COMMITTEE ON REVIEW OF SESSION RECORDS

Committee on Review of Session Records (CRSR)

Description (According to the Standing Rules)

This Committee has the responsibility of implementing the requirements of G-9.0407d(1), namely, the responsibility of reviewing the minutes of all sessions at least annually, and reporting to Presbytery its recommendations concerning their approval, with or without exceptions.

MEMBERSHIP: This Committee is to have six (6) members, divided into three classes, one of which is elected annually. The Presbytery’s Standing Rules stress that effort be given to “electing to this committee persons who are fluent in the several languages of the Presbytery, so that session minutes submitted in languages other than English may be reviewed without the necessity of translation.”

Currently, this Committee consists of two clergy and three elders, including persons fluent in English, Spanish and Korean, and has one vacancy in the Class of 2009. The two members of the Class of 2008, including the Chairperson, are completing their second term. Therefore, in addition to two candidates for the Class of 2011, a new Chairperson will need to be elected.

MEETINGS: The Session Records Committee has no regular meetings of its members, but accomplishes its tasks by Committee members working independently.

PROCESS: New members are oriented by the Chairperson to the process and to the standards for reviewing session records.

Members are expected to review the minutes of about three (3) sessions after each Presbytery meeting, using a standardized check-list. Session minutes are usually picked up at Presbytery meetings and Committee members have at least a month to review them. The estimated time involved for reviewing three sets of annual minutes is about five hours.
The review consists of making notations about the minutes and submitting notations to the Chairperson, who reviews them and organizes a final report to the Presbytery.
Reviewed minutes are dropped off at the Presbytery Office by Committee members, where they can be picked up by personnel from the church from which they came.