Minutes of Baltimore Yearly Meeting Interim Meeting

21 Tenth Month 2006

Baltimore Homewood Monthly Meeting,

 

 

I2006-56    Opening.  Friends settled into silence in the meeting room of Homewood Friends Meeting House in Baltimore, Maryland at 2:30 p.m.  The Clerk welcomed Friends and announced that next Spring Yearly Meeting Day will be held at Gunpowder Meeting, March 24, 2007.  June 16, 2007 Yearly Meeting Day will be held at Dunnings Creek.  Yearly Meeting Annual Sessions will be held at Frostburg State College July 31 to August 5. 

12006-57    Report of the Presiding Clerk Lauri Perman.  The report was read by Deborah Haines (Alexandria ) in Lauri’s absence. 

 October 20, 2006

Dear Friends,

As I write this, I imagine you all sitting at Baltimore-Homewood enjoying each other’s fellowship, and working hard to listen to the voice of God, among ever-present distractions.

I wish I could be with you in person, but I am happy to be attending our nephew’s wedding today near Rochester, New York.  Please know that my prayers and thoughts have been with you as you prepared for Interim Meeting.  I have lifted up our committees and Interim Meeting with the hope that you will feel renewed and strengthened by the presence of the Living Christ.

I want to share with you that I had a serious single-car accident on the Friday after Annual Session, while driving back from a site visit to Frostburg State.  As a cautionary note, I tell you that I was talking on a cell phone at the time.  I was knocked out in the accident, although I didn’t realize that until later.  Despite intermittent early indications to the contrary, I am not yet free of the after-effects of the concussion.

I am getting appropriate therapy and expect to make a full recovery, just not as soon as I originally thought.  In the meantime, I am learning to set aside my initial denial, be patient with myself, and ask you to be patient with me too. 

There are always gifts and I have come to appreciate the messages for me in this recovery such as:  “take better care of yourself,” and “rest more.”  I am finding great satisfaction in sorting and emptying boxes of paper that clutter my home.  I give thanks for the blessing of looking forward to an unencumbered future. 

This feels like a healing time for me, on more than one level. May your time together today be healing and nourishing for each of you.

In patience, hope, and friendship,

Lauri Perman

Presiding Clerk

 

I2006-58  Minute of Appreciation for Hopewell Center Young Friends.  Deborah Haines (Alexandria) also read, on Lauri Perman’s behalf, a Minute of Appreciation for Hopewell Center Young Friends.  

On Friday night of the 2006 Annual Session of Baltimore Yearly Meeting, before the panel presentation on “The Legacy of Tom Fox,” Hopewell Centre Young Friends presented three memory books they had created about Tom Fox:  one to Baltimore Yearly Meeting, which they asked the Yearly Meeting Clerk to come forward to receive, and one each to the clerks of  Langley Hill and Hopewell Centre Monthly Meetings.  The Young Friends also completed two additional memory books to be given to Tom’s children Kassie and Andrew.

Each beautifully and carefully composed memory book opens with Tom Fox’s poem “One Cool October Night in Baghdad,” that ends with the repeated line, “I declare that there is no god but God.”  The Young Friends collected letters, statements, and photographs of Tom Fox from Friends of all ages inside the Yearly Meeting.  They also include memories from others who knew Tom, such as his fellow captive and British citizen, Norman Kember, and from still others who did not know Tom but who were touched by his work, such as the Jewish Community of Winchester, Virginia, which planted two trees in his honor. 

Baltimore Yearly Meeting has had to learn to grieve Tom’s loss. Hopewell Centre Young Friends have led the way in showing us that sharing our memories of Tom and offering them to one another is an important route to healing.  We minute our appreciation to the Young Friends of Hopewell Centre, and to the adults who nurtured them.  We thank them for this precious gift and historical record of our dear Friend Tom Fox, who gave his life for peace.

Friends APPROVED.

 

I2006-59  Friends General Conference.  Deborah Haines (Alexandria), Clerk of Advancement and Outreach, reported that the Yearly Meeting had received a request to appoint two representatives to an Advancement and Outreach Consultation to be held near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania March 30 to April 1, 2007.  Advancement and Outreach Committee recommended that Deborah Haines (Alexandria) and Ken Stockbridge (Patapsco) be appointed with an alternate to be identified at a later date. 

Friends APPROVED.

I2006-60  Nominating Committee.  Jason Eaby (Oxford), reporting for the committee, brought the names of  five individuals who have resigned from committees:  Stacia Roesler (Alexandria) from Criminal and Restorative Justice, Ellen Atkinson (Sandy Spring) from Peace and Social Concerns, Joan Clippinger (Warrington) from Nominating, Barbara Galloway (Sandy Spring) from Youth Programs, and Hope Braveheart (Sandy Spring) as FGC representative.  Jason also brought forward two names for immediate appointment: Don Gann (Baltimore-Stony Run) to Program Committee and Virginia Schurman (Gunpowder) to Ministry and Pastoral Care.  

 Friends APPROVED.

