Organization and Structure of Meetings

Communities of Friends

The Quaker way of life is one of community: Friends gather together for worship, for service, to support each other spiritually and in other ways, and to reach collective decisions on the issues which arise in community life. For Friends, religion is not just a matter of individual experience, but something we enter into together, acting as a body in our worship, our witness, and our business; holding each other in mutual care, love, and attention.

This is not to discount the experience of those Friends who live at too great a distance from their meetings to participate regularly, nor to deny that each of us must come individually to a sense of what is right and true and essential in spiritual matters. But time and experience have proven the value of a close, responsive community in fostering individual spiritual growth, in testing and tempering individual leadings and individual understanding, and in supporting individuals as they are called to act or to suffer for religious principle. Worship in a gathered community is different in valuable ways from private devotion, and a coordinated group can accomplish far more in service and advocacy than individuals acting alone.

Effective functioning as a community requires some organizational structure, and Friends have developed a variety of modes of organization at both the local and the regional levels.

The local (or “particular”) meeting may be organized as a worship group, preparative meeting, or monthly meeting. (The differences among these are explained in the Difference Among Different Types of Local Meetings table.) Whatever its organizational pattern, the local meeting is where Friends typically find their primary spiritual home. The local meeting is where Friends gather most often for worship, where they have the most regular contact with one another, and where they can most easily provide individual care and support for one another. Indeed, some Friends find that their entire involvement in the Religious Society of Friends is with their local meeting.

There is a strong tradition of local autonomy in Illinois Yearly Meeting, and local meetings order their own affairs as they feel led. But Friends’ community is not purely local, any more than spiritual life is purely individual. No local meeting is a denomination unto itself; we are gathered into larger, regional bodies and into the worldwide Religious Society of Friends just as we are gathered locally: for worship, mutual care, fellowship, and above all for service to God and to humankind. Larger gatherings provide support for local meetings and make coordination possible across meetings; they allow the pursuit of larger-scale projects than local meetings could accomplish on their own; they broaden the spiritual perspectives both of meetings and of individuals; and they provide an important unifying influence among Friends.

Regional meetings may be organized in various ways and for regions of various sizes. In some cases a monthly meeting may function as a small regional body, with more than one local meeting in its care. Several monthly meetings may be organized into a quarterly meeting, or may hold other kinds of regional gatherings. Yearly meetings encompass a still wider area; Illinois Yearly Meeting includes local meetings throughout Illinois and neighboring areas of several other states. Various “umbrella” organizations promote communication, services, and cooperation among yearly meetings, and represent the Religious Society of Friends at the national and international levels.

The purpose and organization of these various kinds of local meetings, regional meetings, and other organizations will be described in turn.

Monthly Meetings

The monthly meeting is our primary level of business meeting, conducting the business of a single local meeting, or in some cases of a small number of meetings across a limited region. By tradition, such business meetings are held monthly. By extension, the body of Friends whose business is conducted in such a meeting is also known as a monthly meeting. Membership in the Religious Society of Friends is through and in a monthly meeting, which may admit new members and make other membership decisions.

Functions of monthly meetings

Communal worship is at the center of Quaker religious practice. Therefore, each monthly meeting organizes, maintains, and oversees one or more regular meetings for worship. This includes arranging the time and location of meetings, publicizing their existence, and seeing that those who attend meeting are warmly welcomed. Beyond these practical matters, the monthly meeting promotes the spiritual vitality of its meetings for worship, encouraging worship and ministry in which the presence of God is deeply felt, and the spiritual needs of meeting participants, individually and as a community, are tenderly addressed. (See “Meeting for Worship.”)

The monthly meeting also nurtures the meeting community and cares for its members outside of meeting for worship. Often, the meeting has meals together after worship, or holds other events which cultivate a sense of intimacy and fellowship among meeting partici-pants. It educates both children and adults in the principles of Friends, and supports them in their spiritual development. It is responsible for holding meetings for marriage, funerals, and memorials. The meeting should see to it that Friends in difficult or trying circumstances receive the support they need, whether in the form of practical assistance, counsel, or simple companionship and acknowledgment.

Monthly meetings also witness publicly as led by God and interpret the Quaker message to the wider community. Much of this witness may take the form of advocacy for peace, justice, environmental stewardship, and equality; or of direct service and relief to those in need.

All of these functions require resources and organization, and the monthly meeting therefore also serves an administrative purpose. It receives, maintains, and disburses funds. It may own and maintain a meetinghouse, burial ground, or other property. It must keep accurate records of its business proceedings, membership, and finances.

Positions and committees of the monthly meeting

In fulfilling their functions, meetings usually find that certain responsibilities are best delegated to particular individuals or groups. The extent of this delegation will vary with the size, activity, and needs of the meeting. Normally, all monthly meetings will appoint someone to the position of clerk, and a different person as treasurer. A very small meeting might make no other appointments than these, working together as a committee of the whole in cases where other meetings might delegate, or might appoint individuals to handle responsibilities which in a larger meeting might be the work of committees. A very large meeting may have an elaborate system of committees and individual positions, into whose care the practical work of the meeting has been placed, and in which business is prepared before presentation to the monthly meeting itself.

The kinds of committees and individual positions which a meeting sets up are a matter for careful discernment. Just as organizational structure varies from meeting to meeting, it may vary across time within a single meeting. The size, energy, and concerns of a meeting community may change over the course of its history, and Friends sometimes find that a pattern of organization which formerly served them well has become an impediment to effective work. Meetings do well to reconsider their structure from time to time. When major changes are made, community members may need to alter their habits and expectations. A meeting which has recently established a system of committees must guard against redoing committee work in its monthly meeting for business. A meeting which has recently laid down major committees must find new ways of making sure that vital work gets done.

Not all meetings will always use all the committees and positions listed here. But they have all proven to be useful in the right circumstances, and some of them have deep roots in Quaker tradition.

Clerk. The position of clerk is motivated by two unusual features of Friends’ business process: We do not vote, and decisions may be made which do not reflect proposals whose wording is prepared in advance of the meeting. These features present a challenge: How can we be sure when a decision has actually been made, and precisely what has been decided? To prevent confusion over such questions, meetings appoint a clerk, whose charge is to discern when the meeting has reached a decision in its business sessions and to articulate this decision back to the meeting for its approval.

In principle, our meetings are presided over by the Divine Spirit, by which we wait to be guided in our business meetings no less than in our meetings for worship. The clerk is not so much the pilot on whom Friends rely to steer the ship, as the mirror into which they look to see what decisions they have reached; accurately reflecting the sense of the meeting is the first responsibility of good clerking.

The position of clerk in a Friends meeting differs in important ways from that of president in some other organizations. In many institutions, the president has extensive executive decision-making power, and is expected to take the lead in developing new initiatives and new programs. In contrast, the position of clerk is first and foremost one of discernment in business meeting, and requires a degree of impartiality which is easily undermined, in appearance or reality, if the clerk makes major meeting decisions or strenuously promotes specific choices on the issues which come before the meeting. Of course the clerk may make such administrative decisions as are necessary to carry out the will of the meeting, but the primary role of the clerk is discerning the sense of the meeting as guided by the Spirit.

The clerk prepares a tentative agenda before the meeting, recognizes speakers during the meeting, and is responsible for seeing that the decisions of the meeting are carried out afterwards. The clerk signs letters and other documents on behalf of the meeting as it directs. In many meetings the clerk is assigned additional responsibilities outside the meeting for business, such as dealing with incoming correspondence, communicating with and assisting meeting committees, or closing the meeting for worship and making announcements. In meetings which do not appoint a separate recorder or recording clerk, these functions also fall to the clerk.

Some meetings also appoint an assistant clerk, who aids the clerk in formulating a clear and accurate expression of meeting decisions, substitutes for the clerk when the clerk is absent, and assists in other ways as the meeting directs. In some meetings the assistant clerkship serves as training for future service as clerk.

For more on the functions of the clerk, see “The roles of the clerk and recording clerk in meeting for business.”

Recording clerk. Originally, it was the responsibility of the clerk to record the minutes of the monthly meeting, and especially in smaller meetings this may still be the case. However, most meetings have found it useful to appoint a separate recording clerk, so that the clerk may devote full attention to discerning the sense of the meeting on the questions which come before it.

The recording clerk is responsible for writing out the minutes as they are approved, and in most meetings shares responsibility with the clerk for composing the actual wording of the minutes. After the meeting, the recording clerk prepares an official copy of the minutes to be stored in a permanent file or minute book, and typically also prepares copies for distribution to meeting participants. (See “The roles of the clerk and recording clerk in meeting for business.”)

Treasurer. The treasurer receives, invests, and disburses the funds of the meeting in accordance with its instructions, and regularly reports to the meeting on its receipts, expenditures, balance, and general financial state. Individual donors are not identified in such reports, and the treasurer should treat their identities as confidential. The treasurer provides donors with receipts for their donations as required for tax purposes. In meetings without a separate financial committee, the treasurer also typically prepares a draft budget for consideration by the monthly meeting.

Recorder. The recorder (not to be confused with the recording clerk) is responsible for maintaining the membership records of the meeting. These include an up-to-date list of members; their names and addresses; the dates when membership was initiated; and whether it was initiated by birth/adoption, transfer from another meeting, or request. Records should be maintained for former members, giving the date when membership was terminated and whether it was terminated by death, transfer to another meeting, or release from membership. Many meetings keep additional information provided by members: dates and locations of births, marriages and deaths; names of parents, spouses, and children; and other information which the meeting may find useful and which members are willing to share. The recorder should keep a record of marriages held under the care of the meeting, including dates and a copy or transcript of the marriage certificate.

It is strongly advised that all records be kept in hard copy on acid-free paper. A computer database of members may also be useful, but does not eliminate the need for hard-copy records because computer media and file formats become obsolete.

The recorder should bear in mind that the approval of the monthly business meeting is required for all membership transfers, all initiations of membership by request, and all releases from member-ship, including releases of Friends who have been inactive for many years and with whom the meeting has lost touch. It is not the prerogative of the recorder to purge the membership book of inactive Friends or to decide who should no longer be considered a member.

The recorder should provide the care and counsel committee or its equivalent with an up-to-date membership list at least annually.

In most meetings, the recorder or another Friend also periodically publishes a meeting directory, giving such contact information as active members and attenders of the meeting are willing to share. This directory should not be confused with the formal membership list of the meeting.

A sample membership record is given in Appendix 1.

