November 2024 – Meeting for Worship on the Occasion of Business
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
November 10, 2024
We met in a hybrid meeting in person at the meetinghouse and on Zoom.
Present: Dorothy Henderson, clerk; Jennifer Smith, recording clerk; Stuart Smith, Mary Starr, Gordon Starr, Judy Hamilton, Doug Hamm, Dianne Marshall, Reed Hamilton, Don McCormick, Peter O’Rourke, & Sharon Davisson.
The Meeting opened with silent worship.
Clerks’ Remarks and Query
A sharing of the Daily Quaker Message: Unison Benediction.
Meeting for Worship for Business is where we come together to make things happen. What are we as people of faith being called to at this time?
What are we/you called to at this time?
One Friend shared that it is Spirit that is calling them to respond to what is being said in Meeting for Worship for Business.
Another Friend referred to a Mother Theresa quote that said “God won’t give me anything I couldn’t handle, I just wish He wouldn’t trust me so much.” She went on to reference events happening in our world today.
Another Friend spoke about her reaction to the election, and realized it’s more important than ever to look at how she herself wakes up and represents her beliefs in the world we are facing. Several other Friends agreed.
Meeting for Worship for Business is the central committee that carries forward all the other workings of the meeting. Each of us is performing an important action by being here and participating, and performing our acts of love.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
(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)
Reed Hamilton gave the report, appended.
Reed also read the report from the Toward Right Relations subcommittee, appended. They will be working on a letter to go out to other Meetings that will share our experience with the transition of the Woolman land to the Nisenan. This letter will go back to Spirit and Witness to be seasoned.
There was a question about a book group possibility in the future. There are not any answers yet.
MINUTE 2024.11.01: Grass Valley Friends Meeting approves the nomination of fosten wilson to the Nominating Committee, for a term of 2024-2026.
MINUTE 2024.11.02: Spirit and Witness establishes the Programs sub-committee under our care, with initial members of Don McCormick, Gordon Starr, and Amy Cooke. Other members and attenders of Meeting are welcome to join.
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.
There was a slight increase in our internet cost per month.
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.
One Friend spoke up about how now is a good time for us to make Quakerism more visible to those in the wider world who might be looking for answers that we can help provide.
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.
There was no report.
OFFICER REPORTS and REPRESENTATIVE REPORTS
Treasurer: Report given by Mary Starr, appended.
There was a question about contributions to Sierra Friends Center, and if that will be removed from the budget going forward. It will.
Details about the budget will be included in the Newsletter.
Pacific Yearly Meeting: Stuart Smith gave the report, appended.
One Friend has expressed concern about Pacific Yearly Meeting’s lack of attention to outreach and new membership, and pointed out the opposite, the great attention that Friends General Conference is making toward outreach and has offered suggestions to us from them. This should be a higher priority to growing our membership across Pacific Yearly Meeting.
There was also a concern raised about the transparency and lack of clear communication with the PYC Newsletter going out to the community. There was a request that something be written up about this for our own newsletter.
College Park Quarterly Meeting: No report given.
Interfaith Nevada County: No report given.
Sharings from the wider Quaker world:
Judy Hamilton reported on Right Sharing of World Resources, appended. We collect stamps to raise funds for their program.
Friends General Conference has a new push for outreach. FGC’s annual gathering will be online this year.
Several groups are available as possible outreach options that focus on Quaker history:
Quaker Theological Discussion Group which is managed by people at George Fox University.
The Center for Research on Quaker Studies at Birmingham University, UK.
CLERK’S REMARKS:
Dorothy shared that she felt like we were centered as a group today. Each person gave us something about how we as Quakers are to bring ourselves into this time. We are all in this together.
ITEMS SEASONING or CARRIED OVER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
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. The directory is now 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 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.
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 jenniferjksmith@gmail.com THE WEDNESDAY BEFORE MEETING FOR BUSINESS 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.
APPENDICES:
Spirit and Witness Committee report
Stewardship Committee report
Welcome Committee report
Children’s Committee report
Treasurer’s Report
Interfaith Nevada County report
Pacific Yearly Meeting report
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Spirit & Witness Report
11.2024
Proposed minute, to be seasoned until 11.2024: Grass Valley Friends Meeting approves the nomination of fosten wilson to the Nominating Committee, for a term of 2024-2026.
