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HEXHAM ABBEY GUILD OF BELL RINGERS
RULES
1.1.1 NAME
The Guild shall be known as
the Hexham Abbey Guild of Bell Ringers.
2.1.1 OBJECTS
The objects of the Guild
shall be as follows;
2.1.2 To promote the ringing of the Abbey
bells for services and other appropriate occasions connected with the life of
the Church.
2.1.3 To foster the art of changeringing
through regular teaching and practice.
3.1.1 PRESIDENT
The Rector of Hexham Abbey
shall be the President of the Guild.
4.1.1 OFFICERS
The Guild shall have the
following Officers who shall exercise authority as follows;
4.1.2 A Tower Captain who shall direct
ringing and bear overall responsibility for matters connected with the Tower
subject to the Rector and Churchwardens.
4.1.3 A Deputy Tower Captain who shall take responsibility for
the ringing and other matters associated with the Tower in the absence of the
Tower Captain;
4.1.4 A Tower Secretary who shall be
responsible for all correspondence regarding the bells and all administrative
matters including the arrangement of ringing by visiting bands.
4.1.5 A Treasurer who shall be
responsible for receiving all monies due to the Guild and their distribution
where appropriate together with the maintenance of the Guild's various
accounts.
4.1.6 A Steeplekeeper who shall maintain
the bells in good working order or make such arrangements as are necessary to
do so.
4.1.7 A Training Officer who will monitor and seek to develop
the ringing skills of members of the band.
4.1.8 A Health and Safety Officer, who will maintain an
overview of all health and safety matters in the Tower.
4.2.1 Each Officer shall be elected for a
period of one year but may stand for re-election at the end of that period if
duly proposed and seconded.
4.3.1 The election of Officers is subject
to confirmation by the Rector and the P.C.C.
5.1.1 MEMBERSHIP
Candidates shall be
eligible for membership on fulfilling the following conditions:
5.1.2 They can ring a bell unaided in
rounds.
5.1.3 They are willing and able to
support the Guild's ringing for services and on practice nights.
5.2.1 New Members shall be elected at the
Annual General Meeting or any General Meeting of the Guild after being
proposed and seconded by two existing Members and following a vote by the
membership.
5.2.2 Membership shall be made valid by
payment of the annual subscription, and by continued support of the Guild's
ringing for services and practices on a frequent basis throughout the year.
5.3.1 The membership subscription shall
be set by an Annual General Meeting, and will be due after each AGM.
5.4.1 Membership shall be reviewed at
each AGM. Any Member not meeting the conditions defined above without good
reason may be deemed to be not a Member of the Guild on the authority of a
vote of the Members present.
5.5.1 Members of the Guild shall be
entitled to receive a copy of the Rules of the Guild on election, and to
participate and vote in General Meetings of the Guild.
5.6.1 Any dispute regarding the operation
of rule 5.4.1 shall be referred to the Rector or his representative at the
meeting.
6.1.1 MEETINGS
The Guild shall hold an
Annual General Meeting in the first quarter of each year.
6.1.2 At least three weeks notice of the
meeting shall be given by means of a notice in the tower of the date, time and
venue. The same period of notice shall be given to the Rector and
Churchwarden with special responsibility for the Tower.
6.1.3 The purpose of the meeting is to
elect Guild Officers, to receive reports on the year's activities from each
outgoing Officer and to transact any other business relating to the Guild's
activities.
6.1.4 The meeting shall be chaired by the
President or his or her selected Deputy.
6.2.1 If two or more Guild Members make
such a request to the Tower Secretary, the Tower Secretary shall arrange for
a General Meeting of the Guild to be held. Arrangements shall be made in
accordance with rule 6.1.2.
6.3.1 Only Members of the Guild and the
President (when a casting vote is required) may vote in Meetings of the
Guild, including the election of Officers and rule changes.
6.3.2 For decisions or elections made by
a Meeting to be valid, a Quorum must be present. In the event of the Guild
meeting without a Quorum, a second meeting must be called within three weeks.
If this second meeting is also inquorate, the President may allow the meeting
to transact business.
6.3.3 A Quorum shall be defined as half
of the number of Members of the Guild, rounded up to the next highest whole
number when the number of Members is odd.
6.3.4 In the event of a Member being
unable to attend a General Meeting of the Guild they may pass on their
opinions on agenda items in writing to the President to be expressed in the
meeting in their absence. They are also entitled to submit their votes for
the Officers to be elected to the President before the meeting. These votes
should be submitted in a sealed envelope for opening at the meeting.
7.1.1 PEALS
AND ADDITIONAL RINGING
Permission is required from the
Rector and the Tower Captain for all peal attempts and additional ringing and
this can be delegated to the Tower Secretary who will ensure that appropriate
arrangements are made.
8.1.1 ALTERATIONS
Any proposals to alter these rules
shall be posted in the ringing chamber for three weeks prior to the AGM. They should be proposed and seconded by two
Guild members and approved by a properly constituted Annual General Meeting.
AMENDMENTS
TO RULES
These rules came in to force following
the Annual General Meeting of 14th February 1991. Subsequent additions or
amendments are given below, along with the date of the AGM and the relevant
minute which authorised the change.
·
7.2.1, 7.2.2, & 7.2.3 added, previous 7.2.1
becoming 7.3.1:
§
See item 9, A.G.M. of 20/2/92.
·
7.4.1 added:
§
See item 21, B, A.G.M. of 4/2/94.
·
section 6 "Membership record and voting
rights" deleted, and replaced with new rules 5.2.2 through to 5.5.1.
5.6.1 is the renumbered 6.1.2.
·
New rules 6.4.1, 6.4.2 & 6.4.3 were added.
§
See item 9, A.G.M. of 6/2/98.
·
4.1.3, 4.1.7 & 4.1.8 added.
§
See item 6, A.G.M. of 02/03/2006.
·
6.1.1: amended: “February” replaced
by “in the first quarter of each year”
§
See item 8 (b), AGM of 11/03/2009
·
6.1.4: Amended: “Tower Captain”
replaced by “President”
§
See item 8 (c), AGM of 11/03/2009
·
6.2.1, 6.2.2, 6.2.3 deleted – with
subsequent re-numbering.
§
See item 8 (d), AGM of 11/03/2009
·
6.3.4 (was 6.4.4): Amended: “Tower
Captain” replaced by “President”
§
See item 8 (e), AGM of 11/03/2009
·
7.1.1 & 7.2.1: Replace with 7.1.1,
re-worded.
§
See item 8 (f), AGM of 11/03/2009
·
8.1.1: Amended to include requirement for three
week’s notice of rule changes.
§
See item 8 (f), AGM of 11/03/2009
Amended
11th March 2009
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