14 Charity Trustees
14.1 Charity Trustees and the Church Members’ Meeting
14.1.1 The Church Members’ Meeting shall appoint Charity Trustees, including a Church Secretary (or equivalent) and a Church Treasurer (or equivalent) to be responsible for the governance of the Church and where there is a Minister that person is also a Charity Trustee because of their role and responsibilities.
14.1.2 Subject to any specific or general directions of the Church Members’ Meeting and the provisions of this constitution the Charity Trustees shall take responsibility for the control management and administration of the Church save that the Charity Trustees are not required to do anything that would cause them to be in breach of this constitution or any trustee duty placed upon them as a result of this role.
14.1.3 The statutory definition of Charity Trustees in section 177 of the Charities Act 2011 is “persons having the general control and management of the administration of a charity.”
14.2 Functions and duties of Charity Trustees
14.2.1 The Charity Trustees shall manage the affairs of the Church and may for that purpose exercise all the powers of the Church. It is the duty of each charity trustee:
to exercise their powers and to perform his or her functions as a trustee of the Church in the way that the Charity Trustees as a group taking into account the purpose and beliefs of the Church and Christian principles acting in good faith and in ways most likely to further the purposes of the Church;
to exercise, in the performance of those functions, such care and skill as is reasonable in the circumstances having regard in particular to any special knowledge or experience that he or she has or holds himself or herself out as having; and
to take note of the directions and requests of the Church Members’ Meeting.
14.2.2 The Charity Trustees have an obligation (subject to any overriding legal binding requirement to the contrary) to take note of the directions and requests of the Church Members’ Meeting.
14.3 Personal Qualities of Charity Trustees
14.3.1 Every Charity Trustee must be a natural person.
14.3.2 Charity Trustees shall with the possible exception of any newly appointed Minister be chosen from among the Church Members with the maximum number of Charity Trustees being agreed from time to time by the Church Members’ Meeting.
14.3.3 No one may be appointed as a Charity Trustee if he or she:
is under the age of 16 years; or
would automatically cease to hold office under the provisions of clause 18.2.6.
14.3.4 No one is entitled to act as a Charity Trustee whether on appointment or on any re-appointment until he or she has expressly acknowledged, in whatever way the Charity Trustees decide, his or her acceptance of the office of Charity Trustee.
14.3.5 The total number of Charity Trustees under the age of 18 years must not any time be more than half of the total number of Charity Trustees in office.
14.3.6 Any Minister or Ministers appointed to serve the Church shall automatically be a Charity Trustee.
14.3.7 The Church Secretary and Church Treasurer shall automatically be a Charity Trustee because of their role and responsibilities.
14.3.8 At all times a majority of the Charity Trustees shall be persons (who are not disqualified by statute) who have been baptised in the manner described in the Declaration of Principle in clause 4.
14.3.9 A close family member (spouse, parent, child, sibling) of a serving Charity Trustee shall be eligible for appointment as a Charity Trustee.
14.4 Number of charity trustees
14.4.1 There is no maximum number of Charity Trustees that may be appointed to the Church.
14.4.2 There must be at least three Charity Trustees, excluding any Minister or Ministers of the Church.
14.4.3 If the number falls below this minimum, the remaining Charity Trustee or Trustees may act only to call a meeting of the Charity Trustees, or to seek nominations for additional Charity Trustees and to convene a Church Members’ Meeting where appointments can be made.
14.5 First charity trustees
The first Charity Trustees of the Church are:-
The Revd Nic Boyns (Pastor and Secretary),
Mr Tim Wylie (Treasurer)
Miss Alison Hallam
Mrs Jo Boyns
Mrs Prima Prawiradiraja (also known as Casey Png)
14.6 Appointment of Elected Charity Trustees
14.6.1 At the first Annual General Meeting of the members of the Church all the elected Charity Trustees excluding any Minister or Ministers of the Church (if any) shall retire and a process of re-appointment shall be undertaken to appoint Charity Trustees for an initial term of 1, 2 or 3 years having regard to clause 14.6.2.
14.6.2 One-third of the elected charity trustees excluding any Minister or Ministers of the Church (if any) shall usually retire in each calendar year. If the number of elected Charity Trustees is not three or a multiple of three, then the number nearest to one-third shall retire from office, but if there is only one Charity Trustee, he or she shall retire.
