May 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

May 12, 2024

We met in a hybrid meeting in person at the meetinghouse and on Zoom.

Present:  Dorothy Henderson, clerk; Sharon Davisson, elder for the clerk; Jennifer Smith, recording clerk; Doug Hamm, Lo Hamm, Reed Hamilton, Judy Hamilton, Stuart Smith, & Dianne Marshall.

The Meeting opened with silent worship.

Clerks’ Remarks and Query

Matthew 13:44 The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a person found it, they hid it again, and then in their joy went and sold all they had and bought that field.” God has hidden our precious selves in the field of life. Our job is to find and nurture our precious selves.

• How does that relate to us in our life, in our mothers/mothering, and our relationship with our children?  

Friends spoke out of the silence:

• Several friends recalled memories of their mothers.  One recalled her mother’s sense of humor even in the face of difficulty. Another spoke of finding letters they had sent their mother that she had kept because they were important to her.
• Several friends spoke of what being a mother had taught them, including gratitude and unconditional love.
• It is the experience of various things that make them treasures in our fields of life.  Motherhood experience is such a short part of our life, but it is significant, and therefore a treasure.
• Another friend expressed gratitude for one of the children’s well wishes for Mother’s Day.

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).

Jennifer Smith read the report, appended.

• There was a question about who to contact if you’re interested in being on the On-call Spiritual Care Witness Committee.  If interested, please contact Amy Cooke as clerk of Spirit and Witness.

Stuart Smith gave the Right Sharing of World Resources 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).

Reed Hamilton gave the report, appended. 

There was a clarification appended to the end of the Stewardship report. 

Minute 2024.05.01: The new job description for the Recorder/Archivist is approved by GVFM. 

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).

Judy Hamilton gave the report, appended.

• Judy mentioned that there were only two people at this meeting, and they may want to go back to the Welcome Committee members to loot at idea on how to move forward with the Organization Reports.
• One Friend mentioned that the newsletter could fulfill this task.

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.

Minute (seasoning until 6th month): Grass Valley Friends Meeting approves the 2024-2025 Slate of Committees and Officers.

Minute 2024.05.02: Grass Valley Friends Meeting approves the nomination of Mary Starr for the position of Treasurer for a one year term, 2024-25.

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: An announcement that it is this weekend.  No report given.

Interfaith Nevada County: No report given.

Treasurer: No report given.

CLERK’S REMARKS:

Our size is small, which means we know each other well.  It also means we have to perform multiple roles.  That was evident today.  The clerk expressed gratitude for those who were here today, filling in for those who were not, so we could have our Meeting for Worship for Business.   

ITEMS SEASONING or CARRIED OVER

Minute (seasoning until 6th month): Grass Valley Friends Meeting approves the 2024-2025 

Slate of Committees and Officers.

ANNOUNCEMENTS 

• College Park Quarterly Meeting: 254th session takes place on May 17-19, 2024 at the Ben Lomond Quaker Center. Register here: CPQM Spring Session
• Pacific Yearly Meeting 2024 Annual Session is July 19-24 onsite (in-person) at Whittier College in Whittier, CA + online (virtual) via Zoom. Registration is open May 15. Pacific Yearly Meeting
• Friends General Conference Gathering 2024 takes place on June 30-July 6: Rooted in Story in Haverford, PA. Currently open for registration. Friends General Conference
• 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 temporarily unavailable while the website redesign is in progress.  When available, the Directory is 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 or our newsletter. Our treasurer is asking for additional funds this month as our expenditures exceeded our income.

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 jenniferjksmith@gmail.com THE WEDNESDAY BEFORE MEETING FOR BUSINESS.  Please write reports in 12 point, Times New Roman font. This formatting will match the formatting in our Meeting for Worship for Business Minutes and Record.  And, if possible, write reports in Google Docs and share with both Dorothy and Jennifer.

GVFM Newsletter Reminder: Please have items into Dianne Marshall by Tuesday at 10 am. 

The Meeting closed with silent worship.  

