Bylaws of the Northwest Association of the Indiana-Kentucky Conference of the United Church of Christ. Adopted September 27, 1998 and Last Approved Revision May 1, 2005.
The following are excerpts from said document:
Article I. Mission - The mission of this Association is to strengthen and support the
ministry of its Churches.
Article II. Purpose, Powers and Duties - The Churches of this Association, gathered for the following purposes, shall exercise the following powers and perform the following duties:
a. To express our unity in Jesus Christ;
b. To make more effective our Christian witness and service;
c. To do the work and exercise all powers as described in the Bylaws of the
Conference;
d. To continue the work of the judicatories of the Congregational Christian and
Evangelical Churches which functioned in the Northwest Indiana prior to the
formation of the United Church of Christ;
e. To determine, confer, and certify to the standing of all bodies which desire
to be recognized as Churches in this Association;
f. To determine, confer, and certify to the standing of ministers of the United Church
of Christ or other Christian denominations with which the denomination is in
fellowship;
g. At the request of a Church and the Committee on Ministry, to exercise the duties
and perform the functions of an Ecclesiastical Council according to the customs
and procedures of the Denomination;
h. To encourage and support the spiritual and missionary task of the Churches;
i. To cooperate with the Conference and the Covenanted Ministries, Agencies,
and Recognized Groups of the Denomination;
j. To exercise all powers and prerogatives customarily exercised by Associations
in the Denomination, to extend the Gospel, advance the CHristian faith, promote
education and encourage Christian charity;
k. By notice of the proposal given in the all of the meeting, the Association may, by
a two-thirds vote of members present, request the Conference to exercise the
functions of the Association with respect to the standing of clergy or Churches
and when the Conference has accepted such responsibility the Association shall
transfer the standing of the clergy or Churches to the Conference; and
l . Adjustment in Association boundaries shall only be made after consultation with
and approval by other Associations concerned, the Conference and Churches
which would be affected.
Article III. Faith. The Association claims as its own the faith of the Christian Church expressed in the ancient creeds and reclaimed in the basic insights of the Protestant Reformers. In particular, we claim that faith as expressed in the Preamble of the Constitution of the United Church of Christ and in the Statement of Faith adopted by the General Synod of the Denomination on July 8, 1959 as amended.
Article IV. Membership
Article V. Privileges and Responsibilities
Article VI. Meetings
Article VII. Officers
Article VIII. The Association Council
Article IX. Task Forces and Standing Committees
Article X. Fiscal Year
Article XI. Amendments
Article XII. Rules of Order
A copy of entire document is available to members of the Northwest Association at their request. In the near future, we hope to have the entire document on our website.
