Article I

Name of Incorporated Parish and Canon Law

The name of this incorporated parish is Holy Trinity Episcopal Church located in Oxford, Ohio. As a parish in the Episcopal Church we promise conformity to the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church adopted in General Convention and of the Diocese of Southern Ohio.

Article II

Membership

Members of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (a.k.a. the Church) are defined in Title I, Canon 17, Sec. 1 (a) of the General Convention. This Canon states that any baptized person, whether in this Church or in another Christian Church, whose baptism has been duly recorded in the Protestant Episcopal Church, is a member.

Voting Members of the Parish

Voting members of the Parish are members sixteen years of age or older who have contributed, by subscription or otherwise, to the support of the Parish and who shall be entitled to enrollment on the list of members in good standing of the Parish. They are defined in Diocesan Canon XVI Section 2 and the Preliminary Canon.

Article III

Eligibility for Officers

All voting members of the parish are eligible for elective offices in this Parish, except that Wardens must be at least twenty-one years of age, and Delegates and Alternates to Diocesan Convention must be confirmed or received; and a majority of the members of Vestry must be twenty-one years of age or older (Diocesan Canons III, Section 4, XVI, Section 6, and the Preliminary Canon).

ARTICLE IV

Nomination Procedure

Section I. Nominating Committee for the Elections at the January Parish Meeting: The three retiring members of the Vestry and one other person who is not a member of the Vestry shall be appointed by the Vestry, shall serve as members of the Nominating Committee. The Vestry shall designate the chairperson of this committee and the Rector shall serve as an ex officio member of the committee.

Section II. Committee duties: The committee is to assure the nomination of at least one person for each of the following positions: Senior Warden, Junior Warden, three Vestry members, four Delegates and Alternates to Diocesan Convention The Nominating Committee shall publish these nominations to the Perish not later than December Ist, including the information found in Section 3 below.

Section 3. Nominating Procedures: In October the Nominating Committee shall make a report to the parish including the following information: the retiring members of the Vestry, the remaining members of the Vestry, eligibility requirements for positions for which nominations are to be made, and the members of the Nominating Committee. Nominations are to be opened no later than early in November by means of a copy of this report, including an attached Nomination Form. Any member of the congregation (including members of the Nominating Committee) may place the name of any eligible member of the congregation in nomination for an office by completing the form and giving it to the chair of the Nominating Committee. Nominations must be seconded and the consent of the person nominated must be obtained. At a pre-announced date the Nominating Committee shall meet to review the nominations received and to ensure a slate of nominees that is complete and representative of the parish as a whole prior to the announcement of the nominations. The Nominating Committee shall check eligibility for office of all persons whose names are submitted. The Nominating Committee shall endeavor to ensure continuity for Diocesan Delegates and for Wardens when possible, by assuring that each year at least one nominee for Warden shall have been a Warden or Vestry member in the year just completed.

Article V

Election Procedures

Section 1. Order of Elections: In all elections preference voting by those present and voting shall be used. The Senior and Junior Wardens shall be first elected, in succession, on separate ballots. Vestry members shall be elected by a single ballot. Delegates to Diocesan Convention and Alternates to Diocesan Convention shall be elected on single ballots. These election procedures shall be consistent with Canon XVI, Section 3, of the Canons of the Diocese of Southern Ohio.

Section 2. Terms of Office: The Senior Warden and Junior Warden, Delegates and Alternates to Diocesan Convention shall be elected each year. The Vestry shall consist of eleven members: Senior Warden, Junior Warden, and nine Vestry members, with three Vestry members elected each year to serve three year terms. Vestry members who have just completed serving the entirety of a three- year term may not be re-elected until they have been off the vestry for one year. A Senior Warden who has just completed three consecutive one-year terms may not be elected Senior Warden or Junior Warden until a year has elapsed.

Section 3. Election by the Vestry: As directed by Canon XVI, sections 10, 11, of the Canons of the Diocese of Southern Ohio, the Vestry shall elect each year a Treasurer and a Secretary. An assistant to the Treasurer may be appointed. These officers shall be expected to attend all meetings of the Vestry, including executive sessions, along with all Associate or Assistant Ministers of the parish. These persons are to have voice, but no vote, unless they are elected at the January Parish Meeting as directed in Section 1 of this article of the By-laws. When vacancies occur in any elected office the Vestry may elect qualified persons to fill such vacancies.