Login information

The Diocese shall send by e-mail the link and/or URL and codes necessary to connect to the Internet meeting service at least one week before the date set for Convention to: all clergy entitled to vote pursuant to Article V of the Constitution, and Title I, Canon 1, Section 1 of the Canons and to all lay delegates eligible to vote in convention pursuant to Title I, Canon 1, Section 2 of the Canons. The Diocese shall also include a copy of, or a link to, these rules.

The Diocese shall schedule Internet meeting service availability to begin at least 30 minutes before the start of each meeting.

Rules of Order

1. Quorum

A. The presence of a quorum shall be established by the Bishop or his designee’s review of the names of the lay delegates and their Parishes who have logged in electronically, and of the clergy who have logged in electronically. Instructions on how to log in to a Zoom webinar can be found here. When prompted to enter your name, please identify yourself by first and last name, parish, and order (e.g.: Jane Smith – Trinity, Faketown – Lay).

The Bishop or his designee shall determine that all who have logged in are lay delegates eligible to vote in convention pursuant to Title I, Canon 1, Section 2, of the Canons and clergy entitled to vote in Convention pursuant to Article V of the Constitution and Title I, Canon 1, Section 1 of the Canons.

The Bishop or his designee shall announce the number of Parishes who have delegates logged in electronically and the number of eligible clergy who have logged in electronically, and whether a quorum has been established.

The continued presence of a quorum shall be determined by the online list of participating eligible clergy and eligible delegates, hereafter both referred to as “delegates.”

B. Delegates shall identify themselves upon signing into the communications platform, by ensuring their username information is correct (e.g.: Jane Smith – Trinity, Faketown – Lay), and shall maintain Internet and audio access throughout the Convention whenever present, but shall sign out upon any departure before adjournment by clicking “Leave meeting” on their screens.

2. Technical requirements

A. Each delegate is responsible for his or her audio and Internet connections; no action shall be invalidated on the grounds that the loss of, or poor quality of, a delegate’s individual connection prevented participation.

B. In order to maintain decorum, all participants of the meeting will be muted by default.

3. Recognition of a delegate to speak

To seek recognition to speak, a delegate shall utilize the “Raise Hand” function.

The Bishop or his designee shall recognize the delegate by audibly repeating the delegate’s name and inviting the delegate to speak, thus assigning the floor to the delegate. Delegates will be called upon in the order in which they raised their hands.

4. Motions

A. All motions and amendments will be recorded and displayed to the convention by the Bishop’s designee, and identified by the name of the delegate who made the motion or offered the amendment, parish (if any), along with a number corresponding to how many written motions the member has so far posted during the meeting (e.g.: “Smith – Trinity, Faketown)

B. All resolutions, including any amendments proposed by Convention, will be displayed on a screen visible to all voting delegates. The resolutions shall remain visible to all delegates until final action has been taken by the Convention on the resolutions.

C. Recognition for speaking to motions shall follow the procedure outlined in Section 3.

5. Voting

All voting will take place through the Zoom webinar. Only delegates are permitted to cast a vote. The event moderator, as designated by the Bishop, will share the results of each ballot with the Bishop. No member of the Diocese of Bethlehem, including Bishop or staff, will be able to view how an individual delegate voted.

The Bishop or his designee shall announce the voting results by voice and by display of votes on screen.

For uncontested elections, a motion to elect by acclamation may be made. Recognition for making such a motions shall follow the procedure outlined in Section 3. If a motion to elect by acclamation is made, Delegates will be prompted to select “yay” or “nay” on their screens and submit their selection. The event moderator will then inform the Bishop or his designee of the results of the acclamation. The Bishop or his designee will then announce the results to the convention. This method will be used for any motion that can be accepted or rejected through acclamation.