Ellen Bennett — Recording Clerk
Durham Monthly Meeting of Friends for the Conduct of Business met at noon on Sunday, April 16th, with 11 people attending at the Meetinghouse and 5 people via Zoom.
1. Opening Worship
Clerk shared the music of Bayard Rustin to open the meeting — songs from the civil rights movement.
2. Approval of Minutes of March 2023 — Tess Hartford
With thanks to Tess for taking the minutes, the meeting approved the minutes. It was noted that the dates for the upcoming listening sessions will be corrected later in the agenda. See item 7 for these corrections.
3. Ministry and Counsel — Renee Cote, Tess Hartford
Regarding Zoom access, people are asked to send comments or questions to Rene or Tess. They will then be forwarded to Mey Hasbrook.
The issue of masking in the meetinghouse will be taken up at a future date, waiting to hear from Portland Friends Meeting as to their current guidelines. Clerk shared an update on masking from Vassalboro meeting.
No one has been hired for the MCC position as yet, which means there are unspent funds in that budget line that may be used for another purpose, including advertising the position.
4. Approval of Selection Committee for MCC position
Meeting approved those individuals brought forward to serve on the search committee for a new MCC: Doug Bennett, Rene Cote, Ingrid, with Leslie as Clerk.
5. Trustees — Sarah Sprogell
Trustees are looking at the “use of the meetinghouse” as it appears in the handbook. The handbook needs to be updated. The Meeting agreed that it would be a good idea to have some handbooks available in the meetinghouse.
Sarah agreed to contact committee clerks reminding them to bring forward any changes needed for their handbook descriptions. The Clerk confirmed that changes should be approved by the monthly meeting before being put into the handbook. Once approved, Doug will update the handbook posted on the website.
Trustees and Finance had a joint meeting to clarify accounts and insurance overlap issues. The committees plan to do this once a year.
The Meeting expressed its deep appreciation for this collaboration and coordination.
[Note that the Finance Committee will bring a quarterly report at the next meeting for business.]
6. Peace and Social Concerns — Ingrid Chalufour
The committee report is an update that recommends several individual actions that people can take themselves. The report with links to the information about each action is available on the Meeting website. Please refer to the report for additional information.
Nat Shed, a former director of Friend’s Camp and a Brunswick city councilor, is coordinating a “Go Fund Me” account for arriving immigrant families to help them set up their apartments. He expressed appreciation to DMM for bringing this to the Meeting’s attention.
7. Save the Dates:
April 23: Finance Committee Discussion of Parsonage Sale Funds 12 noon
April 30: Community Conversation about Outreach 12 noon
May 6: All Maine Gathering, South China Community Church, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Falmouth Quarter is hosting, so please contribute to the potluck lunch. This is an over-20-year tradition, and the first to be held since Covid. George Lakey will be there.
8. New Business
Proposed Minute on Reproductive Health — Leslie Manning
Clerk read the minute aloud.
Meeting approved sending the letter to FCNL.
9. Closing Worship
Clerk read a letter from Sara Hubner, administrator at New England Yearly Meeting, thanking DMM for its continued monetary support. Clerk then asked for silent worship, with gratitude for the faithful and consistent lives of those seeking a world of peace, hope, and opportunity for all.
Respectfully submitted, Ellen Bennett, Recording Clerk
Attachments:
Meeting Agenda
Draft Minutes from 23.3.19
Ministry and Counsel Report
Draft Letter to FCNL Regarding Reproductive Health
Trustees Report
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