Clerk of Yearly Meeting
(06/23/07)
In addition to specific leadership and administrative responsibilities, the Clerk of the Yearly Meeting seeks leadings to nourish the presence of the Spirit in the Yearly Meeting community of Friends and helps the corporate body discern the leading of the Spirit in Yearly Meeting matters.
Appointment: The Clerk of Yearly Meeting is appointed for a three year term beginning at the rise of an annual session. Current practice is to provide either a single Clerk or a shared or teamed effort of two clerks when appropriate. The Clerk of Yearly Meeting also clerks the Executive Committee, which is advisory to the Clerk.
Responsibilities of the Clerk include:
1. Serving the Yearly Meeting as its clerk, particularly of its meetings for business and of such other plenary sessions as may be called, and arranging for the right holding of its meetings for worship.
2. Seeing that a full and correct record is kept of all proceedings.
3. Assuring that instructions of the Yearly Meeting are carried out.
4. Calling meetings of the Executive Committee as needed and acting as its clerk.
5. Working with the Executive Committee on matters of business and program arrangements, including providing by late February a "Call to Yearly Meeting" and information about the guest speaker to the editor of Friends Bulletin and to the registrar for including in the program packet.
6. Appointing by October a designee Host with fluency in Spanish and interest in Mexico City Friends to assist with arranging the visitation of the Herberto Sein Memorial Visitor for the next annual session, the associated travel, and participation in the annual session. The Host should have the capacity to either assist with travel or arrange for that assistance. (Note 1.)
7. Communicating with the Regional, Monthly, Preparative Meetings and Worship Groups and other Friends organizations and individuals as appropriate to the right conduct of Yearly Meeting.
8. Encouraging communications between the Yearly Meeting and other Friends organizations, delegating the activity as appropriate to Yearly Meeting committees and officers.
9. Informing all those organizations to which the Yearly Meeting sends appointed representatives ‑ FWCC, FCNL, AFSC Corporation, Brinton Memorial Visitor Committee, Corporation Board of Friends Bulletin, Friends Peace Teams ‑ regarding current appointments.
10. Convening the Committee on Selection of a Guest Resource Speaker, extending invitations, overseeing arrangements for the speaker's presence and participation at the yearly meeting, and informing the Continuing Committee and the Registrar of progress and decisions.
11. Maintaining a file of actions for the ongoing use of Yearly Meeting Clerks. Originals of archival material shall be forwarded to the Historian-Archivist.
12. Entertaining, at the Clerk's discretion, a minute or concern from the floor of a plenary session for the Yearly Meeting's deliberation.
13. Transferring records and information to successor Clerk before the Executive Committee meeting in late summer.
14. Presenting minutes, concerns, and other business to Continuing Committee as needed.
15. Reviewing with the Continuing Committee Clerk the substance of responses to the letter/questionnaire prior to the Continuing Committee's winter meeting.
16. Working with the Continuing Committee Clerk and program coordinators to assure that all the appropriate program and logistical information relevant to the annual gathering is provided to the Registrar and to the Coordinator of Operations for scheduling logistics in a timely fashion prior to yearly meeting.
17. Calling for State of the Meeting reports and any Memorial Minutes from Monthly Meetings. When received these are assembled as part of the Documents-in-Advance that are posted on imym.org, sent to any Friend who requests them, and put in a binder kept in IMYM book store.
18. Requesting reports from certain officers, committees, and representatives of Friends organizations to be collected and distributed as the Documents-in-Advance of the annual session. These Documents in Advance are conveyed to the Web Clerk for posting on imym.org, sent to any Friend who requests them, and put in a binder kept in IMYM book store.
19. Receiving epistles from other Friends organizations, maintaining an updated list of the epistles, and periodically sending copies to the Clerk of the Watching Committee. The Committee will review the epistles received by IMYM, calling attention to special ones and suggesting appropriate readings from some at meetings for business. (Note 2)
20. Responding to any epistle that is sensitive due to either content or action required, in consultation with the Clerk of the Watching Committee. Such action should be reported to the annual session if appropriate.
21. Preparing a bound collection of the epistles (with table of contents)to be housed in the IMYM book store as announced during the annual session. A complete set should be given to the Recording Clerk so s/he will have copies of those read during plenary sessions to include in the minutes.
