Nominating Committee Annual Reports

Every spring, each Committee of the Yearly Meeting is requested to prepare a report of their activities over the prior 12 months. These reports are gathered and shared during Annual Session, and then are printed in the Yearbook for that year.

2021 Nominating Committee Annual Report

This year, as last year, we began our work by reading and reflecting on the queries in BYM’s declaration as an anti-racist faith organization, approved in 2019. These queries are directly relevant to our nominating work. We continue to do the networking to find F/friends of Color and Young Adult F/friends, and to explore with them their gifts, experience and skills as related to committee work, and how their perspectives contribute to that work. We would love to expand the pool from which we are able to draw, and would be glad to have the names of Friends who have not served before brought to our attention. We continue to emphasize nominations of F/friends of Color and Young Adult F/friends.

The work of the Nominating Committee is to invite Friends into opportunities for service to Baltimore Yearly Meeting. Our purpose is not just to find the volunteers needed to carry out the work of the Yearly Meeting, but to recognize and nurture the gifts and leadings of individual Friends, and to strengthen ties between the Yearly Meeting and its worshipping communities. We try to reach out to all our local meetings, and to bring forward the names not only of well-known Yearly Meeting Friends, but also of those who have not served before and especially of those from small and isolated meetings.

Nominating Committee is responsible for nominating members to 18 Yearly Meeting standing committees, as well as representatives to 10 outside organizations and corporations. All told, this amounts to about 220 individuals. Since most serve three-year terms, we need to find more than 70 individuals each year willing to accept appointment or re-appointment in service to BYM.

For the past year, we have held all our meetings on Zoom, which is still an effective tool for our work. We expect to continue to use Zoom until in-person meetings (or hybrid meetings) are safe once again. In addition to missing the pleasure of meeting in person during the pandemic, we have also had to delay our committee’s annual retreat. We hope to resume it in the near future. Even when we can only meet by Zoom, we have welcomed new members onto the committee; we have an orientation for new members that we are able to do well, even when we cannot meet in person.

2020 Nominating Committee Annual Report

The work of the Nominating Committee is to invite Friends into opportunities for service to Baltimore Yearly Meeting. Our purpose is not just to find the volunteers needed to carry out the work of the Yearly Meeting, but to recognize and nurture the gifts and leadings of individual Friends, and to strengthen ties between the Yearly Meeting and its worshipping communities. We try to reach out to all our local Meetings, and to bring forward the names not only of well-known Yearly Meeting Friends, but also of those who have not served before and especially of those from small and isolated Meetings.

This year, we began our work by reading and reflecting on the queries provided by the Growing Diverse Leadership Committee, which are directly relevant to our nominating work. We have not been as successful as we would like in finding Friends of color and younger Friends to serve on BYM committees, in part because many of those we approach are already over-committed. We would love to expand the pool from which we are able to draw, and would be glad to have the names of Friends who have not served before brought to our attention.

Nominating Committee is responsible for nominating members to 18 Yearly Meeting standing committees, as well as representatives to 10 outside organizations and corporations. All told, this amounts to about 220 individuals. Since most serve three-year terms, we need to find more than 70 individuals each year willing to accept appointment or re-appointment in service to BYM.

Nominating Committee normally meets at Interim Meeting, with a conference call in January and an added in-person meeting in the spring, This year, we met in-person at November Interim Meeting, and have been meeting by Zoom ever since. We have found that this is a good way to conduct our business, and we have enjoyed a series of very productive, well-attended meetings on Zoom. We expect to continue to make use of this technology in the coming year to expand the amount of time we have to conduct our business, even as we have the joy of meeting face-to-face again.

2019 Nominating Committee Annual Report

The twelve members of Nominating Committee work together to discern the gifts and interests of Friends in Baltimore Yearly Meeting so as to match them with the needs of BYM. We systematically reach out to local meetings, seeking to find more Friends who might be interested in service. We continue to work with the Growing Diverse Leadership initiative to find new ways to increase race and age diversity on Baltimore Yearly Meeting committees.

