REGULATION 8A: Of the Regional Councils

 
1. There shall be four (4) Regional Councils constituted of the following regions:

Tobago: Comprising the Parishes of St. Andrew, St. David, St. Mary and St. Patrick.

South: Comprising the Parishes of St. Andrew, Holy Cross, St. Paul, St. Barnabas, St. Clement, St. Christopher, St. Augustine, St. Mark, St. Stephen, Grace Church and St. Faith and the District of St Peter.

North-East: Comprising the Parishes of Holy Saviour, Good Shepherd, St. Mary, St. Jude, St. James the Just, St. Thomas and St. David.

North-West: Comprising the Parishes of St. Michael, St. Agnes, All Saints, St. Crispin, St. Margaret, Christ Church, St. Matthias and the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity.

2. (a) Each Regional Council (in this Regulation called a “Council”) shall consist of the following members:

(i) all clergy and stipendiary lay evangelists stationed in the Region;

(ii) three (3) members (in this paragraph “appointed members”) selected by the Vestry of each Parish in the Region.

(b) One of the appointed members shall be a Lay Representative to the Synod. Each of the other two (2) members shall be a layperson (in this called a “Lay Member”) and need not be a member of the Vestry.

(c) The appointed members shall be appointed not later than April 15th by the Vestry at the first meeting of the Vestry after the Annual Meeting.

(d) Subject to sub-paragraph (b), a vacancy occurring among any of the appointed members shall be filled by the Vestry concerned.

(e) The Chairman of each Council shall be elected by the Council from among its members annually at its first meeting after the appointment of the members from the Vestries or on a vacancy occurring in the Office.

(f) Subject to the preceding provisions of this paragraph, every member shall be eligible for reappointment.

3. The functions and duties of each Council shall be:

(a) to discover and act upon the Mission of the Church in the region;

(b) to plan, adapt and implement Programmes for the Mission of the Church in the region, including those in respect of:

(i) Christian Education

(ii) Adult Training

(iii) Stewardship

(iv) Youth

(v) Social Outreach

(vi) Church Extension, Evangelism, Ecumenism;

(c) to settle priorities for the Region;

(d) to hold pre-Synod and post-Synod meetings;

(e) to strengthen and develop the sense of unity and purpose;

(f) to elect lay and clerical representatives to the Diocesan Council, the Diocesan Board of Finance and to the Diocesan Programme Planning Unit;

(g) to serve as a link in communication between the Diocese, the Region and the Parishes in the Region;

(h) to elect representatives to Diocesan Boards and Committees, as provided for in the Regulations; and

(i) to receive, examine and make recommendations on quarterly reports from Parishes.

(j) All applications for loans or permission to spend in excess of the maximum sum fixed by the Diocesan Council, and faculty request from Parishes for the consideration of either the Diocesan Council and/or the Diocesan Board of Finance, shall first be submitted to the respective Regional Council and copied to the Diocesan Secretary. The Regional Council shall deal expeditiously with such proposals and forward them along with their recommendations to the Diocesan Secretary.

4. At least one (1) meeting of each Council shall be summoned for every quarter of the calendar year.

5. An extraordinary meeting of a Council may be summoned by the Chairman or by the Bishop, or on the written request of seven (7) members of the Council.

6. The Chairman, and in his absence, a member selected by the meeting, shall preside at a meeting of the Council.

7. One-third (1/3) of the members shall form a quorum.

8. The Secretary of the Council (who need not be a member thereof) shall be appointed by the Council.

9. The office of the Council shall be located at such place in the Region as may from time to time be designated by the Council.