Eighteen Friends gathered for meeting for worship to attend to business, in person and by Zoom. We opened with a period of quiet worship.
The Minutes of Fourth month 2024 [2] were approved as posted on our website.
05.01 YRE Committee reported on plans for our Spring Party/Potluck on June 2nd at the rise of Meeting. Friends are requested to let Elaine B know if they are coming. There will be a small work opportunity after the party for those who can stay to help welcome our member Heidi B to her new home. This will require us to move our spring Meetinghouse property cleaning to later in June. Friends approved this plan.
05.02 Nominating Committee brought its report of officers and committees for the coming year. They reported that they had found this to be joyful work. Some Friends expressed their willingness to help out in some areas where they are not listed. We added one more person to the Solar Committee from Finance Committee, Dave W. It was suggested that Heidi B be named to M&C rather than being on it ex officio as the presiding clerk. Friends approved that change. It was also remarked that it would be good to have at least one more member named to Ministry and Counsel. An addition to the report was made of the ad hoc committee formed last year to relate to the new child care that is leasing space from us. Friends approved the amended nominating report.
05.03 Peace Pole: PSECC Committee brought a request that they be allowed to install a peace pole on our property in the area in front of the Meetinghouse. They recommended that it would have four sides with English, Abenaki, Hebrew and Arabic saying “May Peace Prevail on Earth”. Discussion was held about whether to spend more on this in order to add more languages and which ones if we do. This decision on which other languages to include is deferred but Meeting did approve having a pole with eight languages.
05.04 State of Society Report for 2023: Ministry and Counsel brought its report of the State of Society. A suggestion was made to point out in the report that our new geothermal heating system makes our building carbon net neutral along with the existing solar PV system on the Meetinghouse roof. Friends approved the report with further wording to be done by Ministry and Counsel. The report is attached.
05.05 Our COVID-19 Policy Statement has been revised a bit by Ministry and Counsel. Their wording changes in the statement were sent to our email list prior to this meeting. Some Friends asked that we add a clause that we advise Friends to keep their vaccinations up to date. The revised statement with that clause was approved and is attached. As requested at our last business session, Ministry and Counsel also decided how the policy will be communicated amongst ourselves and to visitors. A sign will be posted in the lobby with a QR code leading to the posted policy on our website. The wording will be sent to the web clerk. The newsletter editor will be asked to remove wording about masking and point to our COVID policy on our webpage.
05.06 Finance Reports: The treasurer reported on the first eleven months of the fiscal year. Income was $31,753 and expenses were $24,682 for a net income increase of $7,070.
| Total Income: | $31,753 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Expenses: | $24,682 | |
| Net Income: | $7,070 |
05.07 Proposed Budget for FY2025: Finance Committee brought a proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning on June 1st, 2024. There may need to be changes to our budget in the coming months based on considerations that can't yet be quantified. Friends approved the budget which is attached.
05.08 Property Committee report was sent out before this meeting in the newsletter. There were no action items for the Meeting at this time. The report is attached to these minutes.
After a brief period of worshipful thanks, we adjourned purposing to meet again on second Sunday of Sixth Month 2024.
