DRAFT
TASK DESCRIPTIONS
GENERAL
ITEMS
Introduction
3
Quaker
Faith and Practice 3.22 to 3.25
(Nominations
and Appointments)
5
Confidentiality
Policy
7
OFFICERS
& NON-COMMITTEE TASKS
Clerk
11
Assistant
Clerk
13
Treasurer
15
Custodian
of Records
17
Membership
Officer
19
Registering
Officer & Assistant Registering Officer
21
Prison
Minister -
Prison
Minister -
Prison
Minister - Leyhill Open Prison
27
Chaplain
-
Chaplain
- University of the West of
Newsletter
Editor & Assistant Editor
33
Burial
Ground Custodians
35
Funeral
Advisor & Issue of Burial Orders
37
COMMITTEES
& COMMITTEE TASKS
Children
and Young Peoples Committee
41
Collections
Committee
43
Collections
Committee - Clerk
45
Collections
Committee - Treasurer
47
General
Committee
49
General
Committee – Clerk
51
Library & Lecture Committee
53
Library & Lecture Committee – Clerk
55
Nominations
Committee
57
Nominations
Committee - Clerk
59
Weekly
Committee
61
Weekly
Committee – Clerk
63
ELDERS
& OVERSEERS
Elders
67
Clerk to Elders
69
Overseers
71
Clerk to Overseers
73
GROUPS
& GROUP TASKS
IT
Group
77
Public
Statements Group
79
Quaker
Life Local Group
81
Quaker
Peace & Social Witness Local Group
83
REPRESENTATIVES ON QUAKER BODIES
Representative on Meeting for Sufferings
87
Representative on
Representative on
Representative on
Representative on
Representative on Claverham Management Committee
97
Representative on West of
Representative on
Friends First Day School Fund
101
Representative on General Meeting Arrangements Committee
103
Representative on General Meeting Nominations Committee
105
Representative on Young Friends General Meeting
107
Trustee for Claverham Meeting House Trust
109
Trustee for Friends
REPRESENTATIVES ON OUTSIDE BODIES
Representative
on
Representative on Churches Together in Greater
Representative on Radio
Representative
on
on Racial Equality
119
Representative on
Standing Advisory Committee on
Religious Education
121
REPRESENTATIVES
TO ONE OFF EVENTS
Representatives –
General
123
APPENDIX
‘A’ Appointments listed
under the nominating body
127
APPENDIX
‘B’ Rules
for General Committee
129
| INTRODUCTION |
|
THIS BOOKLET IS BASED UPON THE NOMINATIONS HANDBOOK COMPILED AND PRODUCED BY QUAKER HOME SERVICE IN SEPTEMBER 1996. HOWEVER
IT HAS BEEN UPDATED AND ADAPTED TO SUIT THE PURPOSES OF THE BOOKLET IS IN LOOSE LEAF FORMAT AND THE TASK DESCRIPTIONS ARE ON ONE SHEET OF A4 SO THAT UPDATES CAN EASILY BE INSERTED. |
Since
early in its history The Religious Society of Friends has used a nominations
process to find Friends willing and able to serve it in the many tasks needed.
Tasks such as those involved in administering the Monthly Meeting and
those which enable it to share in the work of Britain Yearly Meeting.
Tasks such as representing the Monthly Meeting on outside bodies.
It
is the responsibility of Nominations Committee to find some of the names
required and present them to Monthly Meeting for it to make the appointment.
However, nominations are also provided by the constituent Meetings and by
some of the committees, of Monthly Meeting.
It
is a tried and tested method, which works well for the Society of Friends.
There are five steps in this process.
·
The
search; this is when we look at all the possible names and
try to find the most suitable ones for the task under consideration.
·
The
discernment;
when we have a list of potential names, suitable for possible nomination, we
allow the Spirit to guide us as to the correctness of the names and the order in
which they should be placed.
·
The
approach to Friends;
at this point we ask the Friends, in the order listed via 2 above, if they would
be willing to let their name go forward to Monthly Meeting for possible
appointment.
