Louisiana Presbytery (PCA) Standing Rules

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Standing Rules

of the
Louisiana Presbytery
Presbyterian Church in America

Name:
1. The name of this presbytery shall be the Louisiana Presbytery.
Meetings:
1. Stated Meetings:
  1. Four stated meetings shall be held each year, convening on the third Saturday of January, April, July and October at 9:30 a.m. Presbytery gives to its Administration Committee the authority to cancel a stated meeting should the said committee determine that there is insufficient business to warrant a meeting of Presbytery.
2. Called Meetings:
  1. Called meetings may be held as deemed necessary as provided for in Book of Church Order § 13-11. Only the business stated in the call of the meeting may be transacted. Ordinarily meetings will not be called for the purpose of examinations or changes in pastoral relations.
3. Quorum:
  1. Any three ministers belonging to Presbytery and at least three ruling elders, meeting at the time and place appointed, shall be a quorum per Book of Church Order § 13-4.
4. Docket:
  1. A proposed docket setting forth the order of business shall be prepared by the Stated Clerk for every stated meeting and mailed to all ministers and clerks of sessions of Presbytery at least ten (10) days prior to the meeting, along with all permanent committee reports and proposed overtures. The docket shall be adopted (as proposed or amended) by a majority vote, and may be amended at any time during the meeting by a majority vote.
5. Attendance:
  1. Unless providentially hindered, every minister should attend every meeting of Presbytery and every church session should be represented. When providentially hindered, a minister or session will be expected to request excuse, stating his reason(s) for not attending. It is expected that ministers and session representatives will arrive on time and be present for the entire meeting unless specifically excused by Presbytery. Ministers laboring outside the bounds of Presbytery must report on their work annually to the Fall stated meeting of Presbytery (Book of Church Order § 8-7).
6. Location:
  1. Presbytery shall by majority vote determine its meeting places.
Officers:
1. Moderator:
  1. At its Fall stated meeting, Presbytery shall elect a moderator, who shall preside for one calendar year.
2. Stated Clerk:
  1. At its Fall stated meeting, Presbytery shall elect a stated clerk, who shall serve for one calendar year and be eligible for re-election. His duties shall be those ordinarily expected of this office (Book of Church Order § 10-4), especially to:
    1. Refer to the appropriate permanent committees all business presented to him between stated meetings of Presbytery;
    2. Prepare the docket for each stated meeting and the call for each called meeting, and to give notice of each meeting to all ministers, sessions and candidates;
    3. Keep, print, distribute and preserve accurate and proper minutes of all proceedings;
    4. Maintain a current roll of ministers, churches and candidates;
    5. Bring to the attention of Presbytery all official communications;
    6. Communicate officially the actions of Presbytery to those concerned; and
    7. Communicate promptly the requirements in IV.D.6. to every church without a pastor at the time its pulpit becomes vacant.
3. Treasurer:
  1. At its Fall stated meeting, Presbytery shall elect a treasurer, who shall serve for one year and be eligible for re-election. He must be a member of one of the churches of Presbytery. He shall be responsible to:
    1. Keep financial records and make proper reports to Presbytery;
    2. Receive monies given to Presbytery; and
    3. Expend monies only as directed by Presbytery.
Permanent Committees:
1. General rules:
  1. Committeemen shall be elected at the Fall stated meeting of Presbytery, shall take office immediately, and shall serve for a three year term. In electing members to serve on permanent committees, Presbytery shall bear in mind the following guidelines:
    1. Presbytery shall attempt to keep as close a balance as possible between teaching and ruling elders on each committee.
    2. Ordinarily a committee shall have no more than one member from any one church.
    3. Ordinarily a member of Presbytery shall not serve on more than one committee, and shall not serve as chairman of more than one committee.
    4. Ordinarily there shall be a total of no more than three teaching and ruling elders from any one church on the permanent committees of Presbytery.
    5. Ordinarily no elder shall serve more than two consecutive three-year terms.
  2. Reports and recommendations from Presbytery's permanent committees shall normally be made in writing and should be in the hands of the Administration Committee at least fifteen (15) days before the meeting so that they may be mailed out with the docket.
  3. Budget requests from the permanent committees shall be submitted to Presbytery's Administration Committee at least one month prior to the Fall stated meeting of Presbytery, in order for this committee to propose a single budget recommendation to Presbytery at that meeting. Absent extraordinary circumstances and except for the setting of the budget, all requests affecting the funds of Louisiana Presbytery shall be submitted in writing to the Stated Clerk of Presbytery at least thirty (30) days prior to their consideration at any meeting of Presbytery. The Stated Clerk will promptly distribute the matter to the appropriate permanent committee for its consideration and inclusion, if appropriate, in its written report as per Rule IV.A.2.
