Why are committees so important to the Religious Society of Friends? 

In general, Quakers understand committees well.  We usually know when to form committees and when to lay them down.  Though we sometimes get distracted, we are pretty good at having our committees meet and those meetings are often enriching.  While committees in the secular world may be filled with blah blah blah, Quaker committees have potential for a communal religious experience.

There are two key components of committees.  The first is to season issues in preparation for our meeting for business each month.  This process involves holding different ideas on an issue in the Light and considering how the committee senses we should move forward as a meeting by making a recommendation.  In making the recommendation the committee respects that the meeting as a whole may have a larger sense of the Divine and therefore willingly yields the decision to the larger body.  At the same time, the meeting respects the work of the committee.

The other component is for the committee to carry out specific work of the meeting as designated in meeting for business.  This will vary depending on the committee but there is always a feeling of being part of the larger body that is our meeting.

However, there are other things that happen during committee meetings.  Friends get to know each other better when serving on a committee.  This isn’t just for newer Friends but we all benefit from discussions with each other during committee meetings.  We understand better some of the details of our meeting.  Maybe you can think of other benefits.

Last summer, the Handbook Committee of Illinois Yearly Meeting considered the role of committees.  I am on that committee along with someone from Downers Grove Meeting.  We wrote an introduction to committees for the Handbook.  If you are interested in reading it, it is on page 35 of the 2019 Minute Book.

Though our meeting may be made up of individuals we function as a community and there is no better example of that than our work on committees.  Right now, the Nominating Committee is starting to meet and to discern the needs of our meeting in terms of our committees.  We will then start our new committees in May.  It is a good time to consider how you feel you are being led for the future.  Members of the committee would be happy to talk to you about it.