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General Laws of Massachusetts - Chapter 67 Parishes and Religious Societies.
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General Provisions.
- Massachusetts General Laws - Parishes and religious societies; continuance of existing corporations - Chapter 67, Section 1
Every religious society heretofore established or organized under any statute shall continue a body corporate with the powers given to such corporations by law, and...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Existing societies; limitation or modification of rights, privileges, etc. - Chapter 67, Section 2
Religious societies, incorporated or unincorporated, shall continue to have and enjoy their existing rights, privileges and immunities, except as limited or modified by this chapter.
- Massachusetts General Laws - Status of church privileges - Chapter 67, Section 3
Churches connected and associated in public worship with such religious societies shall continue to have, exercise and enjoy all their accustomed privileges and liberties respecting...
- Massachusetts General Laws - By-laws - Chapter 67, Section 4
A religious society may make by-laws consistent with law, prescribing the manner in which persons may become members and the mode of calling and warning...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Membership; rights and restrictions - Chapter 67, Section 5
A person belonging to such society shall continue a member thereof until he files with the clerk a written declaration of the dissolution of his...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Membership; women and non-residents - Chapter 67, Section 6
A religious society may admit women to membership with full rights and privileges, and a territorial parish may admit to membership persons who are not...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Meetings; election of officers; tenure; vacancies - Chapter 67, Section 7
Every incorporated religious society shall hold an annual meeting at such time as it shall prescribe by its by-laws, and, if the by-laws do not...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Method of election of officers - Chapter 67, Section 8
Moderators for meetings held for the choice of officers shall be elected by ballot. Clerks, assessors, treasurers and collectors shall be elected by ballot, and...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Powers of moderator - Chapter 67, Section 9
The moderator shall have like powers with the moderator of a town meeting; and whoever is guilty of disorderly behavior at a meeting of a...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Assessors or standing committee; election; tenure - Chapter 67, Section 10
The assessors or standing committee may be elected for such term, not exceeding three years, as the parish or religious society may by vote or...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Management of prudential affairs - Chapter 67, Section 11
The prudential affairs of such societies shall be managed by their assessors or by a standing committee, who, unless the by-laws otherwise provide, shall have...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Procedure when officers fail to call meeting - Chapter 67, Section 12
If there are no assessors or committee, or if such officers unreasonably refuse to call a meeting, a justice of the peace may, upon the...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Warning of meetings - Chapter 67, Section 13
Meetings shall be warned in the manner provided by any by-law or vote of the society, or, if no such provision has been made, in...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Warrant for meetings; contents - Chapter 67, Section 14
The assessors or committee shall insert in the warrant for a meeting any matter the insertion of which five or more members of the society...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Presiding officer during selection of moderator; oath of office - Chapter 67, Section 15
The clerk or, if there is no clerk or if he is absent, one of the assessors or of the standing committee shall preside in...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Collector - Chapter 67, Section 16
If the person who is chosen collector is present and accepts the office, he shall forthwith be sworn. If not present, he shall be summoned...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Appropriations - Chapter 67, Section 17
A religious society may, at its annual meeting or at any other meeting regularly notified seven days at least before the holding thereof, grant and...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Assessments on pews and property of members; liability of members for parish debts - Chapter 67, Section 18
No parish or religious society shall assess taxes on the polls or estates of its members; but pews may be assessed as heretofore. No member...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Sale or removal of pews or meeting-house - Chapter 67, Section 19
A religious society may, under sections thirty-three and thirty-four, for the purpose of altering, enlarging, removing or rebuilding its house or building a new house,...
- Massachusetts General Laws - "Religious society" and "society", defined - Chapter 67, Section 20
The terms “religious society” and “society” in the preceding sections shall include parishes.
Organization of Religious Societies.
- Massachusetts General Laws - Religious societies; incorporation - Chapter 67, Section 21
An unincorporated religious society, if it contains ten or more members, male or female, may become a corporation, and may hold so much real and...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Organization meeting; certificate of incorporation, filing, etc. - Chapter 67, Section 22
A justice of the peace, upon written application by five or more of the members of such society, may issue his warrant directed to one...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Incorporation of religious society - Chapter 67, Section 23
Ten or more persons, male or female, who desire to form a religious society, may make written application therefor to a justice of the peace,...
Proprietors of Meeting Houses.
