Wow! What a ride!

My assistant clerk, Anne Supplee, and I celebrated out last day on the job on August 31.

We had a running query through our term which I believe we repeated to each other monthly: “Are we (still) having fun?”

The shared answer has always been “yes!” And it was “yes!” again this week.

Not that it hasn’t been a challenge. Being asked to form up an ad-hoc committee to oversee the repair of our sick building, and receiving a challenge to the meeting about giving up a Friend in Residence, in order to have more classroom space, are the top two that come to mind.

And WE, dear Friends, we have handled these challenges well. As you Quakers know well, the clerk makes a contribution to our shared work by trying to anticipate what will need to happen, and encouraging meeting members to address the issues in a timely fashion. The clerk’s role IS very important, but it is the membership who actually make the spirit-led decisions, and we community members are the ones who step up to the plate and do what needs to be done.

Thank you, thank us all!

And it has been fun. I think probably the most important part of that, for me, given my personality, has been that I have always been clear on your affection, or at least your respect. Even those of you who have complained to me (many of you will remember who you are) you have complained to me affectionately, or at least you have respected that I have been doing the best I could.

Since I wasn’t in it for the money, your love has been crucial.

And, I must say, it has been a spiritually-enlarging time for me. I originally said “yes” to Nominating Committee in response to something within me that felt larger than my conscious self, and I have tried to stay aligned with that “larger” purpose, putting myself “in the place of TCFM,” as I tried to understand the right way forward at crucial moments. Your respect and concern, your support, both careful and casual, have made a big difference in my not having to fall back into “little-me-self-protective mode.” We have all done well.

And the icing on the cake has been this “Shake the Piggy Bank” mini-fund-raiser, that started and ended just in the last two weeks. I saw we were coming up on some tough choices with less than enough information. I put out the word, and plenty of you responded quickly enough that MOMSAH was able to confidently make choices which will bring this construction to a close in a durable and beautiful fashion, with a minimum of loose ends that would soon be claiming our attention, AGAIN.

And for those of you who were out of town, or for other reasons missed a chance to contribute, fear not! Development Committee will be informing us in the months ahead that retiring the mortgage we took out to finance the construction will require the contributions of EVERYONE in our community, if we are to pay it off in a timely fashion. A huge amount of work has been done, and done well, and quality work doesn’t come cheap.

Except when it’s free. The leadership of MOMSAH has been exceptional, and I guess I should note that that has been another source of inspiration and strength to me, during my term as clerk. Every time I would finish a load of clerkly work, getting some Quaker ducks in a row, I would be in a position to notice another large bunch of careful, knowledgeable, patient work being done by MOMSAH members. I never felt like Anne and I were “doing all the work, or at least a lot of it.” Far from it. We felt ourselves part of a community, with people on MOMSAH and on many other committees giving that community wonderful devotion-filled work. Thank you, thank us, all! It has been a wonderful time.

“And for my next act…” That will have to wait a bit. Betsy and I are off to the Oregon coast for what promises to be an amazing workshop, and will miss the September MWB. On my return I’ll eager to dive back into the life of the meeting, as the Gaia Troubadour, and as Richard, member of First Day School Committee.

Happiness!

“How much more money?” That’s a chicken and egg question.

The construction which is being supervised by MOMSAH continues to go well, and the end is mid-October, the date promised by Whole Builders all along.

The TCFM “Design Team” and the volunteers it coordinates (and maybe the subcontractors it hires) will finish up the work. This may take longer than mid-October, but hopefully the work that remains will not prevent us from using most of the building.

The “chicken & egg” problem I am bringing to you is that we are running out of the money we have budgeted, and we don’t know how much we should change gears and “make do,” with what is left.

We can “make do” just fine, but we will sacrifice some quality, convenience and efficiency. If the TCFM community has more money available, we can continue to invest more now in work which will save us money and disruption in the long run.

So I’m asking, please pledge what you can, or just send money.

We need to know, no later than next Sunday, September 6, how much money you think you can offer.

I’m talking extra money here, beyond what you already expect to give to the Meeting this year.

Please send your money to:

Treasurer

Twin Cities Friends Meeting

1725 Grand Avenue

Saint Paul MN 55105

Please note on your check: “Extra for construction”.