Archivist. Many meetings appoint an archivist, who is responsible for maintaining the meeting’s records, including a complete set of minutes, older membership records and financial documents, deeds and other property-related documents, newsletters, and other materials felt to be of permanent interest. It is useful to keep copies of such documents on hand for meeting use, but it is strongly recommended that the original copies of legal documents be kept in a safe-deposit box, and that the original copies of most other kinds of materials be deposited on loan in an external, publicly accessible repository. The archivist is responsible for seeing that materials are deposited in a timely manner. Many meetings in Illinois Yearly Meeting archive their records at the Illinois History and Lincoln Collections, a department of the University of Illinois Library in Urbana-Champaign.

Librarian or library committee. Many meetings appoint an individual or committee to oversee the meeting library. It is helpful for the library to include material for new and experienced Friends, for children and adults, and to include both permanent holdings and materials to be given out to newcomers.

Religious education committee. This committee coordinates the meeting’s efforts to educate the meeting’s children in the principles and values of Friends. It is sometimes known as the First Day School Committee or by other names. Because meetings can grow and thrive if they are welcoming to families and children, this may be the first committee formed in a small meeting. This committee may also coordinate religious education for adults, but more commonly this is handled by a separate committee or a self-organizing study group.

The committee is responsible for finding appropriate teachers, and for supporting and overseeing their work. If teachers are chosen from among the members and attenders of the meeting, care should be taken not to leave the job of teaching exclusively to parents. In any case, teachers should be well known to the meeting, or carefully interviewed and investigated to ensure the safety of the children and the appropriateness of the teachers’ instructional style.

The committee bears responsibility for the curriculum, subject to the guidance and approval of the monthly meeting. Some useful resources are available from Illinois Yearly Meeting and from Friends General Conference. The practical work of developing the curriculum and assembling instructional materials may be performed by the committee, the teachers, or both in consultation. Whatever the arrangement, parents should be consulted. For more information, see “Religious Education.”

Care and counsel committee. This committee coordinates the meeting’s care of its members and other active participants in the meeting community, working to make sure that they are adequately supported in times of trial or decision, and addressing cases of conflict or disaffection in the meeting. In many meetings it is also given specific responsibilities in the meeting’s handling of membership, marriages, and funerals and memorial meetings. Such a committee is recommended even for relatively small meetings.

The committee continues, in some sense, the responsibilities formerly assigned to meeting “overseers,” and may be known in some meetings as the Oversight Committee, the Pastoral Care Committee, or by other names. Continued use of the term overseers is not recommended, because of the potential for offensive connotations from historical uses of this term associated with slavery. Frequently, this committee is combined with the worship and ministry committee to form a single committee known as Ministry and Counsel, or something similar.

The care and counsel committee should make regular contact with all members of the meeting, whether local or distant, and inquire after their spiritual and practical needs, and their relation with the meeting. It should keep alert to new situations as they arise, offering its help to meeting participants experiencing difficulties, and inquiring after those who have recently dropped their involvement in the meeting. When cases of conflict arise in the meeting, it works toward reconciliation. When appropriate, the committee may refer individuals to organizations in the wider community which provide practical or material assistance, counseling, or other services; it is strongly urged that the committee keep itself informed about the availability of such services, and keep an up-to-date directory with contact information. Strict confidentiality must be maintained both in the committee’s own contacts and in its referrals to outside organizations. For more on care for the meeting community, see “Pastoral Care.”

In many meetings, requests for membership or marriage under the care of the meeting are referred to this committee, as are requests for a funeral or memorial meeting. (See “Applying for Membership,” “Marriage Procedure,” and “Memorial Meetings.”)

Proposals to drop a Friend from membership, or to alter the membership policy of the meeting, are also normally considered in this committee before presentation to the monthly meeting.

Worship and ministry committee. This committee fosters the spiritual life of the meeting, especially the meeting for worship, promoting its vitality, depth, and fidelity to the life of the Spirit. This function is a continuation, to some extent, of responsibilities which in an earlier era belonged to the “preparative meeting of ministers and elders,” and the committee may still in some meetings be known as the Elders Committee, or by other names. In many meetings, it is combined with the care and counsel committee to form a single committee known as Ministry and Counsel, or something similar.

The worship and ministry committee may include Friends of any age or experience with a concern for the spiritual life of the community and its meetings for worship; but ideally it will include several experienced and knowledgeable Friends, some Friends who speak frequently in meeting, and some Friends who speak less frequently.

The committee meets regularly to consider the spiritual state of the meeting, and the quality and conduct of its meetings for worship, including those for business. The queries in the State of Society Report section may help guide the committee in its consideration of these matters.

Members of the worship and ministry committee pay special attention to those Friends who have recently begun to speak more frequently in meeting, offering them counsel and guidance, and encouraging whatever in their ministry appears a free and faithful expression of the Light Within. In many meetings, this committee also provides support and advice to the clerk.

The worship and ministry committee is also responsible for dealing with disruptions in meeting for worship, and with participants who make a habit of inappropriate ministry. A light touch is strongly urged in approaching such cases. It should be carefully considered whether the meeting might be damaged more by the bitterness and ill feeling which may result if a participant feels silenced than it would by forbearance. Nor should ministry be considered inappropriate simply because it is disturbing or upsetting to the meeting. But when inappropriate speech or other behavior interferes with the meeting’s ability to hold meaningful meetings for worship, it is appropriate to take steps to correct the situation. On rare occasions, members of the committee must act individually to deal with disruptions as they arise; but it is strongly recommended that responses be developed by the committee as a whole whenever possible.

The worship and ministry committee may also work to promote the spiritual life of the meeting outside its regular meeting for worship, for example by arranging for retreats, workshops, or other events; by formulating queries for the meeting’s consideration; or by making spiritually beneficial literature or other materials available to the meeting.

Nominating committee. This committee proposes Friends to fill the positions and committees of the meeting, checking to make sure they are willing and available for service and aware of the terms and responsibilities before submitting their names to the monthly meeting for final approval.

Selecting Friends for service is a matter for careful discernment. While it is useful to ask meeting members and attenders which positions they feel most drawn to, care should be taken to consider who is best suited to a position, and not to base decisions on the mere fact that someone has volunteered. Young people and those new to the meeting should be considered, not only “old hands.” The committee is cautioned against rotating Friends through important positions of the meeting out of a sense that everyone deserves a “turn.” At the same time, it should recognize opportunities for nurturing the growth of individuals in their ability to serve the meeting through participation in committee work. In many meetings certain positions, such as clerk, treasurer, and members of the worship and ministry committee and the care and counsel committee are limited to members of the Religious Society of Friends.

The nominating committee normally does not name its own members. This may be done by an ad hoc naming committee or through some other process developed by the monthly meeting. Members of the nominating committee should be knowledgeable about the responsibilities of the positions and committees of the meeting, and familiar with a wide range of participants in the meeting community.

Finance committee. This committee exercises a special care over the financial state of the meeting, working with the treasurer to ensure that the meeting remains in good financial condition and to clearly explain meeting finances. The finance committee proposes the meeting’s annual budget, which must then be approved by the monthly meeting before adoption. The finance committee addresses any applicable tax considerations. In some meetings, the committee also considers requests for unbudgeted expenses. It is recommended that the committee review the treasurer’s books at least annually. The finance committee may also issue fundraising appeals, or this may be handled by a separate fundraising committee.

Peace and social concerns committee. This committee, which may also be known as the Peace and Service Committee or by other names, coordinates the meeting’s witness to the wider society by promoting the peaceful resolution of conflicts; fostering justice, compassion, and care of the environment; and providing service or relief to those in need. This witness may include petitioning the state; organizing events to educate and inform the public or the meeting on relevant issues; direct provision of food, shelter, or other necessities; or other work as the committee feels led and circumstances suggest.

Advancement and outreach committee. This committee (or, in some meetings, an advancement committee and a separate outreach committee) serves to advance the life of the meeting and the principles of Friends. It works to build the meeting community, both by fostering a sense of connection among meeting participants and by promoting awareness of the meeting and of Friends in general among the wider public. The committee may arrange workshops, retreats, lectures, and social events, promoting these inside and outside the meeting as appropriate. Most meetings prefer a low-key approach to outreach, believing that the example of meeting service to the community will be more convincing to seekers than direct proselytization. But it is doubtful whether the Quaker movement would have survived if it had not been energetically promoted by early Friends; and even the example of community service will not be convincing to seekers who have no opportunity to hear of it. At the very least, the meeting must make sure it can be easily found by those who may already be looking for a Friends meeting.

Property committee. This committee, which may also be known as the House and Grounds Committee, Maintenance and Planning Committee or by other names, coordinates the maintenance of the meetinghouse and land, if any. In many meetings it also develops plans for future construction. If the meetinghouse is made available to outside groups, or if part of it is rented as an apartment, guesthouse, or for other purposes, this committee may also serve as the meeting contact with the guests or tenants, and administer any rental agreements; or this may be handled by a separate meetinghouse use committee or rental committee.

Trustees and incorporation officers. Meetings which are organized as legal trusts or corporations may also have officers as required by state law, articles of incorporation, or corporation bylaws. Care should be taken to make full use of regular Quaker structure and decision making in fulfilling these roles. Monthly meetings are not covered by the yearly meeting incorporation.

Other positions and committees. A monthly meeting may establish such other positions and committees as seem useful and appropriate.

Responsibilities of monthly meetings to other meetings

Every monthly meeting is responsible to conduct its affairs in the manner of Friends, seek the Spirit’s guidance in its worship and business, uphold Friends’ testimonies, and exercise loving care for its members. Beyond this, monthly meetings fulfill a particular role in the organizational structure of the Religious Society of Friends, and therefore bear specific responsibilities both to the larger meetings of which they form a part, such as the yearly and quarterly meetings, and to any smaller meetings under their care.

Responsibilities to the yearly meeting and to the quarterly meeting. Monthly meetings in Illinois Yearly Meeting have a responsibility to participate in the life and work of the yearly meeting. To the extent possible, Friends from each monthly meeting are encouraged to attend the yearly meeting’s business sessions, and serve as called on yearly meeting committees. Each monthly meeting appoints a representative to the yearly meeting, whose responsibilities include attending the Continuing Committee and yearly meeting sessions. The representative brings concerns, reports and other business from the yearly meeting to the monthly meeting and responds, as directed by the monthly meeting, to requests from the yearly meet-ing. Representatives may also bring concerns or other business from their monthly meeting to the Continuing Committee or yearly meeting session. (See “Bringing Business to the Yearly Meeting.)