·
The
appointment;
when the names are received by Monthly Meeting it will either appoint or not as
it feels led.
·
The
Notification of appointment;
a letter is sent to the Friend appointed to confirm the appointment and to give
the start and finish dates.
The
purpose of this booklet is to list the various tasks undertaken on behalf of the
Monthly Meeting. Where
known it shows the ‘authority’ under which the appointment is to be made.
It shows whether or not the task must be undertaken by a Member or
whether any non-member attending one of our Meetings could be nominated.
Then
it gives a basic description of the task, including an estimate of the time
involved any need to travel outside the local area.
It also indicates who nominates the person to Monthly Meeting, how long
the appointment will be for, and assumes, unless indicated otherwise, that all
appointments will be made by the Monthly Meeting.
The
Tasks are listed in sections, in the following order:
·
Officers & Non-Committee Tasks.
·
Committees & Committee Clerks etc.
·
Elders & Overseers.
·
Groups & Group Convenors.
·
Representatives.
QUAKER
FAITH AND PRACTICE
Chapter 3
“Now
there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of
services,
but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God
who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the
Spirit for the common good.”
(I Cor 12:4-7)
It
is a responsibility of a Christian community to enable its members to discover
what their gifts are and to develop and exercise them to the glory of God.
Much of the work of meetings for
church affairs and committees will be undertaken by Friends especially appointed
by the meeting or committee responsible for the work, most often on the
recommendation of a nominations committee. The process of appointment starts
when the meeting identifies the need for a task to be performed. It is good
practice for a meeting to have a clear view of the tasks that need to be
accomplished on its behalf and to fix the length of service required so that
both the meeting and the Friend appointed understand the commitment.
Many of our gifts are latent. A particular appointment may enable one
Friend to exercise unsuspected abilities. Other Friends may find themselves
overburdened by being appointed to service beyond their capacity and experience.
It requires great discernment to know the right moment to ask a particular
Friend to undertake or lay down a particular task.
Most appointments should be for either one or three years. It is
generally undesirable for someone to hold an appointment for more than six years
continuously although there may be exceptions. Meetings should give thought to
the training of replacements for existing officers and it will help in this
process if those appointed try to give the meeting some notice of wishing to be
released from service.
Meetings will differ widely in the appointments they need to make. In
some meetings, there may be a shortage of people willing to undertake the work
that is needed. In others there may be many who are anxious to serve and some
may feel excluded from the busy life of the meeting if not offered appointment.
It is important that the whole process be open and clearly understood by all who
attend.
The following suggestions for good
practice are intended to apply to all our meetings and committees and to the
appointment of Friends and, where appropriate, attenders.
a.
In general a nominations procedure should be used when the appointment is
to an office in the meeting, or for any other service of importance. Receiving
nominations from the body of the meeting is not generally a good method of
making appointments.
b.
The great responsibility resting on nominations committees and their
clerks cannot be too strongly stressed. Nominations committees should be large
enough to be representative; impulsive Friends may need to be questioned, whilst
the cautious and conservative may need to be encouraged to consider new ideas.
The committee needs a balance of experience and age-groups. Members will need to
have knowledge of the meeting and be prepared to take pains to understand the
qualifications needed for the required appointments. They will need to be clear
about the requirements of the office and where appropriate should consult the
requesting body. They will also need to be discerning in judgment and tactful in
manner. It is important that the members meet in a spirit of worship. Some
meetings have found it helpful to survey the gifts of their members in a
systematic way.
c.
Nominations committees are appointed on behalf of the meeting, and
suggestions for their consideration put forward by other members of the meeting
may well be helpful to them. Such suggestions are best made directly to members
of the nominating group. A nominations committee should act when asked to by its
meeting or committee and only in exceptional circumstances on its own
initiative.
d.