Pledges of extra money you can contribute this year can also be sent to the treasurer, or you can email them to

clerk@tcfm.org

The response to this appeal in it’s first week has been very gratifying, and here’s an example of how that money has made a difference:

We recently discovered that parts of the library window had rotted away. In “we can make do” mode, we might have patched the rotten areas. If the patches didn’t hold, we notice, and work on them some more. And we would have saved the meeting a chunk of money, this year. However, several professionals have been clear this is not advisable. For the over-all health of the building it is much preferable to get a whole new bank of four windows that will be trouble-free for years, with a full warrantee. Because of the money that was pledged last week, MOMSAH felt confident to order the new windows.

We have several choices like this, and it is hard to make them when we are in the dark about how many extra $$ the community has available.

So, as Clerk of Meeting, I am asking you all to make pledges or send money, ASAP.

We don’t need all the money ASAP, but we need, quickly, to have an idea of what we can expect.

I understand that our Development Committee is launching a formal fund drive in the fall, and they will follow up on pledges, as well as reaching everybody in the community, which this appeal surely will not.

This is like shaking the piggy bank, just to get an idea of how much is in there.

Time is of the essence here, rather than completeness.

Any response from you, whether it is “I’m maxed out” or a $5 donation, will help MOMSAH and the Design Team know how much more we have available.

In closing, I’ll offer another example of how knowing what resources we have available has been extremely helpful in the decision-making process: the Meeting Room walls.

Because we know we have the money, it makes sense to patch the cracks and paint the Meeting Room walls as part of completing the project, before the sound-dampening panels go back on. Without the money that was pledged last week, we might have waited until later to patch and paint, which would have cost us more than it will now. By doing it next week we avoid the later renting of high scaffolding, which would have meant protecting the floor, moving much of the furniture out of the room, and a fresh wave of fumes making the building unusable for some, for a month or more.

Yours in faith,

Richard Fuller,

Clerk of TCFM

8/21/09

I was impressed enough that I have pasted the contents below. (The text was formatted for a traditional tri-fold sheet of paper, so it loses something in the translation, but you can get the basic information.)

But first, Marian’s cover note:

Northern Yearly Meeting Contacts and Clerk:

Attached is a brochure from A Quaker Ministry of Prayer and learning devoted
to the SCHOOL OF THE SPIRIT giving information on their programs and
retreats for 2009.  I especially want to make F/friends in NYM aware of the
fact that a new class of the program ” On Being a  Spiritual Nurturer” is
forming to begin in the fall of 2009.  This two year program of prayer and
study is a unique opportunity for those in your meeting who may be longing
to deepen their understanding of traditional Quaker practice, nurture their
own spiritual life, as well a sensing a call to nurture others in their
faith community.

I am asking if you you would be willing to pass on this information to
anyone in your Meeting whom you think might be interested in this.  If you
give me names of those whom you think might have interest, I will follow-up
with a contact.  I plan to offer an interest group about this ministry at
the Yearly Meeting session.

If you are not familiar with the “School of the Spirit” I will give a brief
explanation.  This ministry was begun around 1990 by three women in the
Philadelphia area (Sandra Cronk, Kathryn Damiano, Fran Tabor) who felt a
call to help Quakers deepen their understanding of their faith tradition,
help individuals be more faithful responders to the Guide, and nurture a
capacity to lead others to a deeper connection with the Spirit.  There is
now new leadership for this ministry, but the mission remains the same.  The
ministry is under the care of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. The residencies
for this program are held in North Carolina.

Marian  Van Dellen

——————–

A Quaker Ministry of Prayer and Learning devoted to

t h e  S c h o o l

o f  t h e

S p i r i t

On Being a Spiritual Nurturer

Sept. 2009 – May 2011

Testing the Waters Retreats

May 16, 2009
Gwynedd Friends Meeting, PA

Retreats at Powell House, NY

June 19-22, 2009

A Ministry of the Standing Committee on Worship and Care of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, Religious Society of Friends
———————–

On  Being A  Spiritual  Nurturer, 2009 – 2011

a two-year program of prayer and study

Spiritual nurturers are persons led to pay particular attention to God’s transforming, guiding, and healing work. They are called on to love others toward wholeness and faithfulness through listening and prayer. Nurturers help persons follow a path of deepening relationship with God.

