August 2024 – Meeting for Worship on the Occasion of Business
Of the Religious Society of Friends of the Truth College Park Quarterly Meeting, Pacific Yearly Meeting Meeting for Worship on the Occasion of Business August 11, 2024 We met in a hybrid meeting in person at the meetinghouse and on Zoom. Present: Dorothy Henderson, clerk; Jennifer Smith, recording clerk; Gordon Starr, elder to the clerk; Mary Starr, Doug Hamm, Dean Olson, Lo Hamm, fosten wilson, Kathy McCreery, Stuart Smith, Sharon Davisson, Judy Hamilton, Peter O’Rourke, and Marilyn Guida The Meeting opened with silent worship. Today in meeting one of our young children stood during ministry and reintroduced himself and his family after being gone for the summer. This was his way of saying “This is us and we are important to each other. We belong here and we matter.” Query: How is your need for belonging met when you come to Meeting for Worship for Business? Friends spoke out of the silence: Being a part of Meeting for Worship for Business is where the rubber meets the road and it’s easier to steer when a “car” is moving. Another member replied that we need all the practice we can get. Another spoke of how this is something they can do to contribute. Being on Zoom feels very different from being in person in the building. That feeling of warmth is not the same as when one is sitting in meeting for worship. One member recalled many years ago asking an elder in meeting “Why are you here? You know all of this already?” when they were reviewing Faith and Practice. The response was “We always go to family gatherings.” Meeting for worship for Business is a “Thank You.” Another member remembered talking to a Friend who considered herself a “Tribal Quaker” and preferred to stick to the Friends close to home. But, this Friend was feeling joy at finding a sense of belonging and community in the greater Quaker world. (see reports appended, committee clerk is noted in bold) Spirit and Witness: Amy Cooke (2024-2027), Stuart Smith (2023-2026), Reed Hamilton (2022-2025), Sharon Davisson (2022-2025), Dean Olson (2023-2026), Dorothy Henderson (ex-officio, GVFM Clerk) Stuart Smith gave the report, appended. MINUTE 2024.08.01: The Clearness Committee for membership for Keith Runyan, consisting of Gordon Starr, Reed Hamilton, and Stuart Smith, met with Keith in May of 2024. The Committee reached clearness that Keith is well prepared to join the Society of Friends and Grass Valley Friends Meeting. Grass Valley Friends Meeting wholeheartedly approves his membership. MINUTE (Seasoning until the 9th month): Grass Valley Friends Meeting releases Dayton Mason from membership in Grass Valley Friends Meeting. We will send a registered letter notifying him in the next 30 days. MINUTE (Seasoning until the 9th month): Grass Valley Friends Meeting releases Coleman Watts from membership in Grass Valley Friends Meeting. We will send a registered letter notifying him in the next 30 days. MINUTE (Being sent back to Spirit and Witness for further discernment): Grass Valley Friends Meeting agrees to hold the reporting on Quaker organizations under the care of the Meeting as a whole during Meeting for Worship for Business. In Meeting for Worship for Business each month, Friends are invited to share their knowledge and inspiration about how Spirit is working in Quaker organizations. It is requested that these reports be submitted to the Clerk and Recording Clerk in advance of the Meeting for inclusion on the agenda. We recommend that we experiment with this new structure for 3 months. If the new structure is approved we will remove the responsibility for reporting on Quaker organizations from the Spirit and Witness Committee and the Welcome Committee job descriptions in November 2024 at the Meeting for Worship for Business. One member asked for clarification on where the responsibility lies on the new proposed reporting on organizations. Spirit and Witness proposes that the Newsletter will report on one of these 12 organizations each month. At the same time, members in the meeting will share with the community information on how Spirit moves through these organizations. There was a concern that this will add a greater workload to the newsletter editor. We want to make sure this person can speak up for herself about this. One member thought we should take a step back and ask ourselves why we are informing each other about these organizations in the first place. This might guide our decision. One member pointed out that there are 12 organizations, but only 11 Business Meetings. This Minute is being sent back to Spirit and Witness for further discernment. Stewardship: Gordon Starr, Pat Phillips, Reed Hamilton, David Bowman. Dianne Marshall (ex-officio, Newsletter editor), Mary Starr (ex-officio, Treasurer), Don McCormick (ex-officio, Librarian), HaileyWilson (ex-officio Tech Support). Gordon Starr gave the report, appended. The treasurer would like to make sure the new