Within our meetings there are many tasks which need to be performed and many responsibilities to be taken … that help to make our meetings true Christian communities.
Quaker Faith & Practice 13.20, 13.01
As a local Quaker Meeting, we are a worshipping community where we each and all have a role in keeping the Meeting and its activities functioning.
Committees and roles
Oxford Meeting has a clerking team for business meetings, as well as a number of committees which arrange particular aspects of the Meeting’s work. These include looking after the building and finances; equipping the library; working with children and young people; and serving and representing the Meeting in a variety of other ways.
Most jobs within the Meeting are undertaken by a Friend (or Friends) for a limited term of service, usually three years (referred to as a triennium) starting on 1st January. Individual terms of service overlap, which means that the Meeting needs to find people to fill posts annually.
Filling posts: the work of Nominations Committee
The Nominations Committee meets regularly to consider the posts which the Meeting needs to fill and to seek, with God’s guidance, the right person for each task. Names are considered prayerfully and tested within the committee.
One of the rewarding aspects of being on the Nominations Committee is the sense of holding the Meeting and all its jobs in the Light, while celebrating and upholding the gifts – sometimes unexpected – that Friends demonstrate in their service to the Meeting.
We try to avoid a situation in which Friends suggest themselves for particular jobs. Instead, we rely on a system which may take a little longer, but in which all Friends’ talents and gifts (whether known or unknown, active or latent) are considered in an atmosphere of worship. Even so, we welcome expressions of interest from people who would like to take a more active part in the running of the Meeting. Please download and complete the ‘expression of interest’ form to indicate the area(s) where you might contribute.
The Nominations Committee does not make the appointments itself; instead, it forwards suggested names to one of our regular Business Meetings, which then makes the appointment.
As of May 2023 the members of the Nominations Committee are: Bryony Insua-Summerhays, Denise Cullington, Mena Remedios, Nicole Gilroy, David Jeffery, Linet Arthur and Elisabeth Salisbury.
Expression of interest form
Image credit: “Conversation Piece” cc-by-sa/2.0 – © Oliver Dixon – geograph.org.uk/p/6333928
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