The program is grounded in the traditional Quaker practices of deep listening and of individual formation within community. Through an intentional two-year journey that welcomes the Inward Teacher, the participant is invited into radical transformation. The participant moves from times of solitary prayer to times of corporate worship, from living in the world at home to being on retreat at the residencies, from learning with the mind to listening with the heart. Experiencing these rhythms, participants are challenged to allow the Holy Spirit to change them and give them an authentic presence and voice in their faith communities and the wider world.

The program is designed to accommodate persons who wish to continue active involvement in work, family, and meeting/ church activities while fully engaged in the program. The program has attracted people from all over the U.S. and Canada, and is open to persons from all faith traditions.

In this program, you will join others who are:

• called to nurture their faith communities and in particular the Religious Society of Friends.
• in transition and are sensing a nudge from God to service.
• desiring a more grounded contemplative life.
• seeking a deeper spiritual root to their witness in the world.

You are ready for the program, if you wish to:

• grow spiritually, deepening your life in God through greater understanding of how God works in our lives and through an expansion of love and compassion for others.
• gain a greater understanding of spiritual practices and faith journeys of others, particularly those of the Judeo-Christian and Quaker traditions.
• develop gifts for spiritual nurture and discern how these gifts can best be used to serve individuals, meetings, churches and the wider world.

You will commit to and benefit from:

• eight 3-5 day residencies (32 days in all) at the Avila Retreat Center, just north of Durham, NC (Sept. 2009 – May 2011).
• meeting monthly with a Care Committee.
• daily spiritual practice.
• assigned readings.
• self-chosen integrative projects.

At a residency you will experience:

• teaching by the core staff and visitors.
• corporate worship.
• small (koinonia) groups for reflection, discernment, and accountability.
• spiritual friendships.
• personal prayer and free time.

After the program, you will be better prepared to:

• nurture your faith community.
• foster small groups and one-to-one companionships.
• encourage spiritual gifts in others.
• offer hospitality and prayerful presence.
• teach and lead retreats.
• attend divinity school or seminary.
• re-enter the workplace with a new sense of calling.

————————-

Interested?
Attend a Testing the Waters retreat:

Gwynedd Friends Meeting,
Philadelphia, PA
Saturday, May 16, 2009

To register, email info@schoolofthespirit.org

————————-

For more information, including the program prospectus, application form, and details about our needs-based scholarships, visit www.schoolofthespirit.org

Application deadline: May 25, 2009
Late applications considered on an individual basis

Cost: $6,100

————————-
A Quaker Ministry of
Prayer and Learning devoted to
the School of the Spirit

is dedicated to helping all who wish to be more faithful listeners and responders to the inward work of Christ.

Within the Religious Society of Friends, the traditional meetings of ministers and elders were sometimes referred to as a “school of the Spirit.” In gathered worship Friends learned to discern the movement of the Inward Teacher and test their discernment with one another. This practiced listening extended into every aspect of their lives.  Living into this way of being is not easy; we often resist, preferring to ignore God’s promptings into an ever-deepening union. But the still, quiet voice will not be silent, and with discipline and the support of others we can find ourselves becoming more faithful.

This ministry offers several programs to deepen our faithfulness:

• the two-year program of prayer and study On Being a Spiritual Nurturer, first offered in 1990 and in the midst of its seventh class;
• the new one-year program The Way of Ministry, for those with a specific call to gospel, traveling, or public ministry; and
• silent and contemplative retreats, begun almost a decade ago at Powell House, NY.

In all these settings we have the opportunity to reflect upon the presence of God in our lives and our willingness to deepen our commitment to God’s guidance. Nurturing and practicing our capacity for listening and prayer is essential for our inward preparation for ministry.

————————-
Core Teachers
On Being a Spiritual Nurturer
Michael Green (Chapel Hill Mtg, NC)
Patty Levering (Davidson Mtg, NC)
Carole Treadway (Friendship Mtg, NC)

The Way of Ministry
Marcelle Martin (Chestnut Hill Mtg, PA)
Laura Melly (Chestnut Hill Mtg, PA)
Beckey Phipps (Fresh Pond Mtg, MA)

————————-

2009 PROGRAMS AND RETREATS

May 16        Testing the Waters Retreat
Gwynedd Meeting, PA, VA
To register, see Contact Information below

May 21-25    The Way of Ministry Residency
Pendle Hill, Philadelphia, PA

June 19-22    Contemplative Retreat
Led by Linda Chidsey and Carolyn Moon
Powell House, Old Chatham, NY
To register, visit www.powellhouse.org

Sept. 16-21    Spiritual Nurturer Residency
Avila Retreat Center, Durham, NC

Nov. 19-22    Spiritual Nurturer Residency
Avila Retreat Center, Durham, NC

Members of our Meeting that I know of, Mary Beth Young and Warren & Dorothy Thomsen have many years of experience with prison visitation. There may be others.

