May 2023 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
May 14, 2023
We met in a hybrid meeting on Zoom and in person.
Present:
Dean Olson, clerk; Amy Cooke, Sharon Davisson, Marilyn Guida, Chamba Cooke, Judy Hamilton, Reed Hamilton, Stuart Smith, Keely McDonald, Gordon Starr, Dorothy Henderson, Doug Hamm, Jennifer Smith, Lo Hamm, Mary Starr, Kathy McCreery, Dianne Marshall
The Meeting opened with silent worship.
Clerks’ Remarks and Query:
What is your experience of silence in the Meeting for Business?
Friends spoke to the query.
- Silence is the first step to stillness ~ taking a moment of silence almost invariably focuses the meeting and shifts the energy
- There are a plethora of sounds inside the silence, we are asked to touch the silence within
- When there are a lot of opinions and discussion, the silence helps the silt to settle and the water run clear
- Worship can happen within the silence, that is what is being sought
- Meeting for Worship on the Occasion of Business – the meeting for worship changes the nature of what we are doing
- The silence gives spaciousness that seems to allow more time
- Be still and still be
Action Items and Seasoning:
COMMITTEE REPORTS
(see reports appended, committee clerk is noted in bold)
NOMINATING: (terms as noted) Dorothy Henderson (fulfilling Pat Phillips term): 2022-2023, Sharon Davisson, continuing: 2021-2023, Judy Hamilton: 2022-2024, Gordon Starr: 2022-2024
- New positions:
- Tech Support: The job description was read in the meeting as appended, to season until the end of this meeting. The Nominating Committee answered questions about the position, including when the person would be present. It was noted that this person is ex officio on the Stewardship Committee. This position replaces and expands the position of the Zoom coordinator.
- Elder to the Clerk: The job description was read in the meeting as appended, to season until the end of this meeting. The Nominating Committee answered questions about the position.
- Reading of the Slate:
- Judy Hamilton read the slate for the 2023-24 year, as appended. The slate now seasons for one month, until the Sixth Month Meeting for Business. Please send any concerns to Judy Hamilton, clerk, Nominating Committee, or members Dorothy Henderson, Sharon Davisson, and Gordon Starr.
STEWARDSHIP: Mary Starr (clerk), Pat Phillips, Reed Hamilton, Gordon Starr, Doug Hamm. Dianne Marshall (ex-officio, Newsletter editor), Fosten Wilson (ex-officio, Treasurer), Don McCormick (ex-officio, Librarian)
Mary Starr read the report, appended.
WELCOME: Kathy McCreery (clerk), Don McCormick, Pat Phillips, Karen Olson. Hailey Wilson (ex-officio, zoom coordinator), Amy Cooke (ex-officio, Website and Facebook coordinator), Judy Hamilton (ex-officio, email coordinator)
Kathy McCreery read the report, appended:
- We had a welcome committee meeting on May11th.
- The Friendly Eights groups are going well.
- We are planning a welcome party for our new members on June 10th from 2-4pm at Kathy and Fostens house. It will be a finger foods potluck.
- Our greeter and refreshments instructions are going to be revamped.
- We also want to start having monthly potlucks. The first one will be in July hosted by Pat Phillips. Date to be announced.
Our next meeting will be June 8th.
SPIRIT & WITNESS: Amy Cooke, Sharon Davisson, Reed Hamilton, Dorothy Henderson, Stuart Smith, Dean and Karen Olson (ex-officio co-clerks)
Dorothy Henderson read the report, appended.
The following changes were made to the report:
- The Welcome Party has been changed to June 10.
- Sharon and Judy are writing the memorial minute.
- The June 25 Spiritual Life Program is on hold until further notice.
State of the Meeting report – from Spirit and Witness
MINUTE 2023.05.01: Grass Valley Friends Meeting accepts the State of the Meeting Report 2023 as appended to these Minutes.
