Purpose

The purpose of this committee is to provide support for individuals who are members or attenders of Monthly Meetings, Preparative Meetings, and Worship Groups who suffer under conditions of hardship and/or the consequences of conscientious actions undertaken in accord with traditional Quaker principles, e.g. actions concerning issues of tax resistance, war and peace, torture, the environment, sanctuary and immigration, living in simplicity, and/or helping others in need.

Membership

The members are one or two representatives named by each Regional Meeting, a representative from Senior Young Friends, and the clerk of Intermountain Yearly Meeting. The clerk of the Committee for Sufferings is named by the IMYM Nominating Committee.

Terms

Three years for members and clerk.

Meetings

Meetings of the Committee take place through phone calls and at the Annual Gathering of IMYM.

Responsibilities of the Committee include:

Determining when aid is needed to care for members and attendees of Monthly Meetings, Preparative Meetings, and Worship Groups because of involvement in activities concerning traditional and more modern Quaker concerns and informing the Clerk of IMYM of that determination. Members and attenders are encouraged to seek clearness regarding their witness from their Monthly meeting about their actions, callings, or conditions prior to requesting assistance from the Committee. The Committee for Sufferingswill consider requests from Monthly Meetings when they have supported such conscientious action and the needs exceed the resources of the Monthly Meeting.
Issuing appeals for funds for Friends needing support and appointing a Clearness Committee for the Friend when so requested.
Advising the Yearly Meeting on the disbursement of funds. Funds should be spent to meet the needs for which they were generated with future needs to be met by future funding requests; no significant contingency fund should be kept on hand. Funds generated to help meet sufferings should be used strictly for this purpose and not to meet expenses of carrying on other IMYM activities.

Responsibilities of the Clerk

Coordinate collection and distribution of information among members of the committee.
The Clerk of the Committee shall make an annual report to the Yearly Meeting.
Request disbursement of funds from the IMYM treasurer upon request of the committee or a subcommittee established to provide oversight for an individual in need.

Suggested Process

An individual who has received clearness for their activities from their Monthly Meeting may request support from the Monthly Meeting.
When the Monthly Meeting determines that additional support and assistance is needed, beyond its capabilities, it will contact the Clerk of the Committee for Sufferings and discuss the needs.
The clerk will convene a meeting of the Committee to discuss the need for support. The Committeemay meet with the individual involved at its discretion.
When the Committee is in unity about supporting the individual and the nature of the support needed, it will inform the IMYM Clerk of its determination and then send out requests for funds and other support to all Monthly Meetings. Funds will be sent to the IMYM Treasurer.
The IMYM Treasurer will disburse funds in accordance with the recommendation of the Committee.
In the case of an ongoing need, a subcommittee may be appointed to meet with the individual on a regular basis to determine additional needs for support.

Financial Arrangements

If the Clerk of the Committee is requested by the Clerk of IMYM or Continuing Committee to attend a committee meeting, the expenses incurred will be paid by IMYM. Incidental operating expenditures for clerical supplies, communications, etc., may be submitted to the Treasurer for reimbursement. The Treasurer should be consulted before incurring unusual expenses.