Knights of the Altar
St. Joseph the Worker Parish
Arch Diocese of Cebu
Tabunoc, Talisay City 6045
Cebu
CONSTITUTION
PREAMBLE
We, the young boys of St. Joseph the Worker Parish Tabunoc, Talisay City, realizing the need to establish an organization for young boys that will serve as good examples among the youth of the parish, promote their welfare and foster a stronger solidarity among them in order to attain the unity for the advancement of our goals and aspiration based on spiritual, moral, social, and personal development on justice and democracy, do hereby by order in and promulgate this constitution.
ARTICLE I
NAME AND DOMICILESection I. Name: This body shall be known as the Knights of the Altar – St. Joseph the worker Parish. It shall adapt the acronym S.J.P.- K.O.A. to identify and distinguish it from other religious organization.
Section II. Logo: The S.J.P.-K.O.A. shall adapt this logo:
Section III. Domicile: The office of the S.J.P.- K.O.A. shall be located at the St. Joseph Parish hall, S.J.P.. church, Tabunoc, Talisay City.
ARTICLE II
DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES AND OBJECTIVES
Section I. The S.J.P. - K.O.A. believes in the following:
a. The access to the organization should be afforded to all in accordance with the rules and regulations of the organization.
b. That the organization should be primarily centered on the full development of man’s spiritual, intellectual, social, cultural and political potentials in order to realize a humane and human existence for all.
c. That the organization shall serve the needs and aspirations of the youth linked in the parish.
Section II. S.J.P. - K.O.A. aims :
a. To promote and uphold brotherhood in Christ.
b. To develop a sense of unity among its members.
c. To adhere to the principles, practices, and processes and abide that majority prevails upon the minority.
d. To instill a sense of responsibility among its members.
e. To disseminate vital and relevant information in order to develop to individual as a whole.
f. To coordinate with the different sectors and organizations in the parish for the purpose of maintaining a harmonious relationship.
ARTICLE III
DUTIES AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE MEMBERS
Section I. It shall be an obligation of the K.O.A.
a. To observe and uphold the rules and regulations of the K.O.A..
b. To uphold the integrity of the K.O.A. organization.
c. To support the K.O.A. officers, the respective chairman and subchairman of the different groupings.
d. To be responsible and concerned about the various activities affecting them.
e. To implement spiritual and moral development with extra -curricular participation that may help to promote development of who wholistic individual.
Section II.
Membership:
Any interested young boys and men Catholic and who have taken the first communion and within the age of 9-21 years old can join the association.
Section II.
Formation:
In the stage of formation the KOA Advisers and the officers are tasked to teach the new recruits.
a.) The new members will render six months (6) of probationary formation.
b.) The new members will have weekly meetings which will be held every Saturday.
c.) The weekly meetings will include; Catechism, Liturgy and Etiquette or GMRC.
d.) For the 1st month the new members will only wear WHITE T-SHIRT and BLACK PANTS with Leader shoes.
e.) On the 2nd month the new members will wear the CLERICAL POLO with BLACK PANTS and Leaders shoes hence they are now allowed to partially assist I the mass.
f.) On the 3rd month they will receive the CROSS which is a symbol that they are now allowed to assist the mass during weekdays and assist the servers on Sundays.
h.) On the 6th month they will have their recollection, before they will be instituted and become regular members of the Knights of the Altar.
ARTICLE IV
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF OFFICERS
Section I. Parish Priest/Spiritual Director
He holds over-all responsibilities for the K.O.A. over-all activities and projects.
He meets us and gives us a short conference during our monthly Eucharistic celebration.
He brings us closer to Christ through the Sacrament of confession and the Eucharist.
Section II. The Spiritual Moderator/Director
He is directly responsible for the smooth running of the K.O.A..
He guide and supervise all our activities and projects, and ensures the proper growth and formation of all members.
He joins our monthly meetings and gives us a conference every month.
He prepares our monthly - Eucharistic celebration and other liturgical activities.
