PHILADELPHIA YEARLY MEETING
BUCKS QUARTER
MEETING FOR BUSINESS
19 DAY ELEVENTH MONTH 2006
HELD AT BUCKINGHAM MONTHLY MEETING
(Unapproved Minutes)
Clerk: David Smith
Recording Clerk: David Rose
Roll Call of Meetings: Bristol:0, Buckingham: 3, Doylestown: 3, Fallsington: 9, Lehigh Valley: 1, Makefield: 0, Middletown: 6, Newtown: 3, Plumstead: 0, Quakertown NJ: 3, Solebury: 4, Southampton: 4, Wrightstown: 1, Yardley: 4,
BQM Minutes of 20 Eighth Month 2006 read and approved
Mark started by saying that as General Secretary he feels called to a ministry of listening. One of the things that he has realized since becoming General Secretary is that the suggestion that Quarterly meetings are irrelevant is premature and that there are needs that Quarterly Meetings can serve that cannot be met by Yearly Meeting. On the short term, PYM is moving on a positive track, Residential Yearly Meeting a success, Interim Meeting is functioning much better. Prior to assuming his current position, he identified himself as a Monthly Meeting Friend from London Grove MM and an active Farmer on the perimeter of the Yearly Meeting. He believes that the basic unit of PYM is the Monthly Meeting. He noted that PYM has had a long period of decline of membership. This leaves some Meetings of few members burdened with supporting their infrastructure such as building and grounds. 20% to 30% of Monthly Meetings are having trouble meeting their budgeted obligations. Thinking about the future of our body, we need to ask where do we aspire to be? There are three ways to deal with the current crisis.
Treasurer’s Report:
Report presented by Judy Kashoff and is attached.. She prefaced her report by reiterating the comments of the General Secretary on the importance of outreach in helping to meet the budget. She summed up the Fiscal Annual Report by saying: “nothing much happened last year”. Our current financial situation was summed up as “we are liquid”.
Outreach Committee Grant Application: Bucks Quarter Outreach Committee asked for approval to apply to the Membership Development Fund of PYM to fund the “Welcome Neighbor Letter” project. Approved to request amount up to $5,000.00
Annual Report Southampton MM: Carolyn Eckel, Clerk, presented the report, which is attached. She noted the discussion on at Southampton on climate change. Also noted were the sessions on Thomas Kelly’s “The Gathered Meeting”. The suspense, drama, and creativity involved with creating a substitute makeshift Peace Pole to replace one ordered which one did not arrive as scheduled made for an interesting story.
Report of the Coordinator: Holly Olson presented the report, which is attached. She highlighted the positive reaction to the “Shareshop” and informed those present that she has decided to have the Quarter Family Fun Day on April 28th at Buckingham Monthly Meeting. She will be tapping people to help out.
The Slide Show: “Hope Rises From the Ashes of My Lai” will be available for a showing at Buckingham MM prior to Worship and Ministry at Middletown MM.
Budget and Nominating: Presented by Bill Dockhorn. No written report available. Walter Farley will be taking over as Clerk of Budget and Nominating. Karen Shaudys is nominated as the new Treasurer. Nomination approved. Appreciation was expressed for the wonderful work that Judy Kashoff has done for the past years. Also noticed there is still a need for additional Quarter representations on Yearly Meeting Nominating Committee. A suggestion was made to reduce the burden for a person to be a member of PYM Nominating Committee by having a two-phased nominating committee process involving the Bucks members meeting locally and then a representative member of the committee go to Philadelphia on the Committee Saturday and express the decisions of the committee. With this approach it is thought that more people may be willing to serve.
Annual Report Newtown MM. Report presented by Mary Dart, Clerk and is attached.
She highlighted the large number of children involved in First Day School, and the wide varieties of activated that the Meeting is involved with, including sending a team to help with the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Continuation on the Solebury MM Minute on Obtaining an Alternative Marriage License Process: Presented by David Smith. David thanked Valerie Brown for her special help. He noted that it was fortuitous that Harold Vikoren, a member of Solebury, is the Solicitor for Bucks County Orphan’s court. An interpretation of the Pennsylvania Statute notes that the Marriage Ceremonies “Forms where parties perform ceremony” require a recognized Religious Organization where at least one of the couple is a member and that the solemnization be part of a religious ceremony. Quakers are the only religious group recognized for using this license in Bucks County. It is up to the Clerk of the Court to determine if at least one of the party is a member of the Religious Society of Friends. A solution was first proposed and developed by Harold in a phone conference with the County Clerks to have a form at the Clerks of Courts Office that persons applying for a “Quaker Marriage License” would fill out and have signed by an official of a Meeting stating that at least one of them was a member but when the final arbiter for the Court Clerks reviewed the concept, it was rejected as adding to their paperwork. We know that the clerks are frequently uncomfortable with this determination so it appears that it is up to us to help this process. David suggested that if all our MMs provide essentially the same statement and do it every time that the Court will start to rely on this form, thus solving the concerns of the Court. The Monthly Meeting letter needs to satisfy the requirements of the statute when applying for a Pennsylvania Marriage License. The following minute was proposed and approved:
MINUTE 1
Meetings are strongly advised to provide a signed written statement for persons who have gone through the Clearness Process and who are to be married in Pennsylvania “Under the care of the Meeting”, the written statement is to indicate that the persons, applying for a Quaker Marriage License have satisfied the requirements of the Religious Society of Friends and that at least one of the party is a member of the Religious Society of Friends.
