MEETING COMMITTEES

Standing Committees are formed by approval of the Meeting and report to it. The Nominating Committee takes the major responsibility for selecting conveners and recruiting committee membership. In general, committee slates are approved in time to allow members and attenders to join committees by September 1, though interested persons may join most committees at any time throughout the year. All committee positions save those of the Nominating Committee and the Committee on Ministry and Counsel are open to non-members; all committees except Ministry and Counsel, Nominating, Care and Visitation, and Personnel are open to volunteers.

Each standing committee has a convener (or co-conveners). In many meetings this position is called “committee clerk.” The convener is responsible for facilitating the work of the committee, both at its meetings and between meetings, and usually represents the committee at meetings for business.

With approval of the Meeting, sub-committees or action groups may be formed as subgroups of Meeting committees. Such groups must communicate regularly with the committee of which they are a part. Committees are responsible for initiating the laying down of subcommittees or action groups when their work is done.

Ad hoc committees are formed by the Meeting to undertake projects of limited duration. Interest groups are approved by the Meeting in order to be affiliated with it; their membership generally comprises interested volunteers.

Committee for Children and Families

Committee for Children and Families (CCF) supervises the First Day School program, which includes children from infancy through the high school years, and the nursery care program. On request, the Committee facilitates childcare during other Meeting events.

Contributions

Contributions Committee allocates money to particular outside organizations. Meeting as needed throughout the year, the Committee gathers information to develop and maintain expertise about these organizations and provides its recommendations to the Meeting for approval.

Earthcare

Earthcare Committee raises awareness of environmental issues and informs Friends about ways to take action on environmental issues. The committee works with Property Committee to implement conservation practices on Meeting property.

Finance

Finance Committee oversees the income and expenses of the Meeting, and supervises record keeping. After soliciting input from Meeting committees, it prepares an annual budget for Meeting approval and offers financial guidance to the Meeting as needed.

Furnishings

Furnishings Committee is responsible for acquiring and installing furniture, carpets, and drapes, and applying interior paint and wall coverings in public spaces in Quaker House and the Meetinghouse and conducts an annual review of these public spaces for replacement of the furnishings.

Membership and Outreach

Membership & Outreach (M&O) Committee is responsible for membership applications, events and communication with members and outreach to the community beyond the Meeting. Its members are available to discuss questions about Quakerism, the Meeting, and membership.

Ministry and Counsel

The Committee on Ministry and Counsel (M&C) takes responsibility for the spiritual welfare of members and general welfare of the Meeting as a whole. These responsibilities include three main areas: care of the meeting for worship; a concern for the state of the Meeting as a community; and pastoral care of individuals who are a part of the Meeting.

Care and Visitation

Care and Visitation Committee, a subcommittee of Ministry & Counsel, helps facilitate services to members and attenders of our Meeting in times of crisis, such as illness or a death in the family. E.g., coordinates meals when a family member is in the hospital or recovering at home, assists in arrangements when there is a death in the family, arranges for transportation etc.

Nominating

Nominating Committee is charged with the long-range task of planning for the leadership needs of the Meeting, and the annual task of recruiting people to serve the Meeting. It nominates (provides a slate of) officers and representatives for the Meeting, as well as proposes conveners and members for standing committees for the Meeting to approve.

Peace and Social Concerns

Peace & Social Concerns Committee (P&SC) educates itself and the Meeting on a variety of peace and social consciousness issues of concern to Friends. It also oversees the work of subcommittees and interest groups organized around a specific peace or social justice issue. The Palestine-Israel Action Group (PIAG) and Justice Action Group (JAG) are subcommittees of P&SC.

Personnel

The Personnel Committee recruits and oversees all aspects of personnel management for the Meeting.

The committee provides many of the “Human Resources” functions for the Meeting organization and its employees and is available to the Meeting and its employees in a liaison and support role on personnel matters.

Property

The Property Committee is responsible for the care of the buildings and grounds at Ann Arbor Friends Center. It works closely with the Furnishings Committee, the Quaker House Committee, the Environment & Social Concerns Committee, the residential community, and the Meeting Worker to maintain and keep up the physical properties of the Meeting.

Quaker House Committee

The Quaker House Committee is charged with the planning and oversight for the Quaker House Residential Community (QHRC), the six-bedroom intentional-living community, and the use of the Meetinghouse and Quaker House facilities by Friends and others in the larger community.

Refreshments and Potluck

The Refreshments and Potluck Committee oversees the volunteers who provide snacks following Meeting for worship each week and organizes set-up and clean-up for the monthly potluck and procures food supplies and food preparation equipment.