This page provides access to the official minutes of Pacific Yearly Meeting business sessions since 1947. These cover plenaries at Annual Sessions and meetings of the Interim, Executive and Representative Committees. The minutes packets also contain all committee reports (attachments) submitted for those meetings. See the Background and History section for more information about what is here.
Table of Contents
Search the Minutes
Action Minutes Only
List of PacYM Minutes of Action for all years 2001 through RepCom 2019. (Action minutes beyond RepCom 2019 are not yet added to this file, but can be found in the full minutes packets).
Full Minutes and Reports
Minutes are segmented into four tables, based on how PacYM structured its business procedures in different periods. In addition to the Annual Sessions (AS) in the summer, business was conducted by Interim Committee (IntCom), Executive Committee (ExecCom) and/or Representative Committee (RepCom) between or concurrent with Annual Sessions as follows:
- 1996-present: RepCom in Winter, AS in Summer
- 1976-1995: RepCom in Winter and Summer, AS in Summer
- 1964-1975: ExecCom in Winter, RepCom and AS in Summer
- 1947-1963: IntCom in Winter and Summer, AS in Summer
1996 – Present
| Year (1996-Present) | Representative Committee Winter | Annual Session Summer |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 – 77th year | RepCom 2023 | |
| 2022 – 76th year | RepCom 2022 |
AS 2022 |
| 2021 – 75th year | RepCom 2021 | AS 2021 |
| 2020 – 74th year | RepCom 2020 | AS 2020 |
| 2019 – 73rd year | RepCom 2019 | AS 2019 |
| 2018 – 72nd year | RepCom 2018 | AS 2018 |
| 2017 – 71st year | RepCom 2017 | AS 2017 |
| 2016 – 70th year | RepCom 2016 | AS 2016 |
| 2015 – 69th year | RepCom 2015 | AS 2015 |
| 2014 – 68th year | RepCom 2014 | AS 2014 |
| 2013 – 67th year | RepCom 2013 | AS 2013 |
| 2012 – 66th year | RepCom 2012 | AS 2012 |
| 2011 – 65th year | RepCom 2011 | AS 2011 |
| 2010 – 64th year | RepCom 2010 | AS 2010 |
| 2009 – 63rd year | RepCom 2009 | AS 2009 |
| 2008 – 62nd year | RepCom 2008 | AS 2008 |
| 2007 – 61st year | RepCom 2007 | AS 2007 |
| 2006 – 60th year | RepCom 2006 | AS 2006 |
| 2005 – 59th year | RepCom 2005 | AS 2005 (completed 9/30/2021) |
| 2004 – 58th year | RepCom 2004 (completed 9/30/2021) | AS 2004 (completed 9/30/2021) |
| 2003 – 57th year | RepCom 2003 (completed 9/29/2021) | AS 2003 (completed 9/29/2021) |
| 2002 – 56th year | RepCom 2002 (completed 9/30/2021) | AS 2002 (completed 9/29/2021) |
| 2001 – 55th year | RepCom 2001 (updated 9/30/2021, still incomplete) | AS 2001 (completed 9/29/2021) |
| 2000 – 54th year | RepCom 2000 (incomplete) | AS 2000 |
| 1999 – 53rd year | RepCom 1999 | AS 1999 |
| 1998 – 52nd year | RepCom 1998 (incomplete) | AS 1998 |
| 1997 – 51st year | RepCom 1997 | AS 1997 |
| 1996 – 50th year | RepCom 1996 | AS 1996 |
1976 – 1995
1964 – 1975
| Year (1964-1975) | Executive Committee Winter | Representative Committee Summer | Annual Session Summer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 – 29th year | ExecCom 1975 | RepCom 1975 | AS 1975 |
| 1974 – 28th year | ExecCom 1974 | RepCom 1974 | AS 1974 |
| 1973 – 27th year | ExecCom 1973 | RepCom 1973 | AS 1973 |
| 1972 – 26th year | ExecCom 1972 | RepCom 1972 | AS 1972 |
| 1971 – 25th year | ExecCom 1971 | RepCom 1971 | AS 1971 |
| 1970 – 24th year | ExecCom 1970 | RepCom 1970 | AS 1970 |
| 1969 – 23rd tear | ExecCom 1969 | RepCom 1969 | AS 1969 |
| 1968 – 22nd year | ExecCom 1968 (partial) | RepCom 1968 | AS 1968 |
| 1967 – 21st year | ExecCom 1967 | RepCom 1967 = attachments #1-3 of AS 1967 |
AS 1967 |
| 1966 – 20th year | ExecCom 1966 (partial) | RepCom 1966 | AS 1966 |
| 1965 – 19th year | ExecCom 1965 (poor quality scan) |
RepCom 1965 | AS 1965 |
| 1964 – 18th year | ExecCom 1964 | RepCom 1964 | AS 1964 |
1947 – 1963
| Year (1947-1963) | Interim Committee Winter | Interim Committee Summer | Annual Session Summer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 – 17th year | IntCom 1963-03 (poor quality scan) |
IntCom 1963-08 | AS 1963 |
| 1962 – 16th year | IntCom 1962-03 | IntCom 1962-08 | AS 1962 |
| 1961 – 15th year | IntCom 1961-03 | IntCom 1961-08 | AS 1961 |
| 1960 – 14th year | IntCom 1960-03 | IntCom 1960-08 | AS 1960 |
| 1959 – 13th year | IntCom 1959-02 | IntCom 1959-08 | AS 1959 |
| 1958 – 12th year | IntCom 1958-03 | IntCom 1958-08 | AS 1958 |
| 1957 – 11th year | IntCom 1957-03 | IntCom 1957-08 | AS 1957 |
| 1956 – 10th year | IntCom 1956-03 | IntCom 1956-08 | AS 1956 |