Respectfully recorded by Jennifer Smith, recording clerk.

APPENDICES:

1. Spirit and Witness Committee report
   1. Friends World Committee on Consultation report
2. Stewardship Committee report
   1. Recorder/Archivist Job Description
3. Welcome Committee report
4. Nominating Committee report
5. Treasurer’s Report
6. Pacific Yearly Meeting Monthly Report
7. Interfaith Nevada County report
8. Information: Organization Representatives by Committee
9. Recorder/Archivist job description

————————————————————————-

Spirit and Witness Report

May 2024 report for Spirit and Witness 

Our committee continues our commitment to listen deeply, bringing presence and awareness to the currents of our shared experiences in Grass Valley Friends Meeting. Our meetings are filled with worship and we continue our commitment to bringing spaciousness to the agenda, taking all the time we need with each agenda item. It is a Quaker paradox that we rarely need more time to address all the agenda items!

As Woolman (re)becomes Yulića we have become more aware of the healing that is possible for the land and the people coming back to the land. We know that our job is to listen, and that safety will be important as the tribal members make this transition. We will continue to move slowly, listen well, and hold this time with tenderness. The Toward Right Relationship Witness Committee is in discernment on what their next steps might be. They are holding the query, To what or whom are we seeking right relationship to?

We are exploring a new Witness Committee in support of the spiritual on-call program starting at the hospital. The hospital is offering training and support to local clergy. If you are interested, please contact a member of the committee.

We have held several Spirit and Witness after-meeting programs, and look forward to more rich offerings. We held a Seekers Meeting on April 21 and learned a lot! We would like to schedule more of these so that we can listen deeply to each other’s spiritual journeys and ask each other questions as we deepen further into our individual and shared Quaker journeys. 

Upcoming programs include:

• May 19: Keith: Finding our prophetic voice, two part program: 11:30 – 1 pm, and 1 pm to 3 pm. Please bring a bag lunch if you are staying for the second half. 
• May 26: Don McCormick: Relationships in the Quaker Community
• June 16: Stuart Smith
• June 23: Spirit and Witness harvesting and planting. What was received with gratitude? What would we like to see offered?
• July: TBA
• August: TBA
• Quaker Seminary: September – June, 2024-25. Third Sundays, 11:30-1 pm. Deepening our spiritual lives as ministers.  Amy will be facilitating with support/accountability from Spirit and Witness.

Keith Runyan’s membership committee will be starting this month, and we are anticipating Mary Starr’s celebration of membership in the coming months – -to be announced!

In Friendship,

Amy Cooke, clerk

Stuart Smith: report on Right Sharing of World Resources (appended to this report)

Right Sharing of World Resources – A Quick Guide

If you visit their website here, you’ll find out much more!

The Right Sharing of World Resources (RSWR) is a small, independent Quaker non-governmental organization (NGO) that was founded in 1967 in the United States from the Friends World Committee on Consultation. The organization’s mission is based on the Biblical idea that people should share their resources with others, regardless of economic status. RSWR’s original funding came from an appeal to Friends worldwide to contribute 1% of their income to the cause. The appeal was intended to raise awareness among Friends that they should address the world’s wealth inequity. 

At this point, Right Sharing works primarily with the microloan and micro-business model, stimulating economic growth from within communities with products like soap and bread that can go to market locally or crafts that can sell overseas with higher profit margins, while avoiding middle-brokers.

In his 2017 article “Fifty Years of Right Sharing” published in Western Friend, Doug Smith described the group this way:

The simple idea that led to the formation of RSWR in 1967 was that Friends everywhere could participate in sharing their resources with others, regardless of their economic status. This is based on the Biblical concept that we all have abundance and are called to the ministry of hospitality and generosity. Unfortunately, during RSWR’s fifty-year history, global inequity has grown, according to most measures. Even so, the organization’s mission remains almost the same, though its primary goals were rewritten in 2016 to reflect more depth of experience:

Baltimore Yearly Meeting adds that 

It was funded originally by an appeal to Friends worldwide to contribute one percent of their income to right sharing. Recognizing that most of the world lives in poverty, this appeal was also aimed at increasing the general awareness among Friends that they needed personally to address the inequity of wealth in the world. 

