Minneapolis Friends Meeting
Minutes of Monthly Meeting for Business
March 8, 2020

In attendance: John K. – Presiding Clerk, Tom W. – Recording Clerk, 34 other participants

Silent Worship
Requests – Leave time in between each speaker. Take time to let emotions settle and the Light’s message form before speaking. Speak from the Light instead of simply responding to another’s’ message, unless you want to clarify what’s been said. We are seeking a common understanding of what the Light is telling us as a community, not just trying to get our individual point across. Wait for the microphone. Concern about handling the mic- not using the mic – leave up to each person.

1. Agenda was Approved with some additions
2. February Minutes were Approved
3. Ministry and Counsel (M&C) Report – S. O. Yesterday, 3.7.2020, a memorial service was held in the meeting house for Norman L., the 7 year old son of S. M. and C. L., grandson of R. and P. M. (deceased). / This month M&C focused on recent meetings for worship and the committee wants to express their thanks to Care of Un-Programmed Worship and Care of Semi-Programmed Worship committees for their contribution to the quality of worship Meeting provides. Committee members were asked to stand and be recognized. / M&C recommends a change in the ending time of semi-programmed worship on Easter Sunday, April 12. Since Meeting for Business precedes worship on Easter, it is recommended that worship be extended to 12:15 PM. They also suggest that on Easter Sunday 2021 a social hour replace mid-morning program. Friends APPROVED the time change on April 12, 2020. Presiding clerk referred the program change for Easter 2021 to a future time. / M&C is considering possible ways to develop leadership in the Meeting. They explored using queries and small group discussions to nurture vocal ministry. Both of these issues will be considered in greater depth at future M&C meetings. / Potential meeting-wide response to the Covid-19 virus was the primary issue considered during the March meeting as we anticipate issues that will need to be addressed by the restructured Ministry and Counsel. We suggest that both before and after worship we bump elbows instead of shaking hands. There will be extra bottles of hand cleanser available in the Meetinghouse. Remaining calm and staying centered will be helpful and will be a good example to others in responding to COVID-19. / Gratitude was expressed for the sense of collaboration experienced within the M&C over the past year as the committee concludes its’ term. S.O. is stepping down from two-years of service as clerk to serve on the new Care and Counsel Committee. DISCUSSION: Friend wanted to encourage everyone to take advantage of the many sinks in the building to regularly wash their hands. They also suggested food servers wear gloves when handling food and raised concern about the efficacy of holding potluck meals. Another Friend asked us to consider that some people will need to take more precautions due to compromised immune systems, age or previous medical conditions. S. O. said she had consulted with one of our resident medical doctors, and they felt that careful handwashing before participating in potluck may be sufficient, at this time.
4. Reports
   1. 2020 – 2021 Structure of Service and Ministry slate of nominees for approval – D. J. Copies of the report were distributed. This is the final report of Nominating Committee. Presiding Clerk proposed dropping the “interim” title from the Assistant Clerk position and to acknowledge the role of the Assistant Clerk as a regular part of our meeting structure until such time as we elect to make additional changes. Friends APPROVED making the position of Assistant Clerk permanent. There was considerable discussion over how to incorporate the Experiment with Light Groups into the structure report. Currently, it is a separate entry on the first page that is unattached to a committee, such as Ministry and Counsel. Should it be independent of committee oversite and stay informal? Should it be directly under M&C? Connected by a “dotted” line? The responsibility for coordinating the groups has evolved over time and has become a significant weight on the coordinators, since there are over 50 people involved. Presiding Clerk proposed we keep it as printed in the report and let it season for 6 months to a year before addressing what the connection should be. Friends were in agreement with this. Other points addressed: there are 3 new members of M&C; Nettie S. will be clerk of Care and Counsel Committee; support was given to including the names of all teachers and substitute teachers in the report; a request was made to clarify that Shepherd Scholarship is an independent legal entity whose members are not part of the Meeting’s nominating process; Nominating is distributing a description of the committees and, while they are not asking for approval, Debbie wants to hear of any changes that need to be made. Further discussion: clarification was made regarding the first page of the report, where many of the names / positions listed (auditor, historian, etc.) are not necessarily positions filled by the Nominating Committee, but are for general information. Some openings still need to be filled – this week Religious Education is meeting to address their committee’s not having a clerk, and Quaker Volunteer Service will need to replace a Meeting representative in August. Friends are encouraged to keep the hard copy of the Structure of Service and Ministry report because it will not be posted on the Meeting’s website. Clarification: names that are underlined in the report are either newly appointed individuals to the committee or they are committee members who have extended their terms on the committee. Friends expressed their appreciation to D.J. and the Nominating Committee for all their hard work and service. Friends APPROVED the Structure of Service and Ministry report for 2020-2021.
   2. Stewardship and Finance 2021 Budget for approval– M.J. This final proposed budget is very similar to the one presented last month. Part 3 increased trustees building fund by $2200 to cover buffing and refinishing the floor. We still need to convene a joint meeting of Stewardship and the Building Committee. Total budget for 2020-21 is $117,673 (a $4,188 increase from last year). If we choose to join ISAIAH, there will be an additional $500 contribution that we need to make that has been included under Other Affiliations. Our overall budget for program contributions is $16,200 (14% of the total budget). The budget includes salary for a paid nursery position. Friends APPROVED the Final Budget for 2020-2021.
