1. Approval of Agenda—Clerk
The Clerk presented the proposed agenda, which was approved.
2. Approval of Minutes – Clerk
January 11,2026
A draft of the January 11, 2026 Monthly Meeting minutes were circulated in advance of meeting for business. Suggested changes have been incorporated into the final version.
The January 11, 2026 minutes were approved.
Update and reaffirmation – correspondence for the publication of the Minneapolis History Book
To move the publication of the Meeting’s history forward, Linda Coffin needed some documentation that the meeting approved taking the publication under its ownership.
In October of 2025, the Meeting minuted its approval of the publication of the book, but the wording of approved minutes only referred to “the book” without the specifics of which book.
The recording clerk read the memo prepared for the author to share with possible publishers and asked the meeting to affirm this decision.
The meeting affirmed the decision to publish the book on the history of the Meeting and the following memo.
On October 12, 2025, at its business meeting Minneapolis Friends Meeting approved taking ownership of the book on the history of the Meeting developed by Linda Coffin. This book is being published by the Meeting, and the Meeting will hold the copyright.
After a discussion of a presentation on options for ownership, the following minute was approved.
Minute – Approved October 12, 2025
Minneapolis Friends Meeting approved the publication of the book under the ownership of the meeting.
The meeting takes on the commitment of helping publicize this book through the meeting’s and meeting members’ networks.
3. Accomplishments of the past year (or more)
Meeting members were invited to pause and reflect on points of pride or accomplishments of the meeting over the past year or so. Our Meeting is constantly striving to look for new things to improve. And we need to reflect on all that we do together. People lifted up the following items:
- Our Meeting has represented and acted on our faith through expressions of care for immigrant neighbors and seeing ways to usher ICE out of Minnesota. This has been done through individual action and participation in groups.
- In February of last year, Care and Counsel came together with Mayim Rabim to look for ways for seniors to connect. We now have fifty-five people in the joyful aging google group. We are building relationships with the folks that share the Meeting House.
- Thankful that we have and use a land acknowledgement and thankful for the work of Peace and Social concerns to develop this.
- For the efforts of those who organized the installation of the solar panels. Plus, the wonderful outreach that happened at the solar panel launch event.
- For the energy and care for the work of the committees including the family and children committee.
- For younger friends who bring spiritual energy to the meeting.
- For the efforts to raise money that enable us to fund our aspirational budgets. Both for the efforts to organize this and the generosity of people w the meeting.
- For the great development of the LBGTQ community in our meeting. The speaker was thankful for a photo of a recent gathering of that group.
- That we were able to host the labor church singing event – we are stretching ourselves in a variety of ways – maybe leaning into our discomfort.
- Early Quakers were known as the followers of the truth. The speaker felt that we have demonstrated this and expressed a preference for the “Friends of Truth” moniker (as opposed to Quaker).
- For the people that have participated in the midmorning program. Especially those who have contributed to quality Quaker education.
- For those who facilitated the upgrading of office equipment and all the work that followed. And for the office manager’s work in supporting the community.
The Clerk thanked everyone for their contributions and noted that there are many more things that could be recognized. He reflected that this list could be used as a starting place for the upcoming State of Society report.
4. Children and Families Coordinator Job Description Update
The Children and Families committee brought forward a new staffing position to provide support for families and children. The committee is recommending a change from Children and Families Coordinator to a First Day School Coordinator. They noted that this is a dramatic change in position and salary. Their budget request for salary is reduced from 22 thousand to 8 thousand dollars. This would start with the next budget year at the beginning of April.
It was also noted that this is a salary and not an hourly wage as it has proved to be difficult for the committee to adequately monitor hours.
For some background, people who brought the initial proposal for a children and families’ program, envisioned a large first day school with a large population of kids running around the meeting house.
This was always planned as an experiment. We planned to evaluate and make course corrections after a couple of years. As we have evaluated the effort, we realized our expectations were out of line with reality. We asked a coordinator to do something that was not possible. Currently after two years of efforts by our committee and the coordinator, we have four families that are active.
Over the past 6 months, we have put a lot of energy into the revision of a position. This was not done spontaneously and proved to be a difficult emotional journey for some on the committee. It required emotional work as we tried to balance the needs of the coordinator, the meeting, and the responsibility for the use of the Meetings financial resources.
