Colorado Springs Friends Meeting
Nineteenth day of the fourth month, 2015
In Attendance: Lisa Lister, Bill Werling, John Robey, Bill Durland, Genie Durland, Carlton Gamer, Molly Wingate, Ann Grant Martin, Phil Friesen, Sarah Callback and Ann Daugherty
Meeting opened with silence at 11:23 followed by the following reading from Britain Yearly Meeting's Advices and Queries:
Be aware of the spirit of God at work in the ordinary activities and experience of your daily life. Spiritual learning continues throughout life, and often in unexpected ways. There is inspiration to be found all around us, in the natural world, in the sciences and arts, in our work and friendships, in our sorrows as well as in our joys. Are you open to new light, from whatever source it may come?
The minutes from Third month 2015 Meeting for Worship for Business were approved.
Committee Reports
Ministry and Oversight Committee: Minutes accepted.
Meeting House Committee: Minutes accepted. The proposal for the Friends General Conference Green (FGC) Meeting House Fund was presented.
APPROVED: Friends approved submitting the presented proposal to Friends General Conference
MINUTE: "After review grant request for the FCG Green Meeting House Fund, the Colorado Springs Friends Meeting approved the request for submission."
First Day School - no report
Finance Committee: Minutes accepted. Checking balance $259.17; savings balance: $7808. Sarah indicated that the current version of Quickbooks that she is using for the meeting is about to expire. She indicated that updating the service would cost approximately $200. Her alternate proposal was that she purchase Quickbooks personally and use that for keeping the meeting's books. Her offer to do this was accepted with many thanks by those present.
Library: No report, but there was discussion about missing books. The clerk will discuss the issue with the Librarian to see what processes are in place, and to what kind of support may be needed from the Meeting.
Nominating Committee: Oral report given by Molly. She indicated that there may be positions that need to be filled in the near future, but as of her report there had been no resignations.
AFSC Liaison: Genie discussed the efforts being performed by the AFSC in Denver with the New Sanctuary Movement. She also discussed that an AFSC representative would be coming to speak at the May potluck (announcement below).
New Business:
There was discussion about how the meeting would like to address providing input as part of a "Victims Impact Statement" in reference to the individual that was arrested for stealing the blank checks from the front porch of the meeting. Bill Durland proposed the following: For the sake of restorative justice and our own Quaker values, we believe that a personal relationship between the defendant and our community is helpful. We would ask the court to rely on restitution and community service as alternatives to a jail sentence. It was noted that we did not know much information on where this case was in the judicial process. Sarah indicated that she would research the issue further and report back to the clerk.
Molly gave an update on IMYM
The keynote speaker will be Diego Navarro. He is interested in bringing several young Friends to assist with his program (which will require additional funds) .
IMYM is considering moving the annual gathering from Ghost Ranch to another venue due to expense and accessibility issues.
IMYM continues to support the efforts Mountain Friends Camp
As a result of the above listed factors, IMYM wanted meetings to season the idea of raising the yearly assessment by $3.
Old Business - items listed in the announcements were discussed. Also, there was a continuation of the discussion on bringing QuakerQuest to our meeting. Please take the online poll (see announcements)
Announcements
The adult education book study and discussion group continues at the rise of meeting the 2nd Sunday of the month. They are reading 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.
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.
Sunrise Gardens Project. April 26, 1-4 PM " bring trowels! Let's build a garden in a food desert. If you can, rsvp to Molly by Friday (April 24). If not, just show up. ( Molly will be in Denver that day with a family event, but is happy to answer questions or make connections).
IMYM Annual Gathering registration is due April 22 with payment due May 1. For more details see www.IMYM.org
QuakerQuest: We are moving forward with phase I of QuakerQuest. We need to provide the QuakerQuest leaders possible dates. If you were not in a meeting when we discussed QuakerQuest, you can learn more here: http://www.fgcquaker.org/services/quakerquest To take the poll, enter your name and make a check on each day that you are able to attend: http://doodle.com/yt4ie946zeb7uv73
Tribal Tales is a play written by Bill Durland and 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.
May potluck will be May 3rd. A representative from AFSC will join us to explain AFSC's work, activities, advocacy, and how CS Friends can become involved.
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
Closing: Meeting was closed with silence at 12:25 PM
Submitted by Bill Werling
Recording Clerk