Agate Passage Friends Meeting
Monthly Meeting for Business

November 16, 2003

 
Meeting began with silent worship at 11:40 a.m..

The Minutes of October's Meeting were approved.

Treasurer's Report Following Barb Morrison and Nancy Brantingham's report as Co-Treasurers, which submitted a preliminary budget, there was considerable discussion.

Our Meeting, now we are a full meeting, has increased the size of its budget considerably. It was suggested that we find a way to let members and attenders know that an average contribution of $125.00 per family per year would help meet the expenses of the meeting. The Meeting is assessed by North Pacific Yearly Meeting $40.00 per year for each of its members.

Agate Passage Meeting agreed to send The Capital Campaign of FCNL for its re-building project $500.00 in the coming fiscal year as a one time contribution.

It was also agreed that AFSC, FCNL, and FWCC would receive $100.00 each out of our donations fund. Meeting agreed that Nancy Brantingham should be placed on the Agate Passage Friends Meeting Bank account as a signatory.
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As a follow up to Ann Laird's finding that the cost to advertise in the Kitsap Papers would be approximately $500.00 per year Kathryn Keve volunteered to investigate other methods of advertising that would be less costly.

Our co-treasurers will come to the January Meeting for Business with a budget made up to be approved.

Announcements:
Eric Moon, our Brinton Visitor will be speaking in Port Townsend after a pot-luck next Sunday, November 23. We are invited to join Port Townsend Meeting for any part of the day to hear him. A group will car-pool from our Meeting.

On Monday, December 1 there will be a slide show and talk given by Mike Boehm a Viet Nam war veteran of Madison Wisconsin Friends Meeting. He is traveling to educate Friends and others on what is being done in My Lai in Viet Nam as a Peace Project making amends for the atrocities U.S. soldiers perpetrated there.

Ministry and Counsel New members: Bob Major and Jonathan Roise were brought before the Meeting because they have applied for transfer to our Agate Passage Friends Meeting. Bob Major was the first Clerk of Agate Passage Worship Group and is still a much venerated member whom we cannot imagine the Meeting doing without! Millie Royce spoke of Jonathan Roise's dedication to the project he founded ten years ago to help the glue sniffing street children of Nicaragua. Since its founding by Jonathan the project has helped numerous young boys leave off glue sniffing, go to school, and become better citizens. The project has now expanded to a second location in Ometepe Island in Nicaragua.

The Meeting accepted Bob Major with enthusiasm as a transfer member.
The Meeting accepted Jonathan Roise with pride as a transfer member.

Ministry and Counsel recommends that we resume reading the queries from Faith and Practice on the first Sunday of each month. The Clerk will read the queries shortly after the start of Meeting without comment and the Meeting will respond to the reading as the way opens. A plea was made that the Queries read be only one short query, not several. A friend requested that we be mindful of the hour that Meeting begins and make every effort to arrive on time so that the silence will be as much as possible uninterrupted.

Celebration and Children's Education Committee: Elizabeth Zwick reported that the committee had had an excellent Meeting and were preparing kits for members who volunteered to be with the children to have so that they would have help in preparing to work with the children. Elizabeth reported that there were teen-agers and college age students who would like to participate in some social action or work camp type of project with us, but nothing had been planned as yet along that line. Elizabeth reported that the committee has spoken in a preliminary way about procuring a motor home to house our children during First Day school. There will be a Meeting for celebration of Christmas on Sunday, December 21 keyed to a children's program which will include, singing, dancing, games, and food.

Peace and Social Concerns Committee: Kathryn Keve reported they were meeting and conducting a survey of the social concerns activities of our members.

A Vision for our Meeting As a follow up of a former meeting where we were thinking about the use of the Brown house for our Meeting, Ed Sheridan is gathering a small committee to plan for a whole Meeting gathering in which we will consider our vision for our Meeting now and in the future. Judy Brown and Gayle Henry volunteered to join Ed in the planning process. The group will suggest dates for this Visioning Meeting at the January Meeting for Business.

There is a group of six or seven persons meeting at nine a.m. on the first Sunday of each month before Meeting to participate in Adult Education. They will be discussing books and ideas of their members. Everyone is welcome.

Other groups, such as Committee Meetings are also able to use the Meeting house at the nine
o'clock hour if they wish to.

Norm Down reported on the Yearly Meeting's Steering Committee's October Meeting. It was largely concerned with budget issues since North Pacific Yearly Meeting has spent down its reserves and needs to look at how to replenish its funds.

Meeting adjourned with a brief silence at 1:30 p.m

Judy Brown, Recorder