15-99 Opening Worship: Permanent Board Friends met in worship at Hanover Friends Meeting, Hanover, New Hampshire. The Permanent Board clerk closed the time of quiet worship with a verse from an Epistle of John: “Perfect love casts out fear.” (1 Jn 4:18)
15-100 Roll Call: Present: Clerk, Sarah Gant; Recording Clerk, Becky Steele; Virginia Bainbridge, Holly Baldwin, Travis Belcher, Susan Davies, Jeremiah Dickinson, Hannah Zwirner Forsythe, Christopher Gant, Ben Guaraldi, Ian Harrington, Nancy Isaacs, Sandy Isaacs, Allan Kohrman, Jean McCandless, Bruce Neumann, Anna Radocchia, Carole Rein, Elias Sanchez-Eppler, Karen Sanchez-Eppler, Suzanna Schell, Sara Smith, Carolyn Stone, Philip Stone, Bill Walkauskas, Donn Weinholtz
Ex Officio: Noah Baker Merrill (YM Secretary), Edward Baker (Supervisor, YM Secretary), Shearman Taber (Treasurer), Fritz Weiss (YM Presiding Clerk)
Regrets/Absences: Deana Chase, Justice Erikson, Galen Hamman, Tom Jackson, Leanna Kantt, Rocky Malin, Elizabeth Szatkowski, Rosemary Zimmerman. Ex officio: Robert Murray (Clerk, Personnel Committee)
Guests: Dulany Bennett, Benigno Sanchez-Eppler, Kathleen Wooten (YM Events Coordinator). Benigno Sanchez-Eppler brought greetings from FWCC Section of the Americas, with thanks for NEYM’s help and leadership.
15-101 Minutes: Permanent Board approved the 26 September 2015 minutes with minor correction. The Clerk thanked Jeremiah Dickinson for ably filling in as recording clerk.
15-102 Yearly Meeting Presiding Clerk: (written report attached)
He is pleased with the theme of Sessions 2016: “Being the Hands of God: A Call to Radical Faithfulness,” and is thrilled to have Doug Gwyn as Bible Half-hour speaker. In addition to the time-sensitive public statements mentioned in the report, NEYM issued a statement after the attacks in Paris, "Choosing Love in a Season of Fear." Friends expressed great thanks and appreciation for the public statements issued so far.
In his oral report, the Presiding Clerk highlighted the work of Friends who serve on the Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations Committee (EIRC) and on Puente de Amigos in order to stress that the voice of the Yearly Meeting is Friends in New England, not just the Yearly Meeting Secretary and Presiding Clerk. The EIRC coordinates and encourages the involvement of NEYM Friends in the five existing state councils of churches in New England as well as other ecumenical and interfaith organizations. After some discussion about the Massachusetts Council of Churches, which is currently going through restructuring, it was agreed that the Presiding Clerk, Clerk of Permanent Board, and Coordinating and Advisory Committee will consult with Ministry and Counsel on ways to ensure that our Massachusetts participation is fully representative.
The Presiding Clerk also spoke to an announcement by Friends General Conference at its October meeting that it will undergo significant restructuring in light of successive $500,000 deficit budgets. FGC reduced this year’s deficit to $200,000 by laying down Quaker Quest, closing the New Meetings project, reducing its subsidy to Quaker Books, cancelling couples workshops, and limiting support for visiting Friends, among other line items. FGC is going through a significant rethinking of its purpose.
Coordinating and Advisory in February will propose a way forward for the Youth Ministries Committee, and is also reconsidering the value of Committee Days.
15-103 The Yearly Meeting Secretary began and ended his oral report by quoting the poem “Fully Alive” by Dawna Marcova which begins, “I will not die an unlived life. I will not live in fear of falling …” The YM Secretary expressed gratitude to the Yearly Meeting for sending him to the weeklong Denominational Leadership seminar organized by Duke Divinity School’s Leadership Education programs. He reported that it was a powerfully enriching experience that gave him a renewed sense of energy and clarity.
He noted that he may have been the first Quaker to attend this Duke program, interesting in light of that fact that Parker Palmer’s work is foundational to the workshop. The Secretary saw that many other denominations are asking the same questions as NEYM, and facing the same challenges.
