From Linda Jenkins, NEYM presiding clerk
September 2009
Dear Hearts,
By the grace of God, in August, at our Annual Sessions, we took several important decisions (see the PDF files from the 2009 Minute Book posted below). Please begin now to share them with your monthly meeting: pray about them and carry that discernment process to your quarterly meeting so that we will be as prepared next August. Pray also for further corporate discernment as way may open, to build momentum in these, and perhaps, other areas.
The decisions taken were pending for many years and, while there will continue to be discernment needed to implement and fine tune them, these decisions appear to free us for worship and further consideration of the theme of Jubilee! as we approach and plan for the celebration of the 350th anniversary of NEYM next August.
In some ways this now seems to me the most important and the least clear work before us. We Quakers believe in the on-going revelation of the Spirit, (however one might name or describe that un-nameable, unknowable), and we believe that, for right order to prevail, all action should be guided by that Spirit. Therefore, the first order of any business for us is to make room for that Spirit, in our hearts, minds and lives, so that we might hear it. Once heard, obedience must follow, for faith to blossom and for actions to hold. Otherwise, actions taken under mere human logic cannot bear the fruit that is only and always available, as John Woolman wrote, by getting and remaining under the weight of the Spirit.
Therefore I especially ask that each of you individually and corporately, in monthly and quarterly meetings, set time, energy and space aside to prayerfully consider Minutes 2009-32, 50 & 51, that speak to the need for more opportunities for extended corporate worship and for the exploration and embrace of the Jubilee message in Leviticus 25 and Luke 4:16-20.
Please grapple with these matters and ask your quarterly meeting to discern way forward and to report to me, trusting that if we seek God’s will and make our best efforts to follow it, all things are possible.
Below, I highlight a few of the decision reflected in other minutes.
Minute 2009-43: We approved a revised organizational structure for our Yearly Meeting Staff, authorizing the creation of a single administrative position, Yearly Meeting Secretary, who supervises all other staff. Jonathan Vogel-Borne will assume this position as of October 1 2009, with Katharine Clark continuing with us in the new role of Communications Director. Another new staff position is that of JYM (Junior Yearly Meeting)/Jr. High Coordinator, to balance the fact that we have long had a staff position designated to serve our Young Friends (high school) and Young Adult Friends. There have also been revisions to the allocation of responsibilities for staff oversight, providing that Coordinating & Advisory Committee supervise the Yearly Meeting Secretary and designate one of its members to carry that role.
Minute 2009-24: We also approved the incorporation of the Moses Brown School, in a manner that seems likely to continue the fortifying of its Quaker identity and connections. This includes providing that 1/3 of the members of its Board of Overseers will be Quakers nominated by the NEYM Nominating Committee as well as the on-going existence of the Committee on the Nurture of Friends Education, also appointed by NEYM. Permanent Board has responsibility for the implementation of this decision. Should you have concerns, questions or input, please contact Edward Baker, clerk, Permanent Board at pbclerk@neym.org or 401/377-8987.
Another action item relates to the work on sexuality and spirituality that has also been alive throughout the Yearly Meeting. We revisited our 2007 "Minute of Commitment" and, in Minute 2009-53 we:
". . . affirm the good order of same-sex marriages that are and have been conducted in some monthly meetings of NEYM. We encourage all of our constituent monthly meetings to discern how they can best offer to all couples the same care, and affirmations of their leadings to walk together in love."
In a related matter, Minute 2009–54, found clarity to approve the following:
"If a monthly meeting minutes the intention of some of its members to exclude FUM from their contribution to NEYM, the MM treasurer will notify the NEYM treasurer of that decision, including a copy of the MM minute with the communication. The monthly meeting will then decrease their intended contribution by the appropriate amount, and the NEYM treasurer will decrease our contribution to FUM by the same amount. The MM treasurer is responsible for calculating the percentage of their budget that goes to NEYM. For FY09, the percentage of the NEYM budget that goes to FUM is 1.5%."
"A fund will be established to which individuals can donate to add to the Yearly Meeting’s contribution to FUM. Individuals may donate to this fund if they wish to help ensure that the full budgeted amount goes to FUM."
“The NEYM treasurer will exercise care in communicating with FUM about the potential variability in NEYM’s contribution to FUM.”
We will be addressing the mechanics necessary to implement these minutes and welcome your seasoned input.
Ever in the light of God’s love,
Minutes, Epistles & Reports from the 2009 NEYM Minute Book (PDF)
Minutes from the Adult Meeting for Worship for Business (pages
8-37)
Minutes
from the Youth Meetings for Worship for Business — Young
Adults, Young Friends, Jr. High Yearly Meeting, Junior Yearly Meeting,
& Childcare (pages 38-49)
Financial
Reports — Including NEYM operations, United Society
of Friends Women, Moses Brown School, New England Friends Home,
& Friends Camp (pages 50-63)
Epistles (pages
64-70)
Staff & Committee
Annual Reports (pages 71-101)