computer can run specific software that will cost $140 per year. This cost will come out of the Technology funds. MINUTE (Seasoning until the 9th month) Grass Valley Friends Meeting agrees that all financial files older than seven years be shredded, in accordance with current law. MINUTE 2024.08.02: Grass Valley Friends meeting agrees to buy a new laptop for the meeting at a cost of approximately $600. Welcome: Peter O’Rourke (Website and Facebook coordinator), Kathy McCreery, Don McCormick, Pat Phillips, Cheryl Hendrickson, Cindy Bliss, Lo Hamm, Judy Hamilton (ex-officio email coordinator), Nancy Anderson (ex-officio directory clerk). Peter O’Rourke gave the report, appended. A clarification was needed on the address for the meeting potluck. The address is below, and will be included in the newsletter: 800 Pine Knoll Road, Applegate, CA Another announcement that FGC will alternate between in person and online each year. Nominating Committee: (terms as noted) Judy Hamilton: 2022-2024, Gordon Starr: 2022-2024, Dean Olson 2023-2025, Sharon Davisson 2023-2024. There was no report. Children’s Program: Keely McDonald, Doug Hamm, Judy Hamilton, Dean Olson, Reed Hamilton, Don McCormick, David Cowan, Lo Hamm. Doug Hamm gave the report, appended Treasurer: Mary Starr gave the report, appended. There is an extra $200 in the Nisenan Land Return Funds that needs to be dispersed. Pacific Yearly Meeting: Doug Hamm gave the report, appended. College Park Quarterly Meeting: No report given. Interfaith Nevada County: No report given. This clerk is excited to attend each of the committee meetings to make sure she is fully aware of what is going on in the meeting. She is excited to fully step into this position. We also ask that all committee clerks submit their reports by Wednesday before Meeting for Worship for Business so we can have everything ready in a timely manner for the agenda and minutes. MINUTE (Seasoning until the 9th month): Grass Valley Friends Meeting releases Dayton Mason from membership in Grass Valley Friends Meeting. We will send a registered letter notifying him in the next 30 days. MINUTE (Seasoning until the 9th month): Grass Valley Friends Meeting releases Coleman Watts from membership in Grass Valley Friends Meeting. We will send a registered letter notifying him in the next 30 days. MINUTE (Seasoning until the 9th month) Grass Valley Friends Meeting agrees that all financial files older than seven years be shredded, in accordance with current law. MINUTE (Returning to Spirit and Witness for further discernment): Grass Valley Friends Meeting agrees to hold the reporting on Quaker organizations under the care of the Meeting as a whole during Meeting for Worship for Business. In Meeting for Worship for Business each month, Friends are invited to share their knowledge and inspiration about how Spirit is working in Quaker organizations. It is requested that these reports be submitted to the Clerk and Recording Clerk in advance of the Meeting for inclusion on the agenda. We recommend that we experiment with this new structure for 3 months. If the new structure is approved we will remove the responsibility for reporting on Quaker organizations from the Spirit and Witness Committee and the Welcome Committee job descriptions in November 2024 at the Meeting for Worship for Business. Facebook: please 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. The 2023-2024 PacYM General Directory is temporarily unavailable while the website redesign is in progress. When available, the Directory is for use by members and attenders of monthly meetings and worship groups within Pacific Yearly Meeting and by Friends serving on Pacific Yearly Meeting committees. It is not to be shared beyond this community. Dorothy, Doug, and Don have the new password for the PacYM Directory. Carl Magruder: You can follow Carl’s healing journey on the CaringBridge.org website HERE. Friends have also set up a daily Meeting for Healing from 7:30 to 8 am (Pacific) on Zoom here or contact Amy Cooke at amylisette@gmail.com for the link. Contributions to Grass Valley Friends Meeting are gratefully accepted. You can give by mailing a check to Mary Starr or through Tithely on the website or our newsletter. Our treasurer is asking for additional funds this month in order to fund our year end donation. 