December 17, 2006, 8:30 AM
Westtown Meeting House

We lifted up the names of people to hold in the Light:

Appreciation for:

• Margaret Haviland for the Monthly Minutes
• Tom Haviland for his work on the web site. Branin Boyd and Tom are working to bring out a printed copy to mail to those who don’t have access to email. Comments and corrections and news items should be sent to Tom at Tom.Haviland@westtown.edu or Tom.Haviland@gmail.com
• Jessie Boyd for her work with Hymn Sing, also Sara Duffy, Rebecca Mays and Lillian Yeh

Introduction of Noreen Makowka:

Ginny introduced Noreen to the meeting. Noreen expressed her appreciation to the Meeting and especially the meeting members who are on the Day Care Board. Noreen appreciates this chance to come and see how the meeting uses the space. The transition from Juliet Lane to Noreen has been seamless even with new cubbies, and a new sink and diaper changing area. Members expressed their appreciation for Noreen’s work. 12 of our faculty children are currently attending the day care which is the group for whom the Day Care was started. The pottery is made by Brandon and Noreen Makowka and is for sale to benefit the Day Care and may be seen in the Day Care.

Christmas Eve Service:

Rebecca Mays will be in touch with families to find out who is coming and then each family will share a part of the Christmas story. Pastoral Care and Concern will work with Rebecca as to what will work in terms of calling families. David Brown and Peter Lane will provide some music as well.

News Years Eve:

There will be some refreshments and the opportunity to walk the labyrinth. Expressions for Dennis and Judy Asselin’s ongoing effort to provide a family centered event on New Year’s Eve were made. This is the eighth year for this event.

Report from Pastoral Care &Concern:

The committee is still searching for the date when the Baird family will come for cake and official welcome. PC&C is involved in its first stint as First Day teachers and have teachers through January and will flesh out the rest of its tenure at the January meeting. PC&C is sending out Christmas cards to members who are far a field. Some new business will include helping the Hickman with its spring cleanup and looking into setting up a buddy system for attenders. The idea of a person to look out for each family resonates with other members who remember a similar system from when they are children. What about people who are nearby, but don’t come to meeting? These folks also seem to be a group who would also benefit from a buddy system. We have new families and 13 of our kids are from these new families. These families speak to our need for a buddy system. Maybe we could have an open house or gathering, welcome, introduction to the meeting and its structure. We would catch the attenders and nurture their walk with the Meeting without overpowering/overwhelming them. PC&C is also thinking about the meeting’s library and how to best use it and have it support the work of PC&C. If you want to pick your date for coffee, now is the time. The list and sign up are on the bulletin board.

Peter Lane is involved with Westtown’s Quaker Leadership program (along with Paula Kline and Eric Mayer). Peter would like to take to them (the school students) what does it mean within the context of Quakerism to care for the membership of a meeting. QLP meets once a month for about 4 hours at a time. At recent meetings QLP modeled writing a minute and modeled holding a threshing session. Eric Mayer applied for and received an $18000 grant and will use some of this money to hold among other things an Environmental Youth Conference at the school in the summer.

Report from Peace and Social Justice Committee:

The committee had an initial gathering in September to plan the fall and winter calendar. Showed the film the “Future of Food” in the South Room in November. In December PSJ hosted 10000 Villages, which is a Mennonite Service to promote fair trade. PSJ sold in the range of $5000. On January 7th the film “Inconvenient Truth” will be shown. On January 21 “the High Cost of Low Prices” will be shown. In February, PSJC will meet to plan their first day school leadership. In February in the business meeting they hope to bring forward a resolution for the Meeting to join the Jubilee Partners which addresses debt issues in third world countries. Queries are being shared in meeting for worship on a monthly basis on issues of Peace and Social Justice. John Evans reported on his attendance at a recent meeting of FCNL and that he had volunteered to put together a delegation to go and meet incoming representative Joe Sestak. Hopefully this will happen in January. Peter Lane will be going with Karen Porter and others from Chester County Peace Movement who regularly witness for peace, to meet with Joe Sestak this week. We are members of FCNL network which is in its first year through PYM as well as members of the Climate Action Network. Paula is on the PYM Social Concerns committee and is intending to step down in the next year. Anyone interested to take her place is invited to speak with her. How do we connect to the wider PYM network in a regular and meaningful way? Are there ways to keep all of this wonderful work before us more readily? Paula will send her report to Tom Haviland who will post it on the website. Peace issues, caring for the environmental and economic justice issues are all a part of a big web. In this regard, Dennis spoke of the powerful and wonderful leadership presented by Alan Wright at the West Chester Religious Council ecumenical service on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Audibility support for folks who can’t hear well in the Meeting Room:

There is money available for providing hearing support to the meeting. Laurie Worth thinks it might be worth sending a letter to members who could benefit from hearing support and whether or not they would use it and what they might like to have. The Meeting should also ask other meetings what they do to support members who need this kind of assistance. Mitch Beaver will take this up in PC&C. The Recording Clerk will ask Eric Mayer to add to the MFW Orientation Program a suggestion that students be instructed in how to speak so that they can be heard.

Concord Quarterly Meeting January 28, 2007:

• Prison Ministries is the program.
• The Lancaster Minute for Peace will come up again. Westtown Monthly Meeting has passed the minute and sent it on to the Quarter. It would be helpful to have a member of Peace and Social Justice at Quarterly Meeting. The Recording clerk will send Paula Kline a copy of our Peace Minute.

The Nominating Committee:

Is still struggling to find an assistant clerk who would serve two years as assistant clerk and then, would serve as clerk for two years.

Other:

32 children attended the Advent Garden last Sunday. Two new families attending this year include the Klusnick family with Anthony and Ben and the Herrick family with Nel and Wilson.

Next Meetings:

January 7 is all committee Sunday.
January 21 is Monthly Meeting.

Respectfully submitted,

Margaret Haviland
Recording Clerk