Baltimore, Stony Run

Births: Elijah Hutcheson Fetter to Allen & Danielle Fetter; Henry Jacob Butler to Andrea Freudenberger Butler Deaths: Otis Mace on May 12, 2004
Marriages/Ceremonies of Commitment: Amy Rakusin & Phil Fratesi, September 4, 2004

Friends Meeting has been especially vibrant during these troubled times. Our members and attenders—from youngest to oldest—are working on many fronts to put their faith into action. We collect and deliver food to CARES, a local food pantry for the poor; our First Day students took pledges for reading books over the Christmas holiday, with proceeds going to the Heifer Project; and our Spiritual and Intellectual Nurture and Peace & Social Order Committees are organizing informational programs and First Day Forums, during which participants and panelists explore issues ranging from various aspects of spirituality to Iraq, Islam, the Middle East, the USA Patriot Act, and the Project for a New American Century.

During the colder months, we held our Monthly Meetings for Worship with a Concern for Business after Simple Lunch on the first First Day of each month. This resulted in increased attendance during those months. The Meeting has tentatively decided to continue to hold Meetings for Worship with a Concern for Business on First Days during the colder, darker months, resuming our normal first-Tuesday-evening schedule for the other months.

Our Ministry and Counsel Committee has been considering the Meeting’s current shared fiscal support of both Baltimore Yearly Meeting and Friends United Meeting, in light of the latter’s unfavorable stance on issues related to homosexuality. The Meeting approved a Minute about this matter that has been conveyed to Interim Meeting.

The Meeting’s healing prayer group and its book discussion group are meeting regularly, and our Friends in Unity with Nature Committee is striving to make the Meeting more aware of its activities by, among other events, holding vegetarian cooking classes and preparing vegetarian simple lunches on a periodic basis.

The Meeting has agreed to permit the Meeting House to house a daycare center for children of Friends School faculty, and perhaps others as space permits. The Ad Hoc Peace Actions committee has organized a “More Powerful than War” documentary film series, which will be screened on three Thursdays in May at Friends School.

We have held a series of “Fireside Chats” on Sunday evenings, during which esteemed elder Friends will share their personal experiences as Quakers.

Our Information Technology Subcommittee has refined the Meeting’s web site and is working toward streamlining the Meeting office’s use of computers. On May 1, the Meeting will hold a one-year-later “Hopes & Dreams” retreat to assess how we as a Meeting are faring in the areas of interest and concern that were elicited during two discussion sessions held last spring. We welcome all Friends to visit if they should be in the area. Please visit our website at: , or write us at . Better yet, come visit! Our Meetings for Worship are at 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. on First Days (changing to 8:30 and 10 a.m., respectively, in July and August).

Births: Darcey Delaney Felter

Minute approved by Baltimore Monthly Meeting, Stony Run,

March 7, 2004

WITHDRAWAL OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO FRIENDS UNITED MEETING

Baltimore Monthly Meeting, Stony Run, is not in unity with Friends United Meeting (FUM) with respect to its policy toward gays and lesbians, specifically because it denies the universality of the light in every person. We recognize the value of FUM's programs and its importance to Quakerism; however, we must recommend that Baltimore Yearly Meeting withdraw all its financial support from FUM while continuing to maintain a dialogue in the hope of change in FUM's position.

We had hoped that FUM might change its policy over the years, but this policy has continued and there is currently little expectation of change. We regret the need to take this action and, as noted, fully expect BYM to continue to maintain a dialogue with FUM in the prayerful hope that a change of policy will occur in the future.

Clerk, Alice Cherbonnier

FROM MINISTRY AND COUNSEL:

At the Stony Run Monthly Meeting for Business in February 2004 the Committee on Ministry and Counsel made a recommendation to the Meeting regarding our relationship to Friends United Meeting (FUM) through the financial allocation of Baltimore Yearly Meeting (BYM) to FUM.

At this Meeting for Business the Committee on Ministry and Counsel was asked to provide the following for the next newsletter and on the web site:

• a history of the relationship of Stony Run to FUM
• the current situation regarding reporting of SR members to BYM for purposes of allocating funds to FUM
• the current situation regarding how BYM allocates funds to FUM
• options for action that the Meeting might consider.

and additionally,

• that multiple copies of the twenty-eight page document that the committee used in its deliberations be made available in the Library for interested members to review.
• that Members be urged to attend the next business meeting of the Meeting to be held Sunday, March 7, at 1 PM to discuss further what action the Meeting will take on the matter.

