Meeting for Worship with attention to Business, also commonly referred to as Meeting for Business or Meeting for Worship for Business. We meet to discuss Meeting Business on the 2nd Sunday (First Day) of each month, with possible breaks from this schedule during the summer. We typically start at 9:30am, although occasionally this is adjusted depending on the length of the agenda for the month.
All are welcome to attend and participate in monthly Meetings for Worship for Business. As the name implies, this is intended to be a Meeting for Worship where business is conducted in the same good order, peaceable spirit, and attention to spirit characteristic of worship.
Everyone is welcome to speak in business meetings. It is customary to raise one’s hand and wait to be acknowledged by the Clerk. Usually, one speaks just once to an issue and briefly. Expressing a conflicting viewpoint is fine, but argument or debate is discouraged. If one is speaking the truth, it will be recognized as such by others, regardless of how often it is repeated or passionately argued.
Decisions are not made by voting or majority rule. Instead, after discussion of an issue, the Clerk will attempt to discern the “sense of the meeting” or where unity lies and then ask for it to be confirmed by those present. If you believe that the Clerk has misread the sense of the meeting or that a resulting minute is off the mark, you are encouraged to make that known.
To learn more about Friends' decision-making, please review Faith and Practice, "Discernment, Clearness and Decision-making: Corporate Discernment and Decision-making" (Rev. 2017, PYM Ed, link will take you out of our website.) In the printed 2017 edition of Faith & Practice this information may be found on pages 17-24.
Meeting for Worship with attention to Business, like Meeting for Worship is also simulcast on Zoom (with Zoom attenders able to hear & comment on business.) This link is shared with Members & Frequent Attenders.