Monthly meetings are expected to help in the planning of yearly meeting sessions and in the practical work of putting on these gatherings. Monthly meetings may be expected from time to time to host meetings of the Continuing Committee. (See “Continuing the work of the yearly meeting between sessions—Continuing Committee.”)

Monthly meetings have a responsibility to contribute to the financial support of the yearly meeting. The amount to be contributed is determined by the monthly meeting; however, Illinois Yearly Meeting recommends specific minimum amounts, proportional to the number of “resident adult members” in the monthly meeting. “Resident” members are those who live close enough to the meeting to attend on a regular basis; the monthly meeting must judge how close this is.

Each monthly meeting sends two annual reports to the yearly meeting. The first is a statistical report, giving information such as a list of those individuals who have initiated, terminated, or transferred membership during the preceding year; the total number of members, divided into adult members and Young Friends, resident and non-resident; average attendance during the year; names of the meeting clerk, treasurer, recorder, and representative to the yearly meeting; and other information as the yearly meeting requests. The second report is a “State of Society Report,” describing the spiritual state of the meeting. This may be similar or identical to the State of Society Report read at the quarterly meeting; for more information on this report, see the next section.

A monthly meeting which forms part of a quarterly meeting bears similar responsibilities to the quarterly as it does to the yearly meeting. Friends from each monthly meeting in the quarterly are encouraged to attend its business sessions, and serve as called on its committees. Monthly meetings plan and host the quarterly gatherings. Monthly meetings also have a responsibility to support the quarterly, according to practices established by the quarterly, and to send a State of Society Report and such other reports as the quarterly meeting requests.

State of Society Reports. At least annually, each monthly meeting prepares a report on the spiritual state of the meeting community. In essence, this is to answer the question “How is the life of the Spirit faring in your meeting?” If the meeting is part of a quarterly meeting this report is read there, with an opportunity for the gathered Friends to respond to it in a worshipful manner. In addition, the report is sent to the yearly meeting for publication in the annual minute book.

Historically, quarterly and yearly meetings expected each constituent monthly meeting to report by minuting responses to a series of queries about its spiritual and practical condition. The traditional queries covered a variety of areas, including factual information about the regularity with which meetings were held; the establishment or discontinuance of meetings; the lives and conduct of meeting members and the degree to which they upheld Friends’ testimonies; and the meeting’s conformity to accepted Friends’ practice in its meetings for business and worship. Over time, the queries came to be regarded not as definite questions to which answers were expected, but as guides to the kinds of topics to be discussed in a free-form report.

The following queries are offered for those meetings which may wish to return to the practice of composing reports in whole or in part as a series of query responses, or as a guide to the kinds of topics to be discussed in a free-form report, as the meeting feels led. If a free-form report is given, it is usually formulated by a committee or individual appointed by the meeting, with the final text being approved by the monthly meeting as a whole. If the report is given as a series of query responses, it is recommended that these not be formulated by a committee, but that the entire meeting be given an opportunity to respond to each query out of the silence, with the clerk discerning the sense of the meeting from the responses and distilling it into a minute. (The fifth, eleventh, and twelfth of the following queries are adapted from queries in the 1879 and 1892 disciplines of Illinois Yearly Meeting.)

• What is the quality of worship in recent meetings? Do Friends feel drawn into living silence? Do we meet in the hope and expectation of a transformative encounter with the Divine Spirit?
• Does the meeting feel “gathered” in its worship, seeking and responding to God as a community? Are meetings more than simultaneous individual meditation?
• Is the right balance between silence and speaking maintained? Do Friends speak when moved to do so? When spoken ministry is offered, is it under a clear sense of Divine leading?
• Do Friends feel the opportunity to grow spiritually? Does the meeting community provide both the challenge and the sense of security needed for real spiritual progress? How does our meeting develop and nurture ministry and service?
• Do Friends maintain love and fellowship towards one another and care for each other in times of need? Are conflicts handled in a timely and respectful manner?
• How are we teaching our children? How are we teaching adults? How are we encouraging Friends, including teenagers, to participate in our programs?
• How is our membership changing? Why has it changed? How do we help make the transitions from visitor to attender and from attender to member?
• How visible is our meeting to the public? How welcoming is it? How do we reach out to invite newcomers?
• How does our meeting connect with the wider Quaker world? Do we make use of the resources of Friends from outside the meeting? Do we encourage participation in quarterly meeting, yearly meeting, and other Quaker activities?
• What is the witness of the meeting? Is this witness apparent to the general public?
• Are the circumstances of those in our neighborhoods who appear to need aid considered and addressed?
• Do Friends bear testimony against oppression, oaths, war, and gambling, and in favor of simplicity, integrity, and stewardship of the earth?
• What is the general level of vitality in the meeting? Are Friends encouraged or discouraged about the state of the meeting? If we are discouraged, have we sought help from within our own meeting, from the quarterly or yearly meeting, and/or from Friends General Conference?
• What major events have occurred in the meeting since its last report, particularly as these affect the spiritual life of the meeting community?
• How do we exercise stewardship of our physical, financial, and spiritual resources?
• If the monthly meeting has any preparative meetings or worship groups under its care, how do they fare?

Responsibilities of the monthly meeting to meetings under its care. In some cases, a monthly meeting may function as a regional body of Friends, with more than one local meeting under its care. This was, in fact, the original conception: a monthly meeting consisted of several local meetings, each normally organized as a preparative meeting (so-called because it prepared business for presentation at the monthly meeting). Friends from the various preparative meetings composing a monthly meeting gathered once a month to finalize business for all of them.

This mode of organization is still used in some parts of the world, and is available in principle in Illinois Yearly Meeting. However, it has become more common for monthly meetings to consist of a single local meeting; or sometimes of one local meeting which, by reasons of size or history, is often informally identified with the monthly meeting itself, together with one or more smaller meetings organized as worship groups or preparative meetings, and held “under the care” of the monthly meeting. It should be emphasized that in the latter case, the monthly meeting is still in some sense a regional body, consisting of all of these local meetings.

A monthly meeting has the responsibility to nurture and support all the meetings in its care, to promote their spiritual life and practical growth and to care for their participants in times of need or trial. The monthly meeting must also deal promptly with any business brought to it by a meeting under its care. It must keep itself informed as to the schedule and location of all the meetings in its care, and as to their general condition, level of vitality and familiarity with the principles and practices of Friends. To help fulfill these responsibilities, it is recommended that the monthly meeting appoint one or more Friends to visit regularly with each worship group or preparative meeting under its care, according to a schedule to be worked out with the meeting being visited.

Originally, final decisions on all business concerning the local meetings composing a monthly meeting were made by the monthly meeting. Such a system may still occasionally be appropriate, for example in the case of a worship group organized directly by the monthly meeting and held nearby. But bringing all business to the monthly meeting for finalization is impractical if the meetings are geographically distant from one another, as is often the case in Illinois Yearly Meeting; and experience has proven the value of local autonomy in meeting decision-making. In general, therefore, local meetings conduct their own affairs as they feel led.

However, decisions regarding the initiation, termination, or transfer of membership are the special province of the monthly meeting, as is the decision to hold a marriage under the care of the meeting and the conduct of the wedding itself. Preparative meetings and worship groups bring such business to their monthly meeting, and may also bring other business as seems appropriate. Major events such as funerals or memorial services may be difficult for a small meeting to conduct on its own; the monthly meeting should stand ready to assist the meetings under its care with these or other large projects.

Setting up, laying down, and re-affiliation of monthly meetings

Setting up a monthly meeting. When a group has met regularly for Divine worship in the manner of Friends and is in agreement with Friends’ principles, the desire for a monthly meeting, with its additional responsibilities, expectations, and joys, may arise. To begin the process of establishing a monthly meeting, the group makes a request to the appropriate monthly or quarterly meeting or to the Continuing Committee of Illinois Yearly Meeting. The following guidelines may be used to determine which of these is the most appropriate body to receive the request:

1. If the group requesting the establishment of a monthly meeting is a part of (or held under the care of) an existing monthly meeting, it normally makes its initial request to this monthly meeting.
2. If the group is not part of an existing monthly meeting, the request is normally made to the surrounding quarterly meeting, if there is one.
3. If the group is not part of an existing monthly meeting and there is no appropriate quarterly meeting, the request is normally made to the Continuing Committee of Illinois Yearly Meeting.

If the request is directed to a monthly or quarterly meeting, that meeting appoints a clearness committee to visit with the group making the request. If the request is made to the Continuing Committee, it may appoint a clearness committee directly, or may ask the yearly meeting’s Ministry and Advancement Committee to appoint a clearness committee.

The clearness committee and the group making the request jointly review the functions and responsibilities of a monthly meeting, and explore the group’s readiness to undertake this step. The following queries may be helpful in this process:

• Is your meeting of sufficient strength that it is likely to survive for the foreseeable future?
• Are you prepared to exercise appropriate pastoral care for your members, to nurture their spiritual growth and to support them in times of trial?
• How familiar are the participants in your meeting with Friends’ business practices and with the principles and testimonies of Friends more generally?
• Do you have enough business to require a regular business meeting?
• Are you of sufficient size and organization to hold major events such as weddings, funerals, and memorial meetings?
• Are your participants willing and able to contribute financially to your meeting?
• Do you have members prepared to take on the responsibility of serving as meeting clerk, and as meeting treasurer?
• Are you prepared to maintain and preserve records of your business proceedings, membership, and finances? Where will the records be kept?
• Will members of your meeting participate in sessions of the yearly meeting and quarterly meeting (if any), and be willing to serve on their committees, as they are able? Are you able to send these meetings regular reports on the state of your meeting, and to provide them with appropriate financial support?

The clearness committee reports to the body which appointed it, which in turn minutes its recommendation whether to establish the monthly meeting. If the recommendation is positive, and made by a monthly meeting, and the proposed new monthly meeting is to be part of a quarterly meeting, the recommendation is then forwarded to the quarterly meeting, and if the quarterly meeting concurs, to the yearly meeting. Otherwise, a positive recommendation is forwarded directly to the yearly meeting. The monthly meeting is established when the yearly meeting minutes its concurrence with the recommendation.

On establishing a new monthly meeting, the yearly meeting (typically through its Ministry and Advancement Committee) appoints a committee of welcome to visit the new meeting and provide assistance or advice as needed at its opening business session.

