Minneapolis Friends Meeting

Minutes of Monthly Meeting for Business

March 8, 2026

[names and some information edited for web publication]

Attendance:  Stephen S – presiding clerk, Tom W – recording clerk,  with 31 attending in person and 16 on Zoom

1. Silent worship
2. Land Acknowledgement
3. Agenda  –  Approved 
4. Minutes from February 8, 2026 were Approved
5. Children and Families Committee Update—Andrea S.  A couple changes were made to the job description for the Child and Family Coordinator position, addressing collaboration with children and families committee, working with families and attenders, and adjusting their responsibility for service projects. Funding for service projects will be handled separately. They are asking approval for a $10,500 annual salary that include working 8 hours a week and being present in the meeting house on Sundays. An additional $5,000 would be allocated to Child and Families programming to cover special expenses, such as service projects arranged by individuals, not necessarily the Children and Families Coordinator, for special projects such as the trips to Cuba.  Discussion: Question was raised about ESST (Earned Sick and Safe Time) [one hour of ESST for every 30 hours worked] There was confusion and some discussion about this, since the position is considered to be salaried and other workers aren’t getting paid vacation time, and this could be “opening a can of worms” if one committee could grant time off and other committees could not. The resolution was to refer the issue back to Liaison and Review and Stewardship. Friend asked about changes in the salary figure from last month to this month – it increased from $8,000 to $10,500.   With the changes to the duties of the coordinator and the need for more weekly preparation time and time to develop relationships within Meeting, the decision was to increase the weekly hours for the coordinator. This increased the salary. Clerk sensed agreement to raise the salary and to keep the $5,000 special allotment. The question about paid leave should go to Liaison and Review and Stewardship.  Friends approved the proposed changes to the Child and Family Coordinator job description and salary of $10,500 for the 2026-2027 fiscal year along with $5,000 to be budgeted for children and Families programming with gratitude for the service of the C&F Coordinator and Committee.   Special recognition was given to Jeannette R for her assistance crafting the job description, even though she is not a member of the committee.
6. Presentation of 2026-2027 Budget—Carolyn V    [A link to the budget was in the bulletin; however, there were issues displaying the budget on Zoom, so it was not available during the presentation. ]  There is a substantial reduction ($10,800) in salary expenses in 2026-27 largely resulting from the change in scope and hours for the First Day School Coordinator and in the Office Manager line (there were two people working for a bit last year as the new manager was being introduced to the position). Plant operations are up $5,100 due to increases in furnace maintenance, insurance and Trustees Building Fund. Office operations are up $578, and Program Expenses are up $5,165 due to increases in the Religious Education Committee’s budget and contributions to Mission, Service and Fellowship fund. Utilities are projected to be down $110.  With the changes mentioned below (Liaison and Review budget line, Children and Families / First Day School Coordinator line, and confirming other salary lines, the budget for 2026-27 should be almost even or slightly less than the 2025-26. Once we make our Contributions to outside organizations at the end of the 4th Quarter, our actual yearly expenses are slated to run about $116,000 while our income should be close to $126,000.  Committee clerks are requested to submit all reimbursement requests before March 31st.   Discussion: Rae questioned the amount proposed for the office manager position now that Carolyn is no longer in the position. She wanted to know how many hours the new office manager is schedule to work and what the hourly pay is. Is the $22,000 projected for office manager in 2026-27 too low?  Carolyn – those numbers will be confirmed to reflect the Liaison and Review budget request.  Marilyn J wanted to know how the AV Tech salary was determined and [without seeing the budget] wanted to know about changes in committee allocations.  Stewardship and Finance Committee did not make any changes to the salary recommendations that came from the supervising committee. The committee allotments remain the same, except for a decrease of $85 for Liaison and Review and a decrease of $250 to the Clerk’s Discretionary Fund. [The $5,165 increase in Program Expenses was already discussed]  Friend asked what the Clerk’s Discretionary Fund was used for. It covers special costs that may arise, such as the honorarium to the Labor Church program this year, that are not reflected in the budget. It was noted that Liaison and Review would be spending their money at the end of March and their $85 should remain in the budget for 2026-27. Presiding Clerk summarized the recommended changes: Review and change, as needed, the salary lines for AV Tech, Office Manager, Children and Families Coordinator and retain the $85 that had been dropped from Liaison and Review Committee for 2026-27.   Friends APPROVED the Proposed Budget for 2026-27 with the changes. The final budget will be presented at next month’s business meeting. Carolyn expressed her gratitude to the Stewardship Committee for all the gifts and dedication they offered this year, with special thanks to Gib as one of the receiving treasurers.
7. Nominating Committee Report—Elizabeth S.    Lolly and Jane F are being nominated to co-share the Presiding Clerk of Meeting position for one year, until 2027. John K is being appointed as a Trustee and he has agreed to serve as clerk of Stewardship. Some committees are still short members and or lacking clerks, such as Welcoming and Outreach. Nominating will meet next week to clean-up the report. Also, there has been a format change to the Committee Roster. Committee clerks are now noted by BOLD type and membership in Meeting is denoted by an “*”. This is a change from previous reports.   Discussion: Friend asked if Meeting was considering developing a rapid response committee.  Minneapolis Friends Meeting (MFM) does not have one and Northern Yearly Meeting is giving it some consideration. We do have a Peace and Social Concerns committee.  Lolly said there has been interest in creating an adhoc safety committee, and this will be reported back to Meeting in April.  Friend expressed concern that other churches have been more pro-active addressing needs in our community, and many families and individuals remain in great need of safety in housing, food and employment as a result of the actions of ICE. Quakers have not been as active and there has been little impact to our business or operations. Another Friend responded that many from Meeting have been very active in responding to community needs, and are still doing so.  There was a comment that the “*” designation used in the new committee roster has been inconsistent identifying membership status on the first page of the roster, and indeed, throughout the entire roster. They appreciated all the work done by Nominating, but they would prefer returning to the previous system for identifying committee membership. Others were in agreement with the old method. Nominating made the changes to streamline their process.  