To provide for the incorporation of the Trustees of the Hong Kong Baptist Church.
[27 May 1955]
(Format changes—E.R. 2 of 2022)
This Ordinance may be cited as the Hong Kong Baptist Church Incorporation Ordinance.
In this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise requires—
church (教會) means the Hong Kong Baptist Church; committee (委員會) means the committee elected by members of the church; deacons (會佐) means the deacons of the church; members (會友) means the adults who have been baptised in and admitted to the church or those transferred from other baptist churches and admitted to the church.The trustees for the time being of the Hong Kong Baptist Church shall be a body corporate, hereinafter called the corporation, and shall have the name “The Trustees of The Hong Kong Baptist Church”, 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 break, alter and make anew the said seal.
(Amended 32 of 1999 s. 3)
The corporation shall have power to acquire, accept leases of, purchase, take, hold and enjoy any lands, buildings, messuages or tenements of what nature or kind soever and wheresoever situate, and also invest moneys upon mortgage of any lands, buildings, messuages or tenements, or upon the mortgages, debentures, stocks, funds, shares or securities of any government, municipality, corporation, company or person, and also to purchase, acquire and possess vessels and other goods and chattels of what nature and kind soever.
The corporation shall further have power by deed under its seal to grant, sell, convey, assign, surrender, exchange, partition, yield up, mortgage, demise, reassign, transfer or otherwise dispose of any lands, buildings, messuages, tenements, mortgages, debentures, stocks, funds, shares or securities, or vessels or other goods and chattels, which are for the time being vested in or belonging to the corporation, upon such terms as to the corporation may seem fit.
The legal estate in any property whatsoever transferred to the corporation in any manner whatsoever shall in the event of the death of any of the trustees for the time being or in the event of any trustee ceasing to hold office as such trustee vest in the trustees for the time being duly appointed.
The number of the trustees shall be seven.
The office of any trustee shall be automatically vacated if such trustee shall die or shall resign his office or if a resolution be passed at a meeting of members of the church requiring the resignation of such trustee or if his term of office shall come to an end.
At the annual general meeting of members of the church held in each year, six new trustees shall be elected by members of the church as follows—
three deacons who have been proposed by the deacons of the church;
three members of the committee who have been proposed by the members of the committee.
If there shall only be one clergyman or preacher then he shall be ex officio a trustee but if there shall be more than one, then the members of the church shall elect in the church during the month of January each year a presiding clergyman or preacher from among the number of clergymen or preachers, and such presiding clergyman or preacher shall be ex officio a trustee.
Subject to the provisions of section 7, trustees when elected shall hold office until the annual general meeting of members of the church in the following year. Trustees whose terms of office have expired shall be eligible for re-election.
If the office of a trustee be vacated other than through the expiration of the term of office then a new trustee shall be elected by the members of the church from among the class of members of the church who proposed the trustee whose office is vacated and such new trustee shall hold office until the next annual general meeting of the members of the church.
Any change in membership of the trustees shall within three weeks of such change be notified in writing to the Chief Secretary for Administration and by the publication of a notice in the Gazette. (Amended L.N. 226 of 1976; L.N. 242 of 1994; L.N. 362 of 1997)
No such change shall be deemed to have been made until a notification of such change has been published in the Gazette.
The production of a copy of the Gazette containing any such notification shall be prima facie evidence of a change in membership of the trustees.
The trustees shall when required by the Chief Executive furnish to him satisfactory proof of the succession, election or appointment of any new trustee. (Amended 32 of 1999 s. 3)
The trustees when elected shall appoint a chairman, a vice-chairman, and a secretary from among their number.
All deeds, documents and other instruments requiring the seal of the corporation shall be sealed in the presence of three or more of the trustees, one of whom must be a trustee ex officio and shall also be signed by the three of such trustees present and such signing shall be and be taken as sufficient evidence of the due sealing thereof.
The members of the church may at a general meeting of the members appoint a clergyman or clergymen or preacher or preachers to perform and carry on divine worship and the services usual in the Baptist Churches and may also appoint a preacher or preachers and other officers or staff to assist the presiding clergyman or preacher to carry on all matters connected with the religious services or other affairs of the church under the immediate direction of the presiding clergyman or preacher, and may remove all or any of them.
All books, deeds, papers and other documents belonging to the church shall be under the care and custody of some one or more persons appointed by the trustees.
All regulations relating to the affairs of the church otherwise than those specifically provided for by this Ordinance shall be drawn up by a committee appointed by the members of the church for such purpose and shall be submitted to the general meeting for approval.
No regulations made by any committee under section 15 shall be binding on the members of the church unless such regulations have been passed by a majority of members present and voting at a general meeting of members.
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)