The Nominating Committee’s written report, as circulated, included a list of committees whose membership falls short of the number recommended, noting that no action was being sought as the committees appear healthy.  If individuals wish to join these committees, or committee clerks feel interim action is necessary, additional appointments will be made. Otherwise no appointments will be recommended prior to 2007 Annual Session.  The committees include:

• Friends in Education                                 8 members                      9 recommended
• Program                                               8 members                      9 recommended

• Religious Education                                 10 members                      12 recommended

• Right Sharing of World Resources            3 members                      9 recommended

• Stewardship and Finance                  11 members                      14 recommended

• Sandy Spring Friends School            5 from BYM               6 recommended

I2006-61  Program Committee.  Sheila Bach (Langley Hill) reported, filling in for Liz Hofmeister (Bethesda), Clerk. The committee is seriously considering Frostburg State University as a site for Annual Session.  The site is relatively flat; evenings are reported to be cool.  The university’s conference manager is a member of Langley Hill Monthly Meeting.  Two visits have been made to the site with individuals representing all elements of our program participating.  July 30- August 5 has been reserved. The theme for the sessions is “Nourishing the Seeds of Hope”.  Some details regarding the contract remain to be worked out. 

           

I2006-62   Friends Wilderness Center.  Sheila Bach (Langley Hill) reported.  Friends Wilderness Center has requested that Baltimore Yearly Meeting affiliate with it by appointing an individual to the Board of Friends Wilderness Center.  This request was presented at March Interim Meeting, and further discussed at Annual Session. 

BYM’s Manual of Procedure does not recognize affiliation as such but rather refers to ‘representatives’ to other organizations and requires that BYM follow the organization’s procedures for appointing representatives.  Friends clarified that Friends Wilderness Center would be added to the Yearbook in that capacity. 

Friends APPROVED. 

I2006-63   Camp Administrative Secretary.   Jane Megginson (Frederick) reported. 

Since I began working in the Yearly Meeting Office almost five years ago every staff person in the Yearly Meeting has changed, some more than once.  This past year has been a particularly large year for turnover with half of the office staff changing.  This has presented many challenges and changes in energy, personality, and ways of doing things.  I am grateful for the new energy, competence, and desire to learn that Margo Lehman (new bookkeeper), Riley Robinson (new General Secretary), and Ann Whittaker (new administrative assistant) have all brought to their jobs. I am hopeful that we can all settle in for a productive year of service.

The camp season has come to a close with many things to be happy about and many challenges facing us for the coming years.  The change in payment due dates from this past season went exceptionally well. I appreciate the willingness on the part of camp families to adjust to paying for camp before they arrive which has benefited the program immensely.  The camp directors and staff are no longer handling so much money and acting as collection agents.  We have far fewer outstanding payments than we have ever had before.  Keeping track of all of the payments for camp will never be easy but it is much smoother when it doesn’t include a stop at four different camp locations for onsite payments!

This season at camp for the first time, all of the volunteers and work grant participants, more than 120, were background checked according to the policy of the Yearly Meeting and procedures carefully laid out by the Camping Program Committee.  In addition, all of the staff (more than 120) at our camps also were checked as we have done in some part for years. 

This season at camp we had an overall increase in campers, from 516 campers in 2005 to 530 campers in 2006.  Although this appears to be good news, we still had far too many unfilled spaces at Shiloh and Opequon.  Shiloh and Opequon both have the capacity to serve 60 campers per session and both averaged around 46 campers per session. We need more girls at Shiloh still, and this year the number of boys at Opequon dropped off. Catoctin and Teen Adventure were in high demand.  Teen Adventure was in such demand that we had to turn away forty applicants. These are campers that have attended one of the BYM residential camps and want to continue on at Teen Adventure, not new campers we have never served before.  It is interesting to face, on the one hand, underenrollment at two of our residential programs, and a demand we cannot meet at Teen Adventure (TA), on the other.  There has been a trend over the past few years of a higher percentage of campers from our residential camps applying to TA.  The TA program has become a more important part of the camper’s experience.  Demand for the program has increased, not only because we have more campers, but because more of them want the TA experience.

This past year we increased the amount of scholarship given out with 56 campers receiving over $30,000, over two-thirds of which is funded directly from camper fees.  We changed the forms for scholarship applications and had a more formal decision making process to grant aid.  This worked well and helped us make more informed decisions.  Eighteen campers who would not have been able to go to camp otherwise were sponsored in part or entirely by Quakers – organizations, meetings, or individuals.  Our first year of sponsoring five girls from My Sisters Circle in Baltimore was a great success and I would like to thank the Miles White Beneficial Society for their generous grant, as well as help from Baltimore, Homewood and Baltimore, Stony Run Monthly Meetings.  I hope that this can be a lasting relationship between our organizations.

In spite of our underenrollment, the program managed to stay financially solvent.  I attribute this in large part to an incredible job done by our camp staff in finding ways to reduce spending.  In addition, conservative budgeting has helped us meet our financial goals the past two years.

In the coming season, I would like to focus on:

§      expanding Teen Adventure to serve more campers

§      growing the scholarship endowment fund

§      raising funds for some much needed improvements for our properties

§      increasing the enrollment at Shiloh and Opequon

 

The Camping Program Statistics from 2006 appear at the end of these minutes.

 

I2006-64  Camping Program Committee.  Tasha Walsh (Maury River) and Anna Krome-Lukens (Williamsburg) co-clerks, elaborated how way has opened to permit expansion of the Teen Adventure(TA) program.  A former TA director, currently head of Friends School of Wilmington, North, has offered a house for a base, two buses to rent, and some staff.  The proposal includes significant water-related activities and service projects and would increase capacity by 24 campers.  The committee believes that such an expansion might have a spill over effect and recruit younger campers for our other residential camps. 

This expansion requires $66,000 change in budget. Stewardship and Finance has reviewed and approved this proposal.  General fees for camping programs will be going up, but fees for Teen Adventure will go up 33% to create a break-even budget during this program expansion. 

Friends made note of the fact Baltimore Yearly Meeting will be operating camps in three states with this expansion. 

