Association of Polytheist Traditions

1 Our AIMS

1.1 The aims and purposes of the Association of Polytheist Traditions shall be:

To provide a cooperative, non-discriminatory and non-hierarchical resource and forum for polytheists; and to advance public knowledge and understanding of the teachings, beliefs, traditions and practices of the religions and philosophies of polytheists and their communities in Britain and elsewhere in the world,

with the following specific objectives:

1.1.1 establishment of places for and means of communication, discussion and networking among polytheists

1.1.2 development and provision of resources and information for polytheists, and for the wider community about polytheist religions, including their distinctive features and common ground

1.1.3 development and furthering of knowledge about polytheisms through primary research into polytheist understandings and practices, past and present

1.1.4 establishment and maintenance of cooperative working with pagan and interfaith, and other religious, organisations to achieve shared aims

1.1.5 presentation of polytheist interests to or within other social and spiritual institutions and organisations as appropriate

1.1.6 ensuring that structures and representations of APT are and remain accountable to the membership, and that the divers traditions of today’s polytheism within APT receive equal and fair treatment and representation within the organisation so that no single tradition may predominate.

1.2. In furtherance of the above aims and objectives APT shall have powers including the following:-

1.2.1 to establish and provide representative and accountable forums for debate and discussion of polytheism

1.2.2 to produce and publish written and other materials to present polytheist understandings and interests publicly; and to contribute to materials produced elsewhere as appropriate

1.2.3 to establish communication networks including representatives or spokespersons of polytheist traditions, APT, other pagan organisations or traditions, and other organs of today's society such as media, legal, governmental and educational institutions; and to participate in existing networks as appropriate

1.2.4 to establish opportunities for research and debate of polytheist ideas and practices: e.g. sponsorship of primary-sources research and organisation of conferences

1.2.5 to provide an information service and maintain a list of speakers and persons practising different polytheist faiths and philosophies and able to present these to or within public bodies, educational bodies, and other interested groups and parties.

2 Membership

2.1 Becoming a member of APT.

2.1.1 To become a full member of APT you must be 18 or over, have read the aims of the Association, define yourself as polytheist according to the understanding attached this Constitution as Appendix 3, and sign an oath to endorse and honour those aims.

Full members have the right to attend the AGM, and any SGM called, to stand for positions on the committee, to nominate, second and vote for candidates in APT elections to the committee, to propose, second and vote on motions for the consideration of the APT membership, to receive communications from APT in electronic or printed form, to attend events organised by APT at a reduced fee and to play a full part in the workings of APT.

2.1.2 To become an associate member of APT you must be 18 or over, be interested in learning about polytheism, have read the aims of the Association and agree to endorse and honour those aims. You need to be aware that associate members do not have voting rights.

Associate members have the right to attend the AGM and any SGM called, to receive communications from APT in electronic or printed form, to attend events organised by APT at a reduced fee and to be notified of the workings of APT.

2.2 there are currently two types of membership available.

2.2.1 Full members with voting rights and full access to services etc and

2.2.2 Associate members with no voting rights who otherwise have full access to services etc.

2.2.3 Both memberships currently have the same fee.

2.2.4 There shall be NO HONORARY MEMBERS WITH VOTING RIGHTS, nor any other membership giving voting rights without paid, full membership at any time either now or in the future.

2.2.5 To change membership rule 2.2.4. requires the agreement of 100% of the membership.

2.3 The statements and oaths are to be found at appendix 1 (full membership) and appendix 2 (associate membership)

2.4 The Membership Year shall commence on 01 June and expire on 31 May.

2.4.1 The membership fee shall be the same for both full and associate members for a full membership year. This Fee shall include the subscription to the Association's periodical newsletter, inclusive of postage and packaging, and shall be set by the Committee each year at an appropriate time.

2.4.2 No reduction or remission of membership fees shall be made in respect of persons leaving, resigning or being suspended or expelled from the Association at any time.

