Name the Friends who have gifts to share!
Recently Nominating Council found joy and fulfillment! Here’s how:
- Finding gifted Friends to serve on Quaker Life Council
- Developed new tools to better support our work
This is a current or upcoming project or interesting thing Nominating is working on:
- Increasing and broadening the way in which we communicate about how Friends can see themselves as active participants in PYM’s governance.
Nominating Council functions at its best when there are people serving on it who have these skills or experiences:
- Know Quaker principles and practice, particularly the ministry of identifying gifts
- Excited to get to know many people
- Willing to travel to monthly meetings, council meetings, and events
- Demonstrate an ability to deal with healthy conflict and to collaborate with others. Be able to make hard decisions and to say “no” when necessary.
These are the areas of expertise needed by some in the Council:
- Non-profit governance
- Spiritual nurture
- Ministry of administration;
- Tech skills
The realistic time commitment of members of Nominating includes:
- Attend monthly council meetings on a Saturday morning
- Read agenda materials prior to meeting
- Attend Sessions and attend YM and QM events to meet people
- Possibly participate in short-term projects
- Terms: a term is three years, renewable once
Membership:
- Members of councils are named by Nominating Council and approved by Friends at sessions.
- Nominating Council is expected to have 20 members; thirteen are appointed by the 13 quarterly meetings. Seven at-large seats are appointed by Admin Council. Many QM’s need to appoint their representative. There are four at-large positions open and the clerk role is vacant.
Overview
With divine assistance, the Nominating Council brings Friends with needed gifts and skills into service for the yearly meeting’s primary structures and roles. The council identifies yearly meeting officers, members of the councils, representatives to outside groups and ad hoc structures, and brings their names forward for approval by the yearly meeting in session.
Mission
Nominating Council is responsible to report to Annual Sessions on its work and recommendations for nominations. Nominating Council will report the names of Nominating Council members named by the Quarters to the yearly meeting in session. Nominating Council will nominate to yearly meeting in session the following positions:
- Clerk of PYM, Alternate clerks, Recording clerks, Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, and Elders.
- Clerks and members of Administrative Council and Quaker Life Council.
- Representatives to organizations external to Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, such as American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), Friends General Conference (FGC), interfaith councils, and other groups that the Quaker Life Council deems necessary.
- Members of PYM ad-hoc committees at the request of the yearly meeting in session or the councils.
- Climate Witness Stewards
Members
- Meg Barney — Providence Meeting (At Large)
- Terry Christensen — Newtown Meeting (appointed by Bucks Quarterly Meeting)
- Carleton Crispin — Woodbury Meeting (appointed by Salem Quarterly Meeting)
- Ron Inskeep — Gwynedd Meeting (appointed by Abington Quarterly Meeting)
- John Marquette — Lehigh Valley Meeting (At Large)
- Nancy Robbins — Third Haven Friends Meeting (At Large)
- Chloe Rosenthal — Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting (appointed by Philadelphia Quarterly Meeting)
- George Schaefer, Clerk — Abington Meeting (At Large)
- Jessy Schaffer — Reading Monthly Meeting (appointed by Caln Quarterly Meeting)
- Serita Spadoni — Birmingham Monthly Meeting (appointed by Concord Quarterly Meeting)
- Deb Wood — Westtown Monthly Meeting (appointed by Western Quarterly Meeting)
