June 2023 Meeting Minutes

GRASS VALLEY FRIENDS MEETING

Of the Religious Society of Friends of the Truth

College Park Quarterly Meeting, Pacific Yearly Meeting

MINUTES & RECORD

Meeting for Worship on the Occasion of Business

June 11, 2023

We met in a hybrid meeting on Zoom and in person.

Present:  

Dean Olson, clerk; Lo Hamm, Gordon Starr, Mary Starr, Doug Hamm, Dorothy Henderson, Kathy McCreery, fosten wilson, Judy Hamilton, Cindy Bliss, Marilyn Guida, Sharon Davisson, Reed Hamilton, Dianne Marshall, Amy Cooke, Chamba Cooke.

The Meeting opened with silent worship.  

Clerks’ Remarks and Query:  

Dean Olson, clerk, referred to the sound panels on the wall as “Quaker art.” These blank panels represent the silence and the openness to the diversity of our experiences. 

What is there about being a Quaker that has inspired you?

Friends shared out of the silence.

Gratitude was given to Dean Olson, outgoing clerk, for his service to the meeting.

Action Items and Seasoning:  

• Nominating Slate for 2023-24 (appended)

COMMITTEE REPORTS 

(see reports appended, committee clerk is noted in bold)

NOMINATING: (terms as noted) Dorothy Henderson (fulfilling Pat Phillips term):  2022-2023, Sharon Davisson, continuing:  2021-2023, Judy Hamilton: 2022-2024, Gordon Starr: 2022-2024

MINUTE 2023.06.01: Grass Valley Friends Meeting approves the slate of nominations for 2023-2024, as appended.

NAMING COMMITTEE: Clerks: Mary Starr, Kathy McCreery, Amy Cooke, Dorothy Henderson

The committee is looking for meeting times. We hope to bring names for the Nominating Committee to the August Meeting for Business.

STEWARDSHIP:  Mary Starr (clerk), Pat Phillips, Reed Hamilton, Gordon Starr, Doug Hamm. Dianne Marshall (ex-officio, Newsletter editor), Fosten Wilson (ex-officio, Treasurer), Don McCormick (ex-officio, Librarian)

Mary Starr read the report, appended. 

Report from the Website Coordinator (Amy Cooke): The website is currently down, and we do not know why. We are hosted through the Woolman Dreamhost account. Shannon at Woolman is helping us track down the problem.

In the meantime, or as an alternative, should we register for a new domain name and start a new website? It has been an issue that we have hosted through Woolman, and this may be our opportunity to address that issue. The problem will be paying without a credit card. Amy could pay with her card and be reimbursed. 

Note: the incoming Website Coordinator is Peter O’Rourke.

MINUTE 2023.06.02:  Grass Valley Friends Meeting approves starting a new domain name under our own account.  Amy Cooke will pay for the domain and get reimbursed until we can get a credit or debit card.

Credit card/Debit card:  We can have either a credit or debit card with our bank account. The meeting discussed the benefits and disadvantages of both systems. It was noted that we can set the limit on a credit card. 

Fosten will research what we need to do to get a debit card or a credit card. 

WELCOME: Kathy McCreery (clerk), Don McCormick, Pat Phillips, Karen Olson. Hailey Wilson (ex-officio, zoom coordinator), Amy Cooke (ex-officio, Website and Facebook coordinator), Judy Hamilton (ex-officio, email coordinator)

Kathy McCreery reported that the committee met on June 8th and went over the coffee and greeter instructions. They briefly discussed Karen’s memorial and have reached out to the family.

There is a potluck at Pat Phillips house on July 7th.

The committee was appreciated for the work they did to host the welcome party for the new members.  Don McCormick also brought the gifts, and gratitude was expressed for him as well. 

It was also noted that the monthly potlucks are coming back!

SPIRIT & WITNESS: Amy Cooke, Sharon Davisson, Reed Hamilton, Dorothy Henderson, Stuart Smith, Dean and Karen Olson (ex-officio co-clerks)

Dorothy Henderson read the report, appended.

