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.

Whilst members of the Independent Catholic movement take seriously the issue of valid orders, it is highly significant that the relevant Vatican Congregations tend not to respond to petitions from Independent Catholic bishops and clergy who seek to be received into communion with the Holy See, hoping to continue in some sacramental role.

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 look for elders who have a mature enough understanding of scripture to enable them to supervise the minister and to teach, as well as to perform " governance " functions.

In 1966, Immanuel Jakobovits, who later became Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Britain and the Commonwealth, disputed the veracity of Shahak's story, and alleged that when challenged to substantiate his claim, Shahak eventually had been forced to admit that the Orthodox Jew he claimed to have witnessed " simply did not exist.

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

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

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

At a general convention held in Berlin in September 1846 a keen dispute arose about the admission of the Königsberg delegate, Julius Rupp ( 1809-1884 ), who in 1845 had been deprived for publicly repudiating the Athanasian Creed and became one of the founders of the " Free Congregations "; and at one time it seemed likely that the society would be completely broken up.

The Congress of Abbots elects the Abbot Primate, who serves a four-year term as the Confederation's representative and administrative head, although without direct jurisdiction of the individual 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.

Upon his retirement, Einhorn was recognized by his fellow rabbis across denominations who held a farewell ceremony held at his apartment where he was presented with a resolution on behalf of the participants at the convention of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations that recognized Einhorn for his rabbinic service, noting the " ability and character which have marked his career, and the earnestness, honesty and zeal which have animated the heart of a man whom we proudly recognize as one of Israel's purest champions and noblest teachers.

Congregations were created from Catholic priests and laypeople who refused to accept the dogmas of the infallibility and universal ordinary jurisdiction of the Pope, as defined by the First Vatican Council in 1870.

* Seeking God ’ s transformation of 1, 000 existing Congregations in ways that will renew their witness.

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.

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

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

Congregations typically meet in their Kingdom Halls two days each week for meetings for worship.

* Congregations with a strong view of church tradition or church authority ( common in churches with a strong hierarchical structure ) will want to know how their denomination has traditionally interpreted the passage.

* Congregations with a strong belief in personal experience ( common in the charismatic and Pentecostal circles ) will want to understand how the passage relates to their experiences.

Along with most Bailey Colleges, St Chad's students wear their college gowns to Formal Hall, Matriculation, College Congregations and other academic or formal events.

Congregations also insisted that their pastors should preach ethics, rather than the finer points of religious dogma ( which they considered to be less important than ethical behavior ).

Bishops have, in virtue of their God-given powers, full authority within their dioceses in all matters of dispensation, patronage and the like ; papal bulls, briefs, etc., and the decrees of the Roman Congregations are only of binding force in each diocese when sanctioned by the bishop ; nunciatures, as hitherto conceived, are to cease ; the oath of allegiance to the pope demanded of bishops since Gregory VII's time is to be altered so as to bring it into conformity with episcopal rights ; annates and the fees payable for the pallium and confirmation are to be lowered and, in the event of the palhum or confirmation being refused, German archbishops and bishops are to be free to exercise their office under the protection of the emperor ; with the Church tribunals of first and second instance ( episcopal and metropolitan ) the nuncios at Cologne are not to interfere, and, though appeal to Rome is allowed under certain national safe-guards, the opinion is expressed that it would be better to set up in each archdiocese a final court of appeal representing the provincial synod ; finally the emperor is prayed to use his influence with the pope to secure the assembly of a national council in order to remove the grievances left unredressed by the council of Trent.

Congregations appoint pastors, elect governing boards, and manage their own local affairs.

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

Her most recent book, Pillars of Faith: American Congregations and their Partners ( University of California Press, 2005 ), describes the common patterns that shape the work of American's diverse communities of faith.

Pillars of Faith: American Congregations and their Partners ( University of California Press, 2005 ).

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

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.

* 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.

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

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

Congregations are concentrated in the Midwest and Northeast United States.

Congregations that do not wish to call these persons to ordained ministry are not required by these policy changes to do so.

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.

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 ).