  The current situation at Stony Run is that any member may write to our Executive Secretary and inform him to withdraw one's name as a member to be counted in the allocation from BYM to FUM.

As of the February SR Meeting for Business, the committee on Ministry and Counsel was not aware of exactly how the allocations are made at BYM. There was a recent shift from counting Monthly Meeting memberships to not doing that in the calculation of BYM for allocation of funds to FUM. It is our current understanding that while membership is not used in the calculation, the opinions of the Constituent Monthly Meetings are taken very much into consideration.

The BYM Finance Committee meets in the spring to discuss the "spiritual value" of FUM to BYM and to make a recommendation of a percentage of increase to allocate to FUM. That recommendation is considered at the annual meeting of BYM. The current formula for increases to the allocation from BYM is 80% to FGC and 20% to FUM.

In another section of this newsletter is the history of our concerns about FUM. The bottom line is that FUM has a policy of discrimination against the hiring or placement into positions of volunteer leadership of gays and lesbians who are not celibate.

After eight years of laboring with FUM over this issue, it has become evident that there is no intention to change this policy. Therefore, Ministry and Counsel recommends that:

Monthly Meeting

1. inform BYM that we are not in unity with Friends United Meeting with respect to its policy towards gays and lesbians, specifically because it denies the universality of the light in every person. We recognize the value of many of FUM's programs and its importance to Quakerism; however we must recommend that BYM withdraw all financial support from FUM while continuing to maintain a dialogue in the hope of change in FUM's position.

   The Committee further recommends that the Monthly Meeting

2. take this recommendation to Quarterly Meeting in March,
3. send one or more representatives to the BYM Finance Committee May 24 where the FUM allocation is discussed, and
4. bring our recommendation to the next annual meeting of BYM. We had hoped FUM might change its policy over the years; but this policy has continued, and there is no sign that it is likely to change. We regret the need to take this action, and, as noted, fully expect BYM to continue to maintain a dialogue with FUM in the prayerful hope that a change of policy will occur in the future.

 
Respectfully submitted,
Suzanne H. O'Hatnick,
Clerk, Committee on Ministry and Counsel

FRIENDS UNITED MEETING (FUM) AND STONY RUN

As a constituent Monthly Meeting (MM) of Baltimore Yearly Meeting (BYM), Stony Run is affiliated with Friends United Meeting. FUM was formed in 1902 as the Five Years Meeting of Friends. Baltimore Yearly Meeting (Orthodox) was a founding member Yearly Meeting. When the two Baltimore Yearly Meetings (Orthodox and Hicksite) consolidated in 1967, the newly formed BYM retained the relationships that had been developed by the merging Yearly Meetings.

FUM is composed of Yearly Meetings, 20 as of 1999, and smaller Quaker groups. It meets triennially and publishes a complete record of its proceedings. It has jurisdiction over matters delegated to it by the constituent Yearly Meetings. FUM may provide Yearly Meetings with advice and counsel, and Yearly Meetings may look to it for advice and counsel

Any member of Baltimore Yearly Meeting (a member of a constituent MM) may be considered for appointment to the various agencies and General Board of FUM. Appointments to such responsibilities are made by BYM, upon nomination by the Nominating Committee, in accordance with the procedures and requests of the respective body. Appointments of the representatives and alternates to FUM are made every three years at the BYM sessions immediately preceding the FUM Triennial sessions.

Each Yearly Meeting in FUM is entitled to appoint five representatives to the Triennial Sessions, plus one additional representative for each 1,000 members or major fraction thereof. Major matters and proposals are considered by this Representative Body and the plenary sessions. Routine procedural matters may be acted upon by the Representative Body and reported to the Plenary Session, which reserves the right to approve, disapprove, or reconsider. BYM's representatives, including those persons named to the General Board, serve also for the three years following the Triennial sessions to which they were appointed as a support group for the relationship between BYM and FUM. Between Triennial Sessions, the General Board is the responsible body and legal representative

All Friends are encouraged to attend the Friends United Meeting Triennial sessions. Information about Friends United Meeting resources may be found on their web site, www.fum.org.

Details of the procedures of Friends United Meeting can be found in the pamphlet, Friends United Meeting Organization and Procedure, 1996, available from Friends United Meeting, 101 Quaker Hill Drive, Richmond Indiana 47374.