The Meeting accepted Sylvia Osman’s memorial minute as appended to these minutes, with gratitude to Judy Hamilton. Remembrances of Sylvia were shared in the meeting.

The Meeting approved the following minutes:

MINUTE 2023.06.03: Grass Valley Friends Meeting approves the cancellation of the July 2023 Meeting for Business. We will resume in August as regularly scheduled. The newsletter may be slightly delayed. 

MINUTE 2023.06.04: Grass Valley Friends Meeting approves sending the Memorial Minute for Karen Olson, one of the co-clerks of our meeting, to Pacific Yearly Meeting in time for the Pacific Yearly Meeting annual session. The minute will be sent out on email before the PacYM annual session.  The minute will also be brought to the August Meeting for Business. 

CHILDREN’S PROGRAM:   Dorothy Henderson (clerk), Gordon Bishop, Doug Hamm, Judy Hamilton, Dean Olson, Karen Olson, Reed Hamilton, Don McCormick, Anita McCormick

Dorothy Henderson asked the Meeting to hold the committee in the Light. Lo Hamm, David Cowan, and Keeley McDonald will be joining the committee. The next meeting is July 22nd. 

OFFICER  REPORTS

• TREASURER: fosten wilson

The report will come out in August.

• SFC REPRESENTATIVE:  Pat Phillips 

No report.

• INTERFAITH NEVADA COUNTY:  Dianne Marshall

On May 18, 2023, Grass Valley Friends Meeting hosted the monthly meeting of InterFaith Nevada County. Six people attended representing Congregation B’nai Harim, Grass Valley Friends Meeting, Sufi/Dance of Universal Peace, Sierra Center for Spiritual Living.

As host of the meeting Dianne Marshall read the Nisenan Land Acknowledgement and invited everyone to reflect, consider the three following questions and to share.

• How am I personally perpetuating the Doctrine of Discovery approach to land claim and colonization?
• What am I doing to acknowledge these past practices and stop my participation?
• What am I doing to honor the Native Americans in my community? 
• How do I bring this to my faith community and stir both curiosity and action?

It was asked if the Grass Valley Friends Meeting would open dialogue with Shelly Covert to include INC members. It was also asked if the Friends Meeting would inform INC members when matters directly tied to these issues are the focus of our Spiritual Life programs so that INC members may attend.

Please advise.

It was noted that we as a meeting are not in a position to open dialogue with Shelly Covert.  We affirm the request to inform INC members about our Spiritual Life programs, especially those with a focus on the Nisenan. It was noted that Spiritual Life facilitators can be asked if their program is open to non-meeting attenders. We can invite others to open programs. 

The meeting asked Dianne to put the queries she used with the group into the newsletter.

The group also is planning some collaborative activities with our children’s program and speakers. 

Gratitude was expressed for Dianne and her faithful and steadfast work.

Friends will share the Juneteenth event.