Some committees are limited to members, only, and Nominating found it more expedient to have that information already in the committee roster. They added tables to the report, finding that tables made it easier to maintain the document and to make edits. By adding membership information to the committee report, Nominating believes it will be easier for everyone to know who the members of Meeting are, especially, new-comers. Friend thanked the committee for their high quality of work and said he saw both sides of the membership “*” issue, but thought it best to let Nominating decide what worked for them.  A different Friend asked if Nominating was actively recruiting new members and attenders to be more involved in the life of Meeting by serving on committees. The answer is, yes.  They have been reaching out to new-comers, and four have been nominated this year. Presiding Clerk introduced to monthly meeting his nominees for Nominating committee for 2027-2029. These proposed members are Elizabeth S (clerk), Clifford G, Judith J, John K, and Betsy S. They are still searching for two more members.  Presiding Clerk asked for approval of the Committee Roster for 2026-2029, asking that we accept the report while having Nominating Committee be attentive to the concerns raised about using “*” to denote Meeting membership in the report.  Friends APPROVED the Committee Roster for 2026-2029.
8. Moment of Gratitude for Messages of Support— Presiding Clerk made special note of all the support that has been directed to MFM as a result of the impact of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) surge on the Twin Cities.  Messages have been received from many Quaker meetings, but, also, many churches. A suggestion has been made to publish one of the messages each week on the Google group so we can all witness the support sent our way. Ariel has responded to each of the messages, and Deborah J is assembling a book featuring the messages to keep a record of them. Some of the respondents have asked for suggestions on where they could donate money. Ideas are welcome. Special thanks to Ariel for stepping up to manage the flood of messages sent to MFM.
9. Peace and Social Concerns Committee (P&SC)—John S  Oberlin Friends Meeting, in Oberlin, Ohio, sent $1,572 to us to distribute to people who have been harmed by the actions of ICE. Peace and Social Concerns recommends we evenly divide the contribution between the Immigrant Defense Network, which provides counseling and legal services, and Emerge. Emerge is a north Minneapolis non-profit social service agency focusing on job training and placement, that has a special program to provide rent subsidies for those facing eviction because they are not working. Discussion: We will let Oberlin know where the money is being sent.  It is believed that their contribution comes from the Oberlin Friends Meeting as well as from a retirement home. Linda C, a Meeting Trustee, requests contact info for the two organizations so she can send the money. Presiding Clerk asked if other gifts sent to our Meeting can be handled in the same manner – split between the two organizations.
   • Friends APPROVED the following minute: MFM approves the recommendation of the Peace and Social Concerns Committee that funds received from Oberlin and other Friends Meetings in response to concerns about the impact of immigrant enforcement actions of the government be distributed in equal amounts to the Immigrant Defense Network and to Emerge, an organization helping people stay in their homes during this time.
10. Statement on Immigration Enforcement Actions—read by Deborah J  [ Attachment 1] Winna M, a member of Winona Meeting, brought this letter to us for consideration. It was written by Dan W. We can use it however we want. P&SC liked the letter and recommends we adopt it as a minute and send it to our local papers, the StarTribune and Pioneer Press. Discussion: Friend asked that we add “unknown number who have died in detention”. Another Friend suggested sharing the letter with Twin Cities Meeting. They may appreciate signing on with us and publishing it jointly. And they added the reminder that Winona is under the care of our Meeting. Friend thought the letter was beautiful and wondered how it would be sent to the news papers and how would we include our Meeting in the letter. Other comments and suggestions: add customs and border patrol (CBP); greatly appreciate how  our Quaker values are echoed in other faith traditions; concern about our substituting our name for Winona in the letter – any changes to the letter should not imply we are more than we are – we have not been a leader in this area – so many other churches have stepped up; if we want to get it published, we need to be judicious with wording – timeliness and length are important. Presiding Clerk: one version of the letter reads – “Minneapolis Friends join with Quakers”. We would adapt the letter slightly to indicated it comes from our Meeting. This is a statement for ourselves, not just for publication. Friends ACCEPTED the statement and send it back to Peace and Social Concerns for some rework.
11. Statement on Human Rights–  Proposed statement for website from Peace and Social Concerns Committee – Presiding Clerk    Keitha H read the 2^nd version of a statement that she wrote:
    • “Minneapolis Friends Meeting acknowledges that all humans must be treated with dignity, respect, and equal opportunity, whether citizens, immigrants, refugees, or citizen-indigenous persons. Our communities are stronger and richer when we have voices from different cultures and backgrounds contributing to our shared humanity and political process. Minneapolis Friends believe this is the way to live right in the world. It is the result of living our lives based on our Testimonies of Integrity, Equality, Peace, Simplicity, Community, and Stewardship. Our worship often reveals to us the reality we live in, and what we must do to respond to this Inner Light.”
    • This statement is intended to go our website in response to those churches who feel we should have white religious nationalism in our country. Discussion: Should we add anything about non-binary, etc. It would be more welcoming. Friend did not feel that was necessary. Gay, lesbians, non-binary – they are all still humans.  Presiding Clerk: we already have a statement like that on our website.  Friend expressed concern that while he supports open borders, he believes the statement claims there should be no distinction between citizen status and non-citizen status, and he is not comfortable with that, citing voting as an example where the distinction matters. Friend said they do not think we need to tweak the statement – it is good and sincere the way it is. We should trust the work of the committee, and he likes the statement.  Another Friend worried that there is a lot of information on our web site, already. How will this statement stand out?  The web site is being updated and this will be considered by those who are doing the web site revision.  Presiding Clerk asked if we can unite with this statement and express our gratitude to Peace and Social Concerns for bringing this forward. He asks us to consider – “What is the spirit that is behind both the statements we are considering today?”  Friends APPROVED the Statement on Human Rights, but with a note of concern.
12. Correspondence and Announcements—Clerk    We have run out of time. Friends are reminded that a memorial service for Kate W-J, who died on February 26, 2026, will take place at the meeting house on April 25, 2006, at 1PM
13. Closing Silence

