GUILD RULES

(as at 14 March 1998)

NAME

1: The Guild shall be called the "Guildford Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers", hereinafter referred to as "The Guild".

OBJECTS

2: The objects of The Guild shall be to unite in one organisation church bell ringers within the Diocese for the purpose of mutual support and encouragement in the promotion of Sunday service ringing and the practice of the art of change ringing.

CONSTITUTION

3

The Guild shall consist of a President, not more than six Vice-Presidents, and members. The Bishop of Guildford shall be invited to be President of the Guild. Members shall be divided into the following classes:

a): Ringing members (which expression may include ringers who do not reside within the Diocese but ring regularly on Sundays therein);
b): Junior members, who shall be ringing members under the age of 16;
c): Non-resident members, who shall be ringers not residing in the Diocese (except as provided for in (a) above);
d): Associate members, who shall be persons who are not ringers but who support the objects of the Guild.

4

The Diocese shall be divided into Districts each of which shall hold meetings, elect officers and conduct business as laid down in these Rules. No tower shall be transferred from one District to another without the consent of the majority of the members at that tower and of a general meeting of the Guild.

5

Ringing members, junior members and associate members shall be attached to a District and shall not be attached to more than one District.

ADMINISTRATION

6: The Guild Officers shall be: Master; Secretary; Treasurer; Bell Restoration Fund Administrator; Independent Examiner.
7: There shall be an Executive Committee consisting of the Master, Secretary, Treasurer, Bell Restoration Fund Administrator, Central Council Representatives, and the Master, Secretary, Treasurer and one additional member from each District. The Executive Committee shall appoint from among its members a Librarian and a Peals Recorder and such other officers as it may consider necessary, and may co-opt not more than three ringing or associate members to fill posts that cannot be filled by elected members. The Executive Committee may appoint any member of the Guild to be assistant to the Secretary, but the person so appointed, unless already a member of the Committee, shall not be entitled to vote at meetings of the Committee.
8: The Executive Committee shall meet each year as soon as may be convenient after the District general meetings held in accordance with Rule 26 and at other times as may be necessary.
9: The Executive Committee may fill any vacancy occurring among Guild officers until the next general meeting of the Guild.
10: There shall be a Bell Restoration Fund Sub-Committee consisting of the Bell Restoration Fund Administrator, who shall be convenor, the Master, the Treasurer and the District Masters. It shall be the duty of the Sub-Committee to examine all applications for grants from the Bell Restoration Fund and make recommendations to the Executive Committee.
10a: There shall be a Library Sub-Committee consisting of the Librarian, who shall be convenor, at least one other member of the Executive Committee, and such additional members as the Executive Committee may appoint. The Library Sub-Committee shall administer the Guild Library in accordance with Rule 32.
11: The Executive Committee may appoint sub-committees to deal with any aspect of the affairs of the Guild and shall determine terms of reference. The convenor of any sub-committee shall be a member of the Executive Committee and the Master shall be ex-officio a member of any sub-committee appointed under this rule.

MEETINGS OF THE GUILD

12: A general meeting of the Guild shall be held on the second Saturday in March in each year for the purpose of receiving a report of the Executive Committee and a Statement of the Accounts, electing Guild officers and additional Vice-Presidents and transacting other business. Vice-Presidents may only be elected on the recommendation of the Executive Committee.
13: A special general meeting of the Guild may be called at any time by the President or the Master; or shall be called by the Secretary at the written request of not less than 20 members.
14: The Secretary shall give notice of any general or special general meeting by sending a copy of the Agenda to each tower secretary at least three weeks before the meeting.
15: Motions for consideration at a meeting of the Guild must be given in writing to the Secretary at least 28 days before the date of the meeting and must be signed by the proposer and seconder.

