Resources for Yearly Meeting Committee Clerks & Officers

What is the committee clerk responsible for?

1. Spirit: The clerk holds the spiritual container for the committee. Committee meetings are meetings for worship to address business concerns. The clerk will remind the committee or ask for a period of silence if that sense of worship is lost. When a decision is needed, the clerk will discern the sense of the meeting, state it clearly, check for agreement, and see that it is recorded accurately.
2. Agenda: The clerk is responsible for preparing a flexible agenda for the meeting and keeping the committee moving through the agenda. Issues that are time sensitive or very important will come first, with items at the end that could, if necessary, be held over to the next meeting or handled by email. The agenda can be drafted by the clerk or another member, circulated a few days before the meeting to solicit additional items, and then finalized by the clerk.
3. Accountability: The clerk makes sure notes of the meeting are written, and that any task agreed to by the committee is assigned to a specific person (not “we”) and has a timeline for completion. The clerk will see that the minutes are circulated to members of the committee soon after the meeting and that reports are prepared for the sessions of Representative Committee (RepCom) and Annual Session.
4. Continuity: The meeting is not over until the next meeting time and place is agreed. This is recorded in the notes which will go out to all members. A member of the committee other than the clerk may be assigned to send reminders.
5. Defined Tasks: Most committees have budgets to consider, reports to make, and other duties stated in their service descriptions. Some of these tasks can be delegated to embers of the committee, but the clerk is responsible to see that they get done.

The clerk does NOT:

1. The clerk does NOT take on any and all tasks that others do not offer to do.  If the committee seems to agree on an action but no one will do it, the clerk may
   • Ask for deeper worship while the situation is considered,
   • Ask a specific person whose skills fit the task,
   • Suggest that the task will be dropped until such time as a way forward becomes clear.
2. The clerk does NOT have to do all the calls or emails to remind Friends of the next meeting or of a task that should be done. A member of the committee can take this responsibility.
3. The clerk does NOT hold all the wisdom and knowledge at the table; that is why it is a committee. If a question is asked, “wait time” is also prayer time.
4. The clerk does NOT labor endlessly with a dysfunctional committee or a disruptive member. Nominating Committee or Ministry Committee should be consulted just as soon as an issue begins to interfere with the spirit or function of the committee.

Julie Harlow
20-Oct-2022

Pacific Yearly Meeting Officers, Committees, Subcommittees and anyone in service to the Yearly Meeting is welcome to use a Yearly Meeting Zoom account for events, meetings and conversations related to the business of the Yearly Meeting.

To reserve a time to use a PacYM Zoom account:
1. Click the preferred date on the calendar below and follow the onscreen prompts (enter a title, confirm the date, start and end time, provide any relevant additional information in the corresponding fields).
2. In the “Calendar” field, select “PacYM Zoom 2” (preferred) or “PacYM Zoom 1” (if PacYM Zoom 2 is not available).
3. Note your name in the “Who” field.
4. Click “Save” to finish.

A confirmation email will be sent to the email address we have on file for the name entered in the “Who” box. That confirmation email will have the Zoom information for the meeting. Please note that the confirmation is a manual process, so it may take up to a day to process your request. 

Note: The more comfortable you get using this tool, the more you will want to click the different buttons and explore the various options. You are welcome to make your reservation as simple or as complex as you like. The steps outlined above are all you need to do to reserve a time to use a PacYM Zoom account.

Questions? <administrativeassistant@pacificyearlymeeting.org>

An integrated automated translated captions service is available for both the PacYM Zoom 1 and PacYM Zoom 2 accounts.

Please promote the availability of this service in communications about PacYM-sponsored events.

Everyone on the call should follow these steps.

1. The language of your Zoom controls will be the default language for the translation service (e.g. if your Zoom screen is in English, the speaking and subtitling language for the translation service will already be set to English).
2. Look for the captions button on the menu bar at the bottom of the Zoom screen. It may say subtitles or CC.
3. Click that button (subtittles or CC) and a dialog box will open.
4. Select the language you will speak and the language in which you would like to see the subtitles or captions.
5. Enable translation by sliding the “translation” bar to change from grey to blue. On some devices, it may be a checkbox.
6. Save your settings.

On a phone (but not calling in):
Enable the subtitles by tapping on the CC button on the menu at the bottom of the screen.
Swipe the bar beside “show subtitles” to green.
Follow the onscreen instructions to set your caption language, turn on translation and select your speaking language.
Save your settings (upper right hand corner).

When speaking:
– Speak slowly and clearly to ensure the system accurately transcribes your words.
– Avoid using abbreviations or acronyms (like PacYM, PYM or the initials of an organization), as the translator may not recognize them and could produce an inaccurate translation. Say the full name (like Pacific Yearly Meeting).
– Speak in the language you have selected as your speaking language.

