Clerk’s Corner

Clerk Responsibilities:

• Record the transactions of the council
• Keep its rolls of membership and attendance
• Maintain any required registers
• Preserve its records, and
• Furnish extracts when required by another council of the church

Minutes and Records:

The annual review of session and congregational minutes, membership rolls, and registers of baptisms, ruling elders, deacons, and pastors is an important way we express our unity and accountability within the PC(USA).

The Stated Clerk or a COM Liaison will contact the clerks of session to arrange for the review of your minutes and records.

The links below are a useful reminder for sessions of vital yearly work, help clerks keep accurate minutes, and are what we use to conduct the annual review.

Rolls and Registers:

G-3.0204 Minutes and Records

The session minutes shall be subject to the provisions of G-3.0107. They shall contain the minutes of all congregational meetings and all joint meetings with deacons and trustees.

Each session shall maintain the following roll and registers:

• Membership Roll – There shall be rolls of baptized, active, and affiliate members in accordance with G-1.0401, G-1.0402, and G-1.0403. The session shall delete names from the roll of the congregation upon the member’s death, admission to membership in another congregation or presbytery, or renunciation of jurisdiction.
  • The session may delete names from the congregation’s roll when a member requests it or has moved or otherwise ceased to participate actively in the congregation’s work and worship for two years.
  • The session shall seek to restore members to active participation and provide written notice before deleting names due to member inactivity.
• Registers – There shall be registers of baptisms authorized by the session, of ruling elders and deacons, of installed pastors with dates of service, and such other registers as the session may deem necessary.

Preserving Records:

G-3.0107 Records

Each council shall keep a full and accurate record of its proceedings.

Minutes and all other official records of councils are the property in perpetuity of said councils or their legal successors.

When a council ceases to exist, its records shall become the property of the next higher council within whose bounds the lower council was before its cessation.

The clerk of each council shall make recommendations to that body for the permanent safekeeping of the body’s records with the Presbyterian Historical Society or in a temperature and humidity-controlled environment of a seminary of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Annual Reports:

To submit online, you need your username and password. If you do not have one, please contact the Presbytery Stated Clerk, Rev. Sharon Carter.

Due to the Presbytery, upon approval is the Congregation Staff Compensation Form and the Terms of Call for Pastors and Associate Pastors (see below):

Policy Samples and Suggestions:

Sessions using sample policies are responsible for adopting policies that comply with the Constitution of the PC(USA) and laws of the state or commonwealth in which the congregation is located.

Protection Policies:

The Book of Order requires that all councils shall adopt and implement the following policies: a sexual misconduct policy, a harassment policy, a child, youth, and adults with vulnerabilities protection policy, and an antiracism policy. (G-3.0106).

Presbytery Of Cincinnati Policies can be accessed below for your reference.

Legal Resources:

For tax-exempt letters for the congregation, contact General Assembly Legal Service, 1-800-728-7228 ext 5020.