Colorado Springs Quakers

Minutes for Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business

Colorado Springs Friends Meeting**

Fifteenth day of the third month, 2015

In Attendance: Lisa Lister, Bill Werling Jeremy Nelson, John Robey, Bill Durland, Genie Durland, Carlton Gamer, Peter Levar, Linda Segar Ann Grant Martin and Ann Daugherty

Meeting opened with silence at 11:21 followed by the following reading from Britain Yearly Meeting's Quaker Faith and Practice:

Our method of conducting our meetings for church affairs is an
experience which has been tested over three hundred years. In days of
hot contest and bitter controversy the early Friends, knit together by
the glorious experience of the Holy Spirit's guidance in all of their
affairs, came to the simple understanding of how their corporate
decisions should be made. We have learned to eschew lobbying and not to
set great store by rhetoric or clever argument. The mere gaining of
debating points is found to be unhelpful and alien to the spirit of
worship which should govern the rightly ordered meeting.

Approval of minutes: Second month, 2015 minutes were approved

  1. Reports

    1. Ministry and Oversight Committee: Minutes accepted.

      1. Quaker Quest was discussed and it is a dynamic and transformative in reach and outreach program that is based on the experience that the Quaker way is a spiritual path for our time that is simple, radical, and contemporary. The program was introduced to the Meeting as a whole at the March potluck. Email information sent prior to the March potluck will include the FGC website and the Quaker Quest link so that Friends can familiarize themselves.

    2. Meeting House Committee: Verbal report accepted.

      1. Two bids were obtained for the doors but there is not sufficient time to submit a grant request for this.

      2. We plan to submit a grant request for the additional electrical outlets in the meeting house.

      3. Meeting House Committee is still working on a draft policy for use of the meeting house and it was suggested that it include at least some nominal fee for use. This will serve as a starting place for further discussion about meeting house usage by other groups.

    3. Finance Committee: the financial report was accepted. Those present at the meeting reviewed the cash flow report. Checking balance \$599.88; savings balance: \$9,628.45. There was discussion about which national organization to donate money to. It was decided that we would divide our contribution between Friends Peace Teams and Quaker House (\$50 to each organization)

    4. Peace and Justice Committee: Oral report given by Bill Durland and he discussed the diminution of due process in the United States legal process. Additionally, he indicated that the committee was working with AFSC and FCNL representatives and there are plans in place to have a representative from each speak to our meeting.

  2. New Business

APPROVED: Friends approved moving forward with the first phase of the QuakerQuest process. Lisa will send out a poll to help determine the best Saturday for the workshop, which we hope to hold next fall. It is important that as many members and attenders attend as possible.

MINUTE: *After considerable review, discussion and seasoning, the Colorado Springs Friends Meeting has decided to move forward, to include commitment of funds, with the first phase of QuakerQuest. *

The meeting is yet to determine if it will pursue the second phase. This first phase consists of committing to holding a full-day internal workshop with the FGC QuakerQuest team, and will be a commitment of \$1,000 (\$800 has already been pledged).

  1. Announcements

    1. The adult education book study and discussion group started on March\ 8th (at the rise of meeting) and meet on the 2nd Sunday for several months. We will start with The Essential Elias Hicks. Bill and Genie will facilitate the discussion. The book is available for \$13.50 from Amazon, or \$15 from the FGC bookstore. Please RSVP to durlandwe@gmail.com if you will be attending.

    2. The Invention of Wings, the critically acclaimed novel about Quaker and abolitionist Sarah Grimke, will be the topic of the Occasional Book Group discussion on Sunday, March 29 at the rise of meeting. The novel is available at any Pikes Peak Library. Bring a lunch.

    3. Colorado Regional Meeting Spring Gathering, Sunday, April 26 at Boulder\ Friends Meetinghouse, You are invited to join us at Boulder Meeting for\ Worship at 10:00 AM or come at 11:30 AM for a potluck meal followed by a\ program focused on Developing a Quaker Response to the New Jim Crow: How\ can we add to the race relations discussion. Filmmaker, Polly Washburn, an attender at Mountain View Meeting, will be our resource person. Junior\ and Senior Young Friends from all Colorado Regional Meeting meetings are\ invited to an overnight at the Boulder Meetinghouse on Saturday, April 25.

    4. The play Tribal Tales will be presented May 1 & 3, 2015 at the Cottonwood Center for the Arts Theatre. This play is a parody about violence in the Old Testament and addresses the issue of peace in the Middle East. More to follow as the date approaches.

    5. April potluck will be April 5. Emily Temple is a member of FCNL's General Committee and plans to share with us about FCNL's work, activities, advocacy, how CS Friends can become involved.

    6. There will be a 350 Colorado Springs pot luck on April 11 from 5-8 at the meeting house. The number 350 means climate safety: to preserve a livable planet, scientists tell us we must reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere from its current level of 400 parts per million to below 350 ppm. The organization believes that a global grassroots movement can hold our leaders accountable to the realities of science and the principles of justice. That movement is rising from the bottom up all over the world, and is uniting to create the solutions that will ensure a better future for all. More information to follow.

    7. During the May 3 potluck we will be visited by a representative AFSC. More to follow.

    8. The FGC Gathering will be at Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC, July 5-11, 2015. More information can be found at http://www.fgcquaker.org/connect/gathering

    9. Opportunity for Friends to get involved: The Sunrise Garden project will use existing community gardens in Colorado Springs as Horticultural Therapy Gardens to unite counseling, case management, and community members with individuals experiencing homelessness. Sunrise Garden will not only improve upon the wellness of participants, but also achieve restoration of the land, increased sense of community, and provide nutritious and accessible food and tangible gardening skills for individuals who are most in need. Located along the 'Homeless Corridor', this project will engage individuals experiencing homelessness by sheer proximity and convenience - providing a new, accessible and productive outlet for them to spend their mornings. Gardening will give the homeless a sense of belonging and contributing to our community while bringing meaning, value, dignity, and self-respect to their lives. Simultaneously, a case manager and licensed counselor will provide more intensive services on an individual basis as they work their way throughout the garden.

  2. Closing: Meeting was closed with silence at 12:27 PM

Submitted by Bill Werling

Recording Clerk