To make amended provision for the incorporation of the Trustees of the Union Church in Hong Kong.
[1 May 1962]
(Format changes—E.R. 2 of 2022)
This Ordinance may be cited as the Union Church Incorporation Ordinance.
In this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise requires—
adherent (信徒) means a person who has been listed as an adherent in accordance with the provisions of section 8; Chairman (主席) and Vice-Chairman (副主席) mean respectively the chairman and vice-chairman of the committee of management appointed in accordance with the provisions of subsection (4) of section 11; Church (教會、該教會) means the Minister and members of Union Church, Kennedy Road, Hong Kong, and the buildings thereat; committee (委員會) means the committee of management elected in accordance with the provisions of section 11 including any person co-opted to be a member thereof; Corporation (法團) means “The Trustees of the Union Church in Hong Kong” incorporated under section 3; deacon (執事) means a member of the Deacons’ Court; Deacons’ Court (執事會) means the Deacons’ Court established in accordance with the provisions of section 13; general meeting (大會) means a general meeting of the members of the Church; member (成員) means any person who has been enrolled as a full member or as an associate member in accordance with the provisions of section 7 and who is still so enrolled; Minister (牧師) means the minister of Union Church or, if at any time there shall be more than one minister, the senior minister in Hong Kong, appointed in accordance with the provisions of subsection (1) or (2) of section 15 or an acting minister appointed in accordance with the provisions of subsection (3) of that section; prescribed (訂明) means prescribed by rules made under section 16; secretary (秘書) and treasurer (司庫) mean respectively the honorary secretary and the honorary treasurer elected in accordance with the provisions of section 12; voting member (有表決權的成員) means a member who, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (2) of section 10, is entitled to vote at a general meeting of the Church.The Trustees for the time being of the Union Church in Hong Kong shall be a body corporate and shall have the corporate name “The Trustees of the Union Church in Hong Kong”, and in that name shall have perpetual succession and shall and may sue and be sued in all courts in Hong Kong and shall and may have and use a common seal, and may from time to time, break, change, alter and make anew the said seal as to the Corporation may seem fit.
(Amended 32 of 1999 s. 3)
The Corporation shall have power to acquire, accept and grant leases of, purchase, take, hold and enjoy any lands, buildings, messuages or tenements of what nature or kind soever and wheresoever situate, and also to build, rebuild, alter, vary, renew, maintain and repair any building, messuage or tenements, and also to invest moneys upon mortgages of any lands, buildings, messuages or tenements, or in debentures, stocks, funds, shares or securities of any government, municipality, corporation, or company, and also to purchase, acquire and possess goods and chattels of what nature and kind soever and to sue, carry on and defend all legal arbitration and other proceedings.
(Repealed 74 of 1974 s. 3)
The Corporation shall further have power by deed under its seal to grant, sell, convey, assign, surrender, exchange, partition, yield up, mortgage, pledge, demise, reassign, transfer or otherwise dispose of any lands, buildings, messuages, tenements, mortgages, debentures, stocks, funds, shares or securities or goods and chattels whatsoever, which are for the time being vested in or belonging to the Corporation, upon such terms as to the Corporation may seem fit.
All deeds, documents and other instruments requiring the seal of the Corporation shall be sealed in the presence of two or more of the trustees, and shall also be signed by the Chairman or, if he shall be absent from Hong Kong or otherwise for any good reason unable to act, by the Vice-Chairman, and by such trustees so present, and such signing shall be and be taken as sufficient evidence of the due sealing thereof.
The seal shall be kept in the custody of the Chairman of Trustees elected in accordance with the provisions of subsection (6) of section 14 or, if no Chairman of Trustees shall have been elected or if he shall be absent from Hong Kong or otherwise for any good reason be unable to act, in the custody of the person who has been trustee for the longest period.
