Minutes of Baltimore Yearly Meeting Representative Meeting
Tenth Month 23, 1999
Little Falls Monthly Meeting

R99-36  Opening: Baltimore Yearly Meeting's Representative Meeting gathered on 10/23/1999 at Little Falls Meeting House in Fallston, Maryland. People from 21 meetings signed in:

Adelphi: Martha L. Gay, Ann Marie Moriarty, Arthur David Olson (Takoma Park), Peter Schenck (Takoma Park), Sharon Stout; Alexandria: John Mason; Baltimore, Homewood: Edith J. Ballard; Anne Greene; Baltimore, Stony Run: J. Michael Boardman, Dellie James, Harry S. Scott, Marjorie F. Scott; Bethesda: Ron Akins, Abbe Fessenden, Lee N. Foster, Liz Hofmeister, Mary-O King, Katrina R. Mason; Carlisle: Stephen Davidson, Rob Rathfon, Margaret A. Siegel; Charlottesville: Gladys Swift; Deer Creek: James Pickard; Gettysburg: Margaret Stambaugh; Herndon: Bonnie Stockslager; Langley Hill: Sheila N. Bach, Sandy Overbey, Rebecca Rawls; Little Britain: Mark Brabson (Eastland), Charlesie Coates (Eastland); Nottingham: Jason E. Eaby; Pipe Creek: C. J. Swet, Emily Swet; Richmond: David Hines; Roanoke: Susie Fetter; Sandy Spring: Maria Bradley, Flossie Fullerton, Howard Fullerton, Gladys Kamonya (Seneca Valley), Richard Liversidge, Cynthia H. Moore, David Zarembka (Seneca Valley); State College: H. Alan Weisel, Marjorie H. Weisel; Washington: David Etheridge, Carol Phelps, Winifred Walker-Jones; Williamsburg: Cindy Frazier; York: Lamar Matthew; Staff: Michele Lavasseur (Takoma Park), Frank Massey (Sandy Spring), Pam Tyng (Adelphi).

Marjorie F. Scott, Presiding Clerk, introduced Pam Tyng, Baltimore Yearly Meeting's new Administrative Assistant.

R99-37  Program Committee: Sheila N. Bach reported on behalf of Program Committee. Its Site Search Subcommittee has investigated Randolph-Macon College and St. Mary's College as possible sites for our annual session; the Committee sees both as possibilities, but not for the year 2000. At the Committee's recommendation, we APPROVED holding our year 2000 annual session at Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

R99-38   Search Committee: Liz Hofmeister reported on behalf of Search Committee. At the Committee's recommendation, we NAMED Beverly Moore to serve on Nominating Committee through the year 2002.

R99-39  Nominating Committee: Susie Fetter reported on behalf of Nominating Committee. We heard the Committee's sense that we need to seek out Friends whose gifts have not been recognized to serve at the Yearly Meeting level. We heard the Committee's concern about the growing number of committees, difficulties of holding committee meetings away from the Washington, D.C. area, overlap of the functions of committees, and challenges to committees that lack specific tasks. We heard the Committee's sense that historic Quaker principles of simplicity and integrity need to be reflected in our committee structure. We heard the Committee's concern with the level of activity of Religious Education, Advancement and Outreach, and Friends in Unity with Nature Committees. Susie invited Yearly Meeting Committees to evaluate their purpose and function.

We heard of the possibility of handling work using task groups rather than committees.

Susie reported correction to our Yearbook: delete Nancy McIntyre from Camping Program Committee, Evamarie Hawkins from Manual of Procedure Committee, and Linda Uberseder from Religious Education Committee; change Lou Harrington and Ralph Hofmeister to serve on Camp Property Management Committee through 2001; and add William Miles as Assistant Clerk of Indian Affairs Committee and Margaret Stambaugh as Assistant Clerk of Ministry and Counsel Committee.

We heard of the resignations of Pam Tyng from Manual of Procedure Committee and Pat Fox from Manual of Procedure Committee; we ACCEPTED these resignations. We heard of the absence of Lisa Greeley and Timothy Hedrick from Religious Education Committee ; we REMOVED their names from the committee list.

We NAMED Flossie Fullerton and Jane Stowe as Alternates to the 7/2000 Friends World Committee for Consultation Triennial. The Committee reported that the Friends House and Nursing Home Board named Sally Eller to complete the term of the late Cornelia Thomas; we APPROVED this appointment. We NAMED Mary Mallett to serve on Indian Affairs Committee through 2002; we NAMED Janet Andruzzi to serve on Educational Funding Resources Committee through 2002.

R99-40  Conscientious Objection: Marjorie F. Scott read this letter from Gregory Cosmas Curran of Sandy Spring Monthly Meeting:

17307 Sandy Knoll Drive
Olney, Maryland 20832
June 17, 1999

Baltimore Yearly Meeting of Friends
17100 Quaker Lane
Sandy Spring, Maryland 20860

Dear Friends:

I wish to share with the Meeting that recently upon my 18^th birthday, after much deliberation, I complied with the law of my country by registering with the Selective Service. However, I wrote on the registration card: "I am a conscientious objector to war in any form." Because of my pacifist's beliefs based on my Quaker upbringing and my family's values, I am seeking full exemption from military service in the event the draft should be reinstated. I would best serve my country in some other way. At this time, I wish to submit to the Meeting for safe-keeping a copy of a file of documents supporting the sincerity of my beliefs. This file include "My Statement of Conscience," a photocopy of my notarized registration form, confirmation of my participation from age 7-16 in First Day School and membership at age 13, and letters of support from Meeting members: Gary Stein, Mike Clark, and Roger Aldrich. I would be grateful if the Meeting would accept this file and safeguard it.