14.6.3 Subject to clauses 14.6.1 and 14.6.2 Charity Trustees (except for those in ministerial office) shall be appointed for an initial three year term with the opportunity to be nominated for reappointment at the end of each three year term.
14.6.4 The vacancies so arising and any previously unfilled vacancies may be filled by the decision of the members at any Church Members’ Meeting.
14.6.5 The Church Members may at any time at an Annual General Meeting, Ordinary Church Members’ Meeting or Special Church Members’ Meeting decide to appoint a new Charity Trustee, whether in place of a Charity Trustee who has retired or been removed in accordance with clause 18 (Retirement and removal of Charity Trustees), or as an additional Charity Trustee.
14.6.6 The appointment of Charity Trustees shall be undertaken by processes that are public, clear and open so that all Church Members are enabled to consider prayerfully who should be appointed as Charity Trustees. The processes shall ensure that notice is given of any forthcoming election so that Church Members may freely nominate prospective Charity Trustees whose names shall be submitted (after they have indicated a willingness to be appointed) for decision to the Church Members with the intention of ensuring that those appointed have a sufficient level of support from them.
14.7 Nominations
Nominations for the role of Charity Trustee other than a Minister shall be made to the Church Secretary (or equivalent) not later than three Sundays (or other regular weekly meeting time when the Church gathers together) before the Church Members’ Meeting at which the election is to be held. Nominations must be submitted in writing with the supporting signature of two other Church Members and the consent of the candidate. No person may nominate more candidates than there are places vacant. Requests for nominations shall be made at all services on the two Sundays (or other regular weekly meeting time when the Church gathers together) immediately before that day when nominations must cease.
14.8 Voting Method
14.8.1 Voting shall be by secret ballot at an Ordinary Church Members’ Meeting. Voting by secret ballot at a meeting held by electronic means or by hybrid means shall be conducted in a way agreed by the Charity Trustees and communicated to the members with the notice of the meeting under clause 13.3. Church Members shall be asked to vote for those candidates whom they believe could serve the Church well as Charity Trustees. They shall vote for no more candidates than there are vacancies.
14.8.2 Scrutineers shall be appointed by the Church Members’ Meeting to count the votes and shall report in writing and in confidence to the person chairing the Church Members’ Meeting the number of votes cast for each candidate. If the Ordinary Church Members’ Meeting is to be held by electronic means or by hybrid means then scrutineers shall be appointed in advance of the meeting by the Charity Trustees.
14.8.3 The number of candidates, being not more than the number of vacancies, receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared to be elected provided that each candidate so declared shall have received votes from at least 66% of those members voting.
14.8.4 If there are more candidates than vacancies and if after the ballot, some vacancies remain unfilled because insufficient candidates have received votes from at least 66% of those members voting then, if that Church Members’ Meeting agrees, the person chairing the Church Members’ Meeting shall delete from the names of those who have not been elected those with the lowest number of votes so as to leave as many names as there now are vacancies. These names shall be submitted to that or another Church Members’ Meeting for balloting on the remaining places.
14.8.5 The candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared to be elected provided that each candidate so declared shall have received votes from at least 66% of those members voting.
14.8.6 In cases of unavoidable absence Church Members may exercise a postal vote where this is permitted under clause 34 provided that votes are returned before the commencement of the Church Members’ Meeting at which the election is to be held.
15 Appointment of Church Secretary and Church Treasurer
15.1 The Church Members shall appoint a Church Secretary and Church Treasurer (or equivalents) who shall by the nature of their responsibilities be Charity Trustees to serve for a period of one year but may be re-appointed each year without time limit. They will usually be appointed at the Annual General Meeting but may be appointed at any Church Members’ Meeting.
15.2 The Church Secretary and Church Treasurer shall be chosen from among the Church Members.
15.3 The appointment of Church Secretary or Church Treasurer (or equivalents) shall be undertaken by processes that are public, clear and open so that all Church Members are enabled to consider prayerfully who should be appointed. The process shall ensure that notice is given of any forthcoming election so that Church Members may freely nominate prospective candidates whose names shall be submitted (after they have indicated a willingness to be appointed) for decision to the Church Members’ Meeting with the intention of ensuring that those appointed have a sufficient level of support from them.
15.4 The Church Secretary and Church Treasurer (or equivalents) must have the same level of support as is required for the appointment of Charity Trustees.