Section III. The KOA Animator/Adviser
He is acts in accordance with the guidance of the Spiritual Director.
He calls the officers for by the monthly meetings.
He organizes our social recreational activity.
In the absence of the Spiritual Director he implements his office.
But most of the time the Animator/Adviser helps the officers in meetings. He is ready to help us with timely advice, encouragement and corrections whenever the need arises.
Section IV. The President shall be the Chief Executive of the S.J.P. - K.O.A
He shall :
Preside over the meetings of the S.J.P. - K.O.A.
Co-sign all documents and communications of the S.J.P. - K.O.A., along with the K.O.A. Moderator, his assistant moderator if the moderator is not in the position to do so, and the Parish Priest Adviser.
Act as the official representative of the K.O.A. .
Delegate work and responsibilities to the Vice-President or in the letter of any S.J.P. - K.O.A.. officer.
Meet with moderator, assistant moderator, the Parish Priest for relevant dialogues.
Perform other functions inherent to his position.
Section V. The Vice-President shall:
Assists the President and the letters administrative functions.
Perform the duties of the President when the latter is incapacitated to perform other duties inherent to his position and exercise other functions delegated to him by the President.
Section VI. The Secretary shall:
Be responsible for the sake keeping of the records and documents of the K.O.A. .
Prepare a file communication and documents of the K.O.A. .
Record the proceedings of the meeting of the K.O.A. .
Section VII. The Treasurer shall:
Prepare the budget.
Keep fund in a safe place, and if withdrawn, shall need to co-sign with the President and shall be able to present legitimate receipts to cover for the disbursed amount.
Shall submit financial reports to the President, the Moderator, the Parish Priest Adviser and the body general.
Section VIII. The Auditor shall:
Audit the financial report of the treasurer and other financial report.
Perform other duties inherent in his position and other duties that may be delegated to him by the President.
Section IX. P.R.O. shall:
Handle all matters related to information regarding the activities of the K.O.A.
Keep the members informed of its activities and other meetings.
Perform such other duties inherent to his position or other duties which may be delegated to him.
Section X. Group Leaders:
Appointed by the officers and Animators they are responsible for each of the different groups.
They preside over group-meeting discussions and activities.
They check the attendance of the group members and gives a report to the Secretary.
They select from the group members the regular contribution and submitted it to the Treasurer.
Each group must consist of seven members (7) which has the following functions: 2 missal and microphone, 2 candle bearers, 2 main servers and 1 M.C. or the group leader.
The groupings will be reshappled on the 6th month to promote a strong brotherly relationship.
ARTICLE V.
Qualifications of Officers
Section I. All bonafide members seeking elective positions in the S.J.P. - K.O.A. must have the following qualifications:
Must not be underdisciplinary probation.
Must be an active member for at least six months in the organization.
Must not be occupying any two positions in other mandated organizations.
ARTICLE VI.
Elections.
Section I. Each set of officers shall have a tenure for two years after which elections will be held in January.
Section II. The K.O.A. Animator and his assistant shall assign six members to act as the comission of elections one week before the elections.
Section III. The leader of the commission on election should be the one to declare the winner.
ARTICLE VII.
Accountability of Officers.
Section I. All officers of the K.O.A.-O.L.F.P. shall serve with the highest degree of responsibility, integrity and efficiency.
Section II. No officer may be suspended from office for a period of more than 60 days.
Section III. Any officer or member of the K.O.A.-O.L.F.P. may be removed from office by the K.O.A. Animator, moderator and the Parish Priest on any of the following grounds:
a. Gross neglect of duty.
b. Violation of any provision of this constitution, the rules and regulations of the organization.
c. Gross misconduct.
d. Malversation of K.O.A. funds.
ARTICLE VIII.
Tenure and VacancySection I. All officers of the S.J.P. - K.O.A. shall assume office after five days from the day of proclamation and shall serve for a term of two years and shall continue his tenure until a new set of officers are elected.