Dear Friends:

Friends have always played an important part in visiting those in prison. Indeed, Prisoner Visitation and Support (PVS) was started by Friends and others who carry that concern.

At this time, PVS is seeking additional volunteers to visit at federal and military prisons across the country. We hope that your Meeting will be able to help us find the needed prison visitors.

PVS was begun in 1968 to visit imprisoned conscientious objectors during the Vietnam War. In 1972, the PVS mission was changed to visit any prisoner who wished to receive visits. Today, PVS has 300 volunteers who visit at 90 federal and military prisons across the U.S.

However, the federal prison system continues to expand and it now holds over 200,000 prisoners, with 7,000-10,000 additional prisoners coming into the system, each year.

To meet the growing needs of prisoners, PVS needs to find more visitors.

Please let us know if we can schedule an occasion to discuss the subject of prison visiting with someone from your Meeting, or discuss the need for prison visitors with a group of your members. In any event, please respond to this inquiry, or designate someone else from your Meeting to do so.

Our email address is: pvs@afsc.org
Our phone number is: 215 241 7117

Many thanks,

Eric Corson, Executive Director

SPONSORS
Agencies of
American Baptist Churches
American Friends Service Committee
Baltimore Yearly Meeting
B’Nai B’Rith
Catholic Peace Fellowship
Center on Conscience and War
Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Church of the Brethren
Church Women United
Clergy and Laity Concerned
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Episcopal Church
Episcopal Peace Fellowship
Fellowship of Reconciliation
Jewish Peace Fellowship
Mennonite Central Committee
The Muslim American Community
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Federation of Priests’ Councils
National Urban League
Operation PUSH
Presbyterian Church USA
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
Seventh Day Adventists
Sisters of Loretto
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Union for Reform Judaism
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
United Church of Christ
United Methodist Church
United States Catholic Conference
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches
War Resisters League

CO-FOUNDERS

Robert Horton
Fay Honey Knopp

Prisoner Visitation and Support (PVS) is a volunteer visitation program to Federal and Military prisoners throughout the United States.

Our primary focus is on those prisoners who:
… do not ordinarily receive visits from family and friends,
… want or need supportive human contact,
… are in solitary confinement, or
… are serving long sentences.

We offer friendship and a listening ear to help prisoners prepare to assume a useful place in society.

Visitors are effective because they:

• Reach out to prisoners in a spirit of mutual respect, trust, and acceptance.

• Are independent of the prison system, yet never break prison rules.

• Visit regularly, usually once a month.

• Are good listeners, sensitive to the needs of the persons they visit.

• Are clear about their roles with prisoners and staff.

• Do not impose their religious or philosophical beliefs on prisoners.

• Do not promise prisoners what they cannot fulfill.

• Are supported by people who care about making a difference.

THE NEED:
More than fifty percent of the prisoners in federal prisons get no regular visits from family or friends while incarcerated.
…

QUALIFICATIONS:
Visitors need to be mature people, good listeners, and willing to visit anyone without prejudice. Women, men, lay persons, clergy, retirees -people from all walks of life- are needed. Spanish language ability is a real asset.

UNIQUENESS:
PVS is authorized by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Department of Defense to visit all federal and military prisons in the United States.
…
APPLICATION PROCEDURES:
Notify the PVS office of your interest in being considered as a PVS visitor. An application form and additional information will be sent to you, followed by a personal interview with a PVS regional recruitment coordinator or an experienced PVS Visitor.

Prisoner Visitation and Support
1501 Cherry Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102

You could send PVS a tax deductible contribution at the above address.

If you are interested in more information write to them at the above address, or at pvs@afsc.org.

Or telephone: (215) 241 7117, or FAX: (215) 241 7227.

You can borrow the PVS video:    (free loan)
Or request your own personal copy ($l5.00 suggested contribution)

Most of the 22 attenders at the meeting expressed a clear preference, and all who did said they would like to see a Friend in Residence (FiR) living in the building. All those not present who sent their opinions also wanted a FiR.

