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Synagogue Rules

RULES OF SUKKAT SHALOM REFORM SYNAGOGUE

  1. General: These Rules are made under Clause 28 of the Constitution of Sukkat Shalom Reform Synagogue (“the Synagogue”). They can be amended only in accordance with the provisions of Clause 30 of the Constitution. These rules are to be read in conjunction with the Constitution and the Areas of Responsibility and Codes of Practice document. Where there is a conflict between the Areas of Responsibility and Codes of Practice and these Rules, these Rules shall prevail. A copy of the Constitution and these Rules shall be available on the Synagogue’s website or otherwise on request to any member who requests them.

 

  1. Public worship

 

  1. Divine Service shall be performed on Sabbaths and Holy Days and on such other occasions as the Senior Warden and Religious Activities Committee in consultation with the Rabbi (if any) may direct or approve, in the Synagogue or in such other places as the Trustees shall from time to time appoint. Every Service shall be performed partly in Hebrew and partly in English at the discretion of the service leader.

  2. The ritual to be used in the Synagogue shall be that agreed upon between the Rabbi (if any) and the Religious Activities Committee and approved by the Trustees and shall be in general conformity with the practices of the Movement for Reform Judaism and its successors.

  3. Special Services shall also be performed whenever the Trustees shall direct and on special occasions.

  4. The times at which all Services shall commence shall be determined by the Religious Activities Committee in conjunction with the Trustees and shall be published by some combination of notices exhibited in the Synagogue, notice to members by post or email, the Synagogue’s website and newsletter.

 

  1. Membership

    1. Children of a deceased Jewish mother whose other parent is not Jewish or who are under local authority care and control or who are wards of court or are adopted by non-Jewish parents and who are under 18 years of age may become members in their own right at a reduced fee, which shall include burial rights in the Jewish Joint Burial Society (JJBS).

    2. The Trustees may allow people to take up one of several types of Associate Membership. These are:

      1. Associate Non-Jewish Member

      2. Associate Non-Jewish Proselyte Member

      3. Associate Non-Jewish Member with Mixed Lawn Burial Rights

      4. Associate Jewish Member

    3. Associate membership shall exclude the following:

      1. Ability to send children to the Religion School (Cheder) free of charge unless the children’s other parent is a Full Member in their own right;

      2. Voting rights;

      3. The ability to stand as a Trustee;

      4. The right to serve on sub-committees of the Trustees;

      5. Burial rights in the JJBS for all categories of Associate Member apart from those in the category in 3(b)(iii)

    4. Any member offered associate membership under the category in 3(b)(iv) above must belong to and be a fee-paying member of another synagogue or burial society. This may be subject to annual checks.

    5. Members under the category in 3(b)(iii) shall be subject to a set of rules formulated by the Trustees in conjunction with the JJBS, which may be updated from time to time. Members in this category shall be notified of all rule changes as they occur.

    6. Members under the category in 3(b)(ii) must undergo a course of study which may lead to a Jewish Conversion. Should such an Associate Member drop out of the course, they would become a member under the category in 3(b)(i) if they continue to pay their subscriptions.

 

  1. Subscriptions and fees

    1. The Trustees may arrange to accept from any new or existing member a subscription lower than the normal scale, but (save in the cases of an exceptional nature) only on the terms that such reduced subscriptions shall be reviewed regularly by the Finance Committee.

    2. Subscriptions to the Synagogue shall be payable annually, quarterly or monthly in advance or as the Finance Committee may permit. No new member shall be entitled to any of the privileges of membership until the first payment or agreed stage payments of the subscription has been made. All new members will be encouraged to pay their subscriptions by standing order.

    3. The Trustees may levy an annual charge for every child that attends the synagogue Cheder (Religion School). The Trustees may also pass on the costs of Bar/Bat Mitzvah tuition to families that join the synagogue within 2 years of a child’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah.

    4. The Trustees may levy a charge for participation in adult education courses provided by external instructors.

    5. If a member’s membership is recommended for termination under clause 9.4(a)(iii) of the Constitution and the member in question is subject to a Late Entry Payment levied by the JJBS, the member will be notified by phone, letter or email of their potential loss of membership and the consequences in regard to their loss of burial (cremation) rights. The member will then have two months to reply and reach agreement with the CIO before their membership is terminated.

    6. The Trustees may levy a monthly surcharge on any subscription fees that are more than 12 months in arrears.

    7. The Trustees may levy a monthly surcharge on all subscriptions owing from a previous subscription year.

    8. The level of any surcharges imposed under clauses 4(f) and (g) shall be set by the Finance Committee and approved by the Trustees.

