Present: Hugh Barbour, Visiting; Jacqueline Burns, PoGo WG, now YFIR (Chatham-Summit); Ernie Buscemi, Visiting (Morningside); Larry Coulthurst, FWCC (Somerset Hills); Cheshire Frager, Visiting (Flushing); Anola Gowin, Earthcare WG (Syracuse); Irma Guthrie (Perry City); Melanie-Claire Mallison, At Large [C] (Ithaca); Angela Manno, Earthcare WG (15th Street); Anita Paul, Committee on Aging [RC] (Schenectady); Anne Pomeroy, Visiting (New Paltz); Roseann Press, JYM (Housatonic); Carol Rice, Oakwood Friends School (Bulls Head-Oswego); Dorothy Richards, Visiting (Albany); Mary Rothschild, TG on Youth (Brooklyn); Amy Savage, YACC (Syracuse); Rima Siegel, TG on Youth (Rochester); Karen Snare, FGC (Bulls Head-Oswego); Janet Soderberg, Earthcare WG (15th Street)
Regrets: Barbara Andrews, Chad Dell, Kristina Keefe-Perry, Peggy Keiser, Rick Townsend
Smart Ass
One day a farmer's donkey fell into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours while the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway. It just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbors to come over and they grabbed shovels and began to throw dirt into the well. The donkey realized what was happening and cried even more! Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, and the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey would shake it off and take a step up. The farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, and he would just shake it off—and take a step up. Pretty soon everyone watched as the donkey stepped up, over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off. Step up.
200711.1 After a period of worship and the reading of the story above, the clerk invited Friends to identify themselves, their meeting and committee, and where they grew up. Anita Paul agreed to be recording clerk today. (She stepped up!)
Clerk Reports:
200711.2 The NYYM Budget for 2008 was approved this morning. Section expenses and travel monies have been doubled in order to reimburse members of task / working groups. Such vouchers should be sent to the NCC clerk. NYYM pays $.15/mile. Forms are on line under the committee work section on the Web site. Approved vouchers for 2007 must be in to NYYM by January 4th, 2008, which means they need to be to the clerk well ahead of that.
200711.3 NYYM Handbook: The clerk of NYYM has asked each committee to update their section of the Handbook. Revisions can be handled within the NCC; major changes will need to be approved at a NYYM business session. Each committee is asked to get their changes to the clerk by February 15th 2008, so that they can be shared with NCC before the committee meets for Coordinating Committee Weekend in March at Powell House. The Handbook is on line under “publications.”
200711.4 NCC has a new Web site. Committees and working groups are asked to use the links to add appropriate information. This is a public site. E-mail Paul Busby, paul@nyym.org, the information and he will add it to the site. The office has found that more and more people are accessing the Web site for information about the activities of NYYM. The clerk asked, as a minimum, that committees have the scope of the charge for that committee and someone to contact.
200711.5 Accountability Queries are on the Web site under “Transition Working Group” and all committees and groups should work with them as a preparation for the year end reports.
200711.6 PoGo Working Group, Jacqueline Burns Polzer reporting. The Working Group would like to change their name to “Young Friends in Residence Program” (YFIR). They plan to work with young adult Friends offering workshops for middle school youth. They are looking for a regional meeting that would host this program, and for grants to support the young adults. The group is currently working on an application process. They hope to have feedback from the regions by February and look into whether or not NYYM could provide financial support. Young adults would serve for 2 years, dedicating their lives to a spiritual calling to work with the youth. The governing structure has not yet been designed.
200711.7 Nurture Coordinating Committee approved the name change of the PoGo Working Group to Young Friends in Residence (YFIR) Program. The group was reminded that their charge needs to be renew at the 2008 summer sessions.
200711.8 Young Adult Concerns Committee, Amy Savage reporting. YACC has a new web site and email: www.cyfnyym.org; cyf.nyym [at] gmail.com. The Farmington-Scipio Region young adults also have a site: www.davidcoffee.com/quakers. The November Spark’s theme is Young Adult Friends. The committee is having a conference at Brooklyn Meeting on the weekend after Thanksgiving Day; the theme is “how young Friends are experiencing Quakerism in their lives.” There will also be a spring conference at Powell House. YACC is looking to create an oversight group to help them be, and stay, organized.
200711.9 Earthcare Working Group, Janet Soderberg reporting. The Eco-Spirituality minute was sent to all meetings with requests to reply to the group. The working group is hoping that each meeting will send an action plan which they will then collate and share at the 2008 Summer Sessions. Jim Atwell wrote a press release that Friends can send to their local papers. A sub group is looking at ways that Summer Sessions could be more “green.” Powell House held a one day reflection on becoming greener; a weekend will be held at Powell House in March with Marshall Massey on “Earth In The Headlines: How Are We Called to Respond?” In April, Angela Manno will do a weekend on Eco-Spirituality; an August weekend will be on Permaculture. Joan Cope Savage is interested in pulling together a green reader.
200711.10 Task Group on Youth, Mary Rothschild reporting. TGOY proposed to Sessions the theme for next Summer Session and Sessions approved, “Spiritual Community Across the Spectrum of Age.” They are trying to include everyone already working on the issues, such as Circle of Young Friends, JYM, Young Friends in Residence, and others. Will meet at F/S Spring sessions. A letter was sent to all meetings with queries regarding youth issues. They have also created a list serve so that individuals and meetings can exchange information and access resources. They hope every meeting will designate a contact person.
200711.11 Working Group on Aging, Anita Paul reporting. The group met with the Friends Foundation on Aging representatives (the outcome of the closing of the McCutchen) and proposed to develop a program on aging issues; resources scattered across NYYM to help seniors, their caregivers and Meetings to identify the seniors’ needs, find the agencies and people to meet those needs, and serve as facilitators between caregivers and their parents. Also, the group would develop and lead a series of workshops of interest on issues of aging. Clerk recommended that the working group become a committee under NCC and place this program under their care. Then NCC would ask NYYM to set up a fund line in the budget that this group could draw on.
200711.12 Nurture Coordinating Committee approved turning the Working Group on Aging into the Committee on Aging, giving them the charge to pursue the program outlined above, including administering the funds from the Friends Foundation on Aging. The Trustees need to be informed about these ideas by this new committee.
200711.13 Friends World Committee on Consultation, Larry Coulthurst reporting. Larry and other NYYM delegates attended a meeting recently in Swarthmore. The International FWCC held their Triennial in Ireland this last August and will be making organizational changes soon as an outcome of that meeting.
200711.14 Oakwood Friends School Board, Carol Rice reporting. Oakwood FS will soon have a free standing meeting house. Bulls Head-Oswego offered their old meeting house to Oakwood and moving that is now being researched.
200711.15 We ended with a period of silence. The clerk read the following prayer.
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. And I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always, though I may seem lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
Thomas Merton Through the Year with Thomas Merton, p. 4
Anita Paul, acting Recording Clerk
Melanie-Claire Mallison, Clerk
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