Quarterly Gathering | February 20, 2021
Minutes for SCYMF Quarterly Meeting Held 2nd Month 20, 2021
Sierra Cascade Yearly Meeting of Friends held Quarterly Meeting for Business by Zoom conference on 2021 2 20, commencing with worship at 1:35 PM.
The Co-clerk, Sarah Katreen Hoggatt, recognized the traditional inhabitants of the Pacific Northwest and called for silent worship at 1:35 PM PST. She then welcomed guests and asked them to introduce themselves. Two did so:
Katherine Spinner, worshipping with West Hills Friends,
Earl Smith from Stillwater Friends Meeting in Barnesville, OH
(Complete list is appended below.)
Coordinating Committee Report (longer version from Judy Maurer)
Co-Clerk Mike Huber introduced Judy Maurer, the Clerk of Coordinating Committee, who gave the following report:
Coordinating Committee recommends Londa Rochholz for Nominating Committee. Londa is a member of Eugene Friends Church and is a retired school principal. The recommendation of Londa to Nominating Committee was APPROVED by the Quarterly Meeting.
Policy for Appointing Representatives to FCNL and FWCC. Coordinating Committee requested approval a policy for SCYMF representatives to FCNL and FWCC - the only organizations Sierra-Cascades has approved for affiliation.
Representatives will be nominated by the SCYMF Nominating Committee and approved by the business meeting at quarterly or annual sessions for three-year renewable terms. Coordinating Committee asks the Nominating Committee to be particularly mindful of finding representatives who are Young Friends, Young Adult Friends, and historically under-represented Friends. Representatives are expected to report back their experiences to the body of Sierra-Cascades.
Designated representatives will receive priority for travel and attendance funds for bi-annual meetings within FWCC’s Section of the Americas, if a representative needs support, and for FCNL’s Annual Meeting and Spring Lobby Weekend. Representatives will receive special consideration for travel and attendance funds for committee work for FCNL and FWCC. The policy is attached (Appendix 1)
Friends asked if those who applied for travel reimbursement could also be reimbursed for registration fees. Judy affirmed that this is an acceptable use of travel funds.
The Proposal was APPROVED by the Quarterly Meeting.
Coordinating Committee is developing a proposal to appoint a task force to invite SCYMF members to tell their stories in a safe and respectful way, using an approach called appreciative inquiry. Topics will include the traumas of the separation with NWYM. All the diverse pieces of SCYMF need to feel welcome to the conversation. Everyone has cognitive biases. Therefore we will involve Equity and Inclusion, and consult with outside sources specifically from representatives of the communities involved, including Black, Latino, Indigenous and LGBTQ, who can help expand our range of inquiry.
These stories may be collected for wider dissemination through the SCYMF website.
Nominating Committee Report:
Matt Boswell recommends that people stay alert for potential members for SCYMF committees. Two committees are in need of members: Finance and Coordinating. The goal is to have one member from each member meeting. People may self-nominate, using a form on the SCYMF website.
Nominations under consideration today:
Keith Barton is recommended for Recording Clerk. Keith is a member of Berkeley Friends Church and an individual member of SCYMF; he attended the first sessions of SCYMF in 2017, clerked by Jan Woods. The recommendation was APPROVED.
Faith Marsalli is recommended for the Nurture of Ministry Committee .
Faith has served in an interim capacity for some months. She is a recorded and recently retired minister. The recommendation was APPROVED.
Julie Peyton and Gil George were recommended as reps to FWCC. Both have been active participants of SCYMF. The recommendation was APPROVED. Julie Peyton asked to step down as the representative FWCC from SCYMF in view of her pending appointment to FWCC committees; she encouraged others to volunteer for this position.
Nominating Committee is able to provide interim approval for other reps to FWCC and other Quaker organizations.
Youth Committee report:
Mark Pratt-Russum of West Hills, reported that Youth Committee has not been very active during the past year, and few people have
volunteered for the committee. Mark proposed to step down as clerk of Youth Comte. Next steps may be to create some space for people to share their dreams and hopes and then consider our resources.
Co-clerk Mike suggested that this session be an opportunity to share thoughts and ideas, without coming to conclusions.
Camas Friends has had a number of youth in our events and a couple of people from West Hills.
Julie Peyton suggested that SCYMF provide child care during sessions of NPYM, and vice versa.
David Albert (Olympia WA MM/NWYM) reported that NPYM also has similar challenges. Much of the emphasis has been on safety and chaperoning, which is overly narrow. We have not often shared with the youth the various projects and concerns of the adult members.
Gil George suggested that Youth Committee include the youth in planning.
Wendy Davenport suggested organizing a Zoom call for the youth. 6. Dave Cundiff offered to attend the Youth Committee and invited others to show up.
