Quarterly Gathering | 2/25/2023
Sierra-Cascades Yearly Meeting of Friends Quarterly 2/25/2023
Held online
(originally planned for Camas Friends Church, but weather conditions required the change to an online-only meeting)
Centering worship
Julie Peyton and Leann Williams set a context for our opening worship, intended to lead into the consideration of business. The central act of worship is to keep silence before God—a weighty act, but not necessarily solemn.
Introduction and outline
Co-clerk Mike Huber opened the consideration of business by drawing our attention to the traditional lands of our communities. We are gathering on the lands of the Atfalati band of Kalapuya, Cayuse Chinook, Clackamas, Coast Salish, Coeur D 'Alene, Coos, Cowlitz, Duwamish, Kalapuya, Kathlamet, Klamath, Lummi, Makah, Modoc, Molalla, Muckleshoot, Multnomah, Nisqually, Paiute, Quileute, Quinalt, Siletz, Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Suquamish, Tillamook, Tulalip, Umatilla, Umpqua, Wahkiakum, Walla Walla, Wasco, Willapa, Xiongnu, Yakama, Yamhill, and many, many others. These land acknowledgments are not the end of our work of right relationship with indigenous people, just an indication of our intent to continue the work.
A personal practice of the clerk: When I feel led to speak, I ask myself: am I clear that what I want to say is coming from a place of love? If that doesn’t seem so, that may give me pause.
Friends were advised to use the “raise hand” function on Zoom, and wait to be acknowledged, and to identify themselves with name, pronouns, and community.
While one of the clerks is serving directly in the clerk’s role, the other clerk observes the nature of our discourse. If it seems like we’re not communicating in a way that reflects speaking from a centered place, the clerk will speak up. We all share this responsibility, so please feel free to say something too.
Welcoming visitors and first-time attenders
The following visiting Friends introduced themselves:
Susan Davenport, Olympia Monthly Meeting, Washington
Earl Smith, Stillwater Meeting, Ohio YM, Barnesville, Ohio, regular attender at Camas Friends
Carrie Hutchinson, Portland , Oregon
Daniel Lean-Moctezuma, San Pedro Sula, Honduras
Nominating Committee
Matt Boswell (Camas Friends), clerk of Nominating Committee, presented the following nominations:
Bernie Ritz, Eugene Friends Church, for the Safeguarding Committee (through annual sessions 2026)
Bernie’s appointment to the Safeguarding Committee was approved.
Johan and Judy Maurer asked to serve as appointed representatives of our Yearly Meeting to Britain Yearly Meeting’s annual sessions in 2023. In response to questions, it was clarified that this would be our usual three-year appointment term, but that if Johan and Judy were not planning to attend sessions of Britain Yearly Meeting after this year, they would notify the Nominating Committee. It was also clarified that the term “appointed representative” is Britain Yearly Meeting’s term as a category of yearly meeting attender. SCYMF is not affiliated directly with Britain Yearly Meeting.
Johan’s and Judy’s service as representatives to Britain Yearly Meeting was approved.
Barclay Press
Mike Huber reminded us of the context of this agenda item. Among the minutes approved in last fall’s quarterly meeting was this decision: “Increase our (SCYMF’s) monthly donation to Barclay Press to $1,000, starting November 1. At our February gathering, we will finalize the information we would like to see in June to evaluate our ongoing commitment.” For today’s meeting we have received several financial reports from Barclay Press (see links at the end of these minutes) but Mike Huber discerned that more time might be needed to review that information, and Friends approved continuing the consideration of Barclay Press support until after lunch.
At Mike’s request, Norma Silliman took over the clerk’s role at this point.
Finance Committee Report
Dave Cundiff (Direct Member/Olympia Monthly Meeting, Lower Columbia Worship Group), led us through a review of the Statement of Activities and Current Year Spending Plan (available online here).
