Purpose

At the annual session, the Watching Committee prepares an epistle for Yearly Meeting consideration. It also assists the youth in preparing their own epistles and helps the Yearly Meeting derive benefit from epistles received from other yearly meetings.

The history of writing epistles from gatherings of Friends is a long and distinguished one, providing valued insights into the concerns and responses of Friends from the 17th century to the present. Some epistles have become part of essential Quaker literature, others are included in devotional anthologies, and some appear in collections of Quaker writings on specific topics. Contemporary epistles sometimes challenge Friends in other places to reach out in new directions, or to hold fast to traditional values in a rapidly changing world.

The Watching Committee plays a unique and challenging role. While actively participating in the yearly meeting, the Committee watches and listens for the growth of a message expressing the spirit and concern of the annual session. The Committee discerns whether its task is to compose a message of greeting or to identify a matter of deep concern arising out of the meeting in a way that ought to be shared. Members should attend business meetings and participate as fully as possible in other activities, formal and informal, to become fully aware of the spirit of the gathering. The Committee should also schedule times for quiet discernment together.

Membership

Members are the clerk, appointed by the Yearly Meeting, one representative from each Regional Meeting, one representative from Senior Young Friends, and one representative from Junior Young Friends.

Terms

Three years for the clerk. Members serve for one annual session.

Procedure for receiving epistles from other Friends organizations:

The Clerk of the Yearly Meeting shall collect epistles received, keep an updated list of the epistles, and periodically send copies of these to the Clerk of the Watching Committee. The Committee will review the epistles received by IMYM, calling attention to special ones and suggesting appropriate readings from some at meetings for business during the annual session.
If an epistle arrives that is sensitive due to either content or action required, then the Clerks of the Yearly Meeting and Watching Committee could prepare an acknowledgment, reporting this to the annual session if appropriate.
The epistles from other yearly meetings are made available at the annual session in a binder containing the original epistles and the list of all received, which is prepared by the Clerk of the Yearly Meeting. This binder is available to be read in the IMYM bookstore as announced.

Responsibilities of the Committee include:

Becoming familiar with epistles, having read those of other yearly meetings, to have firsthand knowledge of the spiritual inspiration that an epistle may carry.
Providing copies of Young Friends epistles from other organizations to the Senior Young Friends.
Assisting Junior and Senior Young Friends and the Children’s Yearly Meeting with preparing their epistles. This includes advising on the purpose of the epistle and the process of its preparation, and preparing the approved versions for distribution.
Reading selected epistles at business sessions as arranged with the presiding clerk.
Keeping the Yearly Meeting Clerk informed of the status of its watching, so that written recommendations of the Committee may come to a business session at an appropriate time. It is equally appropriate for the Committee to report that a message has not evolved sufficiently to recommend a draft for consideration as an epistle of the Yearly Meeting, and receive advice in the matter.
When an epistle is adopted by the Yearly Meeting, providing a final edition for the Yearly Meeting Clerk to sign.
Supplying copies of the approved adult epistle and each of the youth epistles to the Recording Clerk and the Web Clerk. Electronic files in addition to record copies are desirable where possible.
Publishing and distributing the epistles of the Intermountain Yearly Meeting to yearly meetings listed in the latest FWCC Calendar of Yearly Meetings and to those Friends organizations that have recently sent an epistle or message to IMYM. The FWCC World Office invites us (Feb. 2007) to request of them (world@fwccworld.org) a current FWCC mailing list for yearly meetings in electronic form.

Epistle Guidelines from a Friend in New England Yearly Meeting:

Participate fully in the whole gathering. Do not let the writing of a message isolate you.
Be alert to continuing themes and concerns. Is a clear leading beginning to emerge? Follow such leadings and see whether they are widely perceived and shaping the course of discussions.
Use simple, direct language, remembering that fine shadings of meaning are often lost in translation. Avoid jargon and slang, and words known to be used differently in other places.
Avoid the temptation to include too much. Highlighting a few key activities is better than trying to list all the events. The intent is to reach out to Friends elsewhere, not to pay tribute to those who assumed much of the hard work. The latter should be done in the gathering’s own minutes or by the Yearly Meeting Reporter.
If there is no clearness about writing any epistle or message, not to do so is a valid decision.
Appoint someone to read the draft aloud at the plenary session who can decipher the written text and can read it clearly, with meaningful punctuation. Be calm in the face of suggestions from the meeting participants. Receive the suggestions with humility and patience, avoiding attachment or advocacy for what you have so diligently composed. Be mindful of the depth and leadings behind suggestions by others at the yearly meeting sessions.
Listen carefully to discern the sense of the meeting and return to the committee’s task of preparing the final draft prayerfully. The goal is to make changes selectively, and with a sense of the integrity of the whole letter. Then present it again with good cheer and confidence.

Financial Arrangements

Incidental operating expenditures for clerical supplies, communications, postage, etc., may be submitted to the Treasurer for reimbursement. The Treasurer should be consulted before incurring unusual expenses.