All posts by Ken Stockbridge

Patapsco

Spiritual State of the Meeting Report, 2005

Now in its tenth year of existence, in its fourth year as a monthly meeting, the spirit of Patapsco Friends Meeting is gaining in breadth. Growth in our number of members and regular attenders has enabled us to stretch into new areas, yet maintain and deepen the spiritual activities we have had since our inception. The spirit of Patapsco Friends Meeting is reflected in our events and actions.

One theme we followed through the year was “follow your leadings.” Early in the year, a group of 7-10 people continued a 2004 exploration of spiritual leadings through readings, discussion and mutual support. Several individuals clarified steps on a personal or professional level they would like to take in their lives.

One leading to emerge from the group was a member’s decision to start a Friend’s meeting for inmates in MCI-Hagerstown. Visits began in January and have continued on a weekly basis through the year. Eight people rotated for Saturday morning visitations. The meetings included conversation, worship, and discussion of a written passage. The visits continue into 2006.

Several Patapsco Friends followed a leading and found significance in volunteering in the “Eyes Wide Open” exhibit in September. Several others of us attended as well.

Patapsco Friends supported Ken Stockbridge in his leading to visit and build connections and community among the wider circler of Friends, partly through Baltimore Yearly Meeting’s inter-visitation program to FUM meetings. At Ken’s request, we gathered a Clearness Committee and approved a traveling minute for his visits. Ken’s leading continues into the new year.

Another theme was concern for the environment. The Advancement and Outreach committee sponsored a meeting-wide weekend retreat at Catoctin Camp last May. Twenty Friends of all ages deepened their fellowship in hands-on workshops to encourage environmentally sustainable living, and by informal walks, meetings for worship, singing and conversing on the wooded grounds.

The theme of environmentally-responsible living continued with a community yard sale of Friends’ donated goods. Other activities of the A & O committee included the production of an email newsletter, “Visitor Highlights,” for visitors who are new to Quakers; outreach to local colleges in the form of advertisements in student newspapers; and outreach to the community via a booth in a Columbia neighborhood fair.

Three Friends have been representing PFM at organizational meetings of the interfaith community organizing group, Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF). They valued getting to know people of other faiths and overcoming a sense of isolation from other religious communities. Howard County’s IAF fosters common ground by building relationships and empowering participants to explore local issues and find a common voice. In the fall of 2005, Patapsco Friends joined the Howard County IAF for the next two years.

Religious education manifested our growing spirit, as we watched our children–many toddlers ten years ago–become young women and men. The First Day School meets weekly with approximately 10 children in attendance. Our general plan is to teach Quaker history and life in the fall and Bibical themes, using FGC’s curriculum “Jesus: Who is He?” in the spring. On December 18, the entire school presented a Christmas play, “Three Wise Dudes,” to the delight of the Meeting.

Friends in middle and high school continued holding a Junior Monthly Meeting and continued to act as assistant First Day School instructors. Fellowship activities included a trip to a local rock climbing facility.

Adult education was particularly active this year. Informal education after simple lunch included two workshops on the Quaker organizations FWCC and FCNL and a workshop on Pendle Hill. Additional education on Quakerism took place at six worship sharing evenings on Roger Griswold’s pamphlet, “Creeds and Quakerism” and a monthly worship sharing on the queries and advices.

Adult education reached into other areas of the spirit-led life. The Peace and Social Justice committee held an evening discussion of the pamphlet, “The Origin of the Palestine-Israel Conflict.” Howard Zuses of Sandy Spring Meeting spoke on socially responsible investing. A series of four workshops on death and dying began with a worship sharing on end-of- life issues, prompted by Terri Schiavo’s death in 2004 and the deaths of parents of several members. Workshop topics included legal issues, preparation for one’s own death, and grieving. A group of 6-8 women explored knitting as a spiritual practice during a six-week program. Several of the women knitted a prayer shawl as a result.

In an attempt to meet the needs of Friends who are unable to attend meeting on First Day, a Mid-Week Meeting for Worship was started. After a six months’ trial, it was laid down and mid-week meeting at Sandy Spring was suggested as an alternative.