The individual/family contributions are on target. Contributions from meetings are at about 40% of target. No income and no expenses are shown for annual sessions … an unknown at this point in the year. Another reason that the middle column (actual expenses at half-year point) isn’t half of the right column (full year’s spending plan): not all committees have decided on or spent their authorized amounts. Some committees have spent more than half, others less than half. Coordinating is paying for Web site design; Barclay Press support is also under Coordinating.
All committees are invited to submit what they need for success in their missions as we look toward next year’s spending plan. Clerks set the times when contributions to affiliate organizations are disbursed: half to Friends World Committee for Consultation, and half to Friends Committee on National Legislation. All in all, we expected to lose money this fiscal year, but at the halfway point of the year, we are ahead.
Dave acknowledged the Finance Committee members’ work. Serving with Dave are Lynette Cortez, Silverton Friends; Willow Githens, Eugene Friends; David Peyton, West Hills Friends; Tim Rochholz, Eugene Friends; Diane Beebe, Direct Member/West Hills Friends and North Valley Friends (ex oficio as treasurer). Our former treasurer Robert Wade was especially helpful to us this past quarter. Tim Rochholz has been a liaison to committees. Erin Wilson has been working hard to keep us up to date with our technology.
Diane Beebe answered questions from participants. Contributions to FCNL and FWCC have been paid. A number of expenditures for representatives’ travel will go out in the next few months. The benefits payment will go out shortly; Zoom costs, Quickbooks expenses will also be paid shortly. Another $6,000 to Barclay Press are going out soon for the rest of the financial year.
These donation instructions to SCYMF were given for those wishing to make a donation today:
Online: https://www.scymfriends.org/support
By mail:
Sierra-Cascades Yearly Meeting of Friends
PO Box 1642
Portland, OR 97207
Diane asked that people speak with her or send her a note (dianelbeebe@gmail.com) if they are making a contribution online or by check and want that contribution linked to today’s meeting (in lieu of the in-person offering that we would normally do).
The amount of today’s offering (per donors’ instructions): $470.00.
Question: Is there a suggested or requested contribution per member or per meeting? Dave: SCYMF has never established local church quotas (and, he reminded us, “there’s no ‘they’ out there”). SCYMF has a generous inheritance which we try to invest wisely while awaiting the discernment of the whole YM for its use, including considerations of the origins of some of those funds from stolen land and labor. In the meantime, we try not to use it for current spending. SCYMF has stated that we intend to support representatives traveling to affiliated organizations, but don’t see much evidence of calls on those funds in our spending records yet. We would like to know what these travels are costing, in order to put those amounts into the spending plan. The Finance Committee requests that if you know what these costs are, please send them to the Finance Committee by July, along with all other anticipated expenses for the committees, for use in building the next spending plan.
Question: What is the current value of that “inheritance”? Diane: Somewhere over $200,000, some in mutual funds, some at OnPoint Credit Union.
As Norma Silliman noted, Friends appreciate the tone set by the Finance Committee.
Coordinating Committee
Judy Maurer (Camas Friends), clerk of Coordinating Committee, noted that, while the Bylaws say that Coordinating Committee’s tasks include "supervising committees,” the Committee interprets this task in practice as “creative collaboration.” For example, the Nurture of Ministry Committee came to Coordinating Committee with a deep concern in connection with planning for the Annual Gathering. Coordinating does not see itself as a gatekeeper, so we encouraged NOM to work directly with the Gathering Committee. These kinds of consultations are open to all committees, who are all encouraged to collaborate directly with the other Friends or committees involved in their concern.
Currently, the Coordinating Committee is serving as the Communications Committee, although they hope that a separate Communications Committee will emerge again. (Judy added that she hoped to continue editing the newsletter.)
Speaking of Communications, the Yearly Meeting’s new Web site will go live in the next week or two. The preview below includes the revised logo, taking into account our discussions at our fall gathering. The Coordinating Committee would like approval of this revised logo.
In connection with the Web site and newsletter, we were reminded that some jurisdictions where our Web site may be accessed require explicit permission from people of those jurisdictions who appear in photos on a Web site. Gil George (West Hills Friends) offered to help set up a permission form for photographs.