We have established a subcommittee under Spirit and Witness. Our minute reads as follows:
Minute: Spirit and Witness establishes the Programs sub-committee under our care, with initial members of Don McCormick, Gordon Starr, and Amy Cooke. Other members and attenders of meeting are welcome to join.
The subcommittee will report monthly to the Spirit and Witness committee.
We hold our Meeting, the land we are on and all its inhabitants, our tender world, and each other with love and hope.
From Robin Wall Kimmerer:
“Even a wounded world is feeding us. Even a wounded world holds us, giving us moments of wonder and joy. I choose joy over despair. Not because I have my head in the sand, but because joy is what the earth gives me daily and I must return the gift.”
Respectfully submitted,
Amy Cooke
clerk, Spirit and Witness Committee
Toward Right Relations Subcommittee
10/25/24
Present: Reed Hamilton, clerk; Dianne Marshall; Marilyn Guida; Sharon Davisson
In a previous meeting we had come together on the idea of a letter that could be sent to other Meetings that dwell near California Indigenous tribes, offering to share our experience with the transition of the Woolman land to the Nisenan. The idea was that if other Meetings are or wished to be in dialogue with local tribes that our ongoing experience might be helpful and stimulate a wider engagement with tribes in the state. We would not be suggesting any particular approach, but an ongoing conversation. Dianne had composed a draft letter that was then edited slightly.
We looked again at this letter and approved it. We concluded that we should send it out to a limited number of Meetings to begin with, learning how we might proceed from those initial contacts.
We also considered a suggestion from Spirit and Witness that we hold a Witness program after worship to take on the challenges and opportunities with relations with Indigenous people, especially the Nisenan. One idea from S&W was to discuss how to be allies to Indigenous people. We concluded that we did not really know how to be allies yet. We did discuss other possible subjects, such as Indigenous relations to land and place. We are in discernment on this question.
Stewardship Committee
Present – Gordon Starr, Committee Clerk; Mary Starr; Reed Hamilton; Dianne Marshall; & Fosten Wilson
Treasurer’s Report – Sept. 2024 income = $1,127. while spending = $1,622.
Total fiscal year (fy) 2023/24 income = $14,649. & spending = $14,822.
In our new fiscal year, Oct. 2024 income = $531. & spending = $662.
Our cost for Meeting House internet access has increased from $45. to $49. / month.
Since our expenses in fy 2023/24 were more than contributions received we were unable to pay most of our budgeted outbound donations. However two unbudgeted financial events – the $6,000 sent to support Nevada City Rancheria’s Homeland Return & the $1,200 cost to re-build our website – are not expected to recur.
Asking regular contributors to increase their monthly giving by $10. was suggested.
Annual Fundraising Letter – Dianne is willing to write this annual appeal. Gordon also volunteered to help.
Newsletter – Dianne requests written contributions for our newsletter. Having more options to fit in will ease her editing work.
Monday, 12/2/2024, at 3 p.m. will be the next Zoom gathering of Stewardship Committee.
Welcome Committee
Meeting for Worship – Welcome Committee
November 4, 2024 / 7:00PM / Zoom
Attendees: Judy, Kathy, Nancy, Cindy, Pete
Opening Worship
Greeting Checklist
No changes; working well
Meeting directory
Updated and distributed
Monthly potluck
No November Potluck
Next potluck tentatively first weekend in December
“Outreach” – Group’s ongoing initiatives:
Friendly 8’s – Don
Will startup in early 2025
Review Quaker Communications and Outreach Facebook group feedback – Don
See below for detail
Next Meeting
Monday, December 9th, 7pm
Closing Worship
Don’s email
Eight weeks ago, I posted the message below to the Quaker Communications and Outreach Facebook group. The responses are below. They contain some useful suggestions.
My small, rural meeting in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains hasn’t had any new inquirers show up for a while. What are some of the most effective ways you know to get new people in the door? And could you say a little about why you consider the method to be effective? Like, your meeting tried it and it worked, or you’ve seen more than one meeting use it and most of the time it worked, you read about how effective it was, someone at your yearly meeting talked about how it worked so well, etc.