Friends APPROVED this proposal with its $66,000 increase in both revenue and expense totals for the Teen Adventure program line in the 2007 budget. 

I2006-65 African Great Lakes Initiative.  Linda Heacock (Richmond Meeting), an Embraced Friend traveling under a minute from her Monthly Meeting endorsed by the Ministry & Pastoral Care Committee and by the Yearly Meeting, presented an up-date on her March 2006 report to Interim Meeting.  She reported in detail on her second month-long trip to Kenya, during which she delivered many basic and advanced Alternatives to Violence workshops and train the trainer sessions, in cooperation with Friends Peace Team’s Kenyan partner, Friends for Peace and Community Development.  A solid group of trained facilitators are now expanding the program and holding introductory and advanced level workshops. 

Linda expressed her gratitude to Friends from Baltimore Yearly Meeting who contributed significant funds to support her participation and to permit advanced Alternative to Violence programs and Train the Trainer programs to be held in several locations. Local sources of financial and in-kind support are also a very encouraging sign of the program’s increasing local ownership.

Friends were encouraged to take two publications of Friends Peace Teams, African Great Lakes Initiative which were available.   

 

I2006-66 General Secretary.  Riley Robinson (Friends Meeting of Washington) spoke of the warm welcome Friends have provided him in his new role of General Secretary.  Riley reported that he had recently attended the Quaker Superintendents and Secretaries meeting, which included representation from Evangelical Friends International and Friends United Meeting.  He spoke of the deep listening and sharing experience there and the participants’ discovery of the commonalities in their experiences.  

Riley reminded Friends that committees are the place where much of our work occurs.  We may need to be more intentional in our efforts to nourish our clerks and committee members.  Perhaps Monthly Meeting clerks and/or committee clerks should meet once a year. 

Riley introduced Ann Whittaker, who has been serving as administrative assistant in the Yearly Meeting Office since July.  Ann spoke of her pleasure in ‘coming home’ to Baltimore Yearly Meeting.  In addition, she requested that every monthly meeting forward its most current directory, preferably in electronic format, so that she may update the new data base which has recently been installed. 

Riley noted that the Yearbook is not available today.  He also acknowledged that staff have not recently been sending a weekly electronic bulletin to all meetings and local Quaker organizations.  Friends appreciated this resource and requested its resumption. 

I2006-63 Friends United Meeting.  John Smallwood (Langley Hill), one of Baltimore Yearly Meeting’s representatives to the Friends United Meeting General Board, reported. The American Section of the Board met last weekend.  John spoke of his efforts to get acquainted with the organization by listening and visiting many committees, and his experience of the deep spiritual grounding of the conversations. 

Friends United Meeting is in deep financial distress, including the closure of the bookstore, cutting back on staff both in numbers and work hours, and the curtailment of programs.   A strategic planning process has been undertaken, including deep deliberation about the fundamental definition of the organization.  The third major theme is the struggle to come to clarity and unity about the personnel policy.  John noted that Friends United Meeting is like a sinking boat from which many people are bailing. Baltimore Yearly Meeting is raising legitimate and serious issues about how to select the sailors who are working on this boat, without even lifting a teacup to help bail.  New England Yearly Meeting has taken a different approach by sending some financial resources, with a message of their deep opposition to current personnel policy of Friends United Meeting. 

All overseas staff of Friends United Meeting are raising their own salaries.  Last year a shortfall of $70,000 needed for the overseas staff was taken from reserves.  Money raised for overseas staff salaries goes solely for that purpose without any administrative costs withdrawn.  Contributing to salaries of overseas staff would do a bit to bail the boat. 

John emphasized that BYM’s financial contribution alone is not a significant factor in the financial distress of FUM. 

The Clerk encouraged Friends to send their responses to John’s ideas, in writing or in person, to the “four committees” laboring on our behalf over the issue of Baltimore Yearly Meeting’s financial contribution to Friends United Meeting.  Those committees and their clerk or representative are Advancement and Outreach, Deborah Haines (Alexandria), Ad Hoc committee on Gender and Sexual Diversity Concerns, Aron Teel (Charlottesville), Ministry and Pastoral Care, Howard Fullerton (Sandy Spring), Stewardship and Finance, Hugh Fuller (Langley Hill). 

The Friends United Meeting Board approved the appointment of Sylvia Graves, who had been serving as Interim, as the new Executive Secretary. 

 

A Friend reminded us that change occurs when people are open to the particulars, even when those particulars challenge our principles.  The fact that dissonance exists both within FUM and within BYM is a sign of openness to change. 

12006-64 Camp Property Manager.   David Hunter (Frederick) spoke of his pleasure in recognizing so many people present and reminded Friends that we own a significant amount of property.   

Staff Report of the Camp Properties Manager

To Baltimore Yearly Meeting

J. David Hunter

October 2006

 

This has been a year of transition, loss and renewal in the office.  The loss of Frank, our guide in all of our work, and the staffing changes that followed have been challenging for all of us.  I have felt the need to let go of some things that seemed important.  These threads may not have been timely for me or may have been there for others to pick up as led.  I have felt nudged by unseen hands to become dependent on the gifts of others and to carefully discern how to spend my time for the benefit of the Yearly Meeting, for the support of my co-workers and for the care of myself.  It has been liberating to recognize that it is often necessary for me to let go and get out of the way for a Friend or a friend to step in and offer the gifts that are needed.

