replaced by ten (10) affirmative votes.
    ARTICLE VI. Officers of the Board
     Section 1. Officers
     Officers shall be the Lay Leader, who shall serve as chair of the Board, Assistant Lay Leader, Secretary, and Treasurer; in case of absences, meetings will be chaired in this order. The Assistant Lay Leader must be eligible to serve an additional year on the Board and serve as Lay Leader if elected to that post.

    Section 2. Election of Officers
     Officers shall be elected annually by the Board at the June board meeting for a one (1)-year term of office effective with the close of the June meeting. Officers shall be selected only from those board members elected by the Group. Officers may serve no more than two (2) consecutive terms.

    Section 3. Spiritual Director
     The Spiritual Director of the Group shall be selected annually by the Board prior to the annual nominations process and board elections. Term of office shall begin June 1. The Spiritual Director may be reappointed by the Board to serve successive terms. The Spiritual Director may be replaced during the term by ten (10) affirmative votes.

    Section 4. Duties of Officers
     Duties of all officers shall be as prescribed in the Upper Room Handbook and the Southwest Texas Conference Emmaus Group Procedure Manual. In addition, the Lay Leader shall serve as alternate to the SWTC Board.

    ARTICLE VII. Meetings
     Section 1. The Board shall meet monthly in regular meetings. A meeting may be cancelled upon agreement by the Lay Leader and Spiritual Director, provided that not more than one (1) meeting in a row is cancelled.

    Section 2. Quorum
     Nine (9) members of the Board present at a duly called meeting shall constitute a quorum.

    Section 3. Special Meetings
     Special Board meetings may be called by the Lay Leader or when requested by nine (9) members of the Board. Three (3) calendar days notice is required for a special meeting.

    ARTICLE VIII. Committees
     Section 1. Nominating Committee
     A nominating committee, consisting of three or more members, shall prepare and present a slate of nominees for election to the Board as provided for in Article V, Section 4B. The Chairperson and members shall be appointed by the Lay Leader.

    Section 2. Scholarship Committee
     A Scholarship Committee shall be appointed by the Board to review and determine the need for disbursement of moneys from the scholarship fund. They shall bring their recommendations to the Board for final approval.

    Section 3. Additional Assignments
     The Board may name board members to chair the following committees: Registration, Transportation, Facility/Set-up, Agape, Kitchen, Literature, Music, Candlelight/Sponsor’s Hour, Group Reunions, Gatherings, Newsletter, Baby-sitters, Prayer Vigil, and Group Training.

    Section 4. The Lay Leader shall be an ex-officio member of all standing committees.

    ARTICLE IX. Walk to Emmaus
     Section 1. The Group shall follow the guidelines of the Upper Room Walk to Emmaus program in the presentation of the three-day (72-hour) experience Walk to Emmaus.

    Section 2. The Board shall have general oversight in all matters relating to the local Walk to Emmaus Fourth Day Group.

    Section 3. The Board shall choose a Lay Director for each Group Walk to Emmaus weekend.
    Section 4. The Spiritual Director for each Group Walk to Emmaus shall be selected by the Group Spiritual Director after consultation with the Board.

    Section 5. The Board shall establish a Team Selection Committee which shall consist of the SWTC Board representative who serves as chair, the Group Spiritual Director, the Lay and Spiritual Directors for the weekend, and up to five (5) members of the Emmaus Group who have broad awareness of the Group membership and a solid understanding of team needs. Selection of the Team Selection Committee shall be done to ensure that each town hosting gatherings will be represented on the Team Selection Committee. The term of office shall be four walk selections. Being on the Team Selection committee does not preclude one from serving on a walk. The Board shall give final approval to proposed team members selected by the Team Selection Committee.

    ARTICLE X. Amendments
     Section 1. Proposed amendments may be presented to the Board by any member of the Group one (1) month in advance of consideration by the Board.

    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 Group newsletter one (1) month before being voted on by the Group at a Group gathering. A majority of votes at the gathering will decide the matter.

    ARTICLE XI. Ratification
     The by-laws take effect immediately upon approval by a majority vote of the Group gathering.

 
2010