| 1955 – 9th year | IntCom 1955-03 | AS 1955 | |
| 1954 – 8th year | AS 1954 | ||
| 1953 – 7th year | AS 1953 | ||
| 1952 – 6th year | AS 1952 | ||
| 1951 – 5th year | AS 1951 | ||
| 1950 – 4th year | AS 1950 | ||
| 1949 – 3rd year | AS 1949 | ||
| 1948 – 2nd year | AS 1948 | ||
| 1947 – 1st year | AS 1947 |
Background and History
List of Annual Sessions
Pacific Yearly Meeting was officially formed in 1947. For the first 11 years it existed “jointly and within” the older organization, Pacific Coast Association of Friends. The “two” organizations met as one and the same gathering. In 1958 the name “Pacific Coast Association of Friends” was officially dropped. In the early 1970’s the yearly meeting split into three yearly meetings, Pacific, North Pacific and Intermountain, with the name Pacific going to the one with the most members, largely in California. The shorthand moniker “PYM” was used until PYM affiliated with Friends General Conference in 2019 and gradually began using “PacYM” to avoid confusion with Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.
Here is a list of all PacYM annual sessions, including clerks, locations, number of PacYM members and other such data. We haven’t yet built a comparable list of Rep/Exec/Interim Committee meetings, but you’re probably less interested in that sort of list anyway.
Here is a graph of the total number of recorded adult members of Monthly Meetings in PacYM over the years, as reported in the Annual Session minutes (this was not recorded in every year).
Publication of Minutes
Minutes for the years 1947-1957, when PYM and PCAF met jointly, were published in Friends Bulletin, the publication of PCAF that first came out in 1929. After 1957 only informal reports about the PYM annual sessions were published in Friends Bulletin, not the full minutes.
Minutes for the years 1958-2012 were published and circulated on paper separately from Friends Bulletin. Copies (with all attachments) went to all PYM officers and committee clerks, to each monthly meeting, and to “archives” (see below) and to other “interested individuals”.
In 2001 minutes began to show up digitally on a PYM website (as well as on paper), but it was an informal process. Many of the early web versions do not contain all the attachments, nor are the attachments to be found posted on the website. Generally since 2006 the website version has contained all, or nearly all, of the attachments.
The publication and circulation of paper minutes was discontinued after 2012. Unfortunately it took some years for the website to embrace its role as the sole official publication of the minutes. The full digital minutes packets for 2013-2016 were put together retroactively in 2018. Publication of full digital minutes packets resumed in 2017.
Archives
Western Friend (today’s incarnation of Friends Bulletin) has made available on its website scanned images of all issues of Friends Bulletin back to the first issue in 1929. We encourage Friends to visit the extremely useful Western Friend deep archive to explore more of the history of Friends in the Pacific region as reported in the issues of Friends Bulletin. The minutes for PYM Annual Sessions 1947-1957 were downloaded as PDF images of the appropriate issues of Friends Bulletin in this archive.
Pacific Yearly Meeting has long maintained a physical archive of sorts. This includes (or should include) all the PacYM minutes and much, much more besides. It is currently housed at the Whittier College Library. However Whittier College only provides the storage space, it does not perform any curatorial services and has not integrated the materials into their collection. The archive is stored in a dozen file cabinets in the basement of the library and is not accessible to the general public. It is under the care of the PYM Historian/Archivist (currently Jan Tappan of Orange Grove Meeting). It has not been possible even for her to visit the archive during COVID-19. We have not yet determined how complete the collection of minutes is in this archive.
PacYM has also periodically sent materials, including minutes, to the Friends Historical Library at Swarthmore College in Philadelphia. There the materials become part of the FHL curated collection, which means they are catalogued and publicly accessible. But they are only available on paper in the library itself, not online and not digitally. Though there was a temporary halt in submissions after paper minutes were discontinued in 2012, a full set of paper minutes for 2013 through RepCom 2021 has since been sent.