Work Weekends

Work weekends are extremely important to the improvement and maintenance of our camp properties.  Aside from projects that are completed by parents volunteers and staff during the summer, very few projects get done that are not undertaken by volunteers during work weekends.  The day-to-day upkeep of the properties at Catoctin and Shiloh consume most of our caretakers’ time and we are not in a position to hire professionals to do many of the bigger property improvement and maintenance projects.  In order to control our cost it is important that Friends do all that they can to ensure good participation at work weekends in the Fall and Spring.

 

The good news is that work weekends continue to be a place where many of us find renewal, fellowship and have lots of fun.  More and more families are participating in work weekends and participants are finding that there is plenty of time to enjoy the properties as well as enjoying the sense of accomplishment that comes from completing a job or learning a new skill.  We are all indebted to those who attend work weekends – we all have gifts to bring, and we all leave in a better place than we came.

 

Catoctin work weekends are usually well attended and it is sometimes challenging to keep a list of jobs and supplies ready for the volunteers.  The love Friends, camp families, and camp alumni feel for Catoctin is always evident in the numbers of volunteers that participate and the enthusiasm they bring to their work.

 

We have also enjoyed many productive and fun work weekends at Shiloh and Opequon and we are extremely grateful to all of the volunteers that have participated. However, volunteers at these properties are fewer in numbers and we have occasionally had to cancel weekends for lack of workers.   I look forward to increasing the circle of Friends, camp families and camp alumni that are able to enjoy and care for our Virginia camp properties.  Opequon and Shiloh are special and beautiful places and I am confident that Friends who visit them will come to love them and long to care for them too.

We hope more and more families and Friends will join us for work weekends, especially at Opequon and Shiloh.  More information about work weekends can be found at www.bym-rsf.org/camping/WorkWeekends or by contacting David Hunter at davidhunter@bym-rsf.org

Catoctin Quaker Camp

Our efforts to replace existing cabins at Catoctin with cabins that conform to standards set by the state of Maryland continue. Volunteers attending work weekends were assisted by Peter Bugler, in building a beautiful new cabin at Catoctin in the fall of 2005 and are well on our way to finishing another one in the fall of 2006.  Both cabins are post and beam construction masterpieces and we are indebted to Peter Bugler for sharing his craft with us on such amicable terms.  This year’s cabin is of a slightly different design which reduces its overall height.  This was done because we are beginning to replace cabins that are closer to the road and we are eager to have them be as inconspicuous as possible.

We remain grateful to the Meetings that have pledged funds to help replace these cabins and to the Friends and camp families who have helped in this effort.  We are coming to the end of the funds that have been pledged and still have more cabins to build.  It would be wonderful to have more Meetings join in this effort.  Pledging to build a cabin is a wonderful way for a Monthly Meeting to support the work of the Yearly Meeting and building a cabin is a very concrete project that makes fundraising efforts easier.

Pond at Catoctin

In the past we have had intermittent problems with bacteria in the pond at Catoctin that occasionally prohibited the campers from swimming.  Since the summer and fall of 2004 a great deal of effort has gone into finding ways of preventing high bacteria levels in the pond We have worked with local water quality laboratories, county and state health officials and the MD Department of Natural Resources , Department of the Environment and environmental engineering firms to create a design solution.

 

This spring (2006) volunteers constructed the first element of this solution during a number of work weekends.  In the past there was a stone wall along side the creek that diverted water into the pond.  However, this wall did not do enough to control the flow of water into the pond. This spring a concrete wall was cast along the front of the stone wall and we can now control the flow of water from the stream into the pond completely!  When the water is clean and bacteria free we can let it flow at an ideal 50 gallons per minute into the pond and when it is not clean it can be shut off until it clears.

 

This structure worked wonderfully this summer!  Even through the terrible floods at the end of June and the beginning of July the bacteria population only changed moderately.  Unfortunately, it took a little work to convince the county health department that what we were doing was working but with time they came around and most of our campers this summer had ample opportunities to cool off in the pond

 

Between the close of 2006 camping season and the opening of the 2007 season we are looking forward to bringing about more improvements.  This winter we plan to make it possible to easily install the UV Disinfection system that has been designed to remove bacteria from the pond water if it ever becomes a problem again.  We are also planning to drain the pond and dredge out its bottom. While the water is out of the pond we plan to re-grade the banks of the pond to prevent the erosion and to stabilize the pond bottom with sand or gravel.  This will keep the water clearer, allowing the sunlight to penetrate the water and kill any bacteria that may be in the pond.

 

This project is moving forward smoothly, but resources are still needed to fund this project.  Efforts to encourage contributions from Catoctin families and alumni are on going.

 

Opequon Quaker Camp

In January of 2007 we look forward to signing a new long term lease at Opequon.  This will enable us to look at the property in a new way and begin to plan more carefully for the long term.  Being able to take a longer view at Opequon is a good thing; there are a number of improvements that are becoming more imminent.  Many of the cabins are going to need to be replaced in the near future. Fortunately, Virginia’s regulations are much less demanding and cabins can be built there much more cost effectively.

Since there are no caretakers at Opequon and it is rented less often, there are always plenty of maintenance and improvement projects to do there.  This year we made repairs to some of the structures, worked on some drainage issues and built a new shed for supplies and storage at the arts and crafts area.  The new shed replaces an older tin shed that had been damaged by snow years ago with a much sturdier wooden one.  We were also able to provide a water supply for the arts pavilion and made it possible to easily upgrade the power supply there in the future.

