Permanent Board minutes | May 21, 2016

Note: These minutes have not been corrected

16-22 Opening Worship: Permanent Board Friends gathered in worship in the Meeting room at South Berkshire Monthly Meeting, overlooking a beautiful wetlands area populated by a lively family of beavers.

16-23 Welcome: Alan Price, former clerk of South Berkshire Meeting, welcomed us as this weekend found the meeting’s current clerk, Ann-Marie Jenko, in Seattle for her daughter’s medical school graduation.

16-24 Roll Call: The Recording Clerk called the roll:

Present: Sarah Gant, clerk; Becky Steele, recording clerk; Holly Baldwin, Deana Chase, Jeremiah Dickinson, Christopher Gant, Galen Hamman, Ian Harrington, Sandy Isaacs, Leanna Kantt, Allan Kohrman, Jean McCandless, Anna Radocchia, Carole Rein, Elias Sanchez-Eppler, Karen Sanchez-Eppler, Suzanna Schell, Sara Smith, Carolyn Stone, Philip Stone, 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: Virginia Bainbridge, Travis Belcher, Susan Davies, Justice Erikson, Hannah Zwirner Forsythe, Ben Guaraldi, Elizabeth Szatkowski.

Guests: Alan Price (South Berkshire), Linda Short (South Berkshire), Kathleen Wooten (Fresh Pond).

16-25 Minutes: The minutes from our February 20, 2016 meeting were considered and approved with minor changes.

16-26 Presiding Clerk report: The clerk referred us to his written report (attached) with some updates:

1. Although the report anticipated that Ministry & Counsel would approve an appointed pastoral care team, that hasn’t happened yet, as M&C is still finding its way forward and giving more consideration to pastoral care. In the meanwhile, M&C approved an interim pastoral care group to be called upon if needed.
2. The Presiding Clerk reported on two public statements issued by NEYM this spring:
   • NEYM signed on to a letter from New England faith groups asking President Obama to designate New England’s Coral Canyons and Seamounts as the first marine monument in the Atlantic Ocean.
   • Epistle to the United Methodist Church: After receiving a request that NEYM might have something helpful to share, NEYM sent an epistle (attached) to the United Methodist Church as it met in Portland to address LGBTQ concerns. The epistle shared our experience and affirmed that “[o]ur experience and prayerful discernment confirm that all are equal before God, just as God made us.” It ended by saying, “We give thanks that God gathers many to form one body; each one of us belongs to all the others. Know that you have Friends in New England holding you in prayer, our hearts joined with you in the broken-hearted but still unbroken unity of the Holy Spirit, as you labor together in discernment today and in the time to come.”

The epistle met with gratitude. After it was posted to the NEYM web outlets, it received quite a bit of life in the wider church community through social media. Over 400 people from the Methodist tradition thanked us for our support and prayers. They appreciated our statements of solidarity for being faithful and listening, and not telling the Methodists what to do.

The Presiding Clerk will report at Annual Sessions on the fruits of our public statement policy this year, and will ask for advices on how it worked.

3. The Youth Ministries Committee will bring an updated child safety policy to PB, then to Sessions for approval in August. The amount of pastoral concerns coming to our youth programs staff has greatly increased over the past few years; also, YM youth programs have moved beyond the retreat program, causing the need for more support for our staff. Friends expressed concern for setting appropriate boundaries for pastoral care.

In response to an inquiry from a monthly meeting whose insurance carrier wanted to know about the meeting’s child safety policies, it was noted that Beth Collea has put together a packet of resources that support local meetings in developing their own child safety policies, especially in light of insurance asking for such policies.

With thanks for the Presiding Clerk’s nourishing of the Youth Ministries Committee, Friends approved the following:

1. Adding to the Youth Ministries Committee’s charge the responsibility, in consultation with the Yearly Meeting Secretary, to identify and appoint qualified Friends to serve as volunteer Youth Ministries Advisors to the Youth Ministries staff. The volunteer position description for these roles will be maintained by the Committee.

2. We unite with the Youth Ministries Committee in encouraging the Youth Ministries staff to continue and expand the practice of engaging stipended assistant coordinators for youth retreats, within budgeted limits.

