The Handbook of Practice and Procedure is designed as a source of advice and guide to current practice and procedures. By its nature, there will be some areas where it will be out of date.
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, in accordance with the Society's procedures.
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.
The 5th Edition of the Handbook was circulated in draft form before Standing Committee July 2004, and accepted at Yearly Meeting 2005.
The current Handbook can be purchased in print form from Friends Booksales, Po Box 181, GLEN OSMOND SA 5064.
Sixth Edition
The 6th Edition is currently under development. Click here for an update on its progress, and the chapters prepared to date.
Fifth Edition
Click here to download the complete 5th Edition of the Handbook (pdf 388 kb)
Fifth Edition List of Contents
- 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
The Use of the Handbook
The Handbook of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) gives 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, the Handbook will provide many practical answers. In fact, the Handbook 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.
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.
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.
There are 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.
There are also 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.
There are also 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.
Consulting the Handbook
Each Chapter covers a specific area of Quaker life and practice. The Chapter headings are outlined in the column to the left.
Click on the Chapter title to be taken to the complete text of that chapter in portable document format (pdf) for printing out. A print command will print the whole chapter.
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.
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
Marriage
A Quaker marriage begins when a couple applies to a Meeting to be married under the care of the Meeting.
A Meeting for the purpose of marriage needs to be authorised by the Regional Meeting within which the marriage will be held.
The Registering Officer can find the wording and documentation needed to proceed further with the steps leading up to, and including the wedding in this Section of the Handbook.