We concluded that people need to be attracted to the Meeting for the spiritual experience and the community that Meeting provides – not through the recruitment for a children and youth program.
We also affirmed our belief that this had to be a Meeting concern, and that the responsibility belongs to the whole Meeting.
We believe that the First Day School Coordinator job is a better alternative. We recognize that it is quite a reduction in salary. We do want a first day school program that we can count on that is vital to our kids. We are happy with how first day school has developed and want to continue providing that for kids and families. We may or may not attract more kids.
The position description is written to put more emphasis on use of volunteers from the meeting. We hope that more adults will engage with youth, beyond the nursery committee members who have been providing support each Sunday when there are children.
We also will be requesting resources be dedicated to support special activities for children. These could be used to send kids to Northern Yearly Meeting or other Friends activities. Or may be used for ideas initiated and coordinated by individuals or a group of Meeting community members.
Discussion
- A Friend noted agreement with the approach – focusing on nurturing the first day school program is a good idea. This program was supported with the idea that the meeting, as a whole, would step up. There is no evidence that the meeting has or will step into what is needed. This is one of the multiple things that we focus on, and this may not be receiving the attention it needs. A Friend reflected on an instance where a grandchild of another member came to meeting. She thought of going to meet him – but was occupied by other things.
- One Friends expressed that we are here to create a strong vibrant spiritual community but that often our energy is overly dedicated towards social action. The Quaker approach to faith is powerful. We have not done a great job with the spiritual depth of the meeting or the quality of our worship. He is not convinced that the meeting is going to do things differently.
- It became the work of the nursery committee to support the coordinator. There is a need for us to be mindful of this as the first day school committee and staff recruit weekly volunteers.
- A friend was disturbed by the sentiment that we should not focus on the resistance of ICE and other social concerns. He believes that our commitment to action is an example of how the Society of Friends needs to live out its testimonies on equality and community. This focus brought him to Quakers, and it led him to bring his daughter to meeting and she went to Cuba with other meeting youth under the care of the Meeting. What brings people to the Meeting and the Society of Friends is the vital expression of living out our values.
- Last week, a Friend attended the Atlanta Friends Meeting and there were a lot of children. That Meeting is in a town of 22,000 people that has city schools and a Friend’s school. It is hard to pinpoint the conditions that attract families with children.
- The current Youth and Family Coordinator shared three things. First is that everybody has been called on for many things. Secondly, there is a portion of the outreach work that needs to happen. Recently she had put cards in 6 businesses and coops in the area and leaflets under doors to help spread the word. Finally, we do have volunteers at this meeting, thanks to the committee and some young people that have come forward to help. Kids come to this program because kids can share their gifts.
- A Friend shared a historical perspective. Over the last 80 to 90 years, increases in membership and in youth participation occurred after World War II and the Vietnam War. People come to experience an atmosphere that they believe in and want to be part of. The more we are a beacon – them more people will come to us.
- Gratitude for the work of the committee and the Youth and Family Coordinator was expressed.
- A Friend talked about her own personal situation. She is concerned about getting ICE out of Minneapolis while at the same time being a guardian for her disabled nephew. Many of us have multiple responsibilities and duties in the current environment. It is not easy to discern the right place for action. But she keeps coming back to the question of “How are the Kids?”
- A Youth and Families Committee member shared that in the eighties there were lots of kids creating age cohorts. The committee’s and Meeting’s desire to replicate that was probably unreasonable. We are not an entertainment church – although those places are booming with kids. We need engagement of the meeting and reasonable expectations.
The Clerk tested to see if there was support for changing the job description.
The meeting approved the focus of the job description and the salary. One Friend stood aside from this decision.
The clerk expressed thanks to the Youth and Family Coordinator and the committee for all their work.
5. Stewardship and Finance Report
A summary financial report was shared.
- Contributions for the first three quarters of the fiscal year are nearly $118,000.
- Expenses for the same time period totaled $62,102.
- Contributions to the winter gift totaled $1000.
- Contributions of $6700 each month in final quarter are needed to meet the Meeting’s budget.
