Minutes of Baltimore Yearly Meeting Interim
Meeting
Tenth Month 30, 2004
Goose Creek Monthly Meeting
I2004-25
Opening.
The Clerk invited Friends to settle into silence
in the meeting room at 2:15 pm at the Goose Creek Meeting House in Lincoln,
Virginia. Out of the silence the Interim Meeting Clerk read the first two verses
of Psalm 127, from the English Translation of the “Liturgical Psalter,” produced
by the International Commission on English in the Liturgy, 1994:
If God does not build the house,
the builders build in vain.
If God does not watch over the city,
the guards watch in vain.
How foolish to rise early
and slave until night for bread.
Those who please God receive as much
even while they sleep.
The Clerk noted that
approximately 160 Friends from 30 Monthly Meetings were served lunch; more
attended. Warm thanks were expressed for the hospitality of Goose Creek
Friends.
I2004-26
Report of the Presiding Clerk Lauri
Perman. The report focused on a challenging juxtaposition of the protection
and safety of our children and the loving support of a Friendly Adult Presence (FAP)
who had repeatedly pushed boundaries in the context of youth gatherings. Lauri
introduced the members of the Clearness and Support Committee for the FAP: Lamar
Matthew, Michael Cronin, Don Gann, Riley Robinson, and herself. Friends were
asked to approach these individuals outside the context of the business of
Interim Meeting.
Clerk’s Report to Interim Meeting
It is a great blessing to serve as Presiding
Clerk of BYM. I am very grateful for the opportunity for spiritual growth it
has provided me. This opportunity for service has been a true gift in my life.
I wish I could talk with you about the many joys I have experienced but I need
to talk with you at some length about a single problem. When I am finished
speaking, I will not take questions but ask instead that we worship.
During the past few months, we have encountered a challenging problem as a
yearly meeting. To work on this problem, we now have a committee in place
operating in the Light, open to guidance from the Spirit. In the long run, I
think both the Yearly Meeting and the individual concerned will be in a stronger
place than before. After I describe the problem we encountered, I will describe
our newly developed process, which builds on prior work in the Yearly Meeting,
and I will name the committee members for you so that you can ask them your
questions as they arise.
For some of you, what I am about to say will be
new and perhaps uncomfortable for you to hear; it may raise questions that I
will not be able to answer. For others, you may be impatiently awaiting what I
can say that can put your already troubled heart at rest that we are following
proper Friendly practice. Some of you have heard something that troubled you
during these past months and you have experienced anger, concern, frustration,
and impatience. For all of us, there is no doubt that we have been through a
very tough time and that difficulties still lie ahead. Patience will be needed.
What is the challenging problem? In the late
spring and early summer, several adults working with our Junior Young Friends
and our Young Friends programs came forward to share their sense that a Friendly
Adult Presence (a FAP) participating in the programs had engaged in
inappropriate behavior on multiple occasions. No one made a specific allegation
of sexual abuse; rather, Friends described a pattern of behavior that repeatedly
violated boundaries that most adults set with children. These
boundary-violating behaviors had made other adults and some children
uncomfortable and had raised questions and deep concern among the other adults
responsible for the care of our children and Young Friends.
Early attempts to express concerns to the FAP
about the FAP’s behavior were not heard. The FAP’s response indicated that the
FAP thought it was up to the children to set the boundaries for physical contact
with an adult and that the FAP pushed the boundaries and left it up to the
children to let the FAP know if the FAP had violated their boundaries. These
unsatisfactory responses led other adults to conclude that it was important to
come together to discern how to proceed. There was concern expressed: (1) to
protect the children from confusing and inappropriate behavior, and (2) to
protect the reputation of the FAP and not rush to judgment about the FAP or the
FAP’s behavior.
On July 6, 2004, a group of about ten Friends
met confidentially to discuss their concerns about the FAP’s behavior. Because
staff were involved, Michael Cronin, clerk of Supervisory Committee, was among
the participants at this meeting. Neither Lamar Matthew, as then Presiding
Clerk, nor I, as the incoming Presiding Clerk, were present at the meeting, nor
did we hear of the meeting. Lamar has expressed amazement and gratitude to
learn that Friends could meet so confidentially since, in his six years as
clerk, it was his impression that he usually got wind of everything that
happened. At this meeting, the group decided that it was time to draw a safety
line. A second meeting of this group took place at yearly meeting sessions.
