Prisons Committee

About Prisons Committee

The Prisons Committee carries out the witness of Friends concerning criminal justice. The objectives of the committee are:

  1. to foster spiritual development and Quaker studies for Quaker prison meetings and isolated prisoners, through Friends providing prison ministry;
  2. to provide support focus for the activities of monthly meetings, Quaker prison meetings, isolated prisoners, and individual Friends in the field of criminal justice including legislation;
  3. to provide outreach and liaison with others in the Yearly Meeting area who are working for the improvement and humanization of the criminal justice system, and with the authorities responsible for administering the system; and
  4. to educate Friends, the general public, and our public officials on criminal-justice issues.

Link to the Committee's Handbook page.

Resources for Members and Clerks of NYYM Committees

Guidelines for Committee Service—Relevant sections from the yearly meeting Handbook on committe membership and committee clerking.

Guide for Committee Clerks—A resource packet designed to make clerking a NYYM committee easier.

Coordinating Committee Timeline—A guide to the year's tasks for coorcinating committee clerks.

Accountability Queries—Queries for use by committees and the coordinating committees for considering the spiritual state of the yearly meeting's committees.

Documents & Resources

Inside Outside - The Letter Writing Collective connecting incarcerated people within NYYM with Friends on the outside