October 2014
Newsletter
(Tenth Month)
(Tenth Month)
Meeting for
Worship
& First Day
School
Sundays at 11:00
a.m.
Midweek Meeting
for Worship, Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m.
Personal
Relationships
In daily relationships with others, both inside and outside
the home, our lives as Friends speak immediately and lastingly. In these
relationships, our faith may also be severely tested. We are called to respond
to that of God in everyone: we are all children of God. Friends celebrate any
union that is dedicated to mutual love and respect, regardless of the unique
make-up of the family. We strive to create homes where the Spirit of the Divine
resides at the center and where the individual genius of each member is
respected and nurtured.
Human sexuality is a divine gift, forming part of the
complex union of body, mind and spirit that is our humanity. In a loving adult
relationship in a context of mutual responsibility, sexuality brings delight,
fulfillment and celebration.
The presence of children carries a special blessing as well
as responsibility. Children bring unique spiritual gifts — wonder, resiliency,
playfulness and more. Recognize and honor the Divine Light within children and
treat them with the dignity and respect that is due to all people. Listen to
and learn from children; share with them those values and practices that are
central to our own lives. Special care must be given to resolving problems
between adults and children in a manner that gives equal weight to the feelings
and needs of both children and adults. Tender parenting is one of the
critically important peace vocations in our society. Make every effort to offer
all parents the personal and institutional support that this challenging work
requires.
Take a strong stand against any form of abuse, whether that
abuse is minor or severe, and whether it is emotional, physical or sexual in
nature. The terrible impact of abuse on the most vulnerable members of our
families creates lifelong suffering for its victims and is a major source of
violence in our society. Perpetrators are themselves usually victims of similar
violence and should be approached with compassion as well as firmness.
Do I make my home a place of friendliness, joy, and peace,
where residents and visitors feel God’s presence?
Are my sexual practices consistent with my spiritual beliefs
and free of manipulation and exploitation?
What barriers keep me from responding openly and lovingly to
each person?
Do we open our
thoughts, beliefs, and deep understandings to our children and others who share
our lives and our hospitality?
Do we provide our
children and young adults with a framework for active, ongoing participation in
the Meeting?
Meeting for Business began at 1:08 pm with a period of worship, with 21 people present. The clerk opened with a reading from Pacific Yearly Meeting’s Advices & Queries on Integrity and Personal Conduct. The reading was followed by silent reflection.
9-1 Meeting
approves Stephen Matchett as acting clerk for today’s meeting
9-2 Meeting
approves minutes of August 10, 2014, as presented
Action on Nominations
9-3 Meeting
approves the appointments of Chad Stephenson as Presiding Clerk and of Stephen
Matchett as Assistant Clerk, each for a term ending April 30, 2015
Meeting Youth
Beth Bird reported that she has been having
lots of conversations in recent years about ways of invigorating children's
education in the meeting and welcoming children in the meeting overall, and
would like to bring some ideas to the meeting in a more formal way. Friends
expressed interest and gratitude for the energy Beth and others were putting
into this effort, and encouraged her to work with the Children's Religious
Education and/or Ministry & Oversight Committees to season and possibly
implement some of the ideas that have emerged.
Ministry &
Oversight Committee
Bob Kovsky reported for Ministry &
Oversight Committee that there have been some comments that the Google groups
listserv has experienced some problems with over-posting and postings that
aren't close enough to the meeting, and the committee is discussing policies
for the list and asks for feedback from the meeting.
Continuing
Discernment on Proposed Rausch St. Plans and deBeers Bequest Allocation
Amy Baker, Treasurer and member of the
Rausch Street Committee, distributed a report containing a proposed minute
addressing the questions left undecided at the August 2014 Meeting for
Business, with supporting notes (copy attached to archive copy of these
minutes). In response to questions
preserved in the minutes of that meeting, she clarified that Option A of
$120,000 includes an anticipation of expenses involving electrical and plumbing
and other structural needs, and that the more costly Option B ($205,000) is
contingent on an allocation of money from the deBeers bequest while Plan A is
not. Amy also once more explained the
committee’s support for pursuing the more ambitious of the two plans. During the ensuing discussion, the clerk
reminded Friends that some matters had already been decided—namely, to renovate
the upstairs flat and to pay for that work by renting the renovated unit as a
residence—and that the issues before us were (1) whether to pursue the
Rausch St. Committee’s proposed expanded renovation plan or its more modest
original plan, and (2) whether to approve the allocation of 75% of the
deBeers bequest to the Rausch St. project, as proposed by Property &
Finance Committee, either to enable the pursuit of the expanded renovation, or
to shorten the repayment period on the financing of even the original
renovation plan. (In response to
questions from the clerk, Amy indicated that the proposed approximately
$150,000 allocation would shorten the repayment period from an estimated ten
years down to four years under Option A, and under Option B would make possible
the additional $85,000 of work and shorten the repayment period from an
estimated 15 years down to eight years.)
A Friend expressed simultaneous support for the expanded renovation
proposal and hesitation to commit any amount of deBeers money irretrievably to
the project until Meeting could engage in more discernment about alternate uses
for those funds as discussed in the recent threshing session on Meeting
finances. This Friend proposed that
Meeting loan the Rausch St. project the needed $85,000 to undertake the
expanded renovation, while deferring until the project’s completion the
question of whether to recover those funds as part of the refinancing that will
be necessary upon retirement of the existing construction loan, or to leave all
or a portion of that expenditure in place, and/or to allocate an increased
amount, for example up to the 75% figure proposed by Property & Finance. Friends united with this suggestion,
expressing gratitude for the emergence of a way forward.