Interesting facts that emerged:

• TCFM gets about $12,000 in revenue from outside group donations. We named 18 groups off the top of our heads, including AA, Friends and Families of Suicide,  the Royal Scottish Dance Society and Spiderwomen.
• Meeting House Committee had had a special meeting-long discussion in November and recommended we have a FiR. (The notes from that meeting are available from Meeting House Committee or Richard Fuller.)
• The FiR works 50 to 60 hours a month in exchange for a place to live, which works out to less than $10/hour, at current rental rates.
• Many churches do NOT have caretakers in residence.
• Our building is not compartmentalized so that outside groups can be limited to public space. Once they’re in, they can go almost anywhere. Most of those churches who rent have buildings designed so that whole wings can be locked off, denying entry to the general public. This offers them greater security than we would have, with low or no staff on site.
• If we have a FiR, unless the FiR is a family, there will be many hours of the day that the building will not be occupied. Whoever lives there also needs an income, which likely means working off-site.

Points of full agreement:

• First Day School (FDS) needs more adequate classroom space and the adult activities in the building would also benefit from more space. We would like to rebuild in such a way that more room is available for such meetings.
• Having someone living in the building provides a friendly presence, which includes

o    Convenience and ready answers for many questions, for both strangers and meeting members,
o    A sense of warmth,
o    Security.
A non-resident manager CAN perform the duties specified in the FiR job description, but something important is lost.

• The primary purpose of our building is to house meeting activities – First Day School, committee meetings, etc. Housing a FiR and hosting community groups come after that.

• No matter what we decide this spring, to advise MOMSAH of Meeting’s priorities, we must continue to work on the questions of how to provide more adequate space for children and adults.

Points of difference, discussion & concern:

Is what we want from a FiR realistic, or good for them?

• Is being FiR is a nourishing experience spiritually & economically?
• Being a full-fledged FiR is part ministry to the Meeting, and part exchange of services for remuneration.
• You need clear boundaries to protect your sanity. Requires certain stamina to put up with various interesting discussions & attitudes that sometimes come by.
• It can be a rich and rewarding experience.
• Who can tell the FiR what to do, everybody? One early FiR felt much put upon.
• It makes a lot of difference who is on Meeting House Committee and how they can support you.
• It depends a lot on the person in the job.
• It’s in the domain of loving service, and if you don’t feel it, you shouldn’t be there.
• Because WHO the FiR is, is important, we should accept that we might decide to have the apartment and then not fill it when the right person doesn’t show up. We could have a FiR apartment and use an outside manager for some time if that’s what works.
• The apartment is small with or without the extra room. There’s a limited amount of space to drop your stuff.
  On other hand, it’s part of a nice big house.
• What we offer to a prospective FiR doesn’t have to be either-or. We might offer more than the living space as compensation for services.

Do we return the FiR apartment to its original one-bedroom size?

• (Legally the room that was annexed to the apartment in about 1996 cannot be called a “bedroom” because it does not have a closet. Legally, it was called a “living room.”)
• The 1996 expansion provided more that just the “living room” for FiR use. Moving the apartment’s exterior door closer to the stairs also added valuable storage space in the new entryway. The original apartment had very little, even for coats and boots.
• Sometimes the “living room” was convenient for overnight guests. We might want to design the extra room as easily convertible so it could be part of FiR space when it made sense, and available for FDS under other circumstances. Perhaps a hybrid used by both FiR AND FDS?
  Regardless of decision on primary use of that room, we can ask MOMSAH to make that space as flexible as possible. Much agreement on this.
• Can the apartment be rebuilt to expand it into the big empty area over the stairs? [A little, but because of the fire-rating called for in stairwell walls, it would be expensive to do much. -Whole Builders.]
• Offering a one-bedroom apartment is minimal, but that’s true for other aspects of Meeting life. First Day School classrooms are minimally satisfactory, or not even that, depending on who you talk to.
  “What we can get away with” is kind of what the entire conversation is about – we ask the same questions re FiR and FDS. We hope not to shortchange anyone too much.

How do we meet all or most of TCFM’s needs within the confines of our current building?

