December 2021 Meeting Minutes
GRASS VALLEY FRIENDS MEETING
Of the Religious Society of Friends of the Truth
College Park Quarterly Meeting, Pacific Yearly Meeting
MINUTES & RECORD
Meeting for Worship on the Occasion of Business
12/12/2021
We met on Zoom.
Present:
The Meeting opened with silent worship.
Clerks’ Remarks and Query
We call this time “ meeting in worship on the occasion for business.” What helps you to experience this time as taking place in the context of worship?
Action Items and Seasoning:
From 11th Month: (See Stewardship Report) The Rental Agreement with Sierra Friends Center will be brought back to Meeting for Business for review in the 12th month meeting.
COMMITTEE REPORTS (see reports appended, committee clerk is noted in bold)
STEWARDSHIP: Mary Starr, Gordon Starr, Reed Hamilton, Pat Phillips, Doug Hamm, Fosten Wilson (Treasurer, Ex-officio) Dianne Marshall (ex officio as Librarian and Newsletter Editor), Hailey Wilson
SPIRIT & WITNESS: Gordon Starr, Judy Hamilton, Gordon Bishop, Dorothy Henderson, Anita and Don McCormick (ex-officio Co Clerks), Judy Hamilton
NOMINATING: Doug Hamm, Patrica Phillips, Karen Olson
WELCOME: Karen Olson, Kathy McCreery, ex officio Website/Facebook Coordinator (Amy Cooke), ex officio Zoom coordinator (Hailey Wilson and Stuart Smith), ex officio Email Coordinator (Judy Hamilton)
CHILDREN’S PROGRAM: Karen Olson, Judy Hamilton, Dorothy Henderson, Gordon Bishop, Anita McCormick, Doug Hamm, Don McCormick
OFFICER REPORTS
ANNOUNCEMENTS
- If you use Facebook, follow the Grass Valley Friends Meeting page, or join the Facebook Grass Valley Friends Meeting group. If you share a post from the page, your friends will see it!. It helps our visibility. Follow this link.
- It’s easy to give to Grass Valley Friends Meeting! Go to gvfriends.org and click on the Give button. This takes you to a secure site for donations. Please consider making your contribution monthly. Your contribution covers our Pacific Yearly Meeting dues and ensures that our activities as a Meeting are sustained. Thank you.
- Tithely now allows the user to change the dollar of their gift without making a new donation request.
- Reed Hamilton announced that George Lakey, who gave a workshop in Grass Valley in 2019 and is a member of the Earth Quaker Action Team (EQAT), along with EQAT, is planning an action addressing Vanguard. Vanguard investments are heavily involved in coal. They are rated “F” in their green rating for fossil fuels. The campaign will include writing letters, removing funds from Vanguard, and public actions. If you are interested in pursuing this further, please contact Reed.
- Sierra Friends Center is planting over 4000 trees. The public is invited to take part over the first two weekends of December. There will be training and all tools are provided.
- Interfaith Nevada County will be taking part in the March for Peace and Social Justice on May 22, 2022.
ACTION ITEMS & ITEMS SEASONING
FEEDBACK
How did you experience this meeting for worship on the occasion of business?
READING OF THE RECORD AND MINUTES
The record and the minutes were read, corrected and approved.
If you are giving a report to GVFM, please send the actual report to the recording clerk at grassvalleyfriends@gmail.com THE FRIDAY BEFORE MEETING FOR BUSINESS.
GVFM Newsletter Reminder: Please have items into Diane Marshall by Tuesday at 10 am.
The Meeting closed with silent worship.
Respectfully recorded by Amy Cooke, recording clerk.
APPENDICES:
- Spirit and Witness Committee
- Rental Agreement with SFC
————————————————————————-
Spirit and Witness Committee
Minutes from meeting on December 4, 2021
Present: Judy Hamilton, clerk, Gordon Starr, recorder, Dorothy Henderson, Gordon Bishop, Dean Olson
Opening Query: What was the most memorable event that occurred over your Thanksgiving holiday?
Friends in Need.
Dorothy reported that Charity Bryson had a fire in her house and lost everything so they did not meet in person. She said that conversation with Charity was warmer and more open than the letter she sent to Meeting. Dorothy will continue trying to get together with her.
Chrystal’s committee of support has met and Dorothy has rejoined it. Lily continues to be a problem when they meet but Chrystal is grateful for the support and will contact them when she can meet.
Sharon Davisson’s committee has not met recently but Judy said she went with her to Janet Bullock’s art fair and she has been coming to Julia Reynolds’ house for monthly singing and worship.
Deanna Allen is waiting to return to Meeting until we meet in person.
Bob Barnes’ daughter, Lauralyn (sp?) agreed that we should wait until after the holidays for the memorial. There was a discussion of Welcoming committee needing more people and other people and organizations we might contact. It Was noted there doesn’t seem to be much energy around this. We recognized that having memorial comes more from our need to acknowledge Bob. We will wait until after the Holidays and see where we are.
Meeting in Person. Gordon S. reported that the container has been emptied and most of the contents are now in the Meeting House. There remain many decisions on where things go and what to get rid of i.e. benches, children’s furniture, books and toys, posters etc.
The new equipment is in and a trial hybrid meeting of the Stewardship Committee was held on
Dec. 2. Camera, TV and small computer worked OK. Wireless mic was not working, which Melissa had already ascertained. She is ordering a new, different one. TV speaker quality was also poor, Judy offered the speakers we used earlier. While the input audio and vireo from other participants was great, it was reported that our video was frozen on their screens most of the time. Possible poor upload speed. (?) This will need to be resolved.
Many questions about how all this reflects on the Meeting House being usable as referred to in the “Lease” agreement. Gordon will send the latest lease/rental contact to all committee members to go through carefully and report back to him any questions or problems.
We ended with a few moments of worship.
Link to Rental Agreement: Rental Agreement with Sierra Friends Center