Orange Grove Monthly Meeting. Religious Society of Friends Monthly Meeting for Business. October 14, 2012

Transcription

1 Religious Society of Friends Monthly Meeting for Business Orange Grove Monthly Meeting Attending: Betsy Emerick, Clerk; Robin DuRant, Minute Clerk; Lou Byerly, Frances Brown, Jane Krause, Win Griffen, Jean Lester, Cliff Lester, David Morse, Shayne Lightner, Sarah Rose House-Lightner, Suzan Doss, Cate Wilson, Peter Day, Edith Salisbury, Nina Rivinus, Vahé Shirikjian, Michele White, Gary Bagwell, Gretchen Davidson, Nathan Connelly, Sara Fowler, Sirgei Agalzoff, Pat Daggerty, Abira Ali, JT Dorr-Bremme, Kate Carpenter, Kwang-hee Park Meeting opened with worship and reflection on the queries for the 10 th month on Personal Relationships. Agenda Review: Agenda was accepted without comment. Clerk s Report: Phil Rizzo s ashes were buried in the common plot on August 26, Megan Whitmarsh is the liaison to OGMM from Friends Western School. She is open to having people contact her with questions and ideas. Friends are warmly invited to visit the school, participate in morning worship, and join in the communal lunch. Regarding Paula, the homeless woman who has been using the kitchen and bathroom in the Meetinghouse since last March: After a number of Friends had unpleasant encounters with her, the Resident Friend set up guidelines for her use of our facilities. While she followed the guidelines initially, in time more unfortunate incidents occurred. Several friends sought guidance from the directors of ECPAC and the Women s Room, both of whom said it was not in Paula s best interest to continue to use our facilities. They pointed out that there were other options including the Women s Room where she is already known. Based on their advice and our experience we told Paula that she could no longer use our property and that we sincerely hoped she would take advantage of the community options offered. Many Friends have been involved in working with Paula, especially the Resident Friend. They approached the issue lovingly and with concern for all parties involved, and Meeting sincerely thanks them. The ad hoc committee on the use of the property met last Saturday. David Morse reported on its discussion: The Clerk asked how decisions are made regarding use of the property, including requests for lease renewals. How are responsibilities divided up among the

2 Property Committee, Site Manager, and Resident Friend? Does the Meeting or the corporation enter into agreements or leases? Currently, the only user of the property with a formal lease agreement is Friends Western School. Most other users have brief, written agreements. Some of these written agreements may need to be upgraded to leases. Most groups send their rent/ donation directly to the treasurer who issues receipts. The treasurer needs to be kept current with the agreements. She accepts donations and issues receipts. When the meeting created the Site Manager position, the purpose was to keep most decisions from coming to the Meeting for Business. However, now there may need to be a review body for some of these decisions. The Resident Friend has the most contact with those using our campus, so there may have been some migration of responsibilities to him. Property committee has proposed taking on a larger role regarding property use, including a wider responsibility for approval of tenants and oversight of leases and agreements. However, given the amount of work the committee already has, it was felt that another solution to making these decisions needs to be found. One possibility might be to form a property utilization or stewardship committee. After discussion, the ad hoc group decided to recommend to Meeting that such a committee be formed. Suggested make-up: Clerk of Finance, Clerk of Property, Clerk of W&M, Site Manager, Resident Friend, and Meeting Clerk (and co- or assistant Clerk). The group hopes not to create another layer of bureaucracy, but to ease the negotiations and decisions regarding these issues. Discussion: One friend who is negotiating the terms of a lease renewal felt frustrated by not knowing whom to go to when there is a disagreement about the terms of a lease. This friend favors the proposed committee since it would provide a mechanism for resolving such disagreements. What I am hearing is that it is important to have a detailed, written agreement of what each organization does and doesn t do, and can and cannot do in order to avoid misunderstandings. I m in favor of a committee of people of different points of view. The communication has been poor at times. There should be explicit agreements about property usage even for individuals or groups who do not pay rent.