• Whatever we decide this spring, we may need additional space- e.g., in Ramsey School or the Council of Churches building – the future needs of meeting are unknowable – FDS may be at its peak. We know there are ebbs & flows. There’s no final solution to the building’s limitations.
• If the FDS population is at peak, it’s because there is no more space. Some sensitive members of the FDS community might hear that as not welcoming or nurturing of children; FDS committee can’t be viewed holding ALL the responsibility for our kids. We need to think of the whole meeting’s responsibility to kids.
• We’re talking about values we hold. We want to be friendly to neighborhood, and FIR helps us project this warmth. AND we want to care for our children. This IS a community-wide concern, not just FDS committee’s job. The fact that the building doesn’t seem large enough to do everything we’d like is a meeting-wide challenge.
• We need to question the idea that we necessarily need space outside of our current address. The building as presently configured isn’t working well, but our current real estate may be able to adequately support the number of FDS kids who actually come each week.
• How can we grow Quakerism without growing the building?
• Has community gotten too large for this space? (The “bud meeting” question.)

Does TCFM need a Friend in Residence (FIR)?

Would a non-resident caretaker be able to perform the same functions adequately?

We will have information-sharing and discussion of the issues on

Sunday, February 22, at the Meetinghouse, from 1-2:30PM.

This meeting will be an opportunity to share information about

• Why we as a meeting originally chose to build an apartment to house a FIR
• Whether that still fits our needs
• In what ways we want our meetinghouse to be a part of the larger community and neighborhood.

This is a time for all of us in the TCFM community to share opinions, face to face.

A summary of opinions expressed at this meeting will be shared at the March 13 Meeting for Worship with attention to Business, and will also be provided to the March 22 “Threshing & Decision Session” (see below).
Here’s a summary of the two sessions we had in January that were devoted to First Day School (FDS)’s needs for better classroom space:

First Day School says it needs 8 or 9 total “classroom” spaces, depending on the year’s breakdown of age groups.
In ‘08-’09, so far, FDS has averaged 44 children per week.

We Celebrate

• That we own a building, that it gets LOTS of use, and that we share it with community. It feels good to have a building fully used, good stewardship, using resources well and often.
• Beautiful space for worship.
• The role of the FIR is important in bringing groups together to use meetinghouse.
• Felt safe & supported using space to house homeless.
• The large number of Meeting adults involved in FDS. THEY are what is important in the kid’s minds, more than what the classroom was like.
• 6th grade is where parents no longer have clout to force kids to FDS, and we have 14 teenagers!
• We have all the children in this building.
• Some people come here because we have a FDS.
• Many kids and adults LIKE the quirky, non-standard classroom spaces.

Challenges to presenting good FDS programs

• Spaces not intended or designed for classrooms are being used for classrooms
• Many (most) of the complaints were about trying to hold students’ attention without good sound & sight isolation.
• The kitchen-fellowship area is especially problematic, drawing many remarks. (The panels over counter & closing kitchen doors helps, but doesn’t happen often enough.)
• Inaccessibility of FDS library and other FDS supplies.
• The sheer size and the vitality of FDS is invisible to most TCFM adults.
• When class size in an age group drops too low we have seen the remaining kids lose interest “because no one was there.” There’s a dynamic between the building and the people. Don’t simply identify the Meeting with the meetinghouse.
• The variation of numbers of children in FDS. Back when front porch was renovated, we didn’t see any need for more classroom or office space.
• Proportionally, the ratio of children to adults is greater than in the past.
• Twenty percent of our kids are special-needs kids (including gifted).
• Lack of space for large muscle activity in FDS.
• Separation of FDS from worship meetings.
• TCFM’s lack of attention to these issues over the years has a demoralizing effect on adults involved with FDS and suggests that, as a community, we do not sufficiently value our children.
• Are we making efforts to hear what young people think about the space? I can imagine them saying that a meeting in the old basement with the furnace as being “a really cool space.”
• Being in the rut of having age-segregated groups for 45 minutes once each week.
• We have a set idea of what religious education means and have a hard time envisioning an alternative way that could be better carried out in the space we have.
• Is former FIR apartment area safe for a classroom, given that it has only a single exit?
• I like looking for better solutions but I also like compromise & figuring what will work.

Obstacles that should not be tolerated

• The attic and the grotto are only marginally safe for most children, and are dangerous for some of them because of limited egress and damp and mold.
• Some rooms not safe for or accessible to disabled children.
• Kids are being stuffed into inappropriate spaces.
• Parents have started their kids in FDS and then dropped out probably because of inadequacy of space.

