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GUIDELINES FOR WRITING BYLAWS
From the
Pacific Southwest District Structure Committee
February 1,
2007
Let all
things be done decently and in order. (1 Corinthians 14:40 (KJV)
Bylaws
are the fundamental rules which govern an organization. They state who may be a
member, what officers will be included, how and when the organization meets to
conduct its business and how the bylaws may be amended. Each zone should write
basic bylaws that best describe its structure and method of transacting
business. The number of articles will be determined by the size and activities
of the organization. Keep your bylaws as simple as possible.
Five
articles need to be in compliance with the LWML bylaws. They are: Name, Object,
Members, Representation at Conventions, and Parliamentary Authority. Have a
cover page and a table of contents page; also number and date all pages. Be
consistent with terminology: society
or unit, zone, district, LWML (The words International and National are no
longer used.).
Bylaws
are a permanent document, intentionally difficult to change. They need to be
current so they need to be reviewed every two years. Check your current bylaws
for outdated procedures, contradictions, too many details or incomplete
information, lack of dates, etc. Write “bylaws” as one word, not hyphenated.
Do not use the word “local” with the word “society” – that is
redundant. Specify who fills a vacancy in the office of president should one
occur, and by what procedure.
Use
the parallel format when submitting amendments for approval to the membership,
underlining the amended words and phrases. Zones usually approve society bylaws;
the District Structure Committee approves zone bylaws. To expedite review of
bylaws, you may e-mail or snail mail them to
Marilyn Stuckwisch
of the Structure Committee (address information on reverse). Allow at least
thirty (30) days for the committee to review them.
Give
adequate notice to the membership about the date for final approval (usually at
the previous regular meeting). After final adoption, record the original date of
adoption and dates of subsequent amendments at the bottom of each page. Send
three copies of the final approved bylaws to the structure committee which will
keep them on file. Make copies for your members.
STANDING
RULES assist in the orderly transaction of business. If you wish to suspend or
change a rule more easily, it should be placed under standing rules rather than
the bylaws. These rules may be suspended at any time by a majority vote or they
may be amended or rescinded by a two-thirds vote.
SUGGESTED
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I.
Name of Organization: Full, exact
name; also state affiliation with the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML)
and The Lutheran Church --Missouri Synod (LCMS).
II.
Object (The organization’s
purpose; note it is not Objective)
III.
Membership (qualifications—who,
how membership is maintained)
IV.
Meetings (regular, special,
quorum, etc.)
V.
Officers (election, term,
duties—include qualifications for holding office. Under length of term,
include the phrase “until a successor is elected” to avoid having no
officers if an emergency delays the elections. Specify the method of filling
vacancies.)
VI.
Nominations (method of securing
the nominating committee—the president should not appoint it)
VII.
Duties of officers may be stated
here rather than under V.
VIII.
Executive Committee (Of whom does
that consist)
IX.
Appointed Officers (Pastoral
Counselor should be included here—term, duties, rights and privileges)
X.
Finances (include beginning and
ending dates for the fiscal year)
XI.
Dissolution (how many societies
are need to keep from dissolving the zone)
XII.
Parliamentary Authority: “The
rules contained in Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised, shall govern the
proceedings of the (name of Zone, Society) in all cases to which they are
applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws.” You may
add: “or Christian charity or love.” (Without such a rule, anyone so
disposed can cause great trouble in a meeting.)
XIII.
Amendments (Method of amending the
bylaws) “These bylaws cannot be amended without previous notice and a
two-thirds vote is needed to amend.”
STRUCTURE
COMMITTEE:
Marilyn Stuckwisch
, Bev Rasmussen,
Justine Schulz
E-mail:
mstuckwisch@qwest.net
Snail
mail:
Marilyn Stuckwisch
,
2233 East Behrend Dr. #185
,
Phoenix
,
AZ
85024-1862
Telephone:
602-992-7553.
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