Co-Clerk Mike recommended a Minute of Appreciation for Mark Pratt-Russum and the members of the Youth Committee for their efforts. The Minute of Appreciation was APPROVED.
Co-Clerk Mike recommended that the members of Youth Committee consider whether someone is prepared to clerk the committee. Coordinating Committee can be active in addressing gaps in Youth Committee.
Faith &Practice Committee report:
Julie Peyton reported that the committee has ground to a halt, with no new words to express our experience. Material prepared for an F&P by individual members has not resonated with the full committee.
However, not having a creed does not mean that we lack a connection to the divine. She added that she is stepping down as clerk of F&P, however she will not leave the committee until there is a new clerk. She suggested that the stories being collected by the Coordinating Committee may help clarify the faith that animates members of SCYMF.
Co-clerk Mike asked for Minute our Appreciation to Julie and the members of F&P. This was APPROVED.
Finance Committee:
Diane Beebe (West Hills), David Peyton (West Hills), Dave Cundiff (clerk, individual member of SCYMF and a member of Olympia MM/NPYM), and Robert Wade (SCYMF Treasurer, ex officio). Stanley Muhr is greatly missed.)
Treasurers report:
Robert Wade reported that SCYMF has a new donation tool, a tab on the
website for Support and an application called Tithely which can be accessed on the SCYMF website under Support. Tithely does collect a fee, of $29.30 for
$1000; it provides a phone app. Conventional checks are welcomed as well. SCYMF is in good financial state because not much is spent. Annual sessions in 2020 did not collect money because of Covid. The net income for 2020 was $12,624 after expenses. As long as we have no personnel expenses,
SCYMF should be financially stable.
The Balance Sheet for SCYMF also shows an increase due both to the net income in 2020 and to appreciation in Mutual Funds of over $12,000 in the past 6 months.
Current assets (total equity) are $190,576 as of December 31, 2020.
Life and Disability Insurance for pastors and employees of SCYMF-affiliated congregations
“Finance Committee asks SCYMF to authorize the Coordinating Committee to make a decision about subsidizing life and disability insurance premiums for SCYMF pastors and other employees of SCYMF churches, so this support can be available and affordable for all our meetings/churches.”
Dave Cundiff, clerk of SCYMF Finance Committee reported that Pastors ’ benefits were cut off by NWYM for pastors of congregations left NWYM to join SCYMF. Health insurance is difficult to obtain for small groups in two states. Older people are charged much more for life and disability insurance than are younger people. The Finance Committee wants to serve and support the members of SCYMF and to help congregations to keep the best fit for their pastoral leadership. The Finance Committee convened a Pastors ’ Benefits Working Group, clerked by Lorraine Watson. The Working Group identified ten employees of SCYMF member churches who work more than 20 hours a week. The Working Group then sought insurance policies for these individuals and found a bid from Everence that was deemed competitive. Disability insurance would start 3 months after the onset of a disability and continue through the usual age of retirement. It would be less expensive for insurance payments to be centralized through SCYMF. The total cost would be about $70 per employee per month for life ins. and disability ins, PROVIDED at least 8 people participate. If we ask congregations to pay $50 per month, SCYMF would cover the balance of $20 per month per employee. Finance Committee is asking SCYMF to authorize Coordinating Committee to make a final decision after seeking input from the member churches.
The authorization was APPROVED.
Equity and Inclusion announcement:
Promise Partner reported a proposal for counter racism through giving and restorations. E&I will hold sessions for input. People can also contact Promise and/or Cecilie Hudson directly.
Individual Meetings Reports
Each member church within SCYMF was invited to present a report to the Quarterly gathering. The following churches did so: North Seattle Friends Church, Camas
Friends Church, Hillsboro Friends Church, Silverton Friends Church, West Hills
Friends Church, Eugene Friends Church, and Klamath Falls. The available reports are appended below (Appendix 2).
After the Meeting reports were received, the Quarterly Gathering of Sierra-Cascades Yearly Meeting closed with worship at about 5 PM.
Appendix 1: Travel Policy for SCYMF Representatives to FCNL and FWCC
Representatives to Friends World Committee for Consultation(FWCC) andFriends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL)from Sierra-Cascades YMF
In May 2019, SCYMF approved affiliation with two organizations - FWCC and FCNL.According to these organizations, SCYMF may sendup to four representatives to FWCC, and up to six representatives to FCNL. FWCC requests but does not require three year terms for representatives. FCNL does not have a recommended term. SCYMF will appoint up to four representatives for FWCC, and up to six representatives to FCNL, to serve for three years each. SCYMF representatives to FCNL and FWCC will be nominated by the SCYMF Nominating Committee and approved by the business meeting at quarterly or annual sessions. If time is short because of unusual circumstances, nominations may be approved by the Coordinating Committee instead of the business session. We ask the Nominating Committee to be particularly mindful of finding representatives who are Young Friends, Young Adult Friends, and historically under-represented Friends. The three-year term is renewable. We do not intend these to be lifetime appointments but we decline at the moment to set an upper limit for the number of times the terms can be renewed. It would be wiser to wait to set these until we understand better how term limits would benefit both the yearly meeting and the organizations. Representatives are expected and encouraged to bring back their experiences to the body of Sierra-Cascades. They may submit a written report, or hold a workshop or webinar, or other creative ways of bringing back what they have learned. We ask that the Nominating Committee communicate to the nominees the need for reporting, and that the presiding clerks request the reports from returning representatives.