Right Sharing has teams working right now in Guatemala, India, Sierra Leone, Kenya, and the United States.

One of Grass Valley Monthly Meeting’s elders, Bob Barns (d. 2022) was extremely active with Right Sharing, and campaigned on its behalf across Pacific Yearly Meeting and beyond for decades.

Stewardship Committee

Minutes from meeting on May 2, 2024

Present: Mary Starr, clerk, Gordon Starr, recorder, Fosten Wilson, treasurer,

Dianne Marshall, newsletter editor, Reed Hamilton, Pat Phillips.

Finance. Last month, after viewing what other Quaker Meetings were donating to CHIRP toward the purchase of Friends Center, the committee agreed to bring to Meeting for Worship for Business a proposal that Meeting donate an initial amount of $500 and encourage individuals to donate further as they were led, and a restricted account was set up to receive donations. Fosten announced that, counting all donations received, he sent a check to CHIRPA for $6,000!! We were all pleasantly amazed at this showing of the generosity and support for this process.   Thank you to all who donated.

     Fosten also reported this was a big month for writing other checks as well. A total of $4,123 went out, including $3,360 to PYM for annual dues. Donations received totaled $491.

Archive activities. Gordon reported that he and Don McCormick have finished cleaning up and organizing the Meeting’s files of Members, Attenders, required forms and historical records. Past members/attenders files, blank forms and historical files will be kept in the file cabinet in the Quaker closet. Current member/attender files will be kept by the recorder for easier access for changes in status and updates.

     The Meeting gave direction to Stewardship committee to explore options for preserving records, e.g. on the cloud (Google Docs) and/or on paper. A number of concerns and issues arise from this: fear that changing technology and formats may, in time, make the records inaccessible, the training and participation of all folks who will need to participate in getting records properly filed, and what level

of information is deemed important enough to be preserved – to mention a few.   Gordon and Don do not feel technologically qualified to sort out these issues except to say paper has worked for a long time and seems the simplest way forward. Dianne has agreed to consult with people she knows and will report back.

     Stewardship is still considering who might be qualified to serve on a sub-committee to research this issue.

     Stewardship Committee is looking for individuals who may be led to participate on a subcommittee that will attempt to discern the best methods for storing our Meeting’s records, e.g. digital vs. physical. 

Our next meeting will be on June 6, 2024

Job Description for Recorder/Archivist 2024

Much of the information we want to keep is on the GVFM Google Drive in the digital version of the newsletters. This includes:

• Monthly committee reports
• Quarterly and year-end financial reports
• State of the Meeting Reports

The Recorder Archivist will make sure that there are digital copies of the newsletters on the GVFM Google Drive. They will also collect paper copies of the newsletter

The Recorder/Archivist will collect paper copies of the State of the Meeting Reports, Threshing Sessions, and year-end financial reports. 

The Recorder/Archivist 

• Creates files for new Attenders, in consultation with the Attender. They give the attender the appropriate forms (for example, Attender Profile, Final Affairs, , etc.).
• Creates a new Member file when an Attender becomes a Member, or if the person transfers their membership from another meeting to GVFM. They give the new Member the appropriate forms (for example, Membership Record, Final Affairs, Transfer of Membership (if applicable), etc.).
• No longer combines the files of both partners in a marriage. There will be individual files for each partner.
• Keeps other important records of the Meeting (such as important correspondence and legal papers, such as deeds, conveyances, and trusts) in the file cabinet.
• Keeps public documents of interest, such as newspaper articles, letters to the editor, participation at events documented by the Meeting, or other events of interest.  These are kept in three-ring binders in the Grass Valley Friends Meeting section of the library.
• Maintains a file for various documents for each year, such as the yearly slate from the Nominating Committee. Any other documents that aren’t mentioned elsewhere in this document and that the Recorder/Archivist believes is worth keeping for reasons of historical import, will go into the file for the year.