ANNOUNCEMENTS 

• June 17th 6:30 pm: Juneteeth at Peace Lutheran Church, 828 West Main Street, Grass Valley. Freedom! See announcement in the newsletter.
• June 25: When the Heart Breaks:  The Spiritual Gifts of Difficult Times (Amy) It is often in our most difficult times that we can have access to the deepest truths. In this session we will have the opportunity to share about what helps us to hear the still small voice of God in the midst of our grief, pain, and suffering.
• July 23: Spiritual Life Programs: Harvesting and Planting. What were some of the highlights from our after-meeting programs in 2022-23? Are there programs that we’d like to see happen in 2023-24?
• August 20: Rabbi David Azen: Male domination reflected in the Eden Story
• Sylvia Osman’s memorial has been scheduled by the family for July 1, 2023, 11:00 AM at the Grass Valley United Methodist Church, 236 South Church St, Grass Valley.  Please RSVP. 
• Karen Olson’s memorial is scheduled for July 22nd at 10 am at Sierra Friends Center. More information will be forthcoming.
• Our website is temporarily disabled. We are working on it!
• If you use Facebook, follow the Grass Valley Friends Meeting page, or join the Facebook Grass Valley Friends Meeting group. If you share a post from the page, your friends will see it, and it helps our visibility.  Follow this link.
• It is easy to give to Grass Valley Friends Meeting.  Go to gvfriends.org and click on the Give button.  This takes you to a secure site for donations. Please consider making your contribution monthly.  Your contribution covers our Pacific Yearly Meeting dues and ensures that our activities as a Meeting are sustained.  Thank you.  Please note: Tithely now allows the user to change the dollar of their gift without making a new donation request.  
• Sierra Friends Center has volunteer opportunities available.   See www.woolman.org.  
• Pacific Yearly Meeting 2023 will be an on-ground gathering with opportunities for remote or online participation held at Mount Madonna Center July 21-26, 2023.
• There is a new PacYM directory online.  See Dean for the password.
• The 2023 Friends General Conference Gathering, “Listen So That We May Live,” will be held at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, OR, from July 2-July 8, 2023. Can’t attend in person? There are virtual offerings! See more at this link.  
• Woolman Homecoming:  September 29 – October 1, 2023. Whether you were a John Woolman School student, a Woolman Semester School student, a camper at Camp Woolman, a visitor, or a Friend, please join Woolman in celebrating this milestone and sharing your memories of Woolman. 

ACTION ITEMS & ITEMS SEASONING

• There are no items seasoning.

READING OF THE RECORD AND MINUTES    

The record and the minutes were read, corrected and approved.

If you are giving a report to GVFM, please send the actual report to the recording clerk at grassvalleyfriends@gmail.com THE FRIDAY BEFORE MEETING FOR BUSINESS.     

GVFM Newsletter Reminder: Please have items into Diane Marshall by Tuesday at 10 am. 

The Meeting closed with silent worship.  

Respectfully recorded by Amy Cooke, recording clerk.  

Note: Dean Olson, the outgoing clerk, closed Meeting with a big grin! He spoke to the gift of clerking, and the practice of being open to feedback. The facilitation is a reflection of who we are as Quakers. It has been his honor to serve as clerk, and he is grateful for all he has experienced and learned. 

We welcomed Dorothy Henderson as our new clerk.

APPENDICES:

1. Nominating Committee: Slate
2. Interfaith Nevada County
3. Stewardship Committee
4. Welcome Committee
5. Spirit and Witness Committee
6. Children’s Program Committee
7. Memorial Minute for Sylvia Osman

————————————————————————-

Nominating Committee

Elder for Clerk

Job Description

Elders: Historically those appointed to foster the life of the Meeting and of individuals

within the Meeting. Faith and Practice of Pacific Yearly Meeting, 1985.

Eldering: the ministry of deepening the spiritual grounding of individuals, a Quaker meeting or other faith groups or gatherings. “An Invitation to Quaker Eldering”

• The Elder is nominated by the Nominating Committee as part of the slate of Grass Valley Friends Meeting. The Elder is selected with the input of the Clerk being eldered. 
• The role of elder for the clerk of GVFM will include the following activities:
• Support the clerk on a regular basis, monthly and as needed to prepare the clerk mentally and spiritually for tasks of clerking.
• Meet with the clerk before Meeting for Worship for Business to season the agenda and business items and provide spiritual depth and grounding for the upcoming work.
• Accompany clerk during Meeting for Worship for Business to support and strengthen the

ministry of clerking.

• Hold the clerk and the Meeting as whole (in prayer, in the light), as the work of business takes place.
• Meet with the clerk after the Meeting for Worship for Business to debrief and hold in prayer and light the work of the Meeting.

The Elder is ex officio on the Spirit and Witness committee.

The term is one year.

Tech Support Position

Job Description

• The Tech Support person is a resource for Meeting activities that rely on tech systems including

the use of the computer, owl, and zoom.

