CMM 2025-03-09

Minutes of Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business

Concord (NH) Monthly Meeting of

the Religious Society of Friends

9^th of Third Month 2025

03.01  Fourteen Friends gathered for meeting for worship with attention to business.  The Meeting opened with words of advice and queries from Noah Merrill, Secretary of New England Yearly Meeting, read by Clerk, Heidi B, and followed by a period of worship.

03.02  The Minutes of First Month 2025 were approved as presented..

03.03  Nominating Committee.  The Committee nominated Dave W to fill the remainder of a term that is presently vacant to serve until the end of this fiscal year.  Friends approved.

03.04  The Treasurer’s report was presented in advance of the Meeting.  The Clerk requested that we limit the presentation to asking and answering questions, and there were no questions.

The clerk of the Committee reported on a gift of $2,000 from a member of the Yearly Meeting that will be placed in the existing Social Justice fund as a temporarily restricted contribution.  Expenditures from the fund will continue to be approved by the Meeting for Business.  The letter from the donor is attached for reference.

03.05 Level II Sanctuary Community.  The Meeting is concerned to understand our commitments as a Level II Sanctuary Community.  Such a community provides support in human and financial resources for a Level I sanctuary community such as the Manchester UU Church.  We would like to return to this discussion next month and accept Jennifer S’s offer to reach out to the UU Church in Manchester to understand the current status of their needs and what they expect to need from us.

03.06  PSECC.  Sara S shared the PSECC Committee’s report noting that they are planning with the Outreach Committee to have a dedication program of our Peace Pole on the May Fourth Sunday.  AFSC will join us and lead our April Fourth Sunday program.  A draft minute for the support of LBGTQIA+ individuals and communities was presented as appears here.

“Concord Friends Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends affirms the following minute as our true testimony to our faith through the Living Spirit. 

“Friends experience the varieties of love and gender expression in our community as gifts of God.  We are all children of God, and we all have equal potential to reflect the Divine Light in our lives.  The Light of the Living Spirit is present in all beings and we lift up that Spirit in all Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual and others (LGBTQIA+).  We recognize that trans men are men, trans women are women, and nonbinary people exist; they are a blessing to our community.

“We affirm the rights of trans men, women, and youths for privacy, gender-affirming medical care, and non-discrimination in all aspects of society.  We recognize the vulnerability of children and we honor the awareness of their gender identity.  We commit ourselves to providing the love and support they need to flourish as they are led by Spirit to live into their identity.

“Together we commit to cultivate a vibrant and inclusive community where LGBTQIA+ voices of any age are heard, affirmed, and celebrated.  We deeply respect their experiences and we recognize their contributions are vital to our shared journey.  In doing so we embody the love and acceptance that are at the heart of our faith.”

The Meeting would like the draft minute to be circulated in writing so that we may consider it more adequately and return to it next month.

03.07  NEYM Lawsuit re: Religious Freedom and Immigrant Concerns.  A consortium of Yearly Meetings, other organizations, and religious groups have initiated a lawsuit against the US Department of Homeland Security and its Secretary, Kristi Noem, to address immigrant justice issues through the lens of an infringement on the freedom of religion.  There are many immigrants afraid to leave their homes, even to go to their houses of worship due to the current threats they face.  NEYM is one of the litigants. 

Concerns regarding the adequacy of the discernment taken by the YM and friends usual reluctance to resolve differences through the courts were discussed.  We are concerned to act as led by the spirit and not simply out of anger. On consideration, Friends approved support [for] the YM’s decision and will share this with the Yearly Meeting Secretary and Presiding Clerk. 

We ask the web site committee to post this and other resources on the home page in a manner visible to visitors to our web site.  Dave W, Ruth H, and Heidi B will develop text and recommendations for edits to the home page.

03.08  Following our closing worship Friends adjourned purposing to meet again on Second Month 9, 2025 as way opens.

* “A budget is a moral document” ~ often attributed to Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 – 1968)

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, Environmental Concerns Committee (PSECC)

Sara S, Clerk; Sharon K; Heidi B

1. Proposed Minute on LGBTQIA+ -
   
   ACTION- We bring the proposed Minute on LGBTQIA+ (which follows below) to business meeting for consideration which was held over from last month’s business meeting.
   
   “Concord Friends Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends affirms the following minute as our true testimony to our faith through the Living Spirit.
   
   “Friends experience the varieties of love and gender expression in our community as gifts of God.  We are all children of God, and we all have equal potential to reflect the Divine Light in our lives.  The Light of the Living Spirit is present in all beings and we lift up that Spirit in all Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual and others (LGBTQIA+).  We recognize that trans men are men, trans women are women, and nonbinary people exist; they are a blessing to our community.
   
