Ministry & Counsel Committee

Mission: The responsibility of the Committee of Ministry & Counsel is to foster the spiritual life of our Meetings for Worship, and to help members and attenders to experience a richer spiritual life.

Number of members: Six appointed by Nominating Committee plus Clerk, ex officio.

Term of Commitment: Appointed members serve staggered three-year terms. Members may not serve consecutive terms.

Duties: The Committee will:

· be available, both as a group and individually, to give counsel and aid in times of distress and hardship to members of the Meeting community who are struggling with personal or spiritual problems;

· work to enrich the spiritual foundation of the Meeting by initiating worship and study groups and in other ways;

· receive from the Clerk letters requesting membership, and appoint a Committee on Clearness to consider each such membership request;

· receive from the Clerk letters requesting marriage under the care of the Meeting, appoint members to a Committee on Clearness to meet with each couple proposing marriage and, if appropriate, recommend at business meeting that the Meeting approve the marriage. Couples including a non-Friend and those in which neither partner is a member of the Meeting are asked to seek guidance from the Committee before submitting their request for marriage.

· formulate queries for itself, revise them as needed, and discuss them at regular intervals in an effort to evaluate itself and remain sensitive to its charge.

The Meeting as a whole and individual members are requested to be loving monitors of the Committee, to alert its members to problems within the Meeting that the Committee may not be addressing, and to bring to the Committee's attention situations or attitudes which may be hindering the Committee from effectively and humbly fulfilling its responsibilities to the Meeting.

Qualifications: Committee members should be regular attenders of Meeting for Worship who reflect on the vocal ministry there. The Committee should include steady Friends with long experience in life and in Quaker tradition; sensitive Friends, alert to suffering or distress within the Meeting and to the Meeting's needs; gentle Friends who can respond to those in need; and Friends who, by their insight or by their example, can help others who search for spirituality in their lives.

Attendance at (nearly) every meeting is expected, and meetings take up an entire evening each month, so Friends with very full schedules or who live far away and have difficulties with transportation should reflect before making this commitment. While not a prerequisite, membership in the Meeting should be considered as an important factor in selecting members of the Committee.

Frequency of Commitment: Monthly, with additional called meetings as need arises. Committee members are expected to attend every meeting.