December 16, 2007, 8:30 AM
Westtown Meeting House

Silent Worship

Reading of the Minutes from October 2007

Friends to hold in the Light

Announcements:

• Candles and Carols 12/24--7pm
• New Years Labyrinth Walk 12/31--7-10pm
• Committee Meetings 1/6/08--9am
• Monthly Meeting for Business 1/20--8:30am
• Potluck Dinner and Book Discussion (Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson) at Nancy' Hoffman's House 1/26--6:30pm
• Committee Meetings 2/3--9am
• Meeting for Business at 8:30am and Potluck Lunch after the rise of the Meeting for Worship 2/17
• See black notebook for other announcements

Correspondence:

• The Clerk at Center Meeting in Delaware has sent a letter regarding the transfer of membership of Sarah Yeoman and her sons Wyatt and Ian Pace. Sarah has asked that the transfer be put on hold for the time being. Center Meeting has decided to respect her wishes and will wait to welcome her into membership. The Clerk at Birmingham Meeting has also contacted Westtown's clerk, Kevin Gallagher, as to the status of Wyatt, Ian, and Ted Pace. Kevin will contact both clerks confirming the continued membership of Sarah, Wyatt and Ian at Westtown Monthly Meeting.
  
• Ceil Guetter forwarded a request from Mimi Muhlenberg, the mother of Westtown graduate Sarah Muhlenberg, inquiring into having her daughter and Edian Rodriguez, also a graduate, married at Westtown Meeting House. Kevin Gallagher will call to explain what the Care of the Meeting would mean for non-members.
  
• Meeting House Repair: Kevin Gallagher shared an update on his note to Bob Connolly regarding the steam pipes, upstairs electrical outlets, painting of the Meeting Room as well as the carpet, and audio enhancements. Peter Lane will speak with Margaret Brown about the inexpensive, individual amplification devices she has mentioned. Ginny Sutton will look into grant writing to support this work. Bruce Harrison shared the name and information of the contractor who did similar work for West Chester Monthly Meeting.

New Business:

Peter Lane for PYM

PYM has taken up the topic of Quarterly Meetings and how they relate to the life of PYM and the monthly meetings. Are there some folks who would like to join Peter Lane to explore this topic. This would include looking at the oversight of the coordinator, the title and responsibilities of the coordinator, covenant funding of the Quarter, and other topics relating to the changes the PYM is recommending concerning Quarterly Meetings from the point of view of the Monthly Meetings. Laurie Worth and Mitch Beaver volunteered to work with Pete.

Report of the Pastoral Care & Concerns Committee to Westtown Meeting 12/16/07

• The Committee discussed its upcoming term of teaching the First Day School, and looks forward to getting a report from Worship & Ministry regarding what it will have covered by the time PC&C takes over, and any other important information that may help us teaching First Day School.
• We assigned teaching dates through the term.
• The Committee planned a Potluck Dinner for Sunday, 2/17/08, at the rise of the Meeting. This is a Monthly Meeting for Business date. We hope to celebrate our new members at that meal.
• We divided up the job of sending Christmas Cards to distant members. At the January committee meeting, we plan to begin to assemble a Buddy System for members about whom we are concerned by dividing up this list among members of the Committee.

Discussion of progress in spiritual life of the Meeting

• How have the structural changes in our Meeting helped us in our spiritual life as a Meeting?
  
  • Simplicity is something to be looked for in our daily lives and something to be sought in our Meeting lives and the new committee structure helps us to live into this goal.
    
  • Many of our goals for the changes were concrete and not directly related to spiritual matters.
    
  • One concern about the first day school, is that the expansion of the number of adults as teachers has seemed to mean from one family's perspective that there is less learning about Jesus, the Bible and the spiritual life.
    
  • In response to this we were reminded that we have curriculum and that we need to use it. PC&C has worked out a schedule for teaching from these curricula.
    
  • One of the goals we reached towards was getting to know each other better. Bringing the work of the committee in charge of First Day School to our children and having individual members share with our children as they go about the business of teaching them has furthered this goal.
    
  • Is there a significant change in committees? Is there a steady growth in membership of those committees? Peace and Social Justice does have new members, and it also has names on their list of folks who never come. Membership numbers are good for the work of most of year, but teaching first day school is still a stretch.
    
  • Nominating Committee is to serve as a winnowing committee for the three committees. Nominating Committee needs to look at list of committee members and ask the non-participants their interest.
    
  • Glow in core membership seems to be stronger now as their work is shared, but those who aren't joining us are missing this glow. The shaking of the tree so to speak hasn't yielded much in older inactive members joining in the work. New members do join committees because they want to.
    
  • Calling people each month with reminders gets people to meetings.
    
  • We futz around with the form and now are focusing on the “accidents” coffee, greeting, committees, First Day School. But what about what is poured into that form. This is a huge question about the corporateness of our spiritual life. We have solved some problems though not necessarily increased participation by the wider membership. How have we been spiritually enhanced by these changes as individuals and as a meeting?
    
  • Should next month be a worship sharing around this topic? This should be the sole focus of our meeting for business not just an item on the agenda.
    
  • The structure/process is more important than content.
    
  • One member shared that his most spiritually satisfying experiences of late were on clearness for membership committees where the conversations were focused on deeply spiritual issues on a personal level.
    
  • Working on the mundane can be exhausting, but it can also be the space in which we know each other better. It can also be lonely especially when we are seeking greater understanding and knowing of each other.
    
  • There are successes in what we have done and areas of need in new growth and renewal.

The Meeting Settled into Worship Sharing around the questions of our shared and individual spiritual growth the past year.

Respectfully submitted,

Margaret Haviland
Recording Clerk