Letter to All Bodies of Elders, 1990-08-27: The congregation field service report should not be delayed
25 COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK 11201, U.S.A.
PHONE (718) 625-3600
August 27,1990
TO ALL BODIES OF ELDERS
Dear Brothers:
We are glad to provide information that will assist you in preparing your congregation field service reports and sending them to the Society on time. (Mark 6:30) This letter replaces our letter dated May 10, 1984, which should be destroyed.
We have been receiving a number of congregation field service reports very late. By the third week of each month, monthly field service reports have not yet been received from approximately 400 congregations. This makes it very difficult to compile the field service report for the country so that it can be printed in Our Kingdom Ministry. The Congregation Report card (S-1) requests that each congregation submits its report to the Society no later than the sixth day of the following month. Some of you have evidently been holding your congregation reports after the sixth of the month so that late reports from the publishers can be included in your report. While you continue to encourage the brothers to turn in their field service reports on time, the congregation field service report should not be delayed, waiting for late publisher reports. If because of circumstances beyond your control your report is late, please send it by regular mail. It is not necessary to use expensive express mail service.
If certain totals on your monthly report are significantly higher or lower than what you normally report, a brief note confirming that the figures are accurate should accompany the report. This will serve to satisfy questions the Society may have regarding the accuracy of the totals.
LATE REPORTS: What should be done when publishers turn in field service reports so late that they cannot be included in the congregation's report that you send in on the sixth of the month? The "Question Box" in the August 1973 Kingdom Ministry said: "If, for example, a publisher turns in a late report for his activity during July and then turns in his August report on time, all of his activity would be included in the congregation's August report. Would this one be counted twice as a publisher in August? Yes, because he was not counted as a publisher in July. This will provide the Society with a complete report, and the averages at the end of the year will be correct." So, if the report for the congregation is incomplete because of missing reports, please do not hold up the congregation report until these are received. Late reports should be included in the next month's congregation report, which, of course, will result in the total report for the year being accurate.
If reports are turned in after you mail the congregation report to the Society, please do not send these to the Society, asking for your report to be adjusted. You should include them in your next month's report as outlined above.
CONGREGATION'S PUBLISHER RECORD CARDS: Some have been concerned that if an individual's report is not turned in early enough to be included with the congregation's report, the publisher would be considered irregular. Some have included time for the publisher, even though no report has been received. It would be best if nothing is reported for a publisher until a report is actually received, either in writing or verbally. This will assure that your field service report is "an accurate report."--See Our Ministry, page 103, paragraph 2.
Individual reports should be posted on the Congregation's Publisher Record card under the month shown on the report slip, regardless of what month the report is turned in or when it is included in the congregation report sent to the Society. Thus, if a publisher turns in his July report late, when the secretary posts the Congregation's Publisher Record card, he should post the July report in the space for the month of July and the August report in the space provided for the month of August.
PIONEER REPORTS: You should handle regular pioneer reports in the same way you handle publisher reports. Thus, late reports turned in by regular pioneers should not be sent to the Society and request made that they be added to what you have already submitted for a certain month. Instead, such reports should be added to the total activity for regular pioneers on the next month's report. As with publishers reporting late, the pioneer should be counted twice, on your next Congregation Report (S-1) to the Society or as many times as the number of late monthly reports the pioneer turns in. Hour credits for pioneers, such as for attending Pioneer Service School or serving as a temporary construction worker at Bethel, should not be included with field service time on the congregation report. Special pioneers report directly to the Society. Their field service reports should not be included with the regular pioneer activity on the Congregation Report (S-1) although their activity should be posted on their Congregation's Publisher Record cards.
We trust these comments will be helpful to you in preparing your monthly field service reports so they will be accurate and can be sent to the Society on time. It is a pleasure to be working unitedly with you in Jehovah's Kingdom service. Be assured of our warm Christian love.
Your brothers,
Watchtower B. V. Society OF NEW YORK, INC.