November 2025 – Meeting for Worship on the Occasion for 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 9, 2025
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, Reed Hamilton, Pat Phillips, Judy Hamilton, Kathy McCreery, fosten wilson, Dianne Marshall, Sharon Davisson, Amy Cooke, Chamba Cooke, Nancy Anderson, Don McCormick, Stuart Smith, Donna Fry
The Meeting opened with silent worship.
Clerks’ Remarks and Query
We belong to each other. What are we doing here when we gather together for Meeting for Worship for Business? What is our purpose? Do we need to meet every month in the way that we have been doing?
Query: Does doing work together like this in Meeting for Worship for Business, or in our work parties, demonstrate that we belong to each other?
Friends spoke out of the silence:
When we sit in Meeting for Worship for Business and listen without attachment to what others say, which might be different than what we ourselves think, we are no different than the other, and sometimes our thoughts change.
Children easily show us that if we can trust, we become one “amoeba.” Here in Meeting, we become in tune with each other with sensitivity and trust.
The work we do on our inner self is beautiful and that of God. The collective unconscious we all tap into is that of God.
Isaac Pennington said we should “raise one another up with a tender hand.” When we get in touch with life and all it has to offer us, all you can feel is gratitude. This, you would never harm. You would raise it up with a tender hand. This is how I feel about meeting and the tender care it has given me.
The query that grabbed me the most was “what are we doing here?” Well, what should we be doing here? Are we “worshiping” bureaucracy and traditions? How often do we ask ourselves “is this the best way to do this?” We ought to take a step back and reflect on our practice and innovate more, and not just get caught up in mindless habits and tradition. Are we a religious group that learns and reflects on our practice?
Sometimes our monthly business meetings can be seen as a list of items that we need to get done. That’s not the point of the meeting. The point of the meeting is to be in worship and to find the will of God. If nothing gets done, so be it. The point is to be in community. Are the subjects that come through in Meeting for Worship for Business about convenience, or about the way to move forward as an “amoeba?”
If we are all One with everything, everywhere, then any effort we make to come together in consciousness and love moves us towards that truth.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
(see reports appended, committee clerk is noted in bold)
Spirit and Witness: Amy Cooke, 2024-2027,Stuart Smith, 2025-2026, Reed Hamilton, 2025-2028, Dean Olson, 2024-2027, Doug Hamm, 2025-2026, Dorothy Henderson, 2026 (ex-officio, GVFM Clerk), Gordon Starr (ex-officio, elder to the clerk).
Amy Cooke gave the report, appended.
We will be seasoning the decision about moving the Meeting for one month. During the month of seasoning, we recommend that we hold a Threshing Session. This will give the Meeting time to listen deeply, consider the opportunities and changes involved in the move, and gain answers to questions that may arise, or have already arisen.
The Threshing Session will be held on November 16, after Meeting for Worship and refreshments.
For Keith and Nora, we will generate possible names to serve on a Clearness Committee for their marriage.
There is work being done with the Immigrant Rights Network in the community. We would like to find a person who would be our representative in this work, but we don’t have one at this time. If someone is interested, please contact Amy. It will also go in the Newsletter.
Dianne will check in with Interfaith Nevada County about what is being done about SNAP / food needs in our community. She will bring information back to the meeting.
Stewardship: Mary Starr (Clerk), Gordon Starr, Pat Phillips, Reed Hamilton, David Bowman. Dianne Marshall (ex-officio, Newsletter editor), Don McCormick (ex-officio, Librarian), Hailey Wilson (ex-officio Tech Support).
Mary Starr gave the report, appended.
MINUTE 2025.11.01: Grass Valley Friends Meeting is deeply considering moving our Meeting for Worship to Peace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley. We will go forward with a month of seasoning and a Threshing Session to to deeply discern the future location of our meeting. The Threshing Session will be held on Sunday, November 16th, after Meeting for Worship.
Gordon notes that several people contacted him after the trial meeting for worship at Peace Lutheran Church, and mentioned that having a location in town made it easier for them to attend.
There is a question about if the Stewardship Committee is responsible going forward with the move to Peace Lutheran? There are logistical issues that need to be addressed – signage, room clean-up, posters, what can be done in the room, etc.