Attachment 1:  Statement on Immigration Enforcement Actions

[Edited statement from Winona Friends for adoption at Minneapolis Friends meeting for business on March 8th.]

Minneapolis Friends (Quaker) Meeting unites with Winona Friends Meeting and Friends across Minnesota in the long Quaker tradition of opposing state sponsored violence, especially when it is directed at peaceful people and communities. As Quakers, we hold a simple but profound belief: there is that of God in everyone. This truth, echoed across many faith traditions, carries real consequences for how we treat one another.

Because of this belief, Quakers have long affirmed that every life is precious and deeply connected to all others. It is this sense of shared humanity that has led people of faith to act as Constitutional Observers of federal immigration enforcement actions throughout Minnesota—not to interfere, but to bear witness and to ensure that the constitutional rights of those detained are honored. Our solidarity extends first to those targeted by these actions, and also, in a spirit of compassion, to those tasked with carrying them out. Our faith calls us to recognize the humanity on all sides.

It is from this moral foundation that the Minnesota Friends condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the unjustified killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and the chilling attempt by the Federal Government to lie about them. These deaths have torn a hole in the fabric of our community. They diminish us all. Likewise, the unlawful arrests and detentions of Minnesotans by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) fracture our community, sow fear, and cause untold harm to families who call this place home.