The safety line was drawn acting on legal
advice. Frank Massey, General Secretary, and Michael Cronin, clerk of Interim
Meeting, met together with the FAP on August 30 and gave the FAP a letter
indicating that the FAP could no longer participate in Yearly Meeting programs
where children were present. Frank also informed the FAP’s monthly meeting
clerk of the action and asked the monthly meeting clerk to inform the clerk of
the monthly meeting’s pastoral care committee. The Yearly Meeting attorney told
Frank that neither he nor anyone in the Yearly Meeting should say anything about
why the Yearly Meeting had taken this action, nor that a committee of concerned
Friends had participated in a careful discernment process prior to and at Yearly
Meeting sessions.
In order to comply with the Yearly Meeting
attorney’s advice, Frank Massey was prepared to accept full responsibility for
the action that a committee discerned needed to be taken. In doing so, he was
prepared to assume, and did assume, the brunt of a very intense firestorm of
personal criticism and anger that ensued from Friends and Young Friends who had
not participated in the discernment process.
The same evening that the FAP was informed of
the decision, the FAP informed the Young Friends community of the decision via a
Live Journal, publicly accessible on the Internet, reporting that the FAP was
“devastated” to learn that the FAP would no longer be able to participate at
Young Friends programs. Almost immediately some Young Friends and some parents
mobilized on behalf of the dismissed FAP with all the energy and passion that
youth can bring to perceived injustice. The FAP also, and appropriately in my
opinion, sought the counsel of our Ministry and Pastoral Care Committee for
advice on how to appeal what the FAP perceived as an unfair action.
Subsequently Rosalind Zuses and Don Gann of our
Ministry and Pastoral Care Committee and Lamar Matthew met with Frank Massey and
Michael Cronin to express concerns both for the FAP and for good Quaker order.
The decision from that meeting was that Lamar Matthew, Michael Cronin, and I
would meet with the FAP to express the love of the Yearly Meeting and our
intention to work together to find a way forward. We also thought it very
important to listen and hear the FAP’s concerns. This meeting, rooted in
worship, took place in early September. The next day Michael, Frank, and I met
with the Young Friends Executive Committee to inform them of the worshipful
meeting with the FAP and to hear their concerns.
Subsequent to the September meeting, the FAP
gave Don Gann, Co-Clerk of Ministry and Pastoral Care, a copy of a procedure
that Junior Yearly Meeting approved in 1995 for dealing with allegations of
sexual abuse. In our opinion, the procedure did not apply to the situation we
were dealing with inasmuch as we did not have an allegation of sexual abuse, and
JYF and YF programs are not part of Junior Yearly Meeting. Nonetheless, we
studied the procedure and came to believe that it was a thoughtful approach from
which we could learn and borrow elements to construct a process more suitable to
the particular problem we faced.
The 1995 Junior Yearly Meeting procedure has
three elements: listening, clearness, and support. In effect, Lamar, Michael,
and I functioned as a listening committee when meeting with the FAP in early
September. Our goal then became to create an appropriate process for clearness
and support. The process we decided upon is currently underway and I will
describe it now.
We have created a joint Clearness and Support
committee whose guiding principles are compassion and confidentiality. We meet
together in worship, calling upon the Spirit of Love and Truth to inform our
work. The goal of this committee is to seek clearness and provide support both
for the FAP and for the Yearly Meeting. Friends have given generously of their
time to this difficult endeavor.
[The clerk asked members of the committee to
rise and remain standing until all were introduced.]
The first four members of the Clearness and
Support Committee are: Lamar Matthew, immediate past Presiding Clerk of
Baltimore Yearly Meeting; Michael Cronin, Clerk of Interim Meeting; Don Gann,
Co-clerk of Ministry and Pastoral Care; and myself, Presiding Clerk of Yearly
Meeting. We then asked the FAP to give us the names of three members of
Baltimore Yearly Meeting whose participation would be satisfactory to the FAP.
