February 2024 – Meeting for Worship on the Occasion of Business
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
February 18, 2024
We met in a hybrid meeting in person at the meetinghouse and on Zoom.
Present: Dorothy Henderson (clerk), Doug Hamm, Chamba Cooke, Amy Cooke (co-recording clerk), Sharon Davisson, Judy Hamilton, Reed Hamilton, Gordon Starr, Mary Starr, Dianne Marshall, Peter O’Rourke.
The Meeting opened with silent worship.
Clerks’ Remarks and Query:
Dorothy introduced the Clerk’s Table: Dorothy Henderson, presiding clerk; Amy Cooke, recording clerk; Gordon Starr, elder to the clerk; and Mary Starr, Zoom assistant.
Remarks and Query: Dorothy spoke of watching the Super Bowl ads. One ad is silent, depicting people washing each other’s feet. The message was that Jesus did not teach hate.
How do we, in this Meeting, wash each other’s feet?
Dorothy was inspired to share a quotation from the book, On Listening to Another by Douglas Steere. She noted that we listen to each other in what can be a transformative way.
Dorothy asked Friends to respond out of worship.
There was a message shared of being deeply touched, of sharing Happy Valentine’s Day wishes with strangers, of how kindness and connection raises us all up. Another Friend shared about the Waking Up group that meets under the care of the Meeting. The deep listening that the Friend experienced in that group inspired her to join the Meeting. A Friend shared about her high school experience of listening deeply to a friend while participating in the American Friends Service Committee, an experience that taught her about empathy – oh, and she married that friend 30 years later! Spirit and Witness meetings are a place one Friend feels both deeply heard and able to share openly. A committee of care gives another Friend the experience of pure listening without boundaries. Examples rose up of the times when a Friend did not listen, or was not heard. A time when a friend reflected in the middle of a sharing, “You’re an idiot!” have her a sense of being seen and heard through the authenticity of humor and connection.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
(see reports appended, committee clerk is noted in bold)
Spirit and Witness: Amy Cooke, Stuart Smith, Reed Hamilton, Sharon Davisson, Dean Olson, Dorothy Henderson (ex-officio, GVFM Clerk).
Amy Cooke gave the report, appended.
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).
Mary Starr, clerk, gave the report, appended.
We revisited the note from items being carried over, “The Meeting approves delegating the issue of how to manage the paper and digital archives to the Stewardship Committee, with the recommendation that a task force be formed to work on best practices.”
Don and Gordon are working on this and it is in process.
Welcome Committee: Peter O’Rourke, clerk (ex-officio, Website and Facebook coordinator), Kathy McCreery, Don McCormick, Pat Phillips, Cheryl Hendrickson, Cindy Bliss, Lo Hamm, CJ Patterson, Hailey Wilson (ex-officio, tech support), Judy Hamilton (ex-officio, email coordinator).
Peter O’Rourke, clerk, gave the report, appended.
It was noted that the practice of having Spirit & Witness and Welcome Committee report on organizations has been confusing.
It was suggested that we go back to Spirit and Witness with this issue, with possible restructuring in future years. Friends agreed to this strategy.
Pete can make the report on Ben Lomond Quaker Center and the report can go to Dianne for inclusion in the newsletter.
Please see the appendices for the minute on organization reporting.
Nominating Committee: (terms as noted) Judy Hamilton: 2022-2024, Gordon Starr: 2022-2024, Dean Olson 2023-2025, Sharon Davisson 2023-2025.
Judy Hamilton gave the report, appended.
It was noted in the committee that the Directory Clerk does not have a home in a committee. They recommend that the Directory Clerk be held in the Welcome Committee.
Proposed Minute (to be seasoned until 03.2024): Grass Valley Friends Meeting accepts the nomination of Gordon Starr and Don McCormick for the positions of co-Recorder/Archivist to serve for the remaining portion the 2023-2024 year.
It was requested that if items are selected by the co-Recorders/Archivists to be discarded that others in the meeting be notified.
A Friend reminded us that we had the idea of forming a task force for best practices to manage the paper and digital archives of the Meeting. A suggestion was made to form the task force to help with discernment on what to discard and what to keep, and how to keep those records, whether digital or paper. This task force could assist the co-Recorders/Archivists.
It was noted that the Meeting records have been neglected. A suggestion was made that the Recorder/Archivist is better suited to two people.
Do we have a job description for an Archivist? We do, it is combined with the Recorder job description. Do we need to create a new position of Archivist for the 2024-25 year?
It was suggested that we listen to the new co-Recorders/Archivists as they navigate these issues over the next months.
We ask that the Stewardship Committee:
- Support the co- Recorders/Archivists in cleaning up the files they inherited
- Discern the need for a task force as recommended by the Meeting to address issues concerning the management of the paper and digital archives.