2.4.3 New members: A new member (i.e. not an existing member renewing their subscription) who joins between either 01 February or the AGM (whichever is earlier) and 31 May shall, upon payment of the membership fee, have an initial membership period which runs until 31 May of the subsequent calendar year.

3 Finance

3.1 Elected members of the Committee have their signatures registered with the bank to enable them to sign cheques.

3.2 The treasurer shall hold a chequebook, with one of the other signatories also holding a chequebook.

3.3 Only one signature is required for 'maintenance' payments with the Committee deciding what constitutes maintenance. A list shall be kept by the Committee members of the organisations or individuals coming under this heading.

3.4 Only one signature is required for bills under £50, whether maintenance or not. All other cheques require two signatures.

3.5 The Treasurer shall provide a monthly account of incomings and outgoings to each Committee member no later than 5 weeks after the previous monthly statement of account.

3.6 The Committee shall appoint an independent auditor each year to examine the annual accounts. This person is to be competent to do the job and shall not be a serving member of the Committee or a known relative or close friend of the treasurer.

3.7 Audited annual accounts are to be presented to the Committee no later than 6 weeks before the AGM, and the auditor's comments (if any), sent to members with the AGM agenda and any comments by the Committee.

3.8 The annual accounts are an obligatory item on the AGM agenda, and are presented by the treasurer unless there is good reason preventing the treasurer from attending.

3.9 If the bank account is likely to become overdrawn, the Committee shall be alerted within 2 days of the Treasurer becoming aware of this, or as soon as possible.

4 The Committee

4.1 APT shall be led by the people filling the posts of Helm and Speaker, equally.

4.2 Initially, there shall be no more than 10 members of the Committee, including co-opted members. Two further seats may be added when the membership exceeds 500. No further seats may be added. This rule may only be altered by a vote of two thirds of all members of the APT.

4.3 Job Descriptions:

4.3.1 HELM: the Helm shall have the overall management of the inward facing activities of the APT, including such internal operation and structures required for the organisation of the APT, and the APT officers involved in these activities.

4.3.2 SPEAKER: the Speaker shall have the overall management of the outward facing activities of the APT, including interaction with other bodies, organisations and the media, and the APT officers involved in these activities.

4.3.3 SECRETARY: the Secretary shall be the recorder, memory and archivist of the APT and be responsible for the creation and maintenance of its records in a legible form and commonly accessible format, and the provision of information from them as directed by the Committee.

4.3.4 TREASURER: the Treasurer shall keep the finances of APT in accordance with the rules of this constitution and under the direction of the Committee and in accordance with current legislation.

4.3.5 MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY: the Membership Secretary shall maintain the records of members of APT in a secure fashion and in accordance with current legislation, in such a way as to enable the relevant rules in this constitution to be carried out and to facilitate access to these records for the proper purposes of the APT.

4.4 Election of the Committee:

4.4.1 Five posts are reserved for specific election: Helm, Speaker, Secretary, Treasurer and Membership Secretary. Any candidate may stand for election to one of these posts, or, alternatively, as a candidate for non-specified membership of the Committee. The candidate achieving the most votes in each individual election for a specified post shall be elected to that post. The remaining five seats on the committee shall be filled from the five candidates standing for non-specified places who achieve the most votes in that category. This is the first selection process.

4.4.2 If any places (specified or non-specified) remain vacant, they shall be filled by those candidates not elected through the first selection process, in order of greatest number of votes gained, either until all places on the Committee are filled, or until there are no remaining candidates. This shall be the second selection process.

4.4.3 If there are any remaining places on the Committee, these may be filled by co-opting people onto the Committee, at the discretion of the elected members of the Committee.