| Submitted by, | Accepted as the Approved Record, | |
| /s/ Jennifer J Smith, Recording Clerk | /s/ Ruth M Heath, Presiding Co-Clerk |
| Concord Monthly Meeting Statement of Operations* | 2023-06-01 – 2024-04-30 | Budget – FY 2023-24 | Budget Remaining | % of Budget Raised |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income | ||||
| Contributions | $23,797 | $27,400 | $3,603 | 87% |
| Interest Income | $985 | $1,090 | $105 | 90% |
| Rental Income – Child Care | $5,840 | $5,400 | ($440) | 108% |
| Rental Income – Others | $1,130 | $1,200 | $70 | 94% |
| Solar Roof Lease | $0 | $240 | $240 | 0% |
| Total Income | $31,753 | $35,330 | $3,577 | 90% |
| Expenses | % of Budget Spent | |||
| 1 Program | ||||
| Finance Committee | $9 | $100 | $91 | 9% |
| Hospitality | $119 | $100 | ($19) | 119% |
| Library | $0 | $140 | $140 | 0% |
| Ministry & Counsel | $0 | $400 | $400 | 0% |
| Outreach Committee | $20 | $175 | $155 | 11% |
| Peace, Social & Earthcare Concerns | $123 | $150 | $27 | 82% |
| Right Relations | $0 | $400 | $400 | 0% |
| Website Expense | $0 | $1,000 | $1,000 | 0% |
| Youth & Religious Education | $92 | $300 | $208 | 30% |
| Total Program | $363 | $2,765 | $2,402 | 13% |
| 2 Property | ||||
| Data Usage | $1,104 | $1,200 | $96 | 92% |
| Debt Service – Interest, Short Term | $0 | $500 | $500 | 0% |
| Debt Service – Mortgage, P&I | $3,806 | $3,805 | ($1) | 100% |
| Depreciation | $3,493 | $3,810 | $318 | 92% |
| Electricity | $916 | $1,000 | $84 | 92% |
| Grounds | $8 | $1,000 | $992 | 1% |
| Insurance | $2,700 | $3,072 | $372 | 88% |
| Maintenance | $968 | $1,740 | $772 | 56% |
| Miscellaneous Expenses | $0 | $500 | $500 | 0% |
| Snow Removal | $1,095 | $1,600 | $505 | 68% |
| Supplies - Bldg. & Maintenance | $300 | $250 | ($50) | 120% |
| Wood Pellets | $215 | $0 | ($215) | 100% |
| Total Property | $14,604 | $18,477 | $3,873 | 79% |
| 3 Support | ||||
| AFSC [4] | $1,889 | $1,889 | $0 | 100% |
| Dover Quarterly Meeting | $0 | $10 | $10 | 0% |
| FCNL [5] | $0 | $162 | $162 | 0% |
| Friends Camp [6] | $0 | $323 | $323 | 0% |
| Friends General Conference (FGC) | $0 | $159 | $159 | 0% |
| Friends United Meeting | $0 | $159 | $159 | 0% |
| FWCC [7] | $0 | $227 | $227 | 0% |
| Interfaith Council [8] | $0 | $50 | $50 | 0% |
| NEYM [9] - Equalization Fund | $361 | $361 | $0 | 100% |
| NEYM - General Fund | $7,465 | $7,465 | $0 | 100% |
| NH Council of Churches [10] | $0 | $75 | $75 | 0% |
| Woolman Hill [11] | $0 | $248 | $248 | 0% |
| Total Support | $9,715 | $11,128 | $1,413 | 87% |
| Landscaping | $0 | |||
| Total Expense | $24,682 | $32,370 | $7,688 | 76% |
| Net Income | $7,070 |
* “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.