• This includes: Setting up and breaking down owl, computer and monitor for Meeting activities.
• Teaching others to set up and break down owl, computer and monitor for Meeting activities.
• Acting as zoom coordinator for Meeting activities, including facilitating breakout rooms, changing host, and teaching others how to access chat, participants, change names and other basic features of zoom as needed.
• Provide backup to other GVFM tech facilitators in above activities.
• Provide troubleshooting of problems that arise with tech equipment and use of tech equipment.

The Tech Support person will serve for a one year term.

The Tech Support position is ex officio on the Stewardship Committee.

2023-2024 Slate of Committees and Officers

All committee members serve one-year terms: Clerks and Coveners are noted in bold.

Stewardship: Mary Starr, Pat Phillips, Reed Hamilton, Gordon Starr, Doug Hamm, David Bowman. Dianne Marshall (ex-officio, Newsletter editor), Fosten Wilson (ex-officio, Treasurer), Don McCormick(ex-officio, Librarian), (ex-officio Tech Support).

Welcome Committee: Kathy McCreery, Don McCormick, Pat Phillips, Karen Olson, Cheryl Hendrickson, Cindy Bliss, Lo Hamm, CJ Patterson, Peter O’Rourke (ex-officio, Website and Facebook coordinator), Judy Hamilton (ex-officio, email coordinator).

Spirit and Witness: Amy Cooke, Stuart Smith, Reed Hamilton, Sharon Davisson, Dean Olson Dorothy Henderson (ex-officio, GVFM Clerk), (ex-officio,Elder to the Clerk).

Children’s Program: Dorothy Henderson, Gordon Bishop, Doug Hamm, Judy Hamilton, Dean Olson, Karen Olson, Reed Hamilton, Don McCormick, Keely McDonald, David Cowan, Lo Hamm.

Nominating Committee: (terms as noted)

• Judy Hamilton: 2022-2024

• Gordon Starr: 2022-2024

ROLES: One-year terms:

• Clerk: Dorothy Henderson
• Elder to Clerk:
• Recording Clerk: Amy Cooke/ Jennifer Smith
• Newsletter Editor: Dianne Marshall
• Newsletter Distributor: Pat Phillips
• Email Coordinator: Judy Hamilton
• Treasurer: Fosten Wilson
• Tech Support:
• Website/Facebook Coordinator: Peter O’Rourke/Amy Cooke
• Librarian: Don McCormick
• Recorder: Anita McCormick
• Directory Clerk: Nancy Anderson
• Mail Clerk: Dean Olson

Representatives: one-year terms

Please note: Most organizations no longer have representatives from GVFM. They are held in two

committees, Welcome and Spirit and Witness. The following organizations are the exceptions:

• Interfaith Nevada County: Dianne Marshall
• Sierra Friends Center: Gordon Starr
• Pacific Yearly Meeting: Doug Hamm
• College Park Quarterly Meeting: Doug Hamm

Organization Representative by Committee

Welcoming Committee holds the “connect with Quakers” organizations: Ben Lomond Quaker Center

(BLQC), College Park Quarterly Meeting (CPQM), Friends General Conference (FGC), Friends World Committee on Consultation (FWCC), Pacific Yearly Meeting (Pac YM), and Sierra Friends Center (SFC).

Spirit and Witness holds the “Faith and Practice” organizations: American Friends Service Committee

(AFSC), Friends Committee for Legislation (FCNL/FCL-CA), Interfaith of Nevada County, Quaker

United Nations Organization (QUNO), and Right Sharing of World Resources (RSWR) The Nisenan have been added to Spirit and Witness.

Each month, a member of one of the two committees prepares a report on one of their committee’s

organizations based on the queries below.The committees alternate months, with odd months going to one committee and even months the other one. That gives many people the opportunity to “discover” Quaker organizations, and to hear from different people so that we all get to hear from each other. The reports are structured around the following queries:

• What is this organization’s mission statement?
• What are their current activities or plans?
• What is exciting?
• Are there any concerns?
• How can Friends get involved if they feel inspired?
• Is anyone in our meeting particularly involved? How?

