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MEETING FOR WORSHIP FOR BUSINESS - THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2001
Present: Don Woodside, Rick McCutcheon, Tamara Fleming, Dick Preston, Betty Preston, Ian Graham, Helen Brink, Susan Wortman
1. Meeting began with silent worship.
2. Minutes from September 6, 2001 were read and accepted.
3. Business arising
3.1 Upcoming events at HMM
Monday, October 8, 4 pm - Thanksgiving dinner
Thursday, October 18, 6/6:30pm - Potluck and presentation on Iraq, by Rick McCutcheon and Tamara Fleming
Sat/Sun, October 27-28 - Yonge Street Half Yearly Meeting; topic: Peace Testimony; Helen Brink will be our delegate, Tamara Fleming our backup; Ian Graham will announce this at M4W this Sunday and ask for volunteers for food, programming, evening social and children's program; Don Woodside will contact Mona Callin concerning a report that outlined practice of HYM's locations and times.
Fri/Sat, November 16-17 - Representative Meeting; Dawn Lepard is the contact person; the committee has met and plans are underway
Friday, November 30 - Potluck and presentation on conflict resolution, by M&C, working from the visioning process
3.2 Peace and Social Action Committee advice re HMM charitable donations
Rex Barger has been in contact with members of PSAC concerning this issue. PSAC accepts the responsibility of reviewing and seasoning consideration of our charitable donations. They will look at previous years apportioning and make recommendations for any changes to the Finance Committee before the budget is prepared.
Discussion was held as to whether or not PSAC would consider and thresh the contributions to Quaker bodies, as well as to outside charitable organizations. Issues addressed included concern of dividing up decision making from the whole meeting, and the sizeable contribution we make to CYM.
We decided that PSAC will thresh all the service-related donations, and the Finance Committee will consider the administrative contributions. Both will be brought to the Meeting as a whole, as part of the budget discussion at the December M4W4B.
3.3 Seed donation to the Insulation Fund
Helen Brink has investigated applying to the Rogers Trust (a fund maintained by the descendants of Timothy Rogers, for the benefit of Meetings in Ontario) for monies to contribute to the Insulation Fund. Helen reported that HMM as a whole, rather than the Sustainability Committee should make this application. Their next meetings will be held in November and May.
We decided to apply in May, in order to allow time for us to determine the amount of our seed donation from the 2002 budget, and the donations accumulated by that time.
Dick Preston will send a letter to the Rogers Trust, advising them of our intention to submit an application to the May meeting.
3.4 Outreach Committee report
The Outreach Committee report was published in the September newsletter (page 8). Highlights included campus presentations, visibility at local events and new attenders programs (Quaker lite).
3.5 First Day School report
carried over
3.6 Refugee and Insulation project
deferred to the Financial Report, 4.2
3.7 Report on M4W4B
carried over
3.8 Visioning Review
We want to pull out the nuggets that were important and significant for us from the three day Visioning process held in May 2001. To date, we have had several events and meetings that followed up on the three tracks that came out of the visioning process: Conflict Resolution, M4W4B and Inclusivity and Spiritual Deepening.
Ian Graham and Dick Preston will pull together a document on where we currently stand and where we may head next.
3.9 Donations planning
carried over
3.10 Changes to the Meeting House (computer, microwave, Bible)
Bev Shepard will bring a proposal to M4W4B next month concerning these issues.
4. Reports
4.1 Garden Committee Report
carried over
4.2 Financial Report
Ian Graham, our treasurer, presented two Budget Reports, one, Year to Date, and the other, Balance of Year (see attached).
This quarterly financial report clarified our financial situation. A close examination of the report helped us to understand where we have spent a substantial part of the accumulated funds we had at the beginning of the year and to understand that our funds are expected to fluctuate seasonally.
We have a concern that because of the perception that we were in a strong surplus position, Friends may have withheld or redirected funds which they normally would have donated to the Meeting. Donations are currently 20% less than what they would normally be at this time of year. In order to meet our service commitments and ongoing expenses, we need Friends to donate generously in this last quarter.
Other notes: There is now $1,000 in the Insulation Fund! There is $2,500 total from interest from the Dunford Bequest and other sources, that is available for the Wissa Fund. Therefore our ability to make our $3,000 commitment is assured. Friends are reminded that they can designate their donations to general funds, the Wissa Fund, the Insulation Fund, or any other specific designation. Betty Preston reported on specific spending we have made to refugee issues from monies from the Dunford Bequest.
5. New Business
5.1 Brown Bag for reading Raj's communiques
Susan Wortman, upon hearing from Dick Preston and Don Woodside that Raj's emails from Sri Lanka and India have been so interesting and moving, suggested we have a brown bag after M4W where some of these could be shared with the meeting as a whole. Apparently Raj is expected back mid-October, so we will await his return.
5.2 Donation to Yearly Meeting
Yearly Meeting would like to know if we can make a commitment for 2002 equal to our past two years contributions of $6,000/year. This is up from previous years donations of $4,000. Ian Graham presented information about the value of CYM's programs. We agreed to commit $6,000 to CYM for 2002. We ask the Finance Committee to thresh the idea of increasing this amount.
5.3 Decision-making re use of the Meeting House
After making the decision in 6.1 below, it was decided that rather than having requests for the use of the Meeting House come to M4W4B, these will be directed to the Coffee and Housekeeping Committee. This committee will coordinate with Bev Shepard concerning dates. It will also seek out a form that has already been created to deal with the issues involved in others using the Meeting House.
6. Correspondence
6.1 Stephen Hudecki request for Meeting House Nov 10'01
Stephen Hudecki has requested the use of the Meeting House on November 10, 01, for a music therapy/sound healing workshop day. This was approved.
7. Meeting closed with silent worship.
NB Next M4W4B will be held on Monday, November 5 at 7pm.
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