3 We need better communication with our property users. We are reluctant to give Nominating Committee more to do, but this would be a committee of people serving by virtue of Meeting appointments they already hold. I suggest that we have a separate committee and not add to the responsibilities of the proposed Clerks. Also, I don t recall seeing a list of all the users of the property. We need to know who s using our property. The Site Manager s job description includes giving a monthly report to Business Meeting about use of the property. That hasn t been happening. The report might better be part of the Resident Friend s job description. At least once per year, we should bring the list of property users to Meeting. There should be a convener or clerk who is not one of the over-burdened people. However, this new committee might make less work for each of those committees and clerks. The Meeting agreed to send this issue back to the ad hoc committee for further seasoning. Approval of Additional Nominations: : Meeting approved the following nominations, held over from last month: Jessica Farley as AFSC Representative, Kindred Gottlieb for Property Committee, and J.T Dorr-Bremme for Fellowship Committee. Treasurer s report: (attached) The contributions for the month were $2791. We have received almost $41,000 for the year or approximately 66% of our budget. 75% of the year is completed. The annual appeal letter went out last week. We feel that if we do well with the appeal, we should reach our budget for the year. Our expenses are in line with budget expectations, with the exception of Workers Compensation and we may get some of the overage back. Appreciation was expressed by Friends for the care that went into crafting the appeal letter. PYM Report:

4 In lieu of a separate report on this year s annual gathering, the PYM Representative read the epistle (attached) issued at the end of the gathering. The focuse of the gathering was on healing, and John Calvi s keynote address was on The Dance Between Hope and Fear Among Friends, The film mentioned in the epistle, Salt & Light, will be shown at Quarterly Meeting. Nominating Report: The clerk of Nominating presented the full roster of officers and committee appointments (attached). Pastoral Care: (report attached) Meeting approved the marriage of Vahé Shirikjian and Kristine Haugen under the care of the Meeting. Pastoral care will appoint an arrangements committee Meeting approved with regret Eva Miller s transfer of membership to Inland Valley MM. Peace & Social Concerns: (Outreach budget report attached) The Clerk of the Committee presented the proposed 2013 outreach budget, with minor changes from the version presented last month. The Clerk of the committee indicated that there are two changes to the outreach budget as shown on their report, to take $100 from the Cleveland Elem. Healthy Start program and move it to individual Pasadena Unified School Healthy Start Programs at each school site. (These changes were accepted.) She also provided a clarification regarding money for Joe and Kathy Ossman. People wishing to support them may send contributions directly to the African Great Lakes Initiative of the Friends Peace Teams, earmarked for their travel. There is also around $300 in the Meeting budget for Peace & Social Concerns to spend on other work. Jessica Farley is going to ask for some funds to pay for a training program she will be attending The Meeting approved the 2013 outreach budget as presented, along with the small changes recommended by the committee.

5 Property Committee: The property committee has been evaluating the condition of the campus and the cemetery and has proposals for landscaping and maintenance. The previous landscaping proposal included using drought tolerant plantings and the committee has continued its research with that in mind. They are now asking for guidance from the Meeting on how to proceed. Meetinghouse Grounds: The Fennoy Landscaping proposals (attached) include installing an irrigation system, pruning, and tree trimming. There is also a fee for regular maintenance, including replacing plants that die. The proposal covers the meetinghouse campus as well as the cemetery. Discussion: The property needs help. If you stop and take a look, it is in dire need of continuous care. The hot weather really hit us hard. In response to a question, the committee clerk indicated that the current gardener would work under Fennoy s supervision. The clerk indicated that the committee considered two proposals, but the committee is satisfied with the work that Sheila Fennoy does, because the committee is familiar with her work for other like-minded organizations. If part of the reason for maintaining the property is to benefit Friends Western School, shouldn t they be paying for part of this? We ve done a lot in recent years for the interior of the meetinghouse; now maybe it s time to focus on the outside. The property should be maintained at a level that seems reasonable to the Meeting, and we shouldn t be doing extra work to satisfy individual tenants (or charging them for it). I don t ask my tenant to pay for my gardening. It s my property. People whom I have invited to visit Meeting have commented that our property looks shabby, and wonder why Quakers are so careless. Throop Church has recently updated its landscaping to look inviting, as well as be drought-tolerant.

6 Cemetery: The cemetery had a break in the water main for the grass watering that needed repair. This was fixed, but the area was subsequently under-watered and now looks brown and dry. Five minutes every other day was not nearly enough water. Now it is getting 10 minutes per day, and a third of the grass is green. If green grass is the object, it would cost about $110 per month to water. Sheila Fennoy proposed updating the cemetery landscaping. She suggests a drought tolerant approach which would use succulents, cacti, and a decomposed granite path and gathering areas. She also proposes tree pruning and installation of a drip system. The costs are listed on the proposal. The proposal would be carried out over a period of time, using partly the regular Property maintenance budget and partly Property Reserves. Discussion: Was any thought given to changing the chain link gate, which serves as the entrance to the cemetery? A Friend pointed out that the chain link gate was installed after a nicer gate was stolen. I don t feel we need any grass at all. Two people visited the cemetery recently. It is really pitiful. My family is there. I couldn t even tell where the common plot was. We need minimal signage to let people know where the common plot is. Also, droughttolerant doesn t mean no maintenance or water. The Clerk of the Burial Committee pointed out that there are designated plots in the cemetery, and the plan seems to cover nearly every plot. From the plan it is difficult to figure out where those plots are and where the common plot is. There needs to be access to both the common plot and the individual plots, and the grave markers need to be taken into account. Any root line of a tree extends beyond the tree line. If it provides shade, it provides roots which could interfere with interments. The increase in maintenance costs needs to be taken into account; even with the drought tolerant plantings, our maintenance costs will go up. If I had to decide which area should receive money and attention first, I would invest the money on the property of the Meetinghouse first. We cannot totally ignore the cemetery for another year.