   “We affirm the rights of trans men, women, and youths for privacy, gender-affirming medical care, and non-discrimination in all aspects of society.  We recognize the vulnerability of children and we honor the awareness of their gender identity.  We commit ourselves to providing the love and support they need to flourish as they are led by Spirit to live into their identity.
   
   “Together we commit to cultivate a vibrant and inclusive community where LGBTQIA+ voices of any age are heard, affirmed, and celebrated.  We deeply respect their experiences and we recognize their contributions are vital to our shared journey.  In doing so we embody the love and acceptance that are at the heart of our faith.”
   
    
2. Peace and Social Justice Resource List -
   
   In response to February 23^rd Fourth Sunday Program for the need of a resource list to guide members in their peace and social justice activism, PSECC has embraced and is developing an information resource of topics including a list of organizations to be included on the website.
   • ACTION- Members are encouraged to send resource information on organization websites, political representatives, apps, blogs, books, etc. to PSECC [at] ConcordFriendsMeeting [dot] org (subject: Peace%20and%20Social%20Justice%20Resources) .
   • ACTION- Assistance will be needed in formulating the Meeting website to house the collected resource information.
     
      
3. Solemn Vigil for Cease Fire in Gaza-
   
   5 or 6 persons regularly attend the weekly Gaza cease fire vigil, 2 of which are Concord Friends members.  Other participants attending are mostly NH Peace Action and NH American Friends Service Committee members.
   • ACTION- Due to the small attendance numbers, PSEC questions the effectiveness of the vigil and asks Friends if the Concord Friends Meeting vigil sponsorship be laid down or suggest a schedule change for the vigil to be held once a month rather than weekly. Concord Friends sponsorship began in early 2024.
     
     Some alternative ways to participate in the Gaza seize fire effort may be:
     • Phone Congressional representatives and write letters to publication editors
     • Pair with and support the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) efforts
     • Pair with and support the Peace Action Coalition for Peace in the Middle East
       
        
4. The Peace, Social and Environmental Concerns Committee consists of three people.  Right now, there are so many things that merit our attention and actions.  We invite all persons to participate with us as they are led and welcome all to attend our next zoom meeting Tuesday, March 25, 10:30 a.m.  We will be flexible to adjust our meeting schedule so those with schedule conflicts may attend.
   
   We urge everyone in the Meeting to share with us their peace, social justice, and environmental leadings, andto be aware of calls for assistance that we may act on.
   
    
5. 4^th Sunday Presentations for April and May -
   
   The AFSC presentation for April 4^th Sunday program is being rescheduled for a future date to be determined.
   • ACTION- Notify Ministry and Counsel to plan another presentation for April 4^th Sunday program.
   • PSEC and the Outreach committees continue work on the Peace Pole dedication/celebration scheduled May 25^th.  Area residents and organizations will be invited to worship with us or join us after worshipfor an ice cream social (coordinated by Hospitality), followed by the peace pole dedication.

Joyfully submitted on behalf of the Peace, Social, Environmental Concerns Committee

Sharon K

Ministry & Counsel Report to Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business

1. We are presenting the State of Society for 2024 for first reading.  Please read this draft in advance (elsewhere in the newsletter).
2. We are working on trimming down our Contact List to more closely reflect the current attenders of meeting.  We note that there is a separate member list and contacting these non-active members is something we are beginning to work on.  There is another much larger list of people that receive the newsletter and that list is not our responsibility and not tied to membership or the Contact List.
3. We are led to offer a monthly Meeting for Healing before 3^rd Sunday worship.  This may expand to other times on Zoom.  See newsletter announcement.
4. Fourth Sunday this month will not have any program because we are hosting Dover Quarterly Meeting.  On 5^th Sunday (March 30).  Greg is leading the Quarterly Meeting in a “Listening Session on New England Yearly Meeting Sessions”.  This program will likely last until 2:30 or 3 p.m. It will be a potluck.  More details in coming weeks.  Would we want to hold a potluck 4^th Sunday so we will not miss this important time of fellowship?

Report on Government Funding

We filed our IRS forms timely with an extension to get our Direct Pay from the US Treasury of about $15,000 to help pay for the geothermal system.  The IRS has erred in processing our extension request and thus in approving forms and direct payment.

In early January we engaged Sen. Shaheen's office for assistance with the IRS.  They helped us connect with the Taxpayer Assistance Service.  They have responded to tell Sen. Shaheen's office that they have begun a review of our case and expect to have resolution by May 1.  Barring unforeseen complications resulting from new US executive branch actions, we continue to anticipate a favorable outcome with the IRS.