Establishing a new monthly meeting does not confer membership on its participants. After establishment, the meeting may receive new members and transfers of membership in the usual way. (See “Membership.”)

Laying down a monthly meeting. “Laying down” a monthly meeting means formally discontinuing its meeting for business as a monthly meeting. Depending on the circumstances, the meeting for worship may be discontinued at the same time and the meeting community effectively disbanded; or the meeting may continue in some other form, such as a worship group or preparative meeting under the care of another monthly meeting.

It is appropriate to lay down a monthly meeting when it is unable, over an extended period, to fulfill the functions and meet the responsibilities normally expected of a monthly meeting. Typically, this happens because the meeting has grown too few in numbers, but it may occasionally happen for other reasons.

The decision to lay down a meeting may be difficult: Friends may feel a strong attachment for the meeting and wish for its revival, even when the prospects are very dim. But if a plain and honest assessment of the meeting’s condition makes clear that it cannot function as a monthly meeting, it should not be continued simply for sentimental reasons. Particularly if the meeting is completely inactive, neglecting to properly lay it down may result in obscurity as to the ownership of its property, difficulties for Friends desiring to transfer their memberships or record their children as members, and other problems.

Normally, a monthly meeting is laid down by minute of the yearly meeting on recommendation by the quarterly meeting, if any. A monthly meeting may also lay itself down. However, the involvement of the quarterly and yearly meetings is helpful in arranging for transfers of membership after the monthly meeting has been laid down; in working out what form, if any, the meeting will take afterwards; in assisting the meeting in the disposal of its property and archiving of its records; and in the various other details which come with the discontinuation of a meeting. In most cases, therefore, it is advisable for a monthly meeting which desires to be laid down to make a request to the quarterly meeting, or yearly meeting if there is no quarterly, rather than laying itself down directly and in isolation. The quarterly meeting (if any) and yearly meeting should in any case be promptly notified whenever a monthly meeting is laid down.

The minute laying down a monthly meeting should make clear whether its meeting for worship and any preparative meetings or worship groups under its care are also laid down; and if not, note any arrangements that have been made for their continuation.

The quarterly meeting (or yearly if there is no quarterly) normally appoints a committee to assist with the necessary arrangements. This committee meets with the participants of the meeting to be laid down and renders whatever assistance is needed. The committee arranges for transfer for the meeting’s members, usually to the nearest appropriate meeting, but possibly to other meetings if individual members express a preference. Finalization of transfers should not take place until the yearly meeting minutes that the meeting is laid down. Members who cannot be contacted may also be transferred, or the committee may recommend their release from membership to the quarterly or yearly meeting. In no case should membership be left in a discontinued meeting. The committee should arrange for the meeting’s records to be archived in a manner and location which keeps them accessible to the yearly meeting.

If the meeting desires to continue under the care of another meeting as a worship group or preparative meeting after it has been laid down as a monthly meeting, the committee should assist it in identifying a suitable meeting, approaching it with the request, and working out the practical details of the new relationship between the two meetings. Similar arrangements should be made for the continuation of any worship groups or preparative meetings which had been under the care of the meeting to be laid down.

If the laid-down meeting will continue in some form, it may continue to maintain a treasury, though it should carefully consider whether it is advisable to do so. If the meeting is being taken under the care of another monthly meeting, it may be appropriate to merge treasuries. If the meeting owns a meetinghouse or other real property it is strongly recommended that the property be transferred and the deed recorded.

If the laid-down meeting will not continue in any form, arrangements must be made to dispose of its treasury and other property and to discharge any debt or liabilities. These may be transferred to the quarterly or yearly meeting or to some other Quaker or charitable organization. In no case should meeting property be divided among its members. Burial grounds are generally best placed into the care of a cemetery association.

Reaffiliation of a monthly meeting. An existing monthly meeting not currently affiliated with Illinois Yearly Meeting may request affiliation. If the meeting is in the area of a quarterly meeting forming part of Illinois Yearly Meeting, the initial request is normally directed to the quarterly meeting; otherwise, it is directed to the Continuing Committee of Illinois Yearly Meeting. Whichever body receives the request normally appoints a committee to visit the meeting making the request and explore with the meeting its reasons for desiring reaffiliation; or if the Continuing Committee receives the request, it may ask the Ministry and Advancement Committee to appoint a committee. The committee reports to the body which appointed it, which then makes a recommendation to the yearly meeting. Affiliation is established by minute of the yearly meeting.

A monthly meeting may affiliate both with Illinois Yearly Meeting and with another yearly meeting. However, Friends should consider carefully the problems which may arise from dual affiliation. Dual affiliation requires substantial time and effort beyond what is involved in single affiliation, and many dually affiliated meetings find that they are unable to fully participate in either yearly meeting. In addition, yearly meetings may have conflicting expectations for how monthly meetings operate and how they relate to other levels of organization. Still, some meetings have found that dual affiliation is useful and rewarding.

A monthly meeting which withdraws from Illinois Yearly Meeting to affiliate with another yearly meeting or comparable Quaker organization is not considered to be laid down; it retains its members and records as its affiliation changes.

An existing monthly meeting in Illinois Yearly Meeting may join a quarterly meeting within ILYM with that quarterly meeting’s approval. A monthly meeting which withdraws from a quarterly meeting need not withdraw from Illinois Yearly Meeting.

Worship Groups and Preparative Meetings

A local meeting need not be organized as a monthly meeting. Especially if a meeting is very small, or includes few experienced Friends, it may not feel prepared to fulfill all the functions and responsibilities normally expected of a monthly meeting. A small meeting may also find that it does not have enough business to require a regular business meeting. Depending on the circumstances, it may be appropriate to organize such a meeting as a worship group or preparative meeting.

Worship groups and preparative meetings affiliated with Illinois Yearly Meeting are normally held under the care of a monthly meeting, but are acknowledged to have a high degree of local autonomy, making their own decisions about internal matters. However, membership in the Religious Society of Friends resides in a monthly meeting; decisions to admit a Friend to membership, transfer a Friend’s membership from one meeting to another, or remove a Friend from membership are made in the monthly meeting, not the preparative meeting or worship group. Likewise, monthly meetings have responsibility for the clearness process leading to marriage; requests for marriage under the care of a meeting should be directed to the monthly meeting.

Even if autonomous in its decision-making, a preparative meeting or worship group held under the care of a monthly meeting forms a part of that monthly meeting, which in these circumstances serves as a kind of regional body rather than a strictly local meeting. It is the business meeting of this regional body under whose care the preparative meeting or worship group is held, and all the meetings involved—even a large, old and established meeting—are under this same care. The care which these meetings exercise is mutual; they hold each other in love, supporting each other spiritually and practically, offering assistance as circumstances require and abilities permit.

Distance may prevent Friends belonging to the worship group or preparative meeting from frequent participation in the monthly meeting. Even so, they form part of the monthly meeting community, and should feel welcome as full participants whenever they have the opportunity to attend its business sessions, meetings for worship, and other functions. The worship group or preparative meeting should not hesitate to request the assistance of the monthly meeting with large projects, or any other matters where the participation of the monthly meeting as a whole would be useful. Smaller meetings under the care of a monthly meeting may also expect periodic visitors from the monthly meeting, who should provide support as needed and keep the monthly meeting informed about the state of the smaller meeting. For more information on the relation between monthly meetings and the meetings under their care, see “Responsibilities of the monthly meeting to meetings under its care.”

Preparative meetings and worship groups do not share the same level of responsibility to the yearly meeting and quarterly as a monthly meeting: there is no general expectation that they will send representatives to the yearly meeting Continuing Committee or host its sessions, that they will send State of Society Reports, or that they will provide direct financial support to the yearly and quarterly meetings. However, they may do any of these things at their option. Smaller meetings are tenderly urged to assist their monthly meetings as needed in fulfilling these responsibilities.

The following table summarizes the differences among different types of local meetings. More detailed explanation of these differences follows after the table.

Difference Among Different Types of Local Meetings

	Informal, Independent Worship Group	Recognized Worship Group under the minuted care of a meeting	Preparative Meeting	Monthly Meeting
Holds regular meeting for worship	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Has official affiliation with Illinois Yearly Meeting & the Religious Society of Friends	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Holds an official meeting for business	No	No	Yes	Yes
May receive, release or transfer members	No	No	No	Yes
May approve requests for marriage	No	No	No	Yes
May have more than one local meeting under its care	No	No	No	Yes
Reports to Illinois Yearly Meeting, and supports it financially	Optional	Optional	Optional	Expected
Is set up and laid down by minute of	N/A	Monthly meeting	Quarterly meeting (or yearly meeting if no available quarterly) on recommendation of the monthly meeting	Yearly meeting on recommendation of the quarterly meeting, if any

Worship groups

A worship group is simply a group of individuals who meet together on a regular basis for worship in the manner of Friends. Such groups are often organized on a completely informal and unofficial basis. Over time, a worship group may gradually come to function more and more as an established Friends meeting; many of the meetings in Illinois Yearly Meeting began in just this way.

The formation of new worship groups is encouraged in all areas where an existing meeting is not available. Individuals organizing a new worship group often find it beneficial to seek the advice and support of an existing meeting (typically the nearest monthly meeting), even if it is some distance away. A monthly meeting may lend informal assistance to a worship group without formally taking the worship group under its care.

An informally organized worship group which has not affiliated with a yearly meeting or analogous Quaker organization should avoid representing itself as an official body of the Religious Society of Friends. Any worship group which anticipates long-term existence is encouraged to seek affiliation.

To affiliate with Illinois Yearly Meeting, a worship group normally makes a request to a monthly meeting which already forms part of the yearly meeting. The monthly meeting appoints a clearness committee to visit the worship group and explore with it the practical and spiritual issues involved in affiliation under the monthly meeting’s care. Appropriate topics for discussion include the nature and basis of meeting for worship in the manner of Friends, the familiarity and consonance of the worship group with Friends’ testimonies and practices, expectations regarding the relation between the worship group and the monthly meeting after affiliation, and any other pertinent matters.

• What experience do you have with the Religious Society of Friends?
• How do you understand worship in the manner of Friends? Do you approach worship as communal seeking? Do you experience it as uniting?
• How do you understand Friends’ testimonies and their role in your daily lives?
• Describe the expected relationship between the worship group and the monthly meeting after affiliation.
• What are you doing as a group to know each other better? What is the quality of your potlucks or other community events?
• Are you aware and respectful of the individual differences within your worship group?
• Are you prepared to support each other spiritually and in times of need?
• If there are families with children, have you considered how to provide for their religious education?
• How will you participate in the yearly and quarterly (if any) meeting?

