§ 63 — Incorporation of unincorporated Presbyterian churches and decision as to system of incorporation and government

§ 63. Incorporation of unincorporated Presbyterian churches and\ndecision as to system of incorporation and government. A meeting for\nthe purpose of incorporation of an unincorporated Presbyterian church in\nconnection with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), must be called and\nheld in pursuance of the provisions of this article.\n 1. The notice and call of such meeting shall be in writing, and shall\nstate in substance, that a meeting of such unincorporated church will be\nheld at its usual place of worship at a specified day and hour for the\npurpose of incorporating such church and designating the trustees\nthereof. The notice must be signed by at least six persons of full age\nwho are then members in good and regular standing of such church by\nadmission into full communion or membership therewith, in accordance\nwith the constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Such notice\nshall be publicly read at each of the two next preceding regular\nmeetings of such unincorporated church for public worship, at least one\nweek apart, at morning service, if such service be held on Sunday, by\nthe first named of the following persons who is present thereat, to wit:\nThe pastor of such church or the officiating minister thereof.\n 2. At the meeting for incorporation held in pursuance of such notice,\nthe following persons, and no others, shall be qualified voters, to wit:\nAll persons of full age, who are then members, in good and regular\nstanding of such church by admission into full communion or membership\ntherewith, in accordance with the constitution of the Presbyterian\nChurch (U.S.A.). The presence of twenty per cent of such qualified\nvoters, at least six in number, shall be necessary to constitute a\nquorum of such meeting. The action of the meeting upon any matter or\nquestion shall be decided by a majority of the qualified voters present.\n 3. The pastor of the church or the officiating minister thereof shall\npreside at the meeting for incorporation. The presiding officer of the\nmeeting shall receive the votes, be the judge of the qualifications of\nvoters, and declare the result of the votes cast on any matter. Nothing\ncontained in this section, or in this chapter, shall prevent the\nqualified voters at any such meeting, from choosing another person, a\nqualified voter, to preside at such meeting, other than the person or\nofficer above designated.\n 4. The first business of such meeting after its organization, shall be\nto determine whether such church shall be incorporated, and if so, the\nname of such church, and whether its temporalities shall be managed by\nthe spiritual officers of such church as the trustees thereof, or\nwhether its temporalities shall be managed by trustees to be elected by\nthe church.\n 5. If such meeting shall determine that such church shall be\nincorporated and its temporalities managed by the spiritual officers of\nsuch church as the trustees thereof, then the meeting shall also\ndetermine whether by virtue of their office, the board of deacons only\nof such church, or the session with the board of deacons of such church,\nor the session only of such church shall manage its temporalities, and\nbe the trustees of such corporation.\n 6. If such meeting shall determine that such church shall be\nincorporated and its temporalities managed by trustees to be elected by\nthe church, it shall further determine the number of trustees of such\nchurch, which shall not be less than three nor more than twenty-four,\nand shall further determine the date not more than fifteen months\nthereafter on which the first annual election of the trustees thereof\nafter such meeting shall be held, and such meeting shall elect from the\npersons qualified to vote at such meeting, one-third of the number of\ntrustees so decided on who shall hold office until the first annual\nelection of trustees thereafter, one-third of such number of trustees to\nhold office until the second annual election of trustees thereafter, and\none-third of such number of trustees to hold office until the third\nannual election of trustees thereafter. The nomination and election of\ntrustees shall be conducted as provided in the constitution of the\nPresbyterian Church (U.S.A.).\n 7. If any such meeting shall determine that such church shall\nincorporate in pursuance of this article, the presiding officer and at\nleast two other persons present at such meeting, shall execute,\nacknowledge and cause to be filed and recorded, as provided in this\nchapter, a certificate of incorporation. Such certificate of\nincorporation shall state the name of the proposed corporation; the\ncounty and town, city or village, where its principal place of worship\nis or is intended to be located; the fact that a meeting of such church\nduly called decided that such church be incorporated, also the\ndetermination of such meeting of all the matters required in this\narticle to be determined by such meeting, and, as the case shall be, the\nnames of the persons elected as trustees, and the term for which each\nwas elected, or the names of the spiritual officers and their offices,\nwho, by the determination of such meeting, are by virtue of their office\nto be trustees of such corporation. On filing such certificate such\nchurch shall be a corporation by the name stated therein, and the\nofficers determined upon by the meeting for incorporation and their\nsuccessors in office, by virtue of their offices, if they be spiritual\nofficers of such church, shall be the trustees of such corporation, or\nif by said meeting it was determined that the trustees should be elected\nas such, then such as were so elected by said meeting as trustees, and\ntheir successors in office shall be the trustees of such corporation.\n