Friends General Conference Photos

The Friends General Conference was organized in 1900 as the representative body of seven yearly meetings of Hicksite Friends: Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York, Indiana, Illinois, Genesee and Ohio. These yearly meetings had associated together previously in four other conferences, First Day School General Conference, founded in 1868; Friends Union of Philanthropic Labor, 1881; Friends Religious Conference, 1893; and Friends Education Conference, 1894. The Young Friends Association also joined the combined conference at Chautauqua, NY in 1900.

Since 1955 with the reunification of Philadelphia, New York, Canada (Genesee) and Baltimore yearly meetings, and the new membership of additional yearly meetings, Friends General Conference has increased its contituency. At present (1984) FGC includes eleven yearly meetings in North America: Philadelphia, Illinois, Lake Erie, Northern, Ohio Valley and South Central, as well as Baltimore, Canadian, New England, New York and Southeastern which are associated with Friends United Meeting also.

The FGC is organized into an operating committee, the Central Committee of One Hundred, and program committees. The Central Committee has the general responsibility for all concerns and activities. The Executive Committee, appointed by the Central Committee is responsible for the budget and coordination of the programs. The names of the program committees have changed over the years, but they generally reflect the original concerns of the Conference: First Day schools, philanthropy, religion and education.