| Concord Monthly Meeting Balance Sheet | 4th Month 30, 2024 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| ASSETS | |||
| Current Assets | |||
| Checking/Savings | |||
| Checking MCSB | $19,817 | ||
| Money Market MCSB | $464 | ||
| Savings Granite State Cr Union | $51 | ||
| Schwab Cash Account | $10 | ||
| Total Checking/Savings | $20,342 | ||
| Other Current Assets | |||
| Pledges Receivable | $0 | ||
| Prepaid Electricity | $4,086 | ||
| Prepaid Insurance | $2,283 | ||
| Total Other Current Assets | $6,369 | ||
| Total Current Assets | $26,712 | ||
| Fixed Assets | |||
| Building/Furnishings/Fixtures | $513,629 | ||
| Less Accumulated Depreciation | ($36,565) | ||
| Land (including new lot) | $144,400 | ||
| Total Fixed Assets | $621,464 | ||
| Other Assets | |||
| Granite State Credit Union CD | $3,162 | ||
| Total NH Community Loan Fund [13] | $25,726 | ||
| Total Other Assets | $28,887 | ||
| TOTAL ASSETS | $677,063 | ||
| LIABILITIES & EQUITY | |||
| Liabilities | |||
| Current Liabilities | |||
| Loan - Heating - Fire Safety | $14,000 | ||
| Total Current Liabilities | $14,000 | ||
| Long-term Liabilities | |||
| Mortgage Loan | $6,340 | ||
| Total Long-term Liabilities | $6,340 | ||
| Total Liabilities | $20,340 | ||
| Equity | |||
| General Fund Balance | |||
| Fire Safety Improvements | $33,635 | ||
| Land & Building Fund - Other | $610,855 | ||
| General Fund Balance – Other | $561 | ||
| Total General Fund Balance | $645,051 | ||
| Temp. Restricted Net Assets | |||
| Donor Restricted Funds | |||
| Asylum Seekers Support Fund (ASSF) | $247 | ||
| Kakamega Family Support Fund | $918 | ||
| Mindful Mortality | $975 | ||
| Social Justice Fund | $303 | ||
| Solar Grant Fund | $1,209 | ||
| Total Donor Restricted Funds | $3,652 | ||
| Meeting Temp. Restricted Funds | |||
| Friendly Assistance Fund | $950 | ||
| Total Meeting Temp. Restricted Funds | $950 | ||
| Total Temp. Restricted Net Assets | $4,602 | ||
| Net Income | $7,070 | ||
| Total Equity | $656,723 | ||
| TOTAL LIABILITIES & EQUITY | $677,063 |
| Printed: May 14, 2024 | Budget – FY 2023-24 | Actuals – FY 2023-05—2024-03 | Projected for 2024-05-31 | FY2025 1st Draft | Explanations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income | |||||
| Contributions | 27,400 | 22,007 | 24,567 | 24,600 | Same as '24 projected |
| Interest Income | 1,090 | 115 | 1,090 | 1,090 | Same as '24 projected |
| Rental Income - Child Care | 5,400 | 4,700 | 6,540 | 7,440 | For full 10 months and camp |
| Rental Income - Others | 1,200 | 1,130 | 1,300 | 1,300 | Same as '24 projected |
| Solar Roof Lease | 240 | 0 | 240 | 0 | Assumes panels are sold to Meeting: no more annual cost |
| Total Income | 35,330 | 27,952 | 33,737 | 34,430 | $900 decrease from curr. yr. budget, $693 above current FY projected actual |
| Expense | |||||
| Program | |||||
| Finance Committee | 100 | 9 | 9 | 100 | Same as prev. budget |
| Hospitality | 100 | 119 | 135 | 100 | Same as prev. budget |
| Library | 140 | 140 | 140 | 140 | Same as prev. budget |
| Ministry and Counsel Committee | 400 | 0 | 400 | 400 | Same as prev. budget |
| Outreach Committee | 175 | 20 | 175 | 175 | Same as prev. budget |
| Peace & Social Concerns | 150 | 123 | 150 | 150 | Same as prev. budget |
| Peace Pole | 400 | 0 | 0 | 610 | |
| Web Site Committee | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | Same as prev. budget |
| Youth & Religious Education Committee | 300 | 90 | 150 | 300 | Same as prev. budget |
| Total 1 Program | 2,765 | 361 | 1,159 | 2,975 | |
| Property | |||||
| Data Usage | 1,200 | 1,001 | 1,207 | 1,236 | Higher cost from supplier |
| Debt Service - Interest Short Term | 500 | 0 | 500 | 0 | Loans repaid before FY 2024 |
| Debt Service - Mortgage P&I | 3,805 | 2,855 | 3,805 | 2,855 | Total payoff amount |
| Depreciation | 3,810 | 3,175 | 3,810 | 4,508 | Includes extra $698 to create balanced budget |
| Electricity | 1,000 | 833 | 1,000 | 1,000 | Same as prev. budget |
| Grounds | 1,000 | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | Same as prev. budget |