  4. Committees shall elect their own chairmen annually after the Fall stated meeting of Presbytery and report this election promptly to the Stated Clerk. In the event that a committee chairman has resigned or is not re-elected, the Moderator of Presbytery shall appoint a convener to call a meeting and oversee the election of a chairman.
  5. A majority of the committee shall constitute a quorum.
  6. In the event of the resignation of a committee member (or other inability to serve), the Moderator of Presbytery, with the advice of Presbytery's Administration Committee, shall appoint a new member to serve until the next stated meeting of Presbytery, when Presbytery shall elect a replacement. Should the replaced member be the committee's chairman, the Moderator shall appoint a convener as in IV.A.4 above.
2. Administration Committee: [current membership]
  1. The committee shall consist of two (2) members plus the Treasurer, Stated Clerk, and Moderator. The Moderator-elect and Stated Clerk-elect (if any) shall be advisory members.
  2. In addition to responsibilities of an administrative nature, this committee shall also be responsible in the following areas:
    1. Stewardship:
      1. To cooperate with the stewardship program of the denomination; to encourage benevolent support among the churches; and to be available to assist in stewardship training in the churches.
    2. Presbytery Minutes:
      1. The reading and correcting of all minutes of Presbytery shall be given by Louisiana Presbytery to its Administration Committee, which committee shall then provide Presbytery with a corrected copy for approval.
  3. The chairman of the Administration Committee shall act as an assistant to the Stated Clerk and the Moderator to facilitate Presbytery's business.
3. Christian Education Committee: [current membership]
  1. The committee shall be composed of at least three (3) members.
  2. The committee shall be responsible for oversight of: Presbytery-wide Women in the Church, youth ministry, men's ministry, teacher training, officer training.
4. Examination and Candidates Committee: [current membership]
  1. This committee shall be composed of at least three (3) members.
  2. Candidates:
    1. The committee shall lead Presbytery in the examination of candidates for the ministry. The committee shall exercise oversight of all candidates and submit to Presbytery annually the reports on candidates required by Book of Church Order § 18-6.
  3. Licentiates:
    1. The committee shall examine prospective licentiates prior to the meeting of Presbytery. The committee shall report to Presbytery the results of their examination and lead in an abbreviated examination of prospective licentiates on the floor of Presbytery (before opportunity is given to Presbytery as a whole to pose questions to the prospective licentiate). Areas for examination are specified in Book of Church Order § 19-2. The committee shall exercise oversight of all licentiates and submit to Presbytery annually the reports on candidates required by Book of Church Order § 18-6.
  4. Interns:
    1. The committee shall be responsible for oversight of Presbytery's interns and internship program. General requirements for internship are specified in Presbytery's Plan for Training Interns. A specific plan for each candidate's internship shall be approved by Presbytery prior to approving the candidate to be an intern.
  5. Ministers:
    1. The committee shall examine those seeking ordination or reception as members of Presbytery (candidates seeking ordination, licentiates seeking ordination, ministers coming from other Presbyteries or denominations). The committee shall conduct such examination prior to the meeting of Presbytery. The committee shall report to Presbyte ry the results of their examination and lead in an abbreviated examination on the floor of Presbytery (before opportunity is given to Presbytery as a whole to pose questions to the one being examined). Areas for examination are specified in Book of Church Order § 21-4 and § 13-6.
  6. Before any minister or candidate seeking membership in Presbytery or any candidate seeking internship in Presbytery can be examined, the following materials must be received by the chairman of this committee from the church or agency issuing the call or supervising the internship.
    1. Five letters of reference on forms provided by (or acceptable to) the committee. One of these letters must be from the stated clerk of the presbytery which exercises jurisdiction over the minister or candidate. One of these letters must be from the session of the church the minister or candidate last served or attended.
    2. A current financial statement from the minister or candidate and a copy of a report from a credit reporting agency.
