Highlights from Central Committee 2014
Fall is a time of transformation, from the colorful foliage to the cooler weather. Change is in the air, and it was a major theme at this year’s Central Committee meeting. Central Committee is the governing body of FGC and guides our organization’s work. Committee members came together in Maryland from October 16th to 19th to reflect and move forward on key initiatives.
Fall is a time of transformation, from the colorful foliage to the cooler weather. Change is in the air, and it was a major theme at this year’s Central Committee meeting. Central Committee is the governing body of FGC and guides our organization’s work. Committee members came together in Maryland from October 16th to 19th to reflect and move forward on key initiatives.
During Central Committee, we bid farewell to Presiding Clerk Sue Regen as her six years of service came to a close. We are excited to welcome our new Presiding Clerk, Frank Barch. Frank was the Clerk of the FGC Personnel Committee prior to becoming Presiding Clerk and is a celebrated doctor in Harrisonburg, Virginia. We are very blessed to have had and continue to have grounded leadership.
Central Committee also saw further discernment on the future of QuakerBooks at FGC. We know how important QuakerBooks’s online presence, Yearly Meeting book tables, and the Gathering bookstore are for Friends. Dramatic shifts in the publishing industry over the past several years have impacted the way books are distributed and sold, and we are working to help QuakerBooks evolve with those shifts. To that end, Central Committee approved a resolution for FGC to refine QuakerBooks’s operations and marketing strategy over the coming year.
Perhaps the most exciting initiative to be approved was FGC’s new Spiritual Deepening program, which is currently being developed and will be unveiled in the coming year. Spiritual Deepening will enrich Friends’ and seekers’ knowledge of Quaker faith and practice through educational materials covering topics essential to the personal and communal spiritual journey.
We hope you are as excited as we are for our new initiatives!