From these names, we selected Riley Robinson of Friends Meeting of Washington to
participate as the fifth member of the committee. We invite those of you with
questions and concerns to feel free to communicate with any one of the five of
us, recognizing that confidentiality may preclude our answering all your
questions.
I am serving as clerk of the committee.
Yesterday the Clearness and Support Committee had its first meeting with the FAP.
We are proceeding in God’s time and will move forward until Way opens. The
prohibitions against the FAP’s participation in programs where youth are present
will remain in effect pending completion of the process. No Baltimore Yearly
Meeting staff members are involved in the process, but our committee is keeping
them informed of our work.
Over the past two months, we have already heard
lots of questions and I will anticipate and answer three at this time.
(1)
Who is the FAP? If you are curious about the identity of the FAP,
please ask yourself whether seeking this information will further the cause of
Love in the world. If not, seek not to learn the FAP’s identity.
(2)
Was action taken on hearsay evidence? In order to satisfy myself that
Friends had acted thoughtfully based on first-hand experience, I interviewed
many but not all of the participants of the early meetings as well as others. I
shared the results of those interviews with the other members of the Clearness
and Support Committee. I particularly sought information that I could confirm
from multiple sources or observers. Based on what I learned, and the personal
observations and experience some of us have had with the FAP, which we shared
among ourselves, we concur with the decision of the first ad hoc discernment
committee that the safety line needed to be drawn.
(3) Were any mistakes made? This is a
hard problem and I think everyone involved has probably at one time or another
said something or taken an action that he or she would do differently if given
another chance. We have not been perfect; we have been human, but we have done
our best to be guided by God in our actions and to recognize and correct our
mistakes whenever possible. All this has taken time and we have not been able
to move as quickly as we would have liked.
We have some queries for members of the Yearly
Meeting to consider:
(1) How can we as a community protect
confidentiality and assure good order at the same time? This challenge will
face us again in the future, probably in many different contexts. What can we
do next time so that Friends are more satisfied that good order is in place?
(2) How can we as a faith community
develop clear guidelines for the behavior of our adult chaperones with youth?
Certainly the work that our Youth Secretary Hope Braveheart is currently doing
with the Supervisory and Youth Programs Committees to develop safety guidelines
and training programs for FAPs for our youth programs is an important step in
this direction.
I have come to recognize that we do not owe any
adult member of the Yearly Meeting the right to work with children. Someone
does not have to commit criminal behavior for the Yearly Meeting to conclude
that it is not a good idea to have that person work with children. As a Yearly
Meeting community, we have the right to set and hold our own standards for the
adults who work with our children.
Of course, we have in this case gone beyond
saying that someone cannot work with children; we have said that this FAP cannot
be present at programs where children are present. I assure you that all the
members of the Clearness and Support Committee recognize this difference and
that is why the work of the Spirit and your prayers are needed. How can someone
remain a full member of the Yearly Meeting if prohibited from participating in
programs where youth are present? We trust Way will open and we will be guided
to an answer.
My reference reading on this topic tells me that
we, as a faith community, need to treat each other as if we were grieving, as
indeed we are. We need to call forth tenderness, hold one another in the Light,
and be accountable to each other to act with integrity, truth, and compassion,
and to care for those not able to protect themselves, our children and youth.
As I said at the outset, all the members of the
Clearness and Support Committee believe that the work we are doing now will
leave the Yearly Meeting and the FAP in a stronger, healthier place. Even
through the most difficult problems, there are always opportunities for Grace
and we have certainly experienced Light and Love in the course of this work.
We are guided by the words of Isaac Penington:
“Our life is love, and peace, and tenderness;
and bearing one with another, and forgiving one another, and not laying
accusations one against another; but praying one for another, and helping one
another up with a tender hand.” (1647)
We ask Friends to hold this
concern in the Light.
I2004-27
Search Committee.
David Hines stated the Committee had no report
for this Interim Meeting.
I2004-28
Announcement.