The development of a position of Archivist will continue to be under discernment for the future.
We understand that this may take some time.
Proposed Minute (to be seasoned until 03.2024): Grass Valley Friends Meeting approves making the Directory Clerk an ex-officio member of the Welcome Committee.
Children’s Program: Keely McDonald and Doug Hamm, co-clerks, Dorothy Henderson, Gordon Bishop, Judy Hamilton, Dean Olson, Reed Hamilton, Don McCormick, David Cowan, Lo Hamm.
There was no report.
OFFICER REPORTS and REPRESENTATIVE REPORTS
- Pacific Yearly Meeting: Doug Hamm gave the report, appended.
- College Park Quarterly Meeting: No report.
- Treasurer: fosten wilson. No report.
- Interfaith Nevada County: Dianne Marshall gave the report, appended. Dianne also reported that the spiritual care program at the hospital is still under development and she will share developments as they happen.
CLERK’S REMARKS
- The clerk shared her gratitude for our meeting, especially as we work with difficult issues that show our mettle.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Sunday, March 17: After Meeting Worship Sharing on the state of our Meeting.
- Sunday March 24: Spirit and Witness program. Don McCormick: Safe Meetings Don’t Avoid Conflict
- April 17: Spirit and Witness program. Seekers Meeting. Questions and sharing about what it means to be a Quaker
- April 28: Spirit and Witness program. Dorothy Henderson will report on her work at Pendle Hill
- Facebook: please 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.
- The 2023-2024 PacYM General Directory is available. It can be found on the Yearly Meeting Website at: pacificyearlymeeting.org > Resources > PacYM General Directory and Database > Obtaining the Directory
The Directory is available for use by members and attenders of monthly meetings and worship groups within Pacific Yearly Meeting and by Friends serving on Pacific Yearly Meeting committees. It is not to be shared beyond this community. Dorothy, Doug, and Don have the new password for the PacYM Directory.
- Carl Magruder: You can follow Carl’s healing journey on the CaringBridge.org website HERE. Friends have also set up a daily Meeting for Healing from 7:30 to 8 am (Pacific) on Zoom here or contact Amy Cooke at amylisette@gmail.com for the link.
- Contributions to Grass Valley Friends Meeting are gratefully accepted. You can give by mailing a check to fosten wilson or through Tithely on the website.
ITEMS SEASONING or CARRIED OVER
- Proposed Minute (to be seasoned until 03.2024): Grass Valley Friends Meeting accepts the nomination of Gordon Starr and Don McCormick for the position of co-Recorder/Archivist to serve for the remaining portion the 2023-2024 year.
- Proposed Minute (to be seasoned until 03.2024): Grass Valley Friends Meeting approves making the Directory Clerk an ex-officio member of the Welcome Committee.
- The Welcome Committee will discern how we share information with the public, including the newsletter, Facebook, the newspaper, and Interfaith Nevada County. In process.
- It was suggested that we go back to Spirit and Witness with Organizations Reports, with possible restructuring in future years.
- We ask that the Stewardship Committee:
- Support the co- Recorders/Archivists in cleaning up the files they inherited
- Discern the need for a task force as recommended by the Meeting to address issues concerning the management of the paper and digital archives. (from previous Minutes: The Meeting approves delegating the issue of how to manage the paper and digital archives to the Stewardship Committee, with the recommendation that a task force be formed to work on best practices.)
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 (outgoing) and Jennifer Smith, recording clerk (incoming).
APPENDICES:
- Spirit and Witness Committee report
- Stewardship Committee report
- Welcome Committee report
- Nominating Committee report
- Pacific Yearly Meeting Monthly Report
- Interfaith Nevada County report
- Information: Organization Representatives by Committee
- Recorder/Archivist job description
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Spirit and Witness Report
Spirit & Witness Report
02.2024
As a committee, we are grateful for all the ways our Meeting weaves us all together – through committee meetings and shared work, through our worship and our outward witnessing to the world, for our humor and shared kindnesses. We see the Beloved Community in all these ways, and more! We heard messages about murmurations – the wheeling flocks of starlings that illustrated for us how we stay together by taking care of those nearest us.
We continue to hold all those who are working on the Land Back transition, as Woolman becomes, once again, the place called Yulića – the site of a Nisenan settlement. We have acknowledged that there is a vulnerability to this time, akin to a new birth. We acknowledged that our work is to be present and hold and care and recognize the gift we have been given to witness this historic moment. We see the importance of centering Indigenous voices. This is the Nisenan’s story.