Coordinating Committee has presented a request for a decision: approval of the logo.
We approve the logo that the Coordinating Committee has proposed, as shown in the sample page from the new Web site.
Barclay Press, continued
After lunch, Mike Huber resumed the clerk’s role
Before our opening silence for the afternoon business session, Mike Huber (co-clerk) referred to our consideration of Barclay Press support and checked with Friends: are we all asking the same questions, or are we asking questions based on different assumptions? He framed the discussion by mentioning that Barclay Press is the sole Quaker publisher of Bible study periodicals (Illuminate and Fruit of the Vine) as well as publishing books that are consistent with our values. Barclay Press finances are variable throughout the year, just as SCYMF’s are.
It’s within this framework of shared values and comparable financial patterns that Mike put the question: Is this a ministry that we are led to support? And is there a question that you might have that is not in this framework?
With these questions, we entered silent worship.
One of the questions before Friends at our last quarterly gathering was: we want to know whether Barclay Press is a viable concern.
Now we have some background information, and it is now before us to ask the question that we made space for at our last gathering, in preparation for the expiration of our current commitment at our next annual sessions.
Among the comments and questions:
We also want to know about the vision. A clear vision helps the donors as well as the organization. What is the vision, how will they meet the anticipated challenges?
The priority question: Is God behind this, and are we being called to join that work?
It is important not to simply “fall into” this support, but to make an explicit decision and renew it annually, with Barclay Press continuing to update us on their vision.
Viability is a legitimate question but as a 501(c)(3) they can’t make a “profit.”
They have 5-7 staff, SCYMF has none. (Another Friend counted 3 full-time equivalents.) It’s not just whether Barclay Press is viable; the question also is: is SCYMF viable? Is this support to Barclay Press excessive in view of our own sustainability?
How many of us here have been published by Barclay Press? We didn’t fall into this situation, we’re within their web of relationships. Barclay Press means people we know and love. It’s distressing to think that we would go back and forth on support when people we know and love ask for help. For this reason help came from the trustees of Hillsboro Friends.
We have just collectively (not just BP and not just SCYMF) have fallen into the common stresses of economic issues. We’ll all need to be offering each other mutual aid in the next few months.
One way to support the Press is to help them understand how to use their support well and increase their support.
Barclay Press had been supported by Evangelical Friends International. Then the Press published a book that was acceptable to us but not to EFI so they withdrew their support--and began an active campaign among their local churches to discourage purchases from Barclay Press. If we (SCYMF members) support Barclay Press through the Yearly Meeting, we can increase our giving to SCYMF to help cover this commitment.
One of the complications is our resources aren’t a static thing, and sometimes when a group of Quakers commit to do something, resources start to appear. Let’s avoid approaching this question from a position of scarcity; when we show up in faithfulness, the resources work out.
Mike tested his sense of where we have unity:
There’s clarity to support Barclay Press at some level and for some period at least.
There’s clarity that we are part of Barclay Press through our authors and the resources from the Press that we use.
There’s also clarity that we want to use our resources well, putting Barclay Press in the context of all the things we want to do with our resources.
He went on: We’re committed to $1,000/month through July. How often do we revisit this commitment, and is $1,000 the right amount?
Comments and questions:
Let’s commit for another year beyond 2023, and continue to stay in touch with the press for the information we need.
Quoting Abba Joseph: Whatever the place you find yourself, do not easily leave.
SCYMF has a unique responsibility, relationally, geographically, theologically, to support Barclay Press. If there is another cause that comes to us from a different direction that might present a different call on our resources, that would be the time to review our commitment, and, if necessary, revise it.
Some evaluate by gifts of financial abilities; others evaluate spiritual gifts; let’s hold all of these rather than discarding some and not others.
SCYMF has a lot of concerns not explicitly linked to Barclay Press, but the Press is engaged with many of them: nurturing ministry, centering the voices of historically marginalized people, and making it possible for people who are not wealthy to have access to the Barclay Press audience.
