Minneapolis Friends Meeting

Minutes of Monthly Meeting for Business

February 12, 2023

In Attendance:  John K – presiding clerk, Tom W – recording clerk, plus 52 other attenders, in person and on Zoom

1. Silent Worship
2. Agenda – APPROVED
3. January Minutes – APPROVED                                                                                                                  
4. Ministry and Counsel (M&C) Report – John C.    Since becoming clerk of M&C, John has spoken to many people in various settings trying to get a sense of where we are as a Meeting, what brings us together, what people are hungry for.  A question that has been raised, often, is why doesn’t Meeting follow the “summer schedule” year-round, alternating each week between unprogrammed and semi-programmed worship.  M&C believes it is now time to move forward with this discussion and they want to introduce a formal proposal to make a change in how we worship on Sunday mornings.  Some key individuals have been contacted regarding technical issues and the impact a new schedule would have on mid-morning programing.  There are unresolved issues, such as how first day school would function, since the summer schedule does not include first day school; but having one worship service each Sunday would simplify some of the demands on staff and volunteers.  And it would strengthen our community which, as a wide and diverse group of Friends, would benefit through learning and sharing with each other in a single worship format each Sunday.  No one should be asked to give up anything, although some might change.             There will not be time, today, to discuss this; but M&C would like us to begin considering their proposal, to hold it in the Light, and to begin discernment through discussions at next month’s meeting for business.  Their proposal is for Meeting to move to having only one worship service Sunday morning from 10-11AM, alternating between semi-programmed and unprogrammed worship format. This would be followed by a 15-minute break before mid-morning program begins at 11:15 AM, ending at noon. When there is a fifth Sunday in a month, M&C would be responsible for leading the worship service, reading from Faith and Practice, the Testimonies, or other relevant material.                                                             Presiding clerk asked that details of the proposal be included in the weekly bulletin leading up to next month’s business meeting. In response to a question, he repeated that specifics for religious education programming have not been worked out at this time and need additional consideration as Meeting strives to rebuild religious education.  Friends accepted the report.
5. Covid 19 Protocol – Masking Policy      Linda C., clerk of Trustees     Trustees is responsible for protocols pertaining to building safety. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic they have overseen a mask-only policy in the face of a wide spectrum of opinions – masks always, masks optional, no masks, vaccine mandated, vaccine optional, etc. Meeting has placed this responsibility on them, knowing that there has not been true consensus on how to proceed within our members and attenders. They are now considering making the wearing of masks optional and they want to get a sense of where Meeting stands on the issue, now. Worship services and many activities are widely available via Zoom, so those who are uncomfortable with a change in mask policy can still participate. PROS:  Air filtration system in the meeting house has been upgraded. Many people are now vaccinated and boosted. Hospital rates of COVID are down and cases are milder. Getting rid of masks would contribute to a more friendly, welcoming, environment in the meeting house. We are getting tired of all the precautions. CONS: The pandemic is not over and people are still dying. Vulnerable people are still at risk and that includes many in our community.   Linda said the Trustees, working with the presiding clerk and meeting coordinator, have made specific determinations in the last 3 years regarding certain activities, such as food and meal preparation for Mayim Rabin and special gatherings or for community choir rehearsals in the meeting house. Each decision requires considerable time to resolve.  To start off the discussion Presiding clerk asked if there was a clear sense of Meeting to move to a mask-optional posture within the meeting house.  There was no unity.   Discussion: Friend likes the idea of having an option. She continues to wear a mask in public spaces where there are too many unknowns, like at the grocery store, but is more comfortable in the meeting room where she may still wear a mask, but is okay if others do not. It is her choice.     Friend remarked that mask wearing mostly protects others, not ourselves, and we are not really protected if a sick person sits next to us. Could we set aside a separate place for those who are unmasked?     Another remarked that a N-95 mask does protect the wearer.  We could require use of N-95’s.    