CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS

The name of this Diocese of the Reformed Episcopal Church is and shall be The Diocese of Mid-America.

The object of The Diocese of Mid-America is to establish, support, and maintain Churches and Missions of the Reformed Episcopal Church, and supervise and govern churches within its jurisdiction, aid the ministry of clergymen within the limits of the Diocese, and promote the general charitable work of the churches within the limits of the Diocese.

Section 1. The Diocese of Mid-America as a constituent part of the Reformed Episcopal Church, accedes to and accepts the principles and restrictions of the Declaration of Principles and the Constitution and Canons of the Reformed Episcopal Church. Section 2. Said Diocese shall consist of all organized Parishes, Mission Parishes, and Extension Works, and all the assigned resident clergy of the Reformed Episcopal Church under the jurisdiction of this Diocese, such jurisdiction having been established by the General Council and its Constitution and Canons. The Parishes and Mission Parishes shall be represented at the Diocese meetings as the Canons of this Diocese direct. Section 3. The territorial limits of the Diocese of Mid-America are those defined by the General Council of the Reformed Episcopal Church, subject to such amendment as may be later voted by a Council of this Diocese, with the consent of the General Council as follows: By action of the 48th General Council, the Diocese of Mid-America is comprised of all states presently in the Diocese of Mid-America — that part of Tennessee which is west of the eastern fork of the Tennessee River plus the States of Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Missouri, Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and Puerto Rico.

Section 1. The legislation of the Diocese of Mid-America and the direction of all matters that belong to and affect the Diocese of Mid-America shall be vested in a Council of the Diocese of Mid-America, subject to the restrictions of Article III, Section 1. Section 2. The Bishop and Standing Committee shall be the ecclesiastical authority of the Diocese of Mid-America. If there is no Bishop of the Diocese of Mid-America, the Presiding Bishop, chairing the Standing Committee, shall be the ecclesiastical authority. Section 3. All boards and committees of the Diocese of Mid-America shall be under the supervision of the Bishop and Standing Committee of the Diocese of Mid-America, which Committee shall within the limits of the Constitution and Canons of the Diocese have veto power over their operations and actions. Section 4. The Bishop shall be a member ex-officio of all committees whether elective or appointed.

Section 1. The Bishop Ordinary, Bishop Coadjutor, Suffragan Bishops, and any Bishop canonically elected or received in another capacity, and all Presbyters of the Diocese of Mid-America, and any Deacon who is Minister-in-Charge of a Parish within the Diocese of Mid-America shall be clergy members of the Council. Section 2. All Chairmen of Committees of the Diocese of Mid-America and authorized Agencies of the Diocese of Mid-America including lay members of the Standing Committee and Board of Trustees of the Diocese shall be members of the Council. Section 3. All lay delegates elected in accordance with the provisions of Title II, Canon V, of the Canons of the Diocese of Mid-America. Section 4. Licensed Lay Readers pastoring a Church or a Parish within the Diocese of Mid-America may be elected by any Council to membership therein. Section 5. No one shall be a member of the Council of the Diocese of Mid-America who is not a communicant member of the Reformed Episcopal Church in good and regular standing. Section 6. By a two-thirds vote, visitors and friends of our Church may be made Corresponding Members for the duration of the meeting of the Council. Corresponding membership shall confer the right to speak upon the floor of the house, but not to vote in deliberations.

Section 1. The Council or Synod, which terms shall be synonymous, of the Diocese of Mid-America shall convene its regular meeting on the second Wednesday of October each year, at such time and place as shall have been designated at the next preceding meeting, unless such time or place of meeting, or both, shall have been changed in the manner set forth in Section 2 or Section 3 of this Article. Section 2. In case there shall be any good cause rendering it advisable to change either, or both, the time or the place fixed for any meeting of the Council of the Diocese of Mid-America, the Bishop, by and with the consent of two-thirds of the members of the Standing Committee, may do so. If such change is made, the Bishop shall give thirty days' notice thereof to every Parish and Mission Parish entitled to representation in the Council of the Diocese of Mid-America. Section 3. The Bishop of the Diocese of Mid-America may also call special meetings of the Council of the Diocese of Mid-America, by and with written consent of two-thirds of the members of the Standing Committee, and any such meetings shall be held at the time and place designated in the call to the meeting. Thirty days' notice thereof shall be given by the Bishop to every Parish and Mission Parish specifying the object or objects of such meeting in the manner prescribed in Section 2 of this Article. Section 4. The Delegates appointed to the next preceding Council of the Diocese of Mid-America shall be delegates to any special meeting, unless in the interim, any Parish shall have elected other delegates.

