Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and state mandates, the Potomac Conference Corporation’s Third Quinquennial Constituency Meeting will be held as an online event on March 14, 2021.
What is a Constituency Session?
A Constituency Session is a gathering of elected representatives for a particular constituency, to address church business. This is a part of the organization of the Seventh-day Adventist church. As a worldwide community of believers, our church is organized on various levels, with each level having a defined membership, also known as a constituency. The constituency-based levels are as follows
- the local church
- the local conference
- the union conference
- the General Conference
The Constituency Session of the Potomac Conference Corporation brings together delegates (voting members) who represent each of the local churches that make up the territory of the Potomac Conference Corporation. Employees of the Potomac Conference Corporation and members of various standing committees are also delegates (voting members) at the Constituency Session.
What Happens?
The delegates at the Constituency Session are expected to vote to elect officers, grant credentials and licenses, adopt or change the bylaws, appoint members to serve on various boards, organize or dissolve churches, and transact other business as required. One of the most important aspects is the election of the Executive Committee, whose duty is to represent the constituency between sessions.
Who Attends?
Each church within the Potomac Conference Corporation sends delegates to the Constituency Session. These delegates must be members of the church which they represent. The number of delegates from each church depends upon the total membership of the church as reported at the end of the fourth quarter of the previous year. If you are unsure of who the delegates are from your church, you may contact your pastor for a list of names that were voted by your church. All credentialed employees of the Potomac Conference Corporation and the members of the following Conference committees serve as delegates.
- Executive Committee
- Articles & Bylaws Committee
The officers of the Columbia Union Conference, and a small number of special delegates, voted by the Executive Committee, also serve as delegates. Typically, the number of lay member delegates to employee delegates is 2 to 1.
How Often is There a Constituency Session?
The Bylaws of the Potomac Conference Corporation define the regular intervals of these meetings, with provisions for situations where special constituency meetings may be called. The bylaws as it now stands, calls for meetings to be held at intervals of five years, called a quinquennium.