Miriam Green reported with sadness the death of
John Brown (Brownie) Newman on 10/27/04. A memorial service in the first week
of November will be followed by one on 11/6/04 at 2:00 p.m., in Homewood Meeting
House in Baltimore.
I2004-29
Nominating Committee.
Ruth Flower gave a list of recent resignations,
and then those proposed by the Nominating Committee to fill the vacancies
created by the resignations.
Assignments Resigned Nominated
FUM
Triennial Susan Walters Ken Stockbridge [formerly named as
alternate]
Betsy Meyer J E
McNeil [formerly named as alternate]
Lauri Perman
Friends
House Betsy Meyer
FWCC
Betsy Meyer
Friends
Approved
this part of the report.
In addition, the
nominations of Andre Israel as representative to the World Gathering of Young
Friends, and Rebecca Haines Rosenberg and Annalee Horne as alternates were
brought for consideration. Friends
Approved
these nominations, and authorized the Nominating Committee to communicate with
Monthly Meetings seeking help in sending the alternates to the WGYF as well.
I2004-30
Friends United Meeting. Howard
Fullerton, one of our representatives to FUM, gave the report from the meeting
of the FUM Executive Committee 10/1/04. Board members had expressed
appreciation for BYM’s response to their overtures at our summer annual
sessions. They especially welcomed the idea of intervisitation, and hoped to
reciprocate with both hospitality and visiting. Howard also mentioned that FUM
continues to face financial challenges.
Report of the FUM
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee
approved the following response to the visit Friday, October 1, 2004, by
representatives from Baltimore Yearly Meeting (Howard Fullerton, Richard
Liversidge, and Walt Fry).
The representatives
brought the questions: How does Friends United Meeting and Baltimore Yearly
Meeting stay engaged without agreeing on gender issues, and continue to live and
work together? Specifically, how do we continue together while being out of
harmony on the personnel policy stated by Minute 88-GB-52 of FUM General Board
as applied in the staff's personnel manual?
Friends United Meeting
is no more and no less than its constituent yearly meetings worldwide. As
members of the General Board, we work diligently to hear all of our constituents
and we take seriously all of the voices we hear. We take seriously the messages
from Baltimore Yearly Meeting and we value its representatives to the FUM
General Board.
Because of this, (l) we
are greatly heartened by Baltimore Yearly Meeting’s considerations and movements
toward intervisitation between Baltimore Yearly Meeting and other yearly
meetings. (2) We would encourage all yearly meetings in Friends United Meeting
to accept their visits and (3) to reciprocate. There are many important issues
causing concerns among Friends, gender issues being one of them. Because of the
seriousness of the issues, including Minute 88-GB-52, we realize that a
resolution, if there is one, may be long in coming. It is only through seeking
God's will together that we hope to find a place to stand. We realize the
difficulty of cultural, economic, geographic, etc., differences.
However, we remind
ourselves as the General Board and we remind you, our constituents, that each
member yearly meeting in North America, Africa, the Caribbean, as well as the
monthly meeting in Ramallah, hears the voice of God. As Friends we seek to hear
the totality of God's word. (4) We encourage Baltimore Yearly Meeting and other
yearly meetings who become active in intervisitation to inform the Executive
Committee through their representatives.
Again we are greatly
encouraged by the movements of God's Spirit in Baltimore Yearly Meeting and hope
that intervisitation brings Friends closer together.
I2004-31
Friends World Committee for Consultation.
Flossie Fullerton reported first on a
talk given by Margaret Fraser, Executive Secretary of FWCC’s Section of the
Americas, at Chesapeake Quarterly Meeting in September. The topic was ‘What
unites us as Friends today?’ The answer she offered was that it is not style of
worship, belief, nationality, language, or culture. Rather, it occurs as we
come together to worship the living God, meeting at the center, whether in
worship based on silence or on praise.
Flossie also reported on
the Southeast Regional gathering 10/22-23/04 of FWCC in North Carolina–the first
since fall of 2000. Six Yearly Meetings comprise the Region: North Carolina-FUM,
North Carolina-Conservative, Southern Appalachian Yearly Meeting and
Association, South Eastern, Jamaica, and Baltimore. The next meeting is planned
for fall 2005 in Atlanta.
