As an aid to Friends considering a committee position, we have provided the following descriptions of LEYM committees and details about serving on them.
Committees (general description)
Advancement & Outreach
Ministry & Nurture
Arrangements & Site
Earthcare
Finance
High School Teen Retreat Program
Nominating
Peace & Justice
Program
Publications & Archives
Youth & Children
Committees
Committees are appointed by Lake Erie Yearly Meeting to perform functions more easily carried out by a small group than the entire body. Charges to committees are defined by the yearly meeting when they are created or when their roles change. Committees may perform specific tasks, think through issues, or bring proposals or recommendations to the full body for consideration and a decision. Committees with budgets may spend them within the guidelines established by the yearly meeting. Some committees oversee funds.
Clerks of committees are responsible for convening meetings and keeping them on task and for seeing that appropriate records are kept, that reports are made to the larger body, and that the work is carried out.
The Advancement & Outreach Committee supports meetings and worship groups in attracting and welcoming new members and attenders. It works with worship groups ready to become monthly meetings and with meetings wanting to become worship groups or be laid down.
6 members, 3-year terms, renewable once
1. Nurture and encourage small meetings, new meetings and worship groups within LEYM
2. Support meetings in attracting and welcoming new members and attenders
3. Keep an up-to-date list of the monthly meetings, preparative meetings, and worship groups within LEYM along with contact information for clerks and conveners
4. Work with groups interested in forming new monthly meetings or with meetings that are being laid down
5. With the Publications & Archives Committee, oversee the LEYM web site
Meets: prior to Representative and Annual Meetings and a Saturday meeting in the fall.
The Arrangements & Site Committee is responsible for all aspects of the Annual Meeting that have to do with the site as well as registration.
6 members, 3-year terms, renewable once
1. Set time and place for Annual Meeting two years in advance & notify YM
2. Registration materials to LEYM Bulletin Editor in time for spring issue
3. Conduct registration and ensure that physical needs are met
4. Pass list of attenders on to Nominating Committee for use during Annual Meeting sessions
Meets: as required and called by committee clerk.
The Earthcare Committee helps Friends understand and move toward better stewardship of the earth.
6 members, 3-year terms, renewable once
1. Educate selves and Yearly Meeting about environmental issues
2. Generate, collect and disseminate informational materials concerning earthcare
3. Liaise with MM Earthcare committees and with national Quaker Earthcare Witness
Meets: prior to Representative and Annual Meetings for business and at other times as arranged.
The Finance Committee plans and manages the yearly meeting’s finances, proposes an annual budget, and advises on the yearly meeting’s investments.
3 members, 3-year terms, renewable once, plus Treasurer ex officio
1. Consult with Treasurer on financial policies
2. Recommend annual budget for following fiscal year to Representative Meeting
3. Determine recommended share per reported member
4. Evaluate any unusual requests for expenditures and make recommendations to YM
5. Consult with Arrangements, Program and Youth & Children cmttees to set registration fee for Annual Meetings
Meets: prior to Representative and Annual Meetings and at other times as arranged.
The High School Teen Retreat Program Committee holds in concern the spiritual life of LEYM high schoolers. The committee hires, supports, and oversees the work of a paid coordinator of teen retreats.
3 adults with 3-year terms, renewable once, plus 2 high-schoolers with 2-year terms, plus High School Youth Program Coordinator ex officio
1. Search for, hire and oversee the work of a High School Program Coordinator
2. Set remuneration in consultation with Finance & Budget Committee
3. Assist the Coordinator in keeping an updated database of eligible youth for the High School Youth Program
4. Identify and nurture Friends in monthly meetings who are interesting in working with high school youth
Meets: as required and as called by committee clerk.
The Ministry & Nurture Committee offers meetings and worship groups support as they seek to strengthen and enrich their meetings for worship and the spiritual vitality of Friends. The committee encourages meetings and worship groups to undertake an annual assessment of their spiritual condition. The committee oversees LEYM’s Spiritual Formation Program and traveling ministers from the yearly meeting.
6 members, 3-year terms, renewable once, plus one member appointed from each monthly meeting as meetings are led
1. Work with and assist committees on Ministry & Nurture in local meetings at their request
2. Arrange workshops for Ministry & Nurture Committee members
3. Care for the spiritual life of the Yearly Meeting (Note: in carrying out this charge, M&N Committee has discerned and disseminated a YM query each year since 1985, encouraging each meeting to respond.)
