If there are 2 committees that are basic to running a Quaker body, they would be Ministry & Counsel committee and Finance committee. What does Ministry and Counsel Committee do at the Quarterly Meeting level? For a general job description see About Quarterly Meeting Ministry and Counsel Committees. If you are interested in how Salem Quarterly Meeting's Ministry and Counsel Committee works, About Salem Quarterly Meeting's Ministry and Counsel Committee is right below.
About Salem Quarterly Meeting's Ministry and Counsel Committee
Salem Quarterly Meeting Ministry and Counsel committee currently meets twice a year usually on the first Saturdays of October and April.
The committee consists of all the members of Ministry and Counsel committees of the meetings that belong to Salem Quarter. In addition, Salem Quarterly Meeting appoints two Friends as at-large members of the QM Ministry and Counsel to serve as co-clerks. Meeting representatives to the Quarterly Meeting and Friends who have care of worship groups are also encouraged to attend.
Ministry and Counsel is responsible for the content of the Quarter web pages and electronic communications. The committee plans the January program of Salem Quarter and the Summer Picnic.
Meetings are encouraged to bring memorial minutes to Ministry and Counsel for seasoning before they are brought to Quarter sessions.
About Quarterly Meeting Ministry and Counsel Committees
The purposes and structure of the Quarterly Meeting Ministry and Counsel committee are outlined in Faith and Practice of New England Yearly Meeting of Friends (1985).
Quarterly meeting Ministry and Counsel consists of all members of Ministry and Counsel of the constituent monthly meetings. It should meet regularly, near the time of the quarterly meeting, to transact business pertaining to its reponsibilities, which consist of general oversight of the spiritual welfare of the constituent meetings. It receives reports from Ministry and Counsel of the constituent meetings and gives attention to the problems of those meetings. It should be concerned particularly with new worship groups and meetings and with meetings which are lacking in leadership. It should also have a concern for meetings greatly reduced in size or for meetings where there is lack of unity. It may recommend appropriate action to the quarterly meeting. The sessions should emphasize the spritual quality of Friends' beliefs and practices and seek to deepen Friends' sense of God's presence in their lives.
Quarterly meeting Ministry and Counsel annually appoints a clerk to preside at its meetings and to keep minutes of its proceedings. It also appoints any committees needed for carrying on its work. It submits a state of the quarterly meeting report to the quarterly meeting for approval and for forwarding to the Yearly Meeting.