    3. A statement from the minister or candidate concerning any resolved or unresolved controversy in his ministry and/or anything in his past which might possibly be construed as a reproach against him. This statement should include names and addresses of as many persons as possible who might verify the statement, including those (if any) who took the opposite side from the minister or candidate. If the committee deems any of these documents unacceptable, it may require that new ones be submitted prior to conducting its examination. After final action on the matter by Presbytery, these materials shall be delivered to the Stated Clerk to be retained permanently in the files of Presbytery.
  7. All ministerial calls must make provision for health insurance and retirement benefits.
5. Mission to North America Committee: [current membership]
  1. This committee shall:
    1. Be composed of at least three (3) members;
    2. Work with and assist the MNA committee of the denomination;
    3. Promote missions in the churches;
    4. Encourage missions conferences in the churches of Presbytery;
    5. Encourage church benevolent support of missionary activities and missionaries of the denomination;
    6. Plan and have oversight of mission and church planting activities in the Presbytery; and
    7. Do any other work appropriate for the Mission to North America Committee.
6. Mission to the World Committee: [current membership]
  1. This committee shall:
    1. Be composed of at least three (3) members;
    2. Work with and assist the MTW committee of the denomination;
    3. Promote missions in the churches;
    4. Encourage missions conferences in the churches of Presbytery;
    5. Encourage church benevolent support of missionary activities and missionaries of the denomination; and
    6. Do any other work appropriate for the Mission to the World Committee.
7. Nominating Committee: [current membership]
  1. The committee shall consist of at least three (3) members.
  2. The committee shall be responsible to review all positions that Louisiana Presbytery has a responsibility to fill, both at the Presbytery and General Assembly level, to request from sessions nominations for Presbytery's officers and for vacancies on Presbytery's committees, General Assembly committees and committees of commissioners, and to determine that prospective nominees meet the criteria set forth in the Book of Church Order and Rules for Assembly Operations of the Presbyterian Church in America and the Standing Rules of the Louisiana Presbytery.
8. Pastoral Care Committee: [current membership]
  1. The committee shall consist of at least three (3) members.
  2. The committee shall show a pastoral concern for pastors and churches, to assist churches without pastors, and assist pastors without a call.
  3. The committee shall receive reports from churches at least annually (on site or by other means). The committee shall meet as often as possible with churches that are experiencing difficulties or without pastors.
  4. The committee shall receive reports from pastors at least annually (in person or by other means). The committee (in whole or in part) shall meet as often as possible with pastors experiencing difficulty.
9. Review of Session Records Committee: [current membership]
  1. The committee shall consist of two (2) members.
  2. The committee shall be responsible to examine sessional records annually and report its findings to the Presbytery. It shall also assist the stated clerks of the sessions of Presbytery's churches in keeping records.
Overtures:
1. All proposed overtures shall normally be furnished to the Administration Committee at least fifteen (15) days before the meeting of Presbytery so that they may be mailed out with the docket.
Sessional Records:
1. Minutes of the session shall be kept in good order in accordance with the Guidelines for Keeping Session Minutes and Church Records of Presbytery (Standing Rules, Appendix B). Minutes of the session shall be presented to the Presbytery annually for review.
2. Sessions shall submit to the Stated Clerk a copy of their annual statistical report as required by the General Assembly.
Covenant:
1. Each minister received into the Presbytery and each candidate approved for ordination shall, upon Presbytery's vote to receive or ordain, subscribe his name to the Obligation signed by all ministers on the day of the formation of the Louisiana Presbytery. These subscriptions shall be kept by the Stated Clerk as part of the records of Presbytery in a book that will make them readily available, preferably with a separate page for each man's subscription. A copy of this Obligation is Appendix A to these Standing Rules.
Rules of Order:
1. The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order shall be the parliamentary authority governing Presbytery in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in America or any Standing Rules Presbytery may adopt.
Suspension of Rules and Amendments:
1. These Standing Rules may be suspended upon motion by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of those present and voting.
2. These Standing Rules may be amended by an affirmative vote of three-fourths of those present and voting at any stated meeting of Presbytery or at any called meeting in which such amendment is included in the call.

This page was last updated 21 June 2008.

Standing Rules

Louisiana Presbytery Standing Rules