topnav

Group

The Membership of MSIA Canada (An Ecumenical Church)

The purpose of this note is to explain membership in MSIA Canada. Unlike the Mother Church in Los Angeles, when the Church was established in Canada under a federal charter, the founders were required to provide a definition of membership in the corporation. The definition as it is stated in the by-laws of the Canadian Church is as follows:

Conditions of Membership

  1. Membership of the Corporation shall be composed of two classes: ordained members and associate members.
  2. Membership as an ordained member is limited to persons ordained as Ministers in the Church of The Movement of Spiritual Awareness, who are in good standing and registered with the Ministerial Board of Canada, and who have applied for membership in the Corporation.
  3. Associate membership is limited to persons subscribing to MSIA discourses who have applied for membership.
  4. Membership fees shall be established from time to time by the Board of Directors.
  5. Any member may withdraw from the corporation by delivering to the corporation a written resignation and lodging a copy of the same with the secretary of the corporation.
  6. Any member may be required to resign by a vote of three-quarters of the members at an annual meeting provided that any such member shall be granted the opportunity to be heard at such meeting.

The founders of the Canadian Church created two classes of membership on the belief that once one had chosen to be a Minister in MSIA, there was a commitment to build the Church as a vehicle of service in Canada and thus should be a member of the Church; and on the belief that someone who had chosen to take discourses could simply choose to work with the Traveler without any desire for undertaking a Ministry, and thus with less desire for actively creating a Church in Canada. However, to permit discourse subscribers to be aware of the activities of the Church in Canada, it was felt that the option of an associate membership should be open to those interested.

An ordained Minister of MSIA is a member and is entitled to receive a copy of the annual report, receive notice of, and attend the annual general meeting (AGM) of the church, to vote at the AGM, to stand for office and, if elected, to hold office in the Canadian Church.

A discourse subscriber may choose to join the Canadian Church as an associate member, and as such attend and vote at the AGM of the Canadian Church, and receive the annual report of the Canadian Church. As a general rule, the Managing Director of the Church in Canada will treat all discourse subscribers as members unless the individual chooses not to join.

hr