4.4.4 If not filled by specific election of candidates to the office, the positions of Helm, Speaker, Secretary, Treasurer and Membership Secretary shall be filled by those elected to the Committee. If it is not possible to fill the posts of Secretary, Treasurer or Membership Secretary, and the numbers on the Committee permit it, these posts may be filled by co-option. If it is impossible to elect a suitably qualified person to the post of Treasurer, the Committee may co-opt up to three people they consider suitable to handle the various tasks involved. At least one of these people (whichever one the Committee agrees on for any given meeting) shall attend Committee meetings to discuss financial matters.

4.4.5 Candidates for Committee posts must obtain a nominator and a seconder from among the membership of APT. These nominations (and a candidate’s statement of no more than 200 words) shall be sought by the Secretary 3 months before the AGM for a period of one month and may be sent by the candidate directly to the Secretary, and the names of the nominator and seconder and their email or postal addresses as applicable.

4.4.6 These nominations may be sent by email or post: if by email, then using the candidate’s normal email address, which has been made known to the APT. If any of these people (the candidate, nominator or seconder), does not have an email address, written confirmation of support for the candidate standing for the post must be sent to the Secretary within the time limit for submitting the nomination. The Secretary shall then seek confirmation of those persons' current membership from the Membership Secretary.

4.4.7 Postal voting shall commence one month prior to the AGM and close no later than 3 days before the AGM. Postal votes shall be opened at the AGM and added to votes cast in person at the AGM, and the results of the elections announced at the AGM.

4.4.8 Those seeking election should make every attempt to attend the AGM or otherwise inform the Secretary if they have an interest in a particular post on the Committee, should they be elected. This information must be passed on to the newly elected Helm as soon as the results of the elections have been announced.

4.5 Co-opted members do not have a vote in committee meetings, though they shall be able to exercise all other duties as Committee members.

4.6 Where voting is tied, either the committee will defer the business for further consideration or, if the majority of those present prefer, make the casting vote by tossing a coin.

5 Meetings

5.1 Committee Meetings

5.1.1 The quorum for a meeting shall be 3 if the Committee is 7 or less, or 4 if 8 or more, and must include two out of the following four : Helm, Speaker, Secretary or Treasurer. Each member of the Committee must attend at least 4 meetings out of the 6 and shall be dismissed from the Committee at the occasion of a breach of this rule unless the Committee finds their reasons for not attending the meetings acceptable. This shall not disbar them from standing for the committee again, but they shall be required to make explanation for their failure in their candidate’s statement.

5.1.2 The Committee shall meet at least 6 times a year to dispose of all outstanding business, and at least two of those shall be face to face. One shall be immediately after the AGM if possible.

Immediately after the election of the Committee, an extra meeting shall take place within the AGM to allocate the roles of Helm, Speaker, Secretary, Treasurer and Membership Secretary if no-one has been elected through specific election, or to make other arrangements for the work of the APT to continue uninterrupted until the first Committee meeting can be held.

Meetings shall be held with due consideration of the distance each member has to travel, and a venue sought which is accessible by public transport and to those with disabilities, if at all possible.

5.1.3 An agenda for each Committee meeting shall be compiled beforehand by the Secretary and given to Committee members (after agreement with the Helm and Speaker) no later than one week before the meeting (except where the meeting takes place immediately after, or within one week of, the AGM). The Secretary shall enable accurate and adequate minutes of each meeting to be taken, agreed following the meeting with those present, and made available to members in electronic format or in hard copy on request. All committee members shall be able to ask for items to be placed upon the agenda before it is finalised. AOB shall be reserved for items arising after the finalisation of the agenda.

5.2 Annual General meeting

5.2.1 The quorum for an AGM shall be 9 full members, of whom at least 3 should be members of the outgoing Committee.

5.2.2 Timetable

5.2.2.1 The AGM date, time and potential or actual venue shall be announced to the membership as early as possible, but no later than 3 months in advance.

5.2.2.2 Nominations for committee posts shall be submitted 3 months before the AGM for a period of one month, in accordance with Rule 4.4.5. above, and voted on in accordance with Rule 4.4.6.

5.2.2.3 Motions for rule changes shall be submitted to the Secretary no later than two months p