AGATE PASSAGE FRIENDS MEETING FOR BUSINESS

MINUTES, January 21, 2007

 

OPENING:  Our Clerk opened the Meeting with a reading from Australia Yearly Meeting with a statement from a young Conscientious Objector made in 1972, but so relevant for today’s wartime situation.

 

PRESENT:  Virginia Hoyte, Barbara Wolf, Kathryn Keve, Jan Prichard-Cohen, Bob Major, Craig Jacobrown, Eric Hoyte, Millie Royce, Beverly West, Jim Rana-Meadows, Dorothy Rana-Meadows, Lisa Down, Diane Wyland Carle, Leyla Welkin, Lucy Johnson, Michael Moore, Barbara Morrison, Judy Brown

 

APPROVAL OF NOVEMBER MINUTES:  The Minutes of the last Meeting for Business, (November 19, 2006) were approved with two slight corrections:  the spelling of Sally Santana’s name in the last paragraph, Page 1. and the addition to the announcement, Page l. Paragraph 7. in bold type that, All the children’s books for the peace curriculum (only) are missing.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

 

1.       The Interfaith Council will be hosting a potluck in Bremerton next Thursday evening, January 25^th at 6:30 with Representatives of Different Faiths Speaking, Sufis, Buddhists, Baha'is, Jewish, Quaker, Muslims, various Christian sects and more.  All are welcome.  St. Paul’s Episcopal Church very near the old Harrison Hospital.

 

2.       Sunday, February 4^th Beverly West will be leading an experience and discussion of three Spiritual Poems for an hour before the Meeting for Worship, beginning at 9:00 a.m. at Seabold Hall.  All are invited to join.

 

3.       There will be a N.W. Regional Gathering and Discussion for Quakers, sponsored by various Meeting Groups and Quaker Churches.   It will be held at the Reedwood Friends Church,  (290 S.E. Steela St.,  Portland, Oregon on the theme of Poverty, Compassion and Economic Justice, Mar. 2^nd & 3^rd, ’07.  .   All are invited.  Barbara Morrison is very interested in attending, but would need a ride with another F/friend.

 

TREASURER’S  REPORT:

 

            Our Treasurer, Michael Moore, gave his year-end report on our finances.   He congratulated the Meeting on ending $25.61 ahead!  While contributions were approximately $840 less than our anticipated budget, we spent less than had been anticipated in the budget, and therefore came out ahead for the year.  He also pointed out that in 2006 we had paid off almost $2,000 of carry-over bills from ’05, so with that deficit made up and still coming out ahead, we had done very well in ’06.

 

            Our Treasurer pointed out that the 2007 Budget is the same as last year’s.  There are requests to add two donations of $100. each to the budget, the Picket Fund and Quaker Earthcare Witness.   The group approved the addition of Quaker Earthcare Witness, as Ruah and Louis had visited with the Meeting last July and informed us of their very worthwhile environmental work with Quaker groups.  (Lisa Down had also written about that visit and what they do, so most people were familiar.)  Before approving the addition of a donation for The Picket Fund  in our ’07 budget, however, the group expressed an interest in hearing more about them.  The Treasurer agreed to give a short description at Business Meeting next month about who they are and what they do in order to help others make an informed decision.  Also, the Treasurer proposed adding these two items to the budget without increasing the total, and that too to be considered next month.

 

            Approval was granted for the 2007 Budget as passed out by our Treasurer.  (See accompanying sheet.)

 

            Approval was also given, as recommended by Ministry and Council, to set up a Necessities Fund for members or attenders of the Meeting who had need of special funds for an emergency or otherwise. This fund would be modeled after similar ones already in existence at many other Quaker meetings.   It would be administered by Ministry and Council to keep the necessary anonymity.  The Necessities Fund would be separate from the General Fund and special donations earmarked for it.  Payments from this Fund for individuals would be considered as a gift in time of emergency without expectation of repayment, though recipients could also see part or all of the gift as a loan, depending on their particular circumstances.  At present there is $2,025. in this new fund, designated for a particular use.   The group authorized our Treasurer to release cash from this fund at the request of Ministry and Council.

 

BRIEF ANNOUNCEMENT:  A NOMINATING COMMITTEE WILL BE FORMED SOON to choose a new slate of leaders for our Agate Passage Meeting to begin their terms in June.   If you’d be willing to serve on this committee, please let Judy Brown or others know.

 

PEACE AND SOCIAL CONCERNS:   Kathryn Keve, others from the Social Concerns Committee, plus  the Women in Black are asking that more of our community become visible in protest of the escalating war in Iraq and the possibility of the U.S. attacking Iran.  She reported on the large turnout at Ground Zero on Martin Luther King Day this year and the forthcoming scheduled anti-war protests in the area. A number from our Meeting are planning to attend the Lt. Watada talk and his subsequent trial to show support for his courageous stand. The Committee will meet this coming week to discuss getting more involved.

 

A GATHERING TO MEET INFORMALLY AND DISCUSS WITH GAYLE HENRY some of her feelings around our Meeting and Quakers’ beliefs on abortion and other issues will be held at Virginia and Eric Hoyte’s home on Friday, Feb. 23^rd.   Gayle welcomes this chance to share and all are welcome.

 

END OF LIFE ISSUES AND WHAT OUR MEETING CAN OFFER:  Ministry and Council decided to offer the Meeting a chance to meet with Dorothy Foster, former attender of Agate Passage and a lawyer specializing in wills, death and dying.  Dorothy would generously donate her time and expertise to meet with any of us interested in considering issues around this subject, and how our Meeting could be helpful.   The group agreed that a potluck on Friday evening, Feb. 9^th at Betty Petrus’s home at 6:00 would be a feasible date.   Enough people expressed interest in coming to a potluck that evening, so the group decided to make it official and put out a notice to all.   Judy Brown passed out a sheet of “Information and Instructions on Final Affairs” that would be valuable for interested Meeting members and attenders to fill out and have kept in our files. The sheet could be downloaded if anyone did not receive a copy on Sunday.

 

COPIES OF THE EDITED STATEMENT ON, “THE NEW CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS” was passed out by Craig Jacobrown to all present.   He suggested that we all think of  distributing this revised one-page statement to newspapers and other individuals to inform as many as possible of both a somewhat changed Quaker CO perspective, and that of others who do not have a religious connection, but are opposed to war, or specific wars for different reasons in this era.

 

THE MEETING FOR BUSINESS closed with a few moments of silence promptly at 1:00 p.m.

 

                                                                        Virginia Hoyte, Secretary/Recorder