CHILDREN’S PROGRAM: Dorothy Henderson (clerk), Gordon Bishop, Doug Hamm, Judy Hamilton, Dean Olson, Karen Olson, Reed Hamilton, Don McCormick, Anita McCormick
Dorothy Henderson the report, as appended.
NOMINATING: approval of new positions
- Elder to the Clerk
Minute 2023.05.02: Grass Valley Friends Meeting approves adding the position of Elder to the Clerk to the slate for Grass Valley Friends Meeting. The term for the position is one year.
- Tech Support
Minute 2023.05.03: Grass Valley Friends Meeting approves adding the position of Tech Support to the slate for Grass Valley Friends Meeting. The term for the position is one year.
Names brought forward: These will be added to the Slate and will season until the June Meeting for Business
Elder to the Clerk: Gordon Starr
Tech Support: Hayley Wilson
OFFICER REPORTS
- TREASURER: fosten wilson
- SFC REPRESENTATIVE: Pat Phillips
- INTERFAITH NEVADA COUNTY: Dianne Marshall
GVFM is hosting Interfaith Nevada County on May 18. The attendees will be given a tour of the campus after the meeting.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Sylvia Osman’s memorial has been scheduled by the family for July 1, 2023, 11:00 AM at the Grass Valley United Methodist Church, 236 South Church St, Grass Valley.
- Welcome Party for new members Cheryl Hendrikson, David Cowen, Olivia Cowen, and Judy Hamilton: June 10 at fosten and Kathy’s house.
- Our website is temporarily disabled. We are working on it!
- 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, and it helps our visibility. Follow this link.
- It is 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. Please note: Tithely now allows the user to change the dollar of their gift without making a new donation request.
- Sierra Friends Center has volunteer opportunities available. See www.woolman.org.
- The College Park Quarterly Meeting will gather May 19-21 at Quaker Center in Ben Lomond, CA (and online for some activities). The theme for this quarterly meeting will be “Nurturing the beloved community across the divide – digital, generational, ideological…” The flyer with more information is available by clicking here.To register for the event, click here.
- Pacific Yearly Meeting 2023 will be an on-ground gathering with opportunities for remote or online participation held at Mount Madonna Center July 21-26, 2023.
- There is a new PacYM directory online. See Dean for the password.
- The 2023 Friends General Conference Gathering, “Listen So That We May Live,” will be held at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, OR, from July 2-July 8, 2023.
- We need more people who would be willing to set up the tech system for meetings. Mary Starr is available for tutorials on setting up and putting away the OWL – just ask! She is very skilled and helpful. Please contact Mary if you can assist. You can also come at 8:45 am on any Sunday to observe the process. Thank you!!
- Woolman Homecoming: September 29 – October 1, 2023. Whether you were a John Woolman School student, a Woolman Semester School student, a camper at Camp Woolman, a visitor, or a Friend, please join Woolman in celebrating this milestone and sharing your memories of Woolman.
- The Nevada County Planning Commission has rejected the proposal for a new mine in the County.
ACTION ITEMS & ITEMS SEASONING
- Nominating Slate for 2023-24
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:
- Nominating Committee
- Stewardship Committee
- Welcome Committee
- Spirit and Witness Committee
- 2023 State of the Meeting
- Children’s Program Committee
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Nominating Committee
Elder for Clerk
Job Description
Elders: Historically those appointed to foster the life of the Meeting and of individuals
within the Meeting. Faith and Practice of Pacific Yearly Meeting, 1985.
Eldering: the ministry of deepening the spiritual grounding of individuals, a Quaker meeting or other faith groups or gatherings. “An Invitation to Quaker Eldering”
- The Elder is nominated by the Nominating Committee as part of the slate of Grass Valley Friends Meeting. The Elder is selected with the input of the Clerk being eldered.
- The role of elder for the clerk of GVFM will include the following activities:
- Support the clerk on a regular basis, monthly and as needed to prepare the clerk mentally and spiritually for tasks of clerking.
