Church Operations Business

This is a space for everyone even remotely associated. Yeah you.

The subject is putting the band back together.

This is a space for Meetings of the Church.

Discussions. Voting. Motions. Seconds. Proposing items, sections, articles, and amendments.

Kicken' around ideas.

Putting together an official 501 (c)(3).

We are all looking for your opinion and thought. Speak up.
Say why you do or don't like something.

Everything seen here is just a suggestion, until there is a discussion and then a formal vote.

Get in here daily and be a part of it. If ya snooze ya loose.

:sunny:

 

Welcome

 

OK, we got this going, we are on our way.

Like I said in the other page, we can do conference calls to have our meetings. I was thinking also that the board could maybe meet annually, here,at my house, until we have our perma space.

This is getting REAL folks, Jump on the BUS and lets ride this wild ride, right into the NOW

Love and Light
cakes

 

Don't know much about the church of the good earth but look forward to following your progress here. Good luck with the venture. Hope all the old crew respond!

 

Cakes does Texas allow e-mail voting and online meeting? That's the big question. The one that everything depends on.

 

Okay. At the risk of burying everybody who is new here, with too much information, the time has come the walrus said to speak of many things.

It is time to go forward.

Some of us, like Cakes and me have been working on this for two years now. I've been on the museum project for six years now.

If you are new here. Fasten your seat belt. Here we go. Consider this a meeting that lasts for days.

This is about incorporating the Church of the Good Earth as tax deductible nonprofit organization.
For some who don't know, tax deductible, means that folks who might choose to donate to the Church can deduct that money before they calculate their state and fed income tax. If they itemize. They can tithe to the church.

When people give money or things we can write a tax deduction receipt for them and they can include a copy in their tax filing forms. Its legal.

That is the big reason for this. Donations that we can do good works with.
For this we need to keep books, records.

Note that anyone can be a church, but you can't give tax deduction receipts without getting approved by the Fed to do so. And by the state.

A set of incorporation papers must be put together in order the file with a state corporations board. These must be included with the right state forms for a nonprofit corporation and a check or a cashiers check for the amount of the state's fee for a nonprofit corporation.

Incorporation papers also called Articles of Incorporation and sometimes call a Charter, are comprised of two things.

1) A brief statement of what the corporate entity is and does. This called a Mission Statement. The state wants to know what kind of thing that you are.

It should be a broad and very general statement. It should not paint you into a corner. Doing ABSOLUTES.
If you said that part of what you do is to be a chimney sweep and then you break your leg and can no longer do that, then if the state finds out that you are no longer doing that, then you are in violation of your own Charter (what you stated to them that you are all about), and they will pull your incorporation. Close you up.
Don't paint you into a corner.

2) Your company or organization's bylaws.
These are a list of what your organization is and does. How it must operate.
Who can be members. Voting for officers to run things. Who they are and what each has to do. How meetings and money and projects are to be done.

This kind of thing.

This is a part of what we are working on now.
You should read and add your changes. Write your own. Be involved.
Read. And if you wish to be voting get ready to be voting on each thing.
Nothing is carved in stone here, until after a vote is had.
The time is now.

 

Looks good, I'm on board.
Aries Jim

 

I've been working on this stuff for years now, as I had said. Reading on how to do nonprofits for 4 years at least. My museum dream for 6 years and the church for at least 2 years.

I have notes for church mission statements that date back 2 years and over the past 1 year a have 6 partial mission statement done. A year's worth of bits and pieces and sections of bylaws too.

About a month ago, when Cake's started talking of really doing this again, she got me charged up and I pulled out all of my old work on this. A week ago I had cobbled together the best parts of 6 mission statements. And then I started back on the bylaws about 4 days ago.

The best of the best is finished now.

I needed to do the same bylaws for the museum anyway, so doing one and then making minor changes for the museum is pretty much killing two birds with one stone. The Museum mission statement is a whole other thing though. But I've got tons of versions an notes on that, so it should be minor.

 

Etherea,
As a Church you are welcome to join us as a member if you so choose, what is a Church without a congregation

:sunny:

 

Here's my first part. A statement of who and what we are and do. This is for the State and the Fed.

It is purposely very broad and artfully open. So, as to not pigeon hole us into any specific Must Do obligations.

It back up the word Church in the title of out organization as being an any and every church. Make it tough for the state or fed to deny that we are a church if we state that we are every church.

It's a years worth of research and thinking but its just a mind exercise. I show it to you.
You can write your own.
Add some of this to that. Add some of yours to this. Throw all of this out. Or any combination.

This is just a suggestion. Nobody has voted on this or seen it except on the other space, of the forum.

Take it with a grain of salt.

 

Kenny,
I know how hard you've worked on this over the yrs. all the scattered pieces are now falling into place and coming together.

I've posted on other sites where I know family hang out, I've asked them to connect with us here and gave the url.

we'll see what we will see.

 

Articles of Incorporation
or
Charter
of the
Church of the Good Earth

Mission Statement​

The whole Earth is a church, and we are all a part of the Good Earth.

