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

• Young Friends' internships for Spirit-led environmental work (see separate page)

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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