Come to think about it, it might also be useful to hear about methods you tried that didn’t work. For example, another religious group in my area regularly wrote articles for the local paper and when they eventually checked to see if it worked, they found out that it didn’t bring in anyone, so they stopped doing it. I also asked my meeting about setting up a booth at the County Fair (which is a very big deal in a rural county like mine) and they said that our meeting tried it several times over the years, and it didn’t get anyone either. Knowing what doesn’t work is useful information, too.
Cynthia Large’s response
I belonged to a large urban meeting who would sometimes have meetings for worship in public parks. And a weekly peace vigil in a central area. Providing a service (like coordinating a food bank or a free pantry) can also be a way to show people what you’re about.
Linda Lotz’ response
Cropwell Meeting, Marlton NJ, held an open house on a sunny fall Saturday, which was well publicized in various ways. Tours of the meetinghouse and refreshments were offered. They also invited people from some Friends organizations (FCNL and AFSC) and friendly local groups to have a literature table, so visitors could learn about them as well. This brought back old friends and also some new people in the area. After this, they held monthly talks followed by a potluck lunch. These were advertised as well, along with emailing the info to their growing mailing list. They also installed a new sign, welcoming people, and created a new website and facebook accounts. Growth was slow but in three years, they have gained more than a dozen new people.
Children’s Committee Report
No report was given.
Treasurer’s Report
Grass Valley Friends Meeting
11-10-2024
Summary = not a bad year, but short of our goals
This report covers July through September 2024, and the Fiscal Year 2023 – 2024. The contributions for the last quarter ($2,252) generally kept up with our monthly expenses, but did not provide the funds necessary for making our year-end contributions. In keeping with the Meeting’s policy of contributing only what is funded by the contributions of the current year, we did not make any of these contributions for FY 2023-2024 (except for a $500 contribution to the Nisenan, which was $375 more that the budgeted $125 contribution).
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
InterFaith Nevada County Report
No report was given.
Pacific Yearly Meeting
Interim PYM check-in 6 November 2024
On Wednesday the 6th of November Robin DuRant, who is the Presiding Clerk of Pacific Yearly Meeting, held an interim meeting to share what she called “the process of transformation” is going in our meetings. Friend Robin’s focus was on structures of meetings, growing or shrinking attendance, and the process of hybrid meetings. Friends from Reno, Honolulu, Mexico City, and Southern and Northern California all dropped in on this Zoom meeting.
The final takeaway was Friend Robin’s call “ to open our hearts, and move forward.” This was in direct response to many Friends’ frustrations with the conservative tilt of the general election the day before. No decisions were made, and no particular advices were offered. My observation was that there is a great diversity of comfort with hybrid technology and a “situation normal, all fouled up” sense of the relatively small size of most individual meetings.
Respectfully submitted, Stuart E.W. Smith.
Right Sharing of World Resources
This announcement was on their Facebook page:
Traci Hjelt Sullivan will officially start as RSWR’s General Secretary on January 1, 2025. She is looking forward to joining a dynamic team located across three continents to partner with women in community transformation. Traci is also excited to challenge Friends to engage with the material and spiritual aspects of the Simplicity testimony.
She comes to RSWR with decades of non-profit management experience. Most recently, she was the Finance Director at the Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project. She served as the Interim Executive Director for Pendle Hill from 2019 to 2020. Traci spent 13 years working for Friends General Conference, first as the Coordinator of the FGC Gathering and later as Associate Secretary for Development. She and her husband, Walter, also helped run the Ben Lomond Quaker Center, a Quaker conference and retreat center in northern California.
Traci has fond memories of her elementary years when her family lived in southern and eastern Africa. As an adult she has visited or briefly worked in Guatemala, Mexico, Kenya, Rwanda, and Niger.
She has been active among Friends for more than thirty years. Traci is a member of Green Street Friends Meeting in Philadelphia. She is currently worshiping at Chapel Hill Friends Meeting in North Carolina where she recently moved to be close to her grandchild.