The original minutes included a harmful statement in this section. We apologize to Eric Muhr and Barclay Press for the harm that was caused.
Longer term, we might need to address a structural deficit of $4-5,000. Where are all the places that this deficit could be made up?
The clerks hear both the need for caution for the future, and the need for providing for Friends’ present concern for Barclay Press, including their situation of being hostile targets among some evangelical Friends. Mike tested this statement: Balancing those things, the proposal is to support Barclay Press at $1000/month through June 2024. This would communicate that we are not tentative about this; we want to provide support for the Press while continuing the work of discernment of how to use our resources in the longer term.
One Friend decided to stand aside for the proposal extending beyond June 2023 at current funding level and wants to remain open to other projects.
Approved: We will continue to support Barclay Press at $1,000/month through June 2024. In order to strengthen our relationship with Barclay Press, the clerks will set up an opportunity, preferably at the annual sessions, to arrange a presentation by Barclay Press and an opportunity for us to ask questions.
Norma Silliman resumed the clerk’s role and asked for a period of silent worship.
Safeguarding Committee
Mark Pratt-Russum (West Hills Friends Church), clerk of the Safeguarding Committee, summed up the Committee’s work to this point. At the very start, Friends were excited about our ministry as a new Yearly Meeting, but realized that we want to create spaces that are safe for such ministries to be carried out.
Our Committee partnered with Safe Communities to develop a policy and make training available. The policy document was compiled and put in written form by Jade Rockwell as part of her seminary work. The Committee is grateful that Jade’s many hours of work on this policy were available to us.
Still remaining to be done at this point: clarifying the legal aspects of our safeguarding policy within the states where we have member meetings. The Committee is still in process with the lawyers at our insurance company, and is still figuring out the questions that we need to ask. However, SCYMF must still move forward with the policy we approved, and the Safeguarding Committee wants our member congregations to implement what we have agreed to. Each church has different circumstances--involving, for example, preschools and other outside organizations in some of our facilities. To each meeting the Committee says: As you continue implementing, note the challenges you’re bumping up against and pass them on to Mark as the Committee’s clerk. Juulie Downs is keeping her finger on the flow of this legal research.
Juulie Downs (Camas Friends) summarized the legal concerns, saying that as a paralegal she could not give legal advice, but she felt she could say that it now appears that everything in the policy matches up or goes beyond legal minimums as far as she can determine. However, there are some questions for which, so far, she has not found answers in the law, and the Committee needs to continue consulting with insurance lawyers.
For example: what obligation do we as SCYMF and individual churches have to be sure that outside organizations using our facilities match their practices to our policies?
We (the Committee) also need more clarity about a child-on-child abuse, which makes up about 50% of abuse cases. Many of these cases don’t show up in case law. Our present policies seem to be adequate in that respect, but research and consultation continue.
Above all (Juulie continued), all churches need to keep good records! Protect our children, and protect our churches, too. (Records = attendance records, screenings, complaints, guest speakers … all of the above.) Those records may protect our churches in actions taken years, even decades, after alleged events might have happened. Juulie is available for more information; contact her at juuliedowns@yahoo.com.
If we (SCYMF) can’t implement these policies to help keep children safe, we should not be inviting them into our meetings. Things like having two adults in Sunday School classes may be a challenge, but it is essential.
At the conclusion of the Safeguarding report, Jade Rockwell mentioned this abuse detection and prevention resource for which she serves as a listener: Life and Power. https://www.lifeandpowerquakerdiscernmentonabuse.com/
Equity and Inclusion Committee
Jen Seamans (West Hills Friends Church), clerk of Equity and Inclusion, reviewed the Committee’s recent work:
The Committee’s priority has been helping the Yearly Meeting live into our commitment to right relationship with indigenous people, working through the action steps in our minute adopted last year, including incorporating research on Quaker missions and boarding schools.
