DRAFT Providence Friends Meeting Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business Tenth Month, Fifth Day, 2014 13 Friends gathered for meeting for business. Attendees: Bill Belanger, Pat Coiner, Susan Duncan, Joseph Elliott, Lynne Elliott, Leslie Friedman, Bruce Haines, Robin Harper, Ruth Leach, Lynn Oberfield, Richelle Ogle, Parker Snowe and Sarah Willie-LeBreton. Shared Worship We began with a period of shared worship. The Meeting APPROVED the minutes of the Ninth Month, Seventh Day, 2014 business meeting as submitted. Clerk's Announcements (Bruce Haines) Chester Quarterly Meeting will take place on Sunday, October 26, 2014 at Media Monthly Meeting (please see attached flyer). The Quarter s business meeting will be from 10-11 a.m. and will include a discussion about the Peace Center. Meeting for worship will run from 11 a.m. to noon, followed by lunch in the Media Meeting social room. Lunch will be followed by a presentation by David Camp on his recent trip to India with Right Sharing of World Resources. There was an All-Clerks Meeting on September 25. Bruce reported on items that hadn t been shared previously. There was significant energy around updating the website and how we connect with each other. The Communications Committee was also asked to recommend a policy for determining what messages are appropriate to send out to members via the Meeting listserv. There was conversation about the library. How do we determine what books we have, how to expand the collection, how and what to donate to the library, and how to make the collection more accessible to people since it is literally behind closed doors? There was also discussion about how we might consider having a special social hour when a new member is approved so that we can welcome that person more warmly and with more intention.
Finance (Bill Belanger) The October 2014 treasurer s report is attached. This is the first report after our flood and the repairs and renovation that were completed. With the insurance settlement and the money received from Dominic Pileggi, the treasurer indicated that the Meeting s finances are in pretty good shape. The budget surplus the last two years also has helped. The best part of the whole situation is that we accomplished some renewal of the meetinghouse that we had been thinking about, but were hesitant to act on due to the cost. Below is a summary of the financial impact. Summary of Unusual Expenses this Past Summer: Related to the flood and paint damage: Carpet (replacement & upgrade) $ 8,685 Heater (upgrade) $ 3,655 30,000 gallons of water $ 300 Reroute water main $ 820 Sump pump replacement $ 202 Non-flood related: Cemetery wall repair and handicap access cutout $ 7,650 Painting of exterior of meetinghouse $ 6,500 (to be completed during the week of October 13) Total Expenses $27,812 Offsetting Income: Insurance settlement $ 4,303 Credit from painter for Social Room rug $ 2,000 Recovery of funds from Dominic Pileggi $ 5,000 Donation (designated for cemetery) completely covering cemetery wall repair $ 7,650 Total Offsetting Income $18,953 Net Expense $ 8,859
There was a concern that the cut in the cemetery wall has sharp edges that might be dangerous. Bill Belanger will follow-up on this concern and explore possible remedies. Friends remarked that it was very nice to have such a positive finance report. Graveyard (Pat Coiner) The Windsor Family was very pleased about the wall cutout which made it possible for Ann Windsor to navigate the graveyard more easily during the recent memorial meeting for Bill Windsor. Landscape (Susan Duncan) The Landscape Committee has begun the relocating of plants, action that was approved at last month s business meeting because of previous overplanting. There will likely be a couple of shrubs dug up which cannot be used in another location on the Meeting s property. We will share photos and planting information about those shrubs with Meeting members so that if anyone would like to plant them on their own property, they may do so properly. Program & Outreach (Parker Snowe) In reviewing the list of upcoming events, there was a question as to whether members of the Worship and Ministry Committee will take the lead on organizing the Christmas Eve meeting for worship. The clerk will follow up on this. There was also the sense that Friends would welcome having the Christmas Breakfast (to be hosted this year at Providence Meeting) closer to the actual Christmas holiday. The clerk will check with Charles Randall, his counterpart at Media Meeting, to see if Sunday, December 21, would be a good date for the 2014 event. Once that date is set, we will review the other events scheduled for December so that, to the extent possible, we will not have multiple events on the same day. Peace & Social Action (Medard Gabel & Robin Harper) Six Friends from PMM participated in the People s Climate March in New York City (along with Al Gore, NY Mayor Bill DiBlasio, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Jane Goodall and Leonardo DiCaprio). Robin noted that the P&SA Committee is delighted we are using UBS for some of our financial affairs since this Swiss banking organization has vowed to stop funding mountaintop removal mining projects. There will be an Inspired Pasta and Courageous Conversation event on Sunday, November 2, at the rise of meeting. The Pendle Hill Chorus will give a concert with an emphasis on
peace songs, followed by group singing of hymns. It was noted that business meeting will occur that same morning but also that November 2 is the only date available for the Pendle Hill Chorus to participate in our Courageous Conversation event. Communications (Leslie Friedman) Leslie contacted Transition Town Media to see who does their very nice website and newsletter and was given the name of a website developer who works on a pay-what-youthink-it s-worth basis. She offered to speak with the person if the Meeting was willing to pay for a website that, once established, could largely be maintained by Meeting members. Friends agreed that we need to be up-to-date in terms of our media and communications, not just for ourselves but also so that we can share our message with potential members, especially those who are younger. The sense that we might need to pay someone to get us to where we need to be in terms of our electronic communications was well received. Worship and Ministry The clerk reported that W&M plans to meet regularly on the third First Day of each month. In October, the committee will meet on the 19 th with the primary agenda topics being adult First-Day school and planning for the Christmas Eve meeting for worship. Other Business The Minshall House Tour, which is a key fundraising event for that organization, will take place on Saturday, December 13, 2014. PMM s meetinghouse is on the tour and Joe Elliott will be available to talk with visitors about our building. He would welcome another Friend to join him as a host. Please contact Joe via email at josephwelliott@hotmail.com to express your interest in joining him on December 13. Friends agreed that, as in years past, we would be comfortable having tour participants utilize our parking lot. Parker Snowe let us know that the Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) invites every Quaker meeting and church from around the world to celebrate WORLD QUAKER DAY on October 5, 2014 (please see attachment). Friends were moved by the notion that as the sun rises in each area of the world, we want to remember that Quakers are worshiping through every time zone, celebrating our deep connections across cultures and Quaker traditions... As we worship, let us hold each other in prayer and thanksgiving.... FWCC has provided ways to celebrate our common Quaker heritage around the world and encouraged us all to let [our] lives speak. Friends at Providence Meeting were eager to embrace the idea of this special day, to connect with Friends around the world, and to hold meetings around the globe in the light. It was noted that William Penn s birthday is on Tuesday, October 14. It was also announced that this year is the 330 th anniversary of Providence Meeting and that perhaps it
would be nice to recognize that anniversary in some slightly more formal way at this year s Christmas breakfast. A member asked whether we might consider signage in front of the building in order to engage the interest of the many people who pass by our building in all that is going on at PMM. The memorial meetings for worship for Marjorie Crumrine and Bill Windsor were both powerful and well attended. The clerk thanked the many people on the Members and Attenders Care, Memorial, Property and Parking Committees who provided support for those events. Several of the weighty members of our Meeting have passed on in the last few years. Leadership in the Meeting now rests with those present at today s meeting for business and we remember gratefully the significant and varied contributions of those who preceded us and are sorely missed. Closing Worship The meeting closed with a period of shared worship. Clerk, Bruce Haines Recording Clerk, Leslie Friedman