Questions? <administrativeassistant@pacificyearlymeeting.org>

Officers, Committee Clerks and Friends in other PacYM roles are strongly encouraged to use their @pacificyearlymeeting.org email address for all communications related to Yearly Meeting business.

By using these addresses (also known as ‘identities’), when you leave your current service to the Yearly Meeting, it will make the transition to the next Friend in the role much smoother. It also assists the recipient of your emails in identifying the role of the sender.

If you don’t have an @pacificyearlymeeting.org email address or identity for your PacYM role (or if you don’t know whether you have one already), contact <administrativeassistant@pacificyearlymeeting.org>

An email group (also known as a listserv) can be set up for any PacYM committee, subcommittee, team or other group within the Yearly Meeting organization.

An email group can be useful for committees to communicate within themselves (e.g. clerk to committee members) and you don’t need to look up email addresses or worry about forgetting to include someone.

This system also keeps an archive of all emails sent within the group (private to the group), so if an email accidentally gets deleted, you can find it in the archive.

If you have any questions or to request an email group for your committee, contact <administrativeassistant@pacificyearlymeeting.org>

The Yearly Meeting shares PacYM and related announcements with Monthly Meetings and Worship Groups by email a few days prior to the second Sunday of each month.

This is a great way to communicate announcements to the wider Yearly Meeting community.

Send announcements for the Friendly News from Pacific Yearly Meeting to <assistanttotheclerk@pacificyearlymeeting.org> by the first Sunday of the month. (Hint: These dates are marked on the Calendar of Events.)

The Pacific Yearly Meeting website is organized by topic. There is also an Archive of Documents where documents are stored in pdf format.

Committees are encouraged to share their work with the community by submitting content for the website.
…what can your committee contribute to the Resources section on the website?

Send texts, images and files, and any relevant instructions (e.g. if you would the item to be linked off the homepage) to <administrativeassistant@pacificyearlymeeting.org>

Discussion lists invite Friends to exchange emails with others who share their ministry. A discussion list is a way to ‘continue the conversation’ around topics of interest.

Discussion lists are initiated at the request of PacYM officers or committee clerks. Please review the Email Distribution List Policy  and see if your need matches what is being offered. Then, send your request to  <CommunicationsClerk@pacificyearlymeeting.org> including the purpose of the list for consideration. When approved, you will be given a form to fill out to build your discussion / announcement list. Please fill that out and wait for a response.

In your role, you will probably create documents and want to find documents others have created.
Each @pacificyearlymeeting.org identity has a google workspace. When you create a document, file or folder from your @pacificyearlymeeting.org account, it is automatically owned by the Yearly Meeting.

Why does it matter who owns a document or file?
We remember with tenderness the days of looking after and adding to a box of paper to then pass that box on to the next Friend coming into our role. We felt a responsibility to the Yearly Meeting to be good stewards of that organizational memory.
Today, in the digital age, the ‘box of paper’ has been replaced with electronic documents and files, and more often than not, we are no longer keeping them in the same place, in one ‘box’.
When a Friend creates a document from their personal account or identity, that document is owned by them and may be lost in the future, regardless who it is shared with or if it is stored on a regular google drive.

Shared Drives
Any @pacificyearlymeeting.org account or identity can create a Shared Drive and all documents, files and folders stored there are automatically owned by Pacific Yearly Meeting. The Shared Drive feature offers different levels of permission, which can help to avoid accidentally deleting something. The permissions set on the Shared Drive are automatically assigned to any document, file or folder in that drive. This means you don’t need to share each file separately. Also, individual files and folders can be shared with people outside the Shared Drive without affecting other permissions and without opening access to all the content of the Shared Drive.
For assistance in setting up a Shared Drive for your PacYM role or committee, or if you have any questions about Shared Drives, contact <administrativeassistant@pacificyearlymeeting.org>

What’s the difference between a Google Drive and a Shared Drive?
The simple answer is file ownership. Depending on the permissions assigned, anyone can create or upload a document or file to either a Google Drive or a Shared Drive. In a Google Drive, the creator retains the ownership, while in a Shared Drive, the Yearly Meeting is the owner (regardless of who created or uploaded the document or file).

The Roster is a complete listing of all the roles and positions in the Pacific Yearly Meeting organization. It is routinely updated following Annual Session and RepCom.

Please communicate any resignations or other changes to your committee to <nominatingclerk@pacificyearlymeeting.org>

If your committee has subcommittees, teams or appointed positions, please send this information to <nominatingclerk@pacificyearlymeeting.org> and also to <administrativeassistant@pacificyearlymeeting.org> (sending one email to these two addresses is just fine)
Subcommittees and teams are often determined in the Fall.

