LC: <<[New]>> 30. PROCEDURES FOR MOVING FELLOW MEMBERS TO CHARTER MEMBER STATUS

A. If a Fellow Member Home wants to return to Charter Member status as their own Home, they must notify the continental office of their desire to do so. In their letter, the Fellow Members should explain their history and why they were reclassified. At this time they should also request a copy of the "Love Charter" if they do not already have one.

B. If, after reading the Charter and prayerful consideration, the Fellow Member Home determines that it would like to attempt to meet the standard outlined in the Charter, they should specify on their TRF that they have read the Charter and agree to abide by it, and request permission to begin their six-month probationary period as Charter Members.

1. If the Fellow Member Home is not in good standing or ineligible for a return to Charter Member status, the continental office will inform them of the reasons why their application has been denied within 45 days.

2. If notification of ineligibility is not received from the continental office within 45 days, the Fellow Member Home may commence a probationary Charter period of six months.

3. All voting-age members must agree to abide by the Charter for as long as they remain in the Home.

a) If necessary, the continental office may postpone the returning Fellow Member Home's probationary period for up to an additional 60 days, during which time the Home would be visited by an area officer or designated Charter representative to ascertain its eligibility for Charter Member status. The continental office must inform the applicant Home of this delay.

C. If all, or a majority of the Home members are rejoining as Charter Members, they have the option of remaining in their existing housing. Any members who wish to retain their Fellow Member status would need to join another Fellow Member Home or open their own Fellow Member Home.

1. If only one individual or a few members of a Fellow Member Home have been accepted to return to Charter Member status, they would need to join an existing Charter Home, or open a new Home to begin their probationary period of returning to Charter Member status. (See Procedures for Fellow Members Changing to Charter Member Status and Moving into an Existing Charter Home.)

D. During this probationary period, all voting members of the Home must complete the Reading List for Fellow Members Changing to CM or Those on Partial Excommunication (Appendix G.), which may be ordered from their continental office, available to the Home for the printing and shipping costs. At the end of their six-month probationary period, unless an area officer or a continental office-appointed designated representative (DR) has visited and disqualified the probationary Home, they will begin a transitional Charter period lasting six months.

1. The probationary period may be shortened to three months if all the Home's voting members have completed the reading of the Reading List for Fellow Members Changing to CM or Those on Partial Excommunication during that time. In this case, the Home must notify their continental office that they have completed the Reading List for Fellow Members Changing to CM or Those on Partial Excommunication. Unless they hear otherwise from their continental office, or an area officer or DR has visited and disqualified them, they will begin their transitional Charter period.

2. The continental office is responsible to supply the applicant Home with the Charter Member TRF form and reporting instructions.
         During the six-month transitional period the transitional Home is considered a CM Home, and should therefore use the CM TRF report and reporting procedures, and are expected to fulfill all the Charter requirements listed therein, including making monthly contributions to the FAF as well as sending in their HSEC.

E. During the six-month transitional period, they are eligible to receive CM mailings. However, though they are voting members in their own Home, they are not eligible to exercise the following Charter rights and privileges:

a) Right of Mobility (until they have received their confirmatory visit from a VS or DR)

b) Voting in Home referendums

c) Sex with Charter Members.

F. At the beginning of the transitional period, all voting-age members of the Home must test negative for the HIV virus and again test negative after a six-month period.

G. At some time during the transitional period, the Home must receive a visit by an area officer or DR to verify that the prospective Charter Home is living according to the Charter.

1. It is the responsibility of the continental office to ensure that an area officer or DR visits the prospective Home at some time during their transitional period.

2. The Fellow Member applicant(s) should cover the expenses of the area officer/DR visit. It will be left up to the area officer or DR to work out the details of such payments directly with the Fellow Member(s) applying for Charter Member status.

3. If the area officer or DR determine the Home is not living according to the Charter, the Home members must be told by the area officer or DR in what areas they are falling short of the Charter and what they must do to come up to the Charter standard. The Home must again begin their probationary Charter period, following the procedures from point C. above onward.

4. The HER fund should be given to the transitional Home after they have received their confirmatory visit from an area officer or DR.

H. Once the Home has completed their six-month transitional period, they become a full-fledged Charter Home with all the rights pertaining thereto.


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