Nominating Committee is now responsible for nominating members to 18 Yearly Meeting standing committees, as well as representatives to 11 outside organizations and corporations. This requires us to find upwards of 90 individuals willing to accept appointment or re-appointment in service to BYM.

At Interim Meeting in March 2019, we were given the task of naming members to a new standing committee to replace the existing ad hoc Committee on Growing Diverse Leadership. The new Growing Diverse Leadership Committee, the new Faith and Practice Committee approved in 2017, and the restored Religious Education Committee, have received special care from Nominating Committee this year.

At our retreat in May, we had a lively discussion of Nominating Committee policies and procedures, sparked by a “Frequently Asked Questions” document drafted by the clerks. The revised and approved document will help orient new members of the committee, and guide our ongoing work.

Nominating Committee met at each Interim Meeting during 2018-19, and held an additional day-long retreat in May. One or more committee members joined us by phone at several of these meetings. We also held a conference call in January to check on how tasks were progressing. We will finalize our slate of this year’s nominees at two committee meetings during Annual Session.

2018 Nominating Committee Annual Report

The Nominating Committee seeks to identify gifts and interests of Friends within Baltimore Yearly Meeting and to match them with the needs of BYM committees and the organizations to which we send representatives. We systematically reach out to local Meetings, seeking to identify Friends who might be interested in service to the Yearly Meeting. We continue to work with the Growing Diverse Leadership initiative to find new ways to increase race and age diversity on Baltimore Yearly Meeting committees.

At Annual Session in 2017, we were tasked with establishing a new Faith and Practice Committee. More recently we have been tasked with restoring the membership of the Religious Education Committee. We have given special attention to those two charges over the past year.

In April we sponsored a clerking workshop for Meeting and committee clerks, which drew about fifteen participants and was very well received. Those who attended asked that more such workshops be offered in the future, perhaps in different geographic regions within BYM. After careful consideration, Nominating Committee has discerned that offering clerking workshops is not part of our charge, and that we need to lay down this responsibility. We are exploring the possibility of finding another home for this ongoing concern.

Nominating Committee met at each Interim Meeting and held an additional meeting in early June, with one or more committee members joining us by phone at several of these meetings. We also scheduled three conference calls between our in-person meetings, primarily to check in on how tasks were progressing. We will finalize our slate of this year’s nominees at two committee meetings during Annual Session.

Nominating Committee is responsible for naming members of 16 Yearly Meeting committees, as well as naming representatives to 11 outside organizations and corporations, requiring us to find upwards of 90 individuals willing to accept appointment or re-appointment in service to BYM.

2017 Annual Report

The Nominating Committee identifies gifts and interests of Friends within the Yearly Meeting and matches those to the needs of BYM committees and the organizations to which we send representatives. We continue to work with the Growing Diverse Leadership  initiative to find new ways to increase race and age diversity on Baltimore Yearly Meeting committees.

Nominating Committee met at each Interim Meeting and an additional time in April, with one or more committee members joining us by phone at several of these meetings. We also held three phone meetings between our in-person meetings, primarily to check in on how tasks were progressing. We will finalize our slate of this year’s nominees at two committee meetings during Annual Session. Our goal is to nominate people to fill approximately 89 vacancies; 29 of these are likely to be filled by people who agreed to serve a second term and 40 still be to filled a month before Annual Session.

2016 Annual Report

The Nominating Committee identifies gifts and interests of Friends within the Yearly Meeting and matches those to the needs of BYM committees and the organizations to which we send representatives. Because those of us who serve on Nominating Committee know only a small portion of the people who make up Baltimore Yearly Meeting, we are very dependent on and grateful to others who help us identify Friends who may be right for Yearly Meeting service. We welcome all suggestions, and specifically ask for help from committee clerks and other committee members, local meeting clerks, and Yearly Meeting staff members. We are particularly interested in learning about potential nominees from historically underrepresented local meetings and groups. We sent representatives to the Growing Diverse Leadership committee meetings and hope that initiative will show us new ways to increase race and age diversity on Baltimore Yearly Meeting committees.