Each year, the Recorder/Archivist 

• Collects the State of the Meeting Report, Meeting Directory, and PacYM Statistical Report, and places them in the appropriate paper folder in the file cabinet. Separate folders are kept so members and attenders can easily find these items.
• Answers the questionnaire from the Statistical Clerk of Pacific Yearly Meeting.  They keep a copy of this report for the GVFM archive. Before May 31, the current PacYM Recorder will send an email that describes the information they need and that includes the GVFM report from the previous year.  The membership list provided to PacYM should be accurate as of May 31. The form and accompanying information should be returned to PacYM June 30.

Twice a year (preferably May and October), the GVFM Recorder/Archivist makes an announcement that the Final Affairs forms exist, explains what they are, and give copies of the form to people who want one to fill out and have the meeting store.

When a member or attender dies, the GVFM Recorder/Archivist will see if there was a Final Affairs form in their file. If there are things on the form that the meeting should attend to, like a memorial service, they will bring it to the attention of the appropriate person or committee. If it is information that the next of kin or family should know, they will pass it on to them. The GVFM Recorder/Archivist will then place the person’s file in the ”Former Attenders” or “Former Members” section of the paper files.

Forms. Each form will have one master paper copy that will have a post—it note on it indicating this. This will be used to make copies of the form. A copy of each form will also be in the GVFM Google Drive, so this could also be used. The Recorder/Archivist makes sure that there are digital copies of each of the blank forms mentioned below. They will date any revisions to the form on the form.

The records needed from each Member and Attender are: 

• Attender Profile (for Attenders) 
• Membership Record (for Members)
• Final Affairs form and/or Five Wishes pamphlet

If applicable, the Member or Attender folder should also contain the:

• Transfer of Membership form
• Certificate of Transfer form
• Marriage form (especially if they are married care of the meeting)
• Application for membership (this is a letter, not a form)
• Minute of membership (a copy from the newsletter)
• Memorial Minute
• Miscellaneous Items (Clippings, historical records, Memorial Program for Members and Member’s Family)

Records Kept in the Paper Archive

The items in a boldface font are the ones that have the black-divider-with-white-writing dividers.

Current Members

Current Attenders

Miscellaneous

• Business Meeting Minutes
• Chico Preparation Meeting
• Correspondence
• Information for Newcomers
• Mailing Lists
• Meeting Directories
• Memorials
• Misc.\Procedures
• Miscellaneous Files
• Miscellaneous Historical Documents
• Notes from Threshing Sessions or Called Meetings
• Outreach Documents
• Portraits & Biographies
• Releasing Members & Attenders 
• Spiritual Life / Adult Education
• State of the Meeting Reports
• Statistical Reports and Membership Rolls
• Transfer Minutes
• Travel Minutes

Former Members & Attenders

Forms (Blank)

Yearly Files

Notes and Drafts of 2011 GVFM History 

Recorder/Archivist Files

Reference Materials (Readings for the Clerk and Others)

Archival Paper

Many sources recommend using archival quality paper and file folders for particularly important documents. This can be very expensive. The Pacific Yearly Meeting Archivist uses 8 ½ x 11 Permalife Bond Paper, which can be purchased from Amazon. 

Further advice about Recorder duties are covered in Faith and Practice, in the Appendix, “Recommendations for Monthly Meeting Records.”

Welcome Committee

We met May 6^th, 2024. Present were: Judy Hamilton and Kathy McCreery. Our clerk, Pete O’Rourke is traveling.

We had two agenda items.

Monthly in home potlucks: We have one scheduled for June 1, 6 pm at the Hamilton’s. We also will have one at Kathy and Fosten’s on July 27^th from 4 to 7.

