Pacific Yearly Meeting - Committee on Unity with Nature
Meeting of 5/6/01 - AGENDA
Sola House, 312 E. Sola St, Santa Barbara.
- attend Santa Barbara meeting for worship
- have lunch together
- begin committee meeting with review of January meeting in Palo Alto
- relationship with FCUN
- relationship with EarthLight Magazine
- electronic communication
- planning for PYM in August
- interest groups: energy, sustainability, Quaker readings, ...
- early morning worship
- table at "fair" concurrent with dance
- Young Friends and JYM
- Quaker mysticism
- Intern Jennifer Caron to go to Tar Creek Superfund site, Oklahoma fundraising
- support and follow-up of interns
- further correspondence with Meetings - what next after the "next
step" letter?
- sustainability audits for Meetings - Bob Schutz ** & Stina Perry
- positive energy steps for individuals - Karen Street
- planning for next [regional?] committee meeting
- worship-sharing on the topic "what does 'Unity with Nature' mean?"
** Bob Schutz died at Friends House in Santa Rosa the day before this
committee meeting.
Meeting of 1/21/01 - Palo Alto Friends
Meetinghouse
Clerk's note: We accomplished much in 4 hours. But we did not take up
many issues, such as energy conservation.
Convene in silence after lunch
Introductions; brief reports on activities (see attenders list, below)
1. Testimony for inclusion in new book of 'Faith & Practice'
- Approved using first half of Santa Cruz testimony, ending with
Seattle testimony
- Approved Advices from Strawberry Creek- [as has been pointed
out, my email said Advices had not been approved; my notes had only that
we would continue review by e-mail]
- Approved 1st Seattle, 4th and 5th Strawberry Creek Queries
- general agreement on 1st Strawberry Creek, 3rd Seattle queries; review
others by e-mail
- more attention to connection to the Spirit: "Do we remind ourselves
of the joy of being part of God's world?" or words to that effect
2. Service projects for Young Friends
- Criteria for selection of interns & matching with projects; * Fundraising;
* Follow-up
- Approved concept, but Committee's activities begin after commitment
by Young Friend; PYM-CUN would be a resource, provide contacts for fundraising,
convene Clearness Committees
- examine projects for real need, compared to stated need (i.e.: what
groundwork must be done before beginning the stated work?). Uganda project
requires most preparation; BAA least.
- also promote short-term group work projects for children & teenagers
- Would Quakers support two-year "missions" by Young Friends?
3. Request for sustainability assessment to be done by Meetings
- "...conduct an annual audit of Meeting's and Member's and Attender's
progress in improving our sustainability and reducing our damage to the
environment."
- compose a questionnaire asking about everything essential to sustainability:
large issues (e.g.: support for small family size, investment of a Meeting's
funds, building vs. renting space) and small (electricity usage & alternative
sources, transportation routes to Meeting, kind of lights, disposable cups,
water source & re-use, composting, ...). Address to different committees
via PYM-CUN correspondent.
- compose similar assessment questionnaires for families, individual
adults & children
- follow-up: visit Meetings for Adult Ed discussion
4. Report on EarthLight Magazine
- Two EarthLight board members will attend November non-profit board
training at the Quaker Center.
- Continue efforts to locate a grantwriter (10-15 hours/week at $25/hr).
- Develop contract/plan for donor identification project
- Incorporation as 501c religious non-profit comporation - on Thursday
(2/22) we received confirmation from IRS that EarthLight now has 501.c.3
status. Plan is to first get letter from IRS, then submit state incorporation
paperwork (Articles/Bylaws).
- Budget status
- Grants - Received word from Lifebridge that we received a $10,000 grant,
of which we'll get half now and then the other half if we've raised $5,000
in matching funds by October 2001.
5. Business to bring to Representative Committee in March
- Report on activities in past year
- electronic communications
- "[email protected]" email list has 62 subscribers
(1/18/01)
- relations with FCUN
- report from Toronto meeting, which focused on observing the urban environment
- next FCUN Steering Committee meeting is in Bellingham, WA, in May;
Fall meeting in Durango, CO
6. Adult Education curriculum development
- Orange Grove Meeting used a Unitarian curriculun, which got over-intellectual;
quarterly discussions of EarthLight magazine are lively. Recommend developing
an EarthLight-based format for adult education in all Meetings; study guides
could be send by "quakernature" email.
7. Interest groups to sponsor at 2001 PYM in August
- "Intentional Quaker communities" - founded "to reconcile
our faith with practice". Suggestion: assist founding of houses for
Young Friends to live in common
- "Sustainability among Friends" - compared to secular movement
- "Meeting sustainability questionnaire follow-up"
- continue early morning outdoor worship
- PYM-CUN sponsorship of Quaker mysticism; continue to have a comfortable
place to reveal one's mystical experience; co-sponsor with Ministry &
Oversight?
- report on progress on internships
8. Pre-PYM campout, other outings
- again schedule pre-PYM campout for Sunset Beach; who will organize?
- contact Vashek Cervinka about Pt. Reyes campout March 31-Apr 1
9. Business from the floor
- Plan Earth Day activities - inter-faith service in Grace Cathedral,
San Francisco. [FCUN will publish Friends' Earth Day events]
- Could truthful information and recommendations for action on substantive
issues (nuclear power, recycling effectiveness, etc.) be posted [or linked]
on web site?
- Do we spend effort and attention quibbling over recycling of #2 plastic,
or stop using plastic altogether?
- "We will never see the end of the journey - just start (e.g.:
leave your car)"
- "Most questions we can't answer - How better can we ask them?"
7. Set date of next meeting + Meet in Visalia the day after Rep
Committee, March 3-4 (postponed)
- Note: I have made inquiries about renting a "Green
Tortoise" bus from the Bay Area; these buses have bunks for sleeping
on-board.
Close in silence
Meeting of 1/21/01 - remaining old
business from 3/00 and 8/00
- "Next step" letter to Monthly Meetings
- Worship/Sharing queries to use at Friends' gatherings
- Quaker Eco-Witness project
- Roadless wilderness areas and religious community sign-on letter
- Reaching out to young people and their sense of hopelessness
- Advance planning for a Southern California "EarthVision"
conference
- Continued examination of the meaning of "Light within"
- Weekend get-togethers at various locales to intensively explore Quaker
spirituality
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