The clearness committee then reports back to the monthly meeting, which records in its minutes a decision whether to take the worship group under its care. A decision to take the worship group under the monthly meeting’s care establishes the worship group as a part of the monthly meeting, the quarterly meeting (if any) to which the monthly meeting belongs, and Illinois Yearly Meeting. The monthly meeting should report such decisions to the quarterly and yearly meetings. A worship group held under the minuted care of another meeting may also be known as a recognized meeting (or, in older terminology, an allowed or indulged meeting).

Affiliating a worship group with a monthly meeting does not confer membership on the worship group’s participants. Participants in a worship group may become members of a monthly meeting in the usual ways, before or after affiliation. (See “Membership.”)

In exceptional circumstances, it may be appropriate for a worship group to affiliate under the direct care of a quarterly meeting or Illinois Yearly Meeting, rather than a monthly meeting. A quarterly meeting may take worship groups under its care using the same procedure as a monthly meeting. Requests for affiliation under the direct care of Illinois Yearly Meeting should be addressed to the yearly meeting’s Continuing Committee, which may appoint a clearness committee directly or ask the Ministry and Advancement Committee to do so. The clearness committee reports to the body that appointed it, which in turn makes a recommendation to the yearly meeting. Affiliation is established by minute of the yearly meeting in its annual business sessions.

As the name implies, worship groups are primarily for worship, with minimal business. Historically, all business pertaining to a worship group held under the care of a monthly meeting was handled by the monthly meeting; and such an arrangement may occasionally still be appropriate, particularly if the worship group is located close enough for its participants regularly to attend the monthly meeting for business. But in many circumstances, it is appropriate for a worship group to hold its own informal decision-making sessions, to decide such practical matters as the time and location of meetings. Such decisions should be promptly reported to the monthly meeting. If the worship group finds that it has sufficient business to hold such sessions on a regular basis, it should consider whether the time has come to request the establishment of a preparative or monthly meeting.

If a worship group under the care of another meeting has become unable to sustain itself, with no expectation of revival, it should be “laid down,” or formally discontinued. The decision to lay down a worship group is normally made by the worship group itself in consultation with the monthly meeting under whose care it is held, and minuted by the monthly meeting in its business sessions. In special circumstances—for example, if a worship group has become completely inactive and its participants scattered—the monthly meeting may also lay down the worship group without such consultation; but monthly meetings are strongly advised to consult with the participants of the worship group if this is realistically possible. When a worship group under the care of a monthly meeting is laid down, the monthly meeting should report it to the quarterly (if any) and yearly meetings.

Preparative meetings

A preparative meeting is the business meeting of a single local meeting, forming part of a larger monthly meeting. By extension, the body of Friends whose business is conducted in such a meeting is also known as a preparative meeting.

Preparative meetings were originally so called because they prepared business for presentation at the monthly meeting, much as a committee might do. Decisions were finalized in the monthly meeting, not in the preparative meeting itself. In Illinois Yearly Meeting today, there is no official expectation that a preparative meeting will send business (other than matters pertaining to membership or marriage) to its monthly meeting for final decision.

In some yearly meetings a local meeting seeking establishment as a monthly meeting is often expected to pass some time first as a preparative meeting, so the name has sometimes been understood as implying preparation to become a monthly meeting. In Illinois Yearly Meeting there is no such expectation, nor any expectation that every preparative meeting will eventually seek establishment as a separate monthly meeting. A preparative meeting which does wish to become a monthly meeting is advised to refer to the section on monthly meetings.

A preparative meeting appoints a clerk. If it maintains a treasury, it should appoint a different person as treasurer. The meeting may also appoint a recording clerk, religious education committee, or such other positions and committees as seem useful. However, a preparative meeting which finds that a large number of positions and committees are called for would do well to consider whether the time has come to request the establishment of a monthly meeting. Likewise, a preparative meeting may own a building or other property; but a meeting which is in a position to function as a property-owning institution will also often find that it is prepared to function as a monthly meeting.

A preparative meeting should keep minutes of its business proceedings, and make sure that these and any other records are properly archived. (See “Archivist.”)

To set up a preparative meeting, a group (typically an existing worship group) makes a request to the monthly meeting under whose care the preparative meeting is to be held. The monthly meeting appoints a clearness committee to visit the group and explore with it its readiness for this step. If the group has not previously had formal affiliation with a yearly meeting or analogous Quaker organization, this exploration may include a consideration of many of the same topics as in the case of a worship group seeking affiliation; see the queries for Worship Groups. Whether the group has had previous affiliation or not, the discussion should include a consideration of the nature and basis of Friends’ business practices, the group’s reasons for seeking the establishment of a business meeting, and the practical details of the preparative meeting’s relation with the monthly meeting. The following sample queries may be useful in this process:

• Do you understand Friends’ business practice as a communal seeking of Divine guidance?
• What is your experience of Friends’ business practice?
• Have you read the section on “Friends’ Manner of Decision Making”?
• Do you have enough business to require a regular business meeting?
• Are you prepared to keep records of your business meetings? Where will the records be kept?
• Are you familiar with Illinois Yearly Meeting’s Faith and Practice? What other Quaker sources do you consult?
• Do you anticipate having a treasury? How will it be administered?
• Do you have individuals willing and able to serve as clerk and treasurer?

The clearness committee reports back to the monthly meeting, which records in its minutes a recommendation whether to establish the preparative meeting. If the recommendation is positive and the monthly meeting is part of a quarterly meeting, this recommendation is forwarded to the quarterly meeting. The preparative meeting is established when the quarterly meeting approves a minute concurring with the recommendation. The quarterly meeting should report the decision to the yearly meeting. If the monthly meeting is not part of a quarterly meeting, a positive recommendation is forwarded directly to the yearly meeting, and the preparative meeting is established when the yearly meeting approves a minute concurring with the recommendation. After the establishment of the preparative meeting has been approved, the monthly meeting appoints a committee of welcome to visit it and provide advice or assistance as needed at its opening business session.

“Laying down” a preparative meeting means officially discontinuing its business meeting. Typically, this might happen because the meeting has become too weak in numbers or has too little business to sustain a regular business meeting. When a preparative meeting is laid down, its meeting for worship may be laid down at the same time; or it may continue as a worship group.

Normally, a preparative meeting is laid down by minute of the quarterly meeting on recommendation of the monthly meeting of which the preparative meeting is a part. A preparative meeting may also lay itself down. In any case, the monthly meeting, the quarterly meeting (if any), and the yearly meeting should be promptly informed. When the meeting is laid down, care should be taken to see that its records are properly archived, and appropriate arrangements have been made for its treasury and other property. (See “Laying down a monthly meeting.)

Quarterly Meetings

The Quarterly Meeting is designed to bring together for inspiration and counsel a larger group and to consider more varied interests than any single meeting embraces. Its most helpful function should be to aid and encourage the Monthly Meetings composing it to greater interest and service, and to give its members an increasing vision of the truth. It should be diligent in seeking opportunities to gather together groups which may be organized into meetings and should always be ready to help Monthly Meetings whenever they ask for advice or assistance.

Friends General Conference, 1927

A quarterly meeting is a regional body of Friends, comprising more than one monthly meeting and forming part of a larger yearly meeting. By tradition, quarterly meetings hold their business sessions four times each year, but it has been found useful in some cases to maintain a less frequent schedule, particularly if the quarterly meeting covers a wide geographic area or includes few meetings of sufficient size to host its sessions regularly.

Quarterly meetings serve several purposes. First, it is in the quarterly meeting that monthly meetings report in detail the recent condition of their meeting communities, with an opportunity for the gathered Friends to respond, offer advice or assistance if needed, and take inspiration or new ideas when presented. At least once each year, representatives of each monthly meeting in the quarterly read aloud their monthly meeting’s State of Society Report in the quarterly meeting’s business session. Time should be left after each meeting’s report for Friends to speak as they feel led in response. For information on the composition of these reports, see “State of Society Reports.”

Because the quarterly meeting is the venue in which monthly meetings present these reports, and the body which regularly considers them with members of the monthly meeting present and participating, the quarterly meeting serves as an important source of support, guidance, and assistance to local meetings, including those experiencing difficulty. Meetings which find themselves in need of assistance are urged to bring such matters to their quarterly meetings. Help is also available from the Illinois Yearly Meeting Ministry and Advancement Committee, and from the Illinois Yearly Meeting Field Secretary.

Quarterly meetings serve as the appropriate bodies to decide issues which affect Friends on a region-wide basis, and to coordinate the efforts of local meetings when such coordination is needed. Projects which are too large or too general for a single monthly meeting to take on may more naturally be assumed by the quarterly meeting. In petitioning the state or addressing issues of public concern, the voice of the quarterly meeting will usually bear more weight than that of a monthly meeting.

Quarterly meetings serve to bring together Friends from different local meetings and promote a broader sense of community among Friends. Quarterly meetings may hold retreats, workshops, or social events, either in conjunction with their business sessions or separately, to build up connections among their local meetings. Meetings with few children may especially find that quarterly meetings and other regional gatherings provide a valuable opportunity for young Friends to find companionship and a sense of Quaker community.

Quarterly meetings serve as a valuable forum for the preliminary consideration of business to be brought before the yearly meeting. Monthly meetings with proposals to put before the yearly meeting are urged to bring such matters first to their quarterly meeting (if there is one), unless the next session of the yearly meeting falls before the next session of the quarterly meeting, and the matter is too urgent to delay. The quarterly meeting may also bring to the yearly meeting business which originated in the quarterly meeting itself, rather than any of its monthly meetings.

Finally, quarterly meetings have specific responsibilities in the setting up and laying down of meetings. In particular, a quarterly meeting may set up or lay down a preparative meeting on the advice of its monthly meeting. (See “Preparative meetings.”) In addition, proposals to set up or lay down a monthly meeting are normally approved by its quarterly meeting (if any), before being forwarded to the yearly meeting for final approval. (See “Setting up, laying down, and reaffiliation of monthly meetings.”) A quarterly meeting may add an existing monthly meeting which is part of Illinois Yearly Meeting at the request of the monthly meeting.