Nominating Committee met at each Interim Meeting and an additional time in April, with one or more committee members joining us by phone at several of these meetings. We also held three phone meetings between our in-person meetings, primarily to check in on how tasks were progressing. We will finalize our slate of this year’s nominees at two committee meetings during Annual Session. Our goal is to nominate people to fill approximately 85 vacancies; slightly over one fourth of these are likely to be filled by people who agreed to serve a second term and slightly less than a fourth will be filled by people identified during Annual Session. Throughout our work, we strive to discern the true needs of committees and the true leadings of Friends, and ensure that all committees have the people they need to do their work.

2015 Annual Report

The 10 members of Nominating Committee have met 5 times since 2014 Annual Sessions and plan to meet at least 3 more times before we present a final report at the 2015 Annual Sessions. In this time we looked to fill 79 vacancies on 16 Baltimore Yearly Meeting committees and 11 outside organizations. As most our nominations are for 3-year terms, renewable for a second 3-year term, these 79 vacancies represented only about a third of the 228 positions total that Nominating Committee is responsible for. Currently, 35 of the 55 BYM’s meetings and worship groups are represented on committees or outside organizations. While we hope to have all 221 positions filled by the end of Annual Sessions, the committee is not solely focused on counting numbers of names and empty slots. We strive to discern the true needs of committees and the true leadings of Friends, while still seeing that all committees have the people they need to do their work.

The manual of procedures says, “In order for the business and concerns of the Yearly Meeting to be effectively carried forward, it is desirable for committees to be representative of various age groups and interests and for Friends to become acquainted with various aspects of Yearly Meeting affairs.” This is not work the nominating committee can do on its own. We need recommendations from Friends as to who might be interested in BYM committee service. We need Friends to consider committee work outside their comfort zone. We look forward to working with the person hired through the Shoemaker grant, but we realize that promoting race and age diversity on our committees may require us to examine the ways we structure our work. We also look for people from underrepresented racial groups, underrepresented age groups and underrepresented monthly meetings to consider serving on nominating committee.

2014 Annual Report

The Nominating Committee identifies gifts and interests of Friends within the Yearly Meeting and matches those to the needs of the committees and organizations to which we send representatives. Our committee believes that when the Yearly Meeting correctly discerns the work we are collectively called to do, the Spirit will provide us with the people we need to accomplish this work.

At the start of this nominating cycle, we were seeking individuals to fill around 100 committee or representative positions. About one fourth are likely to be filled by people who agreed to serve a second term in positions they already hold. Because those of us who serve on the Nominating Committee personally know only a small portion of the people who make up Baltimore Yearly Meeting, we are very dependent on and grateful to many people not on our committee who help us identify Friends who may be right for Yearly Meeting service. We welcome suggestions from anyone, and specifically ask for help from committee clerks and other committee members, Monthly Meeting clerks and Interim Meeting representatives, and Yearly Meeting staff members.

At tenth month Interim Meeting, our committee began the process of discerning nominees for a new Faith and Practice Revision Committee, a charge given us at Annual Sessions. We met again in January to continue that work and consider potential nominees to represent Baltimore Yearly Meeting on the FUM General Board and at the FUM Triennial. We presented the names of those nominees at third month Interim Meeting. At the same time, we began the process of learning about each committee’s needs, possible nominees from each Monthly Meeting, and individual Friends interests. We met three more times before gathering at Annual Sessions to complete our work.