Most sincerely,
signed Greg Curran
Gregory Cosmas Curran

We RECORDED Gregory Cosmas Curran's statement of pacifism. We APPROVED establishing a file for Gregory Cosmas Curran's records at the Yearly Meeting Office.

R99-41  Indian Affairs Committee: Peter Schenck reported on behalf of the Indian Affairs Committee on the work of its Subcommittee overseeing the work of Pat Kutzner. The Subcommittee has developed standards for how Pat is to report on finances and on her activities. The Subcommittee has drafted a one-time fund-raising letter to be sent in 11/1999; Pat is to present long-range plans in a newsletter to appear early in the year 2000. The Subcommittee is working with other Committees to consider how best to raise funds for Pat in the long term. The Subcommittee is looking at publicizing Pat's work through activities in Quaker publications. We heard of the Subcommittee's desire to increase awareness of the issues involved in how we support released Friends; we heard that the Peace and Social Concerns Committee is prepared to convene a called meeting on this.

R99-42  Friends United Meeting: We heard from Howard Fullerton on behalf of Friends United Meeting (FUM). The next FUM Triennial is set for 7/10-15/2002 at the Telecommunications College near Nairobi, Kenya. The Triennial theme, "So Now Finish the Work," is taken from Second Corinthians 8:6-15. To avoid undue long distance calls, FUM asks to have Baltimore Yearly Meeting members of its Nominating and New Business Committees named by 2001, where the members are Delegates. We REFERRED this request to Nominating Committee. Howard reported expected costs of about $2,000-$2,500 per person to attend the Triennial; we REFERRED this fact to our Stewardship and Finance Committee so that the Committee can budget our travel fund.

We heard of challenges with FUM's bookkeeping system and with the auditing of FUM's books due to departures from and illnesses within the auditing firm. We heard of efforts to improve FUM's money-handling practices.

We heard of FUM's need for a physician to serve in Africa from one to two months in early 2000 to allow a doctor now there to take a continuing education course and attend a retreat; Howard asked anyone interested in serving to be in touch.

We heard of how service as either Presiding Clerk or Recording Clerk of a Committee can be seen as the horns of a dilemma.

R99-43  Friends General Conference: We heard from Katrina Mason on behalf of Friends General Conference (FGC). We heard that the 6/30-7/6/2001 FGC Gathering is to be held at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia; the campus was found to combine beauty with accessibility.

R99-44  Yearly Meeting Presiding Clerk: Lamar Matthew, Clerk of Baltimore Yearly Meeting, reported. Lamar reminded us of the responsibility of Meetings to address Virginia Half-Year's Meeting's letter on same-gender marriages.

R99-45  General Secretary: Frank Massey, Baltimore Yearly Meeting's General Secretary, reported. Frank expressed enthusiasm for the addition of Pam Tyng to the Yearly Meeting staff, and expressed appreciation for the seven years of service of Pam's daughter, Diana Jusino, on staff; Diana is to leave the staff on 10/28/1999 for maternity.

Frank announced the availability of Yearbooks. Frank announced Bill Henry's departure as Shiloh caretaker; Jake Butler is the new caretaker after working in nearby national parks for the last 15 years; Robert Strasser continues as caretaker at Catoctin. We heard that the bridge to the Shiloh camp is currently unusable; providentially, the camp is not in use now.

We heard that our next Interchange is to have articles on the meaning of membership, and that our 3/2000 Interchange is to have articles on ministry. We learned of the availability of forms for proposed workshops for our next annual session, due at the Yearly Meeting Office on 1/20/2000.

On our behalf, Marjorie thanked Frank for Frank's work.

R99-46  Nurture and Recognition of Ministry: Sharon Stout reported on behalf of the Committee for the Nurture and Recognition of Ministry. We heard of the Committee's continuing work on guidelines for the "embrace" of Friends (a draft of the guidelines for embrace is available from the Yearly Meeting Office.), planning of the Committee's calendar for the year, planning of a Committee retreat, and exploration of the possibility of a more widely based retreat.

R99-47  Trustees: Ron Akins reported on behalf of Trustees that there is nothing to worry about at this time.

R99-48  Closing: Marjorie F. Scott undertook, with Frank Massey's help, to prepare a minute of appreciation for Diana Jusino's service on the staff of the Yearly Meeting.

Martha L. Gay, on behalf of our Epistle Committee, read our revised 1999 epistle.

Anne Greene read a letter from Baltimore, Homewood Monthly Meeting asking that Baltimore Yearly Meeting ask the Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) to invite Stan Becker to present a workshop on population growth at the 2000 FWCC Triennial. We EMPOWERED our Presiding Clerk to write such a letter.

We thanked Little Falls Friends for their hospitality. We heard, corrected, and approved these minutes, along with the attachment of written versions of reports given. We adjourned, to gather next on 3/25/2000 at the Friends Meeting of Washington Meeting House in Washington DC, or at the call of the Clerk.

Marjorie F. Scott, presiding      Arthur David Olson, recording

 

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