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 jenniferjksmith@gmail.com THE WEDNESDAY BEFORE MEETING FOR BUSINESS. Please write reports in 12 point, Times New Roman font. This formatting will match the formatting in our Meeting for Worship for Business Minutes and Record. And, if possible, write reports in Google Docs and share with both Dorothy and Jennifer. GVFM Newsletter Reminder: Please have items into Dianne Marshall by Tuesday at 10 am. The Meeting closed with silent worship. Respectfully recorded by Jennifer Smith, recording clerk. Spirit and Witness Committee report Stewardship Committee report Friendly Audit Notes Welcome Committee report “Connect with Quakers” organizations outreach report Children’s Committee report Treasurer’s Report Pacific Yearly Meeting Monthly Report Interfaith Nevada County report Information: Organization Representatives by Committee ————————————————————————- Spirit & Witness Report 08.2024 The Spirit & Witness Committee – which includes Dean Olson, Stuart Smith, Sharon Davisson, Reed Hamilton, and Amy Cooke – met this month to attend to our responsibilities in the Meeting, described in the opening paragraph of our job description: “The primary responsibilities of the Spirit and Witness Committee are tending to the spiritual wellbeing of the Meeting community, the pastoral care of individuals within the community, and the movement of Spirit in the Meeting members as they are led to take action in the wider world. These three areas of responsibility are integrated one with another and are mutually interdependent.” This description continues to inspire us as we embark on a new year of engaging in our work together, and with all of you. The committee nominated Amy Cooke to continue as clerk of the committee for 2024-25. We heard from Dorothy who is continuing to engage with her role as the Clerk of the Meeting and we continue to seek ways to support her as she deepens into this work. It was appreciated that the role of the Clerk of the meeting includes being a lifeline that connects all the committees and all the members and attenders. We realized that we had neglected to convene the Spring meeting of all the clerks. This group also serves as the Naming Committee to bring forward the names to serve on the Nominating Committee, so that work also was neglected! Three people on the Nominating Committee have terms that are expiring: Judy Hamilton: 2022-2024, Sharon Davisson 2023-2024, and Gordon Starr 2022-2024. Please email Amy with the names of the new (or continuing) committee clerks so that we can convene this group in September. We have been reviewing members that we have not heard from or who have not participated in Meeting in partnership with the co-Recorders (Don McCormick and Gordon Starr). After following the process in Faith and Practice (page 150) we are ready to release two members, and bring to you the minutes to that effect, to season until 9th month. MINUTE: Grass Valley Friends Meeting releases Dayton Mason from membership in Grass Valley Friends Meeting. We will send a registered letter notifying him in the next 30 days. MINUTE: Grass Valley Friends Meeting releases Coleman Watts from membership in Grass Valley Friends Meeting. We will send a registered letter notifying him in the next 30 days. We also addressed the way we are holding and reporting on Quaker organizations. As Friends may remember, as part of the Meeting restructuring we moved from individual representatives of various Quaker organizations to placing the organizations under the care of the Welcome committee and Spirit and Witness to report on each month (S&W took six and Welcome committee took six). This past June, the Welcome Committee asked Dianne to put the organization profiles in the newsletter as a simplified way to ensure that people in the Meeting community were updated about these organizations. This led us to ask three queries: Shall we change the way we report on Quaker organizations in our Meeting? Does Spirit & Witness want to release the organizations we report on? This would require a change in the job descriptions of both S&W and Welcome. Should we recommend this change? After a period of discernment, we bring the proposed minute to Grass Valley Friends Meeting: MINUTE: Grass Valley Friends Meeting agrees to hold the reporting on Quaker organizations under the care of the Meeting as a whole during Meeting for Worship for Business. In Meeting for Worship for Business each month, Friends are invited to share their knowledge and inspiration about how Spirit is working in Quaker organizations. It is requested that these reports be submitted to the Clerk and Recording Clerk in advance of the Meeting for inclusion on the agenda. We recommend that we experiment with this new structure for 3 months. If the new structure is approved we will remove the responsibility for reporting on Quaker organizations from the Spirit and Witness Committee and the Welcome Committee job descriptions in November 2024 at the Meeting for Worship for Business. We also recommend that our Newsletter editor take the initiative to ensure that one Quaker organization is profiled in the newsletter each month to cover all 12 organizations that we currently report on. We are also continuing to hold the land back transition as Woolman (re)becomes Yulića. We anticipate a close of escrow in late August or early September. The Toward Right Relation Witness Committee under our care will be planning a program for GVFM on August 18 after meeting. This gathering will help to inform Dorothy on a letter she will write to CHIRP on behalf