We received a 8 by 16 foot trailer as a gift from the Takoma Park Fire Department and we are rethinking the need for a new structure to house the infirmary at Opequon.  Our current infirmary is too small to serve our campers adequately and we have been considering the possibility of building a new structure to serve this purpose for the summer camping program.  Our new plan is to use the current infirmary and the trailer to provide the necessary space for an adequate infirmary.  We hope to be able to provide space for an examination room, a place for sick campers to recover, a small bathroom and a room for the healthcare giver to stay in so that he or she can be available to campers in need.  This combination of buildings will serve in place of a new, more substantial structure that was in the initial stages of planning and would have required a significant fundraising effort.

Shiloh Quaker Camp

Shiloh is in great condition and we have not had to undertake many big projects there.  The year-around caretaker and the maintenance people who are there in the summer have done an exceptional job of staying on top of the work that comes up. This summer lightning struck one of the pumping stations for the septic system, but the problem was dealt with quickly and effectively by our wonderful caretaker.  We are looking into more effective methods of keeping lightning from damaging this equipment.  In the spring we replaced the roof on the Cedars (the staff cabin) and built some picnic tables for use by the camping program.

Shiloh is the only camp that does not afford its users a good place to swim.  The creek is a great place to cool off, but in the months to come we will be continuing to work on the feasibility of building a pond or a pool on the property. If we choose to address this issue, it will be a big undertaking.  However, our camping program staff feels that this is a major obstacle in the Shiloh site reaching its full potential.

Vehicles and equipment

The Yearly Meeting owns and maintains eight vehicles for use by the camping programs and in maintaining the camp properties. They are also often used by the Yearly Meeting staff in their work.  This number may be rising to ten or twelve in the coming year.  We have found that this is the most cost-effective way of supplying the vehicles that he camping program needs.  However, selling older vehicles, buying replacements and maintaining these vehicles is time consuming.  I have found an auto broker who has made me one of his buyers so that I can go to wholesale auto auctions.  Our goal is to keep vehicles for no more than four years so that they will have maintained some of their value when they are sold.  This means that each Fall we are selling two to four vehicles, and each Winter and spring we replacing and registering the same number.

If you are looking for a used vehicle let David Hunter know.  One of the vehicles we are selling in the fall may meet your needs or I can look for what you need at the auctions.  A donation to the Camp Properties would be appreciated in exchange for this service.

I have spent time at restaurant equipment auctions looking for equipment needed for our camp kitchens over the past few years.  We have been able to provide some needed equipment for our camps cost effectively over the past few years.  It is my hope that this will not be needed for a few years since our kitchens are adequately equipped for the time being.

Committee work

I have had a wonderful time working with the Camp Property Management Committee this year.  It has evolved into a committee that is very active at the camp properties. Most of the work weekends this year have had at least one member of the Camp Property Management Committee in attendance.  We are blessed with a group of skilled and energetic people who are eager to give of their time and talents for our properties.

Rentals

Rentals of the camp properties when camp is not in session continue to be an important source of income for the camp properties. It is gratifying to know that our properties are enjoyed by so many families, school groups, Monthly Meetings and other groups.  There is a sense of community among the groups that use the camps in the off-season that is fostered by the way we depend on each other to care for and respect the camp properties that we have all come to love.

Catoctin is the property that is used the most in the off-season and rentals have held steady over the last few years.  We have been fortunate to find a few groups that enjoy renting our breath-taking Shiloh property.  A number of these groups are quite large and make a significant difference in the income we generate through off-season rentals.

Below, you will find a table with data about off-season rentals over the last three years.  Camp rental fees were increased 25% for the camping program and for off-season rentals in 2005.  This led to a decrease in the number of days the camps were rented that year but an increase in rental revenue.  As you will observe, the numbers of days the camps were rented in the off-season has begun to recover in 2006.

Days of off-season rentals	2004	2005 (25% fee increase)	2006 (projected)
Catoctin	103	80	95
Opequon	23	15	15
Shiloh	36	24	18
Total rental days	162	119	128
Total off-season rental fees	$11,976	$16,133	$18,465 (budgeted) $17,210 (projected)

Did you know that the camps are available for rental in the off-season?

This year we look forward to spreading the word that we have two facilities at our camp properties that are available for rental any time that camp is not in session, including winter.  We have facilities at Catoctin and Shiloh that are available year around to families and small groups.  The Retreat at Shiloh (sleeps up to 10) and the Studio at Catoctin (sleeps 5 and up) and are available to small groups and families whenever camp is not in session.  More information on these facilities is available at:

www.bym-rsf.org/camping/OffSeasonRentals/camprental.html

 

Caretakers

The Yearly Meeting is lucky to have friends who have been willing to serve as caretakers at Shiloh and Catoctin.  This is endless and isolated work and our caretakers do not (cannot) receive enough thank yous for all that they do.  When we visit Shiloh we take it for granted that the grass will be mowed, the plumbing will be in tip-top condition and that the camp vehicles will be in great shape.  At Catoctin we have been able to assume that we will receive a warm welcome, an offer of assistance and perhaps a rendition of the latest bear story.  We can count on a nice stack of firewood on the lodge porch and rest in the knowledge that camp will be ready for us when we get there.

We hope that Ralph Reed will be with us at Shiloh for many more years, but Jerry and Becky Coates have reluctantly informed us that family obligations have called them away from their positions on the mountain at Catoctin.  They have been there for us for nearly three years and I am sure that we will all want to thank them and express our regrets as they return to their home in Delaware.

While we will never be able to replace them, we do have a strong pool of applicants for the position and will begin interviewing soon. We hope to have the position filled by December of 2006 and a new caretaker in residence by the new year. Mary and Dave McKinney have been doing a great job of serving as interim caretakers this fall.

