Officers and Committees

• Officers
• Committees and their Clerks
• Descriptions of officers' duties
• Descriptions of standing committees
• Special roles
• Liaisons

Any regular attender of Annapolis Friends Meeting may be selected to serve in any position, except that the Clerk of Meeting and the Trustees are required to be members of Annapolis Friends Meeting and the clerk of Ministry and Worship Committee must be a member of the Religious Society of Friends (but not necessarily of this meeting). Some committees require more experience as a Friend than others. Usually every interested party is welcome to attend any committee meeting. Committees meet on the third First day of each month, either at 9:30 AM or at 12:30 PM.

Officers for 2007-2008

Clerk: Barbara Thomas, 410-867-2473 e-mail

Assistant Clerk: Elise Albert, 410-553-6021

Treasurer: Wes Jordan, 410-721-1839 e-mail

Assistant Treasurer: Joel Rodkin, 410-451-8496 e-mail

Recording Clerk: Marcia Ormsby, 410-280-5025 e-mail

Recorder: Nan Elsbree, 410-647-3591 e-mail

Committee Clerks 

Trustees: Dot Walizer 

Meetinghouse and Land: Bill Kinzer and Don Sillars 

Ministry and Worship: Phil Favero and Dot Walizer 

Library: Ken Chandler  

Newsletter: Mary Barbera e-mail

Stewardship and Finance: Will Candler  

Pastoral Care: Margaret Candler and Leo Pickens

Peace and Social Concerns: Sylvia Oliva e-mail

Outreach: Barbara Thomas, 410-867-2473 e-mail

Childrens' Religious Education: Mardy Burgess and Michelle Reid

Young Friends: Martin Krafft and David Melton  

The Clerk

Serves by convening monthly Business Meeting, or "Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business," guiding deliberations, helping Friends retain a worshipful awareness of God's guidance, and carrying out the Meeting's instructions for action between business sessions. The Clerk also represents the Meeting in the community and assists in coordinating committees' efforts.

The Assistant Clerk

Acts in the absence of the clerk.

The Recording Clerk

Takes minutes at Business Meeting, maintains the minute book, and assists the Clerk with correspondence and posted information.

The Assistant Recording Clerk

Takes minutes in the absence of the Recording Clerk.

The Treasurer

Receives and disburses Meeting funds, keeps accounts, executes the approved current year budget, maintains AFM financial records, and reports the state of finances to Business Meeting. The Treasurer also serves as an ex-officio member of the Stewardship & Finance Committee assisting with periodic financial reports and preparation of the next year's annual budget.

The Assistant Treasurer

Assists the Treasurer and performs in his or her absence.

The Recorder

Maintains membership records, including births, deaths, marriages and transferred memberships, and forwards these to Baltimore Yearly Meeting (BYM). The Recorder also sends minutes of business meeting, committee actions, and membership statistics to the archives of BYM at the Friends Historical Library in Swarthmore, Pa.

Standing Committees

Trustees

Formally approve officers and committee members and are responsible for major financial matters, investment funds, and legal transactions of the Meeting.

Meeting House and Land Committee (MHL)

Coordinates upkeep of the Meeting's building & grounds and improvements of the facility. This includes compliance with safety and government regulations. MHL also oversees hospitality and the Building Use Coordinator (BUC). The BUC is responsible for renting the facilities to outside groups and coordinating the use by Annapolis Friends Meeting functions.

Hospitality Subcommittee

Provides refreshments for special occasions such as weddings and memorial services and makes sure the kitchen is functional for the use of the Meeting. It makes coffee weekly, replenishes food and other supplies, and cleans out the refrigerator as needed. The subcommittee reports to MHL.

Building Use Coordinator (BUC)

Promotes, approves and schedules uses of the Meeting House for non-AFM groups as well as in-house groups, collecting rental fees under written contracts and applying policies determined by Business Meeting. The coordinator keeps a calendar of building use and makes it available to members of AFM. The coordinator reports to Meeting House & Land Committee any recommendations on rental fees and annual budget estimates.

Ministry and Worship Committee (M&W)

Oversees Meeting for Worship by counseling and supporting those who are led to speak from the silence, giving encouragement and advice to inexperienced speakers and eldering individuals in a positive manner. It organizes members to greet worshipers, break Meeting for Worship, and welcome new attenders. It also arranges worship opportunities for mid-week and shut-ins. In addition, M&W coordinates Adult Religious Education activities and provides orientation for members, attenders, and interested persons to Quaker faith and practice. It provides clearness committees for attenders considering membership, considers requests for travel minutes, prepares an annual Spiritual State of the Meeting Report, and appoints a correspondent to submit information on Meeting activities, new members, transfers, and deaths to the Baltimore Yearly Meeting office for publication in the Interchange.