FOR FWCC:
Designated representatives will receive priority for travel and attendance funds for bi-annual meetings within the Section of the Americas, should the representative need support for travel. ! Representatives will receive special consideration for travel funds for committee work, etc., within FWCC’s Section of the Americas, if necessary.
Due to the expense involved, representatives will need to go through the established application procedure for travel and attendance funds if they wish to attend FWCC’s World Plenary Meetings. In2023, it will be in South Africa.
FOR FCNL:
Designated representatives will receive priority for travel and attendance funds to Washington, DC for the Annual Meeting (usually in November) and Spring Lobby Weekend (usually in March).
Designated representatives will receive special consideration for travel funds for committee work, etc.
Appendix 2: Meeting reports (Klamath Falls’ report may have been oral)
N. Seattle: Lorraine Watson reported that she retired at end of 2020. Paul Blankenship, who attended Union Theological Seminary, is the interim pastor. Paul said he was delighted to be part of SCYMF. The new building for N. Seattle Friends Church now has siding, electricity, and plumbing. It may be avail for occupancy in June.
Camas: Jazmin Miller-Price, Clerk of Camas, reported that a group of new comers from several states, who participate on Zoom, have joined a
preparatory class for new members. The community is more vulnerable with each other and more willing to listen. Laundry-love committee. (?) Bearing each other’s burdens.
Idaho Worship Group: no report
Hillsboro: Kendra reported that we have a core group of 20-25 people that meet in person with masks and distancing. It feels like a miracle. We have a huge variety of spirituality and find that we can be warmed and fed. It’s been a blessing. Some do not have homes. Bernie sends her greetings and asks for prayers that we can continue. Food and money can be sent to Hillsboro.
Hillsboro: (written report):
Hillsboro Friends celebrated one year of "Service for Service" or "Drop-In
Service" the Sunday meeting for our unhoused neighbors. This service feeds on average 20-25 people two hot meals and they receive a "go-bag" of water and food. We also are able to fulfill resources as we have them, this includes clothing, boots/shoes, hygiene items, etc. There are no queries or Scripture in these meetings, just service towards others.
We are blessed with a core group of volunteers and members of the community that allows us to continue each week. We have been able to adjust to the pandemic challenges and provide a very needed and consistent place.
West Hills: Mark Pratt-Russum reported that we have identified three themes: adaptation, 50-80 participants, We have new elders. Have
overhauled the book-keeping and health benefits. The Stewards Committee is active. We have been mitigating for Legionaire’s Disease, since the
building is not in use. We held a vigil for the Inauguration (of POTUS) and
supported voter turnout. The Peace Committee screened a film, “Policing the Police.”
We held a Grief vigil, and celebrated Chinese New Years. We have a loving kindness meditation weekly and a card writing group. We started a “worship through crafts” group.
Silverton (Eric Muhr reporting):
With the ice storm and resultant downed trees and power lines this last weekend, more than 20,000 homes in and around Scotts Mills, Sublimity, Silverton, and Mount Angel
lost power. Cell service was back for most people on Monday, but the internet remained down, and as of Tuesday this week, nearly half of us at Silverton Friends still were
without power. Some were also without running water. People with natural gas heat and wood stoves were able to keep their homes warm over the weekend.
Of the half-dozen families I've been able to connect with this week, all of them have
downed trees. Two had large branches that hit their homes, and one also had downed power lines blocking their driveway. In the larger community of Silverton, there is still
the fresh memory of the forced evacuations during the wildfires in September, and this most recent natural disaster is contributing to the already heavy burden of houselessness and hunger.
Sheltering Silverton, a local nonprofit, is offering free meals for drive-through pickup to anyone who needs them, at 11:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. each day. And we are being reminded this week of how important it is on the good days to go for a walk, get to
know our neighbors, offer to help in any way we can, and cooperate. This practice of good-neighborhood helps to sustain us on the not-so-good days. And it's how we collaboratively create a community of people who support one another in the hard times and celebrate together in the good.