Important topics, but beyond the scope of the FDS->FiR? decision

• FDS is having problems because meeting is large and has outgrown our building. We have more uses than we have space. A split is inevitable if we don’t expand the building.
• Why a few big meetings in the Twin Cities? How do we grow Quakerism without growing our building?
• Bud meetings have to be organic.
• List of alternatives seems too narrow. Consider demolishing old house & putting up new building.
• It’s too easy to forget about children when you’re not involved with FDS.
• Invisibility of children’s program is not a function of space. The “this-is-kid-space visibility-issue” could be remedied without a lot of work. The invisibility goes deeper.
• Be aware of bulges [in student age groups]
• Redesign FDS activities for larger time blocks.
• Some FDS classes meet during 8:30 worship or at 9:45, during Adult Ed?
• Furniture in classroom areas needs to be stackable or foldable, with sizes appropriate to adults & children.
• Could library be reprogrammed as classroom?
• Remodel closet in Little Room at top of old stairs.
• How many people can live in the FIR apt?

We are engaging in this decision-making process with a sense of urgency because we need to rebuild the water-and-mold-damaged space as soon as the weather warms up. The MOMSAH committee is almost ready to agree on building contracts, and is waiting for our answer.

Hopefully a final decision on this issue can be reached at a

Called Meeting for Worship with attention to Business on Sunday, March 22, 1-3PM.

There we will bring our thinking about FDS and about the FIR into the same room. We will think and pray about how to best move forward with all of the information we’ve gathered, asking, “How do we best address the needs of the entire community?” The four alternatives that can be anticipated at this point are:
1.    Rebuild the FIR apartment as a two-bedroom apartment, and continue as we have for the last seven or eight years.
2.    Rebuild the area as two classrooms/ meeting rooms, perhaps with a small food-preparation area, perhaps with a disabled-accessible bathroom.
3.    Rebuild the FIR apartment as it was constructed in 1995, as a one-bedroom unit, and turn what had been bedroom #2 back to its original use as a meeting room/classroom.
4.    Design the space (if possible) so that in any given year TCFM may choose to use it as an apartment, or as non-residential space.
The March 22nd meeting will begin with a period of “threshing.” In an atmosphere of mutual respect concerns will be raised about how to balance our needs to have a FIR with our need for some more adequate FDS space. Individuals will be encouraged to articulate differing points of view. Trade-offs will be considered in open-hearted listening.
Following a break, we will ask ourselves,
A)    ”Do we need to continue with this process of threshing the alternatives?”  or
B)    Are we ready to enter a time of worship in which we will discern “what is the will of this worshiping community for the space?” This will be a time for listening with the ears of the community rather than our own, a time to give over each of our own firm views, a time to place the outcome of our decision in the hands of Spirit.
It is our hope that way will be clear.

If there is no clarity about what to do with the space at the meeting March 22nd, we will meet in another special called meeting for worship on Sunday, April 5 at 1:00 p.m.

Raquel Wood has sent a letter to TCFM and other Friends meetings.

It includes the declaration, below, with the following cover note.

For Twin Cities Friends Meeting

January 7, 2009

At the Monthly Meeting for Business on last Sunday evening, January 4, 2009, Prospect Hill Friends united in our wish to endorse the attached “Declaration of Principles. . .” A number of us had signed this Declaration as individuals. Our clerk, Michael Russelle, brought to our attention that the organizers are hoping many church groups will go on record as endorsing this statement. To date very few Friends meetings have done so. The intention is to reach the new administration with a strong voice of conscience. I volunteered to send this form to each of the meetings in our area. I hope your meeting will join Prospect Hill and other Quaker bodies that decide to join this effort. Thank you, all.

Peace, Raquel

Declaration of Principles for a Presidential Executive Order On Prisoner Treatment, Torture and Cruelty

Though we come from a variety of backgrounds and walks of life, we agree that the use of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment against prisoners is immoral, unwise, and un-American.

In our effort to secure ourselves, we have resorted to tactics which do not work, which endanger US personnel abroad, which discourage political, military, and intelligence cooperation from our allies, and which ultimately do not enhance our security.

Our President must lead us by our core principles. We must be better than our enemies, and our treatment of prisoners captured in the battle against terrorism must reflect our character and values as Americans.