ELECTION OF MEMBERS

16: Members may be elected at any meeting of the Guild or of a District. The election of a member may also take place before a peal which it is intended to ring for the Guild provided that the majority of the band are already members as defined at (a) and (b) in Rule 3. The election of a member before a peal attempt is subject to confirmation at a meeting of the Guild or of a District by the end of the following January and is subject also to the person so elected paying his subscription before the election is confirmed.

ELECTION OF GUILD OFFICERS AND CENTRAL COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES

17: No member shall be elected to any office or as a Central Council Representative unless previously nominated. Nominations shall be made at District meetings or subsequently in writing. No nominations shall be valid unless the member concerned signifies his willingness to serve, if elected. A written nomination must be accompanied by a statement that the member is willing to serve, if elected, and must be received by the Secretary at least 28 days before the election is to take place. Any contested election must be by ballot.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

18: The annual subscription shall be fixed by a general meeting of the Guild or by the Executive Committee in accordance with Rule 21, and it shall be permissible to fix different subscriptions for junior members and for ringing members over the age of 65. Subscriptions shall become due on 1 January of each year, but any ringing member or junior member elected after 30 June in any year shall pay half the subscription for that year. A member whose subscription is unpaid at 31 December shall cease to be a member.
19: A non-resident member need pay only the equivalent of one annual subscription. A ringing member or junior member who ceases to reside within the Diocese, and does not ring regularly on Sundays therein, will become a non-resident member without payment of a further subscription.
19a: A proportion of each subscription shall be credited to the Bell Restoration Fund. This proportion, which shall not be less than 25 per cent, shall be determined annually in advance by the Executive Committee.
20: Subscriptions shall be collected by the District Treasurers who shall remit to the Treasurer non-resident members' subscriptions and such proportion of other subscriptions as the Executive Committee shall from time to time determine. The balance of subscriptions shall be retained in the Districts and may be expended as the Districts may determine, except as provided for in Rule 22.
21: If the Executive Committee resolve that it is necessary to increase the annual subscription, notice of the increase shall be sent to each tower secretary by 30 September in any year. The increase shall become effective on the following 1 January unless at least 20 members send notice of objection in writing to the Secretary within 28 days of the sending of the notice of the increased subscription. The receipt of such notices of objection shall oblige the Executive Committee to put a motion in favour of the proposed increase before a general meeting of the Guild or a special meeting called for that purpose.

FUNDS

22: There shall be a General Fund, a separately constituted Bell Restoration Fund and such other funds as may be determined by the Executive Committee. A general meeting of the Guild may require each District to transfer to the General Fund an amount proportionate to that District's cash balance at the end of the preceding year.
23: The parochial church council of every parish in the Diocese which possesses a ring of bells shall be invited annually to make a donation to the Bell Restoration Fund.
24: All monies, except for monies covered by the Bell Restoration Fund Rules and amounts required for petty cash purposes, shall be held in an account at a Bank or Building Society in the name of the Guild or of the District concerned. All bank accounts shall be operated by two out of a panel of three signatories appointed by the Executive Committee or a District Committee as the case may be.
25: Upon an application being made in writing to the Master or the Secretary by any member, the Treasurer may, with the consent of the Master and Secretary, pay to a member, other than the applicant, or to a dependent of any living or deceased member, in distress or in ill health or suffering from any other adversity, a sum not exceeding Ł25, provided that no person shall receive more than Ł25 in any period of twelve months and provided that no payment shall be made under this rule if the amount held by the Treasurer in the General Fund shall thereby be reduced below the sum of Ł100.