Fundraising

This has been a challenging year of change, transition and now, with the arrival of Riley Robinson, our new General Secretary, renewal and growth.  In this time of transition we (the Yearly Meeting staff) have not been able to spend as much time fundraising as we might have.  It is becoming more and more clear that my work is dependent on securing the necessary funds to undertake the work that we need to do to support our camping programs.  If we wish for our camping programs to remain accessible to as many children as possible we will need to think carefully about funding maintenance and capital improvements at our camp properties.  I continue to feel that we should be able to fund most of the maintenance and upkeep projects from funds that use of the properties by the camping programs and other groups generate.  However, we will need to seek other sources of funding for capital improvements and other major projects if we hope to control the cost of attending camp.

It is clear that we have sources of funds both inside and outside the Yearly Meeting but we need to find better ways of tapping them.  It is a comfort to know that the Yearly Meetings Stewardship and Finance Committee and Trustees are aware of this need and are giving it their attention.  I am heartened to know that individuals are emerging from the Camping Program Committee and from adults that grew up in the camping program who wish to help address this need.  I know that Friends in the Yearly Meetings will be supportive and receptive to their work as these individuals are led to action.

Conclusion

It has been a challenging year, but just like we learned at camp, these challenges have brought forth growth and shown us our strength.  Through the difficult times I have be helped when I have remembered to let go and waited for way to open.  I have been immensely grateful for the care and support of Supervisory Committee, Interim Meeting, the Yearly Meeting and friends of the camping programs.  Your care over the course of this year has made all the difference.  Thanks to all of you.

I2006-65 Peace and Social Concerns Committee.  Bill Mims, Langley Hill, Co-Clerk reported.   

The committee presented the following minute with a request that individuals write letters.  

Supporting Peace in Sudan

Baltimore Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) unites with the statement of the Friends Committee on National Legislation on Darfur (Ending Genocide in Darfur, Promoting Peace in Sudan—FCNL recommendations for U.S. Policy, January, 2006), particularly with its recommendations on ways to stop the violence taking place.

We encourage all monthly meetings in BYM to contact their members of Congress, asking them to support the FCNL proposals.

Friends Approved

Friends requested that, in the future, such requests be provided in writing and that they be transmitted on paper, in addition to any electronic format, to Monthly Meetings.

A minute was read with a request that it be sent on our behalf to appropriate locations, including Monthly Meetings, with a request for action. 

The Baltimore Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) deeply believes in the dignity and value of every human life. This flows from our belief that there is “That of God” in every person, which is a fundamental reason for our opposition to war. 

We also believe that torture is absolutely wrong.  It is wrong to torture anyone, for any reason. Further, all people should be treated with dignity and respect.

We are, therefore especially troubled by recent legislation passed by the U.S. Congress that legitimizes and condones forms of torture used by agents of the government.

We stand firmly opposed to torture, and ask all government leaders, especially those of our country, to stop using torture in any way, for any purpose.  We utterly reject its use.

We call upon all people of faith to join us in opposition to torture, and we renew our call of August, 2005, to support the Quaker Initiative to end Torture, which will be held next June, 2007, at Guilford College.

Friends APPROVED.

The committee requested that a letter be sent to the Secretary of State of the United States of America thanking her for efforts to urge changes in restrictive Israeli visa regulations which negatively affect staff at Ramallah Friends School and Friends International Center in Ramallah.  The letter was read. 

 
Hon. Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of State
Department of State
Washington, DC 20520
 
Dear Secretary Rice,

As members of Baltimore Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), we thank you for your efforts to reverse the onerous Israeli regulations imposed on Americans working in Palestine.  The recent imposition of new and dramatically restrictive visa regulations gravely threatens the viability of a Quaker school in Ramallah that has provided quality education to Palestinian children for nearly 120 years.

Ramallah Friends School was founded by North American Quakers in the 1880s and currently enrolls some 900 Palestinian children in grades K through 12.  Consistent with the teachings of Quakers, the school promotes an ethic of nonviolence and its graduates have engaged in civic life in Palestine for decades, providing a voice for moderation in this turbulent region.  The school continues to be operated by American Quakers and receives support from Friends from throughout the United States.

Among the school’s staff are six U.S. passport holders—some of Palestinian origin, others not—working under three-month visas issued by Israel.  In the past, such visas were readily renewable, allowing staff to work throughout the academic year.  A recent change in policy now restricts the number of the three-month visas granted to a foreign passport holder to only one visa every twelve months.  Under this new policy, these teachers will not be able to renew or extend their three-month stay in Ramallah except after spending a year outside the county. 

The new restrictions gravely threaten the viability of the school.  No U.S. passport holders would be able to teach for the full academic year.  Local teachers are not adequate substitutes for these Americans because the school depends on trained native speakers to deliver the curriculum which includes an international baccalaureate program. According to the Head of School, “the school will literally collapse if suddenly these teachers were denied entry.”

The objectives that you and President Bush have articulated for this region cannot be achieved by policies that undermine the viability of institutions such as Ramallah Friends School.  To help insure that the school can educate the next generation of Palestinian leaders, we urge you to persuade the Israeli government to rescind its new visa policy. 

We acknowledge that these restrictions on Americans affect many institutions and individuals besides Ramallah Friends School and we hope your efforts will benefit many others as well.

We look forward to hearing from you on this critical matter.

Sincerely,

Michael Cronin, Clerk

Interim Meeting

Friends APPROVED.

