Listen and move in relationship with Friends and Spirit!
Recently the Presiding Clerk found joy and fulfillment! Here’s how:
- Offered an open invitation to meetings to visit them – and then traveling to several each month.
- Found many opportunities to have conversations with people about the life and health of our yearly meeting and Quakerism
People who serve as Presiding Clerk can learn and grow in this way:
- Collaborate with experienced and skilled clerks to care for our entire yearly meeting
- Meet Friends from different corners of our community, learn about the ministries they carry, and share news and information about across the yearly meeting.
Skills or experiences that are needed in a Presiding Clerk include:
- An active, deep, experiential understanding of Quaker faith and practice, and a commitment to Friends’ decision-making process.
- Experience as Clerk of Monthly Meeting (preferred) or Clerk of Quarterly Meeting / other significant Quaker organization.
- Recognized leadership and the ability to command the respect of the Body.
- Broad historical perspective of PYM and an understanding of the issues which confront it.
- Experience with conflict resolution (either in a prior clerking experience or otherwise) and the ability to mediate conflict publicly and privately.
- Excellent communication and organizational skills.
- Familiarity with the servant leader approach to leadership.
The realistic time commitment of the presiding clerk includes:
- Prepare for and attend Annual Sessions and Continuing Sessions, clerk the business meetings
- About 15-25 hours/month attending meetings, communicating with staff and clerks and preparing for meetings.
- Attend the following meetings on a monthly basis:
- The clerks group
- Council meetings, currently the third Saturday of the month until 1:30PM
- Sessions Coordinating Committee (six times/year), Finance Committee, and possibly Governance Committee
- Speak or meet with Friends, meetings and/or PYM groups as the need arises
- Terms: The presiding clerk serves one two-year term as rising clerk and one two-year term as presiding clerk.
Overview:
The Presiding Clerk’s primary responsibility is to be present, modeling spiritual grounding and discernment, joining with those gathered to remain in worship with an attention to business and clerk accordingly. The clerk is the primary clerk for Annual and Continuing Sessions, preparing the agenda and the people who will be presenting or reporting. The clerk provides support and serves as a strategic thought partner to the General Secretary. They remain informed and knowledgeable about concerns before and the work of the governing councils.
For information about the role of Presiding Clerk, contact the clerk:
Nikki Mosgrove, nmosgrove@pym.org
