(Dr.R.K.) Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Ward Clerk Duties - Cambrian Park Ward

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The following list of duties for the ward clerk were drafted up by Scott Hortin, the out-going ward clerk for the Cambrian Park ward. The assistant ward clerk duties were drafted by R.K.Owen, the assistant ward clerk for membership in the Cambrian Park ward from Mar 1994 to Nov 1998. He has also served as the assistant ward clerk for finance in another ward.

Many changes have been made to the original list of duties. Primarily, the Assistant Ward Clerk for Membership now performs all interactions with the MIS database. Several of the duties once performed by the Ward Clerk are now performed by the Assistant Ward Clerk for Membership. The main reason is the difficulty to become proficient with the MIS database.

Ward Clerk

Oversees the assistant ward clerks and interfaces with the Bishopric and auxiliary organizations regarding their administrative needs.

Weekly

  1. Attend Bishopric meeting (every Sunday except 2nd)
  2. Attend Correlation Council (1st), Welfare (3rd), PEC (4th)
  3. Bring forth any new records received
    1. Give copy of records to Executive Secretary to ensure HT/VT assignment
    2. Membership clerk will print out and make copies (for Ward Leaders only) of summary of changes
  4. Count Sacrament Meeting attendance
    1. Visual count
    2. Cup count (adjusted up by a factor of 1.07)
    3. Use higher of the two counts for reporting purposes
  5. During Sacrament Meeting note blessings, baptisms, ordinations, calls/releases

Monthly

  1. Provide statistics, including average Sacrament Meeting attendance to Statistical Clerk.

Periodically/As Needed

  1. Give Membership clerk temporary records or other info to update records for:
    1. Births (blessings), deaths
    2. Baptisms
    3. Priesthood ordinations
    4. Marriages, divorces
    5. Endowments, Sealings, Missions and disciplinary actions generated by Church HQ
  2. Create Blessing, Baptism and Aaronic Priesthood Ordination certificates as ordinances are performed (Normally save and do monthly to quarterly)
  3. Order manuals, supplies, etc. (note: clear all orders involving money with Bishop prior to submittal)
    1. Annual curriculum order (once a year, usually late October/early November)
    2. Others throughout the year
      1. Manuals, supplies, stationary
      2. Sacrament Meeting cups (if Bishop is agent Bishop, order enough for all Wards that meet in building)
    3. File order copy and shipping receipt, give invoice to Financial Clerk
  4. Purchase office supplies - biggest need is copier/printer paper and ink/toner cartridges

Assistant Ward Clerk for Membership

 Also known as the Membership Clerk. His sole duty is to maintain the accuracy, confidentiality and integrity of the membership database administered through the LDS MIS program

Weekly

  1. Upload the local record changes to Church headquarters (MIS 3.2.3)
  2. Down-load record changes from headquarters (MIS 3.2.4)
    1. process each batch (F2 or MIS 3.3), do not clear the batch until the batch report prints out in its entirety.
  3. Update ward organization as changes are made (MIS 1.2.4)
  4. Backup database whenever updates/changes are made (MIS 3.7.1)

Monthly

  1. Update temple recommend renewals, do 1st week (MIS 2.6.5)
  2. Print out by 1st Sunday:
    1. Temple Recommend Holders by Expiration Date (only needed in Jan, Apr, Jul, and Oct) give to Executive Secretary (MIS 2.6.2 and 2.6.3)
    2. Unit Statistics (MIS 2.4.3) - give to Ward Clerk
    3. Bishopric Action List (MIS 2.4.1) - give to Executive Secretary
  3. Create Stake Transfer diskette (1st week) and give to member of Bishopric for delivery (2nd week) (MIS 3.7.2)
    1. Currently the Second Councillor is doing the delivery.
    2. Bishopric member returns old diskettes
  4. Save to file & edit Member Add/Delete Report (MIS 2.3.5)
  5. Begin new Member Add/Delete Report (MIS 2.3.6) make 11 copies distributed to:
    1. Bishop
    2. 1st Counselor
    3. 2nd Counselor
    4. Executive Secretary
    5. Ward Clerk
    6. Financial Clerk
    1. Elders Quorum President
    2. High Priests Group leader
    3. Relief Society President
    4. Ward Mission leader
    5. Primary President
  6. Print up mailing labels (MIS 2.3.7) for ward newsletter