Everyone is a member.


All churches are about fellowship and community, a sense of belonging for each individual, a sense of unity, and in this light and for this propose we do establish this, the Church of the Good Earth.


Every person on the Good Earth believes in what they each believe in. Belief is an individual thing. We, therefore, establish to include non-denominational, multi-denominational, singularly denominational, and include mystic, shamanistic, Gnostic, agnostic, atheists, and existentialist, and all other people's feelings and beliefs and disbeliefs, and philosophies and theosophies.


We believe to allow any and all methods of seeking and communing with said god or goddess, each in one’s own view, and believe in any and all sacraments in all forms for these religious or philosophical purposes.


It is hoped that in this unity we may glow to have to ability to help each other, and to help others, and to help the poor, the homeless, the hungry, the addicted, and any who may be in need of help or direction.

 

That's great, hon. Ranger was telling me on the phone last night that I had to go over there and tell them all. And he knows how I hate facebook. And I detest the fact that the other site rips off this much older Good Earth web space. It splits us all in two. I just view it as any energy rip off. We're either together or we're not. (As in being Untogether.)

According to the Wikileaks founder, the creation of Facebook was totally underwritten with all C.I.A. funds. Here's a blank page, sucker. Fill out your own dossier for our files so that we don't have to pay for employees to do that. For Real.

I hope that everyone comes over and has a big party and stays here. All as one big family. Welcome to all.

Let's have a family reunion!

 

Can we legally 'claim to be every church ' I understand the concept that the whole earth is our church and all are welcome as to their own belief as to keep it open and not regulated as specific definition.

 

Kenny dearest,
If you look at it like this, it will make you feell better: Our mansion has many houses. We cannot hold all our energy in one house. Like back in The Haight, we had many houses. Look at the fb page as another house.. I believe that we will all come together as one when we get it on paper.

 

So, above we have my effort at a statement. Do with it what you will. There should be a debate about all of our versions of everything. This thread is built with the intent of moving the debate over to here. That is what here is all about. Debate.

-----------------​

Next, I'm posting the Bylaws that I put together. I found any accepted very sort bylaws sample that is used by every school's P.T.A. chapter and is accepted by the I.R.S. Its free. And it was linked to, by another website that is all about creating a nonprofit organization. So, who could ask for more. Right?


Its only really 3 and a half pages long, but if I posted it all at once on here in one big post, it would appear as if it were immense.

So, I'm going to post this in pieces. Segments. Hopefully in logical groupings. This way we can all discuss each grouping. Bit by bit.

Are you ready???????

 

Church of the Good Earth

Bylaws​

ARTICLE I: NAME, DESCRIPTION, & PURPOSE

Section 1: NAME
The name of the organization shall be Church of the Good Earth. This organization’s legal central office location is at 1184 CR 3144 Quitman TX. 73783.

Section 2: DESCRIPTION
The organization is a nonprofit organization that exists for charitable, educational, and religious and philosophical purposes, including the ability to be able to make distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Section 3: PURPOSE
The purpose of the organization is to enhance and support the individual’s experience as a part of the Good Earth, to develop a closer connection between people, as a fellowship or community, to help to grow in one’s beliefs, to share, and to know more love, all though greater personal involvement, and to improve the Earth by spreading a positive message and by aiding other people through volunteerism and financial support.

.

 

So, as I had said this is from another bylaws example. I've left most all of it as is was, and I have only bothered to change a few words in order to change the thoughts of what it already said. A add our name.

Any of this can be rewritten. Or thrown out and redone. Its a place to start, anyway.

Next we have:

 

.

ARTICLE II: MEMBERSHIP

Section 1: GENERAL MEMBERSHIP
Membership shall be automatically granted to all persons of all ages who live upon the Earth. There are no membership dues at this time. General Members have no voting privileges within the corporation.

Section 2: OPERATIONAL MEMBERSHIP
This Membership shall involve members who have chosen to become involved in the actual and or the official operations of the church itself as a legal incorporated entity. There are no membership dues at this time. Operational Members have voting privileges.

Section 3: HOW MEMBERSHIP STATUS IS CHANGED
If, over time, any General Members choose to apply themselves actively within the organization, these my then request a change of status. The Executive Board shall at a later date meeting review and if each past review, than a vote will be taken with regard each Member’s case. If pasted, the Member will be instated as an Operational Member.
Conversely, the opposite may occur. Operational Members who have lost all interest and fallen out of participation may be reviewed by the Executive Board and be placed as General Members.

.

 

The original P.T.A. bylaws sample had only 1 section. Every member could vote.

My thought is that the whole world is members but if they only show up when there's free cake. Well, you get it.

So, I feel that we need to draw a line somewhere. People who are at least remotely involved some of the time. Yes. vote. But if you just show up today and know nothing of what's going on here? You don't vote.

Its a tough call. I'm leaving it open to you and your wisdom.

---------------------------------​

Next, the governing body and what is expected of each of them. And what it does.