It might be useful for Stewardship to gather information about details and provide a fact sheet for the Threshing Session next week. It would be good to have a fact sheet with information that we know vs. don’t know. There was a request for it to be emailed out to members before the Threshing Session so we can all go into the session on the same page.
Welcome: Peter O’Rourke (ex-officio, Website and Facebook coordinator), Kathy McCreery, Don McCormick, Pat Phillips, Cindy Bliss, Judy Hamilton (ex-officio email coordinator), Nancy Anderson (ex-officio directory clerk).
Kathy McCreary gave the report, appended.
The Meeting Christmas Party will be held Dec 7th at Doug & Dorothy’s house.
Nominating Committee: (terms as noted), Chamba Cooke: 2025-2026, Dean Olson 2025-2027, Mary Starr 2025-2027, fosten wilson 2024-2026,
No report was given.
Religious Education: Judy Hamilton, Doug Hamm, Dean Olson, Reed Hamilton, Don McCormick,Keely McDonald. Substitutes: Gordon Bishop, Gordon Starr, Alan Stahler. Fifth Sunday reader: Anita McCormick.
Judy Hamilton gave the report, appended.
There is a Quaker Religious Education Collaborative (QREC). They already have a Religious Education “Go Kit” created that we can reference.
The website is difficult to navigate, so some assistance would be appreciated.
OFFICER REPORTS and REPRESENTATIVE REPORTS
Treasurer: Mary Starr gave the report, appended.
Co-Archivists/Recorders:
We are grateful for all those who have filled out the profile form and offer a friendly reminder for those who have not. We will next be sending out a Final Affairs form and thank Friends in advance for helping us to update these records.
~Kathy McCreery and Amy Cooke, co-Recorder / Archivists
If anyone is having trouble with the electronic form, a paper form can be made available.
Pacific Yearly Meeting: No report given.
College Park Quarterly Meeting: No report given.
Interfaith Nevada County: No report given.
Sharings from the wider Quaker world:
John Zimmerman from Scattergood High School visited Doug and Dorothy. He wanted to speak to people who knew Woolman School. If you know any young people who might like to go to Scattergood, there is financial funding available. They need students to join their program, not to pay tuition, but so they can continue to fundraise.
Dorothy and Amy were recently co-elders for the board of Friends House Moscow during their annual retreat. There were 13 Friends in attendance along with family. They found out George Fox met with the Tzar of Russia. There is a long involvement of Friends in Russia.
Chamba has stepped into the role of co-clerk of Assemblée de France (France Yearly Meeting).
CLERK’S REMARKS:
Check in with yourself about the work we have done today. We have planted some seeds.
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
Nominating Committee report
Children’s Committee report
Treasurer’s Report
Pacific Yearly Meeting report
Interfaith Nevada County report
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Spirit & Witness Report
Peace Lutheran Church
The members of Spirit and Witness continue to recognize that there is both discernment at the logistical level and the spiritual level as the Meeting considers this move. We listened for Spirit as we sat with the queries, “How are we holding our care for the Meeting as we navigate this discernment process?” Out of that worship we recognized that there is excitement about the change and the possibilities it brings, and alongside that there are concerns and some uncertainty. This is a time in our Meeting of growth and experimentation. We want to make sure that we are giving attention to the needs of the CHIRP and Peace Lutheran as we navigate this process, and we appreciated Dorothy Henderson and Mary Starr, respectively, for the work they have done as liaisons. We also held gratitude for the Stewardship Committee and all they are doing to clarify the possibilities, issues, and questions involved in the move.
Spirit and Witness recommends to the Meeting that we season this move for one month. During the month of seasoning, we recommend that we hold a Threshing Session 1 on November 16 after Meeting for Worship and refreshments. We hope that the month of seasoning, along with the Threshing Session, will give the Meeting time to listen deeply, consider the opportunities and changes involved in the move, and gain answers to questions that may arise or have already arisen.
1A Quaker threshing meeting is a space for open discussion of a controversial or complex issue, but it is not a meeting for decision-making. Its purpose is to air all viewpoints, concerns, and feelings about a topic before it is brought to a formal meeting for business, with the goal of separating the “wheat from the chaff” to better discern the group’s path forward. – Quaker.org
Spirit and Witness programs
November 23: Doug: A Force More Powerful video and discussion
December 21: Amy (in person) : Stop, Drop, and Roll: a practice for living nonviolently
January and February: pending
Placer County Worship Group
Stuart gave a brief report. There could be an opening for renewing the discernment on forming this Worship Group under our care in the next 12 months. Stuart noted that he is not excited about being the point person.