- Massachusetts General Laws - Proprietors of meeting houses; incorporation of owners - Chapter 67, Section 24
Persons owning or proposing to build a house of public worship may organize in the manner provided by the preceding section, and shall thereupon become...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Restrictions on amount of property owned; use of income - Chapter 67, Section 25
Such corporation may hold so much real and personal estate, in addition to its meeting house, as may be necessary for its objects, and no...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Record of organization proceedings; filing - Chapter 67, Section 26
The clerk of such corporation, within ten days after the meeting at which it was organized, shall file with the state secretary a true copy...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Use of funds; purposes - Chapter 67, Section 27
Such corporation, at a legal meeting called for the purpose, may vote to alter, enlarge, repair, rebuild or remove its house, or to build a...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Societies incorporated under special acts; powers - Chapter 67, Section 28
A religious society incorporated under a special act shall have the powers set forth in the preceding section, anything contained in any special act of...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Manner of calling meetings - Chapter 67, Section 29
A meeting for any purpose mentioned in section twenty-seven may be called in the manner prescribed in the by-laws or votes of the corporation, or,...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Collection of assessments - Chapter 67, Section 30
Money voted by such corporation may be assessed on the pews in its meeting house, and the assessment may be committed to its treasurer, who...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Sale of pews for taxes - Chapter 67, Section 31
The treasurer, at least three weeks before the time of the sale of a pew for taxes, shall post a notice of the intended sale...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Notice of sale; affidavit of posting - Chapter 67, Section 32
An affidavit, annexed to an original notice or to a copy thereof and recorded on the records of the corporation within six months after the...
- Massachusetts General Laws - New or rejuvenated meeting houses; acquisition of funds by selling pews - Chapter 67, Section 33
Such corporation, for the purpose of building a new house, or of altering, enlarging, repairing, rebuilding or removing a house already built, may sell the...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Meeting-houses unfit for worship; rights of pew owners to compensation - Chapter 67, Section 34
The preceding section shall not entitle a person to compensation for a pew taken down in a meeting house which is unfit for the purposes...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Assessments on pews - Chapter 67, Section 35
A corporation for religious purposes may assess upon the pews in a church or meeting house which it has erected or procured for public worship...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Assessments on pews; consent of owners - Chapter 67, Section 36
Such corporation which had erected or procured such house prior to said date may avail itself of the provisions of the preceding section, if the...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Purchase of pews - Chapter 67, Section 37
A corporation which votes to avail itself of the provisions of section thirty-five shall, upon the application of a person owning a pew in its...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Property status of pews - Chapter 67, Section 38
Pews shall be personal estate.
Protestant Episcopal Societies.
Methodist Episcopal Churches.
- Massachusetts General Laws - Methodist episcopal churches; organization - Chapter 67, Section 40
The trustees of any society of the United Methodist Church, or of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, appointed according to the Discipline or usages thereof,...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Powers of trustees - Chapter 67, Section 41
Such trustees may receive, hold and manage all the real and personal property belonging to such society, may sell and convey the same, and may...
- Massachusetts General Laws - First meeting of trustees, etc - Chapter 67, Section 42
The first meeting of such trustees may, upon the application of three or more of them, be called by a justice of the peace, and...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Filing record of organization - Chapter 67, Section 43
An attested copy of the record of the proceedings at such organization shall be filed with the state secretary, within the time prescribed in section...
Roman Catholic Churches.
Incorporation of Churches.
- Massachusetts General Laws - Authorization - Chapter 67, Section 47
Any church may be incorporated under the following sections.
- Massachusetts General Laws - Notice of meeting - Chapter 67, Section 48
A notice, signed by one or more of the members of such church, stating the object, time and place of the meeting for its incorporation,...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Election of officers - Chapter 67, Section 49
At the time and place stated in said notice, the resident members of such church may assemble at their place of worship and by ballot...
- Massachusetts General Laws - By-laws - Chapter 67, Section 50
The church may make by-laws and may prescribe therein the manner in which and the officers and agents by whom the purposes of its incorporation...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Certification of organization to state secretary - Chapter 67, Section 51
The standing committee or other officers shall certify the organization of such church to the state secretary, in such form as he shall prescribe; and...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Church members only to be members of corporation; associate membership - Chapter 67, Section 52
None but members of such church shall be members of such corporation, and only resident members shall vote; but any such corporation may, upon such...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Conveyances by church officers - Chapter 67, Section 53
The deacons, wardens, trustees or similar officers of a church so incorporated which holds real or personal property under chapter sixty-eight may, subject to the...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Conveyances from religious societies - Chapter 67, Section 54
Any religious society connected with a church so incorporated may, at any meeting called for the purpose, by a three fourths vote, authorize one or...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Orthodox churches; incorporation - Chapter 67, Section 55
This section shall apply to all churches, congregations, parishes, committees and other religious organizations governed by jurisdictions, archdioceses and dioceses of any Orthodox Patriarchate, Synod...
Last modified: March 17, 2010
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