Four organizations continue to have a representative (PYM, CPQM, SFC, and Interfaith Nevada County) who will report to the meeting as needed. However, these organizations will also be included in the once-a-year report to Business Meeting from either Welcome (PYM, CPQM, SFC) or Spirit and Witness (Interfaith Nevada County).

The following organizations are officially omitted from the Nominating Slate of Representatives and are represented above:

1. American Friends Service Committee – AFSC

2. Ben Lomond Quaker Center – BLQC

3. Friends Committee for National Legislation – FCNL

4. Friends Committee for Legislation, California -FCL-CA

5. Friends General Conference – FGC

6. Friends World Committee for Consultation – FWCC

7. Quaker United Nations Organization – QUNO

8. Right Sharing of World Resources – RSWR

Interfaith Nevada County

On May 18, 2023, Grass Valley Friends Meeting hosted the monthly meeting of InterFaith Nevada County. Six people attended representing Congregation B’nai Harim, Grass Valley Friends Meeting, Sufi/Dance of Universal Peace, Sierra Center for Spiritual Living.

As host of the meeting Dianne Marshall read the Nisenan Land Acknowledgement and invited everyone to reflect, consider the three following questions and to share.

• How am I personally perpetuating the Doctrine of Discovery approach to land claim and colonization?
• What am I doing to acknowledge these past practices and stop my participation?
• What am I doing to honor the Native Americans in my community? How do I bring this to my faith community and stir both curiosity and action?

It was asked if the Grass Valley Friends Meeting would open dialogue with Shelly Covert to include INC members. It was also asked if the Friends Meeting would inform INC members when matters directly tied to these issues are the focus of our Spiritual Life programs so that INC members may attend.

Please advise.

Spirit & Witness Committee

The Spirit and Witness committee met on June 10, 2023. 

We are holding the many changes in the lives of several of our meeting members with tenderness, acknowledging how our meeting allows us to show up just as we are. As Margery Post Abbot shares in her book, To be Broken and Tender, our willingness to risk being tender and broken allows the Light within to shine. We are deeply grateful to be in a Meeting that invites that kind of vulnerability. 

Our Spiritual Life program this month will be held by Amy Cooke, who will be here visiting from France. The title is When the Heart Breaks: The Spiritual Gifts of Difficult Times. 

On July 23 the program will be on our Spiritual Life Programs. This session will give us an opportunity to reflect on some of the highlights from our after-meeting programs in 2022-23, and to brainstorm for programs that we’d like to see happen in 2023-24.

On August 20 Rabbi David Azen from the Nevada County Jewish Community Center will present on the theme, Male domination reflected in the Eden Story. We are looking forward to welcoming him to our meeting. 

We are recommending to Meeting for Business that the July business meeting be canceled, with the next Meeting for Business taking place on August 13th.

We are sending updates on our Meeting membership to DJ Bloom, the statistical clerk of Pacific Yearly Meeting request. We are sending the memorial minutes for Sylvia Osman and Karen Olson for inclusion in the Meeting for Memorial that takes place annually at the PYM gathering. We are bringing Sylvia Osman’s minute to the meeting today. (read minute, attached).

We are asking Meeting for approval to send Karen Olson’s Memorial Minute to PYM even though we will not have had the opportunity to  present it to Meeting. It will be shared via email. We noted, after consulting Faith and Practice, that memorial minutes do not need Meeting approval, only presentation. 

We are supporting Dean and Karen Olson’s family as they plan for her memorial on July 22. We are helping in the discernment process for the clerk of the Meeting for Memorial.

We have several Committees of Care under our care and welcome requests for Committees of Care, Committees of Discernment, Anchor Committees, or Witness Committees.

Respectfully submitted,

Amy Cooke, clerk Spirit and Witness

Stewardship Committee

Stewardship Committee

Minutes from meeting on June 8, 2023

Present: Mary Starr, clerk, Gordon Starr, recorder, Fosten Wilson, Pat Phillips, Dianne Marshall,

Reed Hamilton, Don McCormick

Finances: Fosten reported income for May as $488. There was an additional donation of $100

through Thyle, which bounced, likely due to an expired credit card. Funds out totaled $620.

