Permanent Board minutes | February 20, 2016

16-01 Opening Worship: Permanent Board Friends gathered in worship in the bright, sun- filled Meeting room at Wellesley Monthly Meeting. During worship, the clerk brought our attention to the late Nancy Isaacs, who had been with us at our last meeting in Hanover.

16-02 Welcome: Jeremiah Dickinson, clerk of Wellesley Meeting, welcomed us, promising great riches for our lunch.

16-03 Roll Call: The Recording Clerk called the roll:

Present: Sarah Gant, clerk; Bruce Neumann, acting recording clerk; Virginia Bainbridge, Travis Belcher, Deana Chase, Susan Davies, Jeremiah Dickinson, Hannah Zwirner Forsythe, Christopher Gant, Ben Guaraldi, Galen Hamman, Ian Harrington, Sandy Isaacs, Allan Kohrman, Jean McCandless, Carole Rein, Elias Sanchez-Eppler, Karen Sanchez-Eppler, Suzanna Schell, Sara Smith, Carolyn Stone, Philip Stone, Elizabeth Szatkowski, Bill Walkauskas, Donn Weinholtz, Rosemary Zimmerman.

Ex-Officio: Noah Baker Merrill (YM Secretary), Edward Baker (Supervisor, YM Secretary), Shearman Taber (Treasurer), Fritz Weiss (Presiding Clerk).

Regrets: Holly Baldwin, Justice Erikson, Leanna Kantt, Rocky Malin, Anna Radocchia, Becky Steele.

Guests: Mary Frances Angelini (Framingham, Clerk of Archives), Benigno Sanchez-Eppler Northampton), Christopher McCandless (Burlington), Jackie Stillwell (Monadnock), Cynthia Ganung (Wellesley), Roland Stern (Wellesley), Kathleen Wooten (Fresh Pond).

16-04 Minutes: The minutes from our November 21, 2015 meeting were considered and approved.

16-05 Presiding Clerk report: The clerk referred us to his written report (attached), then spoke about a sermon at the vibrant Bethel AME church in Boston which reflected the emerging theme for Sessions 2016: We are God’s Hands. The sermon, based on John 20, reflected on Jesus’ admonition to his apostles to go forth.

Responding to a question about whether PB has a role in supporting pastoral meetings, several of which are struggling with no pastor (see written report), Fritz replied that this concern weighs mostly on Ministry and Counsel.

Regarding Youth Ministries Committee, Fritz reported that Coordinating and Advisory (C&A) recommends the names of Carolyn Stone (Wellesley), Honor Woodrow (Framingham), Brad Bussiere-Nichols (Portland) and Laura Hoskins (Putney) for service. Friends approved these names, and approved adding the Presiding Clerk as an ex-officio member of this committee.

C&A also requests that PB appoint a liaison between PB and Youth Ministries, to ensure that this body remains informed of their work. Interested parties should speak with Sarah Gant.

16-06 Yearly Meeting Secretary Report (attached): Noah shared that he and the Treasurer this week signed the first round of checks for grants from the Legacy Gift. He reflected on how far we have come since the difficult decision to lay down the New England Friends Home. It is an exciting moment to be “making resources available to nourish the life and ministry of New England Friends.”

He spoke about the recent FWCC gathering in Peru, with 12 New England Friends in attendance. He quoted one attender, again reflecting next year’s session theme: “I don’t think God wants us to get together just to get together. God wants us to go out into the world to do God’s work.”

Responding to another question about our pastoral meetings, Noah noted that we are at risk of losing this tradition without focus and help. This is part of a wider conversation about liberating gifts of ministry.

16-7 Treasurer’s Report: Referring to his written report (attached) Shearman Taber shared that while the books are closed for FY15, it is too soon to gauge how FY16 is going. Much of our income comes in toward the end of the year, and many expenses also do not occur on regular timetables.

With the advent of a greater number of outside grants, Shearman and the Accounts Manager are considering how to report receipt and expenditure of these funds, hoping for transparency while the funds are not part of our operating budget.

Referring to the Shoemaker Grant (see YM Secretary report), one Friend asked how the new half-time position will relate to the current YF/YAF Coordinator. Noah reminded us that we have long known that Nia’s job is not sustainable. This position will give much needed help, and a window to explore how the program might move forward.

Development Committee: Sara Smith reported that the Development Committee had a retreat with Jennie Isbell, which included reflecting on who they are targeting as donors. While recent years have focused on those who are involved with committee work and/or come to Sessions, they are considering broadening their approach to others in the Yearly Meeting.