If the position of the President of the K.O.A. shall be least vacant through resignation, disqualification or any other causes, it shall be filled up through the appointment of the K.O.A. Moderator.
ARTICLE IX.
Meetings and Conference
Section I. Organization meetings shall be held by all elected officers with the moderator five days after the assumption of office to plan the program and activities of the organization with in the scope of two years.
The regular meeting shall be held weekly by the K.O.A. President.
A majority of all the officers and members of K.O.A. and with the presence of the moderator or his assistant must be present for the presiding officer to declare a quorum.
ARTICLE X.
Funds.
Section I. The funds of the S.J.P. - K.O.A. shall come from the regular weekly dues (fee) of the five pesos, to be collected from all members.
Section II. From any other fund raising campaign that the K.O.A. may have like letters soliciting or donations, bote diario activities, Christmas caroling and the like, must have financial reports submitted to the body.
ARTICLE XI.
Recognition and Ceremonies.
Section I. An annual recognition ceremony shall be held preferably at the year-end to give due recognition to one or two deserving Knights who have performed their duty to the church and the parish satisfactory and in one way contributed to the organization.
Section II. Selection of the awardees shall be done by a majority of votes among the K.O.A. deciding votes of which shall come from the moderator, his assistant and the Parish Priest with the chairman of the Worship committee.
ARTICLE XII.
Monthly Schedule
Section I. Every 1st Friday of the month will attend the Holy Mass and join the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
Section II. Every 1st Saturday all Acolytes will attend and join the Down Rosary and Mass in Honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Section III. Every 2nd Saturday of the month is the Devotion and fellowship day of all Acolytes. This is done by praying the rosary, bible sharing and spiritual inputs. This is held at the parish basement at 3:00pm – 5:00pm and then all members will attend the Holy Mass at 5:30pm
Section IV. Every 3rd Saturday of the monthly general meeting will be held. The meeting will discuss all matters of the group, monthly activities, monthly mass schedules for servers and the like.
ARTICLE XIII
RULES AND REGULATIONS
Section I. Dress Code
CLERICAL POLO, BLACK PANTS and BLACK leader shoes should be worn every regular meeting and every liturgical activities before and after wearing the ALB.
IF wearing the ALB the under garments should be white t-shirt, black pants and black leader shoes.
The alb should be worn every time we serve the HOLY MASS and all Liturgical Activities.
Section II. Schedule Adherence
All acolytes must be 30 minutes to 1 hour early to any scheduled activities and Holly Mass.
IF you are going to absent u must inform the president or the secretary a day before the service or activity. You must call or Text the president or secretary a day before and submit an excuse letter singed by the parents or guardian, to be submitted on the following week.
Every time you attend the meeting and serve the Mass always sign the logbook and log-sheet for the mass.
If there is an emergency meeting, u will informed through call, txt or a formal letter from the president.
Section III. Sanctions
For Meetings and regular activities.
P1.00 fine if absent once in a month
P2.00 fine if absent twice in a month plus cleaning of the meeting area.
P5.00 fine if absent trice in a month, 1 Sunday suspension for mass service but will help in preparing the things for the mass at the 5:00 am, 6:00 am, and his regular schedule of mass service.
P10.00 fine if absent four times in a month, suspension for mass service but will assist all the masses on Sundays by preparing all the things for the mass and the service.
If a member is more than a month absent and not attending meetings and not serving the mass on his schedule, he will be asked to attend a hearing to determine if he is still interested or to continue.
For expulsion it will be the Spiritual directors decision if will expel a member or not with the recommendation of the officers.
For Mass service during Sundays and weekdays:
P5.00 fine if absent once in a month.
P10.00 fine if absent twice in a month plus will assist the servers on the next mass after his regular schedule on Sundays. But if week days, he will assist the servers on the next day’s mass.
If an acolyte will be absent for the 3rd time in a month, he will be subjected for a trial and give him time to reason out and defend himself. Then sanctions will be determined by the officers.
