Interim Meeting - September (Cancelled)
Letter from Clerk Thomas Swain:
Dear Friends,
I greet you in the fullness of the love we know and experience with one another. In our American culture, Labor Day marks the end of summer and in our Quaker culture, it traditionally begins the work of our community.
The hectic and demanding efforts of spring and the work around our budget are beyond us and we can be thankful for the efforts of our community in approving this year’s budget. Yearly Meeting sessions brought much toil and there lingers in my mind a sense that we need more rest and waiting before we begin our Quaker work.
As I look over the agenda items and with a sense that a longer period of rest will benefit us, I am canceling September 10 Interim Meeting. This is with a consideration for wisely using Friends’ time and resources. As Clerk, and after consulting with others, my sense is that it is best for us to have our first Interim Meeting October 8, 2011. The mailing and agenda will be mailed September 30 for the October 8th Interim Meeting. One message gleaned from Annual Sessions is that we need to do things differently. Starting when we are ready to gather rather than starting because we always do this in September, is in line with your Clerk’s sense to approach our work in a different way. I hope you will use this “free” time to sit with “What and how do we need to be doing as a Yearly Meeting?”
Life in our Yearly Meeting has not stopped. Our General Secretary has written a report that is attached. It shows staffing changes in progress and major projects under way since Annual Sessions. This will sustain our work in the coming year. Standing Committees are scheduled to meet this month at their regular times. Nominating Committee plans to meet September 10. Financial Stewardship plans to meet the 15th and the 17th to begin its budgeting work for the next year. We still have financial concerns. FSC will consider ways to revise our budgeting process to facilitate an easier consideration of our budget work. Advisory Committee will meet on September 6 to welcome the four new Standing Committee clerks. We will consider the larger picture of our Yearly Meeting. A small group of Friends called by the Clerk gathered Thursday,
September 1, to carry on the charge from Annual Sessions of bringing a recommendation to Interim Meeting for a discerning and planning process. They will meet one more time before presenting their recommendation to October 8 Interim Meeting.
Sessions Planning Group is to meet on September 8 to review annual sessions and to begin its work of planning for our Philadelphia Annual Sessions next July. Jenny Sheeks has written to me indicating that our 2011 Annual Fund received a total of $463,516 in contributions from 1456 households. This is a $52,000 increase from last year. Another encouraging number is that 142 people contributed to the Annual Fund for the first time. Approximately 25% of PYM members and attenders contributed to the 2011 Annual Fund. The Development Services Group is working closely with our Development staff to increase participation in the Annual Fund in this new fiscal year and wishes to express appreciation to the many friends who volunteered their time in support of the Annual Fund. Finally, the Alternate Clerks, General Secretary and Clerk are meeting for a daylong working session on Labor Day to do planning and consider our work together.
Work is going on. This brief summary seems to give a sense of our being able to ease into our work and hopefully to gather on October 8 as Interim Meeting in continuing our work on behalf of Philadelphia Friends. I ask you to hold us all in God’s Light and Love as we search for our right path.
More love,
Thomas Swain,
Clerk