| Insurance | 3,072 | 2,415 | 2,986 | 3,498 | 7 mos. actual, 5 mos. Est. |
| Maintenance | 1,740 | 719 | 1,200 | 1,000 | Est. extra cost of acoustic panels in Fellowship Room |
| New Microphone for Meeting | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | Allow for better microphone |
| Worship Room Acoustic Panels | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | Based on cost for Fellow. Rm. |
| Miscellaneous Expenses | 500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Suggest none needed now |
| Snow Removal | 1,600 | 795 | 1,200 | 1,600 | Same as prev. budget |
| Supplies - Bldg. & Maintenance | 250 | 264 | 300 | 300 | Same as prev. budget |
| Wood Pellets | 0 | 215 | 215 | 0 | Same as prev. budget |
| Total Property | 18,477 | 12,271 | 17,223 | 19,997 | |
| Support | |||||
| AFSC | 1,889 | 1,889 | 1,889 | 1,946 | Add 3% |
| Dover Quarterly Meeting | 10 | 0 | 10 | 10 | Same as prev. budget |
| FCNL | 162 | 0 | 162 | 167 | Add 3% |
| Friends Camp | 323 | 0 | 323 | 333 | Add 3% |
| Friends General Conf. | 159 | 0 | 159 | 164 | Add 3% |
| Friends United Meeting | 159 | 0 | 159 | 164 | Add 3% |
| FWCC | 227 | 0 | 227 | 234 | Add 3% |
| Interfaith Council | 50 | 0 | 50 | 50 | Same as prev. budget |
| NEYM - Equalization Fund | 361 | 361 | 361 | 372 | Add 3% |
| NEYM - General Fund | 7,465 | 7,465 | 7,465 | 7,689 | Add 3% |
| NH Council of Churches | 75 | 0 | 75 | 75 | Same as prev. budget |
| Woolman Hill | 248 | 0 | 248 | 255 | Add 3% |
| Total 3 Support | 11,128 | 9,715 | 11,128 | 11,458 | |
| Total Expense | 32,370 | 22,347 | 29,510 | 34,430 | $2,060 above curr. Budget, $4,920 above current FY projected actual |
| Net Income | 2,960 | 5,606 | 4,227 | 0 | Excess of $698 added to Depreciation to create balanced budget |
Ministry and Counsel has met and suggested the following policy wording for our COVID policy, which is closely based on the wording in the minute from April Meeting for Business [16].
We strive to create a beloved community which shows loving concern and actions toward all attenders of the Meeting and all with whom we interact in the wider world. We demonstrate this care and love by being vaccinated, because vaccination protects the person vaccinated and others with whom they come in contact. We encourage all attenders to be vaccinated and keep their vaccinations up to date. We believe this will make our meetinghouse a safer space for attenders whose own network includes people who are at greater risk of death or disability should they get the COVID-19 virus.
We request that you attend via Zoom if any of the following apply:
- You have a fever, cough, or other viral symptoms. (This is because you can have COVID and spread it before testing positive.)
- If you have had COVID recently, please don't attend in person until after the 5th day after you tested positive; and please wear a mask until the 10th day (or longer if your doctor recommends).
- If you know you have been exposed to COVID, please do not attend in person until after testing negative on the 5th day after exposure. Then please continue to wear a mask until the 10th day after exposure.
Otherwise, masks are currently optional in the Meetinghouse unless the CDC reports hospital admissions for COVID as “red” in any county of New Hampshire on the following map: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#maps_new-admissions-rate-county [17]. For further clarification or questions, please contact Clerk [at] ConcordFriendsMeeting [dot] org (subject: COVID%20Policy) .
Ministry and Counsel was also asked to recommend how and where the policy be displayed. We approved these ideas:
We meet for worship every Sunday morning in our meetinghouse at 11 Oxbow Pond Road in Canterbury, NH. For directions, go to the Finding us [18] page. For more information, go to the FAQ [19] page that drops down beneath the About [20] tab. Please come and visit.
To:
We meet for worship every Sunday morning in our meetinghouse at 11 Oxbow Pond Road in Canterbury, NH. For directions, click here [18]. For more information, go to the FAQ [19] page. For our COVID Policy click here. Please come and visit.