Each quarterly meeting appoints a clerk, who also serves as representative to the Continuing Committee of Illinois Yearly Meeting. Quarterly meetings may appoint a treasurer, recording clerk, and such other committees and offices as seem useful. Quarterly meetings must keep accurate records of their business and finances, and archive them properly. (See “Archivist.”)

Decisions of the quarterly meeting are made by the Friends gathered in the quarterly meeting business sessions. They do not require the approval or ratification of the monthly meetings which compose the quarterly meeting, though such approval may be sought in cases where the quarterly meeting deems it helpful to do so. Quarterly meetings must respect the local autonomy of their constituent meetings, and may not override their decisions or direct their affairs in purely internal matters.

Setting up and laying down quarterly meetings

To set up a new quarterly meeting, approval must first be secured from each of the monthly meetings which are to become a part of it. Any monthly meetings which already form part of a quarterly meeting should present the plan for establishing the new quarterly meeting to the existing quarterly meeting and seek its views on the matter. Monthly meetings are advised against belonging to more than one quarterly meeting simultaneously, so joining a new quarterly meeting will normally mean leaving the old one.

After the approval of all monthly meetings has been obtained and the issue considered in any existing quarterly meetings, the proposal is forwarded either to Illinois Yearly Meeting, or to its Continuing Committee. Whichever group receives the request appoints a clearness committee, or may request the Ministry and Advancement Committee to appoint a clearness committee. The clearness committee visits with the local meetings which are to be part of the proposed quarterly meeting to explore their readiness for this step. The following queries may be helpful in this process:

• What do you see as the spiritual and practical benefits of establishing a new quarterly meeting?
• What kinds of support can you provide as a quarterly meeting to the yearly meeting and to your monthly meetings? What kinds of support do you expect to receive from the yearly and monthly meetings?
• How strong is the commitment of each of the monthly meetings involved?
• Will you have a treasury? How will funds be raised? How will they be used? How will the treasury be administered?
• How often will you meet and where? Have you considered potential scheduling conflicts?
• How will your gatherings be planned?
• Will your sessions include worship? business? workshops? retreats? fellowship? community building? How will you decide on the relative balance?
• Do you have any qualms, fears, or reservations about establishing a quarterly meeting?

The committee may also meet with Friends outside the proposed quarterly meeting to gauge the impact the establishment of the new meeting might have on existing quarterly meetings, and on the yearly meeting as a whole. The committee reports to Illinois Yearly Meeting; the new quarterly meeting is established when the yearly meeting minutes its approval in its annual business sessions. After minuting establishment, the yearly meeting (typically through its Ministry and Advancement Committee) appoints a committee of welcome to attend the opening session of the new quarterly and provide assistance or advice as it begins to conduct business.

If a quarterly meeting is unable, over an extended period, to fulfill the functions and meet the responsibilities normally expected of a quarterly meeting, it is appropriate to lay it down. Normally, this is accomplished by minute of the yearly meeting, though in principle a quarterly meeting may also lay itself down. In either case, it is strongly urged that the approval of all functioning monthly meetings which form part of the quarterly meeting be obtained before the quarterly meeting is officially laid down. If the quarterly meeting lays itself down, it should inform the yearly meeting promptly of this decision.

Whichever body lays down the quarterly meeting appoints a committee to assist with the arrangements, or may ask the yearly meeting’s Ministry and Advancement Committee to appoint such a committee. This committee should see to it that provision is made for the archiving of the meeting’s records in a manner and location which keeps them accessible to Illinois Yearly Meeting. Deposit in the University of Illinois Library is recommended for this purpose. If the quarterly meeting has a treasury or other property, the committee should see that these are disposed of in an appropriate fashion, such as transferring them to the yearly meeting, dividing them among the monthly meetings, or donating them to some other Friends or charitable organization. The advice of Friends who were involved in the quarterly meeting should be a major consideration in deciding how to dispose of property.

Monthly meetings which do not belong to a quarterly meeting

Originally, Illinois Yearly Meeting was organized so that all of its constituent monthly meetings belonged to a quarterly meeting. The quarterly meetings formed a systematic intervening level between the monthly meetings and the yearly meeting: business, communications and finances passed between the monthly meetings and the yearly meeting through the quarterly meetings, which also played an important role in such matters as nominating the clerk of the yearly meeting and appointing the equivalent of the Continuing Committee.

For historical reasons, Illinois Yearly Meeting now includes a number of monthly meetings which are not part of a quarterly meeting. Such meetings may find that some of the functions of a quarterly meeting are well-served by other regional gatherings. However, business which is strictly internal to Illinois Yearly Meeting is not generally considered at such gatherings. If a monthly meeting is not part of a quarterly meeting which can provide preliminary consideration of proposals before they are brought to the yearly meeting, the monthly meeting should submit such proposals first to the Continuing Committee, unless the next session of the yearly meeting falls before the next session of the Continuing Committee, and the matter is too urgent to delay.

Regional gatherings which are not quarterly meetings of Illinois Yearly Meeting may not set up or lay down a preparative meeting as part of Illinois Yearly Meeting. Nor does Illinois Yearly Meeting require that the approval of such gatherings be secured before a monthly meeting or quarterly meeting is set up or laid down as part of Illinois Yearly Meeting. Proposals for setting up or laying down meetings which are part of Illinois Yearly Meeting but not part of a quarterly meeting are directed to the Continuing Committee or to the yearly meeting. (See “Setting up, laying down and reaffiliation of monthly meetings,” “Preparative meetings,” and “Setting up and laying down quarterly meetings.”)

The Yearly Meeting

A yearly meeting of the Religious Society of Friends is an association of monthly meetings, preparative meetings, worship groups, and quarterly meetings. Its constituent meetings are usually located in the same general geographic region, and share a similar perspective on faith and practice. As the name indicates, a yearly meeting gathers annually to conduct its business. That business may include consideration of spiritual concerns of its members and calls to witness to the wider world, as well as such organizational matters as care of property, budgeting and finances, selection of officers and committee members, planning for future events, and other concerns brought forward by monthly meetings, quarterly meetings, or yearly meeting committees.

Illinois Yearly Meeting was established in 1875. Throughout its history, it has included local meetings across a wide region, centered on Illinois but never limited to it. (See “History of Illinois Yearly Meeting.”) The processes by which a monthly meeting joins or leaves Illinois Yearly Meeting are described in the section on monthly meetings).

Functions of a yearly meeting

A yearly meeting, like any Friends meeting, is a community in which Friends worship together, care for each other, seek together the leadings of the Spirit, and support one another’s spiritual growth. Yearly meetings serve their membership by furthering connections among Friends, fostering a more expansive and fuller sense of Quaker community than Friends might attain from their local meetings alone. These connections form as Friends come together for the annual sessions of the yearly meeting, through intervisitation, and by participation in the common work of the yearly meeting through committee meetings or other gatherings throughout the year. Much of the work of the yearly meeting is grounded in its care and concern for the spiritual growth and well-being of its constituent meetings and individual members.

Yearly meetings also help to advance the cause of Quaker witness to the world. Every monthly meeting undertakes such witness; but a yearly meeting, especially one that serves as large a geographical area as Illinois Yearly Meeting, is in a position to embark on collective action more effectively and with a more powerful voice than any individual meeting. This sort of activity can take a number of forms. It might involve charitable or relief work. It might take the form of peace and reconciliation work or draft counseling. It might involve using our collective voice to urge a civic policy consistent with Quaker values. It might be for the purpose of involvement in the wider Quaker world or any other expression of Friends’ testimonies.

The yearly meeting writes and promulgates its own book of Faith and Practice, which articulates the guiding principles, organizational processes, and collected expressions of faith of Friends it serves. In doing so it provides a structure that serves to affirm what it means to be a Quaker in general and an ILYM Quaker in particular.

Relationship of the yearly meeting to individual members, monthly meetings and other regional meetings

Individuals are members of the yearly meeting by virtue of their membership in one of its constituent monthly meetings. In the case of Illinois Yearly Meeting, the authority of the yearly meeting is not over the monthly meetings individually but rather through them collectively. Monthly meetings are independent financial entities from Illinois Yearly Meeting. They control their own finances and own their own property.

As described in “Setting up, laying down, and re-affiliation of monthly meetings,” the quarterly and yearly meetings have a role in the establishment and laying down of monthly meetings. In addition, the yearly meeting has a responsibility to nurture the spiritual health and growth of monthly meetings and individual members of all ages. Illinois Yearly Meeting has put in place a number of positions and committees to support the spiritual care of the monthly meetings and their members, including the Field Secretary, the Youth Coordinator, the Ministry and Advancement Committee, the Children’s Religious Education Committee, and others.

Relationship of Illinois Yearly Meeting and Clear Creek Monthly Meeting

Illinois Yearly Meeting has a longstanding close relationship with Clear Creek Monthly Meeting. Clear Creek Monthly Meeting has met in the vicinity of McNabb, Illinois since before the establishment of Illinois Yearly Meeting. In recent history, Clear Creek Friends have met for worship at the Yearly Meeting House or at the Clear Creek House of Illinois Yearly Meeting. The yearly meeting and monthly meeting therefore have a unique relationship, and both seek to be continually mindful to communicate and clarify their respective needs and responsibilities with regard to the buildings and grounds.

Relationship of Illinois Yearly Meeting with the wider Quaker world

Illinois Yearly Meeting benefits from association with national and international Quaker organizations that support the yearly meeting in various ways and help further its witness to the world. Illinois Yearly Meeting is affiliated with Friends General Conference and sends representatives to serve on FGC’s Central Committee, its governing board. Illinois Yearly Meeting also sends representatives to the American Friends Service Committee Corporation and to the Friends Committee on National Legislation General Committee. Illinois Yearly Meeting is affiliated with Friends World Committee for Consultation, and sends representatives to periodic international gatherings of that organization. As the yearly meeting is moved, and Friends agree to serve, Illinois Yearly Meeting sends representatives to other Quaker organizations such as Quaker Earthcare Witness; Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Concerns; Friends Peace Teams; and others.

Illinois Yearly Meeting communicates with other yearly meetings around the world through the tradition of sending and receiving epistles, or letters, composed at the annual sessions. Excerpts of selected epistles from other yearly meetings are read aloud during the annual sessions, and the ILYM epistle is sent to other yearly meetings to share spiritual concerns, challenges, leadings, and accomplishments of Illinois Yearly Meeting.