of the meeting. We have received feedback on the Spirit and Witness programs after meeting, with a proposed idea to reform the Spiritual Life committee as a subcommittee under Spirit and Witness. While we did not reach unity on that idea, we are eager to lift up the inspiration in our meeting for our after meeting programs. We would like to start a worship sharing Sunday once a month, and look at what gifts in our meeting might be shared with others. We are also looking at a possible Quaker book group once a month and a winter film series. We invite feedback and ideas! Report from meeting on August 1, 2024 Present: Mary Starr, clerk and new Meeting treasurer, Gordon Starr, recorder, Reed Hamilton, Pat Phillips, Fosten Wilson, Dianne Marshall, newsletter, Don McCormic, librarian. Finance. Mary reported donations for June were $552, with expenses of $627. For July, donations were $937, while expenses were $627. On June 6, 2024 Gordon Starr, Reed Hamilton and the incoming treasurer Mary Starr, met with Fosten Wilson for a Friendly Audit based on the process pamphlet from FGC to go over the duties of the treasurer and reconcile the Meetings books and accounts in preparation of the transfer of treasurer responsibilities to Mary Starr. The Meeting’s computer and records are now in Mary’s care. Please note donations are now to be sent to Mary Starr. Her address is in the newsletter and on the Meeting’s contact sheet. Two important concerns came to light at this meeting. Currently, financial records going back more than thirty years have been kept and stored in file boxes. Current law requires most business records to be held for only seven years. Fosten and Kathy McCreery, the previous treasurer said they have never had a need to search these files. It is therefore the recommendation of this committee that all financial files older than seven years be shredded. Secondly, as indicated in the report, the Meeting’s computer and software are very old and cannot be updated or repaired. If there is any problem, we may lose all our data. Therefore, it is this committee’s recommendation that Meeting buy a new laptop for the treasurer at a cost of approximately $600. She is researching which financial program, Quicken or Quick Books, will best suit our needs and hopes to have a recommendation by time of Meeting for Business this month. The goal is for us to be up on the new system by October 1, the start of our fiscal year. Library. The library continues to receive new donated books which Don appreciates and brings to meeting each Sunday to introduce to us. Newsletter. Dianne reported that she had sent Peter O’Rourke all newsletters she had completed for posting on line, in hopes of getting them on Google drive. However, a search didn’t find them. In contacting Peter, he explained that the GVFM website had been completely revamped and newsletters can be found by going to www.grassvalleyfriends.org/newsletters Google will not get you there. She also asked if Spirit and Witness could get the monthly queries to her so she can include them. Also, does Spirit and Witness want the newsletter to carry the organization reports? Archive subcommittee Don and Gordon reported that, considering our small meeting, for the time being, paper is fine. Gordon Starr has contacted Alexis (?) about the status of our rental agreement and our internet arrangement with Woolman in the transition to the new owners. He was told they would continue with the current rental agreement and were continuing with the current internet provider and would notifying us of any changes of providers. New officers. Gordon has agreed to clerk the committee this next year and Fosten will record. However, since Fosten will be elsewhere for the next meeting, Dianne will record. Next meeting: September 5, 3:00 PM On the occasion of the transfer of the financial records of Grass Valley Meeting from Fosten Wilson to Mary Starr. June 14, 2024 Present: Mary Starr, Fosten Wilson, and witness Reed Hamilton and Gordon Starr. We met at Fosten Wilson house in person starting around 10 AM. Using the FGC booklet Friendly Audits by Elizabeth Muench, we went through the 24 questions she suggests that address many of the facets of good financial methods and systems. Are financial reports prepared and presented regularly. Yes. In addition to quarterly and annual reports, the Treasurer, as a member of Stewardship Committee presents a brief statement of income and expenses as part of Stewardship’s monthly Report. Does the treasurer keep a special file of the minutes that relate to the Meeting’s financial affairs? No special file is maintained. However, the monthly news letters contain minutes from each Meeting for Business and therefore all minuted decisions are included. Are records kept in a safe place? Traditionally, they have been kept in the home of treasurer. If the Meeting has property, furniture, or equipment, is there an inventory of assets having significant value? No, not currently. However, Meeting does have some asset of considerable vale, e.g. the Owl, the laptop computer, the TV, the piano, and certainly the library. It was agreed that a complete list is advisable, given the coming change in ownership of the Center. The new treasurer has agreed to work on this. Receipts Are all checks and cash received and recorded promptly and deposited in their entirety? Yes, deposits are made at least once a month or more in their entirety. 