The General
Assembly Open Meeting Policy
9926. The work of the church is strengthened when it is done
in a spirit of openness and trust. Church members have a basic
right to know about the work done and the decisions made by
entities within the church. Church leaders have a basic responsibility
to honor that right by conducting their business with a spirit
of openness and vulnerability to public scrutiny. Therefore,
open meetings shall be the norm for all such entities.
9927. It is the policy of the General Assembly, the General
Assembly Council, its divisions and Mission Support Services
Office, and of the entities and work groups related to them,
that their meetings shall be open to all interested persons.
9928. In certain circumstances, when the confidentiality of
the subject matter is impeding the open work of the group, its
meetings may be closed. These requirements apply:
(a) Subjects dealt with must be limited to property negotiation,
personnel, civil and criminal litigation, or security.
(b) Closed meetings may be authorized only after serious
consideration and by a majority vote of the members present.
Such closure must be limited in time and scope to matters
in 3(a) above.
(c) In closed meetings, only voting members and other persons
invited by the group to serve it are to be present.
(d) The reason(s) for closing must be announced before closure
and also must be recorded in the minutes.
(e) The decisions reached shall be recorded in the minutes,
and shall be made public as soon as possible following the
end of the closed meeting.
9929. Since staff groups have neither the authority nor responsibility
for establishing policy, their meetings are not subject to these
provisions. This does not preclude them from opening their meetings.
9930. The provisions of this policy shall apply to visitors
and representatives of both church and public media, including
print, electronic and photographic journalists.
9931. All the provisions of this policy are to be applied equitably
to all persons and groups.
9932. The Office of the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly
is responsible for resolving questions relating to the application
and interpretation of the open meeting policy.
Approved by the 209th General Assembly -- June, 1997
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