





CUC exists to foster communication, understanding and support between Christian groups and between all Christians in Cambridge, and to bear witness to their unity in the worship of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.
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Constitution of Christians in Unity in Cambridge – 15th February 2005.
Christians in Unity in Cambridge was formerly the Cambridge Student Christian Council. For completeness' sake, the old Constitution is still available.
CONSTITUTION
CHRISTIANS IN UNITY IN CAMBRIDGE
Resolutions:
- Name and Object of Society
- of Structure
- of Individual Membership
- of Affiliated Societies and Groups
- of the Council
- of Council-elected Representatives
- of Meetings of the Council
- of General MeetingsVisitors
- of the Convenor
- of the Secretary
- of the Treasurers
- of College Representatives
- Alterations to these Rules
It is resolved:
- That this society be called "Christians in Unity in Cambridge" (hereafter "CUC").
- That the object of CUC be to foster communication, understanding and support between Christian groups and between all Christians in Cambridge, united in the worship of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, and to bear witness to that same unity.
- That CUC shall comprise individual Members and Affiliated Societies and Groups.
- That CUC shall be governed by a Council (as set out in Section E).
- That membership of CUC shall be open to all members of Affiliated Societies or Groups and to any other interested individuals.
- That any such individual as stated in (C1) above may claim membership by notification of his name and email address to the Secretary, who shall maintain a list of Members.
- That such notification as stated in (C2) above may be made directly by the individual concerned or by any Council Member or College Representative acting on behalf of said individual.
- That each Member shall be entitled to receive a Term Card periodically and shall be kept informed of Events by email.
- That any Member may rescind his membership of CUC by notification to the Secretary, who shall delete his name and email address from the list of Members.
- That Affiliation to CUC shall be open to all student Groups and Societies in Cambridge who whole-heartedly concur with CUC's object as stated in (A2) above, and such non-student groups whose affiliation the Council decides would further the objectives of CUC.
- That any Council Member may propose that a Society or Group be invited to be Affiliated to CUC by informing the Convenor who shall give written notice to the Council Members at least 10 days prior to a Council Meeting.
- That such a proposal as stated in (D2) above shall be voted on at the next Council Meeting at which at least three quarters of Voting Council Members are present or have submitted a postal vote.
- That the proposed new Affiliated Society or Group shall be invited by the Convenor to join the Council on approval of a two-thirds majority of those voting as referred to in (D3) above. (This is the only way for a society to affiliate to CUC.)
- That any Affiliated Society or Group may disaffiliate by giving written notice to the Convenor.
- That any Affiliated Society or Group which has not sent a Representative or apologies to any Council meeting for 12 months, every attempt having been made by the Convenor to keep it fully informed, shall be deemed to have disaffiliated. Any such Society or Group may reapply for membership in the future under the provisions of (D2-4) above.
- That any Council Member may propose that an Affiliated Society or Group be disaffiliated by informing the Convenor who shall give written notice to the Council Members at least 10 days prior to a Council Meeting.
- That any such proposal as stated in (D7) above shall be voted on at the next Council Meeting at which at least three quarters of Voting Council Members are present or have submitted a postal vote.
- That the Affiliated Group or Society will be disaffiliated on approval of a two-thirds majority of those voting as referred to in (D8) above.
- That each Affiliated Society or Group shall be represented on the Council with one Vote although it may send more than one Representative to the Council.
- That the Council Member(s) representing an Affiliated Society or Group on the Council shall be responsible for promoting CUC and encouraging membership thereof within their Society or Group insofar as that may be appropriate.
- That Affiliated Societies and Groups shall pay an annual Subscription to CUC, but that this may be waived at the discretion of the Council by a simple majority vote of those present.
- That the Rate of the Subscription shall be set by the Council from time to time by a simple majority vote of those present.
- That the CUC Council shall comprise a Convenor (ex officio), at least one Representative from each CUC Affiliated Society, and up to two Council-Elected Representatives.
- That a Council Member, other than the Convenor, shall be elected as Secretary.
- That a Council Member, other than the Convenor, shall be elected as Junior Treasurer.
- That the Elections of the Convenor, Secretary, Junior Treasurer and the Council-Elected Representatives shall take place annually at a Council meeting in Lent Term which will occur at least 2 weeks after the Annual General Meeting.
- That the Convenor, Secretary or Junior Treasurer may resign from the post by giving notice to the Council at any meeting, after which time a successor should be elected as soon as possible by the Council at a following Council meeting. Anyone thus elected shall serve until the next annual Elections as in (E4) above.
- That it will be the responsibility of the Convenor to ensure that these positions are publicised. If the Convenorship is vacant it shall be the responsibility of the Council as a whole.
- That a Representative of an Affiliated Society or Group who is unable to be present at a meeting may:
- Send another member of that Society or Group as a substitute, or
- Request a postal vote, providing that the request is presented to the Convenor at least one day before the meeting and that the vote is placed in a sealed envelope, signed by the Representative and in the hands of the Convenor prior to the commencement of the meeting.
