1. Approval of Agenda

The Clerk shared the proposed agenda. The agenda was approved.

2. Approval of Minutes of January 14, 2024

The draft minutes for the January Monthly Meeting were circulated in advance of meeting for business.

Corrections to the distributed minutes regarding the Buffalo Star People that were submitted have been made.

The January 2024 minutes were approved with the noted changes.

3. Worship sharing around state of our meeting

In May, the meeting will submit a State of Society report to Northern Yearly Meeting. To inform that report, the clerk invited monthly meeting to participate in worship sharing around the question: How do we care for one another and nurture connections among one another, and deepen the spiritual life within our meeting community (including families and children)?
The recording clerk recorded the following:

• A Friend established a Friends Mystery Association google group. A member serves as care taker of the site. Participants share books they have enjoyed. One way of being connected with people is knowing what they like to read.
• The Fun with Friends outings provide a way to support and connect with each other.
• The meeting provides a foundational infrastructure that makes sure things happen, keeps the building open and communicates with Friends. Some of these things are pretty dry administrative tasks. The meeting coordinator is an important piece of this foundation.
• In worship and committee work, we share our truths and listen to each other.
• A member shared about one very precious worship. “When I walked into the room – the silence felt so gathered and deep.” Ministry and Counsel’s guidance to deepening our worship together is important.
• We are beginning to reestablish pot lucks. And Fall Together is a wonderful time to get together each year.
• A Friend expressed deep concern that the spiritual life is weakened when we do not worship together in person.
• Members of the meeting provide care when people are facing health challenges. This care has been experienced as deep and meaningful.
• We have been trying to expand our connections by holding each other in the light. The more we do that, the more we are conscious about each other’s challenges and joys.
• A Friend expressed thanks for Judith James’ effort to share birthdays in the meeting. This Friend went from thinking this was an okay idea to being enthusiastic about the practice.
• We frequently take care of each other in a tender-hearted way.
• We could worship together more often in our homes, maybe reaching out to those who are unable to come to the meeting.
• A Friend express appreciation for Linda Coffin’s recent talk about the history of the meeting. Understanding our connection to Quaker history is helpful.
• A friend expressed appreciation to the Meeting’s attention to the Native American concerns and the visit from Francis and Barbara. This Friend indicated that these visitors are interested in continuing a relationship via zoom and in person.
• We connect by expressing humor, experiencing joy in different ways and learning to accept our imperfections.
• We have had a successful start to the children’s program. This work has provided connections to the International Friends Church.
• Friends find ways to support joint concerns financially, through graphic art, and in other ways.

 

As we look at the queries, outreach may provide major opportunities to connect. For examples, meeting for worship at the Friends School has been enriching, and a Friend encouraged others to do that. Recently, there were visitors from Scattergood School. How are we making connections to Friends’ efforts outside the meeting?

4. Reports
a. Stewardship and Finance Committee 3rd Quarter Report
A third quarter financial report was presented.
The final contribution for the Winter Gift is $1500.

A couple of points were noted to inform the meeting’s awareness of our financial situation:

• During the pandemic, the meeting has been increasing annual budgets. These mainly reflect salary increases and new paid positions. And actual expenditures during the pandemic were low. Contributions during the pandemic were around $90,000 to $100,000 a year. So, the meeting was able to meet its expenses and have a surplus.
• Now, actual expenditures are increasing.
• Stewardship also realizes that the meeting has been very generous with special contributions. For example, the sound system. The solar panel project is an upcoming special project where special contributions may be solicited.
• If we as a meeting wish to approve new spending, we need to increase contributions not just to special projects, but also to the general fund.

 

A question was raised of whether there was an end of year financial projection.
– The Meetings fiscal year runs from April 1 through March 30. The fourth quarter of the meeting’s fiscal year is when all the budgeted donation checks and the transfer of building funds to trustees are completed.

Stewardship committee anticipates that the meeting will use reserves to meet expenditures.

Stewardship and Finance Committee Preliminary Budget
A preliminary budget was presented.
The total proposed budget for April 1, 2024 – March 30, does not reflect requests from all committees.

Increased costs include:
– Building and liability insurance.
– Staffing support for hybrid meetings
– Some committees added a slight increase, and
– Continued increases in gas rates continue

A Friend noted that there is still a search for a nursery person.

It was reflected that it might be good to take a look at the last 10 years of actual expenditures.

It was asked – How can we not budget for items that are not going to be spent?

Another Friend noted that this budget does not reflect any increase in salary except for the virtual host. And that committees may still submit those increases.

A Friend asked: What is the underlying message? Should committee clerks reduce their requests? What is the different between budget and expenditures from past years?

