Present: Ann-Grant Martin (acting clerk), Carlton Gamer, Kate Holbrook, Sarah Callbeck and Lisa Lister (recording clerk).
Ann read the following advice and queries from Intermountain Yearly Meeting Faith and Practice:
Each of us has a particular experience of God, and each must find the way to be true to it. When another's words are strange or disturbing to you, seek to understand where they come from. Listen patiently and seek the truth that other people's thoughts may contain for you. Avoid hurtful criticism and provocative language. Be careful not to be too firm in your position; allow for the possibility that you may be mistaken.
Do we trust sufficiently the goodwill of our meeting members and attenders to make our needs and concerns known?
Do we care for one another so deeply that each other's needs are recognized and addressed?
Are we charitable with each other, being careful not to sully the reputations of others?
The minutes were approved, with a typo change.
Painting of the trim will happen when the weather allows. The committee plans to clean out and arrange our storage room at the next tidy-up day if it is not too cold that day. Minutes accepted.
Minutes accepted.
The Meeting wishes to thank Jeremy for his years of service as a member of M & O, and to welcome Peter LeVar, who is now part of the committee.
The Committee wants to share an Advice which was approved at today's Meeting for Business. They ask Friends to consider this Advice carefully:
Ministry & Oversight Committee wishes to express our commitment to protecting the privacy of the Members and Attenders of our Meeting. We regard this as an absolute principle of conduct. Private information about a Friend's past is not appropriate content for conversations and/or emails.
The Meeting's new bookkeeper is Beatrix Clegg.
The final budget for 2018 was approved, with the addition of adding the expense of procuring a 501(c)3 status.
The verbal finance committee report was accepted.
The cash flow report, savings update report and all year-end financial statements were accepted.
The following Minute of Appreciation for Sarah Callbeck was approved.
The Meeting is grateful for the exemplary and steadfast service of Sarah Callbeck as our Treasurer and Bookkeeper for the past 14 years. Her careful documentation of the fiscal health of the meeting has been indispensable in allowing us to qualify for a mortgage and ongoing grants on behalf of the meeting. She has provided the Meeting with an ongoing, clear and accurate picture of the state of our finances, allowing us to be better stewards of our resources. We thank her from the bottom of our hearts for sharing her skills, time and caring for so many years.
Our older young Friends got together for games on New Year's Eve and a good time was had by all!
A draft policy for child protection at the Meeting (based on the yearly meeting's policy), is close to a final version, and will presented at a future business meeting.
Service positions for 2018 were approved (See appendix).
The Nominating Committee wishes to thank everyone who has agreed to serve the Meeting this coming year. All positions are filled except for the need to have an additional member on the Finance Committee.
The Meeting House Committee will explore how much it would cost to get wifi in the meeting house, and report back at the next business meeting. This is an exploration to determine feasibility.
We hosted a Centering Prayer workshop on January 21 at the meeting house. Fifteen participants attended the workshop, five from the Meeting, and the rest from the broader Colorado Springs community. Four presenters from Benet Hill led us through the essentials of centering prayer. After Ellen's accident, members pulled together and coordinated the tasks necessary to host this event, and all went splendidly.
We closed in silence.
In the Light,
Lisa Lister, recording clerk
Note: The full text of committee minutes are located in the appendices following these minutes.
January 8, 2018
Present: Ann Daugherty (clerk), Phil Friesen and Lisa Lister (recorder). Claire Sheridan was unable to attend.
Old Business
Painting of meeting house trim
Phil contacted John Mills (a small, independent painter), and he accepted the exterior trim painting job for a sum of $1,850. He will begin work once the weather allows. This was approved at the December 2017 Meeting for Business. The trim color will remain light blue, but may vary slightly.
Weather stripping windows
Phil is willing to weather-strip the bottom half of the windows. He is figuring out how much the materials will cost.
Status of drainage from basement to street
Ann D. has inquired with the Regional Building department, and is STILL waiting for a response.
Crawl Space review postponed until Spring: We still plan to pull out stuff located in the crawl space under the wooden trap door (in the kitchen area) and review what is there, and whether it should be retained. It is a donation from a deceased former member of the Meeting. Anyone who is interested should feel free to join us for this review.
Storage room: The storage room (by the bathrooms) needs to be cleaned out and better organized. We plan to do this on the next clean-up Sunday if it is warm.
New Business
The side garden gate needs some minor repair: Phil will fix it.