DISTRICTS

26: A general meeting shall be held in each District not later than the first Saturday in February in each year for the purpose of receiving a report of the District Committee and a Statement of Accounts, electing a District Master, a District Secretary, a District Chairman, a District Treasurer, a District Independent Examiner, and a member to serve on the Executive Committee, nominating Guild officers and Central Council Representatives, and transacting other business. Such other meetings of the District may be held as decided by the District Committee.
27: The District Secretary shall send a copy of the agenda for any meeting of a District at which business is to be transacted to each tower secretary at least three weeks before the meeting.
28: District officers shall be elected in accordance with the procedure laid down in Rule 17, except that written nominations must be sent to the appropriate District Secretary.
29: In each District there shall be a District Committee consisting of the District Master, District Secretary, District Treasurer, the member elected to serve on the Executive Committee and one member from each tower in the District. The Master, Secretary and Treasurer shall be ex-officio members of each District Committee. Each District Committee shall meet at a convenient time before the meeting held in accordance with Rule 26 and at other times as may be necessary.
30: A District Committee may fill any vacancy occurring among District Officers until the next meeting held in accordance with Rule 26. A member appointed under this Rule shall not be barred from membership of the Executive Committee under Rule 39.

CENTRAL COUNCIL OF CHURCH BELL RINGERS

31: The Guild shall be affiliated to the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers and the representatives shall be elected for a triennial period in accordance with the Constitution of the Council and in accordance with Rule 17 of these Rules. The Guild shall recognise and observe the rulings of the Council. Council representatives shall make an annual report to the Executive Committee and shall be entitled to be paid their fares and reasonable out-of-pocket expenses for attending meetings of the Council.

GUILD LIBRARY

32

The Library Sub-Committee shall:

a): make reasonable arrangements for the safe keeping of the Library;
b): formulate rules governing the use of the Library;
c): determine accessions to the Library and defray other expenses connected therewith within a total sum fixed annually by the Executive Committee;
d): make an annual report to the Executive Committee.

PEALS

32a

A peal will only be accepted as being rung for the Guild if:

a): it conforms to the Central Council regulations on peals;
b): all persons taking part are current ringing members, junior members or non-resident members of the Guild;
c): an account of the peal, together with the peal fees for each ringer participating, is sent to the Guild Peals Recorder within two months of the date of the peal (in the case of those rung in December by the following 31 January).

If the above conditions are not fulfilled the peal shall not be recognised by the Guild, nor its details published in the Annual Report, except that a general or special meeting of the Guild shall be able to recognise such peals in exceptional circumstances.

32b

The amount of the fees shall be determined from time to time by a general meeting of the Guild and published in the annual report. Any alterations to the amount of the fees shall take effect on the following 1 January. All fees collected shall be rendered to the Treasurer on a regular basis.

STANDING ORDERS FOR THE CONDUCT OF MEETINGS

33

The Master shall be chairman of a general or special meeting of the Guild and of the Executive Committee. The District Chairman shall be chairman of any meeting of his District and of his District Committee. In the absence of the designated chairman, the members present at a meeting shall elect a chairman of that meeting.

34

The Chairman of a general or special general meeting of the Guild, or of the Executive Committee, or of a meeting of a District or of a District Committee, shall not be entitled to vote other than a casting vote.

35

A non-resident member shall take no part in a meeting of the Guild or of a District other than with the consent of the Chairman of that meeting and shall not be entitled to vote.

36

A ringing member, junior member or associate member shall take no part in any meeting of a District to which he is not attached, other than with the consent of the chairman of that meeting, and shall be entitled to vote only at a meeting of the District to which he is attached.

37

A junior member shall not be nominated to hold any office in the Guild or in a District and shall not nominate other persons for office.

38

a): The quorum at a general meeting or special general meeting of the Guild shall be 50 eligible members.
b): The quorum at a meeting of a District shall be 15 eligible members.
c): The quorum at an Executive Committee meeting shall be 7 eligible members.
d): The quorum at a District Committee meeting shall be 5 eligible members, not including ex-officio members specified under Rule 29.

39

Officers shall take office at the end of the meeting at which they are elected or appointed, unless the members present determine otherwise. Newly elected District Officers who are eligible for membership of the Executive Committee shall not displace retiring officers and shall not be entitled to attend meetings of the Committee, except as observers, until after the next general meeting of the Guild held in accordance with Rule 12.

