The Handbook of Practice and Procedure
The Handbook of Practice and Procedure is designed as a source of advice and guide to current practice and procedures. The Handbook is under continual revision to reflect changes made through decisions by Yearly Meeting.
Click here to download the complete 5th Edition of the Handbook (pdf 388 kb). The complete text is provided in portable document format (pdf) for printing out. A print command will print the whole Handbook. This Edition of the Handbook was circulated in draft form before Standing Committee July 2004, and accepted at Yearly Meeting 2005.
If you wish to print or copy only a paragraph, you will need to highlight all the text (Control/A), and then you can copy (Control C) and paste into a new word processing document (open a new document, then press Control V) . You are then free to copy and paste any passage you need.
Alterations and additions to the Handbook may only be made at a session of the assembled Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Australia. A decision made at a gathered Yearly Meeting and recorded by the Presiding Clerk is required to change any passage or section of the Handbook, and any proposed revisions need to be brought to Yearly Meeting for acceptance. If anyone has a query about how a particular decision at Yearly Meeting has been incorporated into the practice of Friends, the Handbook should provide the answers. By its nature, there will be some areas where it will be out of date.
The current Handbook can be purchased in print form from Friends Booksales, Po Box 181, GLEN OSMOND SA 5064.
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Editions of the Handbook
1st edition 1967
2nd edition (interim) 1983
2nd edition (completed) 1985
3rd edition (loose leaf) 1993
4th Edition (looseleaf) 1995
5th Edition (loose-leaf and web-based) 2005
6th Edition — the draft of the 6th Edition including feedback from Regional Meetings
The Use of the Handbook
The Handbook of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) is a source of good, tried, and reliable information about just about anything a person or committee might be asked to undertake within the Religious Society of Friends, including —
- A brief history of the Society and gives detailed instructions on how the Society is run
- For those new to the responsibilities of a role within the Religious Society of Friends, practical answers
- Details about the kind of agenda that is needed for the Annual Meeting, guidance for who should attend, and how to include those who are not members of the Society.
- Details about how appointments should be made for the varying positions within the Society, the responsibilities of different committees and entities, the 'jobs' of all the Committees, and how funds are to be distributed and under what circumstances.
- Details on marriages, funerals, putting one's life in order in preparation for death, and many other helpful passages. The general outline of the Appendice on Marriage is given below to illustrate the type of information that can be found in these sections.
Handbook of Practice and Procedure, 5th Edition 2004, Table of Contents
Each Chapter covers a specific area of Quaker life and practice. The Chapter headings are outlined below:
- The Religious Society of Friends in Australia
- The Life of the Society
- The Yearly Meeting
- The Regional Meeting
- Membership
- Ministry and Oversight
- Quaker Witness and Service
- Publications, Lectures and Fellowships
- Marriage and Other Committed Relationships
- Other Personal Affairs
- Finance, Property and Trusts
- Advices and Queries
- Appendices
Appendices
The Appendices include much of the paperwork needed to get married or to transfer your Membership from one Meeting to another:
- Rules of the Society
- Quaker Publications
- Chronological Summary of Friends History in Australia
- Marriage Procedures and Legal Requirements
- Declaration of Intention to Marry
- Marriage by Friends' Usages: Application by Individual, if not in Membership
- Membership Acceptance/ Transfer Certificate
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