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Rules of the Coventry Diocesan Guild of Church Bellringers
Registered Charity No. 517977

1. Name

The Society shall be called "The Coventry Diocesan Guild of Church Bellringers", hereafter referred to as "The Guild", and shall be registered as a Charity.

2. Objects

The object of the Guild shall be to promote Christian worship by being of service to the Church within the Diocese of Coventry. In furtherance of this the Guild shall :-

Foster ringing for divine service.
Encourage the recruitment and training of learners and advance the art of change ringing.
Ensure the proper care and use of church bells and belfries.
Operate a Bell Repair Fund, administered as a separate Registered Charity No. 502576.

3. The Central Council of Church Bellringers

The Guild shall be affiliated to the Central Council of Church Bellringers, and shall loyally abide by the Council´s rules and decisions.

4. Patron

The position of Patron of the Guild shall be reserved for the Bishop of the Diocese.

5. Membership

5.1 The membership of the Guild shall be as follows :-

Ringing Members:
i) Aged 18 years and over.
ii) Junior members aged under 18 years.
Life Members.
Non-resident Members.
Honorary Vice Presidents.

The General Secretary will maintain a list of each class of member.

5.2 Ringing membership :-

Ringing membership is open to ringers who are resident within the Diocese of Coventry, who are members of a tower within the Diocese, or who regularly support Guild activities.
A Ringing Member may be elected at any Guild or District meeting or prior to a Guild peal.
Ringing Members must be proposed and seconded by two Ringing or Life members who can verify that the candidate can control a bell and strike it adequately in rounds.
A completed application form must be presented prior to election.
Election is only complete upon payment of the annual subscription. Members elected in the last quarter of the year will be deemed to have paid a subscription for the following year, without further payment.
Application forms received at a District Meeting must be forwarded to the General Secretary, who will announce and record the election at the next Guild Meeting.
Ringing Members will usually be attached to one Guild tower but may choose to be Unattached Ringing Members.
For Ringing Members elected prior to a peal, the conductor is responsible for passing the completed application form and subscription to the General Secretary.

5.3 Life Membership may be awarded to Ringing Members who have given outstanding service to the Guild. Life members shall enjoy all the privileges of Ringing Membership and be exempt from the annual subscription. Election of Life Members may only take place at a Guild Meeting. The General Secretary must be given 28 days notice in writing by the proposer and seconder, and at least one of these two must be present at the election meeting.

5.4 Non Resident Membership :-

Non Resident Membership is open to ringers permanently resident outside the Diocese. It terminates upon residence in the Diocese
Non Resident Members must be proposed and seconded by Ringing or Life members, and pay a life subscription. When elected prior to a Guild peal, the proposer is answerable for the subscription, and for notifying the election to the General Secretary, who will announce and record it at the next Guild Meeting.
Any Ringing Member who has become non-resident may, on application to the General Secretary, become a Non Resident Member without any further subscription.
Non Resident Members may not vote or hold office in the Guild.

5.5 Honorary Vice Presidents :-

A ringer may be elected as Honorary Vice President who has rendered long and outstanding service to Guild ringing. Honorary Vice Presidents shall enjoy all the privileges of Ringing Membership and be exempt from the annual subscription. Election of Honorary Vice Presidents may only take place at a Guild Meeting. The General Secretary must be given 28 days notice in writing by the proposer and seconder, and at least one of these two must be present at the election meeting.

6. Subscriptions and Fees

All subscriptions are due on the first day of January each year. Any person not paying the due subscription during the calendar year shall be deemed to have resigned from membership at the end of the last paid-up year.
Any person one year in arrears may be re-admitted to membership on payment of that year´s arrears together with the subscription for the current year. A person two years or more in arrears must apply to be re-elected.
The amount of any subscription or fee may be changed at a Guild Meeting subject to three months´ notice being given. The new subscription or fee becomes effective at the start of the next calendar year

7. Guild Meetings

7.1 There shall be four Guild Meetings each year, rotating through the districts in turn :-

An Annual General Meeting held, if possible and convenient, on the fourth Saturday in April, and Quarterly Meetings held in January, July and October.
The Guild Committee will make the final choice of dates for these meetings.

7.2 The General Secretary will call additional meetings at the request of the Guild Committee, and also at the written request of ten Ringing or Life Members, giving one months notice to Tower correspondents.

7.3 Conduct of meetings :-

All members of the Guild are entitled to attend any meeting.
Approval of a proposition requires a simple majority of those present and voting.
A quorum for the conduct of business shall be fifteen members, representing five or more towers.