Organization reports: We have forgotten to do this the last few months and Pete has graciously stepped in at the last minute to write one. There seems to be a lack of excitement and interest in writing and presenting these. We discussed that we felt the reports were repetitive and we were just reciting the same report as the previous year. We wonder if maybe there needs to be a year or two hiatus in presenting the organization reports to hopefully drum up enthusiasm in both writing and hearing about the various Quaker organizations. We will take this to Spirit and Witness to consider. That being said, Judy will do the June report on College Park Quarterly.

Our next meeting will be June 3^rd.

Nominating Committee Report

   2024- 2025 Slate of Committees and Officers

All committee members serve one-year terms with the exception of Spirit and Witness (3 year term) and Nominating (2 year term) and Clerk of Meeting (3 year term)

Stewardship: Pat Phillips, Reed Hamilton, Gordon Starr, David Bowman. Dianne Marshall (ex-officio, Newsletter editor), Mary Starr  (ex-officio, Treasurer), Don McCormick (ex-officio, Librarian), HaileyWilson (ex-officio Tech Support).

Welcome: Kathy McCreery, Don McCormick, Pat Phillips, Cheryl Hendrickson, Cindy Bliss, Lo Hamm, Pete O’Rourke (ex-officio, Website and Facebook coordinator), Judy Hamilton (ex-officio email coordinator), Nancy Anderson (ex-officio directory clerk).

Spirit and Witness: Amy Cooke, Stuart Smith, Reed Hamilton, Sharon Davisson, Dean Olson, Dorothy Henderson (ex-officio, GVFM Clerk).

Children’s Program: Doug Hamm, Judy Hamilton, Dean Olson, Reed Hamilton, Don McCormick, Keely McDonald, David Cowan, Lo Hamm.

Nominating Committee: (terms as noted) This will change after the clerks meeting and naming committee meets

• Judy Hamilton: 2022-2024           Sharon Davisson 2023-2024

            Gordon Starr: 2022-2024              Dean Olson 2023-2025

ROLES: 

Clerk: Dorothy Henderson

Elder to Clerk: Gordon Starr

Recording Clerk: Jennifer Smith

Newsletter Editor: Dianne Marshall

Newsletter Distributor: Pat Phillips

Email Coordinator: Judy Hamilton

Treasurer: Mary Starr

Tech Support: Hailey Wilson

Website/Facebook Coordinator: Peter O’Rourke

Librarian: Don McCormick

Recorder: Anita McCormick

Directory Clerk: Nancy Anderson

Mail Clerk: Dean Olson

Representatives:

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: Open at the moment

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 to 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?

Treasurer’s Report

No report given.

Children’s Committee Report 

No report given.

Pacific Yearly Meeting Monthly Report

Saturday, May 11 at 10:00 am 

PacYM Ministry Committee hosts, “What is Our Money For?” A discussion of money, budgets, and their spiritual implications. This first one happened yesterday but it is the first of several conversations on Zoom. See PacYM website. (pacificyearlymeeting.org)

Sunday, May 12 at 1:00pm Pacific

PacYM Membership working group to host an online Meeting for Worship with attention to Community Building Toward a Worship Group.  Write to eastwood@asis.com for ongoing information.

PacYM 2024 Annual Session registration starts soon! It will be held at Whittier College in Southern California, July 19-24. See PacYM website for further details.

Financial assistance for Annual Session

Those in need of financial support to attend PacYM Annual Session should first apply to their local Meeting and then apply to the Yearly Meeting. See PacYM website for more info. 

Peace and Social Order Interest Group with Vanessa Julye at Annual Session sponsored by Friends General Conference and PacYM

A look back at our institutional assessment on racism from 2018, and discussion of the 2023 follow-up survey. Friends are encouraged to complete the 2023-2024 FGC Institutional Assessment ahead of Annual Session.

Friends General Conference (FGC) Annual Gathering

June 30-July 6 at Haverford College and online

See website for more info: fgcquaker.org

Children’s Program at Annual Session would like to welcome the newest of our constituency (less than 2 years old).

Send information to Kate Watkins (kwatkinsmd@gmail.com) or to Bronwen (administrativeassistant@pacificyearlymeeting.org)  

InterFaith Nevada County Report

No report given.

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).