Newtown Monthly Meeting

DRAFT Committee Handbook

January 1, 2009

[for review. Additions are underlined and in green; deletions are crossed out in red (although your browser may display the colors differently)]4

Revised June 2004 (for new Building and Grounds Description)

Revised July 2004 (to remove Chandler Hall Board Representative)

Revised June 2008 (remove Friends in Need, Add TIM and Web Clerk, among other changes)

“Am I ready to offer assistance as part of my religious community serving its members? Am I equally willing to accept graciously the help of others?”
[Faith and Practice, 1997, p. 208]

Introduction

Committee Hosting Responsibilities

Monthly Meeting Officers

Clerk Term: 2 years

Assistant Clerk Term: 2 years

Controller for Operations Term: 4 years, starting July 1

Treasurer for Endowments Term: 4 years, starting July 1

Recorder Term: 4 years, Reports in January

Announcer (2) Term: 1 year

Monthly Meeting Committees

Auditing Committee 3 Members Term: 3 years

Buildings and Grounds Committee 12 Members Term: 4 years

Care and Counsel Committee 12 Members Term: 4 years

Conference Grant Committee 3 Members Term: 4 years

Financial Oversight Committee 7 Members Term: 4 years

Note: The functions of Friends in Need have been taken on by Care and Counsel.

Library Committee 6 Members Term: 2 years

Newsletter Committee 8 Members Term: 3 years

Newtown Friends School Committee Term: 3 years, starting July 1

Nominating Committee 9 Members Term: 3 years

Peace and Service Committee 8 Members Term: 2 years

Religious Education Committee 10 Members Term: 2 years, starting July 1

Adult Religious Education Committee 4 Members Term: 2 years, starting July 1

Friends Schools Tuition Aid Committee3 Members Term: 4 years

Technology and Information Management      6 Members    Term: 3 years

Worship and Ministry 15 Members Term: 4 years

Ad Hoc Committee on Conflict Resolution

QUARTERLY MEETING APPOINTMENTS

Quarterly Meeting Representative (1 from Newtown) Term: 3 years

Budget and Nominating Committee (2 from Newtown) Term: 3 years

Chandler Hall Auxiliary (1 from Newtown) Term: 3 years

Friends Boarding Home and Village Committee (2 from Newtown) Term: 3 years

Friends Camp Association (3 from Newtown) Term: 3 years

Oversight Committee (1 from Newtown) Term: 3 years

Worship and Ministry (1 from Newtown) Term: 3 years

YEARLY MEETING APPOINTMENT

Interim Meeting (1 from Newtown) Term: 3 years

Charter for Newtown Friends School

Purpose of Newtown Friends School

The Newtown Friends School Committee

Functions of the Committee

Amendment

Introduction

Since Newtown Monthly Meeting has no professional, paid staff, the life of the meeting depends on voluntary involvement and commitment. The Meeting has formed several committees and positions to ensure the continuity of the Spiritual, as well as the Operational, goals of the meeting.

Members and attenders are encouraged to understand the roles and nature of the committees, to utilize them if the need arises, and to know where they can contribute their talents most effectively. Hence, this handbook.

This handbook lists the duties of officers and committees of Newtown Monthly Meeting as of Julyanuary 1, 20084. The Meeting may, from time to time, appoint additional committees, revise the duties of standing committees, or lay committees down.

It is the policy of Newtown Monthly Meeting that no member of any Meeting Committee may serve more than three consecutive full terms. A minimum of two years must elapse before being eligible to be reappointed to that committee. Monthly Meeting sets the term limits for our appointments to Quarterly and Yearly Meeting.

Attenders are welcome to serve on any committee not restricted to Meeting Members. Committees that are open to attenders are indicated in this handbook; all other committees are limited to Meeting Members. More details are given with the Nominating Committee’s description.

Committee Hosting Responsibilities

Committees take turns hosting our monthly covered-dish meals. They take responsibility for:

· Setting up tables and chairs

· Providing hot and cold beverages and cups

· Bringing main dishes; chilling or heating food until the meal

· Checking supplies

· Cleaning up

Please see the Assistant Clerk if you have any questions. Schedule for Covered Dish Lunches:

	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Jan.	Building & Grounds	Newsletter	Peace & Service, Friends In Need	Financial Oversight	Audit, Adult R.E., Scholarship
Feb.	NFS	Building & Grounds	Newsletter	Peace & Service, Friends In Need	Financial Oversight
Mar.	Nominating	NFS	Building & Grounds	Newsletter	Peace & Service, Friends In Need
Apr.	Library, Camp Onas	Nominating	NFS	Building & Grounds	Newsletter
May	Worship & Ministry	Library, Camp Onas	Nominating	NFS	Building & Grounds
Jun	Religious Ed	Religious Ed	Religious Ed	Religious Ed	Religious Ed
Jul and Aug	No Friendly First Shared Meals in July and August
Sep.	Care and Counsel	Care and Counsel	Care and Counsel	Care and Counsel	Care and Counsel
Oct.	Audit, Adult R.E., Scholarship	Worship & Ministry	Library, Camp Onas	Nominating	NFS
Nov.	Financial Oversight	Audit, Adult R.E., Scholarship	Worship & Ministry	Library, Camp Onas	Nominating
Dec.	Peace & Service, Friends In Need	Financial Oversight	Audit, Adult R.E., Scholarship	Worship & Ministry	Library, Camp Onas

Monthly Meeting Officers

Monthly Meeting Officers (Clerk, Assistant Clerk, Controller, Treasurer and Recorder) must be members of the Meeting.

Clerk Term: 2 years

Reports Annually to Monthly Meeting in November, Quarterly Meeting in November.

Ideally, the Clerk is both servant and leader. The Clerk sees to the management and good order of the affairs of the Meeting and is responsible for a general oversight of the Meeting activities. Specifically, the Clerk:

1. Conducts all business sessions of the Mmeeting and carries out the instructions of the Meeting in all matters pertaining to the complete accomplishment of its business:

· Prepares the agenda and conducts the Monthly Mmeeting in a worshipful spirit;

· Ensures administrative compliance with the wishes and/or business decisions of the Mmeeting;

· Ensures that those charged by the Meeting with new tasks or specific actions are informed of their responsibilities;

· Defers a matter to a later time when there is no clear sense of the Mmeeting, and takes care that matters held over appear in a later agenda.

2. Receives and properly acts upon all correspondence directed to the Meeting, and promptly dispatches all letters or documents whose drafting has been entrusted to the Clerk.

3. Serves as ex-officio member of all committees and attends when appropriate.

4. Signs legal documents to which the Monthly Meeting has given approval, as executive officer of the Meeting, and represents the Meeting at ecumenical or other functions when called upon to do so.

5.