Eugene FC (Tom Stave reporting):
Our pastor Ruba Byrd could not be with us for this gathering, but gave me some notes for this report, to which I’ve added some of my own observations. Maybe you’ll be able to detect her soft Texas accents as I read our joint product. As I’m talking, maybe you can close your eyes and try to picture Eugene Friends Church in its various settings and activities.
Worship
The first image I’ll ask you to conjure up is that of an empty sanctuary. This is the setting for our Sunday meetings for worship. You are looking out from the platform at empty pews. But taped to each pew back are blown-up photographs of EFC regular attenders, in their accustomed Sunday morning locations. We just finished a full 11 months of Sunday morning worship on ZOOM! At the beginning of each meeting Ruba directs the camera to these portraits, reminding us that the church is not buildings and furniture, but people gathered in the presence of God. Despite the challenges of worshiping together while in different locations, we have found that widening our boundaries has brought us surprising new connections. Folks from
Colorado, Missouri, Florida, Texas, California, Hawaii, and various Pacific Northwest locations outside of Eugene/Springfield are regular participants in our Sunday morning worship time. Each month, usually the first Sunday, someone different from our meeting offers the sermon, letting us hear a variety of voices and experiences.
Our weekly breakout rooms let us gather with a few others to reflect on the message and share joys and concerns.
Service
Now, bring up in your imagination a picture of one of hundreds of camps where our unhoused neighbors live, in this case under a freeway offramp. Each Wednesday, in what we call our “socks and sandwiches” ministry, folks take useful items and food to distribute at a few locations where unhoused people are camping. Many different people make this possible through monetary donations, in-kind donations of food, clothing, and first aid supplies, and by going out with the group to offer direct help. We are now actively looking for other ways we can deploy our church resources, including our church building and grounds, to assist unhoused persons.
I also think—this is Ruba speaking now— an important aspect of our service has been the ongoing work done by so many people for the past 11 months to reach out to one another, especially to those who for various reasons don't attend worship via ZOOM. Perhaps all of our small groups— online and in-person with Covid restrictions in place— function in a special way as avenues for service to each other during this time when we cannot easily stay connected as we did before.
Peace and Justice concerns
It won’t take much imagination to picture the rioting in the U.S. capitol. In January we were led to make a response to disturbing events in our national life. The insurrection at the U.S. Capitol we saw as a cynical attempt to claim the approval of God for violence and deception and abuse of power. In a process that involved
potentially all members of our meeting we drafted and approved a statement that included the following words: “Jesus expects his followers to practice peacemaking, love their enemies, and tell the truth at all times. Jesus’ vision includes all persons living in peace, freedom, and justice, and his ministry was one of integrity,
nonviolent action, forgiveness, healing, and reconciliation. When Jesus was urged to seek worldly power, he declined.” And further, we say, “We condemn violence as a means to any end.
We repudiate the lie that Jesus would encourage or condone the sort of reprehensible behavior and violence that we witnessed at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
We condemn white supremacy, and we repudiate the common conflation of Christianity with any nation, party, or racial group.
We urge other followers of Jesus to join our commitment to rejecting these lies, to repenting of them, and to praying and working for peace and reconciliation."
When this statement was posted on Facebook it was quickly shared over 60 times, which has caused us to think carefully about the use of social media in sharing our concerns. We found that it was possible to use Zoom technology both to gather input for this statement, and to find approval for the final version. Currently we are engaged in discerning what God is calling us to speak out—to our culture and to
ourselves— on issues of systemic racism and the advocacy of white supremacy in the church and in society.
Earth care
Now here’s a lovely image to direct your imagination toward: our beautiful church garden. We appreciate so much the environmental conscience of a number of our folks. Their leadership has led us to install an array of solar panels on our south facing roof, and to make creative use of our enchanting vegetable garden cum
gathering space. During the entire growing season, spring through late fall last year, the garden was a place where people could gather safely in person to work together on garden tasks or to meet in small groups. Folks who were not connecting with EFC through ZOOM could still see one another regularly in the garden. Our garden
visionaries are now plotting to use the harvest to feed our neighbors.
We appreciate you, our sister meetings in Sierra Cascades, and the opportunity to share our lives with you.
Registered Guests:
David Albert, Olympia MM (NPYM) Gabi Calyton, Olympia MM (NPYM)
Daniel Lean-Moctezuma, Junta Mensual de Ciudad de México PYM Kathleen O’Shaunessy, Olympia MM (NPYM)
Diane Pasta, Salmon Bay MM (NPYM) Earl Smith, Stillwater MM (Ohio YM) Jackie Stillwell, RSWR
Katherine Spinner, University MM (NPYM) and West Hills (SCYMF)
DOWNLOAD A PDF OF THESE MINUTES to see the Sierra Cascades Yearly Meeting of Friends Statement of Income & Expenses for July - December, 2020