Responding to several inquiries from monthly meetings, the Development Committee would also like to explore whether the YM credit card payment system could be used to receive monthly donations for monthly meetings (attached). This exploration would require some work by YM staff. Several Friends spoke about how their MM has approached the issue. Others questioned the integrity of using credit cards which are based on the concept of borrowing money, and where 4% of the amount goes to the credit card company. Can we use bank debit cards instead?

Friends approved staff working with the Development Committee to explore the feasibility of providing this service. This exploration will attempt to consider all issues including: Is it worth the extra (on-going bookkeeping) time and expense; what are possible methods; and does using credit cards follow our testimony of integrity?

16-8  Finance Committee: Elias Sanchez-Eppler reported that the Finance Committee has had a productive few months in their efforts to improve outreach. While fewer actual visits than expected have been made, there have been a number of rich long-distance conversations. They are encouraged by the way the approach has been received, and expect to broaden the efforts to include all monthly meetings.

They have begun the budget process for the next fiscal year, and will be basing it on a 3%-4% increase in MM giving. While in recent years the actual shortfall has been less than budgeted, we must be prepared for the possibility that the actual deficit could equal that which is projected.

Elias presented the following recommendation (see attached),

The Finance Committee recommends that disbursements and reimbursements for committee expenses and travel transition to a web-based system in which reimbursement request forms, receipts, and expense authorizations can travel from the individual requesting reimbursement to the authorizer and on to the Yearly Meeting office not only by post (as currently required) but also by email.

Friends approved.

Elias also presented the following recommendation:

The Finance Committee further recommends that the Yearly Meeting Secretary, as opposed to the Presiding Clerk of the Yearly Meeting, authorize representative travel.

Friends approved.

16-10 Friends Camp Governance: Jeremiah Dickinson presented the Friends Camp Good Governance Report (attached) with a few edits since the last time it was presented. Specifically, it names mid-March as a date for Friends Camp to submit their budget to the Finance Committee, and names the YM Secretary as the ultimate supervisor for the Camp Director, along with a number of clarifications and format changes.

From the floor, Shearman Taber offered a number of edits. Friends were comfortable with the intent of these edits, and approved the document, with final edits to be composed jointly by Jeremiah, Shearman, and the PB clerk.

Friends approved laying down the Ad-hoc Committee on the Good Governance of Friends Camp, extending repeated thanks to this committee, established in November 2012. Over the course of its life, Friends who have served on the committee, some for brief periods and some in a consultative role, are: Carolyn Stone, Mary Knowlton, Phil Stone, Nat Shed, Laura Street, James Grumbach, Andy Grannell, Dee Kelsey and Jeremiah Dickinson.

16-11 Camp Director Search: Edward Baker reported for the Search Committee for a new Friends Camp Director. The Committee received 30 applications and followed up with nine who were Quaker, had experience at a Quaker camp, or at least mentioned Quaker values. Currently they have seven files with applications and letters of reference. The committee will meet February 27 to determine who they want to interview. They expect to hold interviews in early March, with follow-up interviews in April if needed, and intend to bring a recommendation to PB in May.

16-12 Personnel Committee: Bob Murray spoke about a major revision to the Personnel Policy Manual (PPM) (attached) pointing out that this is a living document, designed to say who we are as an employer and who we are as a people. It expressesour expectations for our employees, and for ourselves as employers. With this revision, the Committee has attempted to bring the document up to date. Bob notes that the appendices have been approved previously, and that he expects the child safety and harassment sections to be rewritten. Friends approved the new PPM, with gratitude to Bob and the Committee for their efforts.

16-13 Childcare Policy: We considered a new Childcare policy regarding Childcare for NEYM sponsored events (attached). This document assembles existing information from several sources. We hope that this policy will be shared widely, as it may be useful to monthly meetings. A concern was expressed that the abuse prevention policy, which the document refers to, is out of date. We understand that the Youth Ministries Committee will make the review of this policy a high priority. A question was raised about the paragraph regarding off-site childcare. We understand that the intention is that in some cases, a parent will arrange childcare for his/her children, but be reimbursed by NEYM. With the understanding that this clarification will be made, Friends approved this document.

16-14 Archives: Mary Frances Angelini spoke about the process of drafting the Deed of Gift to the Special Collections and University Archives of the W.E.B. Dubois Library at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (SCUA) (attached). During negotiations between the Archives Committee, Karen Sanchez-Eppler (PB representative to this process), and Rob Cox from SCUA, they found some points of confusion regarding both future transfers to the Archives, and de-accessioning of items which SCUA chooses not to retain. As discussions evolved, they chose to separate some of the concerns into a Memorandum of Understanding.