Nominations committees are appointed in many ways. Sometimes names are
suggested from the body of the meeting, on other occasions a special committee
is asked to bring forward names of Friends to serve on the nominations
committee. In some circumstances participating bodies send forward
representatives. It is important to ensure openness and to prevent any
suggestion of an inner group; thus membership should be for a limited duration.
Many meetings retire one third of their nominations committee every year on a
rotating basis.
e.
A nominations committee should think carefully before bringing forward
the name of one of its own members for appointment. Any such nominee should
withdraw from the meeting when her or his name is being presented.
f.
A nominations committee should meet in a worshipful manner. Committee
members will occasionally need to consult each other by telephone, but this
should not be the normal means of conducting the committee’s business.
g.
The nominations committee is not the appointing body and must bring the
suggested names to the body for which it acts. Members of this body have the
responsibility for approving the names or not and must be given the opportunity
to express any doubts they might have. Sometimes it may seem impossible to find someone to serve. Nominations
committees should not hesitate to bring their problem back to the meeting to ask
for both guidance and practical help.
h.
The duration and scope of an appointment should be explained to all who
are asked to accept nomination; the approach should not be made casually or
acceptance taken for granted. It will be helpful to ask those nominated if they
would consent to serve if the meeting required it.
When a nominations committee brings forward a name it should not then be
necessary to appoint ‘subject to would consent to serve if the meeting
required it. When a nominations consent’. However it is important that it is
made absolutely clear that the appointment would be made by the meeting in its
discernment and not by the nominations committee. It will be helpful to indicate
when the appointment is likely to be made.
i.
Those nominated to serve as clerk of a meeting, elder, overseer,
treasurer, registering officer or as a member of any nominations committee
should be in membership. In case of difficulty the Recording Clerk may be
consulted. (For further guidance on the appointment of elders and overseers see
12.07-12.09.)
j.
Where two Friends would be expected to work together (e.g. as a clerk and
assistant clerk) care should be taken to talk the proposal over informally with
them before making any firm approach.
k.
When it is decided not to re-nominate any Friend holding an appointment,
care should be taken to convey this information sensitively in person or by
letter well before nominations are submitted.
l.
Nominations committees should be required to report from time to time on
their thinking and their way of working.
Despite being made prayerfully
appointments do not always turn out as planned. It is at the discretion of a
meeting to end an appointment at any time if it is necessary to do so. Loving
and tender care will be essential. An appointed Friend who finds the service
inappropriate should be released.
Responsibility for an appointment does not end when it is made. Having
been fully involved in the making of the appointments, the meeting must support
and uphold those carrying out the tasks. Some may be disappointed that they
themselves were not asked to carry out a particular function; humility and
prayerful support for those chosen will be better than a continuing resentment.
Our ability to discern the gifts of others is not perfect and we will recognise an element of God’s grace in our deliberations. Be bold; welcome the chance to give opportunities to younger Friends and to those more recently arrived, and encourage those who underestimate their own potential for service.
MONTHLY MEETING
POLICY ON CONFIDENTIALITY
Introduction
Quakers
value truthfulness, honesty and openness, consequently secrecy is not a part of
our ethos. There are times when we must be restrained in what we say by the need
for confidentiality. Sensitivity to other people, respect and mutual trust will
help us to discern when openness is inappropriate or when secrecy is
unnecessary. Confidentiality lies between openness and secrecy.
Occasionally
people in distress come to us for private conversations. Friends must not talk
about such visits. Areas which
should be kept confidential include when close personal relationships are
involved, situations of political danger, and deeply felt spiritual matters.
There are also occasions when important personal decisions call for sharing with
one other person or a small group but would be hindered by airing in a wider
context.
Confidential letters and documents
Occasionally
letters or documents are received which because of sensitive or very personal
information must only be available to certain Friends. Letters marked personal
or confidential are to be respected as such.
Letters not marked in this way may be opened by a person other than the
recipient. Confidential
letters and documents are to be stored in a secure place or destroyed by
shredding if appropriate.
One to one conversations
At
time things may be said between two people, which should not be repeated
elsewhere. That confidential matters will arise in conversation may not be
apparent at first. If the confidence is of a personal nature unrelated to the
work of Monthly Meeting, then the relationship of trust must be respected.
