Westtown Monthly Meeting
Meeting for Business :: March 2008 > Return to all months
 
Minutes of the Monthly Meeting for Business


March 30, 2008, 8:30 AM
Westtown Meeting House

Reading and approval of minutes.

Silent Worship.

Friends to hold in the Light.

Correspondence:

  • The Clerk has been in touch with John McKinstry regarding his request for Westtown Monthly Meeting to provide financial support to enable an Iraqi student to attend Westtown School beginning next year. The Clerk shared with John, the Meeting's interest in providing aid and that there is currently money in our education fund for such assistance. John sent back the following thanks and update on where things stand with Westtown School.

    2/22/2008

    Dear Kevin,

    Thank you for your email and for sharing my email with Westtown Meeting.

    1) We have not done much outreach yet, at the request of the Advancement Office. They wanted us to wait until he was actually accepted. (It was kind of a Catch-22: he ordinarily would not be accepted if he did not have the money, yet we could not raise the money until he was accepted. The Admissions Office now knows we are trying to raise money and thus will judge him just on his scholastic record, not finances.) Thus, we have not raised any money yet.

    2) We are not sure how much money the school will kick in. In theory, there is no money available for foreign students, according to the Admissions Office, but there is a possibility there might be a Refugee Scholarship available. Ellen Gilbert was going to check in with the person who set up the scholarship to see if he would be okay with this possible use. (The refugee who was getting the scholarship is a senior, as so the money could be available.)

    3) As far as other information, I cannot remember how much I told you before. He is a very strong student. (The 8th grade raised money with a bake sale to help him pay to register for the TOEFL test). Other information about him I would like to share over the telephone if I might for reasons I can explain then. Please give me a call. My number is 610-544-6628.

    Thanks so much.

    Sincerely,
    John McKinstry
  • Melinda Bradley and the Day Care sent a note of thanks to John Baird for their meeting and to reflect on that meeting and to share where the Day Care is now in their process to renovate the Day Care space. Tom Haviland, of the Day Care Board’s facilities committee, reported on this for the Day Care Board. The Board is hoping this renovation work will happen over this summer when the enrollment is at its lowest with the work completed by late August. Before any of this can happen, the Day Care needs to find an alternative space for the children while this work takes place. The work will take from 6-8 weeks. The impact to the Meeting will be that the social space and kitchen will not be available during the renovations. What sort of input does the Meeting want? What things other than the library and the kitchen are absolute necessities to preserve? What enhancements would the Meeting like to have in the plans?

    • We need places to hang things, especially things for the First Day School. We are currently limited in places to hang.

    • We need more cupboard space so that all the First Day School things can be in one central place rather than the closet and the cupboards. Currently things stored in some cabinets get wet from leaky pipes.

    • A better location for the bulletin board — on that is convenient and out of the main traffic flow. Its current location, at the door from the office to the social room is the main traffic artery for folks moving from the Meeting space above to the social room.

    • The pass through to the kitchen is too low. Could it be opened up more?

    • We need a certain amount of gathering space that includes room to set up seven or eight tables for meals and projects.

    • Looking at capturing space in crawl space, this is challenging, but the architect is looking into this.

    • The Meeting supports these efforts by the Day Care and hopes to be kept closely informed as plans go forward. We want to be able to have ongoing input into the renovations.

    • We approved in principle this work. Kevin will send a letter of our thoughts and support to Melinda Bradley.

  • Peace Center of Birmingham Monthly Meeting sent a DVD called "the Profits of Peace". If you are interested in viewing it check with the Clerk.
  • The Clerk shared the Worship and Ministry report on worship at WMM. Ask Kevin for electronic copy. The Meeting appreciated the careful thought that went into the report.
  • Elwyn Institute sent information on the EI Life Sharing program and opportunities. If you are interested, please see the Clerk.
  • The Clerk sent Ernie Schoch a note thanking him for the Easter Egg Hunt and the delicious crepes. A note was sent to Deb Wood offering our joy in her father's recovery. Notes were sent to Joyce Colket and Melissa and Linda McCourt welcoming them to membership in the Meeting.

