THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF MELANESIA TRUST BOARD is a board that looks after the property, money and endowments of the Province in the Solomon Islands.
The PURPOSE as in the 2011 ACOM MANUAL.
Article 19 of the Constitution says that until the General Synod appoints a Trust Board the Council of Bishops shall be the Trustees. The Council of Bishops has already incorporated itself as the Church of Melanesia Trust Board (Incorporated) under the Charitable Trust Ordinance of the Solomon Islands. The Deed by which they have done this is attached to this Canon as Appendix 1. By this present Canon the General Synod accepts what they have done and agrees with it.
TRUSTEES as in the 2011 ACOM MANUAL.
1. From this time the members of the Board shall be the Archbishop or in his absence the Senior Bishop, the General Secretary, five members to be elected by the General Synod and two other members to be appointed by the Council of Bishops for a term of three years or until the next meeting of the General Synod after they have been elected or appointed.
2. The five members to be elected by the General Synod shall be chosen as follows:-
(a) One shall be a Diocesan Bishop of the Anglican Church of Melanesia other than the Archbishop;
(b) Two shall be Assistant Bishops or priests of the Anglican Church of Melanesia and members of the General Synod;
(c) Two shall be lay persons of the Anglican Church of Melanesia and members of the General Synod. One of the two lay persons shall be a woman;
3. The remaining two members (to be appointed by the Council of Bishops) need not be members of the General Synod or members of the Anglican Church of Melanesia;
4. If a Trustee is absent from Board meetings on two consecutive occasions without first having obtained leave of absence from the Board, or alternatively, without sending an apology to the General Secretary before the meeting with an explanation for his absence which is acceptable to the Board, then such Trustee’s membership of the Board will automatically cease and his place on the Board will be filled following the procedure laid down in Section E of this Canon.
PROMISES BY TRUSTEES
These seven elected members may be dismissed by the General Synod or when the General Synod is not meeting by the Executive Council. They must promise to obey and acknowledge that they are subject to the control of the General Synod and must accept and obey all that is in the Constitution of the Anglican Church of Melanesia and all the laws and resolutions which the General Synod may make. Each member must promise to resign his appointment as Trustee if the General Synod asks him to do so. Each member shall make his promise in the form given in the First Schedule of the Appendix to this Canon.
RESIGNATION OR DEATH OF TRUSTEES
If a member dies or resigns the remaining members may continue to act provided that there are still at least six of them but the vacant places shall be filled as soon as possible so that there are seven members as well as the Archbishop and the General Secretary. When the General Synod is not meeting, the Executive Council shall choose members to fill those vacancies which have arisen because of the death or resignation of a member elected by the General Synod and the Council of Bishops shall choose members to fill those vacancies which have arisen because of the death or resignation of a member appointed by the Council of Bishops until the next meeting of the General Synod.
MINIMUM NUMBER OF TRUSTEES
The number of members shall not be less than six at any one time.
MEETINGS OF THE BOARD
(a) The Archbishop shall be Chairperson of all meetings of the Board. In the absence of the Archbishop, the Senior Bishop will be Chairperson and in the absence of both the Archbishop and the Senior Bishop the members shall elect one of their number to be Chairperson.
(b) The quorum for a meeting of the Board shall be four including the Chairperson.
(c) A meeting of the Board may be called only by the Archbishop or when at least three members ask in writing for a meeting. It may be held at any time or place, but it shall not be necessary for all members to agree in order that an act of the Board may be lawful. A majority of members present and voting shall be enough to make their decisions lawful.
(d) The Chairperson shall have a casting vote in addition to his ordinary vote as a member.
The Secretary of the Board shall be the General Secretary of the Anglican Church of Melanesia.