There may be other collections of PacYM minutes held by monthly meetings or by individuals. If you know of such a collection, please let us know. The one we know about for certain is the personal collection of Stratton Jaquette, a member of Palo Alto Meeting who served as PacYM Clerk 1986-1988. Stratton has been keeping PacYM minutes since 1969.
The PacYM website (www.pacificyearlymeeting.org) has only recently embraced its role as a digital archive of PacYM minutes. There is no thought that a digital archive would replace the need for a physical archive as backup, but it has the obvious advantage of being far more accessible than paper. We are striving to make this a complete digital archive of PacYM minutes.
Process
The minutes linked on this web page were assembled as follows:
1947-1957: AS (Annual Session) minutes were downloaded as PDFs from the appropriate issues of Friends Bulletin in the Western Friend deep archive. The PDFs were then uploaded to this website on 12/7/2021, replacing links that previously took one directly to the deep archive. IntCom (Interim Committee) minutes are scanned images of paper minutes from the PacYM archive at Whittier College Library. We are indebted to Christina Mecklenburg, administrator at the Whittier College Library, who has been scanning minutes for us from our archives there during the COVID-19 shutdown. We will look for more of the “missing” Interim Committee minutes” (i.e. 1947-1955) when the library opens up again after COVID shutdown.
1958-1968: Both IntCom and AS minutes are mostly scanned images of paper minutes from the Whittier archive, done by Christina Mecklenburg. A few we scanned ourselves from minutes we just happened to find in a box of Secretariat Committee materials stored for use year after year at Annual Sessions. We are hoping to use the Whittier archive to fill the remaining gaps in the 1963-1968 minutes posted here.
1969-2000: Nearly all are scanned images we made of paper minutes from Stratton Jaquette’s collection. They were scanned on an Epson WorkForce Pro WP-4740 Printer/Scanner at 600 dpi and then postprocessed using Adobe Acrobat Pro 2017 on an iMac. Scanning at 600 dpi produces very large files (about 4 megabytes per page), but the postprocessing reduces the size to under 1% of that while performing OCR to produce searchable text. Lastly the files were converted to PDF/A format, the format recommended for archival purposes (and generally required by libraries).
2001-present: With a few exceptions these are digital originals (i.e. not scanned images) that were posted on the PacYM website. In some cases each plenary and each attachment was posted as a separate file, so we combined them into a single PDF file. RepCom minutes for 2001 and 2002 were not posted at all, so those two are entirely scanned images from Stratton’s collection. Digitally posted minutes for AS 2001-2005 and RepCom 2003-2004 included all of the minutes but did not include all of the attachments. On Sept 29-30, 2021, we completed those sets of minutes by adding scanned images of the missing attachments from Stratton Jaquette’s collection. Only RepCom 2001 still has a few missing attachments that were not found in Stratton’s collection.
2013-2018: Concerning minutes for the years 2013-2018, see this status report.
Recent Status
- The minutes for Annual Sessions from 1947 to 1957 are now (as of 12/7/2021) available directly as PDFs rather than as links into the Western Friend Deep Archive. We are deeply grateful to Western Friend for creating the archive from which we have downloaded these images.
- The minutes for Annual Session 2021 are now posted (as of Sept 16).
- Previously missing attachments in the minutes for 2001-2005 were added on September 29-30, 2021. This follows the (near) completion in Nov, 2020, of scanning of paper minutes for 1958 to 2000. We now have all of the AS minutes and most of the RepCom/IntCom/ExecCom minutes since the beginning of PacYM in 1947, but a few of the minutes packets are still lacking attachments. More work needs to be done to identify exactly which packets are still missing attachments and to find those missing attachments in other archives (Whittier or Swarthmore).
About the Search Box
The minutes search box near the top of this page was installed in November 2020. It’s a customized Google search box configured just for PYM minutes. It was a learning experience setting it up and it may not be perfect, but it has yielded some very useful results when researching certain topics over the past year.
The efficacy of this search method also depends on numerous factors, among them:
• Google needs to have fully indexed recently uploaded minutes files. They seem to have done a pretty complete job by now (Sept 2021), but it’s difficult to tell if everything is indexed.
• Search quality depends on the quality of the optical character recognition (conversion of image to text, provided by Adobe Acrobat) that was applied to the files. The OCR often contains many errors, especially when the image is poor.
• Keyword search is often very frustrating anyway, even if the other two factors are under control.
But this is a start. Try using the “Search the Minutes” box above, and share your experience with us. Maybe we can do something to make it better.
The Project
This page and project are under the care of George Mills, formerly Secretariat Clerk for PacYM, now “Co-Historian/Archivist (archivist)”, or “Archivist” for short. Jan Tappan is designated “Co-Historian/Archivist (historian)”. George can still be contacted at SecretariatClerk@pacificyearlymeeting.org.