Copies of minutes from the proceedings of BYM annual sessions from 1981 to 2003 that are relevant to SR/BYM/FUM relations are available in the Meetinghouse Library. They are also available by mail upon request.

Seeking Quaker Alternatives To Visions Of World Domination

Stony Run Meeting members and attenders spent several hours over two days in December considering the implications of the think tank-generated document called Project for a New American Century that is being used as a model for what appears to be an effort by the Bush administration to achieve U.S. world domination in order to—in the view of the Project's proponents—achieve world peace, security and prosperity.

Participants considered if there might be any goals Quakers have in common with the document, and voiced concerns about the strategies outlined in it. From a Quaker point of view, participants asked themselves how the U.S. can achieve security and peace, and they also discussed how best to communicate about these matters with members of Congress and political candidates. Below is a comparison the participants developed that contrasts the New American Century version of what the four core missions of the U.S. military should be, and what a Quaker version of these missions might be.

Four Core Missions for the U.S. Military New American Century Version

"This report proceeds from the belief that America should seek to preserve and extend its position of global leadership by maintaining the preeminence of U.S. military forces. Today the U.S. has an unprecedented strategic opportunity. It faces no immediate great- power challenge; it is blessed with wealthy, powerful and democratic allies in every part of the world; it is in the midst of the longest economic expansion in its history; and its political and economic principles are almost universally embraced. At no time in history has the international security order been as conducive to American interests and ideals. The challenge for the coming century is to preserve and enhance this "American peace.""

Revised "Quaker Version"

The United States, as the sole "global superpower," finds itself in a historically unique position of strength and responsibility. The global economy is increasingly interconnected and inseparable from the issues of energy resources, biodiversity, development and human rights. A comprehensive strategy of conflict prevention offers the greatest potential for promoting lasting peace and sustainable development.

References: (See also FCNL's brochure on "Peaceful Prevention of Deadly Conflict" for a more comprehensive list of resources).

• "Peaceful Prevention of Deadly Conflict," Friends Committee on National Legislation, 2003. www.fcnl.org (click on War is Not the Answer).
• "Prevention of Armed Conflict," Report of the Secretary General, United Nations, June 7, 2001.
• "Preventing Deadly Conflict," Final Report, Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict.
• "Rebuilding America's Defenses: Strategy Forces and Resources for a New Century," prepared in 2000 by The Project for a New American Century.

Meetings interested in learning more about the results of these discussions, or details about how the events were planned and conducted, should e-mail Stony Run at stonyrunfriends@starpower.net.

Spiritual State of the Meeting Report - 2003

Stony Run Friends Meeting has been especially vibrant during these troubled times. Our members and attenders - from youngest to oldest-are working on many fronts to put their faith into action. We collect and deliver food to CARES, a local food pantry for the poor; our First Day students took pledges for reading books over the Christmas holiday, with proceeds going to the Heifer Project; and our Spiritual and Intellectual Nurture and Peace & Social Order Committees are organizing informational programs and First Day Forums, during which participants and panelists explore issues ranging from various aspects of spirituality to Iraq, Islam, the Middle East, the USA Patriot Act, and the Project for a New American Century.

During the colder months, we have been holding our Monthly Meetings for Worship with a Concern for Business after Simple Lunch on the first First Day of each month. This has resulted in increased attendance, and the general response thus far is that this may be a better time slot than first Tuesday evenings, which had been our previous practice.

Our Ministry and Counsel Committee has been considering the Meeting's current shared fiscal support of both Baltimore Yearly Meeting and Friends United Meeting, in light of the latter's unfavorable stance on issues related to homosexuality, and the Meeting as a whole will soon be taking up this concern. The Meeting's healing prayer group and its book discussion group are meeting regularly, and our Friends in Unity with Nature Committee is striving to make the Meeting more aware of its activities by, among other events, holding vegetarian cooking classes and preparing vegetarian simple lunches on a periodic basis. New this spring will be a series of "Fireside Chats" during which esteemed elder Friends will share their personal experiences as Quakers.

Our Information Technology Subcommittee has refined the Meeting's website and is working toward streamlining the Meeting office's use of computers. We welcome all Friends to visit if they should be in the area. Please visit our website at http://stonyrunfriends.org, or write us at stonyrunfriends@starpower.net.