- Meet with the clerk before Meeting for Worship for Business to season the agenda and business items and provide spiritual depth and grounding for the upcoming work.
- Accompany clerk during Meeting for Worship for Business to support and strengthen the
ministry of clerking.
- Hold the clerk and the Meeting as whole (in prayer, in the light), as the work of business takes place.
- Meet with the clerk after the Meeting for Worship for Business to debrief and hold in prayer and light the work of the Meeting.
The Elder is ex officio on the Spirit and Witness committee.
The term is one year.
Tech Support Position
Job Description
- The Tech Support person is a resource for Meeting activities that rely on tech systems including
the use of the computer, owl, and zoom.
- This includes: Setting up and breaking down owl, computer and monitor for Meeting activities.
- Teaching others to set up and break down owl, computer and monitor for Meeting activities.
- Acting as zoom coordinator for Meeting activities, including facilitating breakout rooms, changing host, and teaching others how to access chat, participants, change names and other basic features of zoom as needed.
- Provide backup to other GVFM tech facilitators in above activities.
- Provide troubleshooting of problems that arise with tech equipment and use of tech equipment.
The Tech Support person will serve for a one year term.
The Tech Support position is ex officio on the Stewardship Committee.
2023-2024 Slate of Committees and Officers
All committee members serve one-year terms: Clerks and Coveners are noted in bold.
Stewardship: Mary Starr, Pat Phillips, Reed Hamilton, Gordon Starr, Doug Hamm, David Bowman. Dianne Marshall (ex-officio, Newsletter editor), Fosten Wilson (ex-officio, Treasurer), Don McCormick(ex-officio, Librarian), (ex-officio Tech Support).
Welcome Committee: Kathy McCreery, Don McCormick, Pat Phillips, Karen Olson, Cheryl Hendrickson, Cindy Bliss, Lo Hamm, CJ Patterson, Peter O’Rourke (ex-officio, Website and Facebook coordinator), Judy Hamilton (ex-officio, email coordinator).
Spirit and Witness: Amy Cooke, Stuart Smith, Reed Hamilton, Sharon Davisson, Dean Olson Dorothy Henderson (ex-officio, GVFM Clerk), (ex-officio,Elder to the Clerk).
Children’s Program: Dorothy Henderson, Gordon Bishop, Doug Hamm, Judy Hamilton, Dean Olson, Karen Olson, Reed Hamilton, Don McCormick, Keely McDonald, David Cowan, Lo Hamm.
Nominating Committee: (terms as noted)
• Judy Hamilton: 2022-2024
• Gordon Starr: 2022-2024
ROLES: One-year terms:
- Clerk: Dorothy Henderson
- Elder to Clerk:
- Recording Clerk: Amy Cooke/ Jennifer Smith
- Newsletter Editor: Dianne Marshall
- Newsletter Distributor: Pat Phillips
- Email Coordinator: Judy Hamilton
- Treasurer: Fosten Wilson
- Tech Support:
- Website/Facebook Coordinator: Peter O’Rourke/Amy Cooke
- Librarian: Don McCormick
- Recorder: Anita McCormick
- Directory Clerk: Nancy Anderson
- Mail Clerk: Dean Olson
Representatives: one-year terms
Please note: Most organizations no longer have representatives from GVFM. They are held in two
committees, Welcome and Spirit and Witness. The following organizations are the exceptions:
- Interfaith Nevada County: Dianne Marshall
- Sierra Friends Center: Gordon Starr
- Pacific Yearly Meeting: Doug Hamm
- College Park Quarterly Meeting: Doug Hamm
Organization Representative by Committee
Welcoming Committee holds the “connect with Quakers” organizations: Ben Lomond Quaker Center
(BLQC), College Park Quarterly Meeting (CPQM), Friends General Conference (FGC), Friends World Committee on Consultation (FWCC), Pacific Yearly Meeting (Pac YM), and Sierra Friends Center (SFC).
