Interim Meeting - October 9, 2010
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends
Interim Meeting Minutes-Approved
October 9, 2010: 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Arch Street Meetinghouse
1. Opening Worship
Friends gathered at the appointed hour at Arch Street Meetinghouse and settled into a gathering worship to prepare themselves for the work of the meeting.
2. Welcome
“If I call you by name, will you answer?” With this query, the Clerk, Thomas Swain (Middletown MM Concord Quarter) opened the meeting. He stated that our presence has given the answer but as we begin we need our intentions clear and offered some advices to assist us in this. Those on the facing benches were then introduced. They were: Alternate Clerks: Jada Jackson (Trenton MM and Burlington Meetinghouse Worship Group), Dana Kester-McCabe (Wicomico Rover MM), John Ellsworth (Gwynedd MM) and Recording Clerk David Rose (Lehigh Valley MM). New and alternate MM Representatives were recognized. Attendees by Quarter were asked to rise and be recognized as a group. The Clerk then asked Friends to share with their neighbor one intention that they brought with them to Interim Meeting. After bringing a rather joyful and noisy sharing to end, the Yearly Meeting staff was asked to rise and be recognized.
3. Vital and Growing
The Clerk stated that the Yearly Meeting feels an ownership of the responsibility of nurturing “Vital and Growing” and asked us to share with each other examples of this occurring at our Meeting.
Princeton MM created a calendar as part of a celebration of the UN International day of Peace; Central Philadelphia MM held a musical concert in the West Room at Arch Street Meeting House which created a form of outreach; Medford MM is planning a one day retreat to build a closer community; Trenton MM Burlington Worship Group will shortly be celebrating its first year; Bucks Quarterly Meeting will be sharing Vital and Growing examples at each Quarterly Meeting; Susquehanna Quarterly Meeting has experienced the support of Yearly Meeting in a variety of ways; Germantown MM is exploring the creation of a community garden on a former parking lot of the Friend’s School; Concord Quarter has three Meetings with Mid Week worship; Frankford MM in Philadelphia was a very small meeting with no children and now has children on every Sunday and has started singing as part of the Sunday program.
4. General Secretary’s Report
The report was presented by General Secretary Arthur Larrabee. Complete written report is available. The focus of the report was on the following topics:
The PYM Clerk and General Secretary are members of the governing board of the National Council of Churches (NCC), which has 36 member churches. Through this group we have an opportunity to be in relationship with other Christian Churches. Arthur noted that some of the NCC reports that were presented at the September meeting read as if written by Friends and quoted from two; “Christian Understanding of Creation in an Age of Environmental Crisis” and “Christian Understanding of War in an Age of Terror(ism). The complete reports of the NCC are available digitally and will be disseminated on request.
The annual meeting of the Superintendents and General Secretaries of the Yearly Meetings of North America in September brought together Friends from the full range of Quakerism. There were some at the meeting who think that those of the group, comprised of many of the different Yearly Meetings created by past splits and schisms, need to focus on asking for forgiveness from each other for the ways that we, as Friends, have treated each other.
2010 Initiatives Update-Meeting Relations: Arthur outlined the purpose and structure of the initiative to bring Meetings together with the assistance of Yearly Meeting staff. A time was provided for questions and for feedback on what concerns should be kept in mind as this program is being developed. Feedback was written on easel for all to see and was not open for comment. Responses included expressions that this initiative will be an opportunity to present Quakerism with a modern face and also promote PYM at the Monthly Meetings, concerns about how to include the Quarterly Meetings in the links being created between the Yearly and Monthly Meetings, and advices that staff listen more than talk and keep in contact with the meeting’s Clerk and Interim Representative. Arthur closed by telling Friends that continued input would be welcome as we move forward with this initiative.
5. Consent Agenda
The following items were available for prior review and comment and presented by the Clerk for consent approval:
Friends Center Renovation Project Final Report: Received
Advisory Committee September Notes: Accepted.
Interim Meeting Minutes for September 11: It was noted that the Nominating Committee Report has no names or terms. These will be inserted. Minutes were approved.
6. PYM Nominating Committee
The following names were presented for approval:
Name Monthly Meeting Quarterly Meeting Term Expires
Financial Stewardship Committee
Steve Olshevski Radnor Haverford 2013
Friends Pension Plan Committee
Nancy C. DeMis Media Chester 2013
These nominations were approved.
The following resignations were presented:
Education Standing Committee
Kori Heavner Central Phila. Philadelphia --
Worship and Care Standing Committee
Anne Lester Mickleton Salem --
These resignations were accepted.
7. Standing Committees: “Vital and Growing”
Benjamin Lloyd (Haverford MM) Clerk of Worship and Care, spoke of the work of this Standing Committee which oversees a number of PYM working groups. The committee last met in June with the intention of gathering again for a retreat in a few months however the schedules of individual members made it impossible to find the time to gather. In speaking to the focus of the agenda item, Ben stated that whenever any of his “Friends’ show up for a meeting, considering the sacrifice necessary, he considers it a sign of “vital and growing” and wants Friends to know that there are those among us who are devoted to the life of worship and care for our community. “Friends Counseling Service”, one of the committees under Worship and Care, was given as an example of a committee where a number of parts of PYM come together to provide an important service. It was clarified in response to a question that Counseling Service will also work with Monthly Meetings and not just individuals.
After a break, Friends gathered again at 11:30 a.m. and settled into a gathering worship prior to continuing the work of the Meeting
8. Examining Our Work at Interim Meeting as Ministry
The Clerk started this portion of our session with opening remarks to help frame our discussion prior to breaking up into small group. Some quotes from the minutes of the previous discussion on “The State of Interim Meeting” were read including “Interim Meeting has an anchoring for me in the spirit”. The four queries to frame our discussion were:
How long have you been involved with Interim Meeting, and in what roles?
Are there aspects of your participation at Interim Meeting you see as ministry? Explain.
If your work is ministry, how does this influence your reporting to your Monthly Meeting?
How do we support one another in this ministry?
We divided up into four groups to share our responses and at 12:10 p.m. we gathered again and heard from each of the groups which met in different areas of the Meetinghouse.
Outside Group: Discussed “What is Ministry to Me?” Response mentions Quaker belief that we are all called to minister to each other, that ministry is more than just sharing information, and the difficulty in sharing the centeredness experienced.
East Room Group: Only discussed first query. Responses were summarized as “We felt our ministry to take our caring and optimism from Interim back to our MM”.
Parlor Group: Responses included the experience of being ministered to at Interim Meeting, the connectedness experienced by being part of something larger than Monthly Meeting and the frustration of attempting to convey the experience of Interim back to the Monthly Meeting.
Meeting Room Group: Many in the group wanted to emphasize the positive experience they currently have and that we are still attempting to overcome the perceptions created by the difficult time experienced in the past. Numerous responses indicated that sharing what is happening to the Monthly Meeting is difficult.
The Clerk stated the importance of keeping alive the idea that we are vital and growing and then asked the group: How can we convey back to Monthly Meeting what is going on? The responses including the following: Give vocal ministry to tell what is happening now. The staff of PYM will be visible and can speak to this concern. Meeting representatives could invite someone along with them. One Friend was disturbed about perceptions that Interim Meeting is now well behaved and felt that we should promote the idea that we are wrestling with important issues. Question was raised regarding how the “2010 Initiative” involves the Quarters. Suggestion made to involve the staff in bringing information to the Quarter. The session closed with a number of advices given to help change our own perceptions and expectations.
At 1:00 p.m. we gathered in worship prior to adjournment.
Thomas Swain, Clerk
David Rose, Recording Clerk