(Amended 32 of 1999 s. 3)
The Corporation shall hold the property vested in it and all property subsequently acquired by it and any other premises which may be substituted therefor and all the other property of the Church upon trust for the purpose of a church for the public worship of God and for preaching the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ according to the principles and usages of Protestant Christians, and for the sole object of spreading the knowledge of Christ, as shall seem most agreeable to the Word of God and not for the purpose of introducing or supporting presbyterianism, independency, episcopacy or any other form of church order and government about which there may be difference of opinion, but under such form of church government as the members shall direct, and also, subject to such direction, for the instruction of children and adults, and for religious and philanthropic purposes and for the providing of a residence for the Minister, provided that the Church shall always accept as its primary standards the Word of God as witnessed to by the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, the Trinitarian Doctrine of the Christian Faith and the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Every member of the Church shall have been baptized in or in accordance with the rites of a Christian Church and shall be either—
a full member, that is to say, a person who has been received into the Church by—
profession of faith;
letter of transfer from another Christian Church; or
re-affirmation of faith; or
an associate member, that is to say, a person who is a regular member of a Christian Church other than the Church and who signifies his desire to worship with and to help and support the Church while he is in Hong Kong but still to retain his membership of his own church, (Amended 32 of 1999 s. 3)
who has been enrolled as such in such manner as may be prescribed:
Provided that, subject and in such manner as may be prescribed, any person who was on the mailing list of the Church immediately before the commencement* of this Ordinance may be so enrolled.
Any person who, though not a member of a Christian Church, wishes to take part in the worship and other activities of the Church while he is resident in Hong Kong may, subject as may be prescribed, be listed as an adherent.
(Amended 32 of 1999 s. 3)
The annual general meeting of the Church shall be held in the month of March in each year or as soon as is practicable thereafter.
A special general meeting may be called at any time by the Minister or by the committee and shall be called by the Minister if he shall receive a requisition, stating the purpose for which the meeting is required and signed by not less than forty voting members.
Notice of every general meeting shall be given at each service held in the Church on not less than two Sundays immediately preceding such meeting at the usual time in the usual manner for giving notices during divine service and the meeting shall be held not earlier than the Wednesday next following the second of such Sundays.
Save as may be otherwise prescribed, no motion shall be carried at a general meeting unless it shall receive the votes of not less than two-thirds of the voting members present and voting plus one.
At every general meeting, the chair shall be taken by the Chairman or, in his absence by the Vice-Chairman or, if both the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman shall be absent, by such person as the meeting shall elect as chairman for the purpose of such meeting.
At every general meeting every member shall be entitled to attend and to speak at such meeting but only a member who is over the age of eighteen years and who has been enrolled as a member for not less than six months shall be entitled to vote at a general meeting.
The quorum for a general meeting shall be such number as may be prescribed or, if no quorum is prescribed, forty voting members:Provided that if at a general meeting there is not a quorum, the Chairman shall adjourn the meeting for a period of not less than three weeks and notice of such adjourned meeting shall be given in accordance with the provisions of subsection (3) of section 9 and at such adjourned meeting the quorum shall be the number of voting members there present.
There shall be a committee of management which shall be responsible for the management of the Church property and the temporal affairs of the Church.
The committee shall consist of twelve voting members, or such other number as may be prescribed, elected at the annual general meeting together with the following ex-officio members—
the Minister;
the secretary; and
the treasurer.
The committee shall hold office from the first day of the month next following the date of its election until the date on which a new committee elected by the Church at its annual general meeting shall assume office.
At its first meeting, the committee shall elect from its elected members a chairman and vice-chairman and at any subsequent meeting may elect therefrom a temporary chairman or a temporary vice-chairman in substitution for any chairman or vice-chairman so elected if either such officer shall be absent from Hong Kong or otherwise for any good reason be unable to act. (Amended 32 of 1999 s. 3)
The committee shall have power to co-opt to the committee any voting member.
There shall be an honorary secretary and an honorary treasurer who shall be voting members elected by the Church at its annual general meeting and who shall hold office from the first day of the month next following the date of such election until replaced by other officers similarly elected.
If an honorary secretary or an honorary treasurer shall be absent from Hong Kong or otherwise for any good reason be unable to act the committee may elect a member of the committee to hold such office during his absence or inability. (Amended 32 of 1999 s. 3)
There shall be a Deacons’ Court which shall be responsible with the Minister for all matters relating to the spiritual welfare of the Church and shall carry out such other duties as may be prescribed.
The Deacons’ Court shall consist of the Minister and such other persons as shall be nominated and approved as deacons or received as deacons in accordance with the provisions of subsection (3).
Every deacon shall be either—
nominated by the Deacons’ Court, subject to approval by a general meeting of the Church in such manner as may be prescribed, and inducted as a deacon by the Minister; or
if he had previously been elected and received into any other Christian church in an office equivalent to that of deacon, received as a deacon, by the Deacons’ Court.
