The light we kindle is set in the lamp of our history.
We inherit this free faith from the brave and gentle, fierce and outspoken, hearts and minds that have come before us.
Let us be worthy inheritors of this faith, and through our good works, pass it boldly to a new generation.
~ Rev. Audette Fulbright (All Souls Associate Minister 2016-2023)
All Souls Bylaws
The bylaws of All Souls were adopted on February 14th, 1820, and have been amended, mostly in minor ways, over the years. The latest version, last amended in 2009, is available here:
The original Certificate of Incorporation from November 15th, 1819, is available in our collection at Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago, and can be found online in our digital archives:
The first decisions about how the church should operate were made by the founders at their earliest meetings, starting in April 1819, although they didn't establish formal bylaws until 1820. The minutes of the board meetings held between 1819 and 1845 are available in a bound volume in our archives at Meadville Lombard, and can be found online here:
For a transcription (thanks to James Moskin) of the minutes of the first two meetings of the church founders, click here:
The minutes of the meeting in February 1820, when the founders adopted bylaws "congruent with the Laws of Incorporation of Religious Institutions in the State of New York" are here:
Unfortunately, we don’t have a copy of the original 1920 bylaws in our archives.
Marietta Moskin, who wrote and edited the All Souls Quarterly Review for many years, wrote in 1995 that
"A diligent search of our Archives has not produced a copy of those original by-laws. The earliest copy of a revised set of by-laws found in the Archives dates back to 1843, but since by-laws have generally changed only slowly over the years, that 1843 document probably reflects the ideas of the original founders in 1820 quite faithfully."
The article goes on to describe the changes that had been made to the bylaws since 1843. To read the full article by Marietta Moskin, click here:
We have the 1967 by-laws here:
In 1975, All Souls was reincorporated:
A fairly important amendment was made to the by-laws in 1984, when one of the requirements for church membership was removed. Up until that time, the bylaws stated that signing the Membership Book was an acknowledgement that one subscribed to the Bond of Union, which was, “In the freedom of the truth and in the spirit of Jesus, we unite for the worship of God,”
In 1984, the requirement to subscribe to the Bond of Union was removed, and from then on a person only had to sign the Membership Book to become a member.
See page 2 of the Notice of Meeting for the 1984 Annual Meeting:
