CONSTITUTION
-OF THE
Preachers' Meeting
OF THE
African flethodist Episcopal
Church
Of Baltimore and Vicinity.
Baltimore, Hd.
1905.
CONSTITUTION.
ARTICLE I.
This organization shall be called The A.
M. E. Preachers' Meet ng of Baltimore
City and vicinity.
ARTICLE II.
Its object and design is to stimulate its
members in the study of subjects appertain¬
ing to the ministry, to consider all public
questions relative to the well-being of the
people; to counsel and advise with e?ch
other touching the government and needs of
charges held by its members, respectively,
and devise methods for the spread of African
Methodism in this particular field.
ARTICLE III.
Every pastor, traveling or local preacher
stationed or living in the city or vicinity of
Baltimore, who pay twenty-five cents or
more shall be a member as long as his resi¬
dence or charge remains within the bounds
herein described.
ARTICLE IY.
The officers of the meeting shall consist of
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a President, a Vice President, a 2nd. Vice
President, a Secretary, an assistant Secre¬
tary, a Historiographer, a Librarian and a
Committee on Subjects of three members.
ARTICLE V.
All the officers provided for in Article IV
shall be elected every six months ; the elec¬
tion shall take place On the first Monday in
XIay and the first Monday in November.
They shall hold their office for a term of six
months or until their successors are chosen.
ARTICLE VI.
The election shall be viva voce on a list of
nominees to be submitted by a nominating
committee of five members appointed by the
President.
ARTICLE VII.
These officers shall perform such duties as
usually pertain to their respective offices and
as may be specially provided for hereafter.
ARTICLE VIII.
It shall be the dutv of the Committee on
Subjects to select topics for discussion and
appoint members to write upon the same.
These subjects shall comprise questions in
Tbeologv. History, Science, Music, Art,
Poetry, Church Polity, Public Morals, Got-
5
ernment and Domestic Economy. All ap¬
pointments shall be made lour weeks in
advance that the appointees may have full
time for preparation.
ARTICLE IX.
Should the Committee on Subjects, one or
more of them, fail to do duty, as required, up¬
on the report of his or their colleagues, the
meeting shall immediately declare such places
vacant and fill the same" by appointment of
other members.
ARTICLE X.
Should a member fail to present his paper,
without a plausible excuse, he shall be sub¬
ject, for the first offense, to a vote of censure
by the meeting, said censure to be adminis¬
tered by the Chair. For the second offense
he shall be debarred from the privileges of
the meeting for a term of three months.
ARTICLE XI.
No member shall have the right to decline
an appointment when it is made in time as to
succession. But upon plausible excuse offer¬
ed to the meeting he may be exempted lor
the time being.
ARTICLE XII.
The Historiographer shall follow the gen-
c
e- 11 outlines of the subjects submitted by all
essayists and the trend of the discussion of
each subject ; he shall gather the salient
facts incorporated in the same, note the con¬
clusions reached on the various subjects of
discussion and on Monday following each
election he shall submit the summary of his
work to the meeting. That document shall
be put on file in the archives of the meeting
to be used in the general historical resume
of the doings of the Preachers' Meeting to be
published in coming years.
ARTICLE XIII.
The,Librarian shall keep all the records,
letters, books and documents of any kind or
description belonging to the Preachers'
Meeting. A tin chest with lock and key
shall be furnished to him by the Meeting for
the safe keeping and preservation of all such
matters ; said chest shall be deposited in the
office of Bethel Church.
ARTICLE XIV.
The session shall be held on Monday of
each week at Bethel Church from 11 o'clock
A. M. to 12.30 o'clock P. M.
ARTICLE XV.
The three front seats in the room shall
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constitute the bar of the Meeting, and no
member who has arrived alter twelve o'clock
or is seated outside of the bar shall have the
privilege of the floor.
ARTICLE XVI.
A member who has absented himself from
three consecutive meetings without produc¬
ing valid reasons for so doing to the Meeting
shall be reprimanded by the chair and if he
continue the practice his membership shall be
forfeited.
ARTICLE XVII.
The programme of the session shall consist
1st. Of Religious Services.
a. Singing.
* b. Prayer.
c. Scripture Lesson.
d. Singing.
2nd. Roll call aud Reading of Journal.
3rd. Order of the Day.
4th. Unfinished Business.
5th. New Business.
ARTICLE XVIII.
The first Monday of each month shall be
Field Day when members shall report the
condition of their charges and submit all
questions relating to the state thereof. As
each name is called, that member shall pay,
8
before making his report, the sum of five
cents monthly dues. The chair shall desig¬
nate a member on that occasion who shall
act as a collector for the meeting.
ARTICLE XIX.
The amount aggregating from this fee
shall not bfe used as a charitable fund nor to
cover deficiencies io amounts to be realized
through special taxation of members for
specified purposes. It shall be used for legit¬
imate expenses affecting the general needs of
the Meeting. *
t ARTICLE XX
No questions to be introduced by visitors
whether relevant or not to the design and
object of the Meeting, shall b<* allowed to
tome up before the Meeting unless it has
been duly considered before hand by the
Committee on Subjects, who shall make
their report to the Meeting which may, in
turn, allow such to be considered by motion.
ARTICLE XXI.
In the discussion of the papers the first
speaker shall be allowed 10 minutes, the
second 7 minutes, the third and all others 5
minutes. But no person shall be allowed to
speak twice on the same subject except the
9
essayist who shall always have the summa¬
ry of the argument.
ARTICLE XXII.
The officers of the Meeting shall constitute
an Executive Committee whose duty it shall
be to attend to such business of the Meeting
not proper to be made public matter. The
President of the Meeting shall be the chaif-
mafi of this Committee, which he may call
together as often as the business of the
meeting requires.
ARTICLE XXIII.
Any recommendations for the betterment
of the Meeting shall be first discussed in this
committee and then reported by the chair¬
man to the Meeting for final action, when
the commitiee so determines by majority
vote.
ARTICLE XXIV.
This Constitution shall be amended by
two-third vote of the members of the Meet¬
ing, but all amendments must be submitted
by writing and subjected to three reading?^
only one reading for each session.