6. Is there a confidential, detailed listing of individual contributions as they are received. Yes, there is a very detailed listing of who has given and how much. It is noted that the previous treasurer, not trusting an old computer with old software, has kept a duplicate hand written copy of all this information, ”just in case.” 7. Are cash contributions always counted and deposited bay a committee. No, they are deposited with other contribution by the treasurer. 8. How are earmarked contributions handled? They are tracked separately in restricted funds which are included in quarterly reports. Contribution received for transmission to an outside organization are minuted by the Meeting. 9. Are all expenditures made in accordance with an approved budget? Yes. Has the Meeting minuted its approval, preferably beforehand, for any expenditure not budgeted? Yes. 10. Are all expenditures, except small ones from petty cash made by check. Yes, and we have no petty cash. 11. Are all expense accounts submitted promptly; adequately supported? We have no expense accounts. There are budget items for which reimbursement is required and there is a form to fill out to request this. 12. Are supporting documents for checks marked in some way to avoid duplicate payments and facilitate identifying which check paid which bill? Yes, it is entered in the check register and also on the invoice. Bank Accounts. 13. Are personal funds and personal funds kept strictly segregated from each other? Yes. 14. Are all checks prenumbered and all numbers accounted for. Yes. 15. Are all checks recorded when issued? Yes. 16. Are all unused checks kept in a safe place? Yes. 17. Are all voided checks retained and mutilated? Yes. 18. Are bank reconciliations prepared when a statement is received. Yes. Twice see #6. 19. Are there many outstanding checks? No. 20. When a check is voided, is a corresponding adjustment made in the expenditure account? Yes. 21. Look at the backs of the returned checks: have they been cashed by the person or business they were made out to? No, checks are no longer returned. 22. Are Meeting bank accounts provided with alternate signers in case of illness or vacation? Yes. 23. Do at least two of the Meeting’s officers have an up-to-date list of all of Meeting’s bank accounts with the names and addresses of the authorized signers? No. Meeting only has one bank account, but does have two meeting members as signers in addition to the treasurer for that account. Are all changes of authorized signers or the opening and closing of bank accounts made only after being properly minuted by the monthly meeting? Yes. 24. What taxpayer identification number is used on the meeting’s bank accounts? If the meeting doesn’t have its own number, should it? We use PYM’s tax I.D. number. Getting our own number has been an on-going conversation but it is complicated and hasn’t been necessary so far. The change of treasurers presented a good opportunity to examine the various methods and practices used to maintain and support Meeting’s financial system. It became apparent there are two main issues to deal with: One, the financial files go back nearly thirty years. They are in various formats, from hand written notes to files on a very old version of Quickbooks, with lots of “work arounds” to make it all work. We need to research how long we need to keep old financial records. If it is seven years, as it is for businesses, we recommend that a proposal be brought to Meeting for Business to approve shredding all records older than that. Secondly, and more importantly, the computer and software currently being used are very old, not updatable or even fixable. The computer cannot talk to a printer, so files have to be loaded on to a flash drive and loaded into another computer in order to be printed out. Should something go wrong or fail at any time, we would be in a very precarious situation. A new or updated version of Quickbooks will need a new computer to run. It is much a more powerful program than the Meeting needs, and is more expensive. But it does have some features that are helpful in tracking the restricted funds that Quicken doesn’t have. Mary and Fosten agreed it best to continue using the current system setup until the end of the fiscal year, October 1, 2024 while, concurrently, researching a new computer and software. On approval by Meeting, she will purchase the needed equipment and begin to transfer records into the new system in preparation for the