Library Committee

Organizes and maintains AFM's books, orders additional books, pamphlets, and literature as required, manages checkouts and returns, maintains a catalogue of books and videos, educates adults on the use of library, and places reviews or articles in the newsletter.

Stewardship and Finance Committee (S&F)

Prepares AFM's annual budget for consideration of the Business Meeting, reports the Meeting's financial needs, and reminds members and attenders of their financial responsibility to support the Meeting. S&F reviews the Treasurer's books and records and those of any other group or individual having charge of expenditure of funds. S&F plans fund-raising programs and works closely with MHL in making decisions with financial implications.

Quaker Market Subcommittee

Coordinates and organizes publicity, staffing, and set-up and takedown functions for the Spring Market and Holiday Market, decides how proceeds will be used, arranges for leftover goods to be picked up, and delivers the earnings to the Treasurer. This subcommittee reports to Stewardship and Finance. Committee.

Pastoral Care Committee (PC)

Seeks to nurture the spiritual well-being of the Meeting's individual members and attenders in many ways: it encourages participation of members and attenders in the life of the Meeting, according to their individual gifts; it encourages visiting and fellowship within the Meeting; it stays in touch with those who are ill, absent, troubled or in material need, providing assistance as possible. Periodically it holds an "infant welcoming" ceremony. PC also establishes "clearness committees" for special purposes such as marriages, memorials, and seeking God's will for personal decisions concerning, for example, job change, family illness, education, and so on.

Memorial Subcommittee

Recommends Memorial Garden policies to AFM and assists AFM & families of individuals who have passed away in arrangements as to memorial stones, plaque and plants. The subcommittee reports to Pastoral Care.

Peace and Social Concerns Committee (PSC)

Peace & Social Concerns Committee makes annual recommendations to the Meeting for allocation of the funds in the Quaker Causes Budget and it exercises stewardship over the Emergent Social Concerns Fund.

With spiritual discernment, Peace & Social Concerns brings peace issues and social concerns to the attention of the Meeting for individual and/or corporate action in support of our Quaker testimonies.

PSC Committee takes a stand for truth, justice, and equality in specific situations; it advocates through public witness, educational and awareness-promoting activities; it campaigns for fair, effective, and compassionate legislation.   It exposes and protests injustice and seeks to promote understanding and unity.   It supports individuals and organizations such as the American Friends Service Committee and Friends Committee on National Legislation in their leadings for peace and justice.

Its mission is to foster a culture that acknowledges and responds to that of God in every person.

Outreach Committee

Provides information on Quakers and AFM to the community; sponsors special Visitor First Days; sponsors, alone or with other committees, programs of interest to the community; and encourage interaction with other religious groups, Quaker and ecumenical. It holds occasional receptions for orientation of new attenders. It provides a weekly "back-up greeter" to greet visitors at the front door. The committee is responsible for the Meeting's web page.

Children's Religious Education Committee (CREC)

Plans and provides a children's weekly religious education program and occasional special activities. It coordinates nursery care. CREC also promotes attendance at Quaker camp, Yearly Meeting, and Young Friends conferences.

Nominating Committee

Proposes names each year for officer and committee positions for approval by Business Meeting and Trustees. Names are put forth to Business Meeting in October and November with approval sought in December. New positions become effective in January.

Special Roles

The Interchange Correspondent

Writes and sends information on Meeting activities (including new members, transfers, and deaths) for timely publication in the BYM Interchange and other Quaker publications. This person is appointed by M&W.

The Representative to BYM

Represents Annapolis Friends Meeting at Interim Meeting of Baltimore Yearly Meeting (usually 3 meetings per year) and Yearly Meeting business sessions in July/August, reporting back to AFM's Business Meeting on significant matters.

The Representative to Chesapeake Quarterly Meeting

Performs responsibilities like those of the BYM representative, but at Quarterly (regional) meetings held three times a year.

The Newsletter Editor

Collects information for the newsletter, prepares a calendar for the newsletter, and arranges for printing. Young Friends mail copies to members and attenders.

Liaisons or representatives to various Quaker or community organizations

Represents AFM to other organizations and/or report on them to Business Meeting. Organizations include AFSC (The American Friends Service Committee), FCNL (Friends Committee on National Legislation), William Penn House in Washington, D.C., and the Lighthouse Shelter in Annapolis. These people report to PSC.

The BYM Camping Program Correspondent

Serves as liaison to the BYM camping program and forwards information to parents.

The Educational Resources Correspondent

Informs high school students and their parents about funds available for higher education. When a student applies for funds, the coordinator writes a recommendation and forwards it to the BYM Educational Resources Committee before the cut-off date.

The Men's Group Coordinator

Organizes monthly gathering of the men of the Meeting for socializing and discussion. He reports to PC.

The Web Clerk

Maintains the Meeting's web page and reports to the Outreach Committee.