- In January, $211 dollars was recorded by receiving clerks.
- There is $179,300 available to the meeting in checking, savings, and a certificate of deposit.
Overall, the meeting financial position is strong. The fiscal year to date expenditures do not reflect contributions to outside organizations and the annual contribution to the trustee’s building fund.
We have not received the January bank statement. Electronic fund transfers total about $575 a month. Online donations vary quite a bit.
The Meeting accepted the 3rd quarter financial report.
6. Preliminary 2026-2027 Budget
The preliminary budget is likely smaller compared to last year.
Two points to note –
- The property committee has the large trees around the meetinghouse trimmed every three years. To cover this $3000 expense, the committee may be requesting that each annual budget reflect one-third of this expenses.
- The biggest change is decrease in the first day school coordinator salary.
Monthly Meeting attenders were asked to review the draft budget before the final decision which is likely to come before Meeting for Business in March.
7. Preliminary Nominating Committee Report
The Nominating committee meets twice monthly to consider nominations and has identified nominating committee liaisons for each committee.
There has been a change in the formatting of the committee roster. Members of the Meeting have asterisks by their name. Names of committee clerks and co-clerks are indicated with bold text. Not all committees have identified clerks.
It was clarified that while the programming for children and mid-morning program is on a school year schedule, the committee still changes membership on April 1.
8. Liaison and Review Update
The personnel policy that was on the web site is dated 2000. The Liaison and Review committee has updated the personal policy to align with new state labor laws. This will be posted on the web site.
The committee clerk recognized the Office Manager’s efforts to respond to messages coming in from around the country and globe related to the recent experience with ICE in the metro area.
Thanks to the Liaison and Review committee. Thanks to the committees that supervise staff and conduct performance reviews.
9. Peace and Social Concerns
Human Rights Statement
The presenter referenced the draft Human Rights statement was included with the bulletin and was posted on the Meeting’s Google group for review in advance of monthly meeting. She noted that nationalist evangelical Christians are promoting a white Christian country. And the Committee’s sense that as Friends we need to stand up and say aloud, “we are in this together.”
She reflected on her experience as she toured Berlin. The German government has been so clear in raising up the worst abuses of their county – especially those perpetrated by the Nazi government. They do not want anyone to forget the past and want subsequent generations to learn from it as to not repeat history.
In the United States, we need to do more to rectify our problematic past.
She shared the following draft statement:
Minneapolis Friends Meeting acknowledges that all humans must be treated with dignity, respect, and equal opportunity, whether citizen, immigrant, refugee, or indigenous (person). We, as a nation, are stronger and richer when we have voices from diverse cultures and backgrounds contributing to our political process and our shared humanity and communities.
Discussion:
A couple of Friends commented that as written, this reads like a secular statement. They wondered about how this could better reflect a statement coming from a Quaker Faith tradition. Could it include more reflection of the inner light?
A friend while in unity with the first sentence, was not in unity with the implicit faith expressed in the strength of the political systems and nation states.
A Friend reminded us that indigenous people are citizens. And the current wording seems to exclude them from citizenship.
While the written statement did not highlight the impact of slavery, a reflection in the oral presentation describing of African Americans as “people with slave beginnings” did not sit well.
Another friend reminded us all that the proposed statement came from the heart and Spirit. At monthly meeting, we can get into word smithing and take away from the spirit that inspired the initial effort.
The Clerk reflected that the meeting was not in unity with the statement as written and referred it back to Peace and Social concerns to amend and bring back to a future monthly meeting.
10. Correspondence and Announcements — Clerk
The Northern Yearly Meeting session is not going to be held at the meetinghouse as previously scheduled. It has been changed to a virtual meeting due to the conditions in Minneapolis created by the ICE surge.
A member shared that Friends Committee on National Legislation has a process to gather input from meetings to inform its legislative agenda. The on-line google group will receive a link to the survey.
Friends were reminded that not everyone in our community is part of the Google group and that this type of opportunity could be shared through the bulletin or other mechanisms.
The Clerk shared that we have been getting dozens of notes of support from Friend’s Meetings and others. He read one from Marille and the people from the United Methodism Church of Geneva Illinois.