CMM 2017-08-13 Possible Items for Agenda

Here are some possible agenda items for Eighth Month’s Meeting for Worship with attention to Business, which will be on the 13th of Eighth Month.  Some of the items from Seventh Month have been carried forward.  Some of the proposed items may need further seasoning. They are in no particular order at the moment.

During worship, please hold in your heart the following from 2014 “Advices & Queries” (selections).

QUERIES ON CORPORATE DISCERNMENT

Although Queries may often be answered with a simple affirmative or negative, it is vital to ask corollary questions such as “why”, “how,” or “when.”  A qualified answer arising from introspection is more meaningful and constructive than an uncritical “yes” or “no.”

— North Carolina Yearly Meeting (Conservative) 1983, p.33

1. Do you seek the leadings of the Light in meeting for business as you do in worship?

2. How do you prepare your heart and mind for meeting for business?

Hello Clerks and Property Committee:

I just received a call from Nate at the AMPT, copied on this message, who shared the sad news that the AMTP is shutting down. Their deed requires the land be transferred to another nonprofit or the Quaker Meeting.  The latter is their preference.  I told him that I could not speak for the Meeting, but I doubted there would be any reluctance to accept the transfer.  This should be on our business meeting agenda on the Second Sunday in August. (Nate, do you need a decision more quickly?  I forgot to ask.)

Points:

1.  Insurance expense may be affected, but I doubt by much.

2.  There is some debris at the site of the camp that was constructed near the river bank.  The camp was taken down due to excessive mold.

3.  There are the remnants of a ropes course that may need to be dismantled so that they are not an attractive nuisance.

4.  Building our meditation garden would not be constrained by our western boundary.

I will research the insurance question and let you know what I learn.  Are there other points committee members can think of to add to the discussion?

Greg

  • Solar Committee report
    • “We do not own the world, and its riches are not ours to dispose of at will. Show a loving consideration for all creatures, and seek to maintain the beauty and variety of the world. Work to ensure that our increasing power over nature is used responsibly, with reverence for life. Rejoice in the splendour of God’s continuing creation.” 2
  • Youth Religious Education Committee report
    • “Children and young people need love and stability. Are we doing all we can to uphold and sustain parents and others who carry the responsibility for providing this care?” 3
  • Outreach Committee report
  • Ministry & Counsel report
    • Membership Clearness Committees reports
      • Faith Sillars
      • Heidi Wahaba Babb
    • Support for ministry of “Mindful Mortality”:

      The Ministry and Counsel Committee of Concord Friends Meeting has served as a support committee for member, Rob Spencer's ministry of teaching a curriculum entitled "Mindful Mortality: Lessons learned at the end of life teaching us how to live today." He has shared this ministry with Concord Friends Meeting, as a retreat at Woolman Hill, and elsewhere.

      Rob sometimes receives an honorarium or other payment from individuals or organizations when he teaches. Many teaching sessions are given on a volunteer basis with no expectation of payment. Rob proposes to offer recipients of his services the option of making a free will contribution to the Meeting in support of his ministry and that a fund be established for tracking such contributions, a “Mindful Mortality Ministry Fund.” He further proposes that he would be compensated from this fund at the rate of 90% of the amounts donated to it to support his ministry. The Meeting would provide him a Form 1099 if required by the IRS. Costs to the Meeting associated with administering the fund are expected to be minimal (a package of 1099 forms may need to be purchased for approximately $25). If Concord Friends Meeting's administrative costs related to the fund exceed 10% of the contributions made to the fund, those excess costs would be taken from the fund prior to disbursing payments to Rob.

  • Modify the purpose of the PSECC Committee.
  • Responding to NEYM Minute 2016-64 on White Supremacy including discernment on “Black Lives Matter” sign.  The co-clerks will draft an initial response for the consideration of Friends.  As background for helping our discernment, it would be helpful to read or listen to the discussion on On Being.  The following excerpt is from the program.

Ms. Tippett: Right, we don’t have these kinds of generally universally respected places where everybody is looking and seeing authority. But an implication of that — actually, this could be the dream of democracy, right, that it’s back to each of us in our lives. And I wonder what each of you would want each of us to ask of ourselves.

Ms. Gordon-Reed: What I would like to see people do — and, I think, particularly, white people to do — would be to challenge one another on this question of white supremacy and racism. I mean black people can’t and should not have to convince white people that we are human beings who have a right to be on the earth.

[applause]

The only time we’ve made progress is when whites, a critical mass of whites say, “Enough of this. Whatever it is I’m getting out of going along, I can’t.” And people have done that. William Lloyd Garrison did it. Through the years, you’ve had people who did that. I would like to see more whites do that, because it’s demeaning, it’s not right for people to have to make the case that we are humans. And to the extent that your family members don’t seem to know that or your friends don’t seem to know that, I think that’s something that — that’s a conversation that has to take place among whites. And it has happened; it does happen, and we have made progress. But it should happen more.

Mr. Kaphar: I just want to piggyback on that for just a second. I think when you say, “We shouldn’t have to prove that we are human,” I think there’s probably people out here who probably think that that’s a form of hyperbole, probably think, “There’s no way in the world she actually thinks that there are people who do not believe that black people are human.”

Let’s not think about it in those direct terms for just a second. Let’s think about what happens to black people. So you may say, “Of course black people are people. I just said ‘people,’ didn’t I?” But when you think about what is going on — and again, I don’t even want — this is something I want to work on. I don’t even want to talk about it in that frame, because it’s not just black people. It’s not just black people. There are so many people who are treated as though they are not humans. I mean let’s forget about black people for just a minute, just a second, and talk about undocumented people in this country. Talk about not being treated like they’re humans. Let’s talk about indigenous people not being treated like they’re — treated like they’re not humans.


  • Sponsoring the travelling banner exhibit, Waging Peace, as part of AFSC's 100th Anniversary.  See also Friends Journal, April 2017 issue.
  • Sponsoring AFSC NH Program’s annual celebration on October 7th.

    Dear friends of the AFSC New Hampshire program,

    I am writing to follow up on a letter you received last week from Denise Ginzler, clerk of our Support Committee for the AFSC NH program, inviting you to be a sponsor for our annual celebration on October 7. Our theme is "Sanctuary Everywhere." The letter of invitation is attached, as well as a "save the date" flyer.

    As we prepare to print the invitations next week, we'd love to include your name as a sponsor for this very special event. Are you able to support our work with a gift of $500 to $1,000 to be a named sponsor?

    We are grateful for your ongoing support and partnership.

    Peace, Maggie Fogarty, Co-Director of the NH Program, American Friends Service Committee

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Announcements

  • Registration for NEYM Annual Sessions in Castleton, VT opened online on June 1st at https://neym.org/sessions
  • NEYM Annual Sessions is looking for an Office Assistant, a Childcare Coördinator, and an Events Coördinator.  Job descriptions are at https://neym.org/jobs
  • 4th Sundays in the summer : Meeting for Eating!  No program, just sharing over potluck

1. See http://www.pym.org/faith-and-practice/queries/11-stewardship-of-resources/

2. See http://qfp.quaker.org.uk/chapter/1/ № 42

3. See http://qfp.quaker.org.uk/chapter/1/ № 24

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