Congregations were permitted to enact female suffrage within Missouri Synod congregations in 1969, and it was affirmed at the Synod's 2004 convention that women may also " serve in humanly established offices " as long as those offices do not include any of the " distinctive functions of the pastoral office.

Sir Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, summarized: " it is not that God forgives, while human beings do not.

* Congregations who do not have a locally residing elder are assigned a " Counseling Elder " by the national elder body.

Congregations could no longer do charitable work of any kind, which ended destroyed the well developed social institutions with the Mennonite colonies.

Congregations call themselves " churches ," " societies ," " fellowships ," " congregations ," or eschew the use of any particular descriptor ( e. g. " Sierra Foothills Unitarian Universalists ").

Congregations hold legal title to their church buildings and other property, and call ( hire ) and dismiss their own clergy.

Congregations, through the Church Meeting, are responsible for the selection ( issue of a " call ") of ministers to fill vacancies.

Congregations such as media outlets, citizen societies, and chambers of commerce offered their support for these students.

Congregations were soon afterward established in Salem and Unionville, and these congregations incorporated themselves as the Church of the Blessed Hope in 1888.

Congregations, however, retained their local autonomy and these groups were legally separate from the congregations.

Of these the most important are, without doubt, the Roman Congregations ( Sacræ Cardinalium Congregationes ), as is evident from the mere consideration of the dignity of their membership, comprising cardinals who are officially the chief collaborators of the sovereign pontiff in the administration of the affairs of the Universal Church, though Cardinals have not always participated in the administration of ecclesiastical affairs in the same way.

While the chief end of the Congregations of Cardinals was to assist the sovereign pontiff in the administration of the affairs of the Church, some of these congregations were created to assist in the administration of the temporal States of the Holy See.

The Congregation for Catholic Education ( in Seminaries and Institutes of Study ) ( Congregatio de Institutione Catholica ( de Seminariis atque Studiorum Institutis )) is the Pontifical congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for: ( 1 ) seminaries ( except those regulated by the Congregations for the Evangelization of Peoples and for the Oriental Churches ) and houses of formation of religious and secular institutes ; ( 2 ) universities, faculties, institutes and higher schools of study, either ecclesial or civil dependent on ecclesial persons ; and ( 3 ) schools and educational institutes depending on ecclesiastical authorities.

Congregations that belong to associations and conventions are still independently governed.

Congregations are generally overseen by a plurality of elders ( also known in some congregations as shepherds, bishops, or pastors ) who are sometimes assisted in the administration of various works by deacons.

Congregations of the Christian Church are self-governing in the tradition of congregational polity.

Congregations and ministries of the Christian Church ( Disciples of Christ ) are free to use the chalice in publications, web sites and other media.

* The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, known as the Orthodox Union, or " OU ", and the Rabbinical Council of America, " RCA " are organizations that represent Modern Orthodox Judaism, a large segment of Orthodoxy in the United States and Canada.

The Roman Congregations are a type of dicastery ( department with a jurisdiction ) of the Roman Curia, the central administrative organism of the Catholic Church.

Depending on their status within various Messianic Jewish groups, such as the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations, an allowance for formal conversion is made based on their understanding that Messianic converts are not automatically considered Jewish.

* The Messianic Jewish Rabbinical Council, many of whose members are affiliated with the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations, has published its standards of Messianic Torah observance.

* The largest and oldest are the Orthodox Union ( Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America ), which sponsors youth groups, kashrut supervision, and many other activities and its rabbinic counterpart, the Rabbinical Council of America ( RCA ).

Congregations are served by full-time professional clergy.

The Moravian Church and the Federation of Evangelical Reformed Congregations are associate members.

Congregations are concentrated in the Midwest and Northeast United States.

Congregations are encouraged to contribute to a specific fund for that purpose.

Congregations are usually based on geographical area or language spoken, and may have as few as ten or as many as two hundred members.

Congregations are governed by local elders, who are assisted by ministerial servants.

The Secretary of State, the prefects of the Congregations of the Roman Curia, the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, the Vicar General of Rome, and the Patriarchs of Venice and Lisbon, are usually Cardinals, with few, generally temporary, exceptions.

Congregations outside of the established districts are included under National Missions ( Bishop Abel F. Aguilar ).

Smaller related denominations are the Canadian and American Reformed Churches, the Free Reformed Churches of North America ( FRC ), the Heritage Reformed Congregations ( HRC ), the Netherlands Reformed Congregations ( NRC ), the Protestant Reformed Churches in America ( PRC ), and the United Reformed Churches in North America ( URC ).

The Congregations of women who trace their origins to Father Moreau are the Marianites of Holy Cross ( Le Mans, France ), the Sisters of the Holy Cross, ( Notre Dame, Indiana ), and the Sisters of Holy Cross, ( Montreal, Canada ).

" Commentary to Leviticus " in The Torah: A Modern Commentary, edited by W. Gunther Plaut, New York: Union of American Hebrew Congregations.

They have been accepted as religious holidays by the following groups: The Union of Orthodox Congregations and the Rabbinical Council of America ; The United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth ; Reform Judaism ; Conservative Judaism ; Reconstructionist Judaism ; the Union for Traditional Judaism.

* seminaries ( except those regulated by the Congregations for the Evangelization of Peoples and for the Oriental Churches ) and houses of formation of religious and secular institutes ;

Set up by Pope John Paul II by a motu proprio of 15 January 1993, it is presided over by the Cardinal Secretary of State and includes also the Secretary and the Undersecretary for Relations with States, and the Secretaries of the Congregations for the Eastern Churches, for the Clergy, and for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, and of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

Unitarian Universalist Association ( UUA ), in full the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations in North America, is a liberal religious association of Unitarian Universalist congregations formed by the consolidation in 1961 of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America.

This has led to conflict between the council and the Jewish population, represented by the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations.

Congregations where there is no minister, or where the minister is incapacitated may be moderated by a specially trained elder.

There is also a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in the town which is shared by Bishopbriggs and Kirkintilloch Congregations.

These portions of the Papers were subsequently published by Beacon Press, the publishing arm of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations.

Congregations meet for religious services at Kingdom Halls, which may be shared by two or more congregations.

Founded on January 15, 1939 by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations ( now called the Union for Reform Judaism ), the then-titled National Federation of Temple Youth was a program to encourage college students to engage in synagogue life.

# Congregations, headed by a Prefect, who is most frequently a cardinal:

In recent times, very few Congregations have actually been held, with most important business conducted by postal ballot of its members.

Following the Protocol for Departing Congregations created by the Diocese of Virginia, Truro Church embarked on 40 Days of Discernment to consider its future in the Episcopal Church ( TEC ).

The Congregations must make certain arrangements in respect of the pope's burial, which by tradition takes place within four to six days of the pope's death, leaving time for pilgrims to see the dead pontiff, and is to be followed by a nine-day period of mourning ( this is known as the novemdiales, Latin for " nine days ").