While growing and maturing, Patapsco Friends also maintained treasured traditions with publication of its occasional journal, Quaker Heron; member participation in Howard County peace vigils; a parallel-text Bible study meeting twice a month; potlucks at the end of each month; and Friendly Bunches. Our Meeting for Worship continues to be at the heart of our maturation, driving it and being driven by it. We will see the deepening of the commitments begun in 2005 as Patapsco Friends continue to nurture the spirit of our Meeting.

Submitted to Patapsco Friends Meeting by Jean Pfefferkorn, Clerk of Ministry and Care
Approved by the Patapsco Monthly Meeting of Friends, March 5, 2006 Ramona Buck, Clerk

Concerns, Notable Minutes, Process and Policies

Minute to Establish South Mountain Friends Fellowship at the Maryland Correctional Institute-Hagerstown under the care of Patapsco Friends Meeting

On Second Day, First Month, 2005, Patapsco Friends Meeting approved a Minute of Recognition of a Patapsco Friends Meeting Prison Ministry to support and hold in the Light inmates at the Maryland Correctional Institute-Hagerstown (MCI-H) as they followed their leading to start a Friends worship group. Since that time the meeting at Hagerstown has grown from three to seven attenders supported by nine prison ministers from Patapsco Friends Meeting. As the group has grown in number they have grown in awareness of their meeting as a safe and caring community, a cherished community they have built in the midst of difficult and dangerous circumstances.

For those of us who have had the opportunity to support them, it has been a time of testing. Friends have no creed, no catechism. What do we teach and how do we teach it? Again and again we have been brought back to the foundations of our faith: that Jesus taught us to love God, to love our neighbors as ourselves, to love our enemies. We teach by our faithful attendance, by our care and concern for the attenders of this meeting and for their community, and by modeling Friends exploration of their spiritual experience through queries, in worship sharing and in silent worship. They think our presence is a miracle. It opens us to the power of the advice of George Fox: “Friends, meet together and know one another in that which is eternal, which was before the world was.” We’re not sure any of us know exactly what that means, but we all know what it feels like.

Ten years ago, a small number of us determined to found a meeting in Howard County. We had the same concerns that the early attenders at MCI-H had. Would it work? Who would come? How could we make ourselves known to the community? Each week at Mt. Hebron House a miracle happens. Each week at Hagerstown a miracle happens. It is the gift we give to each other and offer to the world.

Now the men at Hagerstown desire their community to be known as the South Mountain Friends Fellowship. In recognition of their continuing commitment to meet together in the manner of Friends, we hereby minute our approval of the establishment of this Fellowship under the care of our meeting. We will forward this minute to Baltimore Yearly Meeting; and place this Fellowship on the list of Friends Meetings in Friends Journal.

Approved, Fifth Day, Third Month, 2006

Ramona Buck,

Clerk, Patapsco Friends Meeting

Meetings for Listening

Threshing Session on Making Financial Contributions

October 23, 2005

Topic:  Whether or not Patapsco Friends Meeting should make financial contributions

Fourteen Friends were in attendance.  A couple of people left without speaking.

Questions:

A.    Should (or Why should) the Meeting support any Quaker or non-Quaker organizations, financially or otherwise?
B.    Reasons for the Meeting to make financial contributions to outside organizations/Reasons for the Meeting not to make financial contributions to outside organizations?

There was some discussion that the questions were not the right questions.  However, the session proceeded with people responding as they felt led.

Responses:

1.    Wardell:  The Meeting should not financially support other organizations.  Individuals should make individual contributions to organizations.

2.    Ken:  It is important to make distinctions between three situations:
a.    Giving money to an organization because we want to support that organizations’ work;
b.    Responding financially to an organization that is already giving the Meeting something;
c.    Responding to an organization in which we as a Meeting are already participating in.
Ken feels sympathetic not to give money in the instance of (a) above.  But he thinks there may be an issue of integrity in responding to the other two instances.  The FGC is one example of this.  It provided materials to us.  The Yearly Meeting is another example, and in one way, we don’t have to deal with that issue because by deciding to be part of the Yearly Meeting, we necessarily have decided to be a part of the apportionment process.  IAF is another example.  If we as a Meeting embrace the IAF process and efforts, then we should contribute.
Also, we need to distinguish between individual discernment and collective discernment.   Ken has considered how helpful it would be to leave his money to the Patapsco Friends Meeting so that through the discernment of the group, they could decide what to do with it!

