Baltimore Yearly
Meeting Called Interim Meeting
25 Second Month
2006 Bethesda
Friends Meeting
I2006-01 Opening: The called Interim Meeting of Baltimore Yearly Meeting (BYM)
gathered February 25, 2006, at Bethesda Friends Meeting, Bethesda,
Maryland. Approximately forty people
from eighteen meetings joined in expectant worship at 1:00 p.m. (The date was changed because of snow on
February 11.)
Michael
Cronin, Clerk of Interim Meeting, (Friends Meeting of Washington), introduced
his fellow members of the Supervisory Committee: Kevin Caughlan, Yearly Meeting Treasurer (Sandy Spring); Meg Boyd
Meyer (Baltimore, Stony Run); Lauri Perman, Presiding Clerk of BYM, (State
College); Lamar Matthew (Baltimore, Stony Run). Gretchen Hall (Alexandria) was unable to attend.
Michael
stated our intent to consider in worship, discuss, and then approve a revised
position summary for guidance of the ad hoc Search Committee for a new General
Secretary, as approved at the October 22, 2005, Interim Meeting. (I2005-74) As Michael is clerk of Supervisory Committee, Lauri Perman and
Lamar Matthew shared the committee report.
I2006-02 Ad Hoc Search Committee: Lauri Perman reported that since not every
member of BYM can interview candidates, it is crucial to have an open, transparent,
inclusive process accepted by Interim Meeting.
The process has been informed by members of the 1988 ad hoc Staff Search
Committee, especially Walter Fry (West Branch), clerk, (see “Report of the Ad Hoc Staff Search Committee to Representative
Meeting, August 9, 1988” below) and
the full minutes of Eleanor Webb, recording clerk of Representative Meeting. (See BYM Yearbook, 1988.)
Lauri thanked all those
individuals and monthly meetings who had responded to the queries about both
the position description and criteria for the search committee. (see
I2005-74.) She reviewed the process,
criteria, and time line for selecting the ad hoc Search Committee for a General
Secretary. The many criteria fell into
three groups:
a) characteristics that every member of the search committee
must have: strengths in spiritual discernment; wisdom, faith, and trust; skill
and faith in Quaker process; experience with Quaker faith and practice; and
clarity that the member will not apply for the position;
b) characteristics of the committee itself, primarily diversity of
members in geography, age, race, gender, sexual orientation, size of
meeting attended, etc. She indicated that the committee was unable to
satisfy all the selection criteria in selecting the committee.
c) characteristics to be represented on the committee but that not every
member must have: camping program experience, Junior Yearly Meeting
experience, financial experience, Trustee experience, search and nominating
experience, etc.
The Supervisory Committee used the Strawberry Creek (CA) model of
nominating: reviewing the criteria, and
then letting names rise within worship.
Committee
members were introduced: Katherine
Smith (Maury River), clerk; Nancy Clark (Baltimore, Homewood), Andrei Israel
(Friends Meeting of Washington), Eric Uberseder (Dunnings Creek), Ramona Buck
(Patapsco), Janet Eaby (Nottingham), and Francy Williams (Frederick). Katrina Mason (Bethesda) was absent.
I2006-03 Summary of the General Secretary
Position: Lamar Matthew read the
February 24, 2006 draft summary of General Secretary position, prepared by the
Supervisory Committee. This draft
incorporated changes that Friends requested in response to the draft circulated
to all monthly meetings in early January.
(See “Baltimore Yearly Meeting
of the Religious Society of Friends seeks to appoint a General Secretary” below.)
To
clarify the statement about Supervision, the wording of the Manual of Procedure
will be used: (“The Interim Meeting
selects, employs, and defines the responsibilities of the General
Secretary.”) “The General Secretary is
responsible to the [Supervisory] Committee, specifically to its Clerk.” Michael and Lauri both emphasized the
collaboration between the Supervisory Committee and the General Secretary. The General Secretary makes proper and
appropriate decisions. The Supervisory
Committee is available for support and holds the General Secretary accountable
to standards of behavior, conduct and activity.
The
amended Position Summary will be on the BYM website, in Friends Journal and Quaker
Life. It was suggested it be more
widely distributed to our Monthly Meetings, North American Yearly Meetings, and
the Friends World Committee for Consultation.
I2006-04 Small Groups: The meeting divided into small groups, with
a member of both the Supervisory Committee and the ad hoc Search Committee in
each group. Two queries were offered
for consideration in a prayerful way:
1)
What is our vision
for the Baltimore Yearly Meeting over the next several years?
2)
What
qualities/characteristics do we seek in a General Secretary who may help us
fulfill this vision for Baltimore Yearly Meeting?
After
an hour and some welcomed hot beverages provided by Bethesda Friends, we
reconvened in worship at 3:20 p.m.
Summary reports were given from each of the six small groups.
