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TABLE OF CONTENTS
The name of this Church is "The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme. " We confess our faith in God, our Heavenly Father, and our reverent love for Jesus Christ our Saviour, and our willingness to be guided by the Holy Spirit. We promise as members of this Church to walk together as Christian brethren, obedient to the teachings of the Holy Scriptures, and to submit to the government and discipline of this Church until we are regularly dismissed therefrom. And this we do for the glory of God, for the good of our fellow men and women, and for our mutual growth in Christian grace, seeking to do all in faith, fellowship, and service, in the spirit of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen. This Church recognizes the Bible as the sufficient rule of faith and practice, and holds that living in accordance with the teachings of Jesus Christ is the true test of fellowship. Each member shall have the undisturbed right to follow the Word of God according to the dictates of his own conscience, under the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. Any statement of faith, therefore, is not a test but an expression of the Spirit in which the Church interprets the Word of God. The basis of our Congregational fellowship is not a creed but a covenant, and those who make such a covenant with one another constitute a Congregational Church. The government of this Church is vested in its members who exercise the right of control in all its affairs and assume under Christ the control of and the responsibility for its own affairs and actions. While this Church is amenable to no ecclesiastical judicatory, it accepts the obligations of mutual council, comity, and cooperation involved in the free fellowship of the Congregational Christian Churches, and shares in the common aims and work of other churches and ecumenical organizations of like mind and purpose. The pulpit of this Church is entrusted to the Senior Minister elected by its members in order that he or she, with serious appreciation of the solemn responsibility involved, may, free from interference, preach the Word of God as he or she understands it. This Constitution may be amended by a favorable vote of two-thirds of the active members in good standing present and voting in any annual or special meeting at which a quorum is present. Written notice of the proposed amendments shall be mailed to all active members at least two weeks prior to the meeting and be posted prominently in the Church and read from the pulpit on two consecutive Sundays prior to the meeting. If the meeting occurs on a Sunday, then that Sunday may be one of the two consecutive Sundays. Such written notice shall specify the time and place of such meeting and the proposed amendment or amendments. Revised January 26, 2003 |
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