16-27 Yearly Meeting Secretary Report (attached): The Secretary quoted Josephus speaking of the early Church: “See how they love one another.” He sees great life in this holding of each other in love. The Secretary shared concerns about the need for pastoral care in our NEYM community, and Friends held his concerns in the Light.

Updates to the Secretary’s written report:

• The “Faith and Play” translation project is rolling along with participation from FWCC, Puente de Amigos, Beth Collea, NWYM, and funding from Obadiah Brown, the YM, and others, NEYM’s task is to accompany them administratively.
• The Secretary is in consultation with Youth Religious Education Committee to see how it can be more useful. They hope to present something for PB to consider sending to Sessions this year.
• New overtime regulations may affect the status of as many as 5 employees who were previously considered exempt. The Personnel Committee may consider the implications for the YM.
• In an example of new life in the Meeting, at a recent Woolman Hill gathering on outreach. Nia Thomas gave Young Friends encouragement for outreach. YF’s and Anna Hopkins gave presentation to Allen’s Neck Meeting, which resulted in its first ever registrations for youth.

16-28 Friends Camp Director Search: Edward Baker reported that the committee has completed its work and recommends hiring Anna Hopkins, of Providence, Rhode Island, as the next Director of Friends Camp. Anna, a Williams College grad, currently teaches science at Moses Brown School. She was an assistant director for FC for years, is well grounded in Friends’ traditions, and comes with glowing recommendations.

The committee has made initial arrangements and recommends a mentoring role for Nat Shed as a paid consultant to ensure that Anna has the support that she needs to develop her administrative skills and to succeed as the Friends Camp Director. This is anticipated to be a one year arrangement with a possible extension, at perhaps a lower level of intensity, for a second year.

A salary has been negotiated that is within the range approved by the Camp Committee’s budget, with sufficient funds to compensate Nat for his role as a consultant as well. A memorandum of understanding has already been prepared outlining this consultancy.

PB approved the committee’s recommendation and will forward Anna Hopkins’s name to the Yearly Meeting for their approval at Sessions. Anna is attending the Friends Camp Spring work weekend and Camp Committee meeting. She plans on attending the full week of Yearly Meeting sessions in August (as she doesn’t expect she will be able to do that again).

Friends accepted the search committee’s report and approved hiring Anna Hopkins as Friends Camp Director. The PB also affirmed the importance of the Friends Camp to the life of the YM. With deep appreciation and joy, Friends approved laying down the Ad Hoc Search Committee. Friends also held Edward Baker and his family in the light.

16-29 Personnel Committee: Karen Sanchez-Eppler, with gratitude to Edward Baker for his significant contributions, presented an updated harassment policy for the NEYM employee manual, addressing protections for YM employees from general harassment and sexual harassment.

Friends approved the harassment policy, contingent upon review and approval by legal counsel.

16-30 Treasurer’s Report: Shearman Taber presented his written report (attached) and noted that as the YM changes, financial reporting will change too.

16-31 Finance Committee: Referring to his written report (attached), Elias Sanchez-Eppler shared the committee’s excitement about new developments and procedures in process. He appreciates all the work that has occurred across committee lines, especially with the Friends Camp Committee, which advanced its budget timeline by several months so that the finances of the camp could be coordinated with the YM as a whole.

As part of the budgeting process, the Finance Committee asked the Long-Term Financial Planning Committee for guidance on deficit targets for the next two fiscal years’ budgets. The LTFPC responded with the following: $47,000 for FY 2016-2017 (using no Legacy Gift funds) and $37,000 for FY 2017-2018.

Right now, the budget looks like the YM is about $3000 short, which is hearteningly close to where it needs to be. The FY 2017 draft budget sets expenses of approximately $10,000 less than FY 2016 by reflecting historical patterns of spending more closely than past budgets did.

The Finance Committee’s visitation program has yielded a rise in giving from several meetings; people seem to be responding to clear expressions of what the YM has to offer and why there is a need for monthly meeting giving. Elias noted that monthly meeting contributions are budgeted to increase 3%- 5% each year for the next 3 years—something we should all keep in mind as we participate in our local meetings’ budgets.