If an acolytes will be absent for a month then a hearing will be held and the result will be submitted to the KOA moderator for decision.
Administrative Hearing
Administrative Hearings are done for acolytes who are always absent during Mass service and Regular meetings, without valid reason or notification.
For the process, the president will send an invitation letter to the member.
Then a counsel will be held, that will comprise of the President, Vise president, Secretary and Treasurer to investigate the case.
This is t give chance for the member accused to defend himself and reason out. He can bring witnesses with him to justify his reasons.
Then the counsel will decide a partial judgment, but will be given on the second counsel.
If the decision is expulsion then it should be submitted to the Moderator for further assessment. Hence it is only the Moderator who can expel a KOA member.
Article XIV
EXPULSION
If a member will be expelled it is only the moderator has the authority to judge these matters, provided that there was a hearing held and all the evidences have been submitted. Officers can give partial judge but not expulsion.
Section I. Grounds for expulsion:
Absent for 4 consecutive times, without informing the officers and submitting an excuse letter signed by the parents.
Absent for 4 consecutive times, during mass service. Without prior notice and excuse letter singed by parents.
Stealing church property.
Behavioral problems
If a member is absent for 2 months without prior notice then he automatically expelled from the association.
Article XV
THE K.O.A. PARENTS ASSOCIATION (KOA-PA)
Section I. Purpose
The K.O.A.- P.A. is the support body of the of the association, composed of the knights parents and guardians. They help in the activities of the knights and give them moral, spiritual, formation and financial support.
Section II. Structure
The KOA-PA also has its own set of officers which also follows the functions of the KOA officers. They have their own meetings every quarter of the year.
Parents meeting is held on the last Saturday of every quarter of the year.
Prayer:
This constitution of the Knights of the Altar of St. Joseph the Worker Parish, Talisay City of the Arch Diocese of Cebu, has been reviewed and approve by all members of KOA and KOA-PA. Thus we hereby affix our signatures that we shall follow all the implementing rules and guidelines of this constitution this 17th of May 2008.
OFFICERS
Marl Vincent Labitad Aldrin NavarroKevin Dave Dela Cerna
President Vice-president Secretary
Menelik Lacno Gian Carlo LechidoGarnie Boy Rojas
Treasurer Auditor P.I.O
Mark James LariosaJohn Clyde Labajo
Peace Officer Peace Officer
MEMBERS
Jonathan BaCuli Ainon Bacus
Clinton Cabanero John Paul Cabanero
John Gabriel Cabradilla Emmanuel Catadman
Machail Catadman Kevin Curioso
Emmanuel FajardoMichael J.C. Labajo
Ryan Lariosa Richmond Nibrea
Thames Padillo Ernest Christian Reyes
Ralph Saberon Brian Segara
Clent Sigue Kevin Sigue
Joebelle SuaringJustin Sunga
Elegie SaysonJoseph Cabanero
Knights of the Altar
St. Joseph the Worker Parish
Arch Diocese of Cebu
Tabunoc, Talisay City 6045
Cebu
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREAMBLE P. 1ARTICLE I NAME AND DOMICILE P.2ARTICLE II DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES AND OBJECTIVES P. 2
ARTICLE III DUTIES AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE MEMBERS p. 3
ARTICLE IV DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF OFFICERS p. 4
ARTICLE V. Qualifications of Officers P . 5
ARTICLE VI. Elections. P. 5ARTICLE VII. Accountability of Officers. P. 5
ARTICLE VIII. Tenure and Vacancy P. 7
ARTICLE IX. Meetings and Conference
ARTICLE X. Funds. P.8
ARTICLE XI. Recognition and Ceremonies. P. 8
ARTICLE XII. Monthly Schedule p. 8
ARTICLE XIII RULES AND REGULATIONS p. 9
Article XIV EXPULSION p. 11
Article XV THE K.O.A. PARENTS ASSOCIATION (KOA-PA) p.12
Prayer