There were also two people who requested scholarship help to attend the FGC Gathering in

Oregon from the FGC Scholarship Fund. The committee agree to issue checks of $150 to each

individual, leaving a balance of $70 in the fund. It was noted we have received a late, third

request for scholarship help to attend FGC. As noted above, there is only $70 left in the fund.

What to do? We will allocate the remaining $70 to this person and bring a request to Meeting

during announcements for additional funds.

A discussion ensued about how this scholarship is funded. It was clarified it is funded by

donations from individuals, not from the general fund. It was also suggested that, in the future,

Meeting fund this scholarship at a set amount each year, ($200?) up to a set limit of (?).

2023-24 Budget Development. We agreed to meeting in late July or early August. Fosten will

send an email to those interested in participating. Dianne, Gordon and Mary agreed to meet.

Library, Don brought questions from A Book of Library Procedures for the committee to

consider:

What do we want from our library?

Book written by or about Friends?

What about books being read by Meeting groups?

What about old books which haven’t been checked out in a long time?

We agreed to keep multiple copies of books important to Meeting be kept in the Quaker closet.

The digital projector Don found in the closet is ours and we will keep it.

Dianne made a plea to all committees to get dates of events and meetings to her in time to be

included in the newsletter.

Website. What is the status of the web site and who has control of it?

Welcome Committee

(see body of the Minutes)

Children’s Program Committee

Memorial Minute for Sylvia Osman

Sylvia Louise Osman passed away peacefully in her home with family on March 19, 2023. She was born in Placerville, CA on August 3, 1926 to Gladys Easter (Ingraham) Austin and Lloyd Charles Austin (an eminent iris hybridizer). She was 96 years old. Sylvia is survived by her children and their spouses: Julia Ann Levinson and Eric Levinson, Eric Douglas Osman, Jeanette Rene Osman-Bravard and Russell Osman-Bravard, and her sister Jewell DeLapp. She is also survived by her grandsons (Cory, Clinton and Watson). Sylvia was predeceased by her loving husband, Wesley Harris Osman in 1997 and her brother, Norman Austin in 2015.

Sylvia had a Masters Degree in Social Work and worked 22 years as a Social Worker for Sacramento County. She was also a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.
Sylvia was deeply loved by her family and loved by all who knew her. She devoted her life to helping others. As residents of Sacramento, Sylvia and Wesley worked tirelessly for the causes of peace and justice. Together they shared a mission to champion the rights of the forgotten and the under-served, and a vision of an America that valued and respected all of its citizens. Wesley was a pastor for the United Methodist Church and they remained involved with the church after his retirement.
After Wes’ death in 1997, Sylvia continued her involvement with numerous groups and organizations. In the year 2000 Sylvia moved to Grass Valley to help with and live closer to her grandsons. Sylvia maintained a large iris garden at her Grass Valley home. It was filled with iris that her father had hybridized. In May her yard was filled with blooms and was the attraction of the neighborhood. She loved the outdoors and was an avid tree-lover.

In addition to helping with her grandsons, Sylvia continued her quest for political, social, and personal change. She volunteered for Hospitality House of Grass Valley, attended the Grass Valley Friends Meetings, and practiced daily meditation.  At the Grass Valley Friends Meeting for Worship, she often gave positive, uplifting messages. She was involved in the Library committee, where she was instrumental in helping the Librarian. In keeping with her spirit of activism, Sylvia served on the Peace and Social Concerns committee for 10 years. Additionally, she was a member of the local chapter of Gather the Women and attended Nonviolent Communication classes. She remained socially active into her early 90’s, touching many people in the Sacramento and Grass Valley communities.
Sylvia was self-less to a fault, always looking to consider the needs of others above her own. Every day Sylvia lived by values she so firmly believed in. She touched everyone she knew and served as a spiritual and social model to others. She will be dearly missed by family and friends.