Finance Committee Meeting minutes, Second Month 19^th, 2025

Concord Monthly Meeting Finance Committee

Attending:  Greg Heath, Chris Haigh and David Woolpert

Minutes prepared by David Woolpert, Committee Clerk

The Committee considered the following issues:

1. Cash available until arrival of an expected large U. S. Treasury check
   
   1. We have about $12,150 in our bank account, which includes the recent $2,000 gift from a NEYM Friend.
   2. Greg H. said our net income may fall by $3,000 in coming months, leaving a bank account balance of about $9,000 at the end of May.
   3. This is equal to the $9,000 in short-term loans owed to Meeting members, each of which is willing to leave the loans in place until the Meeting has sufficient funds to repay them without putting the Meeting at risk of insufficient cash for normal operations.
   4. The Committee agreed to leave the loans in place until the Treasury check arrives.
      
       
2. Status of U.S. Treasury rebate
   

   We filed our IRS forms timely with an extension to get our Direct Pay from the US Treasury of about $15,000 to help pay for the geothermal system.  The IRS has erred in processing our extension request and thus in approving forms and direct payment. 
   
   In early January we engaged Sen. Shaheen's office for assistance with the IRS. They helped us connect with the Taxpayer Assistance Service. They have responded to tell Sen. Shaheen's office that they have begun a review of our case and expect to have resolution of this issue by May 1.  Barring unforeseen complications resulting from new US executive branch actions, we continue to anticipate a favorable outcome with the IRS.
   
    

3. Purpose of $2,000 gift
   

   We discussed the degree of restriction on the Meeting’s spending from the $2,000 gift from a member of another Meeting in NEYM.  Since no specific restrictions were required by the donor (only suggestions), the Committee agreed to assign it to the previously established category of Social Justice Fund but to reclassify the $2,000 not as a “Donor Restricted Fund” but as a “Meeting Temporary Restricted Fund” using whatever criteria the Meeting chooses for withdrawals from that Fund.   The Committee further recommends that the Meeting’s PSEC Committee be encouraged to make proposals for withdrawals from that Fund, but that any withdrawals from that fund could be proposed by anyone, and that any withdrawals must be approved at a duly called Meeting For Business.
   
    

4. Proposed FY 2026 Budget
   
   Greg presented an estimated year-end Total Income and Expenses report showing a net income as of May 31, 2025 of about zero.  He pointed out, however, that it assumes:
   1. that more contributions may be received from Members who give annual amounts and thus boost the year-end Total Income amount above the estimate he showed the Committee;
   2. that most Meeting committees will draw down the rest of their annual budgeted amount before May 31, which rarely happens.  This should result in a higher year-end Total Income amount than shown;^. 
   3. property expenses could be higher if unexpected maintenance is needed, but could be lower if there is little more snow to be plowed;
   4. the Electricity year-end projection was accepted as very solid since Greg presented an analysis showing how he computed the estimated Electricity total for this fiscal year.  The resulting amount will be much larger than was approved in this year’s budget.  This is due to:
      
      1. unanticipated costs of transferring ownership of the Solar array to the Meeting
      2. all of the months since the Meeting took ownership (October) have been when the sun is low in the sky and not generating as much electricity as other times of the year; next FY our net electricity bill will be lower than the $1,000 we have been budgeting since installation of the solar array seven years ago.
         
         The Committee agreed that:
      1. Chris and Dave are to gather projections for expenses from each Meeting committee by the end of March;
      2. Greg is to use an estimated 2% inflation rate for most of the regular property expenses (unless the Property Committee suggests a different amount), and for most of the Support contributions next FY;
      3. we propose a 2% increase in rent for one year to the Child Care program using the Meetinghouse during school days;
      4. the Committee will review a first-draft budget for next fiscal year at the next Finance Committee meeting, hopefully in early March.  This would allow enough time to create a final draft budget to be presented to the Meeting for Business in April, giving the Meeting a month to consider it so that a final budget for FY 2026 could be approved in May.
         
          
5. Mortgage loan paid off but still on Balance Sheet
   
   1. Greg pointed out that the monthly Balance Sheet reports have not shown monthly drops in the balance of the mortgage amount still outstanding since the construction of the Meetinghouse.  Instead that amount has been adjusted at the end of each fiscal year and the interest expense is the only expense shown on the final Income and Expense Report for each year. 
   2. So, even though our mortgage balance is now zero, the Committee agreed to leave the same amount showing as still unpaid, as has been shown in previous months this fiscal year, until the final year-end Report is produced.  We will explain this to members if the issue is raised before the end of this fiscal year.
      
       
6. Projected Capital Expenses vs. Replacement Reserve amount
   

   The Committee agreed to put off discussing this topic until a future meeting of the Committee.

We closed our committee meeting, agreeing to decide later when the Committee will meet again.

David Woolpert, Clerk