The Secretary shared some insights from the workshop, particularly around a shift in “old”-way thinking about a problem. While “old”-way thinking uses an analytic/scientific approach to gather facts to define an issue in order to move to an optimal steady state; “new”-way thinking, referred to as “whitewater,” or “controlled ambiguity,” accepts a permanent state of change, together with shared understandings of possible solutions, and a more community oriented (rather than topdown) approach to problem-solving.
People in leadership roles must create environments where risk is rewarded, experimentation is encouraged, and falling embraced as opportunity to learn.
The YM Secretary and the PB Clerk will attend a two-day workshop, “Beyond the Clergy: Engaging Lay Leaders in the Life of the Church,” hosted by the Massachusetts Council of Churches in early December.
After discussing the NEYM archives, the Permanent Board approved authorization for the YM Secretary to make expenditures from the Archives Revolving account to pay a contractor to help manage all aspects of the transition of moving our archives to the University of Massachusetts. The Archives Committee (and Personnel Committee) will continue to consider how to fill the NEYM Archivist position.
In the meantime, monthly meetings are reminded of the importance of maintaining their archives until the YM archives are settled.
After consulting with the Clerk of Sessions Committee and the Presiding Clerk, the YM Secretary signed a five-year contract with Castleton University for annual sessions 2016–2020.
Following up on issues relating to employer identification numbers for NEYM and Friends Camp: We will use separate numbers for this calendar year. In the future, we will treat Camp employees as NEYM employees, using NEYM’s EIN.
15-104 Treasurer: NEYM’s deficit for FY 2014–15 now appears to be $17,800.
Administration of the Anna M. Brown Fund, intended to help enable children of Quaker farmers in New England to attend Friends’ schools: This fund has been little used in recent years. What disbursements there have been, have been made historically at the discretion of the YM Treasurer with little consultation. The present Treasurer is not comfortable with this practice and sought the the approval of Permanent Board for disbursement of funds. For this academic year, Friends approved authorizing the Treasurer to disburse funds from the Anna M. Brown Fund, pursuant to its purpose. The Finance Committee has agreed to consider, and report to Permanent Board at its next meeting, whether the Finance Committee should serve as administrator of the Anna M. Brown Fund in the future.
15-105 Finance Committee: There was good attendance, primarily from Massachusetts meetings, at the committee’s biannual “Money and Spirit” workshop held in November at Wellesley Monthly Meeting for treasurers, finance committee members and all others interested in Monthly and Yearly Meeting Finances.
The clerk of the Finance Committee reported having a “fantastic” meeting on October Committee Day. Committee members committed themselves to better outreach to monthly meetings. Members plan to visit MMs to hear what support they need and what NEYM could be and do for them. They will also share what NEYM already does for MMs and, when appropriate, discuss NEYM’s need for support from MMs.
The Finance Committee clerk asked PB members to answer any requests for information about their MMs in a timely manner, and perhaps to accompany Finance Committee members when visiting MMs.
15-106 Development Committee: NEYM exceeded its goal for individual contributions in the fiscal year just ended. A challenge grant to attract new and increased donations was very successful. The $10,000 challenge was met with more than $20,000 in new or increased donations. The number of individual donors grew from 295 to 356, with new donations of $6,000. The committee plans to better utilize the new database for more effective fundraising. The larger number of “Give Monthly” donors gives us stability.
15-107 Ad hoc Committee on Monthly Meeting Relationships (Intervisitation): The clerk of this ad hoc committee requested that PB’s program for intervisitation be laid down. The program did not work, partly because of scheduling difficulties, but also due to a lack of clarity as to the purpose of the visits. Friends discussed the importance of deepening the connection between NEYM and the MMs. Permanent Board approved the request to lay down its Ad Hoc Committee on Monthly Meeting Relationships.
15-108 Long Term Financial Planning Committee: The committee requested information from NEYM committees: Sixteen of 23 committees responded in writing. The committee intends to distill this feedback into a report for Sessions about the work NEYM is doing.
