Rules

FIGU-Carolina Rules

October 29, 2019
Group is herein defined as “FIGU-Interessengruppe für Missionswissen Carolina”
Visting Participants are herein defined as approved individuals who reside in the USA & Canada.
FIGU-Carolina Members are defined by Rule 8.
Locals are herein defined as those who reside within the Carolinas and those in the proximity of the Carolinas in states without groups.
Quarters are defined as:
December through February
March through May
June through August
September through November

 

Rules:

 

Study Group Meeting:

 

1. For Visiting Participants, FIGU-Carolina Members, and Locals – First Monday of the Month Study Group Meetings are from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (EST).

 

2. Meeting times for FIGU-Carolina Members and Locals:

    • Along with the first Monday of the month, we meet on the second Monday of the month online in the application called Element.
    • We meet in person once in a 3-month cycle (quarter).
    • We meet for the second peace meditation on the third Saturday of the month online in the application called Element.

 

3a. Official Meeting is on the last Monday of the month. 8 p.m. – 10 p.m. (EST). Attendance is expected.
3b. The following Wednesday, which is optional, is a FIGU Writing Review. 8 p.m. – 10 p.m. (EST)

 

4. Absentee is responsible for updating himself/herself on what was read during the last study meeting which will be updated in the meeting-notes discord channel after each reading.

 

5. A Summary will be sent to FIGU at the end of every 3 months, after being reviewed at our Official Meeting.
    • What we have done.
    • What we are doing now.
    • What we will continue doing

 

6. Consideration shall be given to sensitive topics prior to posting on the website and all publishings shall be reviewed by the Group.

 

6a. Submissions for the newsletter shall be submitted for review at the Official Meeting by May of each year. Can share or read things that we wrote during the in-person meeting.

 

6b. Newsletter shall be published at the end of October of each year.

 

7. Topics shall be voted on when 3/4 of the FIGU-Carolina Members are present. A unanimous agreement is required for all rules, regulations, resolutions and decisions (except in elections for the offices). If a vote personally affects an individual, that person is not allowed to vote on his/her own item. Abstaining from voting is allowed.

 

8. FIGU-Carolina Membership

 

a. FIGU-Carolina Members are defined as individuals, who come to at least 1 in-person meeting per year. FIGU-Carolina Members have the right to vote on group matters. The participant must express interest in applying to become a member.

 

b. Before joining, a group discussion shall first take place to clarify all the facts arising for and against as well as the motives of the participant. A 2-year probationary period shall then take place for admission to the group as a FIGU-Carolina member, after which a final admission shall only take place if proof of effective suitability and noble reasons for the valuable interests of the FIGU-Carolina exist. Confirmed admission into the FIGU-Carolina group, or rejection by the whole FIGU-Carolina group where possible, will be made by means of a unanimous voting resolution, in which case the general behaviour, the seriousness regarding the application of the teaching as well as the commitment regarding the fulfillment of duty, and so forth, is to be decisively evaluated.

 

c. If someone resides in a nearby US state or US territory without an interest group, they may become a FIGU-Carolina Member.

 

d. If a FIGU-Carolina Member is going to be absent, he/she shall inform the Group, and the Group can vote as to whether or not to waive the meeting requirement on a case-by-case basis. Persons, who are members, who don’t show up for the Official Meeting for 3 months in a row without giving a reason for their absence, will then lose membership.

 

9. Participation:

 

a. One can participate in the Monday Meetings or In-person Meetings, but they must seek participation out of their own initiative*, through the “Contact Us” page on the website which may be shared by anyone. In order to meet In-person, one must attend at least 1 Monday meeting online. In any case, you must check with the group for approval before bringing a new guest or sharing a public link to the chat unless they are a FIGU Passive member. When someone requests to join, they will be sent a set of questions, or asked in person/online. The FIGU-Carolina Members will be informed at this point and a vote will be held, to be completed in one week or less. If someone gives a negative vote, then at the Official Meeting, the disagreement will be brought up and voted upon. If the group unanimously votes against allowing the person requesting to participate, then the decision stands. Otherwise, they will be allowed to participate.
* Refer to “FIGU in a Nutshell,” #36 https://main.figucarolina.org/figu-in-a-nutshell/

 

b. Visiting Participants may put forward suggestions and/or comments, and those items shall be discussed during the Official Meeting.

 

c. Reading, whether in German or English, is always optional.

 

10. The Group structure follows the FIGU Statutes, which can be found https://www.figu.org/ch/files/downloads/sonstiges/figu_statuten_de-en.pdf, as well as the interest group rules, found https://main.figucarolina.org/storage/2019/10/IG-meeting-minutes-1.pdf.

 

11. In-person Meeting: The group members shall agree upon a place and time for an in-person meeting. Planning begins during the first Official Meeting after an in-person meeting. Email to be sent out to both members and locals. Any passive members within the USA or Canada who request to come to an in-person meeting can be added to the email invite.

 

12. During translations, if words are disagreed upon, then an explanation will be given by each party of how they think the translated word fits the German word better than the other, and everyone will decide/vote after these explanations. If deadlocked or if someone needs time to think before an explanation is given, then it will be tabled until the next meeting.

 

13. If a document, announcement, letter, or other information (including group or personal/private matters) coming from inside or outside the group (i.e. from the SSSC in Switzerland or some other group or individual) for internal sharing, the group shall keep this confidential and only discuss and share within meetings during meeting times. In addition, the discussion of other groups’ or persons’ private matters should be avoided during meetings. A vote shall be held as to whether a thing should remain confidential or become public. (Refer to Article 2a, letters c. through f. of the FIGU Statutes.)

 

14. Annual Membership dues:
When are the member dues calculated? End of the year.
When are bills sent out? By January 31st
When are the payments due? By March 31st
Members can view an itemized list in the accessible spreadsheet on the Hub and individuals can bring up expenses or questions about it during meetings. The spreadsheet is located at Kasse/Kasse.ods and the receipts are located in Kasse/Uploads

 
 

15. If anyone attending the meeting breaks a rule, a reminder will be given. If a rule is broken a second time, a formal fair warning will be given. Any time after the second violation, the FIGU-Carolina Members will vote to decide how to handle the situation.

 

Schedule:

https://main.figucarolina.org/category/uncategorized/schedule/

 

Documents

Bedingungen_f_Interessengruppen_dt_engl_1.pdf
FIGU-Groups_and_Non-hierarchical_Structures.pdf
Studiengruppe_Guidelines_complete_final.pdf
Working_and_Learning_Within_The_Group.pdf
Seven_Principles_of_FIGU_Groups.pdf