I2006-66 Criminal and Restorative Justice.  Kit Mason (Takoma Park), Clerk,

read a minute requesting that Baltimore Yearly Meeting incorporate a line item in its budget to support the work of the Prisoner Visitation & Support Committee, which the Criminal and Restorative Justice Committee has been supporting through its budget.  The request will be forwarded to Stewardship and Finance Committee.

 

I2006-67  Ministry and Pastoral Care.  Howard Fullerton (Sandy Spring), Clerk, reported to Friends that last spring the Working Group on Racism asked to be taken under the care of Ministry and Pastoral Care due to the spiritual nature of the its mission.  The Working Group was formally under the care of Peace and Social Order Committee.  Ministry and Pastoral Care Committee has asked the working group to clarify its mission statement. 

Howard read a traveling minute, prepared by Sandy Spring Monthly Meeting and endorsed by Chesapeake Quarter, for Rosalind Zuses to travel to Kenya as the eldering and traveling companion of Ann Davidson of New York Yearly Meeting, requesting endorsement by Interim Meeting.  Rosalind and Ann are traveling under a concern to share experiences with spiritual healing and will be participating in activities of the United Society of Friends Women. 

10^th Month, 1, 2006

Dear Friends,

Rosalind T. Zuses, a beloved member of this Meeting who currently serves as our Clerk, has opened to us her leading to travel among Friends in Kenya and the United Kingdom. She will be traveling in the Ministry of Spiritual Healing as companion/elder to Ann Davidson, the Director of Powell House in New York Yearly Meeting. Together they are led to share their knowledge of this ministry with Quaker women in Kenya.

Rosalind and Ann will be traveling among the annual yearly meeting gatherings of the United Society of Friends Women International from November 23 until December 13. After this they will travel through “1652 country” in the UK, visiting meetings and Friends there, returning home, God willing, on December 26, 2006.

This Meeting unites with Rosalind’s leading. We trust that you will benefit as we have from her sincerity of faith, her generosity of Spirit, and her deep insight into healing practice. We commend Rosalind and Ann to your care and hospitality.

Approved and minuted at our meeting for worship with a concern for business held 10^th Month, 1, 2006.

Thomas B. Farquhar

Clerk, Ministry and Counsel

Friends APPROVED.

I2006-68 Ad Hoc Intervisitation Committee. Walter Brown (Langley Hill), Co-Clerk,brought forward a travel minute for Ken Stockbridge (Patapsco), initiated and approved by Patapsco Meeting, which includes a general description of the Intervisitation Program. 

Friends spoke with appreciation of the careful way in which concerns expressed earlier had been met with the revisions of the program description and both were APPROVED.

 

Dear Friends,

Ken Stockbridge has opened to us his leading to travel among Friends meetings, especially within Friends United Meeting (FUM).  In his travels, he also seeks a deeper understanding of the bonds that hold our Quaker communities together and how Friends build and stay faithful to those bonds. From his earliest association with our religious society, Ken has experienced his spiritual life deepened by traveling out to the wider circle of Friends.  He has served as a representative from Baltimore Yearly Meeting (BYM) to the Central Committee of Friends General Conference as well as FUM's 2005 triennial. He has served on BYM’s Intervisitation Committee since its inception in 2004 and as Clerk of Chesapeake Quarter since March 2006. In all these places Ken has sought to build the blessed community.

Many of Ken's visits will arise through BYM's intervisitation program. A description of that program is attached.

In our monthly meeting, what came clear to many of us is that we have not sought the same deep and loving listening with other meetings in FUM that we have come to expect and cherish among ourselves. Yet we know experimentally that it is only by this way that we build communities prepared to face disagreements with love. George Fox said, “All meet together everywhere, and in your Meetings wait upon the Lord; and take heed of forming words, but mind the Power, and know that which is Eternal, which will keep you all in unity, walking in the Spirit, and will let you see the Lord near you and among you (Epistle 43).” Ken Stockbridge’s leading to travel among Friends meetings has opened the way for Patapsco Friends to answer George Fox’s call. Knowing his gifts, we send him to you as a servant in the work of helping our meetings everywhere be places where the Lord delights to dwell. We commend him to your care and hospitality.

Approved and minuted at our Meeting for Worship for the Purpose of Business, held 10/1/2006.

Ramona Buck, Clerk

 

Baltimore Yearly Meeting’s Intervisitation Program

 

The Intervisitation Program of Baltimore Yearly Meeting (BYM) seeks to strengthen the Religious Society of Friends and nurture the beloved community of Friends, especially within Friends United Meeting (FUM).  While BYM's concern regarding an FUM personnel policy planted the seed, that concern is not the program’s focus.  Rather, as we in BYM faced the pain we felt as a result of that policy, we awoke to the fragility, and in some cases brokenness, of the relationships among the yearly meetings and monthly meetings within FUM. Thus the goal of BYM's Intervisitation Program is to encourage, prepare, and support Friends to travel among Yearly Meetings with the faith that we can listen deeply, strengthen our relationships, and build our faith community. Our program assumes that intervisitation will be in all directions and those interested will offer and receive hospitality.

 

I2006-    Youth Quake. Laurie Wilner (Langley Hill), Baltimore Yearly Meeting representative to Youth Quake, read a letter informing the participating organizations that Youth Quake, an event for youth ages 13-19, is being laid down.

Dear Friends,

Greetings.  After much discernment, we realize that it is time to lay down YouthQuake as we have known it for so many years.

In planning for what would have been the December 2006 YouthQuake, we recognized that we were no longer an event consistent with our mission –we were missing many of our sisters and brothers from the different branches of the Religious Society of Friends.   We were also watching a steady and consistent decline in the number of youth choosing to attend Youth Quake.