We are anticipating the beginning of the annual State of the Meeting process next month. As College Park Quarterly Meeting has noted, this is not a list of activities, but rather, “a self-examination by the Meeting and its members of their spiritual strengths and weaknesses and of efforts to foster growth in the spiritual life.” The State of the Meeting report tells the Quaker community and the world who we are and where we stand on our collective spiritual journey. On March 17th we will hold a worship sharing after Meeting to begin the process.
Witness Committee Report: Toward Right Relationship Witness Committee – Reed Hamilton. The first meeting will be this coming Friday 23 February.
Spirit and Witness upcoming programs:
We are discussing possible adult education opportunities, including what is happening with Quaker Seminary and ideas to welcome newcomers. We are supporting the gestation of the Quaker Seminary, with Amy now working with an elder and perhaps a ‘murmuration’ of support.
Newcomer programs: We are holding the need for newcomer programs while at the same time knowing that a lot of our attention is focused on the land back movement that is happening right now. The program that Don McCormick brought to us may find a good base in the Quarterly Meeting. We brought forward the idea of having a Seekers Meeting, in which people can bring questions and experienced Friends can bring answers to the faith and practice of Quakerism. We have added that to our schedule of Spirit and Witness programs.
- March 24: Don McCormick: Safe Meetings Don’t Avoid Conflict
- April 17: Seekers Meeting. Questions and sharing about what it means to be a Quaker
- April 28: Dorothy Henderson report on work at Pendle Hill
- Pending: Don McCormick’s program on mystical experience
Committee of Care and Clearness:
There are currently several committees of care who meet under our keeping, as well as the Clearness Committee for Membership for Mary Starr.
Stewardship Committee
Minutes from meeting on February 1, 2024
Present: Mary Starr, clerk, Gordon Starr, recorder, Fosten Wilson, treasurer, Dianne Marshall, newsletter editor, Reed Hamilton, Pat Phillips.
Finance. Fosten reported the January donations totaled $2,811, continuing the significant level of contributions of previous months. Payments totaled $644. Our treasurer expressed his gratitude for all donations.
Mary got her signature card so, in addition to Fosten, she will be able to sign checks from the Meeting’s account. Dorothy Henderson, as clerk will also need to be a signer.
Meeting now has a credit card, which will make paying certain bills easier. The limit on the card is $500, the minimum allowed by the bank.
Gordon talked to Jennifer Dickey about how to go about incorporating Meeting so we can get a tax I.D. number. She offered to send some information and warned it is a multi-step complicated process.
Archives/Recorder subcommittee. After agreeing last month to look into Meeting’s records and historical material, Don and Gordon met and went through the recorder’s box and various other files in order to clean up and set up a system for document filing and retrieval. Currently, the office of Meeting Recorder is vacant and they have agreed to fill out the current term which ends this June 31. There were multiple and some duplicate files in various locations. There were also questions about whether it was necessary for certain personal information forms to continue to be filled out.
Meeting House cleanup. The committee agreed to organize a day to thoroughly clean the Meeting House, and announce it to Meeting. We agreed to gather February 15. We wiped, mopped, vacuumed, and cleaned up mice droppings (!) and, having rented an upholstery cleaner, cleaned all the chair seats and backs. We also sorted through the Quaker Closet for old and/or unnecessary items to be disposed of, and trimmed the salvia plants that were over-growing the entrance ramp in front.
Our next meeting will be March 7, 2024.
Welcome Committee
05 February 2024 / 7:00PM / Zoom
Attendees – Don, Nancy, Cindy, Dianne – (Judy unable to connect)
New Business
1. Greeting Checklist – All
a. Change requested completed by Don and will be updated in Greeting materials
2. Connect with Quaker report
a. We reviewed the below questions when reaching out to other Friends groups
i. What’s Going On at Quaker Center Q: What is the mission of Quaker Center? Q:
What’s exciting about what the Quaker Center is doing? Q: Are there any concerns?
Q: How can Friends get involved?
b. Pete reached out to Alisson Kirkegaard with PacYM on 2/6/24
3. How is Directory created – Nancy
a. Nancy provided steps to add/update Directory;
i. Receives new member from Judy; receives request from member directly
b. Nancy will send out updated Directory two times per year
4. How to select attendees for events – Judy
a. Will continue discussion at March meeting
5. How to select/deselect email list for Newsletter and Announcements – Dianne
a. Using Survey results, plan is to set up one email distribution list for Newsletter and one for Announcements
b. For “no Response” category, we will send an email two times a year offering to add them to either list
6. Intro to Quakerism
a. Don shared Lake Erie Yearly Meeting (LEYM) Intro to Quakerism detail
b. GVFM would create one session that would be incorporated into LEYM sessions
c. Dianne suggested holding six sessions, then requesting feedback
i. The feedback would lead to next six sessions
Follow-up from last meeting
Amy provided us with Brevo, a 100+ email option used at Maison Quaker.
