General assembly

A general assembly is a meeting of all the members of an organisation or shareholders of a company.

Specific examples of general assembly include:

Churches

Presbyterian polity

Presbyterian (or presbyteral) polity is a method of church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session or consistory, though other terms, such as church board, may apply. Groups of local churches are governed by a higher assembly of elders known as the presbytery or classis; presbyteries can be grouped into a synod, and Presbyteries, along with synods nationwide often join together in a general assembly. Responsibility for conduct of church services is reserved to an ordained minister or pastor known as a teaching elder, or a minister of the word and sacrament.

Presbyterian polity was developed as a rejection of governance by hierarchies of single bishops (episcopal polity), but also differs from the congregationalist polity in which each congregation is independent. In contrast to the other two forms, authority in the presbyterian polity flows both from the top down (as higher assemblies exercise limited but important authority over individual congregations, e.g., only the presbytery can ordain ministers, install pastors, and start up, close, and approve relocating a congregation) and from the bottom up (e.g., the moderator and officers are not appointed from above but are rather elected by and from among the members of the assembly). This theory of governance developed in Geneva under John Calvin and was introduced to Scotland by John Knox after his period of exile in Geneva. It is strongly associated with French, Dutch, Swiss and Scottish Reformation movements, and the Reformed and Presbyterian churches.

General assembly (Occupy movement)

General assemblies (GA) are the primary decision making bodies of the global Occupy Movement which arose in 2011. Open to all who wish to take part, general assemblies allow for an inclusive form of direct democracy. Such assemblies aim to establish a consensus among all participants.

Assemblies are primarily voice based with different speakers addressing the crowd in turn. The specific forms adopted by the occupy assemblies vary across the world. Most assemblies have facilitators to keep order and ensure that if possible everyone gets to have their say. The larger assemblies often restrict the speakers just to spokespeople who represent smaller working groups, however each individual is still able to provide feedback, if only by means of hand signals.

General Assemblies have been used by the Occupy Wall Street movement since its planning stages in August 2011, and were held in Zuccotti Park during the occupation itself. The name "New York City General Assembly" was given to the general assemblies taking place in Zuccotti Park. The "NYCGA" website, as it was known, was maintained by the Internet Working group as an resource for all assemblies and it's working group meetings.

Vermont

Vermont (ⁱ/vərˈmɒnt/ or /vɜːrˈmɒnt/,locally: [vɚˈmɑ̟̃(ʔ)]) is a state in the New England region of the northeastern part of the United States. It is bordered to the west by New York, the south by Massachusetts, the east by New Hampshire and to the north by the Canadian province of Quebec. Vermont is the 6th smallest in area and the 2nd least populous of the 50 United States. It is the least populous of the six New England states and the only one not bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Lake Champlain covers half of Vermont's western border, while the Connecticut River forms most of Vermont's eastern boundary with New Hampshire. The Green Mountains run north-south the length of the state.

With a population of 7,671, the state capital of Montpelier is the least populous state capital in the US. Vermont's most populous city is Burlington. With a 2013 population of 42,284, Burlington is the least populous city in the United States to be the largest city within a state. Burlington's metropolitan area has a population of 214,796. Vermont is one of the most racially homogeneous states; 94.3% of its population identified as non-Hispanic white in 2010.

Vermont wine

Vermont wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Vermont. The first commercial winery in Vermont, Snow Farm Winery, opened in 1997. Vermont is a very cold climate for viticulture. Vermont wineries have focused on using cold-hardy French hybrid grapes, but have been experimenting with some Vitis vinifera varieties. Some Vermont wineries produce wine made from grapes grown in other states, especially New York.

See also

References

Vermont (band)

Vermont was a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based indie rock band and collaboration between Davey von Bohlen and Dan Didier of The Promise Ring and Chris Roseanau of Pele. The band released two albums on Kindercore Records and broke up in 2001, before von Bohlen founding the band Maritime.

Discography