Annual Report Yardley Meeting: Peter Larson, Clerk, presented the report, which is attached. He highlighted the Religious Education success in reworking the program for Adult Religious Education and Middle School. The Meeting has expanded outreach through the Community Flea Market.
Minute on Ministry to the Poor: Peter Larson serves on the PYM committee that was formed in response to the crises with the homeless at the Arch Street Meetinghouse. The committee was originally called: “Concern for Homelessness” and has recently been renamed “Response to Poverty Work Group” The proposed ministry to the poor was reviewed. Gathering around food will lead to discussion, which will lead to education, which will lead to advocacy. We need a corporate response to the situation at Fourth and Arch Street. Meeting reviewed and endorses the proposal of the Working Group.
Minute 2
Bucks Quarterly Meeting, on November 19, 2006, endorses the proposal for ministry to the poor made by the Friends Response to Poverty Working Group of PYM and approved by the PYM Peace and Concerns Committee
Auditors Report: Bill Dockhorn presented the report for the Budget and Nominating Committee. Report indicated that there were no discrepancies. Report was approved.
Letter on Support for that Fallen in the Amish Community.
Letter to be sent to the Bishop of the Amish Community was created and read by James Collins of Fallsington MM. Letter approved as read. To be sent with indication that the letter was approved by Bucks Quarterly Meeting. It was noted by a member that the former Bart Monthly Meeting, which is now Bart Historical Society, is a quarter of a mile from the tragedy and is surrounded by Amish Farms. The Amish community has been watching out for the Meeting House for a number of years.
Annual Report Plumstead: No one was available to present the report, which is attached.
Report from the PYM Special Session on Peace: by Larry Miller. The meeting was worship centered and felt like a gathered meeting.
Peace and Concerns Committee: The report was presented by Larry Miller. The decision was made by the Peace and Concerns Committee to recommend to Bucks Quarterly Meeting to lay it down. It was the opinion of the group that the Monthly Meetings should be the ones who are active and that there are ample resources available for Monthly Meetings in the Quarter area.. He suggested to the Quarter that if the Committee is revived in the future that it be charged with a more specific concern, not one as big as “Peace and Concerns”
Minute 3
Bucks Quarter accepts the decision of the Peace and Concerns Committee to lay itself down and wishes to express its appreciation for those who have served on the Quarterly Peace and Concerns Committee:
Minute approved.
Annual Report: Wrightstown MM: Read by Charley Wilson and is attached.
Camp Onas Annual Report. Report presented by Bob Holt, Clerk of the Camp Onas Board, and is attached. Camp Onas is on target for its’ long-range plan. The Camp has adopted this year a project for the “greening” of the Camp.
Quaker School at Horsham: Report presented by Karen Wright, Clerk of School Committee, and is attached. She highlighted the construction of the new classroom building and the renovation of the Horsham Meeting House back to the state it was in prior to being utilized by the school. The school has established an “Affinities Program” to help the students who arrive after having experienced failure in the regular school system.
Worship and Ministry Committee Annual Report postponed to Second Month 2007
Bequest to Bucks Quarter for Friends Home and Village: A bequest from Werner and Margaretta Muller for over $78,000 was recognized. Will Bowers spoke for the Friends Home Committee and introduced the members of the Committee who were present. He noted that the Trust allows income to be used without restrictions, principal is not used. 10% of interest is reinvested. Friends are encouraged to stop by for a visit
Resolution calling for a Moratorium on the Death Penalty: Full resolution read by David Rose and is attached. Resolution was approved and it was requested that the minute be forwarded to Interim Meeting for Yearly Meeting consideration.
Minute 4
The Bucks Quarterly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, calls on the Governor and our state representatives, and the President of the United States, and our representatives in Congress, to enact and adopt legislation imposing a moratorium on executions.
Discussion with Mark Myers, General Secretary: There was a brief discussion regarding membership statistics which included the following comments:80% of members are convinced Friends. 60% come because they were invited by a specific person. It is unclear the influence that Friends Schools have on getting new members or retaining children of members. In response to a question regarding the amount of attenders, he responded that there is a lack of record keeping. The suggestion was asked to have MMs to send addresses of regular attenders to PYM so that they can receive the information.
Other Business: Appreciation was voiced for David Smith as outgoing Clerk of the Quarter for and a welcome offered to Beth Ann Morgan as incoming Clerk of the Quarter.
Meeting closed with a period of worship at 3:40 PM.