 

  1. Wardens

    1. The Religious Activities Committee shall, each year, at its first meeting following the Annual General Meeting of the Synagogue, appoint additional Wardens.

    2. The Senior Warden shall be responsible for the direction of duties of Wardens and preparation of a rota system to ensure that all Synagogue Services, Memorial Services, Weddings and other functions for which Wardens are requested have an appropriate number of Wardens allocated.

    3. At every Shabbat morning services there shall be at least one duty Warden and on special services a minimum of two duty Wardens. There may be a duty Warden at an erev Shabbat service if required.

 

  1. General Meetings

    1. The Annual General Meeting shall elect the Examiner for the ensuing year.

    2. Unless otherwise provided for in these Rules or the Constitution, the procedure at General Meetings shall be determined by the Chair of the CIO.

 

  1. Elections

    1. Positions to be elected at the Annual General Meeting shall include:

      1. Assistant Treasurer

      2. Chair of Youth Education

      3. Care-Coordinator

      4. Chair of House

      5. Head of Security

      6. Chair of Adult Education

    2. The total number of elected Trustees shall not exceed 14, including those officeholders specified in clause 12.3(a) of the Constitution and Rule 7(a).

    3. Where there is more than one nominee for a position and/or more nominees to serve as a Trustee than there are positions available, an election shall take place at the Annual General Meeting.

    4. Any election shall take place by secret ballot. The meeting shall elect two persons who are not themselves candidates to conduct the secret ballot and announce the result.

    5. Eligible members may choose to vote in an election by employing a proxy ballot as provided for in the Constitution.

    6. If there is equality of votes between any two or more of the candidates at an election, the Chair of the meeting shall have a second or casting vote.

    7. The election of the Examiner shall be conducted in such a manner as the Chair of the meeting may decide.

    8. A Trustee failing to attend a minimum of 50% of the Trustees meetings called between November and October each year will be ineligible for election or co-options as a Trustee during the following year.  This requirement is waived if the absences are due to pregnancy, maternity, disability or long-term serious illness.

    9. The maximum eligibility period in Clause 16 of the Constitution shall include service as a member of Council of Sukkat Shalom Reform Synagogue immediately before its incorporation as a CIO.

 

  1. Committees: The following committees shall exist under clause 19.3 of the Constitution:

 

  1. Religious Activities Committee (RAC): The RAC shall include the Rabbi (if any), the Senior Warden, and other Wardens (see Rule 5(a)), and may also include other individuals. The RAC shall be chaired by the Senior Warden or, in their absence, a suitable alternative.  The RAC will be responsible for recommending to the Trustees the ritual to be used in the Synagogue and shall, on the direction of the Trustees, make such regulations as may be required to ensure the proper and dignified performance of Divine Services.

  2. Youth Education Committee (YEC): The YEC shall include the Rabbi (if any) and the Chair of Youth Education and may include other members.  The YEC shall be chaired by the Chair of Youth Education or, in their absence, a suitable alternative. The YEC shall be responsible for recommending to the Trustees the curriculum to be used in the Cheder (Religion School) and shall, on the direction of the charity Trustees in conjunction with the RAC, make such regulations as may be required to ensure the proper preparation of B'nei Mitzvah.

  3. Adult Education Committee (AEC): The AEC shall include the Rabbi (if any) and the Chair of Adult Education and may include other members. The AEC shall be chaired by the Chair of Adult Education or, in their absence, a suitable alternative. The AEC shall be responsible for recommending to the Trustees the curriculum to be used in adult education classes. The AEC will also manage the relationship between the CIO and Leo Baeck College and its successors and any joint programmes between the two.

  4. Finance & Risk Committee: The Finance & Risk Committee shall include the Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer (if any) and the Chair of the CIO and may include other members on the invitation of the Treasurer. The Finance & Risk Committee shall be chaired by the Treasurer or, in their absence, the Assistant Treasurer (if any). The Finance & Risk Committee shall oversee all of the finances of the CIO, prepare new budgets annually, attend to arrears in subscriptions and make recommendations to the Trustees for deletion of members due to excessive arrears (see clause 9.4(a)(iii) of the Constitution).  The Treasurer and the Finance & Risk Committee shall also make recommendations to the Trustees in respect of the annual budget, subscriptions, charges for specific services including weddings and all salaries. The Treasurer and the Finance & Risk Committee shall regularly monitor the CIO’s exposure to risk by taking specific account of the CIO’s Risk Management Policy and report thereon with recommendations to the Trustees, appropriate.

