Baltimore Yearly Meeting Committees
The Yearly Meeting establishes committees for the carrying out
of its purposes. All committees should report annually. Each committee
reports both on its activities and on matters which are seen as
needing attention, with some analysis of the health of the committee.
If a committee sees no way in which it can carry out the concerns
placed upon it, its members should request the Interim Meeting
to re-examine the function and structure of the committee and
make appropriate recommendations to the Yearly Meeting. Failure
of a committee to report is also an indication that a review process
should be initiated.
Concerned individuals desiring to establish a new committee
or ad hoc committee bring their idea to Interim Meeting, either
themselves directly, through their Monthly Meeting(s), or through
an appropriate committee if one already exists. If after due consideration
there is general support and approval, Interim Meeting recommends
to the Yearly Meeting that such a committee or ad hoc committee
be established. If the Yearly Meeting approves, the committee
or ad hoc committee is established.
Any report, action, or statement of a committee should be approved
in the manner of Friends at a meeting of the committee of which
all the members of the committee were given reasonable notice.
Unless otherwise provided, nominations of persons to serve on
the committees of the Yearly Meeting are made by the Nominating
Committee. Nominations of persons to serve on the Nominating Committee,
however, are made by the Interim Meeting.
All appointments to committees are made by the Yearly Meeting
in session, except that Interim Meeting may make appointments
to fill vacancies or to meet other requirements arising between
Yearly Meeting sessions.
The Yearly Meeting should evaluate carefully the recommendations
of all nominating groups, exercising the responsibility to reject
unsuitable names as well as to approve those found acceptable.
Unless other terms are set, approximately one-third of the membership
of each committee is appointed annually for terms of three years,
such terms to begin at the end of the Yearly Meeting sessions
at which the appointments are made. Generally, no one may serve
on the same committee for more than six consecutive years. An
individual may again be appointed after a one-year break in service.
Any committee, except the Nominating Committee, may co-opt a
limited number of Friends for membership for a period not extending
beyond the following sessions of Yearly Meeting. Committees may
invite other persons, Friends or non-Friends, to serve in a consultative
capacity without becoming members of the committee.
Unless otherwise provided, each committee selects its own clerk.
Committee clerks are selected from the members of Baltimore Yearly
Meeting. Committees are encouraged to make careful provision for
their ongoing work by selecting clerks in good time. Committee
clerks usually take office at the close of Yearly Meeting’s annual
sessions, to serve for the coming year. Since it is usually desirable
that a clerk have some experience with the particular committee
before becoming its clerk, committees may, prior to Yearly Meeting
sessions, provide for selecting a prospective clerk from among
their continuing members. Committees report the names of their
clerks while the Yearly Meeting is still in session. Committee
clerks serve as members of Interim Meeting. Meetings of all Yearly
Meeting committees, except the Nominating Committee, are open
to all Friends. However, any committee reviewing sensitive matters
may hold an executive session.
Yearly Meeting committees are empowered to raise or accept monies
only with the prior approval of the Interim Meeting or the Yearly
Meeting in session. All administrative committees report their
recommendations to the Yearly Meeting or to the Interim Meeting
for approval, unless authority has previously been given such
committees to act on their own proposals.
Functional committees may act and issue statements on behalf
of the Yearly Meeting:
- when such actions or statements have the prior approval of
the Yearly Meeting or the Interim Meeting.
- when such actions or statements are clearly in accord with
the policy of the Yearly Meeting as enunciated in its minutes
or adopted statements.
Other actions or statements not meeting these qualifications
should be clearly identified as being the actions or statements
of the committee issuing them and not of the Yearly Meeting.
It is the duty of the functional committees from time to time,
as the occasion demands, to prepare position papers on matters
of current interest and concern within their fields of interest
and to present these position papers before the Yearly Meeting
or the Interim Meeting for approval. Such position papers should
have the approval of the interested functional committee at a
called meeting of the committee and, if possible, are distributed
to members of the Yearly Meeting along with Yearly Meeting committee
reports prior to Yearly Meeting sessions at which they will be
considered. These papers, as adopted by the Yearly Meeting, will
then form the main part of the background of policy on the basis
of which the functional committee may act on behalf of the Yearly
Meeting.
The scope of authority possessed by an ad hoc committee should
be included in the charge to the committee; if not included, the
committee is governed by the above provisions depending upon whether
it is primarily of an administrative or functional character.
As a general practice, the Nominating Committee does not nominate
members of an ad hoc committee; the members select themselves.
The names of members and the dates of establishment of ad hoc
committees are listed in the Yearbook.
When an ad hoc committee is established, a time limit is set
for its duration. At the end of that time, a decision is made
by the Yearly Meeting as to whether the ad hoc committee is to
be continued for another specified period of time, made a standing
committee, or laid down. If no decision is made by the Yearly
Meeting, the ad hoc committee automatically is laid down when
the time limit expires.
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Manual of Procedure, July 2004, p12
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