1. Name
1.1.
The name of the Society shall be:
"UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK STUDENTS' UNION Christian Focus".
2. Aims and Objectives
2.1.
The Society shall have a written statement of aims and objectives which shall be
part of this Constitution and shall be annually subject to review by the Society
Executive Committee.
2.2.
The Statement of the Aims and Objectives of that society shall be:
2.2.1.
We are a broad-minded, inter-denominational, Christian society who wish
to:
• Develop the personal faith and theological understanding of our members and
those who attend our meetings.
• Promote fellowship between all Christians.
• Promote respect between Christians and others to seek mutual understanding.
• Welcome those of all faiths or none, not passing judgment on who is or is not a
Christian.
• To allow members and those who attend our meetings to develop their own
views on theological and moral issues, and express them freely in a tolerant
environment.
• Contribute to and promote Chaplaincy life.
• Co-operate with other Christian groups on campus.
2.2.2.
To these ends we:
• Organise regular prayer meetings, social events and speaker led meetings.
• Provide a friendly and open environment for discussion of any topics that may
be relevant to our membership.
• Encourage, organise or help with other events that will enrich the lives of our
members both spiritually and socially.
2.3.
The Society, its Officers, its funds and all its activities shall be subject to the provisions of the Constitution, Regulations and policy of the University of Warwick
Students' Union.
2.4.
The society shall abide by the Union's current Equal Opportunities Policy and
environmental policy statements (also see section 3).
2.5.
The society shall be subject to a disciplinary code as laid down by the Students'
Union and administered by the relevant Standing Committee.
2.6.
The Executive Committee shall endeavor to uphold the above aims and objectives of the society.
3. Equal Opportunities
3.1.
The Executive Committee shall appoint a named member of the Executive
Committee to be the Equal Opportunities Representative. This person is responsible for the fair treatment of all Christian Focus members in accordance with the
Equal Opportunities Policy of the Students' Union.
3.2.
The constituent elements of the policy include (but are not limited to) the following:
• Christian Focus is run for all of its members.
• Christian Focus is a place where members new and old are given the same opportunities.
• Christian Focus is a place where no member should feel unwelcome, frightened
or unwanted.
• Christian Focus is a place that reflects the diversity of the University of Warwick in
membership and ethos.
• Christian Focus is a place where everybody's views can be freely expressed and
listened to.
4. Decision Making (General Meetings)
4.1.
The Society General Meeting shall be the sovereign body of the Society. It shall
elect all officers of the Society and may decide on any matter relating to the activities of the society.
4.2.
The Society Executive shall call at least one General Meeting a year for the purposes of electing all the Society Officers and discussing plans and activities for
the coming year. The Executive shall give at least seven days notice via email to
all members of any General Meeting and such notice shall include details of any
elections to be held. The executive shall call further meetings either at its own
initiative or at the request of 20% of the membership. The quorum for a General
Meeting is 20% of the membership.
4.3.
The Society Executive Committee shall be made up of at least three voting officers of which two shall be the President (or equivalent), and the Treasurer respectively. The General Meeting shall be free to create any further voting or nonvoting Executive Officers as it believes necessary. The positions defined in section 6 will all be made up of voting executive members.
4.4.
The Executive Committee shall be responsible for the day to day running of the
Society and may decide on any matter which has not been decided upon by the
General Meeting. The Executive shall be further responsible for:
4.4.1.
a) Organising the activities of the Society in such a way as to include the
greatest possible number of the Society's members
4.4.2.
b) Directing the expenditure of the Society's funds in a responsible fashion
and in line with the aims, objectives and planned activities of the Society
4.4.3.
c) Formulating and submitting an annual bid for funds from the recognised
Standing Committee prior to any specified deadline which shall include a
statement of activities and objectives for the coming year and a detailed
justification of the figures contained within the bid
4.4.4.
d) Formulating and submitting any additional bid for funds from Standing
Committees or Groups within the Union
4.4.5.
e) Assisting any review of the Society's activities and use of funds carried
out by a Standing Committee or Group of the Union that has granted funds
to the Society
4.4.6.
f) Upholding the constitution of the club or society and ensuring that its aims
and objectives reflect the club or society actions
4.4.7.
g) Sending the required number of representatives to Societies Federation
Annual General Meeting and Common Committees Positions of the Executive Committee are outlined in section 6
4.5.
Annual General Meetings (from now on referred to as AGM)
4.5.1.
There must be at least one week’s notice for the AGM
4.5.2.
The quorum for an AGM shall be 20% of the membership.
4.5.3.
Election of a new executive committee will take place at the AGM according
to the voting procedure outlined in section 4.6.
4.5.4.
Postal votes are permitted on condition that they are received by a member
of the Executive Committee in a sealed envelope and at the discretion of
the Executive Committee. Nominations will be made known to the society a
week before the AGM. Members will still be able to stand on the night but
they do this knowing that they may not receive postal votes.
4.5.5.
At least 50% of voting members, either present at the AGM or voting by
postal vote, must be in favour in order for a motion to be carried.
4.6.
Voting Procedure for the new Executive Committee
4.6.1.
The voting will be anonymous using voting slips.
4.6.2.
All members standing may state their preferred positions before the vote.
4.6.3.
Eligible society members may then vote to fill each position with the member that they believe is most suited for the role.
