Our current governance structure was set up with a goal of simplifying our governance and administration. Some adjustments have been made, such as adding a Clerks Group which encourages the clerks of the councils and officers of the yearly meeting to all collaborate. Another change is that the three councils, Quaker Life, Administrative and Nominating, have met jointly for about an hour every month for many years now. Over the course of the past two years, the clerks and Governance Advisory Committee have been watching for new opportunities that allow the councils to be increasingly effective in meeting our community’s needs, responsive to the spirit and respectful of the council members’ commitment.
Change 1: The Councils will meet jointly
As an experiment for the year, the clerks of the councils are choosing to create the councils’ agendas jointly. Quaker Life Council Clerk Jean-Marie Prestwidge Barch (Schuylkill Meeting), Administrative Council Clerk Jeanne Elberfeld (Reading Meeting), and Nominating Council Clerk, George Schaefer (Abington Meeting) will co-clerk the meetings with all members of the three councils jointly participating in the work. Meetings will be 9-12 and will be hybrid. The experiment will be evaluated in January and June.
Consolidating the council meetings means that:
- Agenda items have the benefit of seasoning and decision-making from the perspectives of all councils. Everyone is in the room where it happens. Everyone with council responsibilities will have the same access and participation in our governance and will be holding the same big picture of our community.
- Nominating council members will have the benefit of direct experience of the work and responsibilities of the other two councils which will help them when they speak with prospective members.
- There will be a robust number of people in the room to do the work.
- The artificial separation of spiritual and administrative responsibilities will be removed.
- There is decreased need for calibrating and communicating between councils and risk for an agenda item not to get input from a particular body.
Change 2: The Councils will meet on the 2nd Saturday
Council meetings will move from the 3rd Saturday of the month to the 2nd Saturday. Continuing Sessions is always on the second Saturday of November and March and changing the council schedule to the second Saturday means that Continuing Sessions becomes part of the monthly commitment of council members. It also means there are two fewer Saturdays per year required for council service. In addition to decreasing the time commitment for current members, less time may make it easier for potential nominees to say yes.
Practicalities and Rationale
This structure extends the practice of meeting jointly for a limited number of agenda items. When the clerks discussed this with the council members, they additionally raised the following points:
- If needed, individual councils can address an agenda item independently by moving into a break-out room.
- This experiment is in alignment with Governance Advisory Committee’s report to Annual Sessions last year in which they described the trend of our governance to adapt over time to meet needs. GovAdCom recommended to the body that we continue to in this manner.
- Evolving to meet the needs of the community and the individuals was also a theme that emerged in the Threshing Session on the essence of a monthly meeting.
- Some agenda items will require explanation or education for council members who do not have background information.
- Every council member will continue to be asked to serve on a committee. Nominating Council members’ committee responsibility will be met by their nominating work.
- Not every council member will be equally interested in all agenda items.
Managing Change
When there’s a change, all Friends benefit from increased transparency and communication. In July’s council meetings, which were held separately, each council discussed the joys and the concerns they have about this experiment. Friends in all councils noted the greater possibility for knowing what is happening and being able to participate in all aspects of the work. They see how business may be more seasoned – and may take longer as Friends are introduced to topics, they haven’t been part of before. They also lifted up the ongoing and increased importance of their responsibility for sharing with the body what they are working on. The clerks plan to work with the councils to communicate well to the body about their work.