Spirit and Witness holds the “Faith and Practice” organizations: American Friends Service Committee
(AFSC), Friends Committee for Legislation (FCNL/FCL-CA), Interfaith of Nevada County, Quaker
United Nations Organization (QUNO), and Right Sharing of World Resources (RSWR) The Nisenan have been added to Spirit and Witness.
Each month, a member of one of the two committees prepares a report on one of their committee’s
organizations based on the queries below.The committees alternate months, with odd months going to one committee and even months the other one. That gives many people the opportunity to “discover” Quaker organizations, and to hear from different people so that we all get to hear from each other. The reports are structured around the following queries:
- What is this organization’s mission statement?
- What are their current activities or plans?
- What is exciting?
- Are there any concerns?
- How can Friends get involved if they feel inspired?
- Is anyone in our meeting particularly involved? How?
Four organizations continue to have a representative (PYM, CPQM, SFC, and Interfaith Nevada County) who will report to the meeting as needed. However, these organizations will also be included in the once-a-year report to Business Meeting from either Welcome (PYM, CPQM, SFC) or Spirit and Witness (Interfaith Nevada County).
The following organizations are officially omitted from the Nominating Slate of Representatives and are represented above:
1. American Friends Service Committee – AFSC
2. Ben Lomond Quaker Center – BLQC
3. Friends Committee for National Legislation – FCNL
4. Friends Committee for Legislation, California -FCL-CA
5. Friends General Conference – FGC
6. Friends World Committee for Consultation – FWCC
7. Quaker United Nations Organization – QUNO
8. Right Sharing of World Resources – RSWR
Stewardship Committee
Stewardship Committee Report
Report from meeting on May 4, 2023
Present: Mary Starr, clerk, Gordon Starr, recorder, Fosten Wilson, Reed Hamilton, Dianne
Marshall, Doug Hamm.
Finance. Fosten reported income fort April at $729; money out was $3,486, of which $2,704
was annual dues to PYM. Also included was rent, newsletter cost and CPQM dues.
Tax I.D. pursuit. We will need to identify Officers of the “corporation” and notify the state
whenever they change. Members of the Stewardship committee who already work on the budget? Reed said he had helped set up a non-profit corporation and didn’t need a lawyer.
The committee received a request for scholarship help to attend the FGC Gathering in Oregon
from two Meeting members. There is a line in the budget for these scholarships. The committee
agreed to share what we could with each member without completely depleting the funds. FGC
has asked applicants to approach their Meeting first for financial help and then approach FGC for
further help.
Fosten noted that the rent check for January 2023 was never cashed. Was it lost? Did SFC get
it? He will check with Coleen about it.
Quaker Archives. Dianne has been meeting with an Ad Hoc committee of 44 other Quaker
Meetings about how to store meeting records safely and accessibly: on the cloud? In paper form?
And what are the pros and cons? Some Meetings had lost access to their stored records due to
changing storage format. Quakers have a long history of keeping excellent records. This is an
ongoing problem among Meetings.
She also noted that, on the website, there isn’t a link to see the committee reports that are
appended to the end of the Meeting for Business minutes. And there is no other way to view
them since they are not included in the printed version.
Next Meeting: June 1, 2023 at 3:00PM.
Spirit and Witness Report
The committee has reviewed the State of the Meeting report and we now bring it forward to the Meeting for Business for approval (see Action Items).
We have finalized the Witness Committees process after receiving feedback. Please bring your leadings for social action to the committee for support and encouragement!
Grounding our Witness in Spirit
When a person or group in our Meeting has a nudge or leading to take action out of spiritual discernment, the Spirit and Witness Committee is available for support.
- We suggest that Friends bring their leadings and concerns to Spirit and Witness for support and encouragement. Email the clerk and/or members of the S&W committee a description of the concern and any actions being discerned.
- If part of the action is to form a group, the person with the concern can bring that request to the announcements part of Meeting.
- If a group forms, it can become a Witness Committee under the care of S&W. This is similar to Care Committees, Clearness Committees, etc. The committee reports to S&W each month and their report becomes part of the report to the Meeting.