new fiscal year. Meeting for Worship – Welcome Committee August 5, 2024 / 7:00PM / Zoom Greeting Checklist Working well Meeting directory Will be sent out in coming weeks Monthly potluck Recent potluck went well August potluck to be held and Mary and Gordon’s home Dean Olsen support Later this month, Judy will send out meal and visit support email for Friends to sign up Organization Reports Friends General Conference (FGC) – August 2024 – see separate Word document “Outreach” – Group’s ongoing initiatives: Next Door app – Cindy Figure out how to have GVFM website appear in “Religious affiliation in Grass Valley’ search – Pete Friendly 8s – Don Reach out to friends who have not attended recent Worship – Judy How to bring more people into meeting – all Next Meeting Monday, Sept. 8, 7pm Closing Worship Organization Friends General Conference (FGC) 1216 Arch St, #2BPhiladelphia, PA 19107 Questions/queries What’s Going On at FGC The Ministry on Racism is hosting a bi-weekly virtual Meeting for Worship for white Friends/Friends of European descent confronting racism and white supremacy. This worship seeks to nourish white Friends’ communal anti-racism commitment and provide a space for the work we have to do together. It will be held every Thursday at 8PM EST/ 7PM CT/ 6PM MT/ 5PM PT/ 4PM HT (starting June 2nd) and Friday at 12 PM ET / 11 AM CT / 10 AM MT / 9 AM PT / 6 AM HT. What is the mission of FGC? We envision a vital and growing Religious Society of Friends—a faith that deepens spiritually, welcomes newcomers, builds supportive and inclusive community, and provides loving service and witness in the world. What’s exciting about what FGC is doing? The Silence & Light for Quaker Newcomers eRetreat invites you to explore and practice the experience of Quaker worship and silent waiting, for an inward encounter with Inner Teacher who leads, guides, and transforms us every day. This session is offered for people who are curious about Quakers or new to Quakerism and will explore the basics of Quaker theology and practice. Event Date: Thursday, August 15, 2024 Are there any concerns? No concerns noted How can Friends get involved? Complete Volunteer Skills and Interest Survey on FGC website www.fgcquaker.org 08.2024 CPC Report Between February and July Doug and Dorothy were away which led us to asking other members of the friends meeting to substitute. We were lucky enough to have Al Stahler, Gordon and Mary Starr and Gordon Bishop step in while they were away. Lo also was very heavily relied upon as our alternate buddy. Thank you Lo! Furthermore, we had a couple of 5th Sundays for which both Stuart and Amy provided programs. We are very grateful to everyone who helped out and participated! Our regular roster of teachers going forward will be: 1st Sunday: Doug and Lo, 2nd Sunday: Don and Reed, 3rd Sunday: Keely and David and 4th Sunday: Judy and Dean I don’t have notes about attendance or topics of instruction. No further meetings have happened since the January 16th meeting. In April we had a Spring field trip at Keely’s home. In attendance were Kirk, Emma, Hailey, Olivia and Olivia’s friend from SF. We made pizza, drew with paper and pencils and watched funny, Quaker themed videos. Treasurer’s Report Treasurer’s Quarterly Report 08-11-2024 Summary = We’re doing okay, but have some year-end challenges. This report covers April thru June, 2024. The contributions ($1,836) are somewhat keeping up with our monthly expenses, however we are now in the final quarter of our fiscal year (ending September 30th) and we will be needing an additional $1,000 – $1,200 to fund our year-end donations. The “Fund Balances” and the “Actual Spending vs Budget” reports are available in the Meeting House – near the library – and by contacting me. Thank-you for all of your help. All gifts, both in service to the Meeting and financial are deeply appreciated. Money contributions can be in-person, mailed to my address below, or online by using the “give” button at grassvalleyfriends.org. Mary Starr, Treasurer P. O. Box 506 Applegate, CA 95703 Email = mstarr2133@aol.com Clerk Laura Magnani’s call for this annual session was on Transformation. She noted, “This doesn’t mean we know where we are headed, but we are invited to seek, to ask questions, to map where we have been and seek if we can chart a path forward together.” The keynote this year was O. They joined us via zoom from Philadelphia. They delivered a profound and carefully orchestrated visual journey through our universe of religious experience as it pertains to the miracle of life experience. Their opening gift to each attender was a mustard seed, symbolizing the latent potential of a human egg at the time of conception. Their abiding message was about the gratitude and wonder as we make our way on this small planet. This message carried us through the week of worship, plenaries and fellowship. Annual Session was held at Whittier College in Whittier, California. It is a