An 11:40 hour asked Friends to comment on the past, present, and future work and direction for the committee. Susan took notes and here they are:

Notes from P&SC 11:40 Hour on 9/23/12

The following ideas/observations were offered about how P&SC does or could work within Mt. Toby Meeting.

-Can serve as a sounding board within the mtg for someone who is feeling a leading that is relevant to P&SC topics (for example, Alan Eccleston and climate change)

-Share with the mtg (through a newsletter article or other avenue) the essence of Bill McKibben's recent lecture in Amherst

-Make more of the opportunity to represent each other in our various endeavors in the world. There is so much we could be doing, and no one of us can do it all, but we can be more conscious of delegating: we have a Mt. Toby "delegation" (maybe just one person!) going to or doing this or that

-Continue monthly letter-writing: it is much appreciated (expressed multiple times). Make email addresses for Congresspeople, or whoever that month's letter recipient is, available in case there are people who want to follow through at home. People could also bring their own computers to letter-writing and compose an email to be sent once they got home.

-Have a regular "P&SC Corner" or "Action Corner" in the newsletter to let the mtg know P&SC-related efforts people are undertaking.

-Keep the "Dime-a-Gallon Fund" more in the mtg's consciousness. For example, monthly updates of $ collected.

-Bring attention to Restorative Justice program, now operating in both Franklin County (Mary Ellen Preston) and Hamp County (Linda Harris)

-Keep in mind how things are linked, e.g. climate effect of war, national budget priorities as affected by war

-Preservation of our meadows and woodland: 1) celebrate it and 2) create wildlife habitats

-Maintaining bulletin board(s) in up-to-date and compelling fashion

-Support one another spiritually

-Continue to make use of the resource of FCNL

-Continue process of having P&SC bring before Mtg for Business the groups to which we contribute funds from our mtg budget

-Keep P&SC issues alive for the wider mtg

-Do some local, one-shot local projects, e.g. a Mt. Toby building day for local Habitat for Humanity

-Support those exploring personal financial divestment from fossil fuel companies. Develop ways to make a public statement out of that personal choice. Learn how to let go of those investments. Hold celebratory event to mark doing so.

-Use a potluck or other occasion to create a festive event, in which people have a chance to say what they are doing, and we cheer for each other

-Explore idea (and get someone well-known to agitate for it) of using plastic trash to build floats for polar bear habitat (climate change mitigation)

-Install PV power on the meetinghouse

-Create a corporate space for discussing challenging topics (e.g. divestment), delving into the spiritual underpinnings prompting the changes/actions we want to undertake. How do we truly live with integrity? How do we explore our individual growth in the realms to which our spirit community is leading us?

-Sponsor another as-few-cars-as-possible Sunday

-Appreciation/encouragement for P&SC to [continue to] serve as a goad, a seed, a support

-As appropriate, directly invite a specific individual to make a specific effort (as opposed to issuing a general invitation)

-Remember not to judge the effectiveness of our actions based on the number seen directly participating!