7 The Resident Friend confirmed that the watering system is currently working and that about 1/3 of the grass is now green. In the proposed plan, a drip system would be put in for the bushes rather than sprinklers.. The cemetery looked awful during Phil Rizzo s recent burial. His daughter was upset. Property Committee will use the input from these discussions in making its recommendation to Finance Committee soon. Unseasoned concerns: A traveling Friend wants to do a one-woman show about Mary Dyer at the meetinghouse. To whom should she talk? Worship and Ministry will be in touch with her. Meeting closed with silent worship. Betsy Emerick, Clerk Robin DuRant, Minute Clerk

8 October, 2012 Message from the Treasurer Jane Krause Friends Here is my October report REPORT TO ORANGE GROVE MONTHLY MEETING September data, 2012 In September, 17 donors contributed $2791. At the end of September we have received $40,996; this is 66% of the 2012 general contribution budget for OGMM. Another way of saying this is: at the end of September 75% of the year is completed and we have only raised 66% of general contribution budget. This includes the 2011 carryover of $743 and the SCQM reimbursement of $1975. Just a reminder the OGMM 2012 general contribution budget is $61, Finance Committee has completed their annual appeal letter, you should have received it this past week. Read it carefully - there is interesting information in the annual letter. If we get a good response to the appeal, we should reach our budget targe Finance Committee is beginning to work on 2013 budget if you have any suggestions, please contact the FC clerk Betty Ann Jansson. bjansson@mindspring.com I hope this is beneficial to you if you have any questions, concerns or suggestions please me at jkbigdog@ca.rr.com or contact Betty Ann Jansson, Finance Committee Clerk.

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11 Orange Grove Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends Pastoral Care Report to Meeting for Worship on the Occasion of Business: - Hold over for the marriage of Vahé Shirikjian and Kristine Haugen has ended and is ready for final approval. An arrangements committee can now be convened. - Hold over for Eva transfer from OGMM to Inland Valley Friends has ended and is ready for final approval. - We've convened a clearness committee for membership for Rob Cimorelli. Frances Brown is the convener with Bill Fowler and Kindred Gottlieb as the other members. - We've been asked today by Camille Brewer to hold a memorial service for her grandmother, Vera Martin, at OGMM on Saturday, November 24th at 2p. Vera attended OGMM for a time in the 70 s. (Vera passed away on October 3 rd and was a resident of Pasadena. She worked for the County of Los Angeles for 37 years, was a Cityacknowledged African American lesbian rights activist.) - Georgia Daniels has agreed to be the Pastoral Care liaison to Worship & Ministry Prepared by Cate Wilson

12 Peace and Social Concerns Committee 2012 Outreach Budget Proposal Allocation Website Address Peace Efforts American Friends Service Committee W Region $ The Peace Alliance $ Alternatives to Violence Project California $ California People of Faith Against The Death Penalty $ Helping the Less Fortunate The Pantry at Friends in Deed: The Ecumenical Council of Pasadena Area Churches $ Casa de Los Amigos $ Affordable Housing Services. Inc $ Vista Nova Renaissance Community $ Union Station Foundation $ Feeding breakfast to the Homeless $ Education Afghan Girls School $ *1 Cleveland Elementary School Healthy Start Program $

13 Wisdom Arts Laboratory $ Orange Grove Monthly Meeting *2 Pasadena Unified School District Healthy Start Program $ each to Madison, Jackson, Elliot, and Rose City El Centro de Educacion del Pueblo $ Prison Ministry Friends Outside In Los Angeles County $ Prison Visitation and Support (PVS) $ Unity With Nature Quaker Earthcare Witness $ Friends Reconciliation Friends World Committee for Consultation $ Quaker Lobby in Washington Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) $ Total of Proposed Outreach Allocations $11, *Proposed changes: 1. Change amount given to Cleveland School from $500 to $ Give $100 each directly to the Healthy Start programs at individual schools

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