Crawl space vapor barrier (still pending): We want to look at the crawl space area to see if we should add black plastic vapor barrier over the dirt, which might improve those occasional mystery smells. Kelsey Kennedy and Phil are willing to evaluate the situation and perhaps do the work.
Watering Peace & Justice (tree) and other plantings: During this very dry winter, we need to make sure our plantings are getting enough water. As long as it remains so dry, we plan to water twice a month.
Bathroom thermostat
We decided to write up instructions on the proper setting of the thermostats and how they work.
Ongoing Reminders
Friends, please do not donate items without checking first with the Meeting House Committee. Because our space is small and shared by all, some donations may cause discord.
The last person out of the building needs to double-check that all windows and doors are locked. Some doors have to be closed FIRMLY for the latches to catch.
New Meeting Time for Committee
The committee now meets at 1:30 p.m. on the second Monday of the month. We meet at the meeting house, and all are welcome.
We adjourned following silent worship.
Recording Clerk
Present: Carlton Gamer, Peter LeVar and Ann Martin clerk.
We opened with Spiritual Silence at 11:30 and a brief check-in.
We reviewed the December minutes.
Members of the M&O wish to express our gratitude to Jeremy Nelson for his wisdom and Quaker guidance during his two years of serving on the Ministry and Oversight Committee.
We went over the preparations that have been made for the Centering Prayer Workshop that will be next Saturday, January 20, 2018. All is in order with thanks to those who will make the necessary preparations. We are grateful to Ellen Cooney, our Clerk who has made most of the arrangements for this event.
We examined the latest draft of the Child Protection Policies that the Religious Education Committee has given us. It is detailed and complete. The only item we wish to highlight is the signature requirement at the end. Typically Quakers don't sign a Quaker agreement because our word is our bond. However, we do recognize that for legal purposes, a signature is required. We are appreciative of the Religious Education Committee's diligent work that has resulted in a well conceived document that ensures that our children will be safe in First Day School.
Members of the M&O Committee wish to express our commitment to protecting the privacy of the Members and Attenders of our Meeting. We regard this as an absolute principle of conduct. Private information about a Friend's past is not appropriate content for conversations and/or emails. We feel that the approval of this advice by the Meeting is important.
Our next Meeting will be Monday, Feb. 12, 2018 at 11:00 at the home of Carlton Gamer.
In the Light,
Clerk of the Ministry and Oversight Committee
Clerk
Ellen Cooney (until Jan. 2019) (2-yr term)
Recording Clerk
Lisa Lister (until Jan. 2020) (2-yr term)
Ministry and Oversight
Ann Martin (Clerk), Carlton Gamer and Peter LeVar
Finance Committee
Kelsey Kennedy (Clerk and Treasurer)(until Jan.2021) & Jeremy Nelson (until Jan. 2020)
Bookkeeper: Beatrix Clegg (The bookkeeper position is a paid position, hired by the Meeting to provide professional services, and overseen by the Finance Committee)
Meeting House Committee
Ann Daugherty (Clerk), Phil Friesen & Lisa Lister (until Jan. 2020)
Nominating Committee
Lisa Lister (until Jan. 2019) and John Robey (until Jan. 2020)
Peace and Social Concerns Committee
Austin Hawk (Clerk), Molly Wingate, John Robey, Sue Lauther, and Ann Daugherty (Recording clerk)
Librarian
Jeremy Nelson (until Jan 2020)
Yearly Meeting (IMYM) and Colorado Regional Meeting (CRM) Service
Representative to IMYM Service Group: John Robey
Representative Committee representative to IMYM: John Gallagher
Representative Committee representative to Colorado Regional: Julie Roten-Valdez (until fall 2020) (3-yr term)
Nominating Committee for CRM: Maria Kelson (until July 1, 2018)
Nominating Committee for IMYM: Sarah Callbeck (until after IMYM 2019)
General Service to the Meeting (Volunteer, non-appointed positions)
First Day School Teachers: Maria Melendez/John Gallagher, [Ann Martin][AnnMartin], Ann Daugherty, Molly Wingate
Webmaster: Jeremy Nelson
Meetinghouse Liaison to Outside Groups: Phil Friesen
Calendar Keeper: Ann Martin
Meeting Mailing Directory: Ann Martin
Email list and internal email: Ellen Cooney
Phone contact, web inquiries: Ellen Cooney Updated 1/30.2018 LL