Agate Passage Worship Group

PRESENT: Lorena Bruff, Bob Major, Barbara Wolf, Judy Brown, Elizabeth Zwick, Millie Royce, Bob Royce, Norman Down, Dorothy Rana-Meadows, Jim Rana-Meadows, Lisa Down, Gayle Henry. Kathryn Keve, Ed Sheridan, Diana Sheridan.

The meeting began with silent inquiry on lie following: How effectively do members the Meeting participate in the tempering and strengthening of the leading of individuals?

1. MINUTES of the last meeting, 11/18/01, were reviewed and approved as written.

2. MEETING LOCATIONS were established as follows: 1/27/02, Barbara Wolf"s house; 2/24/02, Sheridan’s; 3/24/02 Kathryn Keve’s; 3/31/02, Gayle Henry’s.

3. FINANCIAL MATTERS: Nancy Dodson’s written financial report was summarized by Ed Sheridan. Balance in Meeting’s account is $2,538.65. Rent for the Seabold Meeting Hall will be calculated and paid, based on hours of usage.

Bob Royce brought up the topic of support for the Friends Committee on Washington Public Policy which has recently hired Allen Mountjoy-Venning of the Olympia Friends Meeting as a lobbyist. It was suggested, and approved by the group, that we increase our donation from $50 to $75. Bob agreed to be a contact person and requested that a second contact person volunteer. This should be someone who can attend Quarterly Meetings.

Norman Down clarified the distribution of Monthly Meeting Friends contribution of $30 per member to Yearly Meeting. About half of this goes for Yearly Meeting expenses and communication; half goes to wider Friends support; and $1 goes to supplement subscription funds for the Friends Bulletin. When we become a Monthly Meeting, we will be responsible for paying the yearly amounts for each member of our Meeting. (These are currently covered by the Meetings where members are recorded , and to which they are currently expected to contribute).

Lisa Down requested Meeting permission to extend our subscription to the Friends Bulletin and this was approved.

It was suggested that requests for money be screened by a budget committee before being brought to the Meeting for Business. Norm Down agreed to help the treasurer (Nancy Dodson) with a projected budget which could prioritize our expenditures, although he did not wish to commit himself to regular finance committee meetings.

4. HOUSEKEEPING DETAILS: Since Lee Watson is no longer in the area, one of the keys to the meeting hall needs to be reassigned. Lisa pointed out that there are actually four keys, and the Downs have one. Gayle has agreed to open the Meeting Hall for the 9:00 a.m. adult discussion group which will begin the first Sunday of February on the topic of the British Faith and Practice and will see that someone opens when she can’t. It was agreed that the extra key should probably stay with Ed Sheridan. The clean-up and closing of the hall will be the responsibility of whoever is last to leave (Lee had taken responsibility for this in the past). Keys are now in the hands of Gayle Henry, Ed Sheridan, Deborah Anderson, and the Downs.

Acoustics in the hall were discussed and the difficulty in hearing the messages of some in the group. The following suggestions were made. Project your voice into the room with the knowledge that the group really values and wishes to hear your message. Try not to drop your voice to the inaudible range near the conclusion of your message. Raise your hand or cup your ear as a signal to the speaker that they cannot be heard. If you could not hear all or part of a message, ask the individual after meeting what they said. Norm Down and Lorena Bruff agreed to look into solutions of other meeting groups for this problem.

5. MINISTRY AND OVERSIGHT: The Worship Group Oversight Committee from University Friends Meeting met at the Sheridan’s house on January 5th with members of our Ministry and Oversight Committee as well as representatives from University Friends Meeting, Port Townsend, Agate Passage and Marysville worship groups. The main issues which came up at this meeting were discussed during business meeting and the sense of the meeting was as follows.
     Preparative vs. Monthly Meeting status has been threshed and discussed at length in the past. We are still in agreement that we feel we have passed through an extended period of preparation and wish to progress to Monthly Meeting status as expeditiously as possible. We are not overly concerned with our official title during this period so long as it does not delay our progress. Several attenders are waiting for this process to be completed before applying for or transferring their memberships,
     In keeping with Friend’s tenets of avoiding superfluity and unnecessary expense of money and energy we feel that a monthly business meeting is neither necessary nor desirable at this time. However, out of respect for the traditions of a ‘Monthly Meeting’ and recommendations of the committee responsible for our oversight, we agreed to add a community-building meeting for business and potluck on the alternate months from our regular business meetings. These would be held on a trial basis on Friday evening at 6:00 in private homes. The first will be scheduled for February 15th at Lisa and Norm Down’s home. The April 19th potluck will be at Judy Browns. Judy has volunteered the use of her home for these meetings on an ongoing basis. Some were concerned that these sessions be less formal and not involve decisions, but simply be used for the exchange of ideas and suggestions for items for future business agendas, since decisions should be made by as large a group as possible and it is difficult for some to attend evening meetings at a distance from their homes. The first potluck will include discussion of the specific ways in which we can encourage and support the inclusion of children and their parents in the meeting community and foster the spiritual education of our children. This will also be a ‘welcome home’ dinner for Ed Dodson. We hope to include members of the Worship Group Oversight Committee in the April 19th potluck-meeting.

We were in agreement with the schedule set for consideration of our progress toward Monthly Meeting status:

                     i. Request presented at UFM Business Meeting on 3/10 for seasoning

ii. Request presented at UFM Business Meeting on 4/12 for decision

iii. Request presented at PNW Quarterly Meeting on 4/26-28

The meeting closed with a few moments of silence.