Inside The Board of Directors

The Board is composed of Members of the Church. No less than three and no more than seven fully-seated Board Members sit at any one time, serving nominal three-year terms. Members Advocates are also seated on the Board, serving nominal one-year terms, with no limit to the number of Members Advocates seated. Members Advocates participate fully in the desision making of the Board. Nominations to the Board are made by and voted by the Board.

The internal process of the Board is functionally consensus based in operation. Taking inspiration from the history of The Plain People’s Churches, the Board will seek out the opinions of the Membership and confer together until a decision is reached that the entire Board can support. Sometimes this process can take quite a while and as often as not the Board will decide after reflection that no action needs be taken.

A number of safeguards have been created in this process to provide for long-term continuity of leadership and for the possibility that consensus cannot be reached in the process of the Board. In the event that an issue divides the Board, no action can be taken by the Board unless a majority of the fully-seated Board members are in agreement, at which point their combined votes will determine the Board’s action. Balancing this, the President of the Board can prevent the Board from taking an action. The President cannot compel the Board to take an action. Neither of these safeguards has ever been invoked in the history of the Board.

The Board meets the weekend of every Full Moon Service, usually on Saturday afternoon. If you feel you have an issue that needs to be brought to the Board’s attention, please confer privately with a Members Advocate or a full Board Member. They will raise your issue at the next Board meeting and may very well invite you to attend.

Rarely, the Board must act to address the behavior of an individual Member, and it always approaches this duty with compassion, respecting the privacy of all concerned. This process begins with an informal letter or meeting with a Board Member, outlining the Boards concerns; and might request the individual’s participation in the next Board meeting to resolve the issue. In almost every case, a simple meeting has resolved all issues in a loving and productive manner.

In the few cases where this meeting has been refused, an official Letter of Censure is written to the individual and becomes a part of the Minutes of the Board of Directors. This has always resulted in the Member’s choosing to resign rather than meet with the Board of Directors. If necessary a third and final letter of Censure would be accompanied by a vote of the Board revoking the Membership of the individual.