Peace and Social Concerns Committee

Committee Charge and Responsibilities

I. Committee Name:

Peace and Social Concerns (P & SC)

II. Committee Charge

The Peace and Social Concerns Committee is responsible for providing advice and support to the Monthly Meeting in the meeting’s witness on issues of peace and social justice. It also encourages members and attenders to participate in the work for social change of larger Quaker groups or other bodies, or to independently pursue leadings to social actions consistent with Friends’ testimonies.

III. Specific Tasks and Functions

• Supporting community members who would like to engage more fully with a peace and justice concern or leading, and connecting people with similar concerns;
• Organizing and encouraging participation with the Peace Table and related conversations during Social Hour;
• Keeping those active in the life of the meeting up to date with peace and justice opportunities, through the weekly bulletin, newsletter, list-serv, website and bulletin board;
• Hosting occasional forums and other events to inform and energize community members around specific issues and concerns;
• Listening for possible corporate peace and justice concerns, and helping to shepherd them through a corporate discernment process;
• Guiding the meeting through the annual FCNL priorities discussion;
• Choosing a recipient of the 12th Month Dinner contributions;
• Dispensing the Friendly Care Fund to organizations in the community who
• work to help our neighbors in need.

IV. Other Committees with which P&SC will Maintain Clear Liaison

       P & SC has informal collaboration with:

• Adult Religious Education- for possible joint sponsorship of events
• Racial Healing and Wholeness- for possible joint sponsorship of events
• Library Committee- to bring library resources to events

V. Committee Composition and Terms of Service

1. Size of Committee –

The Peace and Social Concerns Committee will have between 7 and 10 members, all of whom will be nominated by the CPMM Nominating Committee and approved by the Monthly Meeting. Committee membership is open to both members and attenders of the meeting.

2. Length of Officers’ Terms-

Clerk -- one year;

Recording clerk -- one year

3. Core Skills needed for the committee to do its work effectively are:

• An ability to make resources around peace, justice and an earth restored accessible to individual members and the meeting at large.
• An understanding of the faith roots out of which our actions relating to peace and justice grow.

VI. Schedule and Frequency of Meetings

The Committee meets monthly -currently first Tuesdays of the month, 7:00 to 9:00 pm, from September through June.

VII. Pattern of Reporting to Monthly Meeting

In addition to an Annual Report, written/oral reports to Meeting for Business occur several times per year, as P & SC has an issue either for the meeting’s attention or action.

Monthly minutes submitted to meeting secretary.

VIII. Annual Committee Budget

The committee’s budget provides for costs of attending FCNL Annual Sessions, costs of attending other such conferences, minor incidental costs of events we host.

Approximate Amount of Restricted Funds Allocated by the Committee Annually P & SC Committee has responsibility for the Friendly Neighbor Fund, established by a member’s gift of $25,000 in 2014. Both interest and principal can be spent, thus the size of the fund will diminish except for any contributions others in the meeting make to renew

it.

Date of Monthly Meeting Approval of the Charge – November 2015

This committee charge will be reviewed (and modified if necessary) at least within three years of its approval.