In
general, we at Baltimore Yearly Meeting appreciate our vital children’s, youth,
and camping programs and our growing Young Adult Friends. We would like to see movement towards more
inclusion of newcomers in and beyond the Monthly Meeting level. There is a
vision of a Yearly Meeting, diverse and becoming more so, knit together through
intervisitation between meetings, enthusiastic work on committees, and substantive decision-making at
Sessions. Better knowledge and
understanding of our Quaker heritage and practice are desired, and
encouragement of leadings and ministry.
With the growth of the Yearly Meeting’s programs, our expectations of
the office staff, and the complexity of business and personnel management, we
foresee a time when another full-time staff position will be necessary.
The
Yearly Meeting needs a visioning process, especially before undertaking major
fund-raising efforts. Whether this
visioning takes place within a new General Secretary’s first year, or not, will
depend on his/her experience.
In a
General Secretary, we seek strong skills and traits which seldom are found in
one person, and which can cause conflicts in time management. We are looking for an approachable person
with a strong spiritual presence, openness to leadings of the spirit, and an
ability to integrate Friends’ practices into the business processes of the
day-to-day job. We would like this person
to be deeply grounded in Quaker history and practices, and able to articulate
what Friends offer to the wider public as well as ourselves. We want a servant leader who couples
excellent fiscal, administration and supervisory skills with the ability to excite
and support individuals and committees in their work. Visiting monthly meetings was stressed, as
well as being a public face, able to speak of the commonalities that we share,
rather than our differences. We need a
person ‘bilingual in FGC and FUM’, able to converse easily with diverse groups
of Friends. The person should have
perceptive listening skills and be able to reflect back as well as to relay
thoughts and information. Effective
communications and work with committees and meetings should reveal resources
flowing in both directions, to and from the General Secretary. The number of years of experience with
Quaker organizations is less important than the relevance of the work. The individual requires the maturity to
recognize and express the need for personal/professional boundaries, lest the
Yearly Meeting consume every waking moment.
Concerns
were raised about the length and clarity of the Position Summary, especially
regarding finances and fund-raising, about the unity of Interim Meeting,
Supervisory Committee and the ad hoc Search Committee on the summary’s final
form, and about BYM’s need for a ‘visioning process’.
Although
unity was not sought on particular phrases, the ad hoc Search Committee felt
comfortable going forward with the information received. The intent, the underlying goal, seems
clear. Members of the two committees
involved would be able to respond to any questions a potential candidate might
have.
The
purpose of the Position Summary is to attract applicants. It needs to be concise and clear, both to
draw candidates and not to limit the working of the spirit within the
committee. The ad hoc Search Committee
will use the suggestions and ideas generated today, as recorded in the written
notes of the small groups and these minutes, to discern which are appropriate
1) in a recruitment document, 2) as guidelines in interviewing applicants, and
3) to add to the descriptive (not prescriptive) record of tasks performed by
the past General Secretary. The
committee will carefully determine which suggestions are repetitive,
occasional, or singular. The ad hoc
Search Committee is responsible for the progress of the search, including
advertising, but they will see that the Supervisory Committee is comfortable
with the position summary.
The
current proceedings will be available on the website; Supervisory Committee and
the ad hoc Search Committee will work closely together, and the ad hoc Search
Committee will report at the next Interim Meeting, March 25, at Baltimore,
Stony Run Meetinghouse. Copies of the
final position summary will be available for Friends on March 25th.
The
discussion closed with a Friend’s reminder, quoting Isaac Penington in a letter
of 1678 TO THE WOMEN FRIENDS THAT MEET AT ARMSCOT IN WORCESTERSHIRE;
There is that near you, which
will guide you; oh! wait for it, and be sure ye keep to it....
I2006-05 Interim Meeting APPROVED transmitting the documents heard today
-- the annotated position summary, reports from six small groups, and the
Recording Clerk’s summary of our discussion -- to the ad hoc Search Committee,
and also APPROVED empowering the ad hoc Search Committee to use these approved
documents as they proceed with the work of forwarding the name of a
candidate for General Secretary of Baltimore Yearly Meeting to the Interim Meeting.
I2006-06 Announcements:
Michael
Cronin introduced the office’s new full time administrative assistant, Sandra
Michaels (Sandy Spring).
David
Hunter requested we take to our meetings and other public places fliers
announcing opportunities for campers at Opequon and Shiloh. We were among the first to know that there
will be some work weekends this spring on our camp properties! More fliers were available to tell you when
they are, when to come and what to bring.
Michael
announced copies of the Supervisory Committee’s charge to the ad hoc Search Committee
were available.
I2006-07
Closing: The called Interim
Meeting ended with worship at 4:25 p.m., intending to meet again, way opening
and weather permitting, on March 25, 2006 at Baltimore, Stony Run.
Respectfully
submitted,
Maria Bradley
Interim
Meeting Recording Clerk