The PB discussed ways to increase income to YM, including the timing of fundraising solicitations from meetings and individuals, as well as the possibility of online fundraising through social media.

The Friends Camp budget was not presented for action at this May meeting; the expectation is that the Friends Camp will have a net-neutral effect on the overall budget.

Revolving fund proposal: In the past, the YM budgeted funds for legal and accounting expenses that in many years are not incurred. Elias noted that on the one hand, we over budget expenses for those years we incur no legal fees—but on the other hand, the amount we typically budget would be insufficient if a legal dispute did arise. Further, although our personnel policies provide employee sabbaticals every seven years, we haven’t budgeted for expenses relating to sabbaticals. To address these budgeting concerns, Finance Committee proposes that Permanent Board:

1. Establish a revolving account for legal services to be funded out of budget line 5140, Legal Services, for the purpose of engaging legal advice and services;
2. Establish a revolving account for accounting services to be funded out of budget line 5135, Accounting Services, for the purpose of engaging accountants to review Yearly Meeting books, financial policies, and provide other accounting or fiduciary services; and
3. Establish a revolving account for staff sabbaticals to be funded out of a budget line to be determined under 5000, Staff, for the purpose of supporting temporary staff or increasing existing staffs’ hours to cover for NEYM “operating division” (i.e., not Friends Camp) staff during sabbaticals offered under NEYM personnel policies.

Unspent funds allocated to these line items would carry over and accumulate from year to year.

Friends approved the Finance Committee’s proposal.

16-32 Acton Monthly Meeting: Bruce Neumann was asked by M&C to serve as an elder to Acton Monthly Meeting during its laying-down. Anticipating a surplus after wrapping up its affairs, Acton Meeting inquired about possible ways those funds could support YM youth programs, while not unduly burdening the YM with unwieldy administrative restrictions. YM staff suggested that one good use might be to establish a Youth Programs scholarship fund to help youth attend YM programs.

Friends minuted gratitude to Acton Meeting for honoring the YM and its youth with its thoughtfulness. Friends appointed the Treasurer and Clerk of Finance Committee, with input from the YM Secretary and Youth programs staff, to work with Acton to prepare a suitable deed of gift to present to PB for possible approval in August.

16-33 Ad Hoc Long-Term Financial Planning Committee: Clerk Chris Gant presented a written report (attached). The Committee worked with YM staff to inaugurate an electronic newsletter, which was met with appreciation. The LTFPC will work with C&A on how LTFPC will interact with YM Committees in reviewing the committees’ purposes and procedures. The goal is to present revised purposes and procedures for PB’s review and ultimate presentation for approval at 2017 Annual Sessions.

Gatherings: Friends approved the LTFPC’s proposal for two gatherings for NEYM-ers to share fellowship, education, nurture, worship and celebration. One gathering, in Fall 2016, would focus on Priorities I and II (Spiritual Development and Religious Education). The second gathering, in Spring 2017, would focus on Priorities III and IV. It is anticipated that the gatherings would be revenue-neutral.

PB approved asking C&A and staff to develop proposals for strengthening support for YM Committees, and sharing those plans with the PB. Friends approved the LTFPC ’s proposal that to allow for this and other needed work in Fiscal Year 2017, NEYM discontinue the practice of organizing and staffing the three day-long Committee Days that had been the practice in the past.

These issues (committee interaction, basic buy-in into YM’s priorities) must be addressed before the nuts and bolts work of preparing a financial plan can begin.

16-34 Internal Nominating Committee: Donn Weinholtz presented the name of Ben Guaraldi to serve in the Clerk’s Nominating Committee. Friends approved.

16-35 Memorial Minutes: Memorial minutes were heard for the following Friends:

David Hall
Nancy Isaacs (with a correction to the spelling of Sandy’s name)
Peter Keenan
Annette (Anne) Kreibel
Ishmael Rosas

16-36 Travel Minutes: Approved, with the assurance that relevant dates will be added to the minutes:

Melody Brazo
Callid Keefe-Perry
Kristina Keefe-Perry
Beckey Phipps
Benigno Sanchez-Eppler
Nancy Shippen