I2004-32
Friends General Conference.
Don Gann, Co-Clerk of Ministry and Pastoral
Care, announced the third consultation sponsored by the FGC Traveling Ministries
Program, to be held 11/12-14/04 near Pittsburgh, PA. The topic will be
“Nurturing Faithful Ministry in Our Monthly and Yearly Meetings.” The Yearly
Meeting may send two delegates, and Ministry and Pastoral Care Committee hoped
for two Friends to express interest.
I2004-33
Ad hoc Committee on Gender and Sexual Diversity
Concerns. 1. Clerk Aron Teel
mentioned the availability of the document “Minutes and Other Actions on Same
Gender Marriage and Other Gender and Sexual Diversity Concerns in BYM Monthly
Meetings, Quarterly Meetings, and Young Friends.” A $3.00 contribution will
cover the cost of printing, and a $5.00 contribution will further the work of
the committee. He asked that Friends let the Committee know of any needed
updates.
2. Aron read a proposed
minute in opposition to the Federal Marriage Act. Friends heard the minute,
offered some changes of phrasing, and were able to unite with the substance of
the minute. A Friend suggested amending the beginning to read, “Quakers of
Baltimore Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends hold the tenet…”
Friends Agreed
to proceed by distributing the minute to Monthly Meetings for discussion before
consideration at the next Interim Meeting.
Proposed Minute on
the Federal Marriage Amendment
As Quakers, we all hold
the tenet that there is that of God in everyone. From this we also believe
deeply that God loves all of the Creation. All children of God, regardless of
their perceived or identified sexual orientation, are beloved of God, who
created them. And all are deserving of love and compassion in accordance with
the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Throughout its history,
the US Constitution has been amended toward equal treatment for all. Even though
the practice has always fallen short of the ideal, changes to the Constitution
have always been made to favor including more citizens with equal treatment,
rather than fewer.
The proposed Federal
Marriage Amendment (FMA) reverses this long march of history toward equality and
compassion for all under the constitution. By denying same-sex couples the right
to marry, The FMA obliterates the family rights that many same-sex couples and
their families now have under various state laws. Thus the FMA reverses the
Constitutional tradition of protecting individual freedoms, and forces states to
adopt discriminatory policies.
Some religious groups
will marry same-sex couples, others will not. It is surely not the Federal
government's role to prefer one religious definition of marriage over another,
much less to codify such a preference in the Constitution. To the contrary, the
great contribution of our Constitution is to protect the rights of all faiths
and all citizens.
As Quakers, as US
citizens, and as God’s children, we cannot support this proposed Constitutional
curtailment of the right of millions of our gay and lesbian citizens to make
loving commitments to each other within the same fundamental social and legal
net by which everyone else is now supported.
Friends arose for a brief
break, followed by Jane Megginson’s announcement that Yearbooks were
available to be picked up and delivered to Monthly Meetings.
I2004-34
Friends General Conference Minute. Cat
Darnell read the minute on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, and Queer
Friends as approved first by the FGC Executive Committee, and more recently by
the FGC Central Committee.
Our experience has been that spiritual gifts are not distributed with regard to
sexual orientation or gender identity.
Our experience has been that our Gatherings and Central Committee work have been
immensely enriched over the years by the full participation and Spirit-guided
leadership of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and queer Friends. We will
never go back to silencing those voices or suppressing those gifts. Our
experience confirms that we are all equal before God, as God made us, and we
feel blessed to be engaged in the work of FGC together.
She reported that approval
of the minute had brought great joy to those gathered for the Central Committee
meeting.
I2004-35
Funding and Friends United Meeting (FUM).
Deborah Haines reported for the
joint meeting of the Committees for Advancement and Outreach, Ministry and
Pastoral Care, Stewardship and Finance, and Ad hoc Committee on Gender and
Sexual Diversity Concerns. These Committees had labored to bring forward a
proposal for Interim Meeting to move forward with the issue of FUM and
finances. Although there was not yet unity, there was substantial support for
bringing to IM the suggestion that the line item of $17,400 in the FY 05 budget
be retained for planning purposes, and that as much as needed would be used for
intervisitation and other projects carrying forward our concerns. The search
for unity was difficult. A Friend asked to have IM sit in the moment to listen
to our inner promptings.