Section 1. The Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese of Mid-America shall be the President and Presiding Officer of the Council, and except in the case of disability or other impairment shall preside at all meetings of the Council. Section 2. The other officers of the Council of the Diocese of Mid-America shall be Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer, and such other officers as the Diocese of Mid-America Council may decide upon from time to time. The officers shall be elected by ballot at each regular meeting, upon the organization of the Council of the Diocese of Mid-America and shall hold their respective offices until their successors have been elected and have qualified. Section 3. The Vice-President shall be a Bishop or Presbyter of the Diocese of Mid-America and shall preside at all meetings of Council when the Bishop Ordinary is absent or in the event of a disability or other impairment of the President until the election or installation of a new Bishop Ordinary. Section 4. The Secretary may be a Presbyter, or a lay person in the Diocese of Mid-America. With the consent of the Council, the Secretary may appoint an Assistant Secretary to help with the duties while the Council is in session. Section 5. The several officers described in Section 1 shall perform the duties which usually pertain to their offices and such other duties as may be assigned to them by the Council of the Diocese of Mid-America. Section 6. In the event of the resignation, removal, or death of the President, the Presiding Bishop, in consultation with the Standing Committee, shall appoint a suitable person to fill the office until the office can be filled. Section 7. In the case of the death or disability or resignation of the Vice-President, the President, in concurrence with a majority of the Standing Committee, shall forthwith appoint a suitable person to fill the office and execute the duties thereof until the next regular meeting of the Council of the Diocese of Mid-America. Section 8. In the case of the death or disability or resignation of the Secretary, or any Treasurer, the President, in concurrence with a majority of the Standing Committee, shall forthwith appoint a suitable person to fill the office and execute the duties thereof until the next regular meeting of the Council of the Diocese of Mid-America. Section 9. The Treasurer of the Council of the Diocese of Mid-America shall be the Treasurer of the Board of Trustees of the Diocese of Mid-America.

Section 1. The proceedings at the meetings of the Council of the Diocese of Mid-America shall be regulated by such parliamentary rules as the Council may from time to time adopt; provided, however, that whenever ten or more members of the Council call for a vote by orders, it shall be allowed. In such case the Bishop shall vote as a Presbyter, and the concurrence of both orders shall be necessary to the passage of the measure so voted on. Section 2. In all business of the Council, freedom of debate shall be allowed, subject to the Council to fix and limit the length of time for debate. Section 3. A majority of the Presbyters and a majority of the delegates from the Parishes of the Diocese of Mid-America shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, but any number may adjourn from day to day to await the arrival of a quorum. Section 4. A call for prayer is always in order in the deliberations of the Council of the Diocese of Mid-America.

Section 1. The following Committees and Boards shall be appointed by the Bishop at the Council of the Diocese of Mid-America at its regular meetings: (1) The Standing Committee shall consist of three Presbyters and three laymen nominated by a committee appointed by the Bishop for that purpose, and elected by the Council to serve overlapping three-year terms, with one new member of each order being elected at each annual meeting of the Council. The Council may also fill the unexpired portion of any term vacated during the previous year. The Bishop Coadjutor, and other Bishops together with the Archdeacon and Canons shall be ex-officio members of the Standing Committee in accordance with the Canons of the Reformed Episcopal Church. The Standing Committee shall be organized and shall operate in conformity with Canon 46 of the Constitution and Canons of the Reformed Episcopal Church. (2) The Board of Trustees of the Diocese of Mid-America shall consist of three Presbyters and three laymen to be nominated by a committee appointed by the Bishop for that purpose, and with one of each order being elected by the Council to serve overlapping three-year terms, with one new member of each order being elected at each annual meeting of the Council. In addition, the Vice-President and Secretary of the Council shall be members of the Trustees. (3) A Nominations Committee shall be appointed by the Bishop Ordinary to nominate one qualified person of each order for each open position for a full or partial term on the Standing Committee and the Board of Trustees and present such nominations to the annual or special Synod. (4) A Board of Examining Chaplains shall be appointed in accordance with Canon 4 of the Reformed Episcopal Church consisting of at least three Presbyters of the Diocese. Section 2. Such other Committees as are determined necessary to the orderly operation of the Diocese of Mid-America shall be appointed by the Bishop.

This Constitution may be amended by a unanimous vote of any stated meeting of the Council, or of any special meeting thereof called for the purpose; otherwise, by a two-thirds vote at one stated meeting of the Council, ratified by a two-thirds vote at the next succeeding stated meeting thereof. A motion to adopt for first reading, even though passed unanimously when made, shall not constitute final passage but shall require ratification at the next stated meeting of the Council. If it is intended to have an amendment passed without a second reading, it shall be stated so when it is offered or proposed.