Within the Religious Society of Friends, a clerk is someone responsible for various administrative functions within a meeting for worship for church affairs or meeting for worship with attention to business. The clerk is responsible for recording the discernment which is arrived at during such a meeting, in a minute, and is responsible for sending and receiving correspondence on behalf of the meeting. Within some branches of the Religious Society of Friends, the clerk may also create an agenda and may facilitate the meeting.
Friends record minutes contemporaneously, with each minute written during the meeting for worship for business. At the end of each item, the clerk will present a draft minute and ask the meeting if the minute is acceptable. The final minute will only be recorded when all Friends present feel that the minute is an accurate record of what the "sense of the meeting" was. In Britain, when members of the meeting wish to indicate their approval of a minute, they will sometimes say "hope so".
In some Quaker groups, there may be more than one person performing clerking roles, for example the role of facilitating the meeting may be separate from recording minutes. In this case different names may be given to the different clerks - e.g. co-clerk, recording clerk, presiding clerk, assistant clerk, reading clerk, epistle clerk, or correspondence clerk.
Some Friends groups, particularly ones who do not have regular minuted meetings for worship for business, may have some of the roles usually carried out by a clerk carried out by a correspondent (who is responsible for sending and receiving correspondence on behalf of the meeting) or a convenor (who is responsible for bringing people together for a meeting - this is a term often used for someone who co-ordinates a committee).
In Quaker meetings, there are often committees and temporary working groups that perform duties and oversee activities of the meeting. Most committees will have their own clerk or convenor who will convene meetings and record minutes.
Bibliography
Hickey, Damon D (1987). "Unforeseen Joy" Serving a Friends Meeting as Recording Clerk. Greensboro: North Carolina Yearly Meeting of Friends. p. 35pp. ISBN0-942727-16-9.
Morley, Barry (1993). BEYOND CONSENSUS: Salvaging Sense of the Meeting. Wallingford, PA: Pendle Hill Publications. p. 32pp. ISBN0-87574-307-2.
Redfern, Keith (1994). Before the Meeting: A Handbook for Clerks. London: Quaker Home Service. p. 28pp. ISBN0-85245-256-X.
Sharman, Cecil W (1983). Servant of the Meeting: Quaker business meetings and their Clerks. London: Quaker Home Service. p. 47pp. ISBN0-85245-172-5.
Watson, William Braasch (1996). Before Business Begins: Notes for Friends Meeting Recording Clerks and Recorders. Mosher Book and Tract Committee of New England Yearly Meeting. p. 59pp.
External links
Description of clerk's role in Britain Yearly Meeting's Quaker Faith and Practice, Chapter 3, §12
January 29, 2023
clerk, quaker, this, article, includes, list, references, related, reading, external, links, sources, remain, unclear, because, lacks, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, january, 2023, learn, when, r. This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations January 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message Within the Religious Society of Friends a clerk is someone responsible for various administrative functions within a meeting for worship for church affairs or meeting for worship with attention to business The clerk is responsible for recording the discernment which is arrived at during such a meeting in a minute and is responsible for sending and receiving correspondence on behalf of the meeting Within some branches of the Religious Society of Friends the clerk may also create an agenda and may facilitate the meeting Friends record minutes contemporaneously with each minute written during the meeting for worship for business At the end of each item the clerk will present a draft minute and ask the meeting if the minute is acceptable The final minute will only be recorded when all Friends present feel that the minute is an accurate record of what the sense of the meeting was In Britain when members of the meeting wish to indicate their approval of a minute they will sometimes say hope so In some Quaker groups there may be more than one person performing clerking roles for example the role of facilitating the meeting may be separate from recording minutes In this case different names may be given to the different clerks e g co clerk recording clerk presiding clerk assistant clerk reading clerk epistle clerk or correspondence clerk Some Friends groups particularly ones who do not have regular minuted meetings for worship for business may have some of the roles usually carried out by a clerk carried out by a correspondent who is responsible for sending and receiving correspondence on behalf of the meeting or a convenor who is responsible for bringing people together for a meeting this is a term often used for someone who co ordinates a committee In Quaker meetings there are often committees and temporary working groups that perform duties and oversee activities of the meeting Most committees will have their own clerk or convenor who will convene meetings and record minutes Bibliography EditHickey Damon D 1987 Unforeseen Joy Serving a Friends Meeting as Recording Clerk Greensboro North Carolina Yearly Meeting of Friends p 35pp ISBN 0 942727 16 9 Morley Barry 1993 BEYOND CONSENSUS Salvaging Sense of the Meeting Wallingford PA Pendle Hill Publications p 32pp ISBN 0 87574 307 2 Redfern Keith 1994 Before the Meeting A Handbook for Clerks London Quaker Home Service p 28pp ISBN 0 85245 256 X Sharman Cecil W 1983 Servant of the Meeting Quaker business meetings and their Clerks London Quaker Home Service p 47pp ISBN 0 85245 172 5 Watson William Braasch 1996 Before Business Begins Notes for Friends Meeting Recording Clerks and Recorders Mosher Book and Tract Committee of New England Yearly Meeting p 59pp External links EditDescription of clerk s role in Britain Yearly Meeting s Quaker Faith and Practice Chapter 3 12 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Clerk Quaker amp oldid 1131924543, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