In relation to this concern about Friends missions and boarding schools, Friends of SCYMF have been invited by Alaska Friends Conference to join them for their program, “Quaker Indian Boarding Schools: Facing Our History and Ourselves”-- Monday, February 27, from 6:30-8:30 pm AK Time or 7:30-9:30 Pacific.
Jen also drew Friends’ attention to the workshop led by Rachel Kidd after the conclusion of today’s business meeting. Rachel’s subject: “Decolonizing Rahab: The Old Testament versus 1850’s tribal removal in the Pacific Northwest.”
Jen continued:
A couple of other concerns that the Committee is working on: envisioning what inclusion would look like, with a sense of belonging for every person who joins Friends; and, also, researching procedures and language for developing a discrimination reporting process within SCYMF.
At this point Equity and Inclusion needs to ask the Yearly Meeting for help. The Committee has experienced a lot of change over the past year, and several have had to step back from their work. Equity and Inclusion would like to make a plea to anyone who has an interest in our work: they would like to hear from you about your interest and what you and they might do together. Send an e-mail to equity@scymf.org or contact Matt Boswell at Nominating Committee (Matt@camasfriends.org).
Nurture of Ministry Committee
Faith Marsalli (member of the Committee) led off the Committee’s report: (based on advance text, not verbatim)
Since our last yearly meeting our committee for the Nurture of Ministry has been on a wild journey. We have realized that nurturing ministry goes far beyond just holding space for the recording process. God has been expanding our hearts to consider what it really means to nurture our life together as a new yearly meeting, this fragile “new thing” that God is growing before our eyes. We each will share some of what is on our hearts and then encourage you to continue the conversation in your individual meetings with some queries for you to ponder in the coming months.
There is a longing in our hearts for SCYMF to be a beloved community, a community that loves each other and our world deeply. We long to mend broken relationships, forgiving each other for ways we have wounded each other. We long to be a Spirit led yearly meeting that earnestly listens to each other, making room for everyone at the table, acknowledging that our diversity, in its many forms, enriches us.
Our committee is looking for ways to build trust, and a deeper sense of connection between all our SCYMF meetings in these complex and changing times. One person, or single committee cannot do this alone. We must do this work together!
As we all know, there has been a steady decline in church attendance, not just in Quaker circles, but across the board in all denominations, especially among the younger generation. What does this mean? What do we need to be paying attention to? What is God saying to us in a time when so many are disillusioned with institutions?
There are so many from all of our meetings who rarely, if ever, attend our quarterly or yearly meeting sessions. There are meetings who left NWYM who have not yet joined with us. We are wondering why… We would love for more Friends to help build and nurture this new thing, yet it may not be clear to them what we are asking them to join.
Where do you see life stirring across our yearly meeting churches? How are we supporting that life? How does the yearly meeting serve that life? Are we open to the fresh winds of the Spirit and where that might lead us, even if it is different than we have previously known? Might we be willing to lay aside our programming and create ample space to listen for what is on God’s heart? Are we willing to endure the discomfort of not knowing where God is leading and be willing to wait for our Present Teacher to speak to us and guide us into the future? We are extending an invitation for you to wonder with us about what it means to do kingdom work at this time in our history as Friends of Jesus in the Northwest and beyond.
Johan Maurer added these thoughts:
Thirty-five years ago there was a conference in Missouri on supporting the prophetic ministry among Friends. Jan Wood, Stan Thornburg, Howard Macy, and T. Canby Jones were among the speakers. At the time I lived in Richmond, Indiana, and knew almost nothing about Northwest Friends. One Friend from Northwest Yearly Meeting said, in essence, “We listened to our elders on Sunday morning, and believed them. After church, our parents went off to watch Sunday afternoon football, and we began dreaming about how to implement the Good News they had just given us. We thought about the implications for peace and social justice, and when we emerged as activists, they were alarmed.”
