Faith and Practice Guidelines for Committees

-Committees conduct business in the same manner as a Monthly Meeting, waiting on the Spirit to find direction in their operation and unity in their decisions.
-It is important that committees keep minutes of their meetings and that members of committees, and clerks especially, attend and report to Meeting for Business regularly to assure smooth coordination between the committees and the Meeting.
-Serving on a committee (or working group) allows Friends to engage in the life of the Meeting. New attenders learn Quaker decision-making process, and all committee and working group members have an opportunity to deepen relationships and to develop their gifts.
-Meetings customarily appoint experienced and capable members of the Religious Society of Friends to the Nominating Committee, the Spirit and Witness Committee, and as Clerks of most committees. The purpose is to assign those responsibilities to persons of spiritual depth who are familiar with Friends’ faith and ways of organizing and conducting Meeting work.
- A written charge to each committee enables a Monthly Meeting to be clear both about what it expects of its committees (and officers) and the limits of the delegated authority.
- All actions of committees in the name of the Meeting are subject to approval by the Monthly Meeting.

Committees serve the Monthly Meeting not only by carrying on routine delegated functions, but also by doing important background work in preparation for decisions at the Monthly Meeting for Business. They examine designated matters in depth, identify the issues, gather the most useful information, and make seasoned recommendations for decision by the Meeting. When this work is done well, the Monthly Meeting in session is able to focus quickly on the matter at hand.