Quarterly

  1. Print up attendance rolls for each of the organizations a week or two before the start of each quarter (MIS 1.1.1).
  2. Print out and give to the Executive Secretary:
    1. Ward Organization Positions List (MIS 1.2.1) and possibly Members and Positions List (MIS 1.2.2)
    2. Members Without Callings List (MIS 1.2.3)
  3. Print out ward directories:
    1. Telephone Directories for general distribution (MIS 2.3.4), about 15 copies
    2. Abbreviated Ward Directories for general distribution (MIS 2.3.2), about 20 copies
    3. Directory of Members for Priesthood and Auxiliary Leaders (MIS 2.3.1) (with sensitive information)
      1. Bishop
      2. 1st Counselor
      3. 2nd Counselor
      4. Executive Secretary
      1. Elders Quorum President
      2. High Priests' Group President
      3. Relief Society President
      4. Ward Mission Leader

Periodically/As Needed

  1. This is the prime duty of the Membership Clerk: add/update records as information is updated (MIS 3.1)
  2. Print certificates* for blessings, baptisms, and ordinations - give to Ward Clerk for signatures, keep copy for records.
  3. Print Out special reports on an as needed/requested basis.

Special Scripts for Tasks
R.K. Owen has created several DOS Perl (version 4) scripts for printing up full directory lists, phone lists, and certificates.

An example: the full directory listing normally takes about 38 pages to print up from MIS ... these scripts can do it in as little as 4 pages on a laser printer.

The scripts are in a zip file and the URL is

ftp://owen.sj.ca.us/pub/rkowen/misdisk1.zip
No development work has been done on these scripts since 1999, because the author is no longer involved in such duties. Therefore, some of the scripts may no longer work as expected (especially the certificates have changed their form since then). Others are free to take the scripts and improve upon them, as long as the original author is still credited in such derivative works, and are made available to others without significant cost.

Schedule of Reports and Tasks
Description MIS To Whom Week Mon J F M A M J J A S O N D
Attendance rolls for next quarter 1.1.1 All organizations         X     X     X     X
Temple recommend lists 2.6.2
2.6.3 		Exec.Secr.     X     X     X     X    
Ward organization position lists 1.2.1 All organizations     X     X     X     X    
Bishopic action list 2.4.1 Exec.Secr.         X     X     X     X
New convert action list 2.4.2 Exec.Secr.         X     X     X     X
Ward directory with sensitive info 2.3.2* Bishopric,
HP,EQ,RS,WML
(10 copies) 		      X     X     X     X  
Ward directory 2.3.2* Any     X   X   X   X   X   X  
Phone list 2.3.4* Any     X   X   X   X   X   X  
Update temple recommend renewals 2.6.5     X                        
Stake transfer disk 3.7.2 2nd Councillor   X                        
Unit Statistics 2.4.3 Ward clerk   X                        
Directory Add/Del's 2.3.5 Exec.Secr. X                          
Directory Add/Del's
Begin new one 		2.3.5
2.3.6 		Bishopric,
Auxiliaries
(11 copies) 		  X                        
Upload/Download database changes 3.2.3
3.2.4 		  X                          
Back up database 3.7.1   X                          

Assistant Ward Clerk for Finances

 Also known as the Financial Clerk. His primary duty is to maintain the accuracy, confidentiality and integrity of the financial database administered through the LDS FIS program, and to make sure all funds are accounted for and properly handled. (The Financial Clerk must not receive any tithing donations from the members ... always direct them to give it to a Bishopic member.)

Weekly

Most tasks are well documented in chapter 2 of the FIS manual.
  1. Tally the week's donations with a member of the Bishopric (FIS xxx)
    1. Create new batch (FIS1.1)
    2. Bishopric member opens envelopes, give info to clerk
    3. Verify check list
    4. Upload deposit info
    5. Initial forms, seal deposit envelope
    6. back-up database
    7. both deposit moneys to bank

Yearly

  1. In December print up tithing summary prior to the member's tithing settlement with Bishop
  2. In January print up donation summary for member's tax records

Quarterly

Periodically/As Needed

  1. Add new donor information when donation is processed
  2. Cross reference with MIS database for address information
  3. Fill donation envelope/slip holder
  4. Write & disburse checks as directed, checks are signed by him and a Bishopric member
Brought to you by: R.K. Owen,Ph.D.
This page is http://rkowen.owentrek.com/LDS/cpwcduties.html