To the Clerks of Sessions:

As we have attempted to review the Session minutes of churches and missions within our Presbytery, we have noticed many common mistakes and errors. This letter hopes to make you aware of these mistakes, and to suggest a remedy so that your records might comply with Presbytery and BCO guidelines and requirements.

The minutes of your church are very important legal documents, designed to correctly record proceedings in accordance with our Constitution in a wise and equitable fashion, so as to promote the welfare of the church. Clerks must be vigilant in properly recording and maintaining these minutes, so that their accuracy will be above reproach, especially should scandals and disputes arise within the church. In such cases your record keeping may come under very serious scrutiny by your church and/or higher courts and therefore needs to be done clearly and efficiently. The minutes are not primarily an account of all discussions or conversations within each meeting. Minutes are for the recording of actions by the Session, including motions adopted and business transacted, in a brief and concise manner.

The minutes of your church are also documents that reflect the spiritual nature of Christ's church. As such they should record the spiritual aspects and activities of the church and/or mission. Your minutes should always include someone opening and someone closing in prayer, and should keep a good record of reception and dismissal of members.

 For security reasons your Sessional records should be in a lock-type record book, the pages should all be numbered in sequence and any blank spaces should be X'ed out. This prevents any tampering with the records.

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DOWNLOAD AND USE THESE:
EXAMPLE	REVIEW FORM	TEMPLATE

 As we review the minutes of your church we are required to report mistakes or failures within three categories:

 1. Notations - this includes typographical errors or misspellings, and an insufficient amount of information according to Presbytery guidelines, such as:

- Typographical errors or misspells

- Failure to record the time, date, location and type (Stated or Called) of meeting

- Failure to notate who opened and who closed in prayer

- Minutes do not accurately show actions, motions adopted, or business transacted

- Minutes are not approved prior to submitting them to Presbytery

- Names of commissioners appointed to Presbytery or General Assembly not shown, or their reports after attending

- Minutes do not accurately show record of members received and dismissed, baptisms, weddings, deaths, and discipline administered

 2. Exceptions of Form - this includes failure to comply with BCO or Presbytery requirements, such as:

- Session does not meet quarterly (BCO 12-6)

- Meetings are not opened and closed in prayer (BCO 12-5)

- Date and cause is not recorded for members dismissed (BCO 46, 57-5)

- No record of Session examining, ordaining and installing ruling elders and deacons (BCO 12-5)

- Deacons do not regularly submit minutes and financial records to the Session (BCO 9-4)

- Session has not approved and adopted church budget (BCO 12-5)

- Minutes do not record that a quorum is present, whether by list of attendees or by statement (BCO 12-1)

- Session does not submit records at least once a year for review by Presbytery (BCO 12-7)

- Minutes are not correctly recorded according to BCO standards (being wise, equitable, and promoting the welfare of the church) (BCO 40-2)

 3. Exceptions of Substance - this includes violations of the Constitution of the PCA

 We recommend that you adopt a regular format or template for keeping accurate minutes, and have included one possible format that may be effective for you. This enables you as the clerk to simply fill in the blanks on essential but often overlooked parts of your Session meetings and records. We have also included an example of some fictitious but correctly recorded minutes. It is helpful to use a common phrase in your minutes, especially when adopting and approving motions, so that it is easy to see what official actions the Session has taken. Three such examples are below:

 1. "Motion duly seconded and approved that ... (state motion verbatim)"

2. "Motion carried by common consent that ... (state motion verbatim)"

3. "MSC (Motion Seconded and Carried) that ... (state motion verbatim)"

We encourage you and your Session to study BCO 10, 12, 25-5, and 40, and the RAO 14 (Rules of Assembly Operations; the "yellow pages") so as to be aware of Presbytery guidelines.

Thank you for your efforts, and for helping to keep our task as a committee more efficient.

 In His Service,

 

RE David Brown & TE Max A Forsythe
for the Sessional Records Committee

 

"Let all things be done decently and in order." 1 Corinthians 14: 40