Annual Meetings

The annual meetings of the corporation and congregation of Shadyside Presbyterian Church will be held on Sunday, May 21, 2023, immediately following worship in the Sanctuary and virtually via Zoom videoconferencing. Members are asked to attend so that we can accomplish the election of officers and handle other important business, which will include receiving the report from the Associate Pastor Nominating Committee (APNC) and taking action on the motion to approve the call of the nominated candidate as our Associate Pastor for Missions and Campus Ministry. Extended nursery care will be available for the duration of the meeting.

The format of the meeting will be hybrid, meaning that we will have attendees on-site in the Sanctuary and online via Zoom videoconferencing. The meeting will follow the guidelines established by the Pittsburgh Presbytery for hybrid meetings, in order to ensure that all participants are able to engage completely in the proceedings and are able to vote.

When taking action on the APNC’s nomination, on-site attendees will vote by paper ballot. Online participants will be instructed on voting by the online host. Those who are connected by a traditional/landline telephone (rather than a smart device) will vote privately by a voice vote, which will be heard only by the online host.

As you make your plans, please visit this page to learn more about current COVID-19 precautions as we gather in the Sanctuary. If you would prefer, you may plan to attend the meetings virtually instead. Please read on for details.

For Virtual Participants

The majority of the instructions to access the meeting virtually appear below. The link, telephone number, meeting ID, and passcode will not be shared publicly in the interest of keeping the meeting secure, but these details will be delivered directly to members by email. Please read on for further information.

Access Instructions

Computer access is best. The Zoom application also works on a tablet or smart phone.

• An invitation with the link to access the meeting will be emailed to members directly. (Please see below for timeline information.)
• Prior to the meeting, it is recommended that you test your computer system, set up the Zoom application, and check your video and audio connections. You may use the link in advance to do so; however, you will be unable to join the meeting until fifteen minutes prior to the stated meeting date/time. (It is not required that you turn on your video camera; you may leave it turned off if you prefer.)
• If the church office does not have your email address, please share it with us.

Telephone access is also available. Voting options will be limited, and your phone carrier rates will apply; however, in the absence of any alternative, a member may connect via telephone.

• A telephone number, meeting ID, and passcode will be included in the email sent to members. Please contact the church office by telephone for assistance before Friday, May 19, if you need to connect by telephone and cannot access the email instructions. Our office staff will be happy to help you.

Timeline for Email Invitation

Two email messages will be sent to all members for whom the church has an email address on record.

• The first email will be sent at noon on Sunday, May 14, and will serve as notice of the annual meeting.
• The second email will be sent on the morning of Sunday, May 21. The link to the meeting will be included, as well as a link to the annual report (PDF file).

If you do not receive the first email, please contact the church office before Friday, May 19, to provide your email address.

Participation Notes

Zoom is free for you to use for this meeting. You do not need to sign up for an account, but you will need to allow the Zoom application to run on your device. (Telephone access, however, is not toll-free; your phone carrier rates will apply.)

All attendees will be muted for the duration of the meeting. This is a measure to optimize the audio quality by reducing ambient noise and echo from all attendees. In the event we experience audio trouble, we may ask all attendees to turn off their video cameras in order to reduce the strain on the network.

Except for the action taken on the APNC’s nomination, voting may be handled by nonverbal feedback and polling. Only computers or smart devices will have these features. Those connected by a traditional telephone will be unable to participate in these silent votes. For yes/no votes, we may utilize the green check mark and the red X buttons on Zoom’s “Reactions” menu. (Please see figure below.) For any other votes, we may deploy a specific poll, to which all attendees will need to respond in the allotted time. Voice participation will be limited to the moderator and the speakers on the agenda; however, if you wish to be recognized to speak or pose a question, you may use the “raise hand” feature in the “Reactions” menu, and the moderator will address each in turn. You may also use the chat feature if necessary. A tip for telephone-only attendees: Press *9 (star, nine) on your phone’s dial pad if you need to raise your hand. Press *6 (star, six) to toggle mute/unmute.