ARTICLE III (Section 2.C updated June 17 per action of Diocesan Convention)
Conventions of this DioceseSECTION 1. Time, place, and notice.
A. There shall be an Annual Convention of this Church in this Diocese, which shall meet at a time and place appointed by a preceding convention; provided that the Ecclesiastical Authority of the Diocese, for sufficient cause, shall have power to change the place and time of the meeting.
B. A Special Convention may be called by the Bishop at the Bishop's discretion and shall be called on request of a majority of all members of the Standing Committee, duly certified by its Secretary. If the Episcopate be vacant, or the Bishop incapacitated from acting, which shall be determined in the manner provided in the Canons of the General Convention, a Special Convention may be called by the Standing Committee.
C. Written notice, twenty days in advance, shall be given of any Convention to every member of the clergy and to every Parish in union with the Convention. Notice of a Special Convention shall state the purpose or purposes for which it is called and no other business shall be transacted at that Convention.
SECTION 2. Members.
A. Any Convention shall be comprised of clergy and laypersons who shall vote as individuals.
B. Clergy entitled to a seat and vote in any Convention (which shall not be withdrawn because of disability by reason of age or sickness so long as canonical residence in this Diocese is maintained) shall meet the following requirements:
(i) Canonical residence and active engagement in church work in this Diocese with the previous written sanction of the Ecclesiastical Authority.
(ii) Status as a retired Bishop of this Diocese, with canonical residence in this Diocese.
(iii) Such clergy as may be approved by each Convention.
C. The lay members shall consist of the Chancellor, the Secretary, the Treasurer, and the Registrar of this Diocese, if they be laypersons, one lay delegate from each Parish or Campus Mission, with one additional lay delegate for each 100 baptized members therein for the first 500 baptized members, and with one additional lay delegate for each additional 200 baptized members therein, as listed in the latest Parochial Report. Representation shall be denied any Parish if any of the following occur, unless exonerated by the Convention:
(i) Failure to file a Parochial Report in accordance with the Canons.
(ii) Failure to employ a member of the clergy as its Parish Minister for the space of one calendar year in accordance with the Canons.
(iii) Failure to pay its Diocesan Fair Share in accordance with the Canons.
(iv) Failure to pay the Church Pension Fund premiums for all prior years on or before the tenth day of January of the year in which the Convention is held.
D. Lay delegates to any Convention shall be elected in accordance with the Canons, and shall be baptized adult communicants of the Church in good standing, subject to the restraints imposed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania regarding minors.
SECTION 3. Officers of Convention.
The Officers of any Convention shall be baptized adult communicants of the Church in good standing, subject to the restraints imposed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania regarding minors and their duties shall be those normally appertaining to the respective offices unless otherwise stated, and shall be as follows:
A. President: The Bishop shall preside in any Convention or, in the Bishop's absence, the following order of succession shall prevail: the Bishop Coadjutor, a Bishop Suffragan, President of the Standing Committee, a member of the Convention designated by the Bishop, or a member elected by the Convention.
B. Secretary: To be elected at each Annual Convention and to remain in office until a successor is elected.
C. Treasurer: To be elected at each Annual Convention and to remain in office until a successor is elected.
D. Chancellor: To be elected at each Annual Convention and to remain in office until a successor is elected. The Chancellor, and any Assistant or Assistants appointed by the Chancellor, shall be learned in the law and resident within this Diocese. They shall act as legal advisors to the Bishop, the Standing Committee, and to all Committees appointed by the Convention.
E. Registrar: To be elected at each Annual Convention and to remain in office until a successor is elected. The Registrar shall be the custodian of the Archives of all Consecrations and Ordinations of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons of the Diocese, and the Registrar's certificate thereof shall be the authentic evidence of the fact of such Consecration or Ordination.
SECTION 4. Quorum.
Twenty clerical delegates together with lay delegates from twenty Parishes shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, except that a smaller number may adjourn from time to time.
SECTION 5. Voting.
All voting shall be by members of any Convention as individuals, except that ten members may require a vote by Orders on any question, and a majority of the votes in each Order taken separately shall be necessary for passage. In all elections, when a vote by Orders is requested, balloting shall be in the following manner: there shall be only one ballot for other than the election of Bishops, and that candidate, or those candidates, who shall receive a plurality in both the clerical and lay Orders, shall be declared elected. If the number of persons to be elected exceeds the number of candidates who have a plurality in both Orders, the following procedure shall be used: the percentage of the total clerical vote and of the total lay vote which each candidate receives shall be calculated; for each candidate, those two percentage figures shall be added together and then divided by two to give the combined percentage; that candidate, or those candidates, with the highest percentage shall be declared elected.
SECTION 6. Offerings
The offering at any Convention, if any, shall be paid over to the Treasurer of the Diocese to be credited to the account announced by the Bishop in advance of the Collection thereof.