Organization and Structure of Illinois Yearly Meeting

The corporation. In 2004, Illinois Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends was incorporated in the State of Illinois under the Illinois General Not For Profit Corporation Act as a regional church. (Previously, Illinois Yearly Meeting had been organized in 1875 as a trust under 1872 enabling legislation.) Our incorporation bylaws were approved by the yearly meeting in 2007, stressing the continuity of operation of Illinois Yearly Meeting and its Quaker business principles and practices. Incorporation provides protection of individual officers or stewards of the yearly meeting from legal liability by shifting such liability to the corporation. The clerk, assistant clerk, and two stewards act as the Board of Directors for the corporation, and a treasurer serves as the Registered Agent for Illinois Yearly Meeting, the liaison between the State of Illinois and Illinois Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. The Board of Directors represents Illinois Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends in matters that require legal authority.

Ownership of property. Illinois Yearly Meeting may purchase and own property. The Illinois Yearly Meetinghouse, now on the National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1874 near what is now McNabb, Illinois in anticipation of the first sessions of the yearly meeting. Over the years, additional land has been purchased and various changes have been made to land owned on both the south and north sides of “Quaker Lane” or County Road 350 North adjacent to the 1874 meetinghouse grounds: construction of a dining hall later converted to the Junior Yearly Meetinghouse, construction of a dormitory, construction of a campground with bathhouse, the relocation of the Junior Yearly Meetinghouse to the north property, the disassembly of the dormitory, and the repurposing of its materials to build six cabins on the north property. In 2009 the yearly meeting purchased approximately six acres immediately to the west of the meetinghouse property, including a farmhouse that was subsequently renovated and is now known as Clear Creek House of Illinois Yearly Meeting.

Officers of the yearly meeting. Officers of Illinois Yearly Meeting are nominated by committee and approved by the assembled body. The following are descriptions of officers that have been of service to Illinois Yearly Meeting, but this list does not limit or prescribe the possibilities. The yearly meeting may create officers and assign responsibilities to best serve its circumstances and needs at a given time.

The work of the presiding clerk is to prepare the agenda for the business meeting, to help set the worshipful tone of the gathering, to recognize those who wish to speak, to collect and articulate the sense of the meeting, and to help maintain right order in the proceedings. They should keep informed of ongoing activities of ILYM during the year so as to be responsive to issues as they arise. The clerk also carries on correspondence relating to the business of the yearly meeting. A clerk’s committee is appointed to assist them in this role. The assistant presiding clerk, who is ordinarily an incoming or outgoing presiding clerk, assists with the clerk’s duties and may substitute for the clerk if needed. Both the clerk and the assistant clerk should be members of the Religious Society of Friends.

The recording clerk composes minutes to be read back to the assembled body for approval, thus recording the decisions and actions of the yearly meeting. The assistant recording clerk, ordinarily an incoming or outgoing recording clerk, assists as needed.

The reading clerk reviews incoming epistles from other yearly meetings, and selects portions of these to be read at the start of business sessions. They may also be asked to read other items to the yearly meeting, and they serve on the committee that drafts the annual outgoing epistle from Illinois Yearly Meeting to the wider Quaker world.

The financial transactions of the yearly meeting are entrusted to a treasurer or co-treasurers, who receive contributions to the yearly meeting and pay out obligations or contributions as directed by the yearly meeting. They make reports on the financial status of the yearly meeting, and work closely with the finance committee, the stewards, and committee clerks as needed.

The stewards of Illinois Yearly Meeting have the responsibility and authority to manage the real estate and tangible property of ILYM, at the direction of the yearly meeting. They may appoint and/or engage persons or companies as required for these purposes. Stewards represent the Yearly Meeting in renovating the buildings and grounds; in securing insurance; and in handling easements, leases and other management needs as they arise. Among these may be planning, zoning, and building permit issues, and property tax matters. Illinois Yearly Meeting may direct others to assist the stewards in specific matters.

In addition to the positions listed above, the yearly meeting may appoint Friends to new or existing positions as needed to accomplish the work of the yearly meeting. Examples of such positions are editor(s) of a yearly meeting publication, a records librarian to oversee the collection and archiving of yearly meeting records, and a website coordinator to oversee and update a yearly meeting website.

Employees of the yearly meeting. Illinois Yearly Meeting may employ individuals to serve the yearly meeting as needs arise and funds are available. The yearly meeting in its annual sessions minutes the desire and financial ability to hire an employee. The yearly meeting may delegate the work of writing a position description, posting announcements, and interviewing and selecting a candidate to a committee which is given oversight for a particular position. The final approval for hiring is given by the yearly meeting in its annual sessions, unless delegated to the Continuing Committee. A personnel manual sets forth guidelines for hiring, compensation, and oversight of the yearly meeting’s employees. The number of employees and their position descriptions are at the discretion of the yearly meeting.

The following paragraphs give brief descriptions of employee positions that are serving identified needs of Illinois Yearly Meeting at the time of this writing. Detailed descriptions of the qualifications, responsibilities, and expectations for each position are maintained in the personnel manual.

The many duties of the Administrative Coordinator include keeping a calendar of ILYM-related events and disseminating yearly meeting news, announcements, and information. Certain duties of the Administrative Coordinator are associated with the annual sessions, including the coordination of the many logistic details that are necessary for the sessions to run smoothly.

The Children’s Religious Education Coordinator works closely with the appropriate committee of the yearly meeting to plan and carry out Quaker religious educational programs and activities for ILYM children younger than high school age. They serve as a resource person on issues concerning the religious education of children for monthly meetings and worship groups within Illinois Yearly Meeting.

The Youth Coordinator works closely with the appropriate committee of the yearly meeting and the clerks of the high school young Friends to plan and carry out gatherings of young Friends, both at the annual sessions and throughout the year. They are expected to help teenage Friends find and participate in experiences related to spiritual development, service, and leadership.

Illinois Yearly Meeting may also see fit to engage paid independent contractors who are not employees of the Yearly Meeting to serve identified needs. Those have long included a Field Secretary whose work, in conjunction with the Ministry and Advancement Committee, is to focus on the spiritual nurture of Illinois Yearly Meeting’s constituent meetings and worship groups. That work may include visitation; offering workshops, retreats, or meetings for reconciliation; responding to needs that have been brought forward; and/or encouraging the work of the Spirit in local or regional meetings.

Committees of the yearly meeting. Much of the work of the yearly meeting is carried out by committees that meet as needed during and between the Illinois Yearly Meeting annual sessions to accomplish their work. A committee is often where Friends first bring concerns for corporate discernment, where proposals for actions are drafted and seasoned, where minutes are composed, where the budget is drafted, and where Friends work together on maintenance or other tasks related to the buildings and grounds. Committees bring forward proposals for the yearly meeting’s consideration, and they need its approval before taking action, for example, before committing funds or speaking on behalf of the yearly meeting.

Standing committees, in general, include committees that address ongoing needs and concerns of the yearly meeting, including spiritual support of its members, support for the organizational and fiscal well-being of the yearly meeting, maintenance of its property, and support for the service and witness of the yearly meeting.

Matching the gifts and talents of individual Friends with the needs of the yearly meeting and its work is the concern of the Nominating Committee. Nominating committee members seek out Friends to serve as yearly meeting officers, committee members, committee clerks, and representatives from Illinois Yearly Meeting to wider Quaker organizations, and the committee brings their names to the yearly meeting for consideration.

The Finance Committee is responsible for preparing the proposed annual budget for Illinois Yearly Meeting; for providing guidance and support to the treasurer(s); and for putting into place pro-cedures that serve the yearly meeting in receiving, maintaining, and disbursing funds.

Among the responsibilities of the Ministry and Advancement Committee is care for the spiritual life of monthly meetings and worship groups in the yearly meeting. It undertakes this in conjunction with the ILYM Field Secretary, for whom it is the committee of oversight. Members of the committee have often undertaken visitation among meetings and organized activities to promote spiritual development among Friends. The committee may be called upon to assist meetings which are struggling with conflict or other internal issues.

While standing committees are generally expected to exist long-term, the yearly meeting may from time to time decide to alter the configuration of its committees to adapt to changing circumstances. Whatever the particular configuration of committees at a given time, the yearly meeting is advised to consider making provisions for committee oversight of such matters as:

• Maintenance of buildings and grounds
• Policies and practices regarding yearly meeting employees
• Support for religious education at the monthly meeting and yearly meeting levels
• Support for High School Young Friends
• Editing and distribution of yearly meeting publications, both paper and electronic
• Provision for the long-term well-being of the yearly meeting, both materially and spiritually
• Maintenance of a yearly meeting handbook of current policies and practices
• Advancement of Friends’ testimonies

Up-to-date descriptions of the composition and responsibilities of ILYM committees are maintained in the ILYM handbook.

Ad hoc committees may be appointed by the yearly meeting to address a specific concern which is relatively short-lived, which lies outside the scope of any standing committee, and/or which requires input from several existing committees. The members of the committee, the expected tenure of the committee, and the body to which the committee will report are decided at the time it is formed. When the specific concern has been addressed to the satisfaction of the yearly meeting, the committee is laid down.

The Annual Sessions

Illinois Yearly Meeting gathers for several days of annual sessions each summer at the historic Illinois Yearly Meetinghouse near McNabb, Illinois. Members and attenders of constituent monthly meetings, preparative meetings, and worship groups, members of other yearly meetings, representatives from wider Quaker organizations, and individual seekers are all welcome and encouraged to attend the annual sessions. In addition to daily sessions to consider the business of the Yearly Meeting, the annual gathering ordinarily includes invited speakers, worship-sharing groups, workshops, programs for children and teens, time for committee meetings, time for worship, and opportunities for recreation and fellowship.

For many Friends, the annual gathering is a time of spiritual refreshment and renewal, as they encounter or renew relationships with Friends from other meetings and engage together in worship and in the work of the Spirit. Speakers from within the yearly meeting and beyond it share their work and bring insight and inspiration. Joy may be found in singing, in shared work, in the beauty of the landscape, in watching the children grow from year to year.

Bringing Business to the Yearly Meeting. Most of the business at yearly meeting annual sessions comes by way of its committees, whose representatives report on the committee’s work and bring proposals for action by the yearly meeting as needed.

An individual Friend with a concern or leading should ordinarily take it first to their monthly meeting or to an appropriate yearly meeting committee. If a monthly meeting decides that a concern should be raised to a wider group, the next step is for the monthly meeting clerk or representative to take the concern to a quarterly meeting, if available, or to the Continuing Committee of the yearly meeting. From a quarterly meeting or the Continuing Committee, a concern may be placed on the agenda for consideration at the yearly meeting annual sessions, or it may be referred to a yearly meeting committee for further discernment.