Noah assured us that NEYM legal counsel had reviewed the Deed of Gift and was comfortable with it. He also informed us that, using funds left from the unfilled Archivist position several years ago, he has expanded Sara Hubner’s position to full time, to allow for support of communication with monthly meetings about the transfer of the archives and future procedures for submitting materials.

Mary Frances believes that SCUA intends to begin cataloguing the collection immediately on transfer, and that we may see a bibliography within a few months.

Friends approved the signing of the Deed of Gift. Sarah Gant, Clerk of Permanent Board, will sign.

16-15 Long-term Financial Planning: Noting that “We still do not have a financial plan,” Chris Gant spoke about the survey that the Ad Hoc Long-term Financial Planning Committee (LTFPC) sent to the committees of NEYM. LTFPC received 17 responses, an “overwhelm(ing) amount of information”, which the Committee has struggled to make sense of. In many cases, the responses do not reflect a clear connection between the work of the Committee responding and Session 2015’s affirmation that the organization that is NEYM exists to “support and strengthen a vibrant and growing web of monthly meetings, quarterly meetings, and other Friends communities under our care, helping us to do together what we cannot do alone.” The report further noted:

LTFPC presented several proposals:

1. LTFPC requested our approval to coordinate with C&A in working with YM committees to align their Purposes and Procedures (due for review in 2017) with the priorities approved at Sessions 2015. The Clerk considered that our previous approval of LTFPC approaching the committees covers this continuation of work.
2. LTFPC is considering organizing a “consultation” to bring interested members of NEYM together to consider how our core purposes and priorities are being addressed, and how we might become a more effective organization. Since this proposal is not fully formed this notice is informational only.
3. LTFPC requested PB approval for asking the YM staff, in consultation with LTFPC and other relevant parties, to plan for, develop and launch a monthly electronic newsletter as an urgent priority, recognizing that this may mean reallocating resources of time and money previously planned for other purposes. Friends approved.
4. LTFPC requested approval to begin developing a database of Friends in the region with a variety of skills which might be useful to the YM or to MMs. Noah considered that this proposal would require a significant amount of time from the YM Office Manager. Friends expressed some concerns, both about whether this is the best use of staff time, and whether the rewards are equal to the effort. For the time being, Chris suggested withdrawing this request, pending further reflection on how it might work, and balancing efficacy against effort.

16-16 Yearly Meeting Nominating: Ginny Bainbridge presented several names for our approval, for YM Committee service:

• FWCC: 
  
  Minga Claggett Borne (Change class to 2017)
  
  Hal Weaver (Wellesley), class of 2016
  
  Katie Green (Worcester), class of 2018
• Racial, Social, and Economic Justice:
  
  Lillie Wilson (New Bedford) 2016
• Publications and Communications:
  
  Will Monaco (Portland) 2018

Friends approved these names.

16-17 Internal Nominating: Donn Weinholtz presented the names of Leslie Manning (Durham) for Friends Camp Nominating Committee class of 2017, and Greg Williams (Beacon Hill) for Clerk’s Nominating Committee class of 2019. Friends approved these names.

16-18 Clerk’s Nominating: Allan Kohrman presented the following names for the clerk’s table for 2016-2017:

Presiding Clerk: Fritz Weiss

Recording Clerk: Rachel Walker Cogbill

Recording Clerk: James Grace

Reading Clerk: Katherine Fisher

Reading Clerk: Jeremiah Dickinson

Friends approved forwarding these names to Sessions 2016.

16-19 Travel Minutes: Recognizing that our process and definition of requirements fortravel minutes are unclear and in need of refinement, we considered the following:​​​​​​​

• Jerry Sazama (Storrs): Renewal of a previous minute for travel with a concern for Quaker spirituality. Approved by Storrs MM (11/01/2015) and Connecticut Valley Quarter (02/07/2016). Friends approved the clerk endorsing this minute.
• Rebecca MacKenzie (Quaker City): Renewal of a previous minute for travel under a concern for the environment. Approved by Quaker City Unity (09/27/2015) and by Northwest Quarter (12/06/2015). Friends approved the clerk endorsing this minute.
• Benigno Sanchez-Eppler (Northampton): In support of his teaching at the PeaceInstitute in Cuba. Approved by Connecticut Valley Quarter (02/07/2016), but not yet by Northampton MM. Friends approved the clerk endorsing this minute after this anticipated approval is accomplished
• Betsy Cazden (Providence): For travel to Cuba for participation in the Peace Institute, has not yet been approved by Providence MM or RI Smithfield Quarter. Friends approved the clerk endorsing this travel minute after these anticipated approvals are accomplished.