9-4 Meeting
approves the expanded renovation of the Rausch Street Property (Option B) as
proposed by the Rausch Street Committee, and approves temporarily allocating
$85,000 toward that renovation. Upon
completion of the renovation, Meeting will either recover the $85,000 as part
of the refinancing of the loan or decide whether to leave all or part of that
expenditure in place. The Treasurer will
transfer the $85,000 from the DeBeers Bequest Fund to the Rausch Street Fund.
Announcements, Joys
& Concerns
We received a thank you for our donation
last year to the San Francisco Interfaith Council. A Friend shared that Friday Food Share has received a $300 grant
and they are pursuing further grants, of the originally allocated $1,200 for
this year, only $700 will be used, as they have been receiving more than
anticipated donations.
Meeting for Business closed with worship at 3:20 pm with 18
people in attendance.
Respectfully submitted,
Ann Marie Snell Stephen
Matchett
Recording Clerk Acting Presiding Clerk
Recording Clerk Acting Presiding Clerk
October 2014 News
from Ben Lomond Quaker Center
Quaker Center and Western Friend share
a vision to employ an energetic Friend
who is all fired up to help rekindle Quakerism in the west. This new Administrative Assistant will live among the redwoods at Quaker
Center and support our two organizations with
online presence and other work behind-the-scenes. Help us build a stronger
foundation for supporting the
spiritual lives of western Friends and meetings. Find out more and how to apply
at http://www.quakercenter.org/about-us/employment-opportunities/
Join Laura Magnani and her American Friends Service Committee colleague,
Jerry Elster from October 3rd –
5th, for The Violence
of Mass Incarceration: Our Prison System as the New Jim Crow. We’ll
explore the dynamics of mass incarceration spiritually and socially, focusing
on the advocacy work being done, and yet to be done, by Friends. Laura and Jerry
will facilitate conversations and exercises examining the system as it is, our
attitudes about it, and directions that are opening up for significant change.
Get more information and register online at http://www.quakercenter.org/the-violence-of-incarceration/.
Come and explore the relevance of early Friends’ experiences of personal
transformation with Diego Navarro
as we look at Leadings and Holy
Obedience from November 14th – 16th. We will also consider the link between
the inner growth of the Spirit and the external witnessing of Friends, and
comprehending what is meant by turning one’s life over to the Spirit: from “my
will” to “thy will”, and leading what Thomas Kelly calls a “God-intoxicated”
life. Find out more at http://www.quakercenter.org/leadings-and-holy-obedience/ and register early.
College Park Quarterly Meeting
The upcoming College Park Quarterly Meeting
will be October 17 - 19 (Fri-Sun) at Sierra Friends
Center in Nevada City
Pacific Yearly Meeting
The upcoming Pacific Yearly Meeting session
will be July 15-19 at Whitworth University in Spokane,
Washington.
The group named "San Francisco Monthly
Meeting" is for sharing announcements or other news with the meeting
community. If you wish to be added to the group, please send a request to clerk@sfquakers.org . You will also need to create a free
Google user ID and password, if you don’t already have one, you can create one at
https://accounts.google.com/signup?service=mail . The address of the group is sfquakers@googlegroups.com
A Google group for Bay Area Quakers is now
available at http://groups.google.com/group/bayareaquakers.
The group is for Bay Area Quaker meetings, churches, and organizations, as well
as individual Friends, to share news of events and activities that would be of
interest to Quakers and the general public. Events do not need to be strictly
Quaker. For more information, contact Tom Yamaguchi, tomyamaguchi@mac.com
Help on using Google Groups is also
available at: http://groups.google.com/support
Submissions to the newsletter are due by the
next-to-last First Day (Sunday) of each month in the News Committee mailbox at
the meetinghouse, or by e-mail to news@sfquakers.org. This newsletter is also available for reading or
downloading on our website at http://www.sfquakers.org/news.html.
Members of the News Committee are Kate
McCarley (clerk, editor), Eli Bishop (web servant), and Catherine Fox
(production
(all events at 65 9th
St., unless noted; *see details elsewhere in newsletter)
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Sunday
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Monday
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Tuesday
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Wednesday
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Thursday
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Friday
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Saturday
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28
9:15 Non-Violent Comm. Practice Group
11a Meeting
for Worship
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29
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30
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1
8:30a SFFS Meeting for Worship
6 Meeting for Worship |
2
12p Peace Vigil‡
7p Potluck & Quaker Study
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3
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4
10:30a-1p Food Pantry
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5
9:30a Bible Study
11a Meeting for Worship, Community Potluck
following
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6
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7
7p Property & Finance Mtg |
8
6 Meeting for Worship
7p Ministry & Oversight Mtg
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9
12p Peace Vigil‡
7p Potluck & Quaker Study
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10
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11
10:30a-1p Food Pantry
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12
11a Meeting for Worship
1p Meeting for Business
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13
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14
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15
6p Meeting for Worship |
16
12p Peace Vigil‡
7p Potluck & Quaker Study |
17
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18
10:30a-1p Food Pantry
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19
9:30a Bible Study
11a Meeting for Worship
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20
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21
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22
6p Meeting for Worship
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23
12p Peace Vigil‡
7p Potluck & Quaker Study |
24
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25
10:30a-1p Food Pantry
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26
9:15 Non-Violent Comm.
Practice Group
11a Meeting for Worship
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27
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28
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29
6p Meeting for Worship
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30
12p Peace Vigil‡
7p Potluck & Quaker Study
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31
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1
10:30a-1p Food
Pantry
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‡Federal Building, Golden Gate Ave. and
Larkin St. †San Francisco Friends School, 250 Valencia St.
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