Witnessing into the World
The Spirit and Witness committee holds our work to see how Spirit is moving among us in our witness into the world. To that end we formed a structure in March of 2023 that we called Witness Committees. We hoped that this would support individuals in our meeting who had a leading to gather others around them to support actions in the world. At this time, we have one Witness Committee under our care, Toward Right Relations, that carries a concern for indigenous peoples.
We recognize that there are concerns in our meeting about the following issues. At this time, we do not have committee support for these issues, and we urge GVFM community members to take actions as they are led and share those with the Meeting. The Spirit and Witness Committee is available for support as requested.
SNAP benefit interruptions in our community: We ask the Meeting if there is an individual, or individuals, who want to coordinate finding out what the needs and efforts are happening in the county and how we can help. We would ask that person to share that information via the email tree.
Immigration issues, AFSC: From Dec. 10, International Human Rights Day, through Dec. 18, International Migrants Day, AFSC is working with communities across the U.S. for a Stronger With Immigrants Week of Action. Dorothy Henderson will be contacting the Sacramento Meeting to see if they are taking part.
Petition re: Gaza. There has been a petition signed by multiple Quaker Meetings in the US about the US involvement in Gaza. We ask the Meeting if there is an individual, or individuals, who want to support bringing this to our Meeting for discernment.
Do we want to form a Witness Committee on International Issues? We rested with this question. We ask the Meeting if there is an individual, or individuals, who feel led to form a committee with this concern.
Support for Meeting Members
We continue to support Committees of Care for several Meeting members and attenders, as well as three Anchor Committees. There are also those in our Meeting for whom we offer pastoral care. Please let the committee members know if you or someone in the Meeting would like formal or informal support.
Meeting for Clearness for Marriage: We have received a letter from Keith Runyan and Nora Lisette requesting a Meeting for Clearness for Marriage. We are in the process of discerning the members of the committee and will report on our progress at the December Meeting for Worship for Business.
Respectfully submitted,
Amy Cooke, clerk, Spirit and Witness Committee
Stewardship Committee Report
Notes from meeting on November 6, 2025
Present: Mary Starr, clerk, treasurer, Gordon Starr, recorder, Reed Hamilton, Pat Phillips, Dianne Marshall, newsletter, Don McCormick, librarian, Dianne Marshall, newsletter editor, Judy Hamilton, librarian.
Finance. Mary reported donations for October totaled $430, expenditures were $745. She also noted that the Quarterly Report, usually due in October, will be presented this month because there was no Meeting for Worship for Business in October.
Peace Lutheran Church trial Meeting for Worship. Expenses for our trial M4W on November 2 included $45 for room rental and $105 for liability insurance required by Peace Lutheran. Mary wrote a check from the Meeting’s account for the $45, and paid for the insurance with her credit card. The committee can cover these expenses from their budgeted funds, but proposes that they be paid from the Meeting House restricted fund, which was set up years ago to cover the expenses of Meeting moving to a new location.
Discussion of the trial Meeting for Worship included these thoughts:
Surprisingly cozy and warm and impressed with the second class room.
Room was big enough for now but not a lot of extra space. We may outgrow it before too long. And large gatherings like Memorials or weddings would not work. However there are other larger rooms at the church that could be rented.
Overhead fluorescent lights were glaring. There were two floor lamps in the class room that might work better.
Fellowship after meeting was quite loud for some folks. Suggested solutions included chairs in the hallway, using the library/class room and reminding folks to keep their voices down.
After discussion, the committee came to unity to recommend that Meeting go forward with next steps towards moving the Meeting to Peace Lutheran Church. Reed will bring this to Spirit and Witness committee at their November 8th meeting.
Appeal Letter. The annual Appeal Letter has been mailed to all potential parties using the latest revised contact list. It has been included in the current newsletter and may be repeated in December’s newsletter as well. Appreciation was expressed for all the editing done by committee members and Dianne’s perseverance in final editing, printing, labeling and mailing the letter.