No person shall be nominated to be a deacon or be received as a deacon unless he is a voting member and a communicant.
Every member who is inducted as a deacon or is received as a deacon shall continue to hold office as a deacon until he ceases to be a member or resigns.
The Minister shall act as Moderator at every meeting of the Deacons’ Court at which he is present and, if he is absent, a deacon, who shall be selected by the deacons present at such meeting, shall act as Moderator.
There shall be a clerk to the Deacons’ Court who shall be elected at the first meeting of the Deacons’ Court held after the annual general meeting of the Church and who shall be responsible for the summoning of meetings of the Deacons’ Court and the maintenance of the minutes of the Deacons’ Court and for carrying out such other duties as the Deacons’ Court may decide.
The Deacons’ Court shall meet at intervals of not less than two months.
There shall be not more than ten and not less than three trustees.
Each trustee shall be a voting member and shall be elected by the members of the Church at a general meeting in such manner as shall be prescribed and shall hold office until he ceases to be a member, resigns or has been absent from Hong Kong for a continuous period of not less than two years. (Amended 32 of 1999 s. 3)
If the number of trustees falls below four, at least one additional trustee shall be elected as soon as is practicable thereafter.
When a person has been elected to be a trustee, the secretary shall, within three weeks after his election or within such further time as may be allowed by the Chief Executive, furnish to the Chief Executive such evidence as the Chief Executive may require of the election of such person. (Amended 32 of 1999 s. 3)
A notification in the Gazette under the hand of the Chief Secretary for Administration that such evidence has been furnished to the Chief Executive by the secretary shall be conclusive evidence of such election. (Amended L.N. 226 of 1976; L.N. 242 of 1994; L.N. 362 of 1997; 32 of 1999 s. 3)
The trustees, in such manner as they may consider appropriate, may from time to time elect one of their number to be Chairman of Trustees for the purpose of summoning and presiding at meetings of trustees.
Each Minister, on first appointment, shall be selected at a general meeting in such manner as may be prescribed, on the joint recommendation of the Deacons’ Court and the committee, meeting together and, on such selection, shall be appointed by the committee upon such terms as may be agreed.
The appointment of a Minister may be renewed by the committee on the joint recommendation of the Deacons’ Court and of the committee, meeting together, subject to approval by a general meeting, in such manner as may be prescribed.
The Deacons’ Court and the committee meeting together may appoint any person to act as Minister during the absence from Hong Kong or inability to perform his duties, through illness or for any other cause, of any person appointed as Minister under this section. (Amended 32 of 1999 s. 3)
The Deacons’ Court and the committee, meeting together, may make rules providing for—
the selection and appointment of ministers of the Church;
the election of trustees, members of the committee and office-bearers of the Church;
the enrolment of full members, associate members and adherents;
the preparation of a list of full members, associate members and adherents;
the removal from the list of full members, associate members or adherents, of the name of any person thereon;
the keeping of registers of full members, associate members, adherents and communicants and of baptisms and marriages;
the holding of joint meetings of the Deacons’ Court and of the committee;
the holding of meetings of the committee and the quorum and the conduct of business at such meetings;
the holding of general meetings and the quorum and conduct of business at such meetings;
the appointment of any additional officers and servants of the Church;
fees to be charged by the committee to members, adherents and non-members;
the keeping of accounts and of moneys received by or on behalf of the Church;
generally, the carrying into effect of the provisions of this Ordinance.
Any rule made in accordance with the provisions of this section shall be signed by the secretary and by the clerk to the Deacons’ Court and shall be displayed in a prominent place in the Church premises for not less than one month and shall not come into operation until the expiry of such period:Provided that any rule may be revoked at a general meeting.
In the event of the Corporation failing to use, occupy and enjoy the present buildings of the Church, or any other premises which may be substituted therefor, for the purposes mentioned in section 6, for a period of more than two years at any one time, then the Corporation shall hold the said premises with the erections and buildings thereon, and all moneys, goods and chattels then belonging to the Corporation, in trust for the London Missionary Society Incorporated under the London Missionary Society Incorporation Ordinance (Cap. 1033), absolutely.
Nothing in this Ordinance shall affect or be deemed to affect the rights of the Central Authorities or the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under the Basic Law and other laws, or the rights of any body politic or corporate or of any other persons except such as are mentioned in this Ordinance and those claiming by, from or under them.
(Amended 32 of 1999 s. 3)