Commemoration of All Carmelite Souls
“Alive or Dead, we belong to the Lord. Come, you whom my Father has blessed.”
Happy Friday to all. We’ve just had two solemn days of prayer for Saints and Souls of the Carmelite Order. We remember the community members who have gone before us in a special way. Those who helped found our communities and form our travel up the mountain of Carmel. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude!
Cindy A. Perazzo, T.O.Carm., Coordinator of Lay Carmelites
for the Province of the Most Pure Heart of Mary
How long should community records be retrained? Should they be sent to the Lay Carmelite Office after a number of years?
Financial Records should be kept for 7 years and discarded in the proper way you would any financial material. I would suggest that copies of Annual Reports and Dues Reports also be kept for 7 years and then destroyed. I also suggest that attendance records be kept through two term cycles or 6 years. Original documents of the Annual and Dues Reports are already sent to the LCO and kept in community files here, so no need to forward those again.
The Lay Carmelite Office (LCO) does not ask for any other financial or attendance records at this time. Individual membership records starting with the Discernment Application for Admission, interview notes, disciplinary actions including documentation of issues, transfer forms, leave of absence letters and dispensation letters should be kept in individual membership files permanently. These files are passed along from outgoing council to incoming council. The only time membership records should be sent to the LCO is when a community is dissolved or closes.