The difference between budget and expenditures was in the salary lines. We budget salaries that are not fully taken, as of yet. We do have some reserves, but the meeting will have to decide how much and how long it wants to use those reserves. If we as a meeting wish to approve new spending, can commit to increasing contributions to the general fund?

A question was raised about the average gift amount and where the money came from.
The meeting is supported entirely by individual contributions. The Stewardship Committee was not ready to report on breakdown of size of gifts but will present this in the future.

A Friend asked where the budget for the children and family’s program was reflected. There is a religious education line item.

The meeting was reminded that this is a draft budget. A final budget will be brought to the March Monthly Meeting.

5. Consideration of Solar Panel Roof Plan
A presentation on the solar panel roof plan was given by the ad hoc solar committee. It provided background information and recommendations.

Background – for over a year an ad hoc committee has been researching the possibility of a solar panel array. As a reminder, the decision to advance the solar project was approved by Monthly Meeting in November of 2023.

The ad hoc committee compared design, cost, tangible, communications practice, and intangible factors. It considered the incentives available to the meeting. It considered which company could help us best with all of the forms, laws, and interactions with Xcel – our current electricity vendor.

The detailed proposals have been reviewed and approved by each member of Trustees, Property Committee and Stewardship and Finance Committee.

All panels will be on the east slope of the meeting house. We will be a net giver of electricity.

The proposal is to:
– Engage Cedar Creek Energy as the solar array contractor
o An engineering analysis of the Meeting House’s roof strength and technical data is included in the bid.
o If the structural part proves too costly for the meeting, we can terminate the contract but will have to pay a $500 fee.
o The total cost for the system is $33,550.00 before incentives.
o Cedar Creek assists with all application forms for incentives.

– Engage Re-Volv as the Financial Vendor
o Re Volv is a non-profit whose mission is to help churches and other non-profits lower climate impact.
o If we engage them, the meeting will not need to provide upfront money to get the solar array project up and running. This will save us time.
o They oversee the contractor with their own technical expertise. This is a value added to us, since we do not have the expertise.
o They are the lien holder for our system until we pay them off, so they have a vested interest.
o We repay when we are ready – no penalty – we are essentially inexpensively buying expertise to oversee construction.
o While we repay monthly (about $200 per month) our money goes right back into the Re-Volv program to lend out to another church.

• Questions and comments
  Is there any accompanying discussion about going 100 percent to electricity to eliminate use of gas? To do this – it would cost a lot of money. Our furnaces are newer. As they come to the end of their lives, we could replace them. We explored solar farms, but they are not open to churches. A Friend expressed concern about the use of gas.
• Could the meeting use of trustee building funds to support this project
  – Trustees felt that trustee funds could cover approximately half of the funds needed. There may be additional incentives.
• A friend reflected that the voluntary carbon tax item in the meeting budget could be used.
• This project would protect us from future electricity rate increases.
• What is the disruption time line?
  We do not know how long the installment would take. Cedar Creek works four 10-hour days a week during the week.

 

The meeting approved the following minute
After a year of research and discernment, Minneapolis Friends Meeting approves the proposal from Cedar Creek Energy and Re-Vol for installation and financing of the solar array on the meetinghouse at an estimated initial cost of $33,550 financed by a 25-year loan at 7% interest with no prepayment penalty. Any contracts will be reviewed and require approval of the Trustees. Once installed and operational the solar array will be under the care of the Property Committee with financial accounting under the care of the Stewardship and Finance Committee. The 2024-25 Meeting Budget will include a new line item for repayment of the Re-Volv loan in the amount of $2,400.

Friends expressed joy and gratitude for the research and spirit-led discernment of the Ad Hoc Solar Committee of all those others who made the minute possible.
A question was raised about the fundraising. We may need to establish an ad hoc committee

6. Nominating Committee Report
Nominating committee has a big job this year have contacted all people.

Midmorning program will focus on the work in the meeting and the committees’ role in the life of the meeting. Friends will be asked if they are the hand, heart or head and what areas of service they might want to stretch into.

If you have ideas for people for particular roles, please share them with the nominating committee. Committees – please do not recruit for new membership- the nominating committee is trying to hold the needs of the meeting as a whole.

7. Communications and announcements
The clerk announced that a request for the transfer of membership of a Minneapolis Friends Meeting Member to Adelphi Friends Meeting was received.
The meeting approved the membership transfer and the letter of transfer to Adelphi Friends Meeting was read.

There has been a lot of interest from outside groups for presentation on Quakers. A few members are fulfilling some of those requests. There are some requests to visit the meeting. If you are interested in sharing about friends, please let the meeting coordinator know.