3.    Sam:  If you participate in an organization, you don’t necessarily give money.  There is a tradition in religious groups to support each other.  It is important for the Meeting to participate in the local county.  Taking the IAF as an example, it is just a nominal amount to participate and Sam supports the idea of our Meeting doing that.

4.    Bob:  Career has been spent in non-profits.  A big piece of that is raising money.  Sometimes you can barely manage the organization on the money you have.  There is a concept of Free Ridership (like National Public Radio).  Occasionally, there are non-profit Quaker organizations that will need some expenses covered to carry out their mission and these one time situations merit consideration.  Patapsco should give in the name of Patapsco to give support.  By doing so, in a way we are getting out name out to the community as a form of outreach.  Some outside groups get money by charging for things.  FCNL is an example of this.  When they have their general meeting, they charge for attendance.  And the payment of this – which the Meeting covered for him –  is really a contribution to the FCNL.  The same is true for Pendle Hill events.  You can make some distinctions between this kind of contribution, in which you are also paying from some goods/services, and the kind of contribution which is completely a contribution.  But the two are actually very similar.

5.    Ramona:  Has worked for non-profits in the past and is aware that when contributions are received, they are more than just money.  They represent a message of approval and support – an outreached hand saying “yes” to what that organization does, and expressing appreciation for the efforts of that organization.  If it’s just the money, then it doesn’t matter whether it’s from individuals or groups.  But it is more than just the money or the amount of money – it is a symbol of support – and therefore, it is important for Patapsco to give contributions to show its support as a Meeting for certain causes or organizations.  Patapsco is more than a collection of individuals.  It is an entity and as an entity it should be heard from.

6.    Jim:  Experience on the Sandy Spring Peace Committee in this regard had a strong effect.  The Peace Committee had a budget for contributions to outside organizations.  They didn’t really know why there were giving particular amounts to particular organizations.  And the people in the Meeting didn’t know to whom the money was going.  It was a rote action.  The Peace Committee proposed to the Sandy Spring Meeting to have a threshing session on what the Peace Committee should fund, and that proposal was rejected and was termed inappropriate.  Jim has great misgivings about back room decisions about where the money goes.  On the other hand, he wants to support members of the Meeting in their leadings.  If individuals feel that working for organizations is part of their path, this issue should be brought to the Meeting as a whole so they can benefit from the discernment.   But if our motivation to support organizations doing good work is not spiritually based, then this is not good.  Also, the Meeting shouldn’t be a pass through organization.  As an example of this, people shouldn’t give contributions to the Meeting earmarked for the FCNL, thus getting a tax deduction (FCNL is not a non-profit since it lobbies) and then expect the Meeting to pass those contributions along to the FCNL.  This is not what Quakers are about.
What does it mean to give a gift?  We don’t attach an expected result when we give a gift.  We aren’t making gifts to organizations, but rather we are making contributions to organizations for following a particular program.  There are organizations to which we all want to say, “Yes.”  Some organizations though don’t really need the money.  They don’t need for the Meeting to say “yes” to those organizations.  There is a great deal of divisiveness for a spiritual body to make a financial decision.  When we had this discussion before, one of the conclusions was to have a three ring binder for individuals to collect info in about organizations that other people can be helped to decide on individual contributions.  This wasn’t carried out, but it was a good idea.

7.  Rosemary:  Managed non-profits for most of career.  There is a feeling of support for the work when contributions received.  Most of the time, they were underfunded.  Outside support was more than the money.  In this kind of Quaker setting, there would need to be criteria and a process for contributions.  Would be interested in an open meeting for decisions to be made.  If we could design a procedure that the Meeting could support, Rosemary would support the Meeting making contributions.

