F. The Quarterly or Regional Meeting
The quarterly or regional meeting is an association of neighboring monthly meetings.
FUNCTIONS. Quarterly or equivalent meetings bring together, for worship and counsel, Friends from several monthly meetings. Through pooling of effort and resources, they can consider wider and more varied concerns.
Among the more important services quarterly or equivalent meetings perform are the creation of opportunities for social mingling and better acquaintance of Friends from different meetings and the conduct of special meetings for discussion and consideration of the deeper interests of the Religious Society of Friends. To that end, these meetings are encouraged to organize a variety of social functions as well as educational and inspirational events such as lectures, institutes, conferences, worship-sharing groups, or special interest discussion groups, which may help to unite Friends in matters of common concern.
The quarterly or equivalent meeting may engage in matters of business of the same general character as that of monthly meetings. It may hold property and trusts in the same manner as a monthly meeting, and it may collect and administer funds for the performance of its functions. Operating funds normally will be covered by an annual budget to be collected through the local meetings. It also apportions requirements of the yearly meeting budget to the local meetings, with consideration of each meeting’s ability to pay. It appoints members of the yearly meeting Nominating Committee.
ORGANIZATION. Where the activities and interests of the associated meetings may warrant, the quarterly or equivalent meeting will hold meetings for business involving the entire membership of the constituent monthly meetings and appoint officers and various standing committees according to its needs.
Alternatively, the regional meeting may delegate the business of the meeting to an administrative or executive committee for the region. This regional committee comprises the clerks of the constituent monthly meetings or of alternates particularly appointed to this service by those meetings. There should be at least one representative from each monthly meeting, but this number may be expanded at the discretion of the regional group.
Regional groups should determine specific plans for organization and conduct of area affairs, which the constituent monthly meetings or the entire membership in general session should approve. Appointments to offices or committees of quarterly or equivalent meetings should be for terms of one year unless otherwise indicated by the organization plan of the region. The programs of the region should, however, provide for one or more gatherings of the general membership each year for inspirational, social, and business purposes.