Nominating Committee Recommends Strawberry Creek Process

After careful consideration of the nominating process used by Strawberry Creek (California) Monthly Meeting, published in a recent friends Journal, the Nominating Commit tee recommended adoption of this model for Camden Friends Meeting.

In this way, the Committee hopes to discern the right person for each position or committee, rather than relying upon "Who can we get to do it?" or automatically assigning members where they "expect to be.

The Committee has faith that this process will help us all to realize our talents, both obvious and latent, and thus enrich Camden Meeting.

1. Focus on the position or the committee to be considered. Nominating committee members remind each other first of the function of the position or committee, then on the personal qualities necessary to fulfill those functions. If no one present is clear on these functions, do not proceed until the next nominating commit tee meeting when the relevant information will have been found. When focusing on a committee to be appointed, questions of age and gender balance are relevant. (In the following steps, it is assumed that an individual is being sought, say, for clerk, when a whole committee is being sought, the process changes somewhat in the number of names presented and the number that rise to the top.) This process can also be adopted for finding yearly meeting themes and speakers.

2. When all committee members feel they understand what is being sought, the committee goes into silence out of which members identify whatever names occur to them, without commenting on the name. (Comments wait until step 3,) One person is responsible for writing down all these names, though other members may also write them down.

3. When it seems clear that no more names are forthcoming, questions may be asked about names that are unfamiliar to someone on the committee. When all are clear that they know enough about each name, the committee enters into silence attain, (Note: comments like "I don't think she'll do it' are not relevant here: only descriptive comments should be shared.)

4. One person slowly reads all the names that have been suggested. Out of the silence that follows each committee member identifies the one name that rises to the top for them. Again, no comment is given on any name. Sometimes the clerk will move to stop someone who begins to comment. If no name rises to the top for someone, s/he can simply state that.

5. When all committee members have shared who rose to the top for them, there may be only one name, and the clerk can call a sense of the meeting on that name. If one name se to dominate, the clerk may ask if the committee is clear on that name or wishes to continue.

6. If the clerk feels there is no sense of the meeting committee members then share why they think a given name rose to the top for then. After this sharing, com mittee members go back into the silence and once again identify the one name that rises to the top for them.

7. Usually the clerk will be able to call a sense of the meeting after this second period of worship. If not, the committee needs to discern the next step.