19-47: Opening Worship
Friends opened with a period of worship.
19-48: Welcome
Sarah Gant, clerk of Permanent Board, welcomed Friends to Sessions 2019 and to Permanent Board.
19-49: Roll Call
The recording clerk called the roll.
Present: Sarah Gant, Clerk; Hannah Zwirner Forsythe, Recording Clerk; Kim Allen, Travis Belcher, Peter Bishop, Martin Zwirner Forsythe, Chris Gant, Ben Guaraldi, Ian Harrington, Rebecca Leuchak, Ed Mair, Christopher McCandless, Jean McCandless, Gina Nortonsmith, Carole Rein, Sara Smith, Phil Stone, Will Taber, Tom Vargo, Rosemary Zimmermann, Mary Zwirner
Ex-Officio: Noah Merrill, Secretary; Bob Murray Finance Committee Clerk; Bruce Neumann, Rising Presiding Clerk; Elizabeth Reuthe, Secretary’s Supervisor; Shearman Taber, Treasurer; Fritz Weiss, Presiding Clerk
Regrets: Deana Chase (Development Co-Clerk), Darcy Drayton, Betsy Kantt, Anna Raddochia, Elizabeth Szatkowski, Bill Walkauskas
Visitors: Alice Allen-Harvey, Susan Davies, Leslie Manning, Phebe McCosker, Anne Pomeroy, Emily Provance, Allison Randall, John Reuthe, Scott Rhodewalt, Nia Thomas, Ben Warner, Kathleen Wooten
19-50: Minutes
The minutes from the May Permanent Board meeting were approved at that meeting. Any corrections should go to the Recording Clerk.
19-51: Presiding Clerk’s Report
Fritz Weiss, Presiding Clerk, submitted a report to the advance documents and welcomed any questions. Fritz has heard arriving Friends’ concerns about the weight of the work we have in front of us. We have substantive, structural elements of our community to discuss and discern this week. We are encouraged to affirm our commitment, both individually and corporately, to be faithful to the opportunities to live more fully into the Kingdom of God.
19-52: Secretary’s Report
Noah Merrill, Yearly Meeting Secretary, welcomed us back to Castleton University and to Sessions 2019. He expressed gratitude for the Friends who have been working throughout the year to set the table for our time together this summer.
Noah shared the joyful news of a bequest from a Friend of just over $32,000. Permanent Board is asked to approve placing this bequest in our quasi endowment fund instead of our operating budget.
Concerns were raised about ensuring that our operating accounts were sufficiently funded to avoid multiple transfers into and out of the quasi endowment. Noah, and others, expressed a desire to set precedent that one-time gifts of this kind not just go into working capital, reminding us that placing the funds in the quasi endowment does not preclude us from using the funds for the operating budget as needed. We are encouraged to create policy to clarify this process in the future.
Friends accepted this bequest with gratitude and approved placing it in the quasi endowment.
19-53: Minute of Gratitude
Noah Merrill, Yearly Meeting Secretary, expressed his deep gratitude for Sarah Gant’s service as the clerk of Permanent Board. Sarah has encouraged us to work steadily and incrementally, gently pushing us in the right direction. She has helped each of us to recognize the gifts we bring to our community and we are very thankful for Sarah’s faithful leadership. We are in better shape organizationally, and thus in better shape spiritually, thanks to Sarah’s four years as clerk.
19-54: Clerking Structures & Practices Working Group
Nia Thomas, clerk of the Clerking Structures and Practices Working Group (CSPWG), reported on the work of that group. After the May Permanent Board (PB) meeting CSPWG spent time turning the broad recommendations in their report to that meeting into specific action items. CSPWG hopes that the specificity of these action items will better enable us to faithfully hold each other accountable for the implementation of these changes.
PB is asked to endorse the following items to be forwarded to and minuted by Sessions:
1. That the Yearly Meeting has an ongoing commitment to diversity.
2. That a progress report should be given to Sessions next August with updates gathered by Nia Thomas, Quaker Practice and Leadership Facilitator.
3. That the overall responsibility for responding to concerns raised in CSPWG’s report rests with Permanent Board.
4. That, as possible, the Finance Committee shall ensure funding for the recommendations in the FY2020 budget and into planning for future budgets.
5. That Ministry & Counsel offer support to PB in creating a working group charged with exploring and naming how New England Yearly Meeting (NEYM) currently supports ministry and the spiritual life of Friends in NEYM.
6. That Coordinating & Advisory (C&A) pay careful attention to how committee structures can best facilitate effectiveness in the work of NEYM.