We are suggesting that the Spring Party be held at Heidi Babb's new home on June 2nd at the rise of Meeting for Worship. There will be a potluck there. We will have Spring Baskets for all, so please let us know whether you will be attending so a basket can be made for you! And let us know if you can contribute something to the baskets and what it will be. We generally have about 20-25 people attend; if you are bringing small items that you want to put into every basket, bring that many items.
Heidi has just purchased this home at 25 Concord Dr, Webster NH with lake frontage on Pillsbury Lake! Since she has just moved into the house this week and has a bit to do on it, we invite those able to stay and work on projects inside to help her get settled. More details on this later.
PSECC believes this would be a good time to get a Peace Pole for the Meetinghouse. We believe a cedar pole with the words “May Peace Prevail On Earth” engraved on the four sides in English, Abenaki, Hebrew, and Arabic would be a good statement for the Meeting. Here is a picture of what that would look like (second row, middle picture): https://peacepoles.com/collections/4-sided-cedar [23].
The exact placement has not been determined but would be somewhere in the front of the building.
We ask the Meeting's concurrence with this item.
Sara Smith, Clerk of PSECC, Concord Monthly Meeting
Concord Friends Meeting is a spiritual home, where we feel the divine presence. Some of us are lifelong Friends and longtime members of the Meeting who remember meeting in a childcare center before the building of our Meetinghouse (2010). Others of us have come more recently to either the Meeting or to Quakers. We feel drawn to gather in person or over Zoom for weekly worship, to participate in “Meeting for Eating” on second and fourth Sundays, and to join many of the other customs of our Meeting, while making some new ones.
One of the most noticeable changes of the past year is equally a story of divine presence and physical logistics. It has been a longtime dream of many members that our Meetinghouse be used during the week by other groups, such as a childcare center. In 2023, that possibility presented itself. However, during inspections of the building, we learned that our building, heated by a wood-pellet boiler, did not meet fire standards. In a remarkably short time we secured the bridge loans, grants, contributions, and professional expertise needed to remove the boiler and install a new geothermal heating system; along with the solar panels on the roof, we are now net carbon neutral. This and other safety changes brought our building up to fire code and enabled us to use our space for larger public gatherings and an outdoor-based program which provides much-needed childcare to about 20 families. This was possible through the work of ad hoc committees that worked quickly to accomplish the needed steps, faithfully reporting their progress during our regular Meetings for Worship with Attention to Business, where the gathered body gratefully approved their work and affirmed the presence of Spirit in guiding these changes.
We have felt enthusiasm and new sparks of Spirit elsewhere. Our practice of singing hymns before Meeting continues. Many of our Fourth Sunday programs have been well attended, and our Peace, Social, and Earth Care Concerns Committee put on two very successful fundraising concerts for AFSC and our Asylum Seekers Support Fund in May and December. Youth Religious Education Committee traditionally holds a fundraiser around Christmastime to support a student at the Kenya Rising Family Care Center, but last year, an ad hoc Yard Sale Committee organized a successful summer yard sale for Center. This was an intergenerational Meeting-wide effort that was highly successful in both fundraising and in raising the Meeting’s visibility in the area. We are grateful to feel new movement of the spirit in these efforts.
Our Meeting demographics remain a concern. Our First Day School is small, though we are grateful for the faithful attendance and ministry of the children who come. New Friends are joining, and some are leaving, but we sense the truth of the words one Friend shared that we are an aging community. We are a community blessed with wise elders, firm finances, and an awareness of Divine presence. We are a community that has been transformed before, and we are open to further transformation. We gather each week in faithful, waiting worship.
We will be installing an additional piece of carpet in the lobby in a T configuration to provide additional coverage in that space. This will reach over to the cabinets where coats and footwear are placed and will extend the current carpet further into the space.