Announcements:

  • Peace and Social Justice and the Quaker Leadership Program will host a gathering after Meeting for Worship on April 6th.
  • Rabbi Marsha Praeger is coming on April 13th. After a shared meal she will share with us on the topic of prayer from a Jewish perspective.
  • The next book discussion sponsored by our Peace and Social Justice Committee will begin with a potluck dinner, followed by a discussion of Nickle and Dime on April 19 at 6:30 at home of John and Melissa Evans.
  • For a full list of other announcements, please see the Bulletin Board in the social room or check out the Westtown Monthly Website.
  • April 27th will be a letter writing time for Peace and Social Justice

Old Business

  • Report of the committee for clearness on the membership of Devin Turner:

    • Dennis Asselin, Kevin Gallagher, Tom Haviland and Anne Wood had a delightful meeting with Devin after Meeting for Worship. (Ask Kevin for an electronic copy.) The committee recommends his membership. The Meeting approved. Kevin Gallagher will communicate with him.

  • Pastoral Care and Concern:

    • The Buddy System is in the process of being filled out. There are some spaces still available as it wasn't immediately obvious who to pair up with other members.

    • Peter Lane is looking into the audio system.

    • Electrical Contractor is going to be changing out the lights over the facing benches from incandescent to fluorescent.

  • Report of the Worship and Ministry Committee:

    • See the report above on Worship above.

    • Marsha Praeger is coming on 4/13. Is there any interest in reading something in advance? The format for the afternoon will be a Pot Luck meal followed by the program which should end about 2:30. This will be an opportunity to examine our own approach to prayer by touring the Jewish practice. Perhaps it will provide insight into where we go from here in nurturing our Meeting. Rebecca will ask Marsha about children and how young a child could gain from her program.

  • Report of the Peace and Social Justice Committee
    • FCNL input opportunity: The school's Quaker Leadership Program and the Peace and Social Justice Committee are co-planning this event starting with a Potluck and then discussion of FCNL initiatives for the next two year cycle. While there is a framework in place for FCNL work and priorities, this will be an opportunity for us to weigh in as a community and as individuals on where FCNL should focus its energies and resources in the upcoming 24 month period.

New Business:

  • Plant Sale over Alumni Weekend:

    • Is there energy in this meeting for a Plant Sale, to be held Friday 5/9 and Saturday 5/10/08 Alumni Weekend at Westtown School? If so, let's organize. If not, shall we begin planning for May of 2009?
    • The following questions and concerns were raised as a part of our discussion.
    • What are the hours that are necessary for this?
    • It would be helpful to have definite ideas about the purpose of this plant sale. Scholarship for Iraqi Student, benefit Greg Mortenson's school, benefit for Kwesi's school in Ghana.
    • We need to have specific boundaries and a clear vision of the scope and limits of this sort of event.
    • Bruce Harrison and Ernie are the most interested they have the energy.
    • The Meeting decided to look to the 2009 Alumni Day for this event. A planning group will be formed. Nancy Bernhardt will be happy to help with this but Bruce and Ernie should be approached to provide leadership for 2009.

Other business:

  • Anne Wood reported on Yearly Meeting. Peace was the theme. PYM approved a peace gathering in January 2009. The title of the gathering will be "Heeding God's Call: A Gathering on Peace". There will be 600 invited guests with spots reserved for Mennonites, Brethren, Quakers. (This number is geared towards the seating maximum capacity of Arch Street Meeting House). At PYM there was discussion as to how the Quaker spaces would be allotted. The decision was to base it on the size of a Yearly Meetings—1 person for each 1000 members. PYM will have about 12 members plus those at PYM already involved in the planning. Invitations will go out to the other National Council of Churches members to send representatives as well. The last day of the conference will be open to anyone, not just delegates. It will be held at a larger venue. There may be a March as a part of the events. In planning the gathering, the PYM planning committee is focusing on a three pronged approach of "Inspiring Hope, Raising Voices, and Taking Action".

  • Ginny Sutton is looking for volunteers to help drive Cheney University students to vote in the upcoming primary. Give her a call if you can help.

After a period of worship we adjourned until our next meeting on April 20, 2008.

Respectfully Submitted,

Margaret Haviland
Recording Clerk

Meeting for Business :: March 2008 > Return to all months