Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Oh Dear! Not Another One!

That’s right, in just six short Sundays it will be time for another Annual Meeting (February 21). Have no fear; annual meetings are a wonderful opportunity to consider the past year and to make solid plans for the coming year. The meeting should always be swaddled in prayer and the principle characteristics of it should be respect, love and understanding.

Ultimately, the purpose of rules for a meeting is to guarantee that everyone can attend with the assurance that they will be treated with respect, love and understanding.

We will make every effort to get the Annual Report published as soon as possible so that everyone can read it well in advance of the actual meeting. The budget has already been published. If at all possible, we will publish the report sooner than has been the case in the past. Anyone who writes a committee report for the Annual Report would do us all a great service by getting their report into the office as soon as possible.

In order to insure that this year’s annual meeting will be one of respect there are two rules that will be imposed. Motions must be received by me two weeks in advance, before February 7, 2010. During the meeting itself there will be sessional motions, usually intended to keep the meeting progressing along. These motions do not need any advance notice. However, if parishioners want to bring a motion to the floor of the annual meeting advance notice must be given so that those who might disagree with the intent of a motion can prepare to speak their point-of-view.

Another rule that will be in place this year is that questions must be submitted to me seventy-two hours before the meeting. This is to ensure that accurate and clear responses can be given at the time of the meeting.

I look forward to another annual meeting, especially if we swaddle it in prayer.

3 comments:

Sandy said...

Hi;
Excellent idea to add some structure, making use of normal procedures to ensure meeting doesn't become counter-productive. There are some very important issues that can be addressed, but the Annual Meeting is not the correct forum to discuss them properly.
I will make a request:
Some commitments were made last year at the meeting and I would like to see a report on progress for each.
A second request:
I also would like some comments on predictions and risks the parish faces for the coming year, especially concerning our ability to continue the current level of parish activity and, of course, finances.

Sandy said...

I like the narrative budget. It would be interesting to see the next step, to set performance measures, what is this money to achieve?

John Clarke said...

Sandy;
Thanks for your comments. And I agree with you. Parish Council will be making some very difficult decision in the coming year. My hope is that we will work together to make the best uses of the resources (people, facilities, money…) we have to build God’s realm.
Cheers,
John.