I just came from a congregation with a hard assed elder body. One alpha male who needs to prove something I guess. The other elders fall in line to his demands and life was hell in that congregation. Despite this I was still able to make progress in my fade.
The elders where I am at now seem to be more laid back, so far.
2 of them are very weathy and never seem to be around always going on vacation. Another elder misses a lot of meetings for work and that seems to be ok.
So my missing meetings shouldn't be an issue.