Because of the need to have Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business on third Sunday this month, we have postponed the usual every other month after Fellowship of joint cleaning work for 20 to 30 minutes until June 2nd. (This date may be changed due to a request by the YRE Committee which will be reviewed at May 19th's Meeting for Business). Most of this will be outdoors if the weather is good though some indoor tasks will be available in any case.
The delayed project for acoustic panels in the Meeting Room will move forward soon. Finance has put funds in the budget for next year for this project. We will need to get volunteers and set a date for work. As we did with the Fellowship space, we will be able to borrow staging once we get ready to do the work.
The committee agrees with the Landscape Coordinator that the budget next year should include an additional $1,000 for landscaping.
Jennifer Smith, Clerk of Property Committee
EO = Ex Officio; IC = Initial Convener
Clerk Heidi Babb
Recording Clerk Greg Heath
Treasurer Chris Haigh
Recorder Paula Werme
Bookkeeper Greg Heath
Email Announcements
Finance Committee
Library Committee
Ministry and Counsel
Nominating Committee – (initial year) — end year
Outreach Committee
Property Committee
PSECC (Peace, Social & Earthcare Concerns)
Asylum Seekers Fund Responsibities
Solar Committee – Ad Hoc
Technology Committee – Ad Hoc
Website Committee
Youth Religious Ed Committee
Childcare Liaison Committee - Ad Hoc
(discerned by Clerks)
Child Care Assistants
(Discernment by YRE & NEYM
background check)
NEYM Hospitality Hosts and Helpers
Voluteer Helpers
First Day School Teachers
(Discernment by YRE Committee)
AFSC Corporation (for NEYM)
(Discernment by NEYM Nominating Committee)
AFSC-NH Support Committee
(Discernment by AFSC-NH Program)
AFSC-Northeast Region Executive Committee (NEREC)
(Discernment by AFSC-NEREC, AFSC-SNC, AFSC Board)
Beacon Hill Friends House Dover Quarter Representative
(Discernment by Dover Quarterly Meeting)
Greater Concord Interfaith Council Representatives (GCIC)
(Discernment by Ministry & Counsel – up to 3 reps.)
FCNL–NH Group
|
Canterbury, New Hampshire 03224-2043 USA
Links:
[1] https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/sites/CMM/Minutes/2024/CMM%202024-05-19-FourthMonth2024MeetingForWorshipWithAttentionToBusiness.docx
[2] https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/2024-04-14_CMM_Minutes
[3] https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/sites/CMM/Finance/2024/CMM-OperationsFY2024asof2024-04-30forMay2024.xlsx
[4] https://www.afsc.org/
[5] https://www.fcnl.org/
[6] https://www.friendscamp.org/
[7] http://fwcc.world/
[8] https://www.greaterconcordinterfaithcouncil.org/
[9] https://neym.org
[10] http://nhchurches.org/
[11] http://woolmanhill.org/
[12] https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/sites/CMM/Finance/2024/CMM-BalanceSheetFY2024asof2024-04-30forMay2024.xlsx
[13] https://www.communityloanfund.org/
[14] https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/sites/CMM/Finance/2024/CMM-BudgetPlanFY2025-for2024-05-19.docx
[15] https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/sites/CMM/M%2BC/COVID%20policy%20approved%202024-05-19.docx
[16] https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/2024-04-14_CMM_Minutes#ProposedCOVID-19Policy
[17] https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#maps_new-admissions-rate-county
[18] https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/FindingUs
[19] https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/FactsAboutQuakers
[20] https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/AboutConcordFriendsMeeting
[21] https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/sites/CMM/YRE/CMM-YRE_Report_for2024-05-19May_2024.docx
[22] https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/sites/CMM/PSECC/CMM-PSECCRequest-PeacePoleProposal-2024-05-19.docx
[23] https://peacepoles.com/collections/4-sided-cedar
[24] https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/sites/CMM/M%2BC/CMM-StateOfSociety2023Final2024-05-19.docx
[25] https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/sites/CMM/Property/CMM-PropertyCommitteeReport-for2024-05-19.docx
[26] https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/sites/CMM/Nominating/CMM-2024-2025Nominations.docx