8. Sherri:  Our Meeting has been talking about this topic for a long time.  She has worked in non-profits for many years, and grew up in a family without much money.  Has difficulty with the position that if we don’t participate actively in an organization that it’s meaningless to give a contribution.  Money is extremely valued for itself.  It is what pays the bills.  She is uncomfortable with withholding money when funds are needed, if we can’t give assistance and help as well.  Would support the Meeting corporately giving contributions.  When we withhold contributions, this says something about our Meeting.

9. John Farrell:  (sent via email)  I generally concur with the idea that as a meeting we don’t need to contribute money to outside organizations.  I believe it is important that we be aware of various organizations which provide services which we as Quakers support.  Accordingly, we have tried to provide periodic presentations from a variety of organizations so we at Patapsco Friends might be informed and more able to make contributions which we, as individuals, might find appropriate.
My concern about contributions to outside organizations focuses on the term ‘outside’.  I don’t consider other Quaker organizations which are working to support our professed values as Quakers, which are supported by BYM of which we are a part and contribute to financially, to be ‘outside’ organizations.  When the P&SJ Committee supported allocating part of our committee budget by sending AFCS $75.00 to co-sponsor the Eyes Wide Open exhibit, this decision was not supported by PFM.  Clearly, when we act as a committee we speak for Patapsco Friends Meeting.
I believe committees within PFM ought be to able to make special contributions in support of programs offered by fellow Quaker  groups with BYM.

10. Terry:  A few points:
a.  As a Meeting, we should not be wedded to a particular group or organization.  There needs to be ample accountability and visibility.  This shouldn’t be done out of habit.  We shouldn’t limit the number of groups.
b.  We can encourage personal giving.  People can give in the name of the Meeting.
c.  With regard to the idea of the list that Jim mentioned, Terry started to put together a draft of a list of groups, and this will be continued.  This can tie the individual giving to the Meeting as a whole.

11.  J…:  Has tremendously mixed feelings on this issue.  On the one hand, wants to support groups.  On the other, is not sure what process to decide this could work.  Isn’t clear whether such requests or proposals would come to the Meeting or to another group.  Thinks decisions need to be made by a broad group.  Doesn’t want the business meeting to be bogged down in a lot of controversy.  Wonders what process there could be to resolve this issue.  One thing she likes about the Meeting is that we are a small budget Meeting.  If we were to start making contributions to other organizations, it would mean more money to come into the Meeting and she is not sure that she wants that.  We don’t have a bunch of money hanging around.  We can also give time contributions rather than money contributions.  Monetary contributions are not the only way.  We need procedures that would work re: money without causing divisiveness.  It may not be worth it to discuss money issues.

12.  Susan:  It is a question of honoring our time.  Agrees with Wardell that it is individuals who give money.  It can be through the Meeting or we can give it directly, but it’s really individuals either way.  Possibly we could give as a Meeting if we could develop procedures and if we could decide who to give it to.  Being able to meet our budget would depend on some people giving money.  Sandy Spring had a significant budget for the Peace Committee to give money.  When it comes to maintenance, we need to give money for that.  Or, if we say we can’t meet our budget item for contributions if we don’t have money, there is a real problem with that.  It is hard to figure out what worthy causes to support.  It is a very important exercise for each person to do.  One Meeting got a big amount of money.  You can bet that they are having long long sessions trying to figure out what to do with it.  We can’t turn this responsibility over to the Meeting.  Susan really doesn’t understand the distinction between the individual and the entity.  If as a Meeting we sat and threshed and came to unity – this wouldn’t have anything to do with spiritual leadings.  And, this is not an issue of withholding money.  We don’t have money we are withholding.

13.  Ken:  The Development person for FGC has a new title:  Associate Secretary for Development and Interpretation.  Laboring in a business meeting over money is a teachable moment.  There is a benefit in learning about what the organization is trying to do – there is value in that.

14  John Buck (emailed to the clerk, but not read at the threshing session)  I would greatly appreciate it if the Meeting would contribute to selected organizations. The responsibility to select those organizations should be assigned to a present or newly formed committee. The organizations selected should be those that, in the judgment of the committee, reflect the values and concerns of the Meeting. My reasons are that (1) I think that the Meeting should make statements as a Meeting, (2) I might choose to make contributions to those organizations above and beyond what the Meeting makes and would benefit by someone else having vetted them first, and (3) I willingly delegate such decisions to a duly formed committee and do not feel that the decisions need to come before business meeting for approval.

