This also is not a one shoe fits all problem or solution. While almost all Meeting have shrunk in the last 50 years we still have Meetings that range from small worship groups or small Meetings to medium size ones and large Meetings (which I'm defining as over 60) So to begin with these different size Meeting have had different types of committee structures all along. And one obvious solution is for a Meeting to "downsize" its committee structure to that which is common for the next smallest size committee structure. One example would be that medium to small Meetings often do not have a separate Ministry and Worship Committee from Pastoral Care (Combined in and M&O committee). I personally feel that even Medium size Meetings should keep those functions separate. I think when combined it is easy for the duties of spiritual nurturance of the Meeting to get overlooked due to pressing Pastoral Care needs.
So for groups under 8 what makes sense to me is to have a formal treasurer, but to rotate month to month who clerks the business meeting (with lots of help from others if new to it) and to have all business be done in the Business Meeting. For groups up 10 12 it may make sense to have a serving clerk. What is missing so far, which would be the first committee I would create, is Pastoral Care. I say that because in discussions of someone with failing health too stubborn to accept help from the Meeting or the provision of money to a Friend in hard times - these are discussions that should take place with confidentiality and not in the whole body.
Greater than 12, I think the Meeting should have two committees: what I will jokingly call here the "right brain committee" and "the left brain committee". Some readers know the left brain does problem solving and practical matters - this committee I would have attend to property if there is any and finances and communications. The right brain deals with emotions and spirituality and I would have that committee deal with M&W as well as Pastoral Care. As soon as there are enough people to make another committee I would split the right brain committee for reasons I already stated. The next split after that would be of property and finance.
In such stripped down structures I would see all Social Concerns and issues like how we do outreach and the creation of a clearness committee etc being brought as issues to discuss in business meeting or in adult Ed hours or threshing sessions sometimes held after Meeting for Worship, or for work parties to be called for the care of the Meeting house. Friends in Meetings without a committee structure should expect to spend longer in business committee because they are not investing their time in committee work but decisions still have to be made.
I would be amiss if I did not mention the new person. Often nominating committees think it only appropriate to ask members and long time attenders to serve on committees. I think sadly we can often think of someone as "new" who has come for several years if they do not come every week, and yet to them this IS there spiritual committee. Service on committees is actually the best way to learn how the Meeting works and to get to know better other members of Meeting, so I truly hope that nominating committee can approach even "new people" and with no pressure simply ask if they have any interest in committee structure. Perhaps for long terms Friends who have just moved here it is best not to ask them on their first day what Committee they might want to serve on! LOL!
We are all familiar how as a Meeting expands that property committee can have an upkeep committee and Pastoral Care can have a committee managing care committees and clearness committees, and communications can be its own committee or several separate ones and Adult Ed and Children's committee spin off of M&W. However, it is much harder to see when you have had all these committees which to lay down because we still see their purpose and value. Perhaps one starting point is to let go of the traditional notion that this committee is always X number of people and ask instead "how many people are minimum to do this?" Are there any places where technology can assist us? Rather than clerk of the committee run around and see who can do snacks or close Meeting, could we use an online calendar function (which also helps people find folks to trade with when they have a conflict for their regular time)?
I am not a proponent of the practice first modeled by Baltimore Meeting of a "Sabbath year" where all the committees but the critical committees (which is a Meeting that size where as many committees as most small Meetings ever have) are laid down for a year while people "rest" and rethink the committee structure. In Baltimore yearly Meeting they had many threshing sessions and Quarterly special called business Meetings to work out their restructuring. In smaller Meetings what this has meant in practice is really a sort of collapse of functioning where people felt relieved to not serve for a year and when the year was up nothing was figured out and nominating committee had no easier time to fill committees which is why I do not favor that method.
What I do think makes sense is that a special called threshing session be called and that people for the purpose of the exercise decide that none of the committees exist and then describe functions that need to happen. Examples: "we need someone to keep our building from falling down, we need someone to pay our bills, we need someone to run our business meetings, we need a way to conduct weddings and Memorial services, etc." Then after that is done a committee take away the notes and combine the needs in a logical way (maybe with new names) and presents that to business meeting for discussion and tweeking.
Here are some creative ideas for consideration: We do not need a whole committee for the newsletter and one for the website, and one for FB etc. There can be one person in charge of each thing and a communications committee made up of those individuals who come together to bounce stuff off of each other and support each other. Rather than having assistant this and assistant that on various committees - can we call to the larger group for someone to step up on the day the recording clerk has to be absent from bBusiness Meeting?
First Day school or children's program is very problematic in many Meetings because there can be a very few children across wide age gaps or no children one Sunday and 6 the next. Again creativity is needed. If young children are mainly being supervised rather than instructed, rather than a whole committee trying to provide this, volunteers (with appropriate background checks) can volunteer to enjoy their company on the days they are there. If children only show up once or twice a month, children's committees job maybe to come up with some "lesson plans" that just hang out till their next opportunity for implementation. It could again be possible to recruit members of the Meeting in a rotating fashion - if they are assured of being handed a plan.
Perhaps one of the most concerning areas is the lack of an active Peace and Social Justice Committee. In our heyday this what we were known for in the wider world. Now I find that such committees often struggle to find a shared focus or enough interest on the part of the Meeting, and yet it is rare that a Meeting does not have members that are doing amazing works for peace and social justice in the world outside of Meeting. Thus I think a good starting point is to have a second hour focused on social justice where in a worship sharing fashion each friend is asked to share what concerns are tender to their heart and how they attempt to take action on those. Simply starting by seeing what we are already collectively doing is quite important.
It might emerge that some Friends share similar concerns and may find ways to come together on them. But more the case it maybe the more interesting question to ask: how can the Meeting support us emotionally or spiritually to continue with a calling? (IN reality John Woolman's Meeting or Susan B Anthony's Meeting were not acting as a body with them - at best they provided emotional and spiritual support - and sadly we know in many activist Friends lives they were actually given a hard time by or expelled from their Meeting.) Another useful function of P&SC maybe to hold regular sessions after Meeting for worship sharing or discussion of the pressing concerns of the day. Since Friends often feel to be "marching to a different drummer" in the outside world, it is a valuable thing to have a place to process and perhaps gain vision with people of a similar values set. Many Meetings have been known to respond to a national crisis by one Friend proposing a collective action the Meeting can take in response and a quick unity arising. How can we create an environmental that allows for that?
One of the most commonly struggled to fill positions is all the countless "representative to X and Y" Quaker organizations. In my opinion, not popular with some others, if we do not have people already engaged with those organizations or easily willing to learn about the org by serving as rep than maybe that connection is going to need to be laid down.
I guess the overall theme of my sharing is step out of "the way we have always done it" thinking, be willing to embrace change that may simplify people's lives, be creative in thinking of new ways and new structures - the form should serve life....and not the other way around.
