Decision Number 22

Membership of Bishops in Annual Conferences

Digest

A Bishop, effective or retired, is not a member of an Annual Conference, and should not be counted in reporting total membership of the Conference for voting or other purposes.

Statement of Facts

REQUEST FOR RULING

At the 1943 session of the Central New York Conference there was presented for ruling by the presiding Bishop the following question:
"Is a Bishop a member of the Annual Conference? Should he be counted in the statistics of the Conference, and exercise the rights of Annual Conference membership?"

Note: In this case the names of Frederick G. Keeney (retired) and Charles W. Flint appeared on the Roll of the Conference.

RULING OF THE BISHOP

"A Bishop effective or retired, is not a member of an Annual Conference. He should not be counted in reporting the total membership of the Conference for statistical purposes or in computing the number of delegates.

"No provision should be made by the Annual Conference for him as a Conference Claimant; other provision has been made by the General Conference; nor is he subject to Annual Conference assessments.

"He is not eligible to election as a delegate representing the Annual Conference in the General or Jurisdictional Conferences; nor is he entitled to vote in a Annual Conference for delegates to General and Jurisdictional Conferences.

"When elected a Bishop, if at the time a delegate, his membership in the electing Conference as an Annual Conference delegate terminates and his place is immediately filled by an elected alternate delegate.

"If he resigns from the Episcopacy he is returned, by the definitely prescribed procedure, to membership in the Annual Conference of which he ceased to be member when elected Bishop."

Decision

The Judicial Council hereby affirms the ruling of Bishop Flint, and adopts as its opinion the ruling of the Bishop as aforesaid.