Friend noted how challenging the topic is since there are so many different sources of information. She wonders about the frequency and impact of long-term COVID, and can we be on the same page regarding the significance of improvements to meeting room air ventilation. How endangered are we by the new highly-transmissible variants?  What would it take to meet all our needs?  Since unmasking is one of the goals to make Meeting more welcoming, could we mask just during worship?  Linda – finding a common source of information is just about impossible. Even the medical community disagrees, and there are just too many unknowns for there to be one authoritative source.   Presiding clerk – that is why Meeting asked the Trustees and Carolyn to be the deciders. We could revisit this decision and in business meeting select the sources of information we should use. We can add additional people to the core group who would be the official deciders.   Friend said she would try to attend more if she did not have to wear a mask.  She has no personal knowledge of someone being sick with COVID and she had a bad reaction to the vaccine. It is hard to know what the truth is. At the Holiday Fair people were not wearing masks and she is not aware of anyone coming down sick as a result. She supports the idea of isolating those who wear masks from those who do not. Twin City Friends have gone to making masks optional and she is in support of that.  Another Friend said he is 70 years old this year and we are always at some risk of dying.  He has lived through an earth quake. M&C is asking us to merge worship services so we can build our community stronger, but with COVID restrictions we are splitting the community apart. Less is more. Let those who want to continue wearing masks do so. We want to have more young people in Meeting, but masks are not welcoming. Those of us who are older and are arguing for wearing masks need to be more open minded.    Another Friend spoke in favor of the communal discernment process. Keep the discussion marinated in love for one another. Consider the costs of masking and not masking. Grapple with what is true. We need to take risks and to rely on data and statistics.  This is hard territory.  Let’s seek what is true and what we can agree upon and come to terms with the science. Can we trust the statistics on community spread of the disease? We are a bit lost if we don’t trust those data. Can we move to mask optional or alter other mitigation efforts when the spread is at a certain level? We need to have these difficult discussions and to seek communal truth.     Additional thoughts that were shared: As long as there are people who won’t come to meeting unless we all wear masks, we should be masked. Speaker does not like Zoom and does not like to mask.  There are those of us who feel very strongly about all of this. This is unfriendly and not what a loving community would do. They do not come to meeting in the winter because of the cold, but they would like the option to not wear a mask.  They sometimes wear a mask when they go out of the house and sometimes, they do not wear one.   Another Friend remarked on how difficult it is in her science-based organization to craft COVID policies, affecting both staff and clients. She plans state-wide events and looks to the CDC and to state and local public health agencies for guidance when planning these events. There are no current recommendations requiring mask wearing but she does try to encourage mask wearing – making it convenient by having masks readily available. Since public officials do not say masks must be worn, the decision to mask can be based on facts or on feelings, but it is important to take the time and look at the facts. MFM is the only place she goes where masks are required.  Linda suggested that the speaker might want to be included in the group that decides the policy for Meeting.       Presiding clerk – for now there is no change in the policy regarding mask wearing or the use of the kitchen. Mask wearing is not optional in the meeting house, Meeting does not approve having other groups that use the meeting house be mask optional. Apart from the few exceptions that have already been granted, current COVID restrictions will continue to apply.
6. Committee Reports                                                                                                                                  
   1. Care and Counsel Report – Nettie S  (Not given)
   2. Stewardship and Finance Quarterly Update –  Mike F (Not given)
