Proposed Bylaw revisions?

Some Skagit Valley Tulips

RantWoman is not supposed to know—OR CARE—about the doings of a certain monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends.  RantWoman can also recognize that dialing back the INSUFFERABLE would be something to strive for. Hold that in the Light

 

PERHAPS RantWoman would be best served by corralling thoughts that rise for another Meeting’s State of Society Report, particularly since RantWoman wants to speak highly of careful business process and faithful documentation by a recording clerk. Frankly “best served” is open to interpretation.

 

RantWoman is also feeling both unapologetic and faithful to her Light about the fact that some realities make certain extremely weighty Friends’ heads explode. Hold all clauses of that sentence in the Light.

 

RantWoman further imagines a chorus of “RantWoman, why you gotta plaster that stuff all over your blog? Why don’t you just call us up and wade again into ableism and people’s inability to recognize that they have a problem?...” Please consider the following a request to the whole dang Religious Society of Friends to hold this community in the Light. RantWoman is still TRYING to figure out the words out of mouth instead of in electrons part.

 

RantWoman, humbly is taking time off from her multilingual media diets of war crimes and atrocities so egregious as to constitute child pornography which in NO WAY should be reposted anywhere EVEN if reposting might help identify the perpetrators.  RantWoman is grateful, now that KetanJyi Brown Jackson is Justice Jackson,  also that the country HOPEFULLY is done, at least for awhile, with both junior and senior senators frothing at the mouth about matters of criminal justice so far beyond their Light they might as well be in another galaxy.

 

Anyway, RantWoman has become aware of another impending revision of the Meeting Bylaws. This revision has been long in the making, MUCH longer than when The Oops Well  Committee was renamed Care and Counsel. (Oops: inadvertent eruption of incompletely processed organizational compost--RantWoman STILL would like not to feel that the name chosen was crammed down her throat after ignoring sincere offers of help).  Awareness came perhaps by accident in the process of making RantWoman aware of the UFM death watch, the one Meeting activity Friends want to imagine RantWoman caring about, RantWoman is supposed to be grateful for notice of one figure in hospice and of the memorial date—HYBRID / BLENDED—for the Friend who first recruited RantWoman to serve as recording clerk.

 

This post is in no way meant to cast aspersions on the recently deceased Friend but it is intended as a reflection on the roles and responsibilities of the recording clerk in particular. RantWoman is just going to go where her concerns are taking her:

 

--RantWoman notes that the Clerk is required to be a member of Meeting, but notes no such requirement for the recording clerk or treasurer. RantWoman was not yet a member when she first became recording clerk. RantWoman wonders whether Friends want to consider this requirement with this bylaw revision.

 

--As a result of serving as officer in other organizations, and because RantWoman lives in a state with the Revised Code of WA and the WA Administrative Code are available—and accessible to screen reader users--online, RantWoman has read something of the responsibilities, requirements and descriptions for different roles. RantWoman’s first point of commentary would simply be to add a note of Quakerese to WA legalese translation and note that the Clerk is customarily registered as the President and the Recording Clerk is recorded as Secretary, and the Meeting Treasurer as treasurer.

 

--Here we come to a zone of RESPONSIBILITY and delegation and a whole lot of DO BETTER NEXT TIME. RantWoman is unclear what this should mean for wording of bylaws, but since RantWoman is seasoning a separate screed about the topic, perhaps this is more than enough of RantWoman TRYING constructively to be faithful to her Light for now.

 

PROPOSED TEXT

Section 2:

Selection of officers and regular designated ministers shall be made by decision of the Annual Meeting for Business upon recommendation by the Nominating Committee, or at any other Meeting for Business to fill a vacancy. An officer may be removed by the Meeting for Business for cause.

Section 3:

The Clerk of the Meeting, who must be a member of University Friends Meeting, shall serve for a term of two years (renewable once) as its president, coordinating minister and official spokesperson in accordance with Faith and Practice. The Clerk’s primary responsibilities shall be:

a. To preside at all sessions of Meeting for Worship for Business, recognizing members for speaking, encouraging conscientious consideration of business according to the Good Order of Friends, aiding Friends in finding unity in Divine Will, gathering the Sense of the Meeting and expressing it accurately in a minute after a decision is reached. The Clerk should ask to step out of role to speak to a matter of concern as a member and not give special weight to individual opinion.

b. To prepare for Meetings for Business, assuring that the various committees have  opportunity for reporting and that there is adequate preparation for making decisions. To this end the Clerk serves as clerk of the Coordinating Committee and as an ex officio member of all standing committees of the Monthly Meeting, as needed.

c. To speak for the Meeting as a whole, serving as spokesperson, or delegating that role, signing official documents, contracts, etc., supervising the answering of communication and signing official letters of correspondence, such as traveling minutes, and otherwise making sure instructions of the Meeting for Business are carried out.

d. To keep track of the annual cycle of business, alerting those with special responsibilities for budget, nominations, annual State of the Society reports and so forth, to timely fulfillment of their duties.

Section 4:

Recording Clerk: The Recording Clerk assists and supports the clerk at monthly Meetings and records the minutes of all Meetings for Business and meetings of the Coordinating Committee, making sure that they are properly preserved.

Section 5:

Statistical Clerk prepares and keeps all permanent records pertaining to membership, working closely with the clerk of the Committee on Care and Counsel and sending statistical data to the Yearly Meeting each year before its Annual Sessions.

Section 6:

The Treasurer shall oversee receipt and disbursement of all funds and theaccurate bookkeeping thereof. The Treasurer shall work closely with the Committee on Finance

and serve on it ex officio, reporting regularly to the Meeting, proposing an annual budget, and

managing funds according to the budget and other decisions of the Meeting for Business. The

treasurer may sign contracts on behalf of the meeting with the approval of the finance committee

in fulfillment of plans approved by the Meeting for Business.

Section 7:

Other Officers and representatives of the Monthly Meeting may be appointed as necessary. Each such position shall be limited by a clear set of responsibilities, including reporting to the Clerk or Meeting for Business, and a fixed term. All officers shall leave clear records of their actions on behalf of the Meeting. Officers may not represent a stand of the