64 - Changing system of trustees.

§  64.  Changing  system  of  trustees.  1.  If  the  trustees  of  an  incorporated Presbyterian church in  connection  with  the  Presbyterian  Church  (U.S.A.)  shall  at  any  time  be  elective as trustees and not  trustees by virtue of being spiritual officers, the church  may,  at  an  annual  corporate  meeting if notice thereof be given with the notice of  such meeting, determine that  the  board  of  deacons  thereof,  or  the  session  with the board of deacons thereof, or the session thereof shall  thereafter constitute the trustees thereof, and thereupon the  presiding  officer  of  such meeting and at least two other persons present thereat  shall sign, acknowledge and cause to be filed and recorded a certificate  stating the fact of  such  determination,  the  names  of  the  officers  determined  upon  to  be the ex officio trustees thereof and thereon the  terms of office of such elective trustees shall cease, and the  officers  determined upon by such corporate meeting and their successors in office  shall,  by  virtue  of their respective offices, be the trustees of such  church.    2. If,  at  any  time,  the  spiritual  officers  of  an  incorporated  Presbyterian church in connection with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.),  which  officers  by  virtue  of  their  offices  constitute the trustees  thereof,  shall  determine  to  submit  to  a  meeting  of  such  church  corporation  the  question  whether the trustees of such church shall be  thereafter elective  as  such  trustees,  they  shall  cause  a  special  corporate  meeting  of  such  church to be called and held in the manner  provided in section sixty-five  of  this  chapter,  and  such  corporate  meeting  shall  determine  whether  the  trustees  of  such church shall  thereafter be elective in pursuance of this article and also whether the  number of such trustees shall be  three,  six,  nine,  twelve,  fifteen,  eighteen,  twenty-one,  or  twenty-four  and  the  date  of  the  annual  corporate meeting of the church. If such meeting  shall  determine  that  such  trustees shall thereafter be elective as such trustees, the number  of such trustees and the date of the first annual corporate  meeting  of  the church, the presiding officer thereof and at least two other persons  present and voting thereat shall sign, acknowledge and cause to be filed  and  recorded  in  the  office  of  the clerk of the county in which the  certificate of incorporation of such church is filed  a  certificate  of  such  determination  of  such  meeting;  thereafter the trustees of such  church shall be elective in pursuance of this  article.    At  the  next  annual corporate meeting after the filing of such certificate, one-third  of  the  number  of  trustees  so determined on shall be elected to hold  office for one year, one-third for two years  and  one-third  for  three  years,  the  officers of such church who by virtue of their offices have  been trustees of such church shall then cease to be  such  trustees  and  thereafter  the  trustees  of  such church and their successors shall be  elective  as  such  trustees  as  in  this  article  provided.  At  each  subsequent  annual  corporate  meeting  of such church, one-third of the  number of trustees so determined on shall be elected to hold office  for  three  years. The nomination and election of trustees shall be conducted  as provided in the constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).