  5. Tikkun Olam Group: The Tikkun Olam Group shall include the Rabbi (if any), Chair of the CIO and may include any other members who are interested in its work. The Group shall plan activities make recommendations to the Trustees around the themes of social justice, environmentalism, co-ordination with similar organisations and other such activities.

 

  1. Finance

    1. The Treasurer shall have the custody of and shall be responsible for the money and account books of the CIO. The books and records of the CIO may be kept in a computerised format.

    2. The Treasurer may not pay any moneys without the approval of the Trustees or the appropriate delegated authority except the fixed salaries, rents, rates, taxes, insurance and other usual outgoings.

    3. The Treasurer shall produce their account books, invoices, receipts and other documents to the Trustees whenever so requested to do so by the Trustees or by the Chair of the CIO.

    4. The accounts of the CIO shall be made up to 30th June in every year and they shall be Examined by a person suitably qualified to carry out those duties elected at the Annual General Meeting. Any casual vacancy in the office of Examiner shall be filled by the Trustees. The Examiner shall not be a Trustee nor shall they be eligible to serve on any committee or subcommittee that handles CIO funds.

    5. The Trustees are empowered to affiliate the CIO to the Movement for Reform Judaism and its successors and such other organisations whose aims and objectives are not inconsistent with the objects of the CIO as specified in Clause 3 of the Constitution. The Trustees are empowered to pay any subscriptions or other affiliation fees, provided that this is not inconsistent with the current rules of the Charity Commissioners and the Board of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.

    6. There can be a Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund. This Fund can be used at the discretion and initiative of the Rabbi for the advancement of study, job development, or in-service training of the Rabbi, or in such areas as the Rabbi deems appropriate.

    7. The Treasurer may delegate any of the above responsibilities to the Assistant Treasurer but shall ultimately be in overall control of all the finances of the CIO.

 

  1. Life cycle events

    1. The CIO may conduct marriages for both opposite gender and same gender couples who have been members of the CIO for 6 months.  The Trustees may, from time to time, make regulations concerning the conditions to be observed in connection with marriages at the synagogue or outside venues. In the absence of any specific regulations the Laws and practices of the Bet Din of the Movement for Reform Judaism and The West London Synagogue shall, so far as is applicable, be observed.

    2. The Trustees may, from time to time, in consultation with the Senior Warden and Rabbi (if any), make regulations with regard to the conditions to be observed in connection with the B’nei Mitzvah.

    3. Every Jewish member (apart from Associate Jewish Members) shall, subject to the terms of their admission to the CIO, be entitled to the right of burial or cremation for themselves and their unmarried children under the age of twenty-one years, at a burial ground selected or approved by the Trustees and the JJBS. The Trustees shall make suitable arrangements with the JJBS for the purpose of securing such burial rights.

    4. The CIO shall be a member of, and pay contributions to, the JJBS on behalf of its members and all matters relating to graves, burials, cremations and funerals should be handled in conjunction with the JJBS. In the absence of any specific regulations, the Laws and practices of the Bet Din of the Movement for Reform Judaism and its successors shall, so far as they are applicable, be observed.

    5. Every Associate Non-Jewish Member with Mixed Lawn Burial Rights shall, subject to the terms of their admission on joining the CIO, be entitled to the right of a double depth burial for themselves only in the Mixed Lawn Cemetery (Bullsmoor Ride Cheshunt) owned by the JJBS. The Trustees shall make suitable arrangements with the JJBS for the purpose of securing such burial rights.

    6. The rules relating to such Mixed Lawn Burials shall be formulated by the Trustees and they shall be updated from time to time and communicated to the members concerned on joining the CIO and throughout their membership of the CIO.

    7. All deceased Associate Non-Jewish Members with Mixed Lawn Burial Rights will be buried in a double depth grave with their deceased Jewish Partner. Such arrangements shall be subject to an agreement entered into by both parties during their lifetimes.

 

 

  1. Scheme of delegation: The Trustees may develop a scheme of delegation to delegate any of their powers to committees, subcommittees, individual Trustees, or individual employees of the CIO. Notwithstanding any such scheme, the Trustees shall have ultimate responsibility for the affairs and conduct of the CIO.

These revised Rules of Sukkat Shalom Reform Synagogue were adopted at the Annual] General Meeting of the Synagogue held on 12th November 2020

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