where serious injustice is alleged to have been done by the local church and the church refuses to make amends. Such a Council is called an Ex-Parte Council, but is never to be called excepting where a mutual Council has been refused.

5. An Association or Conference may become a party to a Council when a question arises concerning its treatment of one or more of its members. If an Association withdraws fellowship from a minister and he is dissatisfied he may not appeal to the state Conference, which is not organized as an appellate court, and has no authority to reverse decisions in the District Association, but he may appeal to a Council and invite the Association to join him in so doing; or the Association because of any appearance of local prejudice that might seem to disqualify it from dealing with an alleged offense may join in calling and become a party to a Council.

The same right to become a party to a Council belongs to the State Conference. A State Conference may refuse to receive as a member a minister even though he be in fellowship with an Association and has the right to do so if he be of bad moral character. The minister has no right of appeal from the State Conference to the National Council, but may appeal to a Mutual Council called to consider that question.

These provisions for the participation of a Conference or Association in a Council are recent developments of our Congregational polity, but grow logically out of the lodging of ministerial standing in District Associations. It is repugnant to our system that there should ever be a series of courts rising one above another from local church to District Association and thence to State Conference and National Council. The Mutual Council is the logical resort in cases of this character. It is hoped that it will not frequently

be employed, but if necessity arises for its right to be cannot reasonably be challenged.

How to Call a Council. A Council is called by a letter missive sent to each invited church and individual, giving the name of the body inviting the Council, the place and time of meeting, and stating the precise business which is to be presented to the body. It must also give a full list of the churches and individuals who are to compose the Council, and should be sent out a sufficient time in advance to give all the churches time for official action.

The Quorum of a Council. A majority of all the invited churches is necessary to a quorum. A church is represented if it sends one delegate. The custom of counting a quorum on the basis of individuals invited is indefensible.

How to Organize a Council. It is the pleasant and reasonable custom of Congregational Councils that the letter missive shall be read and the Council called to order by the senior pastor present. This, however, is not the invariable rule. Occasionally the church inviting the Council appoints one of its own members to call the Council to order, to speak a word of welcome and to say that the church has requested a certain minister to read the letter missive. Such a custom has very much to commend it. It recognizes the inviting church, it relieves the reader of the letter missive from any suspicion of forwardness, and it enables the church to recognize some former pastor or neighboring minister or other friend to whom it may look with confidence for the orderly opening of the Council it has called.

It is the duty of the reader of the letter missive to call for the election of a temporary scribe and to determine whether a quorum is present. As this usually involves the calling of the roll, it is desirable

that the roll be made up at this time. As soon as it is determined that a quorum is present, a permanent moderator is to be elected. This may be done by ballot, and must be so done if any member demands it, but a ballot need not be insisted upon if there is no desire for it.

The Moderator. The first duty of the permanent moderator is to lead the Council in prayer. It is this prayer which constitutes a Council, and while the moderator may call upon some other member to offer it, it is usual and desirable that he himself shall lead in this opening prayer.

The next duty of the moderator is to call for the election of a permanent scribe. If the duties of the moderator or scribe are likely to be prolonged or arduous the Council may elect an assistant to either or both.

The next duty of the moderator is to call for the records relating to the call of the Council. These are to be submitted by the clerk of the Church, or by some officer representing the body or bodies calling the Council. They should show distinctly the business named in the letter missive and the authority to submit that business to the present Council.

The Council being now assured of its own membership and jurisdiction, the moderator will call for the particular business for which the Council has convened, hearing from the inviting bodies through the records, documents and personal statements until the matter which the Council is to determine is fully set before it. This should proceed in logical order, and the Council may vote as each part of its investigation is completed "that the papers and statements thus far be deemed satisfactory. Such a vote, however, does not determine the future action of the

Council. It is merely a vote to proceed to the next point.

The business of the Council being fully before it, it is customary to vote that the examination be arrested at this point, and that the Council be by itself.

It is not in good form for members of the Council to assume to express the judgment of the Council prior to this point, nor is it orderly that the roll be called for individual expression before the Council is by itself. The purpose of the public session of the Council is to get all the facts before the body in the most prompt and orderly manner possible, that these may be considered in private by the churches through their representatives.

The moderator of the Council can greatly facilitate the work of the body if he has this simple outline clearly in mind.

The Scribe. It will greatly facilitate the work of the scribe if in the preparation of writing materials for his use a list of the churches and individuals invited be made out in advance on sheets of the same size as those to be used in the records and with convenient spaces for the writing in of the names of pastors and delegates. Where this is done the scribe will have no difficulty in keeping his records complete. Where this has not been done he should be furnished an assistant who will make up the roll while he enters the complete record of the business as it is transacted.

There is an erroneous impression that it is a difficult thing for a scribe to make his records complete as they are in progress. On the contrary, if he will insist that all lengthy motions be reduced to writing, and will procure at the outset a correct and legible roll, he will find no difficulty in presenting his minutes in good form at the time when they are called for.

The scribe should not be a member of any committee. The time for the reading and approval of the records is at the end of the session in which the Council is by itself. The records should be so complete as that at this time they can be approved, the order of public service added, and only the business incident to the adjournment left to be recorded.

The Executive Session of the Council. When the Council is by itself a motion should be made bringing before it for action the business of the Council. It is customary at this time to call the roll and to permit each member in voting to express briefly his reason for his vote. This is not a time for set speeches, but it is the opportunity of the members of the Council freely to express their judgment of the matter which has brought them together.

The Council having determined what it will do, it is customary to appoint a committee to formulate its finding. If it be a Council of Ordination or Installation, the duty of the committee will be to confer with the candidate and representatives of the Church and report an order for the public service. If it be to dismiss a pastor or advise in a matter of difficulty, the duty of the committee will be to draft suitable resolutions in harmony with the vote that has just been passed.

While this committee is out the Council should listen to the reading of its minutes. The report of

the committee, which may be expected by the time the records are read and approved, will complete the minutes to this point, and the Council may take recess until the public service, if one is to follow, or may complete its work and dissolve.

The Dissolving of a Council. A Congregational Council does not commonly adjourn; it takes recess from one session to another, and at the close of its business