Friends were able to unite
in Approval
of an eight-member working group from the constituent four committees. Those
named to and approved for this working group were: Marcy Seitel, convenor,
Sharon Stout, Allen Briggs, Georgia Fuller, Howard Fullerton, Elizabeth
Zimmerman, Ken Stockbridge, and Rebecca Richards. These Friends were charged to
return to a future Interim Meeting with their thoughts and a proposal for a good
program for intervisitation within FUM.
Friends also Approved
asking the four-committee group to revisit and rework a proposal for action by
BYM Friends on the issue of FUM funding. The group was asked to reach unity
before bringing any proposal forward to IM. In searching for way to open, they
were asked to take into consideration the sharp differences present among BYM
Friends. Interim Meeting has not reached unity on the FY 04 funding issue.
FUM’s FY2004 ends June 30, 2005.
I2004-36
Camping Administrative Secretary Josh Riley stated that as his final
report to IM in this capacity, he had been “led to make you sing”…and to have
Friends “end in unity.” His report consisted of leading Friends in a joyful
rendition of a three-part round shared by the camping program: I’m Gonna Sing,
Allelu,” “When the Saints Go Marching In,” and “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” His
report was gratefully received by all. Friends
Minuted
their deep appreciation to Josh for his effective ministry during his six years
in this position. [Josh’s full reported is attached to these minutes.]
I2004-37
Youth Secretary
Hope Braveheart expressed gratitude for the
support of the other BYM staff and supervisory committee Friends during her
first months on the job.
She spoke first of the BYM
FAP’s, whose charge is to provide for the Young Friends (YFs) and Junior Young
Friends (JYFs) a safe environment, logistical support, and spiritual guidance
during their gatherings. BYM youth gather for conferences and programs ten
times annually, YF’s meet six times and JYFs meet four times. Observing that
the number of FAP volunteers is currently too small and that BYM needs excited,
strong, funny, diverse, and well-rested Friends to serve as FAP’s, Hope asked
Friends to consider their passion, how way opens and their souls were fed, and
whether they might use their gifts to support BYM young people in this way.
Hope noted the staff is in
the process of developing a Manual of Policies and Procedures for Health and
Safety for Our Youth. This Manual has been
vetted by Supervisory Committee, and is now under consideration by the Youth
Program Committee, for implementation by the end of 2005. BYM is using as a
guide a document developed by Philadelphia, New York and New England Yearly
Meetings. Those affected by the policies and procedures outlined in the Manual
include Friends involved in the religious education, camping, and youth
programs. Our insurance company has been a driving force behind the development
of the document. In January, the Young Friends executive committee will
consider the document, in March, an open meeting for orientation, with a
representative from the insurance company will occur, and Youth Worker trainings
are scheduled in April as well as several times at Annual Sessions. A Friend
asked for maximum possible involvement of Young Friends, considering their
strong tradition of self-governance.
I 2004-38
Camp Property Manager,
David Hunter.
Camp
Property
Manager's Report
My first full year as
Camp Property Manager at Baltimore Yearly Meeting has been a wonderful and
exciting one. It is always challenging to be the first in a newly created
position and I have enjoyed meeting the challenge of finding balance among the
many tasks that call for my attention. In 2002 it was decided that the Camp
Property Manager position should be created to handle some responsibilities of
the Camping Program Secretary. Patti Nesbitt worked as manager for some
projects in the spring of 2003 and I became Camp Property Manager in July.
[David’s full report is at the end of these minutes.]
I2004-39 Long
Range Property Planning Committee.
Sheila Bach presented
the report, published 6/2004, as well as the nine recommendations of the
committee.
Long
Range
Property Planning Committee Recommendations
At the Yearly Meeting
sessions in July 2004, nine recommendations from the Long Range Property
Planning Committee were brought forth in their report. The Committee was asked
to make recommendations to the fall Interim Meeting as to which committee each
of the recommendations should be sent. Our findings follow.