Now we don’t want to repeat this cycle. When we were in our lifeboats after being disinvited from Northwest Yearly Meeting (or after they made us walk the plank; pick your nautical metaphor), we dared to believe Jesus’ invitation to get out of the boat and walk toward him. We seemed ready to take him at his word, but I wonder whether we got nervous about our lack of programming and affiliations and looked down, and took our eyes off him.
When we began SCYMF, we said we didn’t want a yearly meeting whose authority ran top down--except for the concern to protect our children and vulnerable people. My urgent plea is that, along with providing that protection, we prioritize building our Beloved Community so that we will be strong to confront systemic sin together. Lord knows the world needs this right now.
Let’s continue stepping out of the boat, taking that walk of faith together. If we become distracted and fail to build up our community, we may always be tempted to rank each other as more or less progressive, mature, acceptable, trustworthy, trusting, and so on, and shaming the most uncertain of us into a state of disillusionment.
Ruthie Tippin, interim clerk, offered these queries to consider in the open worship following our report, and to carry to our local churches for conversations there:
What compels you to be part of the community of Sierra Cascades Yearly Meeting of Friends?
Why would you invite someone to come?
What are you still yearning for that hasn’t yet happened or become evident in our Yearly Meeting?
Anna closed this presentation with prayer:
“God I pray that you will be leading us, first, in how we reach God, second, into deep questions of what might compel us toward what we are yearning for, and, third, how we can invite others. Bless this time together. Amen.”
Spoken ministry:
Last year I conducted a census of Friends meetings. Between 2010 and 2020, 25% of Friends meetings in the USA closed their doors. There was also a 20% drop in attendance during the pandemic. My deep yearning is that we do not become part of those statistics. I see a lot of people whom I love dearly and who minister to my heart in ways that I would never have expected, who minister to my children in ways that I would never have thought possible; and especially, who minister to the most marginalized parts of our community. … That challenge is crucial to the long-term survival of our yearly meeting.
* * * * *
Because of where I grew up in rural central Arizona, I am most sensitive to the way that people without a college degree have trouble with Quakers. We speak in complex sentences and words. It can convey that we don’t want less educated people to be a part of us. When we use simpler structures and words, it makes it easier for a wider range of people to come.
Norma Silliman brought the open worship period to an end, reminding us that the Nurture of Ministry Committee meant to bring these queries forward for our consideration at home as well.
Announcements
Meg Rice (West Hills Friends), clerk of the Quarterly Gathering Committee, announced the two workshops following this session: Faith and Practice Committee’s workshop on membership, and “Decolonizing Rahab: The Old Testament versus 1850’s tribal removal in the Pacific Northwest.” The third workshop that had been planned would have worked better with an in-person component, so it will be rescheduled.
Matt Boswell announced the Pastors’ Conference scheduled for May 1-3 at McMenamin’s Edgefield, intended for current pastors, aspiring pastors and ministers, and retired pastors and ministers. Spouses and partners are welcome. Anyone with questions is invited to contact Matt at Matt@camasfriends.org for more information
Instead of having a physical book display, as was planned at Camas Friends, Barclay Press offered a one-day virtual booktable: purchases made on their Web site today will receive a discount, and purchases of $40 or more will receive free shipping in the USA. http://www.barclaypressbookstore.com/
Closing
Co-clerk Norma Silliman brought our meeting to a prayerful close, anticipating our being together again at Western Oregon University, Monmouth, Oregon, June 23-25, 2023.
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Attachments and links:
Nominating Committee’s advance report: https://www.scymfriends.org/s/Nominating-Committee-ReportQG-Feb-2023-2.pdf
2022 Sierra-Cascades Financial Statements: https://www.scymfriends.org/s/SCYMF-2022-Financial-Statements.pdf
Faith and Practice Committee Report for February 2023: https://www.scymfriends.org/faith-practice-advance-doc-2-2023
Barclay Press 2022 Financial Statements (preliminary): https://www.scymfriends.org/s/BP-Balance-Sheets-and-Profit-and-Loss-for-2022-b2nj.pdf
Barclay Press 2018-2021 Financial Statements: https://www.scymfriends.org/barclay-press
