Meeting for Worship with
attention to Business
7th Month, 19th, 2005
After
a period of silent worship the clerk read from
Present at the start: Carla, Ellen, and Elise Askonas,
Kay Hutchinson, George
Parsley,
Bill Reynolds, Larry Ingle, Jere Licciardello,
Belinda Beyers, Janine Bruton,
Craig
Davoulas, Becky Ingle, Jim Bowman, Chuck Jones (clerk).
SAYMA Report from the
Gathering:
JYM (Junior Yearly Meeting) report
from Elise Askonas:
she reported that children in grades 6th and below made candles, kites,
decorated shirts, and walked a rope bridge.
Ron McDonald told stories and played guitar as they sang songs. She really enjoyed herself.
SAYF (Southern Appalachian Young
Friends) report by Ellen Askonas: she reported that young Friends, grades 7 up
to 12, walked a labyrinth they’d made out of yarn, had meetings for worship,
went to worship sharing with adults, did yoga, and attended a workshop in which
Becky Ingle was a panelists about FLGBQC (Friends with Lesbian,Gay,
Bisexual, and Queer Concerns).
SAYMA Meeting--Bill Reynolds said it
was a great time. Friends participated
in worship sharing with queries about the theme Challenge of Change, Finding
Your Witness. It was a drive to find our
witness.
Larry Ingle commented that with
respect to meeting for Business, the budge was still $5000 unbalanced but that
was to be dealt with at the next SAYMA Rep meeting.
Also
it was decided to do assessments of month meetings on a sliding scale. Each meeting will be assessed a dollar amount
of $55 to $70 per person. Our meeting
currently is assessed $55/person.
Becky Ingle said she worked with JYM
and enjoyed the kids. She was impressed
with how the kids trusted the adults and visa versa. Becky said she was a panelist for FLGBQC
because she is the parent of a child who is gay. The workshop was attended by lots of SAYFers and they had tons of great questions.
Larry added that he attended a
workshop lead by Chuck Fager on long rang thinking of
peacemaking--how do we envision peace in the world?
Craig reported that the windows are
under repair, an estimate for repairing the upstairs door has been inquired
about but not received, and that some of the upstairs will be repainted.
A question was brought up about
outside care. It was pointed out that
the grass gets cut regularly and that sometimes Friends stop by to work in the
yard. Plus we have Fall
and Spring workdays.
We had an inquiry and were to
interview a potential new resident, then decided not to meet with him. Becky
asked for affirmation from the meeting that we did the right thing by not
interviewing the candidate that we turned down.
[As background, without going into details, it should be noted that the
candidate was someone that used to come to meeting, but with whom the meeting
had had some negative interactions.
Friends wanted to be open to the healing changes that can take place in
a person through the Light.]
One Friend said we have the right to turn
down an interview. Another agreed, but
the first said they had had a gut feeling before withdrawing to meditate on the
issue. Someone else said its respectful not to lead the candidate on by agreeing to
meet with them when we know the answer will be "no." Plus, they added that the meeting must have
faith in the committee's decision.
Another Friend felt that no committee had heard the candidate out and
that the process was flawed in that the committee didn't meet even to discuss
the matter other than over the phone.
The clerk (Chuck) said that after hearing
from several committee members and others, determined that clearness had been
reached with respect to our decision and that there was no reason to meet with
the candidate. He called the candidate
and explained that there had been too much history with the candidate for us to
agree to allow him to be our resident, but that we were happy for the changes
he'd made in his life. The candidate was
not happy about our
decision and one Friend wanted to know if we should go ahead and meet with him
anyway. It was decided that that was not
necessary, but that the process should be done differently in the future, that
the committee should have met together to make the decision.
Another Property Oversight matter
concerned the waterline to the community garden. It had been broken, but Bill Reynolds said
that he was considering laying the garden down as it no longer is meeting his
needs. Chuck had already laid it down
and there is indication that other community garden participants were no longer
gardening.
Therefore,
there may not be any immediate reason to have the water line fixed. A decision was not made.
Treasury Report:
Jim Bowman, the treasurer, reported
that the man who mows the grass was not to mow more than every 2 weeks or
sooner if Jim called him.
Jim wants to shop around for a
better place to put our investments other than in the bank. Meeting approved.
The treasury report is attached.
Ministry Oversight Report:
Bill pointed out that a small
addition needed to be added to the welcome note before it will be copied for
handing out to newcomers. The calendar
for July is as follows: 1st Sunday is
Barclay's Apology, 2nd Sunday is open, 3rd Sunday is Meeting for Business,
4th
Sunday is singing and potluck, while 5th Sunday is open. There was a concern about using the meeting
house for a women's potluck. It was
arranged and acknowledged.
The
new directory was passed out and there is a correction already. Craig Davoulas's
"arcadian" email address is not current and
should be struck out. Also Janine Bruton's address is not 708 but 1708. Jere's name is
spelled Licciardello, with an "r."
Quaker House Consultation:
Chuck Fager
wants to organize a consultation at Quaker House in
Bill
had also attended the workshop and supports what Fager
is trying to do. The military is
planning ahead; why not us? Chuck Fager may be in
Those
present at the end of meeting: Bill
Reynolds, Jere Licciardello,
Janine Bruton, Larry Ingle, Belinda Beyers, Craig Davoulas, Jim
Bowman, and Chuck Jones.