Camp
Property
Management Committee:
Camp Property
Management needs to:
(1) do some marketing to better utilize BYM’s three current camp
properties,(2) negotiate a long-term lease agreement for Opequon Quaker Camp,(3)
negotiate with either the land owner or the adjacent landowner for an area for a
playing field at Opequon Quaker Camp (staff also needs to be involved in
these actions), (4) conduct a feasibility study to winterize either Catoctin
or Shiloh Quaker Camp. Yearly Meeting in session needs to make the final
decision on the feasibility study, as it would be a capital improvement.
Camping Program
Committee:
A need to expand our
teen adventure programs which would require finding another location for their
base camp.
Ministry & Pastoral Care
Committee:
A better survey of
what the adults within the Yearly Meeting want.
Supervisory Committee:
(1) Expanding our
current office space, and (2) look at possible housing for office staff,
possibly some cooperative housing with Sandy Spring Friends School and Friends
House Retirement Community staff. Trustees need to be involved in this
action.
Interim Meeting/Yearly
Meeting in session:
Set up a new standing
committee to work on these recommendations and continue to make sure the
properties owned and rented by this yearly meeting continue to serve the needs
of all our people.
Nominating Committee
needs to be involved in this action.
Expressing gratitude for
the recommendations and the full report, IM approved the request of a Friend to
hold consideration of the recommendations over until the next IM.
I2004-40
Closing.
Friends heard and
approved the minutes as read. The meeting closed with precious moments of
silent, worshipful fellowship.
Friends arose to gather
again at .
Michael Cronin,
presiding Frances
Preston Schutz, recording
Camping Program
Statistics from the 2004
Enrollment - totals
·
586 people applied to
camp. 577 were accepted to camp and 528 attended. Last year
(2003) 649 people applied to camp, 628 were accepted and 577
attended. This represents a cancellation rate of approximately 8%. The
cancellation rate in the Teen Adventure program is higher at 16%.
Opequon
·
Of the 149 campers accepted, 84
(56%) were returning, 65 (44%) were new.
·
Of the 65 new campers, 34 were BYM
Quakers, 6 were other Quakers and 25 were non-Quakers.
·
Of the returning campers, 52 were
BYM Quakers, 8 were other Quakers, and 24 were non-Quakers.
·
Overall religious affiliation
was: 86 BYM Quakers, 14 Other Quakers, and 49 Non-Quakers. That’s 58% BYM
Quakers, 9% Other Quakers, and 33% Non-Quakers. Everyone who applied to camp
was accepted.
Catoctin
·
There were 158 total campers. Of
these, 120 or 68% of the campers were returning; 46 or 29% were first-time
applicants.
·
Of the new campers accepted to
Catoctin, 30 were BYM Quakers, 1 was a non-BYM Quaker and 15 were non-Quakers.
·
Of the returning campers, 87 were
BYM Quakers, 7 were other Quakers and 26 were Non-Quakers.
·
Overall religious affiliation
was: 110 BYM Quakers, 8 Other Quakers, and 40 Non-Quakers. That’s 70% BYM
Quakers, 5% Other Quakers, and 25% Non-Quakers.
Shiloh
·
There were 142 total campers. Of
these, 92 (65%) were returning campers; 50 (35%) were new applicants.
·
Of the new campers to Shiloh, 20
were BYM Quakers; 2 were Other Quakers and 28 were Non-Quakers.
·
Of the returning campers, 42 were
BYM Quakers, 13 were other Quakers, and 37 were non-Quakers.
·
Overall religious affiliation
was: 62 BYM Quakers, 15 Other Quakers, and 65 Non-Quakers. That’s 44% BYM
Quakers, 11% Other Quakers, and 46% Non-Quakers.
Teen Adventure
·
There were a total of 79 campers:
47 in the first year program, and 32 in the second year, Leadership Training
program.
·
All of the Leadership Training
program campers had been to Teen Adventure the year before.
