QPCC was begun in 1990 as an idea of Jesse Paledofsky, a student at Earlham School of Religion (ESR) in Richmond, Indiana. Jesse's idea was carried forward by Bill Ratliff, then professor of pastoral care at ESR. For 13 years, QPCC was ably guided by Bill and ESR's support staff. After Bill's retirement, QPCC struggled with no internal structure and the limited resources of the few individuals who volunteered to plan the conference.
At the 2004 conference, Friends recognized that the overwhelming burdens of leadership and planning on the
lone Friend whose efforts had brought that year's conference. In response, members named a steering committee (click on Contact
Us for a list of current Steering Committee members) to develop a structure for
the organization, to plan the 2005 conference, and to shepherd QPCC's transition from a ministry/project of ESR to a free-standing organization.
At meeting for worship with attention to business at the 2006 conference, Friends approved statements on identity and purpose, as well as an organizational structure and system of governance that
remain today. Click here to
read those statements.