Next Meeting
Next meeting will be Monday, March 4 th , 2024, 7pm PST
Closing Worship
Nominating Committee Report
Nominating Committee Report
for Meeting for Business
February 2024
We met on January 5th and January 31st.
Present: Dean Olson, Judy Hamilton, Gordon Starr and Sharon Davisson
We are making good progress in asking folks in Meeting where they would like to serve and have contacted almost everyone. If you have not been contacted, please speak with one of our committee members.
We think we have all of the committee and job descriptions on our Google drive and in the Nominating binder.
We would like to bring the nomination of Gordon Starr and Don McCormick to act as Recorder/Archivist to serve for the remaining portion of the year.
Children’s Committee Report
Pacific Yearly Meeting Monthly Report
Several things of note in the wider Quaker world.
Pacific Yearly Meeting announcements include a couple events at Quaker Center to be aware of:
- “Climate Grief and Empowerment” A young adult “in person” program led by Thistle Holvendahl and Nora Lisette. February 16-19, 2024
This is our own Nora Cooke and Thistle Hofvendahl who, with Ben Hofvendahl are caretakers of Quaker Center, and who, like Nora and Ben, also graduated from The Woolman Semester. This is currently happening and will go on until tomorrow morning.
- “The Quakers: A Very Short Introduction” written by Ben Pink Dandelion
Bob Runyan and Jim Anderson will lead a reading and discussion group online
Mondays, March 4, 11, 18, & 25 and April 1, 2024
90 minute sessions, 7 pm Pacific
If you remember, Ben Pink Dandelion was the person who recommended the change in committee structure from maybe 20 old committees, to the few very effective ones we have now. Bob Runyan, who is Keith Runyan’s father, and Jim Anderson, both of Chico meeting, will be leading this discussion. You can register for this on the Quaker Center website.
Also of special interest see the webinar recommended by the PYM Indigenous Peoples Concerns Subcommittee:
- “Ethical Land Transitions” a webinar about the non-profit that worked with CHIRP and CPFEA to help them go to escrow, was presented Monday, February 12 and was recorded. This is the link for the recording of the webinar.
In addition, I (Doug) will be attending Representative Committee #1 for PYM on February 24th as your representative. If there are issues or points you would like me to consider, please email me. I am not available to attend Representative Committee #2 and am currently looking for a substitute. Please let me know if you are able to do this.
Doug Hamm, PYM representative
InterFaith Nevada County Report
InterFaith Nevada County met at the Unity of the Gold Country Church on Thursday, February 15, 2024.
The following Faith Communities and Spiritual Care Services were represented.
- Unity of the Gold Country
- Grass Valley Friends Meeting
- Hospice of the Foothills
- Ananda
- Sierra Center for Spiritual Living
- Congregation B’Nai Harim
- The Baha’i of Neveda County
This gathering generated a suggestion made by Shiva Reader (Baha’i). Shiva asked us all to consider creating an “InterFaith Nevada County” experience for the children who attend our worship services. The discussion that followed was quite lively with the sharing of how this type of experience had provided a lifetime of benefit for some of those present.
Interestingly, of the six congregations representing, only three have children attending service including religious education. (GVFM, Ananda and Congregation B’Hai Harim) The person representing Congregation B’Nai Harim expressed concern that such an offering to the Jewish children could lead them away from their faith. From that came the suggestion that the children themselves
could be the ones who present a teaching from their faith community and how it is interpreted such as The Golden Rule.
It was agreed that this opportunity will be given to those in the faith community who assure religious education to their children with the request that they send their thoughts and ideas to Shiva Reader at shiva.k.reader@gmail.com.
Information: Organization Representatives by Committee
Welcome 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) 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).
Job Description: Recorder (or Recorder/Archivist)
The Recorder (or Recorder/Archivist) keeps faithful and accurate membership records on forms provided by the Yearly Meeting. Such records include vital statistics pertaining to the member and his or her immediate family, whether or not they are all members of the Monthly Meeting. The Recorder promptly notes any changes relating to the membership, such as births, deaths, transfers, releases, or marriages. At the request of the Yearly Meeting Statistical Clerk, the Recorder completes a questionnaire regarding the Monthly Meeting and files a copy of this report in the permanent records of the Monthly Meeting.
The Recorder/Archivist also takes proper care of other important records of the Monthly Meeting. The officer responsible for current minutes and record books may retain them. All others should be preserved, together with important correspondence and legal papers, such as deeds, conveyances, and trusts, in a durable and legible form, and in a permanent repository protected from fire and loss.
The Recorder may also retain final wishes, emergency phone numbers, and important moments in the member’s life.