CMM 2022-10-09

Minutes of Meeting for Worship with Concern for Business

Concord (NH) Monthly Meeting of

the Religious Society of Friends

Tenth Month 9^th, 2022

Eleven Friends gathered both in person and by Zoom connection and entered into quiet worship.  We opened with a brief period of Worship.

We approved the minutes of Ninth Month as corrected.

10.01  Finance Committee: We heard a report from our treasurer.  We are one third of the way through our fiscal year and we are confident that our income will continue to meet our expenses.  We are reminded that a substantial amount of our contributions are from a small group of very generous donors.  We are grateful for them and should be aware that this is a gift we enjoy now but we are cautioned not to take it for granted.  Committees are encouraged to use the money that is budgeted for them — the money is there to further our work.

10.02  PSECC: We received a written report from this committee.

10.03  Pandemic Response Team: We received a written report from this committee.  The PRT requests that the verbiage used in the 4^th and 5^th paragraphs of their report be shared in our communications.   The Website Committee will coordinate this with the electronic newsletter and Facebook administrators.

10.04  First Day School Candles: Ruth shared a request from the children of First Day School: The children would like to bring a candle with them when they come in to join in worship.  They use this for their quiet time during First Day School, and find it helpful to watch the flame while centering and focusing.  This question is referred to Ministry and Counsel for discernment.

10.05  Possible Land Purchase: James reported on the recent work of the ad hoc committee to consider the land purchase.  The owner of the one-acre parcel of land across the street from the meetinghouse has passed away and the land will be for sale.  The ad hoc committee wants to gauge our interest in the land purchase and learn if any F(f)riends would be interested in making a donation toward this purchase.

Do we even want to acquire the land if it’s possible?  Possible reasons would be to simply have control its future use, memorial garden, a community garden, a burial ground, or a green burial site (this site would be more easily used for green burial than our current land).

The committee suggests that we may be able to acquire it for around $40,000, but we also must consider the costs of development and future maintenance.  Are we excited enough about the possibilities of this land to justify the purchase and future costs?  We encourage the ad hoc committee to approach individuals privately to see if there is interest in donating to this project and we invite F(f)riends with other ideas for potential use of the site to contact members of the ad hoc committee.  One F(f)riend suggests that this could be a good topic for a Fourth Sunday program.

After a brief time of quiet worship, Meeting adjourned, purposing to meet again on the Second Sunday of the Eleventh month.

NB. The Income & Expenses Sheet was created with two decimal points, which were removed for readability, the cents being unimportant to the overall understanding.  This can have the effect of throwing off any given sum by a dollar due to compounded rounding.  —  Prepared by Greg Heath and Chris Haigh.

Peace, Social and Earth Care Committee Report for October 2022

PSECC is working on a number of ideas for the coming months.  We are hoping to put forth a possible action item every month as a suggested activity for the meeting.

In September, we decided hunger was an important issue and endorsed the Crop Walk.  Sara was able to walk this year and several donations were received from members.  At that time we had $840 in donations.  There is still time to donate.

In October, we are investigating a winter clothing drive for the unhoused.  We are looking for ways to give this directly to people.  Please, as you look through your winter outerwear, set aside items you no longer want.  Kathi C is looking into donation opportunities.

Also in October, AFSC is having its annual celebration and fundraising event on October 22.  We will be asked to contribute potluck food and help with cleanup as we have in the past.  Seeing as many people drive an hour or more, they love having local people do the final cleanup.  Let Sara know if you are able to bring potluck items.

Items discussed but not acted on: We are interested in a smaller banner to carry in marches.

Also in the fall, we would urge you to donate to our Asylum Seekers Support Fund.  We are hoping to raise another $2,000 for legal bills of our local asylum seekers.  Make sure your checks have ASSF in the memo line.

Pandemic Response Team’s Report 2022-10-09

The Pandemic Response Team is grateful to members and attenders of Concord Monthly Meeting who shared their perspectives with regard to our COVID response at the hybrid gathering on September 25^th.  We also appreciate input given to us by email and in conversation with several folks who were not able to attend.

Views expressed were diverse and sometimes mutually exclusive.  Some people would not feel comfortable attending worship in person if masking and vaccinations were not required of all present.  Others preferred that one or the other of these requirements become optional.  One person expressed that asthma prevented her from wearing a mask for prolonged periods.  Another stated that medical conditions made her unable to vaccinate fully but that she is willing to test negative prior to coming to worship.  Some were open to the possibility of testing as an alternative—but others expressed concerns.

The Pandemic Response Team will continue to wrestle with the conflicting perspectives shared as well as the evolving nature of the pandemic over time.  As we enter the Fall Season, we expect people to spend more time with others indoors and that the incidence of COVID infection (like the Flu) is likely to rise.

While subject to change, for the moment we are maintaining all of the current restrictions.  Except when eating or drinking in the Fellowship Room, masks should be worn while in the building.  We expect people using the building to be fully vaccinated and appropriately boosted—including the updated bivalent omicron booster as soon as feasible.  (While not required, we also recommend that individuals consider obtaining a flu vaccine.)  Please do not enter the building if you feel that you may have COVID or have recently been exposed.

If you are adversely affected by any restrictions (currently or in the future) and would like us to consider making exceptions on a case-by-case basis, please contact us in person, by phone, or by email (PandemicResponseTeam [at] ConcordFriendsMeeting [dot] org) to discuss your concerns further.

We have placed an air purifier in the Fellowship Room and want to try out a smaller, quieter one in the worship space after regular worship so Friends can experience whether one or more similar units would be too obtrusive during waiting worship.

We welcome your feedback on any issues related to our work and hope that everyone remembers that even conflicting interests (safety and openness) may be advocated by those who are motivated by love.

In loving service,

Betsy Meyer, Jennifer Smith, Wendy Lapham, and Rob Spencer (Pandemic Response Team)