We
are, however, members of the Monthly Meeting and accountable to our Friends. If
a confidential matter related to our task is raised, then a degree of sharing
may need to happen as a safety measure or for support. In such cases the
confidant should, if possible, know that issues may be discussed elsewhere, but
that details of names, etc. will not be revealed unless absolutely necessary.
Confidentiality
in committees and working groups
It
is essential for a feeling of trust to be built up in all committees and working
groups. In some cases it will be necessary to make some statement about
appropriate levels of confidentiality as a clear ground rule when the committee
or group begins its work. There may need to be reminders of the confidential
element at the end of meetings or when the body reconvenes.
The
abiding rule is to be clear - is this confidential or likely to be so? Check
with parties concerned and stick to those decisions.
AUTHORITY TO APPOINT:
Quaker
Faith & Practice 4.02. Which
states, “ Each monthly meeting shall
appoint from its membership a ...… Clerk”.
The
Clerk is the servant of MM who arranges the agenda of Monthly Meeting, and
brings business items requiring decisions, to the meetings.
The Clerk, also needs to be alive to the need to follow the guidelines as
set out in Quaker Faith & Practice, not only for the conduct of the meeting
itself, but for the whole life of the MM.
Working
with others, the Clerk can give leadership by way of encouragement and
enthusiasm, whilst providing an inspiring vision.
Specific
duties:
·
Prepare agenda, clerk MM, issue minutes, circulate decisions to those
concerned.
·
Correspondence, as needed, to a variety of bodies and people.
·
Being pro-active before problems arise.
·
With others, ensure that tasks within MM are undertaken efficiently.
·
Send MM minutes to all other Monthly Meetings in the General Meeting
area.
·
Contact PM's in MM and ask what are your needs. How can they be met and
can they be met?
·
MM has internal business and external business. Need to differentiate.
·
It is MM responsibility to ensure that representatives report on the
efficiency of the bodies attended.
·
Gathering agenda material.
·
Regular meetings with Assistant Clerk and close contact with PM Clerks,
Elders and Overseers.
·
Submitting agendas and minutes to newsletter.
·
Correspondence.
·
Maintaining records of membership and MM.
·
Ensuring Quaker Faith & Practice compliance.
·
Ensuring legal compliance.
·
Answering queries.
Plus
pre-meeting with Assistant Clerk 1-2 hours monthly.
Other
Committees when necessary.
Management
experience helpful.
Access
to e-mail increasingly important.
High
level of interpersonal skills.
.
ESTIMATE OF
TOTAL TIME REQUIRED DURING ONE MONTH:
On
average about 10 hours a month.
TRAVEL OUTSIDE
MONTHLY MEETING AREA:
Maybe
occasionally, on average twice a year.
EXPENSES
ALLOWED AND HOW TO CLAIM THEM:
Any
expenditure incurred on behalf of the Monthly Meeting may be claimed from the MM
Treasurer. This is usually by
expenses claim form; accompanied by receipts whenever possible.
Monthly Meeting Nominations Committee
Initially
3 years. Can be re-appointed for a
second term.
ANY
OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST:
AUTHORITY TO
APPOINT:
Quaker
Faith & Practice 4.02. Which
states, “Each monthly meeting shall
appoint from its membership ……
an Assistant Clerk”.
Any
tasks delegated by MM Clerk. Assisting MM Clerk at the table. Replacing MM Clerk
when prevented - if assistant has sufficient experience.
Other
tasks will include,
·
Receive names of PM representatives and role call.
·
Read extracts from Advices and Queries.
·
Share with the clerk the reading of papers.
·
Keep an eye on Meeting and prompt clerk if someone wishes to speak.
·
Organise the wearing of badges (if it is agreed to use them) with the
local PM.
·
Keep track of outstanding items. e.g.:
·
Once a year MM duties to be read;
·
Spread out over year PM reports;