Meanwhile, the committee suggested some actions in response to this feedback: A significant theme was “lack of communication.” LTFPC is considering the creation of a snappy monthly newsletter to let New England Friends know what NEYM is up to. Other ideas: create a “skills database,” host a retreat/workshop in Spring 2016 to discuss how NEYM committees work—and might work better.
The PB was reminded that the vitality of NEYM comes from the inner life: from seed to shoot, to leaf, to fruit. Otherwise, NEYM is just a structure focused on goals and success.
15-109 Memorial Minute: Permanent Board heard the memorial minute for John Henry Foster, and referred it to the good care of the Clerk’s table and Ministry and Counsel.
15-110 Friends Camp Director’s Report: After a wonderful summer last year, the Director is preparing for retirement and laying the foundation for the future of the Camp with a new director. With a special thanks to China Meeting, the Camp was able to renovate the meetinghouse. After a lively fall, the Camp is looking forward to a couples workshop in the spring. The director is also considering starting a senior fellows program to bring special resources to the camp. The PB recognized the special contribution of Nat Shed’s work as Camp Director.
15-111 Ad Hoc Committee on Good Governance for Friends Camp: With thanks to Nat Shed for his valuable input, Jeremiah Dickinson, the clerk of Permanent Board’s Ad Hoc Committee on Good Governance for Friends Camp, presented his report.
The PB praised the committee’s carefully discerned and far-reaching work and expressed gratitude for it. Among other items, the report addresses the relationship between the YM and the Camp, as well as the relationship between the YM Secretary and the Friends Camp Director.
Permanent Board discussed various aspects of the camp’s governance, including the following: (1) adequately protecting child safety, (2) clarifying who has the authority to fire the Camp Director (the PB Clerk and/or possibly the YM Secretary), (3) budget checks and balances, (4) the YM Secretary’s responsibility for ensuring child safety for the YM as a whole, and (5) considering whether the Clerk of the Camp Committee and the Camp Director’s supervisor should serve ex-officio on the Permanent Board and NEYM Personnel Committee. Permanent Board asked the committee to consider this input and bring the governance document to the next PB meeting, thanking the committee for its hard and good work.
15-112 Friends Camp Committee: Amended Budget: Permanent Board discussed and accepted the camp’s operating and capital budgets.
15-113 Friends Camp Director Search: The job opening is posted on the NEYM website, as well as in other camp and Quaker venues. The application deadline is 15 February 2016. The committee will meet after reviewing the applications and hopes to bring a recommendation to the May 2016 Permanent Board meeting.
15-114 Permanent Board Clerk Job Description: Friends approved the proposed job description, suggesting the following minor revisions: (1) the Clerk of Permanent Board and Clerk of Ministry and Counsel work in consultation with each other, (2) the PB Clerk has the authority to hire and fire the YM Secretary and the Camp Director, as outlined in the NEYM Personnel Manual, and (3) the Clerk is expected to serve a 3-year term; this 3-year term can extend the service of a PB member who would otherwise be term limited from completing all 3 years.
15-115 Internal Nominating Committee: Permanent Board approved the following nominations: Travis Belcher and Carl Williams to Personnel Committee, Class of 2019; Edward Baker as YM Secretary Supervisor through 2018.
15-116 Yearly Meeting Nominating Committee: Permanent Board approved corrections to the Nurturing Friends Education at Moses Brown School: Carol Smith for the class of 2016, Liessa Stamm for the class of 2017, and Nia Thomas for the class of 2018. Hal Weaver has resigned from the FGC Committee.
15-116 Travel Minutes: Permanent Board approved travel minutes for Susan Furry (Connecticut Valley Quarter), as well as for Minga Claggett-Borne and Jonathan Vogel-Borne (Salem Quarter). C&A will discern whether the current process for handling travel minutes continues to make sense.
Travel Minute Reports: Friends accepted the reports of Ann Dodd Collins and Beth Gorton, and forwarded them to Ministry and Counsel.
Announcements:
December 1 is the first deadline for applications for grants from the Legacy Gift Committee.
Beacon Hill Friends House will be hiring a new residency manager and kitchen manager in the spring. They are also looking for new people to move in, especially older people, people of color, and couples.