Churches of Other Denominations. §§ 86-88 cies existing in its board of trustees by expiration of term, or for any other cause, at any corporate meeting legally called, not to exceed at any time three members of said board of trustees, who shall have been nominated to such position by the Brooklyn Church Society of the Methodist Episcopal church, without regard to any qualifications for trustees required by this act, and such trustees or their successors, nominated and elected in the same manner, shall continue in office so long as said church shall be a beneficiary of said society. Notice of expiration of term of said trustees shall be given by the said church to the said society not less than two months before said expiration of term. (As amended by chap. 324 of 1896, § 1; chap. 969 of 1896, and chap. 206 of 1900.) § 86. Changing date of annual corporate meetings.—An annual corporate meeting of an incorporated church to which this article is applicable, may change the date of its annual meeting thereafter. If such date shall next thereafter occur less than six months after the annual meeting at which such change is made, the next annual meeting shall be held one year from such next recurring date. For the purpose of determining the terms of office of trustees, the time between the annual meeting at which such change is made and the next annual meeting thereafter shall be reckoned as one year. § 87. Changing number of trustees.-An incorporated church to which this article is applicable, may, at an annual corporate meeting, change the number of its trustees to three, six or nine, or classify them so that the terms of one-third expire each year. No such change shall affect the terms of the trustees then in office, and if the change reduces the number of trustees, it shall not take effect until the number of trustees whose terms of office continue for one or more years after an annual election, is less than the number determined upon. Whenever the number of trustees so holding over is less than the number so determined on, trustees shall be elected in addition to those so holding over, sufficient to made the number of trustees for the ensuing year equal to the number so determined on. The trustees so elected up to and including one-third of the number so determined on, shall be elected for three years, the remainder up to and including one-third of the number so determined on for two years and the remainder for one year. § 88. Meetings of trustees. Two of the trustees of an incorporated church, to which this article is applicable, may call a meeting of such trustees, by giving at least twenty-four hours' notice thereof personally or by mail to the other trustees. A majority of the trustees lawfully convened shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. In case of a tie vote at a meeting of the trustees, the presiding officer of such meeting shall, notwithstanding he has voted once, have an additional casting vote. § 89. The creation and filling of vacancies among trustees of such churches. If any trustee of an incorporated church to which this article is applicable, declines to act, resigns or dies, or having been a member of such church, ceases to be such member, or not having been a member of such church, ceases to be a qualified voter at a corporate meeting thereof, his office shall be vacant, and such vacancy may be filled by the remaining trustees until the next annual corporate meeting of such church, at which meeting the vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term. § 90. Control of trustees by corporate meetings of such churches; salaries of ministers.-A corporate meeting of an incorporated church, whose trustees are elective as such, may give directions, not inconsistent with law, as to the manner in which any of the temporal affairs of the church shall be administered by the trustees thereof; and such directions shall be followed by the trustees. The trustees of an incorporated church to which this article is applicable, shall have no power to settle or remove or fix the salary of the minister, or without the consent of a corporate meeting, to incur debts beyond what is necessary for the care of the property of the corporation; or to fix or change the time, nature or order of the public or social worship of such church, except when such trustees are also the spiritual officers of such church. 91. Trustees of a church in connection with the United Brethren in Christ.-If any church connected with the denomination known as the United Brethren in Christ shall neglect or omit to elect trustees at any annual election at which trustees should have been elected, the quarterly conference of the circuit, station or mission of such denomination may elect such trustees for full terms, or to fill vacancies, in accordance with the rules and usages of such denomination. 92. Trusts for Shakers and Friends.-All deeds or declarations of trust or real or personal property, executed and deliv Churches of Other Denominations. § 93 ered before January first, eighteen hundred and thirty, or since May fifth, eighteen hundred and thirty-nine, to any person in trust for any united society of Shakers, or heretofore executed and delivered, shall be vested in the trustees the legal estates and religious society of Friends, shall be valid. Trusts of real or personal property, for the benefit and use of the members of any united society of Shakers, or of any meeting of the religious society of Friends, may hereafter be created, according to the religious constitution of such society of Shakers, or the regulations and rules of discipline of such society of Friends. Such deeds or declarations of trust, heretofore or hereafter executed and delivered, shall vest in the trustees the legal estates and interests purported to be conveyed or declared thereby, to and for the uses and purposes declared therein; and such legal estates and trusts, and all legal authority with which the original trustees were vested by virtue of their appointment and conferred powers, shall descend to their successors in office or trust, who may be chosen in conformity to the constitution of such society, or the directions of