4
PRAIRIE GROUP
MINUTES OF ANNUAL MEETING
Pere Marquette Lodge,
Grafton, Illinois
November 4, 2009
With firm resolve and a steady hand on the Beattie Memorial Gavel, President Morris pounded the 59th or 60th meeting of the Prairie Group, if not to order, then at least to some semblance of order that is dreamed of by every PG Pres. To that end, an actual agenda was found to exist, written upon veiled boards at what was temporarily the front of the room. Ms. Gibbons placed one of the veils upon Mr. Smith which inspired Ms. Owen-O’Quill to place a veil upon Mr. Carley, whose naturally demure nature accepted the veil with ease and grace.
An announcement was made of Jerry Davidoff being in Hospice care, which was followed by a moment of silence and Ms. Morris leading the assembled body in a chorus of “Blessed Be.”
There was a motion to accept the minutes, (“No!” the cry went up, “Re-write! Re-write!” accompanied by the usual calls for censure and something to do with a monkey...) followed by a motion from Ms. Gibbons to prevent Mr. Robinson from making any further motions. Without a pause or a second, another motion arose to burn the minutes, amended immediately to a motion to burn the minutes and the scribe (no doubt with fond memories of the very late Mr. Servetus in mind). The ensuing chant, “Burn the Scribe,” was duly noted.
The Scribe was then invited to make his annual Report on the Membership, which was immediately met with the traditional chant of “Thin the Herd!” Guests were then presented to the gathering by their sponsors for potential membership in the organization (though no one could quite figure out why they sought it). Ms. Hallman spoke on behalf of Mr. Kanter, suggesting the continuation of a grand succession that began with Robert Raible (and giving Mr. Kanter his pledge name, Daddy Dan Kanter) after which, contrite, Ms. Hallman expressed the hope that she would, nonetheless, be allowed to stay in the group. Mr. Lavanhar spoke on behalf of Mr. Schroeder, claiming that his training at Tulsa did not automatically disqualify him and that, of course, we should also thin the herd. Mr. Woulfe spoke on behalf of Ms. Ziegler, noting especially her devotion to social causes, implying perhaps that she would be taking on yet another....
President Morris then asked for a gesture of acceptance, perhaps even a veiled ballot. The chant arose (this being a very liturgical crowd) to “give ‘em all papers!” All were duly accepted into membership in spite of their sponsors.
Ms. Morris proceeded to comment on the many forms of communication that now exist among us, including winks and nods (“wink, wink, nudge, nudge, know what I mean? say no more!”), as well as the web-site created and maintained by Ms. Rolenz. We also have a Facebook page which Transportation Tzar, Mr. O’Connell took upon himself to open, ostensibly upon the authorization of Mr. Budd, who maintains that his response was merely, “Well, gee, I guess it wouldn’t be a bad idea....” Ms. Gibbons indicated appreciation of the web-site, noting the possibility that Prairie Group papers could and would eventually be posted there. The suggestion that Prairie Group open a Twitter account was rejected as Twitter was too terse. There was some discernable consensus to keep both the web-site and the Facebook page.
The Nominating Committee was invited to make its report, and Ms. Kirk uncharacteristically took it upon herself to report for her fellow committee members, Mr. James and Mr. Lavanhar. For President, since she should be president of something, Ms. Hallman’s name was placed before the gathering (which was met with a spontaneous and enthusiastic standing O). Mr. Budd was nominated for Scribe (inspiring Mr. James to cry out, “25 years!” and another wag to comment that Mr. Budd had finally and completely now gone over to the Dark Side), and for the Program Committee, Thandeka was enthusiastically proposed.
Again, the always liturgically-minded members joined in the chant, “Spee-ches! Spee-ches!” Ms. Hallman noted that she had given a year and half of speeches and had no speeches left in her, to which Mr. Lavanhar exclaimed, “Laurel has been rendered speechless!” Thandeka, enthused by her ascendance to the Program Committee, pre-empted the traditional first topic of the Pre-Socratic Philosophers with the suggestion for a five-year study of Schleiermacher. Mr. Budd sank further into the Dark Side without a word.
It is presumed that all the nominees were accepted, though records indicate that the vote, if indeed one was taken, was veiled.
The Program Committee then held forth and, after Mr. Beattie’s perennial topic was added, the following topics were suggested:
James Hillman
Flannery O’Connor
Hans Bibfeldt
Unitarianism
Swedenborgianism
Homiletics
Religious Education
Henry Bellows and the formation of the National Conference
Technological imagination
Environmental education
Images of the preacher in American literature
Religious co-existence: Andalusia
e.e.cummings
Howard Thurman
Carl Jung’s Red Book
Profiles in spiritual courage
Tradition, Culture and Religion
Richard Niebuhr
Beyond anti-racism; what’s next?
Bio-ethics
The marketplace of/as God
In a moment of confession, Thandeka said her original suggestion was actually a joke, since whatever the topic selected was she would be sure to speak on Schleirmacher. Knowing nods were seen around the table. For reasons best left to the imagination, Mr. Carley was then called upon to perform a Dance of the Single Veil.
After the usual absolutely self-less politicking, promoting and discussion of the items on this variegated list, as well as the combining of several topics, 11 remained. Mr. Holt observed that for the first time in two decades the Pre-Socratic Philosophers had made it to the second level. After the second round of voting, the group was left with these three topics:
The Preacher in American Literature
Howard Thurman
Carl Jung, the Red Book and Hillman
After a spirited and final round of voting, Howard Thurman (on a vote of 11-8-8) was the final choice.
A veil was ceremonially and compassionately placed over Gary James, who was in mourning over the latest failure of James Hillman to take the Gold Ring (but who secretly rejoiced that Mr. Hillman, riding the coattails of Mr. Jung’s Red Book, had made the final cut).
The President asked for each member in succession to say one word of tribute to the outgoing Scribe, who was completing 20 years of service this year (as had Mr. Hayward and Mr. Clark before him). Unable to follow instructions, many among us offered two, three, or even four words of tribute. Mr. Holt, as a point of personal privilege, read the text of a Radio Talk he had broadcast in Boston a year ago, about his experience of Prairie Group. His heartfelt words were heard and received with appreciation and deep gratitude. Cheers also went up for outgoing President, Ms. Morris.
The meeting concluded with the singing, at Mr. Holt’s request, of “All Are Architects of Fate” (Mr. Beattie’s favorite hymn).
With this the meeting adjourned sine die -- and mirabile dictu.
Respectfully submitted,
Daniel Budd (with grateful assistance from Mr. Holt)
Members present (25): Roger Bertschausen, Jack Bryant, Daniel Budd, Burton Carley, Jim Eller, Kendyl Gibbons, Laurel Hallman, Bill Haney, Earl Holt, Gary James, Marlin Lavanhar, Berkeley Moore, Mary Moore, Sydney Morris, Bill Neely, Daniel O’Connell, Jennifer Owen-O’Quill, John Robinson, Brent Smith, Josh Snyder, Alan Taylor, Thandeka, Khleber Van Zandt, Bonnie Vegiard, Martin Woulfe
Members absent (6): Wayne Arnason, Rob and Janne Eller-Isaacs, Barbara Merritt, Suzanne Meyer, Kathleen Rolenz
Guests (3): Daniel Kanter, Justin Schroeder, Jaqueline Ziegler
Special Guest: David Owen-O’Quill
Student Guests (1): Randy Lewis
N.B. sine die: indefinately; mirabile dictu: wonderful to relate