8. Districts

Each tower within the Guild shall be allotted a District. The towers comprising each District shall be listed in an Annual Report of the Guild.
The number and composition of Districts within the Guild may be permanently altered only by the Annual General Meeting of the Guild, upon one year´s notice being given.
Members in each District shall hold an Annual District Meeting to elect a Secretary, two Representatives to the Guild Committee, and any other officers they shall require.
Each District may hold other meetings as its members shall determine from time to time.

9. Officers and Committees

9.1 Officers of the Guild

The following officers shall be elected by the Guild AGM. All may hold office for one year and be eligible for re-election, except that the President shall not hold office for more than three years in succession :-

President.
Ringing Master.
General Secretary.
Treasurer.
Peal Secretary.

If a vacancy occurs among the Officers of the Guild during the year, such vacancy shall be filled by election at a Guild Meeting.

9.2 Committees

The Guild may form committees as listed below. The method and frequency of election and the duties of committees shall be determined by the AGM as occasion requires. If no other provision is made, committees shall be elected annually by the AGM.

Social and Fund Raising Committee.
Education Committee.
Belfry Advisory Committee.
Other committees may be elected or dissolved at any Guild meeting, one months notice of intent having been given to the General Secretary.

The General Secretary and Treasurer are members of all committees ex officio. Committees will elect their own Chairman and may co-opt additional members at any time.

9.3 Central Council Representatives shall be elected at the January Quarterly meeting of the effective year (that is, the calendar year in which the new triennium commences).

9.4 There shall be a Guild Committee comprising :-

The Officers of the Guild, excluding the Peal Secretary.
District Secretaries.
Two representatives elected by each District at their Annual District Meeting.
Chairmen of committees (or their nominated deputies).
Central Council Representatives.
Not more than five Ringing or Life Members co-opted by the committee at any time, for a period which shall expire at the first committee meeting following the AGM.

The Guild Committee shall meet at least two weeks prior to each Guild Meeting, and at the written request of any two of its members.

A quorum shall be five.

At least three members under 9.4 a) and b) shall always be present at a Guild Committee meeting.

10. Funds

The Guild may raise funds and spend them in pursuance of its Objects
The Guild has no power to borrow money upon interest
The Guild may hold bank or building society accounts. The signatories of these accounts shall be the Treasurer and such other Officers of the Guild as the AGM may from time to time require.
All members moving resolutions having a call upon the funds of the Guild shall give notice at the Guild Meeting prior to the Guild Meeting at which the call is to be discussed.
The AGM shall appoint an Independent Examiner to examine the annual accounts of the Guild, which shall be presented to the AGM.

11. Peals

Every member of a band attempting a peal for the Guild must be a Guild member.
At least half the members of any band ringing a peal for the Guild outside the Diocese must be Ringing or Life Members.
All peals truly rung by bona-fide paid-up members of the Guild shall be recorded in the Guild Peal Book, providing that the current peal fee per bell is paid, the collection of which is the responsibility of the conductor.

12. Changes to Guild Rules

These rules may only be altered by a two thirds majority of members present and voting at the AGM, notice in writing of the proposed changes having been given to the General Secretary prior to the previous Quarterly Meeting.
No change shall be made to these rules which shall have the effect of the Guild ceasing to be a Charity at law.

13. Dissolution

13.1 Dissolution by Vote of a Special General Meeting

A decision to dissolve the Guild may only be taken by a Special General Meeting of the Guild, called for the purpose, one month´s notice having been given by the General Secretary to Tower Correspondents and a notice placed in "The Ringing World". A two thirds majority of members present and voting is required to approve the dissolution. A quorum shall be thirty members.
On being dissolved, the assets of the Guild, subject to the approval of the Charity Commissioners for England and Wales, shall be disposed of to either or both of the following :-
i) Other charitable associations of change ringers as the Guild shall select.
ii) The Cathedral Church of St Michael, Coventry for the religious and charitable purposes of the Cathedral.

13.2 Dissolution by Default

In the event of the Guild becoming defunct, it shall be allowed for the Patron or other principal Guild Officer after five years non-working of the Guild to cause it to be dissolved and its assets applied under clause 13.1 b) above.

Coventry Diocesan Guild of Church Bellringers

These rules adopted by the Guild AGM held at Stoneleigh, 22nd April, 2006.
Rules listed above:- E. & O.E.

Standing Orders adopted by the Guild AGM 22nd April, 2006 under Rule 9.2,
Appointment of Committees :-

1) Social and Fundraising Committee

Each District to choose three members by July 2006, and then annually at their Annual District Meeting.
The General Secretary to receive the names and be responsible for calling the first meeting in 2006.

2) Education Committee

The Guild AGM to elect six members.

3) Belfry Advisory Committee

Membership to be by invitation of the Guild Committee, on the recommendation of the advisory committee chairman or the Guild President.

Coventry Diocesan Guild of Church BellringersGuild Rules