She also said she would love to hear feedback from folks about the newsletter, positive or critical, so she know her efforts each month are seen. She wanted to remind the committees and others that it’s important to get dates to her for the calendar. Submissions are to be kept under 500 words. Links to more lengthy articles are welcome.
Our next meeting is December 4, 2025
Welcome Committee Report
November 3rd, 2025 / 7:00PM / Zoom
Attendees: Judy, Pete
Potluck update
Christmas Party, Dec 7th – at Doug & Dorothy’s house
Clean up name tag board
Complete – container holds nametags of Friends who have not recently attended
“Among Western Friends – What an attender needs to know” workshop
Oct 26 Zoom notes
What do new attenders want and need to know
When should we invite to lunch, or to meeting for business?
How is this different from the church where I grew up?
What else does a meeting do besides sit in silence?
If I have an idea or a need, whom should I ask?
When do I speak up in conversation or a meeting?
Breakout groups’ key points:
Some come for theology and stay
Longer term members should try not to be pushy
Example: new member may speak for several minutes
Small gestures like nametags work well
Explaining how Quaker meeting works is helpful
Example: we were all newcomers at some point
Check back with new members
Reference https://quakerspeak.com videos
Welcome packets
Meeting should take you for who you are
Friends General Conference (FGC) Newcomers cards
Western Friend Molly Wingate writing
Next Meeting – December 1st – 7pm
Nominating Committee Report
No report was given.
Religious Education Committee Report
Fall 2025 Report
We met October 27th, 2025 via Zoom. Present were: Judy Hamilton, Reed Hamilton, Doug Hamm,
Don McCormick, and Dean Olson. Dianne Marshall also attended for a time to discuss the Christmas Play.
After our meeting, the idea of the Christmas play fell apart as folks felt that they did not
have the time or energy to put into it. At this time, the religious education committee
has no plans for providing the Christmas party entertainment.
We discussed what to do in the face of losing quite a few of our committee members, therefore not having enough teachers or ‘buddies’ to fill the 4 Sundays of the month. We also have the dilemma of only having one student (a teen) for most of our classes. Problems arise when a much younger child arises or when we don’t have enough people to staff a particular Sunday. While we did not come to any concrete ideas on how to solve this problem, we do have a strategy that might help. This involves having a ‘toolkit’ that contains art supplies, a game, maybe an easy lesson plan and books that can be taken to the FDS room with the young people. The idea being that anyone from Meeting would have access to this and be able to help out if there are no teachers available for that particular Sunday.
We are all finding it increasingly difficult to come up with new, exciting lesson plans. Hailey will be queried on what she would like to learn about and what modalities she finds most engaging. Don decided that he will explore Faith and Practice as his monthly lesson. Judy will show various Quaker videos or listen to podcasts and discuss. Overall we will just muddle along and reevaluate at our winter meeting in February.
Our schedule for November is as follows:
Nov. 2- No FDS at Peace Lutheran
Nov. 9- Doug and Reed
Nov. 16- Don and Dean
Nov. 23- Judy and Dean
Nov. 30 5th Sunday Program- Anita
Dec 7th- Don and ??
Dec14-Doug and Reed
Dec. 21??
Dec 28th- Dean and Judy
College Park Quarterly Meeting report
No report was given.
Treasurer’s Report
11-09-2025
Summary = A very successful year! Thank you!
This report covers the 2024-2025 fiscal year: October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2025. The contributions in the 4th quarter (July 1, 2025 – September 30, 2025) of $2,036 were welcome and greatly appreciated. Our 4th quarter expenses ($4,281) were beyond our budget, as approved in our last Meeting for Worship for Business. This included a doubling of our Donations for the year, as the funds were available and we were unable to make these donations last year. It also included moving $500 each to the FGC Scholarship Fund and the PYM, CPQM, etc. Scholarship Fund.
The “Fund Balances” and the “General Fund: Actual vs. Budget” reports are available in the Meeting House – near the library – and by contacting me.
Thank you for all your help. All gifts, both in service to the Meeting and financially 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
500 Butler Street
Grass Valley, CA 95945
Email = mstarr2133@aol.com
Pacific Yearly Meeting Report
No report was given.
InterFaith Nevada County Report
No report was given.