As we spoke to potential nominees this past year, we heard from some Friends that the time and expense of traveling long distances for multiple meetings a year discourages them from committee service. Because of this as well as concern for the environmental impact of so much long distance automobile travel, some of our members feel a growing need to explore the increased usage of electronic technology by yearly meeting committees. We plan to enlist other interested Friends and continue working on this issue over the next year.

While membership on our committee requires hard work and perseverance and we almost always have multiple homework assignments between meetings, we find great pleasure in the deeply spiritual nature of our work and feel blessed with each other’s company at our meetings.

2013 Annual Report

The Nominating Committee identifies and calls forth gifts of Friends within the Yearly Meeting and matches those to the needs of the committees and organizations to which we send representatives. Our committee firmly believes that when the Yearly Meeting correctly discerns the work we are collectively called to do, the Spirit will provide us with all the people we need to accomplish this work.

This year the Nominating Committee is seeking to find appropriate Friends to serve the Yearly Meeting in 102 positions. Of these, 26, or about one fourth, will likely be filled by Friends who agree to serve a second term in positions they already hold. That means we are looking for more than 75 people to serve the Yearly Meeting in new ways in the year ahead.

If past experience is a reliable guide, we will not fill all of those positions. But we will fill enough of them that the Yearly Meeting will have the human resources it needs to continue to function well in the years ahead.

Those of us who serve on the Nominating Committee know personally only a very small segment of the people who make up Baltimore Yearly Meeting. We are very dependent on and grateful to many people not on our committee who help us identify Friends who may be right for Yearly Meeting service. We welcome suggestions from anyone, and we specifically ask for help from committee clerks and others serving on specific committees, Monthly Meeting clerks and Interim Meeting representatives, and the Yearly Meeting staff members who work closely with particular committees.

For the past several years we have sponsored a one-day Clerking and Quaker Leadership Workshop at various locations around the Yearly Meeting. This year’s workshop was held at Frederick Meeting in February and was again facilitated by Arthur Larrabee of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Thirty Friends from 13 Monthly Meetings attended, the smallest group yet, but one of the most deeply connected and Spirit-led ever, according to participants. Through a series of exercises that immediately established a strong bond of community within the group, participants explored the Quaker process of clerking and conducting business from a center of worship. Plans are underway to offer the workshop again next year, probably at a Monthly Meeting in the Baltimore-Washington area.

Our committee is given certain, but not unlimited, discretion regarding those we propose for Yearly Meeting service. We have been reviewing the guidance in the Manual of Procedure concerning membership in Baltimore Yearly Meeting and, in some cases, in particular Quarters as a consideration for service on committees. Although portions of the Yearly Meeting still have active Quarters, most Friends in the Yearly Meeting are not part of a Quarter any more. We want to understand what earlier Friends had in mind when they advised that the membership of certain committees, including our own, should include Friends from each Quarter. We are working with the Manual of Procedure Committee and Quarterly Meetings to consider what guidance about inclusiveness is helpful for the Yearly Meeting now.

The Manual of Procedure also states that all committee clerks should be members of Baltimore Yearly Meeting, as should essentially all committee members, with only a few exceptions. This is not current Yearly Meeting practice. We are laboring to come to unity ourselves on whether and when it is appropriate for seekers who are not yet members to serve on Yearly Meeting committees. The issue has both practical and spiritual implications and has not been an easy one for us. We continue to labor with it.

We have also been working to strengthen our relations with the boards of Friends House and Sandy Spring Friends School, two organizations that are under the care of Baltimore Yearly Meeting. The Yearly Meeting’s relationship with each of these bodies is different. In each case, however, the Yearly Meeting appoints a significant portion of the members of the organization’s board but is not otherwise involved in its day-to-day operation. We seek to clarify how we can best support the organizations in our selection of board members and what we are asking of our appointees as the embodiment of the Yearly Meeting’s care for the organization. This work is ongoing.

Rebecca Rawls (Langley Hill)
Clerk

2012 Annual Report

No report received.

2011 Annual Report

No report received.