- That a Council-Elected Representative who is unable to be present at a meeting may request a postal vote, providing that the request is presented to the Convenor at least one day before the meeting and that the vote is placed in a sealed envelope, signed by the Representative and in the hands of the Convenor prior to the commencement of the meeting.
- That any Member who whole-heartedly concurs with CUC's object as stated in (A2) above may put himself forward for the rôle of Council-Elected Representative on the Council by notice in writing to the Convenor at least 7 days before the Council Meeting at which the Election is to be held.
- That three quarters of the Voting Council Members must be present at the Election.
- That, in electing Council-Elected Representatives, the Council shall have a view to making the Council as representative of the membership of CUC as possible within the object of CUC as stated in (A2) above.
- That individuals standing for election as Council-Elected Representatives shall have the opportunity to present themselves to the meeting at which the Election is to take place.
- That at that meeting the Council must first approve each Nomination in principle with a two-thirds majority.
- That, if there be more approved Nominations than there are Vacancies for Council-Elected Representatives, the Council shall vote on these Nominations using the Single Transferable Vote system as prescribed by University of Cambridge Ordinances and amended in Appendix A, and in the event of a tie shall decide the winner by the toss of a coin.
- That the Council shall meet at least twice during each Full Term of the University of Cambridge academic year.
- That written notice shall be given to each Council Member of the date and time of all meetings, at least ten days prior to the meeting. Ideally a provisional agenda should accompany this.
- That all Council Meetings be open to all Members of CUC. They may take part in a discussion, with the chairperson's permission, but only Council Members may vote.
- That the Council may decide to meet in Closed Session if this would facilitate the work of CUC.
- That the Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held in the first half of Lent Term, at which the accounts of CUC will be presented and a review of the year will take place. The AGM is an opportunity for all Members to hear about and give feedback on the work of CUC, featuring an open forum for consultation.
- That the date of the AGM shall be set at a Council Meeting at the end of the Michaelmas Term and widely publicised.
- That a provisional agenda shall be published 10 days prior to the meeting.
- That an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of CUC may be convened by two Council Members giving notice in writing to the Convenor who shall give at least 10 days notice of the EGM and its agenda to the membership of CUC.
- That the Convenor be a Member of the Council ex officio.
- That any Member who whole-heartedly concurs with CUC's object as stated in (A2) above shall be eligible for election as Convenor.
- That the Convenor shall not have a vote save for a casting vote when required.
- That the Convenor shall be responsible for ensuring that the decisions of the Council are put into practice.
- That the Convenor shall be responsible for notifying the Council Members of all meetings with the statutory notice and ensuring that a suitable venue and chairperson are found for each meeting.
- That the Convenor in place at the end of the Lent Term be responsible for ensuring that CUC receives an entry in the CUSU handbook.
- That the Secretary be responsible for all external correspondence of CUC subject to the direction of meetings of the Council.
- That the Secretary shall be responsible for the recording of the minutes of each meeting and their subsequent circulation to all Council Members within two weeks of the meeting.
- That the Secretary shall maintain Lists of Members of CUC; of Affiliated Societies and Groups; of Council Members, as determined by the Affiliated Societies or Groups in the case of their Representatives and as determined by the Council in the case of the Convenor and Council-Elected Representatives; and of College Representatives.
- That the Council invite a member of Deans and Chaplains, a Fellow of a College, or a University Teaching Officer to become Senior Treasurer; and that he oversees the Council's financial affairs in accordance with University Statutes and, if possible, will act as a link to the Deans and Chaplains.
- That the Senior Treasurer shall not be liable for any financial debt or other obligations of the Society, unless he has personally authorised such a debt in writing.
- That, subject to the oversight of Senior Treasurer as in (K1) above, the Junior Treasurer shall:
- Have charge of all of the financial transactions of CUC,
- Keep an account of CUC's funds and
- Present a record of them at the AGM and as required.
- That, as far as possible, each College shall have one or more College Representatives appointed by the Council on an informal basis.
- That these Representatives shall be responsible for promoting CUC and encouraging membership thereof within their College.
- That their names and addresses shall be publicised by the Council and as much possible within the College (for example via Chapel Term Cards and Noticeboards).
- That ten days' notice must be given of any proposed changes.
- That these rules may be changed at any Council Meeting at which at least three quarters of Voting Council Members are present or have submitted a postal vote.
- That an alteration will be accepted by a vote of two thirds or more of those present, except for alterations which affect the meaning, interpretation or scope of articles (A2), (D6-D9) and (M2-M3), for which a unanimous decision of the Council Members present is required.
Passed by the Cambridge Student Christian Council, 15th February A.D. 2005
- Where the masculine pronoun has been used in this Constitution, it is purely for the sake of convenience.
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Written Notice includes Notice given by email.
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