4. Recommend a nominee for a Cooper Scholarship at the Earlham School of Religion
Meets: prior to Representative and Annual Meetings and at other times as arranged.
The Nominating Committee identifies Friends who are competent and willing to carry out the many tasks that enable the yearly meeting to act as we are led. It proposes a slate of nominees at Annual Meeting and individual nominations throughout the year as necessary.
6 members from different MMs, 3-year terms, renewable once
(Named by Yearly Meeting through a “Naming Committee”)
1. Discern and secure acceptance of nominations for officers, committee members and representatives to Friends organizations and visitors to nearby YMs
2. Nominate clerks for standing committees, after consulting with current committee clerk by rise of YM
3. Fill vacancies as they occur throughout year
4. Advise YM when a committee may need to be laid down
5. Choose which FWCC representatives may attend the Triennial
6. Provide to officers, Bulletin editor a complete list of all approved appointments promptly at the close of YM Annual sessions
7. Keep accurate records of each individual’s initial year of appointment to a committee so that the limit of six years is not exceeded
Meets: at Representative and Annual Meetings, conference calls and e-mail as called by committee clerk.
The Peace & Justice Committee helps Friends understand matters of peace and justice and work toward a more peaceful and just world.
6 members, 3-year terms, renewable once; MMs are also encouraged to appoint one representative.
1. Exchange information about peace and justice actions & concerns in MMs and communicate to YM and own meetings
2. Receive reports from representatives to various Friends organizations (AFSC, FCNL, FWCC, etc.)
3. Initiate minutes or suggestions and transmit to MMs and YM
Meets: during Representative and Annual Meetings and at other times as called by committee clerk.
The Program Committee is responsible for planning activities except for conducting business. This includes developing a theme, setting a schedule, and publicizing Annual Meeting to LEYM Friends.
6 members, 3-year terms, renewable once
1. Establish a theme for the Annual Sessions
2. Arrange for speaker(s), workshops, worship sharing, recreational activities which encourage spiritual growth, nurture and fellowship
3. Consult with YM Clerk the times for YM business sessions
4. Communicate necessary information to Arrangements & Site committee and Bulletin Editor
Meets: As called by clerk, mostly by e-mail and conference call.
The Publications & Archives Committee oversees printed and web publications of the yearly meeting. The committee sends yearly meeting materials to a Quaker archive and encourages meetings to do the same.
4 members, 3-year terms, renewable once, plus editor of Annual Records, editor of Bulletin and Webmaster.
1. Supervise the webmaster, consulting with him/her about the content, presentation, and maintenance of the Yearly Meeting website.
2. Supervise the Bulletin editor, consulting with him/her about the publication and distribution of the LEYM Bulletin.
3. Supervise the work of the database manager.
4. Select each year, from within or beyond the committee, an Annual Records editor, and supervise that editor, consulting with him/her about the publication and distribution of the Annual Records.
5. Help provide materials for the Annual Records, especially summaries of the plenary address and the workshops presented at Annual Meeting.
6. Name, when needed, from within or beyond the committee, an LEYM Directory editor, and supervise that editor, consulting with him/her and the database manager about the publication and distribution of an updated LEYM Directory.
7. Oversee the publication and distribution of any other print publications of the Yearly Meeting.
8. Submit LEYM records to the Friends Historical Library, Swarthmore College. Items to be submitted include the Annual Records, LEYM Bulletins, and other print publications of the Yearly Meeting.
Tasks done by various members of the committee include proofreading the Bulletin and the Annual Records, and attending and writing up a summary of one of the workshops and/or the plenary at Annual Sessions, which are printed in the Annual Records. As needed, a member of the committee takes on compiling the Annual Records. This committee does not require much work outside of Rep. Mtg. and Annual Sessions except for those who prepare the Bulletin three times a year and put together the Annual Records.
Meets: during committee times at Representative and YM sessions. Communication also occurs via e-mail during the year.
The Youth & Children Committee nurtures children and teens at Annual Meeting as well as at a fall retreat.
Clerk, Assistant Clerk, Leader & Assistant Leader for each of the following groups:
Pre-school, Early elementary (grades 1-3), Upper elementary (4-6), Middle school (7-8), High school (9-12). Each to serve 2 years.
Also Fall Retreat Clerk & Assistant Clerk. Each to serve 2 years.
1. Develop and carry out program for groups (childcare providers may be hired in consultation with the treasurer).
2. Organize the LEYM Youth and Children Fall Retreat.
Meets: before rise of YM to assess this year and to plan for the next.
Updated September 5, 2016