·
Of the new applicants to Teen
Adventure, 19 came from Catoctin, 16 came from Shiloh, and 14 came from
Opequon. These add up to more than 47 because two campers went to more than
one of the camps.
·
Overall religious affiliation
was: 52 BYM Quakers, 13 Other Quakers, and 14 Non-Quakers. That’s 66% BYM
Quakers, 16% Other Quakers, and 18% Non-Quakers.
Waiting List
·
The waitinglist was much smaller
this year than last. There were 16 people on the waitinglist initially. 9 of
these were eventually accepted into another camp (not their first choice) and 5
of these accepted the alternate offer and came to camp; 4 of these declined the
alternate offer. 2 people could not be accommodated during another camp or
session time but remained on the waitinglist for their original camp/session
combination. The remaining 5 people on the waitinglist all wanted to get into
Teen Adventure.
·
Of the 16 people left on the
waiting list, all but two were between 12 and 16 years old. This means, if
you apply to camp at the age of 9, 10, or 11, it’s pretty easy to get into
camp. After this age, it becomes harder.
·
No BYM Quakers were left on the
waitinglist at Catoctin, Shiloh or Opequon at the time that camp started.
·
All children on the waiting list
were campers who wanted to enroll at Teen Adventure or Catoctin. All BYM
Quakers who applied to or were willing to go to Opequon or
Shiloh
got into camp.
·
In 2003 there were 46 people on
the waitinglist.
TA Waiting list:
6 total. 1 was a returning Catoctin camper, 2 were returning Shiloh campers, 3
were returning Opequon campers. Of these, 3 were BYM Quakers, one was a
non-Quaker, and two were non-BYM Quakers.
Camperships and
Financial Aid
79 Campers received $26,502 in Monthly
Meeting Camperships.
We gave out $36,805 in Work Grants and
$17,785 in Camperships from the Barry Morley Camper Financial Aid Endowment.
Where the campers camp from:
25 states and the District of Columbia; Internationally: Hong Kong,
France,
Jarkarta,
Croatia and Czechoslovakia.
|
Camper
Enrollment by Monthly Meeting or Religious Affiliation 2004 |
|
Monthly Meeting |
CQC |
SQC |
OQC |
TA |
Totals |
|
Adelphi Monthly
Meeting |
15 |
1 |
10 |
7 |
33 |
|
Alexandria Monthly
Meeting |
0 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
|
Annapolis Monthly
Meeting |
8 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
14 |
|
Baltimore Homewood
Monthly Meeting |
7 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
10 |
|
Baltimore Stony Run
Monthly Meeting |
13 |
0 |
7 |
2 |
22 |
|
Bethesda Monthly
Meeting |
6 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
|
Blacksburg Monthly
Meeting |
0 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
6 |
|
Carlisle Monthly
Meeting |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Charlottesville
Monthly Meeting |
2 |
2 |
6 |
2 |
12 |
|
Dunnings Creek
Monthly Meeting |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
|
Floyd Monthly
Meeting |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
|
Frederick Monthly
Meeting |
4 |
3 |
5 |
4 |
16 |
|
Friendship
Preparative (Washington) |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Goose Creek Monthly
Meeting |
6 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
11 |
|
Herndon Monthly
Meeting |
6 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
11 |
|
Hopewell Centre
Monthly Meeting |
0 |
1 |
6 |
0 |
7 |
|
Langley Hill
Monthly Meeting |
6 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
14 |
|
Mattaponi
Preparative (Williamsburg) |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
|
Maury River Monthly
Meeting |
0 |
15 |
3 |
4 |
22 |
|
Patapsco Monthly
Meeting |
1 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
|
Richmond Monthly
Meeting |
0 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
|
Roanoke Monthly
Meeting |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Sandy Spring
Monthly Meeting |
25 |
3 |
14 |
17 |
59 |
|
Seneca Valley
Preparative (Sandy Spring) |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
|
State College
Monthly Meeting |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Washington, Friends
Meeting of |
7 |
8 |
10 |
1 |
26 |
|
Williamsburg
Monthly Meeting |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
|
York Monthly
Meeting |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
|