More details on these points are in the advanced documents for Sessions.
Friends were given the opportunity to share questions and concerns about CSPWG’s report and the items we were asked to endorse. It was suggested that there be clearly named benchmarks that next year’s report responds to with the intention of more faithfully tracking our progress.
Concerns were raised about how C&A’s role in point six seems to mirror the many iterations of past structural working groups. How and why might this iteration of that work end differently? Members of CSPWG, and others, pointed out that for the first time we have a paid staff member who will be tracking this work and that we are more clearly laying out the challenges and our aimed-for structural changes.
Leslie Manning, the rising PB clerk, reminded us that PB is the laboratory for the work laid out in CSPWG’s report. We must be the agents of culture change in NEYM. We must show up, be prepared, and be faithful. This is a culture shift for everyone in the Yearly Meeting (YM) and we must help to lead it.
Bob Murray, clerk of the Finance Committee, cautioned us to be clear that the FY2020 budget is complete and comes to Sessions for approval this week without having had much time to address CSPWG’s report and its recommendations. As work begins on the FY2021 budget more time and attention will be spent aligning the YM finances with the working group’s recommendations. However, the FY2020 budget does include money for expanded childcare hours at Sessions and Nia Thomas’s changed role in the YM staff, both of which are aligned with recommendations from CSPWG.
Friends endorsed sending these six points to Sessions. We commit to carry this conversation forward such that the wider body of Friends here are well-prepared for discussion and discernment of the report at Business Meetings.
19-55: Mosher Book and Tract—Recommendation for Stewardship and Distributions
At its May meeting Permanent Board (PB) received and discussed a recommendation for the Mosher Book and Tract Fund to be stewarded by the Yearly Meeting (YM) Secretary and Office Manager. Noah Merrill, YM Secretary, brought this recommendation back to PB with more clarity and specificity. The updated guidelines for this fund intend to make the availability of these monies more widely known. Friends had the opportunity to ask questions and voice concerns. Friends approved the new guidelines for the Mosher Book and Tract Fund.
19-56: Mosher Book and Tract—Spanish Language Edition of John Woolman’s Journal
Noah Merrill, Yearly Meeting (YM) Secretary, brought forward a proposal for a project to be funded by the Mosher Book and Tract Fund. This proposal would fund the publication and promotion of a Spanish language version of John Woolman’s journal. More details on the project are in the proposal in the advanced documents. Friends approved this proposal for use of funds from the Mosher Book and Tract Fund.
19-57: Student Scholarship Granting Committee
Rebecca Leuchak, clerk of the Student Scholarship Granting Committee (SSGC), reminded Friends of the work that the committee has been doing for the last four years. The remaining funds from the previous Student Loan Committee were spent down in grants over those four years. In accordance with Permanent Board Minute 2015-30 establishing the SSGC, that committee proposes that the small amount of remaining money is transferred to the operating budget and that the committee be laid down. Friends approved these proposals with gratitude for the faithful work done by the SSGC.
19-58: Finance Committee Updated Financial Handbook
Bob Murray, clerk of the Finance Committee, brought the updated Financial Handbook to Permanent Board (PB) for questions and concerns. Full discussion and approval of the handbook will occur at our upcoming September PB meeting. This is not a perfect document but it speaks to where we are now and we hope to proactively update it as policies change. With deep gratitude Friends look forward to studying the updated handbook and discussing it at the September meeting.
19-59: Treasurer’s Report
Shearman Taber, Treasurer, shared some pieces of the report that he will bring to Sessions this week. Included in this is the correction to reports at the end of FY2018 that inaccurately inflated our reserve levels. The actual numbers were as expected but the end of year report was inaccurate. Shearman’s full report is in the advanced documents for Sessions.
19-60: Nominations
Leslie Manning, clerk of Sessions Committee, brought forward the nomination of Adam Kohrman for the Site Selection Committee.
Friends approved this nomination.
Will Taber, clerk of Internal Nominating Committee, brought forward several nominations:
Nat Shed to serve on Personnel Committee, class of 2022
Sarah Gant and Janet Hough to serve on Internal Nominating Committee, class of 2022
Kristna Evans to serve on Yearly Meeting Nominating at Large, class of 2022
Katherine Fisher to serve on Clerk’s Table Nominating Committee, class of 2022
Friends approved these nominations.
19-61: Memorial Minute
Friends heard the memorial minute for Sandy Issacs. Friends approved forwarding the minute to Sessions.
19-62: Closing Worship
Friends closed with a period of worship eagerly anticipating the joyful week to come.