You … are at the heart of our Quaker communities scattered across the north of Scotland and we link together through Local Meetings, Worshipping Groups, discussion groups and our Area Meeting.
In addition to routine business, items are generated by Local Meetings, Yearly Meeting, Meeting for Sufferings, General Meetings and by Trustees.
You … and all Friends in the North of Scotland are welcome to attend Area Meeting to learn more about Quaker life, to discern what needs to be done to support each other, and to make and record decisions about our position on issues or what we as an Area want to do next.
Area Meeting Clerk and Assistant Clerk(s) … work to prepare arrangements and an agenda for the Area Meeting (AM), and then record the decisions of the Meeting in what is called a minute.
In the North … we currently have one clerk and three assistant clerks although we are aiming for four, with one serving as an ex-officio trustee to AM. We currently also have Friends who form an AM organising group which sorts out the practical arrangements for Area Meeting which are held all over our extensive region.
The Archivist … (or Custodian of Records) stores and maintains all the AM records and minutes.
The Membership Clerk … maintains the record of Meetings, Members and Attenders.
The Treasurer … and an assistant, supported by a professional accountant/consultant and Friends’ House (the Society’s Head Quarters) look after all things financial and budgeting.
Child Protection … and care of vulnerable adults is a legal requirement and is looked after by a nominated member of the AM.
The Nomination Committee … is a key sub-group of the Area Meeting. In keeping with Quaker practice, specific individuals are asked to discern who is best suited for a particular role, rather than relying on volunteers to offer themselves to fill positions. The Committee has its Clerk.
In the North … and throughout the country Friends are generally nominated for a three year ‘triennium’ and are generally not asked to occupy their roles for more than two terms.
The Registering Officer & Deputy Registering Officer … facilitate Quaker Weddings within the area.
Elders & the Pastoral Care team … are Friends who are appointed by the Area Meeting to help with aspects of spiritual welfare and counsel, or who look out for other Friends in their Local Meetings, or who at times, help us follow Quaker practice in our Meetings.
The Elders and Pastoral Care team have their own Area Convenor for the team.
Trustees … ensure the AM is following the due processes with regard to the legal requirements for running a charity, such as the submission of Annual Reports and returns to the Office of the Scottish `Charities Regulator (OSCR). The Clerk to the Trustees records the Meetings of the Trustees.
In the North … legal representatives of AM the Trustees are responsible for the care and management of the Aberdeen properties and part of this role is delegated the ‘Aberdeen Premises Committee’. Until 2019 there was a separate North of Scotland Quaker Trust that looked after these premises, and managed the fund these properties had generated over the years. Now there is a single Board of Trustees and the money side of things is budgeted and recorded by the Treasurer and Assistant Treasurers, both of whom are ex-officio Trustees, and supported by a professional accountant.
Communications … including the ‘Northern Quaker’ newsletter and this website are looked after within the Area by a variety of volunteers.
Piers Voysey, Forres Local Meeting