such meeting. This section does not impair or diminish the rights of any person, meeting or association claiming to be a meeting of the religious society of Friends, which such person, meeting or association claiming to be a meeting, had to any real or personal property held in trust for the use and benefit of any meeting of such society, before the division of such society which took place at the annual meeting held in the city of New York in May, eighteen hundred and twenty-eight. No society of Shakers, or meeting of Friends, shall become beneficially interested in real or personal property, the clear annual value or income of which exceeds twenty-five thousand dollars. No person shall be a trustee at the same time, of more than one society of Shakers or meeting of Friends. A society of Shakers includes all persons of the religious belief of the people called Shakers, resident within the same county. § 93. Conveyance of trust property of Friends.—The trustees or trustees, or survivor of any trustees, of any meeting of the religious society of Friends, appointed pursuant to the last preceding section, may sell, convey and grant, or demise any or all of the trust property described in said trust deed or declaration of trust, to any person absolutely or in trust for such meeting, whenever any meeting of said society by resolution so directs. Any conveyance of real estate or property so held in trust by meeting of the religious society of Friends, which is hereafter made in pursuance of a resolution of such meeting as provided herein, shall be as valid and effectual for the conveyance of the title of any real estate so held in trust, as if the heirs of any trustee who has died prior to the passage of such resolution had joined in the execution of such conveyance or demise. Any instrument for the sale or demise of such property shall embody such resolution, and be executed by such trustee or trustees; and in such acknowledgment such trustee or trustees shall make an affidavit that the person or persons executing such conveyance or demise are the trustee or trustees of the trust property, and that the resolution embodied in such conveyance or demise was duly passed by such meeting. Such affidavit shall be prima facie evidence of the facts therein stated. 894. Presiding officer.-Nothing contained in this act shall prevent the qualified voters at any meeting held pursuant to this act or in this act described, from choosing a person to preside at any such meeting, other than the person or officer designated in this act to preside thereat, and when such other person shall be chosen he shall exercise all the powers in this act conferred upon the presiding officer of such meeting. (Added by chap. 144 of 1897, § 2.) 1X 02297 ARTICLE VII. SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR THE INCORPORATION AND GOVERNMENT OF TWO OR MORE UNINCORPORATED CHURCHES AS A UNION CHURCH. SECTION 100. Joint meeting for the purposes of incorporation. 101. Government of incorporated union churches. 100. Joint meeting for the purposes of incorporation.— Two or more unincorporated churches, which separately agree on a plan of union and determine to meet together for the purpose of being incorporated as a union church, may be incorporated as a union church in pursuance of the provisions of the next preceding article, and thereafter such union church shall be governed by the general provisions of such article, as near as may be, except as otherwise provided in this article. A notice of such joint meeting shall be given to the congregation of each church, in pursuance of the provisions of the next preceding arti cle of this chapter, relating to notice of meeting for incorporations in every respect, as if it were a notice of a meeting for the separate incorporation of such church under such article, except that the notice shall state in substance that a joint meeting of such incorporated churches, which shall be specified in the notice, will be held for the purpose of incorporating such churches as a union church, and electing trustees thereof at a time and place specified in the notice, which place may be the usual place of worship of either of such churches or any other reasonably convenient place. Such notice must be signed by at least six persons from each of such churches who would be authorized to sign a notice for the meeting of each church, respectively, for the purpose of incorporating it under such article. The provisions of the next preceding article of this chapter shall be applicable to the organization and conduct of such meeting, the matters to be determined upon and the certificate of incorporation to be executed and filed accordingly, except that the presiding officer of such joint meeting shall be the oldest person present at such meeting who would be entitled to preside at a meeting of either of such churches singly for the purposes of incorporation in pursuance of such article. All persons who would be qualified to vote at such meeting of either of such churches held singly, shall be qualified voters at such joint meeting, and the number of trustees of the union church, after incorporation, to be selected from each such church, may be agreed on by such unincorporated churches, and the trustees shall be selected by each of such churches accordingly. The certificate of incorporation shall set forth the plan of union agreed on and the number of trustees of the incorporated union church to be selected by each unincorporated church. § 101. Government of incorporated union churches.—Any union church or society having a common place of worship or holding property belonging jointly to the several societies composing the same, but the sole right of occupancy of which is reserved to each of them in proportion to their interest in such property, or the money originally paid therefor by each, or in accordance with their plan of union agreed on, may, if any one or more of the churches or societies comprising such union church or society has ceased to exist, on the request of such remaining churches or society, redistribute and divide the time of occupancy among such remaining societies in proportion to their contribu |