- The Spirit and Witness Committee Clerk can post to the email tree, newsletter, Facebook page, etc on behalf of the Witness Committee.
We discussed the concern raised about using the word witness and concluded that it fits the use that we are suggesting how we outwardly live our faith, one way that we practice our faith. We shared that the times that we have gathered to witness for social issues have been very spiritual experiences. We feel greatly inspired by our work integrating spiritual development and outward witness, letting our lives speak outwardly our connection with the Divine.
We considered the new job description of Clerk’s Elder being added to the nominating slate. We made minor changes and approved it being brought to the Meeting for Business for seasoning and approval.
Sylvia Osman’s memorial has been scheduled by the family for July 1, 2023, 11:00 AM at the Grass Valley United Methodist Church, 236 South Church St., Grass Valley. Judy is drafting the memorial minute for Sylvia and it will come to Meeting for Business for approval when it is completed. It will be shared at Pacific Yearly Meeting this year along with Deborah Aufdenspring’s and Julia Reynolds’ minutes.
We continue to reach out to members, attenders and new attendees on a voluntary basis.
We have several Committees of Care under our care and welcome requests for Committees of Care, Committees of Discernment, Anchor Committees, or Witness Committees.
We are joyfully supporting the new members’ party at Fosten and Kathy’s on June 3rd with the Welcome Committee.
Spiritual Life Programs:
Our Spiritual Life offering this month will be on the Nisenan and is offered by Dorothy Henderson and Marilyn Guida. The day has been moved to Sunday June 4 after Meeting.
June 25: Reed and Karen. Reed and Karen, Braiding Sweetgrass and wildcrafting food on the Woolman land
July 23:Feedback and brainstorm on future SL programs.
August 27: We hope that Rabbi David Azen will accept our invitation to speak to the Meeting about the biblical origins of male domination in the Eden story.
Respectfully submitted,
Amy Cooke, clerk Spirit and Witness
STATE OF THE MEETING REPORT
May 1, 2023
The year 2022-2023 has seen us begin the recovery from the challenges of Covid and the Jones fire. We have begun meeting in person as well as on zoom, and now have a fully hybrid meeting. Zoom has been described as a blessing. We purchased an Owl and have found it to enable both hearing and ease of offering ministry for our meeting. We have regular attenders who do not live in our area. Zoom has enabled us to stay connected to some long time members who have moved away but continue to worship with us, and in some cases to serve on committees and as officers. Zoom committee meetings have meant that individuals who drive up to an hour for meetings or committee meetings are able to save time and the use of fossil fuels.
This past year we returned to offering an in-person children’s program, as it means that we are able to take full advantage of the Sierra Friends Center campus for our place of learning and indeed the land as a teacher. We saw some children return who had been receiving “home religious education” during the pandemic, but were eager to come back together. In addition, we have added three new children and now have a grand total of six to eight for First Day School. Because the age span is 6 to 16 we are considering offering two First day programs but are just in the beginning of that planning. We have plans for a teen Saturday night gathering once a month, and have recently instituted Saturday field trips for the youth that take place once a season. Our winter trip was canceled as the roads were impassable when the snow we had planned on driving to, came home to us in droves. We had better success with our spring field trip, with six young people and one parent hiking the Deer Creek Tribute Trail with a picnic lunch and learning about Nisenan practices of food provision and cordage making.
Our antiracist book group, with the name shortened to Waking Up, has been laid down and has transitioned into an active awareness in the meeting as a whole of our place on unceded Nisenan land. Adult education programs that included walking from the meeting house to the grinding rock where a Nisenan village existed; learning about the Doctrine of Discovery; and teachings from the writings of Robin Wall Kimmerer have led us to deeply embrace the land acknowledgement that the Nisenan people in our community have asked that we use. We now read it at the beginning of our Meeting for Worship. This acknowledgment each week, rather than being rote, reminds us we still have much to learn and undo, new plows and hoes we are being asked to take up, so that the sacred in life can be experienced and acted upon. We are asking, as many are, what is next for us to do, beyond land acknowledgment?
