Meeting Accompaniment Group
Purpose
Meeting together regularly, this body works closely with the Yearly Meeting Secretary, Presiding Clerk, and others to bring sustained and prayerful accompaniment to local meetings, with particular attention to walking alongside Friends serving their meetings in leadership roles (clerks, clerks of ministry & counsel, etc.).
Procedures
In support of this charge, Friends serving as part of this body:
- Regularly read and reflect on state of society reports
- Pay attention to news shared in local meeting newsletters
- Consider reports of Friends traveling and visiting (as well as visiting meetings themselves)
- Participate regularly in monthly local meeting leader calls, and contribute insights to planning for these calls
- Call or email to check in with clerks of meetings on the life of the meeting overall
- Meet and consult with the NEYM Presiding Clerk and Secretary (and the clerks of the relevant quarterly meetings, and others as appropriate) to support ongoing care and attention to the life of local meetings
- As needed or requested, provide specific support and presence with meetings (and quarterly meetings) in times of crisis or need for particular accompaniment
- Ensure appropriate integration and information-sharing within the group and with relevant partners (Secretary, Presiding Clerk, relevant staff), in ways that are consistent and timely and that maintain appropriate confidentiality and care
- Curate and moderate the “pastoral care” email list maintained by the Yearly Meeting, including promoting subscriptions, clarifying the scope of and guidelines for what information will be shared, and considering how to strengthen the attention to prayer and care that this medium might provide
- Offer insights that will form an important stream informing the writing of the annual NEYM State of Society report
- Invite other Friends join in this work as needed, in support of particular situations or needs for accompaniment.
Role: Accompaniment and “walking with” local meetings—not “fixing” issues that may arise. As needed/requested by Friends serving in local meetings, these Friends might assist with referrals to other Friends (especially other local meetings with relevant experience) or resources related to a wide range of potential considerations. These might include, but not be limited to, training and content for “pastoral care” accompaniment by and within local meetings, help with conflicts and challenges, support for young families, welcoming, fostering openness to change, and care of ministry.
This body does not try to fix challenges in local meetings, but will pay attention to how to increase capacity of the meetings themselves to respond to the challenges they may encounter. This group will always work in partnership with quarterly meetings, where possible and appropriate, and support the efforts and strengthening of quarterly meetings as they in turn seek to support local meetings.
Composition
- Five to seven Friends, nominated by the NEYM Nominating Committee, with a clerk also nominated by the NEYM Nominating Committee, approved by the Yearly Meeting.
- Explicit encouragement for local meetings (and quarterly meetings) to suggest Friends with the relevant gifts, and reflecting the diversities of context across our region, for consideration by the Nominating Committee to serve as part of this group.
- The clerk of this group will also serve (for the duration of this experiment) as a member of the Coordinating & Advisory Committee.
Term of Service: Appointed with the prospect/possibility of a five-year term. The practice will be reviewed (and considered for change or continuation) in three years (report and recommendations to Sessions 2025). Given the importance of ongoing trusting relationships, context, and experience in this work, the intention is be that eventually Friends will be appointed for staggered five-year terms. This is consistent with what has been learned from the work of some other bodies (Permanent Board, Finance Committee, Archives Committee) where longevity of relationship and experience with the particular work has been found helpful.
Gifts and experience needed: Spiritual and emotional maturity, gifts in oversight, pastoral care, and accompaniment, conflict resolution, prayerful holding, boundary-setting, communication, and administration. Capacity for holding sensitive matters in confidence, with consultation in trusted relationships as needed. Experience (past or present) serving in leadership roles in their own local meeting. Experience walking with those in servant leadership roles, mentoring, being a non-anxious presence. Joy in connection with Friends, love for and commitment to the nurture of local meetings as the foundation of Friends’ life together.
