1.      Approval of Agenda

The Clerk presented the proposed agenda, which was approved.

2.       Approval of Minutes of September 8, 2024

The draft September 8, 2024 Monthly Meeting minutes were circulated in advance of meeting for business.   The September minutes were approved with additions to the online attendance roster.

The September 8, 2024 minutes were approved.

3.      Child Welfare Committee

There is currently no committee. Previous members of the committee were parents of children active in First Day School. Their children no longer attend first day school and the parents are no longer active in the Minneapolis Meeting.

This past year, we have had one person who needed clearing. They have been interviewed and a verification check was sent to Bureau of Criminal Affairs.

When the children and family coordinator sends a name of member who is interested in being cleared to work with children, a meeting member arranges the interview with another member who has been cleared and then coordinates the Bureau of Criminal Affairs background check.

Hopefully, more children in the Meeting will mean that this committee needs to be resurrected.

4.      Conflict Soirée group introduction

The conflict soirée is a group of MFM members who see conflict as an opportunity to increase understanding and feelings of respect and connection in relationships. We learn, practice, and experiment with conflict transformation skills within the group and invite others to attend. Many of our members have experience in the Alternatives to Violence Program.

A concern was raised about moving forward with initiatives that duplicate the Meeting’s existing structures and practices. It’s important that the Meeting’s efforts are coordinated. All groups should come before the business meeting before being formed under the care of the meeting.

A friend pointed out that a men’s group never came to business meeting for approval. Nor did the women’s healing circle. There was some disagreement over whether all groups need to be under the care of a committee or if all groups need to be approved by monthly meeting. There was also a question about what “under the care of a committee means.”

There is something exciting about the organic development of a group.  The issue is when groups take on work important to the meeting as a whole or take on the work of an existing committee.

The Clerk shared that these concerns have been brought up in Ministry and Counsel.  Ministry and Counsel committee has approved use of two mid-morning programs to share information about the conflict soirée.

The Clerk will take the question about the meaning of “under the care of a committee” to Ministry and Counsel for future reflection.

5.      Second Quarter budget report

The meeting has not received the end of September bank statement, but the report verified the contributions for the first 6 months of our fiscal year.  It reflected less than half of the income needed to meet our approved budget.

There are some new automatic deposit gifts, but the committee does not know if those gifts are monthly or quarterly.  It does not know the pattern of automatic giving until reviewing a couple of consecutive bank statements.

-Patterns of giving this year are different from previous years and we do not have a practice of asking people for their annual financial commitment to the meeting.  These factors make it hard to estimate our end of year income.

A couple of notes on expenditures:

• It was noted that the line for Loaves and Fishes was overspent for the year. Reimbursement checks from our partners in this effort were mis-allocated to general funds.
• The trustees are paying the monthly repayment of the solar loan.
• We are in the process of getting insurance on the solar panels – which will trigger another rebate to support the project.

 

The Clerk clarified the difference between the approved budget and aspirational or contingent budget. The Clerk expressed hope that we will be able to fully fund our approved budget with annual contributions.

6.      Preparation for the threshing session

Clerk shared that he has found considering how to lead the meeting in discussions about financial issues really challenging. There is a lot of complexity and a range of opinions. To prepare, he has reflected on the monthly meeting budget discussion and has talked to a lot of people.

The clerk presented a set of slides to help provide a foundation for the threshing session and future meeting discussion. The slides accompany these minutes.

A budget:

• Is an expression of our collective vision and values
• Entails a commitment from the meeting to expend funds and
• Is an projection of the financial commitment from individuals to support the meeting

 

The clerk shared a pie chart of the approved budget. He believes it reflects our shared values of having a space for meeting for worship, supporting administration and communications functions, building programming for children and families, and providing accessibility to worship through on-line participation.

He noted that over half the approved budget is dedicated to salaries. Our contingent or aspiration budget includes contributions to organizations and resources for committees.

The meetings budget has a structural problem. Our aspiration budget would require a 50% increase in contributions. The Meeting relies on a small group of large donors. Members give more than attenders and our membership numbers are declining.

There are a lot of questions for us to answer as a community:

• How do we bring our expenses in alignment with our vision and resources?
• What parts of our budget are we most called to at this time?
• What organizations are we called to support?
• What committee programming is most central to our vision statements?
• Can personnel expenses be reduced while still supporting our priorities?
• Should we undertake a fundraising campaign to raise resources?
• What are we doing that would attract new people into the meeting? Do we have a plan for the growth of the meeting?

 

We do have some next steps.

• An upcoming threshing session will be focus on priorities for support for our contingent contribution budget.
• Accurate salaries and hours are needed to develop next year’s budget. Liaison and Review will work with committees. Stewardship and finance committee has put together a 10-year retrospective of budgeted expenditure and real expenses that could be helpful to this process.
• As a meeting we need to decide our approach to raising funds for the meeting. And,
• As a meeting we need to decide what programming is most important to us.

 

7.      Questions and comments from Friends

Many Friends expressed appreciation for the presentation.

Reflections on how the meeting could engage with each other around these challenges:

• There is a need for us to be patient with each other.
• This process can be grounded in prayer and contemplation.
• In a discussion like this, we can feel down and out of hope. Yet is not all hopeless – this is a place for us to be a community.
• While this is difficult, it is not a death knell. There is nothing that threatens our existence as a meeting or a spiritual community.
• Can we have a discussion on a funding process that gives up more predictability and sustainability in our funding?
• At the last Ministry and Counsel meeting the committee looked at a tool that helps meeting look at their focus and direction. This may be a helpful tool.
• It’s a financial problem and an existential problem – change is difficult. Do we need a session that can use that tool to help us move forward?

Approaches to generating more income:

• Continue to increase individual contributions.
• As Friends downsize, maybe we sell items in a consignment shop.
• Asking people for a financial contribution commitment may create discomfort.
• We made significant investment in our tech systems –
  • Have we increased Mayim Rabim’s rent? There has not been an increase in the rent. The Trustees are considering this. Friends were reminded that Mayim Rabim helped pay for the AV system.
• A question arose about offering the opportunity to designate Meeting contributions for organizations.
• We have many people over 70. Can we share the process of donating from our IRA’s?
• We are not the only organization that is struggling to meet its budget. In another meeting, there is a person on the stewardship committee who wore a green hat or red had depending on the financial status of the meeting.

Thoughts about increasing membership

• Bringing in more families seems important. The fall’s Linden Hills festival may provide an opportunity.
• Another church has a little theater group in the summertime. Maybe we could sponsor some kind of group for children in the summer.
• A member of the children and families committee shared the stress he feels.
  • The committee has spun its wheel and had some successes.
  • It’s a problem that other faith communities are experiencing.
  • There are some churches that are growing by leaps and bounds. There seems to be an entertainment or show business approach with dynamic sermons and music and sound system and audio visual.
  • As a meeting, we are not going to go down that road – our values are different.
  • What it is that we really have that is appealing and is not those other things – what is it that we have to offer? What is our value to people in the outside world?
  • We go to the Friend’s School for worship.
• We may become a spiritual community for peace activists, environmental activities, disabilities, and LGBTQ+ folks.
• We are somewhat insular – if we can think of some ways to connect with others, people may know us better.
• There are a lot of projects going on in the meeting. We may bring in people with programming – whether this pay off or not is out of our control.

 

The Clerk thanked people for their contributions to the discussion. Members were remined that the threshing session will be held at 1 p.m. on Sunday October 20^th at the meeting house.

Announcements

An individual withdrew from membership in meeting. She has found a spiritual home at another church.