Since returning to an in person/hybrid meeting our numbers have grown, while we also mourn the passing of dear Friends – Julia Reynolds, Sylvia Osman, and Deborah Aufdenspring. We have transfers from another meeting, returning of older attenders, and some who are new to Quakers and Nevada City, but are finding their way here each week. We have lost some long time members of our meeting, and celebrate the contributions they made over many decades. There is a sense among members and attenders, zoom and in person that we are increasingly a Beloved community, People describe feeling loved and accepted, as well as attended to in various ways. Some quotes:
- “Communities who spend time getting to know and support their members are quite rare. There is integrity of word and action…opens my heart and reminds me God is bigger than I am…I feel my heart glow.”
- “There is an increase in spiritual resonance. Our meeting feels deeply spiritual. People are conscious of it. Visitors from other meetings have commented on feeling it.”
- “Though I attend remotely Meeting brings me to my extended family and brightens my week.”
- “I participate and leave meeting full of joy.”
- “With all the challenges of the past three or four years, the caring in this whole meeting is powerful. Holds us in its embrace and keeps me here after 75 years.”
To what do we attribute this? There is a sense of caring for how we gather together in our meeting for worship and how we take responsibility for our key areas of ministry through our committees. We have not experienced the pruning and combining of our committees as a decline; we are now more efficient, more active and energized. Our committees are more responsive to taking on the tasks we corporately identify. We are aware of our limits. Limits in money, in members and attenders, in what we can realistically do. That is why we take the time and energy to discern what and where we sense we need to focus our attention. And the sproutings and blossoms we tenderly see are affirmations that we are paying attention to those small, still voices, which require us to sit still and be attentive, to listen before we act.
Our tending has brought forth new shoots: a hybrid meeting; an active children’s program; a spirited beginning to a revived Friendly 8’s program; continuation of our music hour each week before worship; Family worship every fifth Sunday, with children remaining in meeting for twenty minutes of storytelling, of singing, and of worship; an enthusiastic librarian and inviting library; and a monthly newsletter that continues to be brimming with Quaker activities and wisdom and beyond.
All of this takes place on the campus of Sierra Friends Center which has seemed like a Phoenix rising from the ashes. There is a sense of energy and promise in the new staff and programs for children and adults as well as those who come for personal and group retreats. There is a sense of growing together, Grass Valley Friends Meeting and Woolman at Sierra Friends Center.
On behalf of our Monthly Meeting,
Dean and Karen Olson
Co-clerks
Welcome Committee
(see body of the Minutes)
Children’s Program Committee
On April 28th, the first Spring Field Trip of GVFM’s First Day program happened! Six young people (Emma, Hailey, Max, Kirk and Emily) and five adults (Doug, Dorothy, Reed, Judy and Stacy (Max and Emily’s mom) gathered at Hailey’s home to have two brief lessons: How various plants were used by the Nisenan; we learned about the use of brodeias and other flowers for food and how soap plant was used for…soap!. Then Hailey showed us how to make cordage, using first milkweed and then flax. Everyone tried, some with more success (the youth) than others (the adults).
After a scrumptious snack of Doug’s lemon scones, we piled into cars and headed to the trailhead of the Deer Creek Tribute trail in Nevada City. We hiked to the Nisenan Tribute bridge, a suspension bridge that gave us a spectacular view of the rushing Deer creek after all our rain this spring. We then hiked down to a lovely spot by the creek, ate our lunches, clambered and explored the boulders, and skipped rocks. On our hike out, Olivia taught us about the Fezz houses that are along the trail.
Hiking out we headed back to the cars, taking turns on who got to ride in Doug and Dorothy’s 1985 vanagon, and ended up at Treats for ice cream and a delicious end to a delicious day. We are looking forward to our next Field trip, August and the Yuba!