Officers, Committees, Representatives to Outside Organizations, and Friends in other PacYM roles write their own service descriptions (typically a revision of a previous service, role or job description) and submit these to Nominating Committee.

Please direct any questions about service descriptions to <nominatingclerk@pacificyearlymeeting.org>

The most current service descriptions are HERE. Note that many have not been revised since 2005.

PacYM officers, committees, representatives to outside organizations, and other roles are allocated budgets to support their work. For these amounts, consult the annual budget in the Archive.
The General Budget is considered at Annual Session and any changes to the budget are brought to the sessions of the Representative Committee (RepCom).

The budget for Annual Session is considered by the Representative Committee (RepCom).

To discuss the budget or any finance-related concerns related to your committee or role, contact <financeclerk@pacificyearlymeeting.org>

Inquiries about reimbursements should be directed to <treasurer@pacificyearlymeeting.org>

Items for the consideration of the PacYM body need to be raised first at Mid-Year Sessions (a.k.a. ‘RepCom’) and should be included in your report.

Contact Presiding Clerk Robin<clerk@pacificyearlymeeting.org> about bringing items of business and to request plenary time.

PacYM Committees, Officers and Representatives to outside organizations are asked to prepare written reports in advance of both Mid-Year Sessions (a.k.a. ‘RepCom’) and Annual Session. (Hint: The dates these reports are due are marked on the Calendar.)

Please be mindful that Friends attending Mid-Year Sessions or Annual Session are being asked to read many reports. Keep your report as concise as possible, under two pages (or 800 words) unless more is absolutely necessary. The Assistant to the Clerk may edit longer reports.

Reports should include:
– the name of the committee, officer role or organization
– the name of the person submitting the report and the names of committee members (as applicable)
– overview of the activities and ministry of the committee, officer role or organization
– details of items being brought to the Yearly Meeting body for discernment or decision

Submit reports in Word, or similar, editable format to <assistanttotheclerk@pacificyearlymeeting.org>

Why do reports need to be submitted in an editable format (Word or similar)?
Reports are usually reformatted to unify the title format, font and other appearance aspects.

What happens to reports after they are submitted?
Reports are made available to the community prior to Mid-Year Sessions and Annual Session through the session webspace. Then, they are included in the Minutes & Reports packet that serves as the documented record of the sessions. Reports are also stored individually in the Archive of Documents & Minutes.

Questions? assistanttotheclerk@pacificyearlymeeting.org

Interest groups are sessions that focus on a particular topic and are sponsored by a PacYM committee, Friends organization or Monthly Meeting. Typically, there are three or four 90-minute time slots during Annual Session that are allocated for concurrent interest groups. For details, see How to Propose an Interest Group for Annual Session
Proposals for interest groups at Annual Session need to be submitted before the end of the second day of Mid-Year Sessions (a.k.a. ‘RepCom’). (Hint: This date is marked on the Calendar of Events.)

PacYM committees, Friends organizations and Monthly Meetings are encouraged to hold workshops and similar events (online, in-person, hybrid) at any time during the year for the PacYM community and beyond.
A formal proposal is not required for interest group-type sessions or workshops held outside of Annual Session, but the session or workshop should be seasoned by a sponsoring committee, organization or Meeting.

In support of these sessions, the Yearly Meeting can provide:
– a Zoom space for the planning and/or holding of the interest group, workshop or other event (when held online)
– a space on the Pacific Yearly Meeting website for information about the event
– tile on the home or front page of the Pacific Yearly Meeting website to promote the event
– listing on the PacYM Calendar
– distribution of an announcement to Monthly Meetings and Worship Groups via the monthly communication Friendly News from Pacific Yearly Meeting
– sign-up form and follow-up to distribute Zoom links

Additional ways Friends can promote an interest group, workshop or similar event themselves:
Facebook: Post an announcement on the Pacific Yearly Meeting Facebook group (self post any time)
Extra Extra: Submit an announcement for Western Friend’s weekly electronic mailing using the form HERE (submit by Thursday for publication Saturday)

Questions? administrativeassistant@pacificyearlymeeting.org

The Calendar of Events is a way to share with the community the events and activities of Pacific Yearly Meeting and beyond.
…it also notes relevant dates, like when reports are due.

To post an event or activity on this calendar:

• Go to https://teamup.com/ks19w1anbs841y127p
  • This link will open in a new tab and take you out of the Pacific Yearly Meeting.
  • Select a date (click inside the box, not the number) and follow the on-screen instructions.
• Or contact administrativeassistant@pacificyearlymeeting.org

Please consider posting committee and other meetings on the calendar, even if they are not held on a PacYM Zoom account.

Click HERE to view the general Calendar of Events.