small Quaker college honoring John Greenleaf Whittier. It was a wonderful campus and we are planning on returning there next year. There were 25 teens present in Junior Yearly Meeting (JYM). They did a service project at Whittier Friends School and their epistle is well worth reading. It is on the PYM website. In addition there were 24 YAFs (Young Adult Friends), also very active. It bodes well for our Quaker future. Changes have taken place in the clerk and assistant to the clerk. Robin Durant of Orange Grove Meeting is the new Clerk and Sarah Rose House -Lightner also of Orange Grove is the new Assistant to the Clerk. Valerie Nuttman of Santa Cruz Meeting is the elder to the clerk. Sunday’s Meeting for Memorials was especially poignant and sad as one of the names on the wall in the room was a thirteen-year-old girl who had committed suicide. She was not a part of the yearly meeting but had attended Quaker Center camp so many of the teens in the Meeting knew her, and some were finding out about this during memorials. It was a painful and deeply held meeting and there was careful follow-up with the teens and with some parents during the day and week following. In particular, three Friends (Sue Torrey and Vickie Carrol of Central Coast Meeting and Nathan Kleban who is the new General Secretary of Right Sharing) led the teen group in two AVP sessions, one before Memorials and one designed particularly to support the teens after the Memorial. Monday the evening plenary was facilitated by Joyce Ajlouny, the General Secretary of AFSC. She presented on the conflict in the Middle East and what our Quaker response should be. During Annual Session, Friends had approached the Peace and Social Order Committee (PSO) about writing a social concern minute concerning the war in Israel and Palestine. Two members of PSO listened to concerned Friends and then gathered a small ad hoc committee, similar to an epistle committee (as stated in PSO’s report as a suggestion for developing social concern minutes at Annual Session) and labored together to create a minute to present to the Annual Session body at the first available plenary. There was no sense of unity at the Monday night plenary and we returned to our ad hoc committee with suggestions for clarifying the minute. Changes were made and the social concern minute was read at the next plenary session. The Annual Session reached unity on the minute attached. Second Draft Minute of Concern on Gaza, Israel and the Palestinians As Quakers, we oppose all wars and therefore seek a just and lasting peace in Israel and Palestine. We grieve the loss of Israeli and Palestinian lives and call for the following: 1. A permanent ceasefire. 2. End complicity in human rights violations and war crimes by the U.S. and other countries, and impose an arms embargo. 3. Release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian political prisoners. 4. Expedited humanitarian aid and protection of aid workers, including AFSC staff. 5. A lasting peace that guarantees safety and justice for Israelis and Palestinians. To address the recommendations from AFSC, the Peace and Social Concerns Committee of Yearly Meeting invites our monthly meetings to carefully review the AFSC document dated April 12, 2024, “A Different Future is Possible: Quaker Organizations Share a Vision for Peace in Palestine and Israel,” and discern what actions they might take in responding to this call (https://afsc.org/newsroom/different-future-possible-quaker-organizations-share-vision-peace. Please see the following information in the newsletter for a unique opportunity that is presented by a collaboration between Friends Peace Teams (FPT) with Nadine Hoover and Quaker Religious Education Collaborative (QREC) with Beth Colea. Perhaps some friends would like to do this together. 5- From Beyond PacYM: Quaker Adult Religious Education Opportunity Walking in the World as a Friend: Community Practice Group. Adult Religious Education Online on 3rd Mondays, 4:15 – 6:00pm Pacific time, Sept 16, Oct 21, and Nov 18, 2024. For more information and to register, go to Quaker Religious Education Collaborative (QREC) or Friends Peace Teams (FPT). See newsletter for more information https://quakerrecollaborative.org/walking-friend-practice-group https://friendspeaceteams.org/walking-in-the-world-as-a-friend/ No report given.GRASS VALLEY FRIENDS MEETING
MINUTES & RECORD
Clerks’ Remarks and Query
COMMITTEE REPORTS
OFFICER REPORTS and REPRESENTATIVE REPORTS
CLERK’S REMARKS:
ITEMS SEASONING or CARRIED OVER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
READING OF THE RECORD AND MINUTES
APPENDICES:
Spirit and Witness Report
Stewardship Committee
Friendly Audit Note
Welcome Committee
Attendees: Judy, Kathy, Don, Cindy, Nancy, Pete
Opening Worship
Welcoming Committee August 2024 Report
“connect with Quakers” organizations outreach
Children’s Committee Report
Pacific Yearly Meeting Monthly Report
InterFaith Nevada County Report