Therefore, we believe the President of the United States should issue an Executive Order that provides as follows:

• The “Golden Rule.” We will not authorize or use any methods of interrogation that we would not find acceptable if used against Americans, be they civilians or soldiers.
• One national standard. We will have one national standard for all US personnel and agencies for the interrogation and treatment of prisoners. Currently, the best expression of that standard is the US Army Field Manual, which will be used until any other interrogation technique has been approved based on the Golden Rule principle.
• The rule of law. We will acknowledge all prisoners to our courts or the International Red Cross. We will in no circumstance hold persons in secret prisons or engage in disappearances. In all cases, prisoners will have the opportunity to prove their innocence in ways that fully conform to American principles of fairness.
• Duty to protect. We acknowledge our historical commitment to end the use of torture and cruelty in the world. The US will not transfer any person to countries that use torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.
• Checks and balances. Congress and the courts play an invaluable role in protecting the values and institutions of our nation and must have and will have access to the information they need to be fully informed about our detention and interrogation policies.
• Clarity and accountability. All US personnel – whether soldiers or intelligence staff – deserve the certainty that they are implementing policy that complies fully with the law. Henceforth all US officials who authorize, implement, or fail in their duty to prevent the use of torture and ill-treatment of prisoners will be held accountable, regardless of rank or position.

Quick Summary

Soon we will need to plan to rebuild the space that was formerly the Friend in Residence (FiR) apartment.

• We could rebuild the apartment as it was in 2007.
• We could rebuild it as was in 1995 –a small one-bedroom apartment– and gain another classroom/meeting-room.
• We could rebuild the whole area as public space and gain two classrooms/meeting-rooms.

As a preparation for our decision, TCFM will hold two information-sharing meetings in January to focus on the needs of First Day School (FDS). Later we will focus on the importance of having a FiR vs. relying on a non-resident building manager. Please come.

Extended Narrative

I’ve heard many stories now, about children’s First Day School (FDS) experiences, some from people who were in FDS and are now parents of kids in FDS. Many kids remember a special teacher who made a difference in their lives. I haven’t heard of a child who complained or exclaimed about the classrooms, except to say they like the attic, or the Grotto. So there’s no problem? Talk to teachers and parents, and it’s a different story. Mold in the Grotto. Only a marginal emergency exit from the attic. People going through the North Conference Room class to get to the class in the South Conference Room. People walking through the class in the Fireplace Room to go up the stairs. Classes in the Fellowship room disturbed by coffee klatschers, cross-traffic, and kitchen talk. Room dividers and accordion doors that don’t shut out distracting conversations, especially during silent worship. And there’s little convenient storage space for class materials. Could we call these “challenges” which we can surmount on the path to providing stimulating religious education for our children, or are they “obstacles,” more than any teacher/parent should be asked to overcome?

New classrooms would not be as homey as what we have now. I think most Friends suspect “nice and new” might turn out to be “sterile.” We want “adequate,” not “perfect.”

How far are we from having “adequate” classroom space in which to do religious education? That is the question we will address on January 10 and on January 25, from 1PM to 2:30PM. (See below for details of “where.”)
The reason we are examining this in early 2009 is that we have to decide how to reconstruct the Friend in Residence (FiR) apartment as part of repairing our sick building. We could make it smaller, freeing up a room that served as a meeting-room/classroom in the 1990s. Or we could eliminate the FiR apartment completely and gain two classrooms. But what about the Whitley Motts? And doesn’t having a FiR mean we can offer our facilities to outside groups more easily than we could with a non-resident building manager? These are important questions. However, we are beginning the official Meeting-wide conversation with the two January discussions focused on the adequacy of our current FDS classes. In February we will ask the questions, “Could we get along without a FiR? Do we want to?” After that, more conversations, weighing the pros and cons, followed by a decision about how we will rebuild, at a special Called MWB.

But for now, the questions are:

• What, generally, is the FDS experience like, for children and adults?
• How close to adequate are our current classrooms?
• What are the additional minimum needs?
• What are the additional maximum needs? (We might continue to grow, you know.)
• Where on our property (and in the neighborhood) might we find satisfactory retrofits or supplements?

Saturday, January 10, 1:00 – 2:30PM at FRIENDS SCHOOL

Parents with children are especially encouraged to consider this session, at Friends School Minnesota. The Gym will be open for supervised play, while adults and interested children gather in the adjacent community room to learn and share about our possible future directions. We will have juice and snacks for everyone, near the end.

Sunday, January 25, 1:00 – 2:30PM, at TCFM

For people who did not attend the January 10 meeting, please come to one or the other.

And please comment here, if you have reactions to what I have written.

Thanks,

Richard