AMENDMENTS TO RULES

40: No amendment to these Rules shall be made except at a general meeting of the Guild, or a special meeting called for that purpose, when the number of eligible members voting in favour of the proposal must be double those voting against.

BELL RESTORATION FUND RULES

as at 14 March 1998

The Fund shall be known as the Guildford Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers Bell Restoration Fund.
The object of the Fund shall be to advance the Christian religion by providing financial assistance to the Churches of the Diocese of Guildford for the purpose of maintaining and improving their bell installations by making grants or providing loans to them. Maintenance and improvement of a bell installation shall be deemed to include the following:

a)
taking out an existing ring of bells, supplying and installing a new frame and fittings, recasting the bells and erecting the same;
b)
taking out, overhauling and reclappering existing bells, supplying and installing a new frame and fittings and re-erecting bells;
c)
taking out existing bells, overhauling existing frame and fittings, recasting, or overhauling and reclappering same and re-erecting;
d)
augmentation and bringing existing bells, frame and fittings into an adequate state of repair;
e)
other repairs to bells, frames, fittings and towers;
f)
the provision of new or repair of existing sound control installations;
g)
the provision of bells, frame and fittings and erection of same in Churches which previously had none;
h)
the acquisition of bells from Churches within the Diocese declared redundant, for subsequent redeployment and/or recasting.
The membership of the Fund shall be that of the Guildford Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers, hereinafter referred to as "The Guild", as defined in the Rules thereof.
a)
The Fund shall be administered by the Executive Committee of the Guild, hereinafter referred to as "The Committee".
b)
The Committee shall have the power, after considering an application to it in writing, to approve a grant and/or a loan from the Fund and in the case of a loan to determine the terms on which such a loan may be provided.
c)
The Committee shall have the power to appoint sub-committees which shall report back their actions fully and promptly to the Committee.
d)
The Committee shall have the power to co-opt such persons as it considers necessary to assist in its deliberations. The number of co-opted persons at any one meeting of the Committee shall not exceed three.
e)
The management of the Bell Restoration Fund shall be an item on the agenda of every meeting of the Committee.
a)
The Master, Secretary and Treasurer for the time being of the Guild shall be the Trustees of the Fund. The Treasurer and Independent Examiner of the Fund shall be the Treasurer and Independent Examiner for the time being of the Guild.
b)
Such bank accounts as may be required shall be opened in the name of the Fund. Cheques drawn on these accounts must be signed by two of the Trustees.
c)
Any outstanding monies in the hands of the Committee not required for the immediate purposes of the Fund shall be invested in any manner the Trustees may think fit in the best interests of the Fund.
d)
The Committee and its sub-committees shall have the power to raise funds by any means they see fit as long as permanent trading is not engaged in.
e)
The Fund shall be set up by the total transfer to it of the balance of those monies collected, made available or earmarked for Bell Restoration by the Guild.
A decision to dissolve the Fund shall be taken only by a general meeting of the Guild or by a special general meeting called for that purpose. If it is decided to dissolve the Fund, the assets shall be disposed of to either or between:

a)
such charitable Bell Restoration Funds as the Guild may select;
b)
the Diocese of Guildford for the religious and charitable purposes of the Diocese.
The Treasurer shall prepare a balance sheet as at 31 December in each year and an income and expenditure account for the year ended on that date which shall be examined by the Independent Examiner and presented to the members at the general meeting of the Guild first held after 31 December of the year in which the Fund's accounts are prepared.
No alteration or deletion of these Rules shall be made so as to cause the Fund at any time to cease to be a charity in law. No alteration, addition or deletion shall be made except at a general meeting of the Guild or at a special general meeting called for that purpose when the number of eligible members voting in favour of the proposal must be double those voting against. Notice of any proposed alteration or addition to or deletion from these Rules shall be given to the Secretary at least 28 days prior to the date of any such meeting and must be signed by the proposer and seconder.

Guild Secretary.3/1998.