Who Does What at Quaker Meeting?

Looking to become involved in your faith community? There are opportunities for community and rewarding volunteerism at Meeting! (The full list of who actually does most of these things is available to members and regular attenders on the password-protected  “members” page and is also posted in the Meetinghouse and sent to meeting e-list subscribers.  Several contact names are included below with permission).

Buildings and Grounds:
Responsible for the maintenance of the Meetinghouse and grounds; provides guidelines for the use of the Meetinghouse by outside groups.

CFSC (Canadian Friends Service Committee) liaison: Keeps Meeting apprised of issues being discussed and acted upon by CFSC.

Clearness committees may be requested by individuals to assist them when facing difficult decisions. In such instances, Friends are asked to first approach members of Ministry & Counsel (qv below).

Clerk: Prepares the agenda and the business to be presented to the Meeting for its consideration. Presides at the Meeting for Worship with attention to Business and carries out the instructions of the Meeting.

Clerk, Corresponding: Handles Meeting-related correspondence at the direction of the clerk.

Clerk, Recording: Records and maintains the minutes of the Meeting for Worship for Business. Sends minutes via email to Friends who request this.

Clerk of Western Half Yearly Meeting: See also section in Directory regarding Western Half Yearly Meeting (WHYM) and WHYM section of www.quaker.ca.

Finance Committee: (the treasurer joins Finance Committee for formation of budget only)
Responsible for the overall finances of the Meeting including overseeing the accounting of revenue, allocation of resources, and preparations of a spending forecast.

Libraryadditional member(s) needed Maintains the Meeting library and various written materials that are available to members/ attenders.

Announcement List Maintenance:  Maintains listserv to which VaMM-related announcements are forwarded. Please contact to join or change email address.

Quaker Forwards and Meeting Directory: Prepares and periodically updates Meeting Directory; sends occasional forwards from wider Quaker bodies such as CFSC, AFSC, FWCC, FGC to a separate e-list. Please send requests to be listed in the Meeting Directory or changes in contact info to:

Marriage Registrars: Maintain records of all marriages under the care of the Meeting and fulfil legal requirements of registration.

Meeting House Bookings Coordinator: coordinates bookings by groups using the Meeting House on an ongoing or one-time basis.

Ministry & Counsel (M&C): Nurtures the spiritual life of the Meeting and focuses the attention of the Meeting on special needs of members; oversees weddings, requests for membership and memorial meetings. Any member or attender who wishes support or care is welcome to bring the concern to any member of M&C.

Subcommittees of M&C: First Day School program (as Quakers refer to religious education for children), which is currently offered on the First Sunday of the Month, September through May at Vancouver Monthly Meeting and Fourth Sundays at North Burnaby Worship Group at Cranberry Commons.

Religious Education: Committee is responsible for adult education and newcomer introductions to the Religious Society of Friends

Retreat Committees: Easter Family Retreat – Fall Adult Spiritual Retreat

Newsletter Editor and Committee: Compose and distribute newsletter which may include reports from Meeting committees, News and Views of Meeting, and gleanings of spiritual value, together with a calendar of ongoing and upcoming Meeting events. Additional Friends are invited to volunteer for this committee as they feel so moved.

Nominating Committee: Presents a list of nominations for consideration by the Meeting. The committee seeks out those they feel can best serve, but welcomes anyone approaching them regarding special interests for service. Also suggests names for Canadian Yearly Meeting service.

Phone Messages: Picks up messages left on VaMM voicemail; returns calls as appropriate.

Privacy Officer: Privacy Officer ensures that our treatment of contact information complies with the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), responds to external requests for access to personal information and, internally addresses general issues concerning personal information entrusted with Vancouver Monthly Meeting.

Representative of VaMM to KAIROS-Vancouver: see www.bckairos.org for more information.

CFSC Liaison to VaMM / North Burnaby Worship Group

Representative to Representative Meeting: Representative Meeting (RM) acts for CYM between Yearly Meeting sessions. See CYM entry in Directory and www.quaker.ca for more information. Representative attends Representative Meeting of Canadian Yearly Meeting (once in Fall and once in Spring) and brings VaMM concerns to RM and reports back to VaMM on work of RM.

Social and Hospitality CommitteeAdditonal members always welcome. Prepare coffee and teas after Meeting; set up for post-event refreshments and potlucks. Oversee dishwashing and cleanup.

Statistics and Archivist Clerk: Prepares annual statistical report of members and attenders of VaMM for use by CYM office.

Treasurer: Receives and disburses funds as directed by the Meeting and keeps an account of all monies received and paid out; makes financial reports to Business Meeting on monthly basis; issues appropriate tax receipts; meets Federal Government requirements for reporting and maintenance of our tax exempt status.

Trustees: Trustees for the ownership of the building (as a committee, not individually). They are also the trustees for the Margaret Lorenz Bequest fund. They submit an annual report to the Meeting.

Website Committee:  Maintains the web site (vancouver.quaker.ca), keeping all information on the site up-to-date, including Meeting times, contact persons, and an online events calendar. May co-opt members of newsletter and other committees to help with this, as needed.

Members of Vancouver MM also serve on several committees of Canadian Yearly Meeting (qv www.quaker.ca):

As of February 2014 these include Canadian Friends Service Committee, the Epistle Summarizing Committee, the Publications and Communications Committee, Programme Committee, and the Ad Hoc Committee on War Tax Concerns