Financial Arrangements: The Yearly Meeting pays the expenses of the Yearly Meeting Clerk to meetings of the Executive and Continuing Committees, and to the annual session as needed. (See the Guide page Who Pays IMYM Travel.) Incidental operating expenditures for clerical supplies, communications, etc., may be submitted to the Treasurer for reimbursement. The Treasurer should be consulted before incurring unusual expenses.
Notes and Concerns:
1. Also see the Guide page for Heberto Sein Memorial Visitor Host. Arranging for the Visitor has been accomplished in several ways in recent years. The procedure described here is proposed for a trial. It is likely that a suitable Host may be asked to perform this function for more than one year.
2. Also see description for Watching Committee.
Timeline for the Work of the Clerk of Yearly Meeting
(06/09/07)
JULY
1. Review the Record of the yearly meeting's proceedings with the Recording Clerk and finalize for release. Note – The Record of a yearly meeting's proceedings includes minutes of the annual session, attached reports presented to the annual session, epistles approved by the annual session, memorial minutes, and state of the meeting reports from Monthly Meetings and Worship Groups.
2. Convey the Record and any other supporting materials to the Web Clerk for posting on imym.org.
3. Prepare summary of IMYM Proceedings to send to all Monthly Meetings.
4. Check with clerk of Watching Committee to see how distribution of epistles is proceeding.
5. Contact choices for plenary speaker.
AUGUST
1. Prepare and send out call to Executive Committee.
2. Remind all Friends who need to make reports at Executive Committee (check last year’s minutes to see who made reports).
3. Organize Executive Committee housing, facilities, food, etc. or appoint Friend to do this.
4. Prepare and distribute agenda for Executive Committee.
5. Finalize plenary speaker prior to Executive Committee.
6. Executive Committee (scheduled at IMYM for one of the last week-ends in August).
SEPTEMBER
1. Review Executive Committee Record of Proceedings and finalize with Recording Clerk.
2. Prepare Executive Committee summary and send to all Monthly Meetings.
OCTOBER
1. Keep in touch with plenary speaker discussing possible theme (this is ongoing until done).
2. Identify who will assist with the Heberto Sein Memorial Visitor arrangements.
NOVEMBER
1. Keep up with all e-mail communication – this is ongoing from the beginning and is one of the most time consuming parts of the job. If a hot issue surfaces, the volume can be huge.
DECEMBER
1. Work with Continuing Committee Clerk to prepare for January meeting.
JANUARY
1. Prepare proposed schedule for IMYM gathering to present at CC.
2. Prepare information on plenary speaker such as bio for CC.
3. Bring suggestions for theme to CC.
4. Continuing Committee one of last week-ends in January.
5. Prepare Call for State of Meeting Reports & Memorial Minutes and send out.
6. Review responses to the queries with the CC Clerk.
FEBRUARY
1. Prepare Call to IMYM gathering and send to registrar by appointed date.
2. Get biography information of plenary speaker and abstract of address (if available) to Registrar.
MARCH
1. Send out Call for reports for Documents In Advance.
2. By March 15th, send call to Friends Bulletin for publication.
3. Send a list of and copies of all epistles received to Clerk of Watching Committee.
4. Send out invitations to representatives of FCNL, FWCC, and AFSC to attend June gathering (Could get our representatives of these organizations to do it).
5. Send registration material to plenary speaker.
6. Send reminder to monthly meetings about State of Meeting Reports & Memorial Minutes.
APRIL
1. Start working on business agenda for IMYM after reviewing CC Recordings of Procedures and conferring with Clerk of CC.
MAY
1. Around May 1st start assembling the Documents In Advance.
2. By middle of May have them ready to post on imym.org.
3. Contact all presenters at plenary sessions telling them what is expected of them.
JUNE
1. Assemble binder for Epistles to be in bookstore for Friends to read.
2. Assemble binder for Documents In Advance to be in bookstore for Friends to read.
3. Assemble binder for miscellaneous material for same as above.
AT ANNUAL SESSION:
1. Schedule Executive Committee at CC for one of last week-ends in August.
2. Schedule meeting of Committee to Select a Guest Resource Speaker and clerk.
3. Make sure Recording Clerk has all information for Record of proceedings, copy of all epistles, copy of reports given, etc.
4. Meet with new co-clerk if appropriate.
5. Clerk Welcoming Session, Plenary Speaker presentation, all Meetings for Business and any threshing sessions.