A concern brought forward by a yearly meeting committee would similarly be brought to the yearly meeting Continuing Committee, which would proceed as described above. While such a process is not mandated, it allows leadings and concerns to be examined and held in the Light by smaller groups, so that by the time a recommendation or call for action comes to the yearly meeting it has been well “seasoned.”

Decision-making at the yearly meeting level. Friends in attendance at the business meeting during the annual sessions are welcome to speak as recognized by the clerk. Decisions are made through discernment of the sense of the gathered body of Illinois Yearly Meeting at the annual sessions and need not be ratified by its constituent monthly meetings.

There may be situations in which the yearly meeting cannot reach unity or for some other reason is not able to make a decision during the annual sessions. The yearly meeting at its annual sessions can choose to minute that Continuing Committee has authority to act on specific items during the year.

Decisions and actions of the yearly meeting are articulated and approved during the session and are recorded as written minutes. The recorded minutes of the yearly meeting make up the record of its actions and are published in booklet form each year after the annual sessions and also made available to all on the yearly meeting website. The minute books are archived in the Illinois History and Lincoln Collections of the library of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Epistles and exercises. During the annual sessions a committee is appointed to write an epistle, or letter, to Friends in other yearly meetings and organizations. The epistle conveys the yearly meeting’s spiritual message, based on the concerns, actions, and insights arising during the yearly meeting sessions. After approval by the yearly meeting body, the epistle is communicated to Friends world-wide.

It has been the practice of Illinois Yearly Meeting to have a separate committee write a summary of “exercises” of the yearly meeting sessions, reflecting that which has inspired or moved the meeting during its gathering. The exercises may record events or significant ministry that would not appear in the business session minutes. Both the exercises and epistle are recorded in the yearly meeting minute book, but, ordinarily, only the epistle is sent to other groups of Friends.

The Jonathan W. Plummer Lecture. Beginning with the 1961 sessions, Illinois Yearly Meeting has followed a tradition of having one of its members present at the annual sessions an address named in honor of Illinois Yearly Meeting’s first clerk and the “father” of Friends General Conference, Jonathan W. Plummer. Friends giving this lecture have typically chosen to share their spiritual journey or spiritual insights or concerns from their lives. After presentation at the annual sessions, the Plummer Lecture is published, disseminated and archived at the library of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Children, High School Friends, and Adult Young Friends. The young people of Illinois Yearly Meeting are a treasured part of the community. At the annual sessions, the children participate in a religious education program planned by yearly meeting Friends. There are opportunities for organized recreation, crafts, service projects, and free play.

High School Friends, under the supervision of the Youth Oversight Committee and Youth Coordinator, help to plan their own yearly meeting experience, and they appoint their own clerks to oversee their business meetings and to record minutes. They write an epistle to share their experiences with the wider Quaker world. Throughout the year High School Friends and their adult advisers plan additional gatherings for themselves, or host or participate in gatherings with Friends from neighboring yearly meetings.

Adult Young Friends, from ages about 18 to about 35, may plan gatherings, outings, business meetings, or other activities specifically for Adult Young Friends in addition to participating in the scheduled yearly meeting proceedings. Adult Young Friends may appoint their own clerks and write an epistle describing their particular experiences and concerns. They may plan activities and gatherings throughout the year as time and energy permit.

Planning and carrying out the work of the annual sessions. Planning for the annual sessions has typically been divided into different areas of responsibility which are delegated on a rotating basis among planning groups, each composed of members of monthly meetings from a designated geographic region of the yearly meeting. The planning and preparation tasks include choosing a theme, inviting evening speakers, inviting an ILYM Friend to give the Plummer Lecture, organizing workshops and worship-sharing groups, securing kitchen staff to provide meals, preparing the site, planning for the children’s program, and organizing any other special events during the week. The yearly meeting’s Administrative Coordinator has generally taken responsibility for publicity, registration, coordination of housing, and certain logistics of preparing for the annual sessions.

Much of the daily work during the annual sessions, such as serving food, cleaning common areas, and making sure consumable supplies are replenished, is done by those who sign up for volunteer jobs each day. The ILYM handbook and regularly updated logbooks provide specific details about the tasks of the planning groups and the distribution of work during the sessions.

Continuing the work of the yearly meeting between sessions–Continuing Committee

The Continuing Committee of Illinois Yearly Meeting generally meets once each fall and once each spring to consider the work of Illinois Yearly Meeting between annual sessions. Membership of the Continuing Committee includes all ILYM Friends, who are encouraged to attend its meetings and participate in its business. Effective functioning of the Continuing Committee is best accomplished if those in attendance include at least the officers of the yearly meeting, an appointed representative from each monthly meeting and worship group, representatives from the High School Friends group and the Adult Young Friends group, clerks of all ILYM standing committees and ad hoc committees, and clerks of constituent regional groups. The yearly meeting clerk presides over the proceedings and the recording clerk prepares minutes. These minutes are included in the minute book of the next yearly meeting and made available to all on the ILYM website.

The main functions of Illinois Yearly Meeting’s Continuing Committee are to move forward business that has been initiated by the sense of the business meeting at the previous annual sessions and to prepare new business that will come before the next annual sessions. Continuing Committee hears progress reports from committees working on yearly meeting business and from the planning groups working to prepare for the next annual sessions, allowing committees to respond to one another’s work and to coordinate as needed. Committees and monthly meetings are encouraged to bring new business to Continuing Committee, where Friends help to discern whether a particular concern or request for action is ready to come before the yearly meeting as a whole or whether it would benefit from further study or action within a smaller group, such as one of the committees.

On occasion, Continuing Committee may be called upon to take action that would ordinarily occur during the annual sessions. The business meeting at the annual sessions may delegate a decision or action on a particular item of business to the Continuing Committee by approving a minute specifying the decision or action to be taken. In addition, there are some circumstances in which the Continuing Committee may need to take action that has not been anticipated ahead of time, such as dealing with sudden personnel vacancies, emergency repairs to property, and the like.

Handbook

Illinois Yearly Meeting maintains a handbook that provides an up-to-date compilation of policies, procedures, practices and organization of the yearly meeting. The document is under the care of the Handbook Committee which reviews minutes from the annual session for decisions that represent changes to current practice. The committee may bring the changes to the handbook to the annual session or Continuing Committee to ensure that the revisions have accurately reflected the intent of the minutes or to seek clarification of proposed text.

Faith and Practice

While the ILYM handbook records details of procedures and practices of the yearly meeting that may change with particular circumstances, ILYM’s book of Faith and Practice reflects the enduring elements of our faith and our practice that provide the foundation of our identity as Friends, and as Friends of Illinois Yearly Meeting. Changes to it should be undertaken with caution and only after careful discernment. Should Illinois Yearly Meeting decide that revisions are in order, the yearly meeting shall appoint a committee to propose such revisions and bring their recommendations to the yearly meeting for consideration.

Wider Quaker Organizations

Many Quaker organizations provide service beyond the local level, involving Friends from multiple yearly meetings. The organizations listed below are ones with which Illinois Yearly Meeting has a long-standing and important relationship, including financial support and the naming of representatives.

The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) was founded by the Religious Society of Friends in 1917 to promote lasting peace with justice as a practical expression of faith in action. Drawing upon continuing spiritual insights and working with people of many backgrounds, AFSC endeavors to nurture the seeds of change and respect for human life that transform social relations and systems.

The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) lobbies the federal government of the United States to advocate for actions involving peace, justice, equal opportunity, and environmental stewardship. A nonpartisan organization founded in 1943 by the Religious Society of Friends, FCNL seeks to build relationships across political divides in order to promote policies that reflect Quaker values such as peace, integrity, and simplicity.

Friends General Conference (FGC) is an association of yearly meetings and directly affiliated monthly meetings in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, including Illinois Yearly Meeting. FGC, which was founded in 1900 and has expanded considerably since then, sponsors an annual gathering of Friends, nurtures meetings and worship groups, represents Friends at the World Council of Churches, and works to grow and sustain a vital and loving community of Friends based on a shared search for unity in the Spirit.

Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Concerns (FLGBTQC) is a North American Quaker organization that affirms that of God in all people regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. Initially organized as a Committee of Concern in 1971, FLGBTQC developed into its current form in the intervening years. Members gather twice a year for worship and fellowship, drawing sustenance from each other and from the Spirit._

Friends Peace Teams (FPT) develops long-term relationships with communities in conflict around the world, creating programs for peacebuilding, healing, and reconciliation. FPT was founded in the 1990s with the goal of making every Friends Meeting House and Church a center for peace-making, and builds on extensive Quaker experience in combining practical and spiritual aspects of conflict resolution.

The Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC), established in 1937, brings together Friends of varying traditions, beliefs, and cultural experiences in order to celebrate their common heritage and express the Quaker message to the world. FWCC sends representatives to the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO), represents Friends at international religious gatherings and events, and unites Quakers from all over the world.

Quaker Earthcare Witness (QEW) is a network of people taking action to address the ecological and social crises of the world from a spiritual perspective, one that emphasizes Quaker process and testimonies. Founded in 1987, QEW’s primary calling is to facilitate transformation of the human attitudes, values, and worldviews that have resulted in environmental destruction in the modern world.

Queries

The following queries may aid Friends in considering their relations to meeting communities at the various levels, as well as to wider Quaker organizations in which they participate.

For the individual

• What spiritual gifts do I bring to my meeting communities, including monthly, quarterly and yearly meetings?
• Do I assume my rightful share in the responsibility of the work of my meetings, including participation in meeting committees?
• How do I respond to those in the meeting community who have not yet come to value a Quaker testimony or practice that I hold dear?
• Have I found myself in conflict with others in meeting? Do I approach such conflicts in a spirit of reconciliation? Am I open to giving and receiving forgiveness?
• Do I visit other Friends meetings?
• Do I attend quarterly and yearly meeting sessions?
• Am I active in the wider world of Friends?

For meetings at all levels

• Is our meeting open and welcoming to all?
• How are we working to assure that our meeting is free from practices of prejudice?
• How do we support members and attenders on their spiritual journeys?
• Does our meeting have integrity in all its community relations?
• How are our meeting’s actions in the world rooted in spiritual discernment?
• Does our meeting participate in Quaker events beyond our own meeting?

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