This has been a very hard and sad decision for us to make, and one that we tried to avoid.  However, it is clear to us that God is not calling us to continue Youth Quake at this time.  It is our sincere hope and prayer that in the void left by this ending, new opportunities for Quaker youth to gather in fellowship and Christ’s love will arise.

We are heartened by the energy coming from the World Gathering of Young Friends, by the renewed commitment to service work among many Yearly Meetings, and the desire of youth to know one another and share in God’s love.

We want to thank all those who have supported and participated in Youth Quaker over the years. YouthQuake has been a powerful source of education, connection and spiritual growth for thousands of Quaker youth across the country.

In Faith,

Presented by Laurie Wilner, BYM Representative to the YouthQuake Board of Directors

 

Announcements and Closing. 

• Stephanie Warner, Adelphi, informed Friends that a table, purported to have been used by George Fox, is currently used at Sidwell Friends School and requested assistance in authentication of the provenance of the table.  Minutes of Friends Meeting of Washington before 1976 may be helpful; the historians of Friends Meeting of Washington may also be helpful.
• The Religious Education committee has made available for each MM a book about Tom Fox. Please pick up one. 
• Friends are invited to supper. 

Meeting closed with worship at 6:15.

Friends arose to gather again at Gunpowder Meeting, Sparks, Maryland on 24 March 2007. 

 

Michael Cronin, presiding                                               Margaret Boyd Meyer, recording

 

Camping Program Statistics 2006

 

Enrollment - totals

·        594 people applied to camp and 530 attended.  Last year, 587 people applied to camp and 516 attended.  About 89% of applicants attended, up from 88% last year.

·        Overall, the campers are 54% BYM Quakers, 7% Other Quakers, and 39% Non-Quakers.

 

Opequon

·        149 campers attended this year, down from 156 last year.

·        In 2006 Opequon averaged 47 campers per session significantly down from 54.5 campers per session in 2005.

·        96 (64%) of the campers were female, 54 (36%) male. Last year it was 54%/46%.

·        Overall religious affiliation was:  80 BYM Quakers, 6 Other Quakers, and 63 Non-Quakers.  That’s 54% BYM Quakers, 4% Other Quakers, and 42% Non-Quakers. 

·        13 campers attended for four weeks

·        30 campers graduated

 

Catoctin

·        There were 182 total campers, up from 166 last year.

·        This year Catoctin averaged 81 campers per session, last year they had 76.

·        87 (48%) female, 95 (52%) male. Last year it was 45%/55%.

·        Overall religious affiliation was:   102 BYM Quakers, 13 Other Quakers, and 67 Non-Quakers.  That’s 56% BYM Quakers, 7% Other Quakers, and 37% Non-Quakers. 

·        61 campers attended for four weeks

·        32 campers graduated

 

Shiloh

·     There were 123 total campers, up from 122 last year.

·     This year Shiloh averaged 46 campers per session, down from an already low 50 per session last year.

·     57 (46%) female, 66 (54%) male.  Last year it was 38%/62%.

·     Overall religious affiliation was:  59 BYM Quakers, 6 Other Quakers, and 58 Non-Quakers.  That’s 48% BYM Quakers, 5% Other Quakers, and 46% Non-Quakers.

·     15 campers attended for four weeks

·     22 campers graduated

 

Teen Adventure

·        There were a total of 76 campers: 48 in the first year program, and 28 in the second year, Leadership Training program. 

·        38 female, 38 male

·        Of the TAP campers (first year) 16 (33%) came from Opequon, 18 (38%) from Catoctin and 14 (29%) from Shiloh. (The campers were accepted evenly but due to drop outs the balance changed a bit).

·        Of the TALT campers, 10 came from Opequon, 10 from Catoctin and 8 from Shiloh.

·        Overall religious affiliation was:  48 BYM Quakers, 10 Other Quakers, and 18 Non-Quakers.  That’s 63% BYM Quakers, 13% Other Quakers, and 24% Non-Quakers.

 

TA Waiting list:  26 applicants to TAP did not get in.  14 applicants to TALT did not get in. There were 105 campers graduating from our residential camps in 2004, in 2005, there were 95.  This year, we have 84 graduates from our residential camps.  In 2007, I am projecting a graduating class from our residential camps of 87 campers.

Even though our graduating camper rate is going down, we are still experiencing a bulge of campers who are not getting in the year before reapplying to TA.  We are also seeing an increase in the percentage of graduating campers from our residential camps applying to TA and our graduates of TAP applying to TALT. In 2005, 67% of eligible campers applied to TAP, while 65% of TAP grads applied to come back to TALT.  This year, 72% of eligible campers applied to TAP which had 5 fewer spots available that were given to campers from 2005 that did not get in.  TALT had a whopping 88% of the previous years TAP grads applying up from 65% the year before. 

 

Camperships and Financial Aid

• 75 Campers received a total of $26,014 in Monthly Meeting Camperships averaging $347 each.
• $46,825 in Work Grants were distributedto 105 campers (65 of whom were BYM Quakers).
• We gave $30,740 in Camperships to 56 campers averaging $549 per camper. Of the camperships distributed, $13265 went to 29 BYM Quakers averaging $457 each; $10,250 went to 15 non-BYM Quakers averaging $683 each.
• 18 BYM Quakers get scholarship both from the Camping Program and their Monthly Meeting.
• 19 of the BYM Quakers that get Work Grants also get help from their Monthly Meeting.
• 6 BYM Quaker campers get work grant, financial help from the Camping Program and from their Monthly Meeting.