4.6.4.
Each candidate must have at least 50% of the total vote to be elected to the
Executive Committee.
4.6.5.
Each position on the Executive Committee is then allocated to the newly
elected member of the Executive Committee who has the majority vote for
that position
4.6.6.
If there are any tied votes or an executive member has the majority for
more than one position the positions will be decided at the discretion of the
new executive committee and the society will be notified.
5. Membership
5.1.
Membership of the Society shall be open to all Full, Associate and Honorary
members of the Union upon payment of the required subscription.
5.1.1.
Full membership is only open to the staff and students at the University of
Warwick and members of the University of Warwick Students' Union. Full
membership entitles the holder to vote at any Christian Focus meeting
other than Executive Committee.
5.1.2.
Associative membership - Membership shall also be open to non-Union
members at a subscription rate which shall reflect the true cost of the facilities made available to the members of the society. This rate is decided with
the Society Executive and the Student Activities Officer.
5.2.
All members of the Society shall be entitled to hold office and vote in elections
within the Society except that no person who receives payment for the provision
of services to a society shall be entitled to hold office within that society, no Honorary or Associate member of the Union may hold the office of Treasurer and no
non-member of the Union may hold any office in the Society.
6. The Executive Committee
6.1.
The duties of the Executive Committee should include but are not limited to the
following.
6.2.
The President shall:
6.2.1.
Be responsible for the day to day running of the society.
6.2.2.
Communicate with external bodies including affiliations and Focus On
speakers.
6.2.3.
Liaise with Chaplaincy staff and other Chaplaincy societies.
6.2.4.
Assume the role of chairperson at Christian Focus meetings.
6.3.
The Treasurer shall:
6.3.1.
Be responsible for keeping an up to date record detailing the societies accounts
6.3.2.
Formulate and submit an annual budget request to the relevant Students'
Union Department, after consultation with the other Executive members.
6.3.3.
Liase with the Students' Union Finance Department.
6.3.4.
Be responsible for the administration of financial transactions involving the
society.
6.4.
The Secretary shall:
6.4.1.
Record the minutes at Christian Focus executive meetings, including the
Annual and termly general meetings.
6.4.2.
Be responsible for the presentation of the minutes at the next meeting for
approval.
6.4.3.
Manage the Christian Focus library.
6.4.4.
Be responsible for communication with Focus Group Speakers.
6.5.
The Social Secretary shall:
6.5.1.
Organise social events with the aim to encourage a community atmosphere
within the society.
6.5.2.
Be responsible for making sure the Chaplaincy is left in a suitably clean
state after all Socials.
6.5.3.
Be responsible for organising a weekend away to encourage fellowship between new and existing members.
6.6.
The Publicity Officer shall:
6.6.1.
Be responsible for all the publicity concerning Christian Focus.
6.6.2.
Publicise the society through a range a media where appropriate.
6.6.3.
Increase awareness of the society.
6.7.
The Prayer Secretary shall:
6.7.1.
Be responsible for the organisation of Pre-Focus Prayer.
6.7.2.
Be responsible for the organisation of Time to Focus.
6.7.3.
Ensure that prayer meetings are inviting and nondiscriminatory to any denomination or member of Christian Focus.
6.7.4.
Be responsible for the administration of the prayer board.
6.8.
In addition to the above positions the Executive Committee will also elect:
6.8.1.
A Vice President, responsible for the role of president in the instance when
the president may not perform their duties. If the Executive Committee is
unable to appoint an executive member to this role the Treasurer will automatically be appointed.
6.8.2.
An Equal Opportunity Representative, who will be responsible for ensuring
the society follows the Equal Opportunities policy outlined in section 2.4.
6.8.3.
A Website Officer who will be responsible for ensuring the website is kept
up-to-date and that the content on the message board is inoffensive to all
members. (see section 8)
6.9.
The Executive Committee shall ensure that this constitution is upheld.
6.10. The Executive Committee has the right to alter and combine positions depending
on the number of members standing at the AGM.
6.11. The Executive Committee has the right to change positions among themselves
but the society must be informed of the change. This must be in an email to allow
members to raise any objections.
6.12. In the event of a resignation by a member of the Executive Committee the remaining Executive Committee can either decide to alter their positions among
themselves, which is done at their discretion and inform the society as in point
6.11, or re-open nominations for the position with elections to be held by the society at a General Meeting.
7. Doctrinal Basis
7.1.
We welcome members of all denominations and faiths and those of none. Because of the nature of the society, we do not have any form of Doctrinal Basis.
8. Website
8.1.
The website may be managed by any member of the society but it must be done
in cooperation with the agreed member of the Executive Committee.
8.2.
To the end of providing the society with the services to members as outlined in
section 2. The society will from time to time and as defined by the Executive
Committee choose to enhance and supplement the activities of the society
through web-based resources. These resources may have restricted access and
such access should be made available to all members of the society and other
people the Executive Committee feel would benefit from the facility. The Executive Committee has the right to create and enforce rules concerning these resources at their discretion.
9. Affiliations
9.1.
The society is affiliated to the University of Warwick Students' Union.
9.2.
The Executive Committee may choose to subscribe to bodies that share our
aims and objectives. This should not affect the societie's aims or objectives nor
does it force the members of the society to have individual membership.