Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business
Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business
Richmond Friends Meeting, First Month 20, 2019
Edited Draft
Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business (MWB) began in silence at 11:00 am with 46 in attendance. Lucia Lloyd and Emily Lyth were first-time attenders to MWB. The greeter was Janet Thoroman of Care and Counsel Committee; Margaret Edds of Ministry and Worship Committee held Meeting in the Light from the facing bench. Jim Thoroman read the Baltimore Yearly Meeting Queries and Voices on Vocal Ministry.
Clearing Usage Annual Report: Janett Forté presented the report for 2018. The Clearing was rented thirty-six times during the year, for groups ranging from three people to forty, with an average of ten to fifteen. Most rentals were on weekends with the exception of a Wednesday homeschool group that has begun to use the facility with some regularity. Groups were a mix of community organizations, individuals needing a large space to host an event (birthday, baby shower, etc.) and RFM. RFM used the Clearing for Spring Retreat, Fall Retreat, and the Clearing Work Committee held three work days. Total rental revenue for 2018 was $7,912.00, which was more than 26% higher than the previous year. A Friend asked if rental fees covered the cost of maintaining the Clearing; treasurer Scott Morrison said no, and are not meant to. All use-of-space monies received from both the Kensington Avenue building and the Clearing are put in the Maintenance Fund; money for Clearing maintenance is budgeted annually. Members and attenders of RFM are able to use the Clearing at no cost. There was one such use last year. The Clearing committees are attempting to generate more usage from Quakers individually as well as other regional meetings. Tim Staub thanked Janett for all her work as Clearing Scheduler, and noted the Worthington family continues to provide care and love to the land. Janett concluded by inviting all to help on upcoming workdays.
Peace & Social Concerns: Roni Kingsley put forward a request from the committee to consolidate two existing fund accounts, Sanctuary and Puerto Rican Relief, to a single one named Rotating Community Partnership Fund. The committee has decided to use their monthly fundraising lunches to support a different cause each month. The request was approved. The lunch at Rise of Meeting today will benefit Midwives for Haiti; the next two lunches will benefit Boys to Men and GraceInside. P&SC will develop a process for individuals in Meeting to suggest groups; for now email Roni Kingsley with suggestions. P&SC will give advance notice of beneficiaries on the listserve and in the newsletter.
Disaster Relief: Ben Hebner described the upcoming Disaster Relief trip to Danville, March 17-23, where the Quaker team will work under the direction of Reverend Elizabeth Norton of the United Methodist Church. She is overseeing help for twenty families who suffered serious flood damage last fall. This will be the first time our group works in Virginia. The group is well-funded this year with $1,800 raised for the project. So far ten have committed to go; the team usually has twelve to sixteen members. Ben noted the deep bonding that takes place among participants, and encouraged everyone to consider participating.
Ministry & Worship: Denna Joy reminded Friends of the upcoming Spiritual State of the Meeting meeting February 9, beginning with a simple breakfast from 9:00-9:30 am and with Worship Sharing guided by selected Baltimore Yearly Meeting queries from 9:30 until noon. The report of this meeting is required by BYM, and provides a truthful examination of our Meeting. Prior to the SSotM, all end-of-year committee reports must be submitted to Denna; she will distribute them to everyone else required to have them.
BYM Report: Denna Joy noted Baltimore Yearly Meeting serves about forty monthly meetings. On March 23 the Interim Meeting will meet in Annapolis. Four Friends from RFM hold BYM positions: Barb Adams is an Earthcare Witness representative, Ellen Arginteanu a member of the Religious Education Committee, Diane Bowden is on the Faith & Practice Committee, and Denna Joy is on the Nominating Committee. April 26-28 BYM will hold a spring clean-up at Shiloh, one of its youth camps.
Adult Spiritual Education: Diane Bowden announced the following upcoming ASE programs, held from 9:30-10:40 am in the Community Room: February 10, Friend and author Margaret Edds will discuss her recent book We Face the Dawn; February 24 poet Leslie Shiel leads “The Body and the Lyric,” a conversation on reading poetry aloud (this has been rescheduled from an earlier date); March 10 Diane Bowden coordinates a morning of Poetry and Hot Chocolate. All are asked to bring and share a poem of personal significance to this last program of the writing series.
Care & Counsel: Janet Thoroman encouraged all to attend the February 3 New Member Welcome at Rise of Meeting in honor of Janett Forté and Joe Ball.
Approval of Twelfth Month Minutes: With one minor change, the minutes were approved.
Clerk’s Business: Clerk Tracey Cain noted receipt of a thank-you letter from ReEstablish Richmond.
Financial Stewardship requests Clerk to form an ad hoc committee to discern the best use of Donna Knicely’s generous bequest. The committee will identify a process to collect and consider ideas in a way satisfactory to the Meeting and will bring a recommendation to Meeting when clarity and unity are reached. Formation of this ad hoc committee was approved by Meeting.
Clerk asked for approval to transfer membership for Lisa Knox to Mountain View Friends Meeting in Denver, CO. The request was approved. Committee clerks were reminded to reserve a month for their committees to provide coffee at Rise of Meeting for 2019.
There being no other business, Meeting settled into silent worship at noon, adjourning at 12:30 pm.
Catherine Roseberry, Recording