   3. Stewardship and Finance – Preliminary 2023-2024 Budget – Mike F   [report handed out and was displayed on screen]   We are currently in the 4^th quarter of the 2022-23 Budget. Stewardship and Finance will be sending out letters detailing last year’s 2022 contributions. In March, Meeting will approve the budget for 2023-2024. Next year the proposed budget is $125,080, which is $12,000 less than the current budget.  Some highlights of the proposed 2023-24 budget are: there is no longer a line item for the COVID Ad Hoc Fund.  Some expenses are contingent on future hiring – Religious Education Coordinator and nursery staff are included as line-item expenses, but the actual costs have not been finalized. The office copy machine is in need of repairs and there is a question whether it is cheaper to replace it or to have it repaired. The $12,000 reduction in the proposed budget is a result of dropping the line item for the COVID Ad Hoc Fund ($10,000) and uncertainties about how much will be spent of the $8,600 proposed to pay for nursery care and a Religious Education Coordinator. The $1,500 for copier supplies and maintenance is predicated on repairing, not replacing, the copier.    Discussion: It has been a while since we increased our donations to Quaker organizations. Seems like we should increase the amount we give to AFSC by 10% to keep up with inflation.  Presiding clerk suggested increasing the amount on the proposed budget to include that 10% increase.   The Trustees report that there needs to be an increase in our insurance expenses next budget year; and the $500 office operation expense for Audio Visual Equipment Replacement is really a Trustee budget item and not part of the Meeting’s annual budget.  Friend noted that there needs to be a relabeling of some of the column headings on the proposed budget to show the correct year.   Friend asked if there has been a cost-of-living increase for the Meeting Coordinator position.  Liaison and Review Committee manages salaries of all staff; and it is not clear if a cost-of-living adjustment has been made, since there is a lot of flexibility in the number of hours that are worked.  Also, Peace and Social Concerns Committee is responsible for suggesting the amounts that Meeting contributes to outside organizations and it would be strange for Meeting to increase one donation by 10% without increasing the others without input from Peace and Social Concerns.   Mike F reported that Stewardship and Finance Committee will reconfigure the proposed 2023-24 budget based on today’s comments, and he asks that people email him with additional suggestions or changes before next month’s meeting for business, when the budget will be approved.
   4. Nominating Committee Preliminary Slate – Carolyn V  [See Attachments] Report was shared on Zoom. This is a working document, and the committee is following up on many details to get everything right. They are presenting a preliminary slate of candidates to elicit feedback and to confirm that they have correctly recorded everyone’s intentions regarding committee assignments they have agreed to fill.  They are encouraging us to consider filling any additional open slots that remain and to report any inaccuracies in assignments.  Names that are “bolded” and “underlined” are changes and additions that have been made so far.  Asterisks indicate committee clerks.  Also, the Religious Education Committee is still being redesigned. Let Carolyn V or other committee members know of additional changes or corrections. Many committee members have elected to re-up for the same committee positions, but Friends are reminded that there may be renewed dynamism when we agree to switch committee assignments. Presiding clerk added that Meeting relies on volunteers to do the work of Meeting and we might be mindful of the contributions that newer members and attenders can bring to our community. This is one of the best ways to get to know one another within Meeting and for newcomers to learn about the inner workings of the Meeting.  Discussion: Why is there a blank for the Presiding Clerk’s position?  John has served as clerk for an extended term of 5 years and is stepping down. No one has come forward to fill that position. Nominating Committee is actively recruiting for the position and is even considering filling the clerk’s position with co-clerks.
7. George Lakey Event at the Meeting House – Jim L for Peace and Social Concerns Committee   George Lakey is a much-published author from Philadelphia, who is on a national tour to publicize his most recent book.  Friends for a Non-violent World (FNVW) has agreed to sponsor a book event for George Lakey and they have invited MFM to co-sponsor it with them and to have the event take place in our meeting house, probably mid-week  when he is in town, May 12-16.  This request has come via the Peace and Social Concerns Committee with their recommendation. Meeting approval is needed to co-sponsor an event.  Question was asked if the request should be handled by the Trustees.  The understanding is that co-sponsoring an event with another group needs Meeting approval, while just approving an event to take place in the meeting house is left to the Trustees.  Friends APPROVED co-sponsoring the George Lakey Book Event with Friends for a Non-violent World and to host it, here, at the meeting house.                                                                          
8. Correspondence:   Dream of Wild Health thanks us for our gift of $500.  Friends for a Non-violent World thanks us for our donation. Right Sharing of Resources thanks us for our gift of $400.

Business Meeting went long, ending at 11:15, and immediately re-convened in Semi-Programmed Meeting for Worship.