15.  Doris Rausch (emailed to the clerk, but not read at the threshing session)  I agree with John that we do not NEED to contribute money to outside organizations.  However, if any outside organization has goals which we as Quakers could support, I see no reason why we, as a matter of principle, should not.

Finances, Process and Policies

Policy on Expenditures (7/2005)

From the minutes of the meeting for worship with a concern for business, 7/3/2005:

Friends discussed PFM’s redrafted Policy on Expenditures. The policy was approved with the understanding that it is a living document and can be revisited as necessary.

Patapsco Monthly Meeting of Friends
Policy on Expenditures

Every year, each Patapsco Friends Meeting committee should submit a proposed committee budget to the Treasurer in preparation for the annual Meeting budget approval process.

Committee Expenditures

Committee clerks may submit requests to the Treasurer to use that committee’s budgeted money, and two of the following (the Treasurer; the Clerk; the Assistant Clerk) may approve such requests without discussion by the full Meeting, for the following kinds of items:

1. Paying expenses for Meeting sponsored (meaning approved at the monthly business meeting) events or projects; or routine activities overseen by the committee in question.
2. Buying publications or religious education materials/books for the Meeting or community, related to the topic served by the committee in question.
3. Personal assistance to an individual as approved by the Personal Assistance Committee

Expenditures requested by individuals

One of the following (the Clerk, the Treasurer, the Assistant Clerk) may approve requests from individuals without discussion by the full Meeting, for the following kinds of items:

1. Expenses the individual incurred on behalf of the Meeting for food and food related items for the simple meal, or food supplies for the kitchen.
2. Expenses the individual incurred for food for the monthly Grassroots meal.
3. Copies for the Meeting/miscellaneous

Two of the following (the Clerk, the Treasurer, the Assistant Clerk) may approve requests from individuals without discussion by the full Meeting, for the following:
Scholarships for Patapsco Friends to attend Quaker events and conferences or non-Quaker events and conferences which foster or promote Friends’ principles.

Guiding Principles for Scholarships

The budget item for scholarships should serve members and committed attenders, should serve as many people in the Meeting as possible, should be distributed fairly, and is meant to empower individuals both to represent the Meeting at Quaker or other events and/or to foster Friends’ principles or to enhance the individual’s spiritual growth and that of the life of the Meeting.

Sponsored Friends (either with scholarships or not) are invited to report back to the Business Meeting on the experience in order to enrich the life of the Meeting.

See specific guidelines for scholarships below. These guidelines may change from year to year.

All Other Requests for Expenditures

All other requests for expenditures by individuals, committees or outside groups should be brought to the Business Meeting as a whole for consideration.

If the Treasurer and/or the Clerks receive a request for expenditure which seemingly is covered by the above policy, but about which either has any doubt, they may discuss it further with the person or committee requesting the expenditure. If clearness is not reached, such questions and concerns should be brought to the Business Meeting for further guidance.

Items Approved by the Meeting as a Whole

Payments approved by the Meeting as a whole (such as the BYM apportionment) may be paid by the Treasurer without further discussion.

Last modified, June 2005
Approved, Meeting for Business, July, 2005

Guidelines for Scholarships

While scholarships/grants may be given for a variety of events, not all of which may by known or anticipated, specific guidelines are given for those which occur most often.

Those members or committed attenders who plan to attend BYM events (examples: Yearly Meeting, the Women’s Retreat or one of the summer camps); or broader Quaker events such as FGC or Pendle Hill would qualify for a grant, as follows:

The cost of one week of camp per child

25% of the annual BYM cost

25% of a BYM sponsored event (other than camp, covered above)

25% of FGC (at the lower end of living arrangements, such as camping or
cooperative dining)

25% of the Pendle Hill Cost

People needing more than the above amounts should not hesitate to request more for consideration.

Note: these guidelines for scholarships were revised 2/6/2011.