      1. Stewardship and Finance had some additional announcements: Since the Meeting maintains a large bank balance, the committee wants us to consider creating an emergency fund that Friends could utilize if they have specific needs. Also, Northern Yearly Meeting is asking for additional contributions to support transportation costs for attending regional and national meetings and conferences such as Friends Committee on National Legislation or Friends General Conference. M.J. or J.K. would appreciated your feedback. Discussion: Friend encouraged us to consider different ways to regularly communicate how monthly income from our contributions relates to the overall annual budget – pie charts in the quarterly reports, for example. Friends discussed issues regarding the elevator and the possibility it could fail inspection and need sudden replacement. It did pass the most recent inspection without a problem. Are funds being set aside for this? One estimate is about $40,000 or so to replace it. The Trustees are looking at long-range planning for repairing / replacing the elevator but this may warrant an increase to the money allocated to the Trustees Building Fund. Also, hymnals are beginning to wear out and will need to be replaced. Friend supported helping to defray transportation costs to allow Quakers to attend conferences and meetings.
   3. Hosting a Northern Yearly Meeting Middle School Retreat at the Meeting House – Clerk   This would occur the end of October beginning of November during fall interim NYM session; and while no action is required at this time – Twin Cities Meeting has not yet agreed to host the interim session – we may be asking for individuals to be hosts for the NYM middle schoolers, to help with opening/closing the meeting house and to assist with activities. It is tentative now, but we are asked to consider taking part.
   4. State of Society – Presiding Clerk and J.J.    J.J. has emailed some people and requested a few lines of comments to include in the State of Society report. She has received good feedback, so far, but would like to reflect more than just a tally of what the Meeting has accomplished this year. She has guidance for what she wants, including a variety of ideas for original thoughts, and will provide that to you if you send her your email address. She will set up a Google group to facilitate this, although there is a request to not use “reply all” when sending your ideas to her. She wants to have a draft completed by April’s meeting for business. Friend added that sometimes it is good to include more of a spiritual view of the Meeting as well as to think about sharing ideas with other Meetings in Northern Yearly Meeting.
   5. QVS Quarterly Report – E.S. There are nine Local Support Committee (LSC) members – Minneapolis Friends Meeting (4), Twin Cities Friends (4) and Prospect Park Friends Meeting (1). The Minneapolis site coordinator is E.P. and there are 6 Twin Cities’ Fellows. We have passed the halfway point in the 2019-2020 Fellowship year. It, as always, is a full and active year. The Fellow’s placements are going well, even the 2 fellows, who have changed their placements. Every other Friday is QVS day and it is a time for the Fellows to do QVS program work. The QVS day program starts by looking at Quaker decision making, then community building, followed by understanding conflict and then balancing personal needs, with community commitments. They look at systems and systems theory, then explore workplaces and workplaces systems, and share their experiences with their placements with the other Fellows. There are 3 weekend retreats, one a quarter, where the Fellows worship, renew, review and enjoy each other. Every Fellow has a Spiritual Nurturer, which they meet with monthly. Three of the Spiritual Nurturers are from our Meeting. The nurturers have to be screened, interviewed and assigned according to their compatibility. We thank all 6 of them for their work: L.O., G.M., R.B., C.G., R.R., C.V.
      1. What is your part?
         1. You could make a vegetarian lunch for 8 for a QVS day. That frees up their time to do more program work.
         2. You could share your cabin so they could hold a retreat.
         3. You can share with others about QVS. Applications for next year’s Fellows are due March 15th, placement sites in Feb.
         4. You can help clean up the QVS house in Aug to ready it for the next group of Fellows.
         5. You can suggest a new placement nonprofit to the LSC.
         6. You can come to the fundraisers; we are having one on March 27th, contra dancing at MFM house.
         7. We will also have a meet the Fellows in the fall.
         8. You can contribute to QVS.
         9. You can share an event with a fellow, if you have an extra ticket or activity you can share.
         10. Contact fellows though QVS house email.
      2. What has the Local Support Committee been doing? We meet monthly, to support the site coordinator, the fellows and the program. We organized two fundraisers and a goodby party for the Fellows. We find placements for the fellows. We have six placements for next year. We communicate to the Meetings that support QVS; PHFM, TCFM, MFM and all the Meetings in the area plus, Northern Yearly Meeting. Discussion: Friend asked if the names of the nurturers could be added to the report. [Done] There was a request for best way to get in touch with the Fellows. Contact information: [minneapolishouse(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)quakervoluntaryservice.org] If you have extra tickets to an event or want to just go out for lunch, contact them. Nominating Committee is looking for another person to be on the support committee. Presiding Clerk – QVS is getting the Quaker name out into the community and is an important program. Friend asked for additional information for a student who may be eligible for the program.
5. Other Business / Announcements
   1. Food Collection for NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center – P.E. Both he and H.F. work at the clinic and they have a food drive in March. They are requesting the meeting house host a collection barrel during March. Contributions will be distributed on the north side of Minneapolis. Additional information will be posted at the barrel. Previously, there has not always been a consistent process to transport the donations, so P.E. will pick up the donations at the end of March. Friends Approved having the collection during March.
   2. Nursery Staff Update – E.A. We have found someone to provide child care and are in the process of interviewing her and performing background checks. The candidate lives in the neighborhood and has been a nanny. Once she is onboard we will explore ways to communicate the presence of paid nursery support during meeting activities to the broader community.
   3. R.B. : The director of Friends for a Non-violent World is leaving in May. The board is creating a search committee and seeks input. Give your feedback to R.B.
   4. Twin Cities Friends Meeting (TCFM) has requested a copy of our meeting directory to be used in their office. We already have a copy of their directory in our office. Friend reported that individual copies of TCFM’s directory can be purchased from them for $2. Friends APPROVED sharing our directory with TCFM. Correspondence: A postcard was received from Quaker Voluntary Service thanking us for the support we give. (This card may have been overlooked in the file for a while).
6. Worship