| Summary: |
Initially entries are for an event or task on a given day but this quickly develops into brief summaries of the Secretaries' Meetings (although lapsing occasionally back to the initial format). The minutes up to 1912 are often written very informally with little consistency of structure, simply outlining the work to be undertaken by the secretaries (e.g. meetings to attend, letters to be composed, etc), matters resolved and some recommendations made to committees (usually the General Committee). However, these minutes do, on occasion, discuss in more detail matters occupying the secretaries' time. With the restructuring of 1912 the minutes become more structured, expansive and directly connected to the work of the General Committee (from the summer of 1928 the sectional committees), occasionally being more detailed in their minutes then the committees whom they support.
|
| Extent: |
27 volumes
|
| Note: |
There is no indication that any minutes were written before 1837: if they were they are not extant.
|
| Admin history: |
With the establishment of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society in 1818 three secretaries were appointed. Each secretary had to be a minister and was required to reside in London. Their duties, to be organised between themselves, included reading and replying to correspondence, keeping track of expenditure and producing an annual plan for the stationing of missionaries (which would then be presented to Conference for approval). As the number of missions and missionaries increased an additional secretary was appointed, subsequently with specific responsibilities being assigned to each secretary. In 1906 the Secretaries' Meetings become known as the Officers' Meetings.
By 1912 these arrangements required greater formality. The secretaries were given specific area responsibilities and joint duties (as assigned to individuals by the General Purposes Committee). Each secretary was given equal status although one of them would be selected by the Wesleyan Methodist Conference (upon recommendation by the General Committee) to chair the Officers' Meetings for the year. The specific area responsibilities were: Home, Lay, Youth & West Africa; South Africa & the 'Western Hemisphere'; China & Europe; India & Ceylon. Each secretary was expected to visit part of their area every four years and to introduce business for their area to each General Committee meeting. Responsibilities shared between secretaries included arranging meetings, drafting budgets and representation on other committees. The Officers' Meetings (usually held for a day at least once a week) were attended by the four secretaries along with the two honorary lay treasurers of the WMMS. They were charged with keeping minutes of their meetings where they would present before their colleagues all recent work regarding each secretary's area. The Officers' Meetings did not formally report to the General Committee but their views were often solicited by it, and the preparation of their work could potentially influence it.
A review of sectional committees in 1928 lead to the business of the Officers' Meetings not being directly passed to the General Committee but, in the first instance, to the most appropriate sectional committee. Furthermore, joint meetings with the officers of the Women's Auxiliary were discontinued by September of 1929 when the Officers' Meetings formally comprised the officers of the WMMS and its Women's Auxiliary. |
With the establishment of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society in 1818 three secretaries were appointed. Each secretary had to be a minister and was required to reside in London. Their duties, to be organised between themselves, included reading and replying to correspondence, keeping track of expenditure and producing an annual plan for the stationing of missionaries (which would then be presented to Conference for approval). As the number of missions and missionaries increased an additional secretary was appointed, subsequently with spec ... View more |
| Access status: |
Restrictions apply
|
| Access conditions: |
Two of these minute books are only available for consultation on microfiche. Data Protection declaration forms need to be completed and signed when consulting some of these minutes.
|
| Copyright: |
Copyright held by Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes |
| User restrictions: |
For permission to publish, please contact Archives & Special Collections, SOAS Library in the first instance |
| Language: |
English
|
| Format: |
Archive
|
