Stillwater Monthly Meeting, Religious Society of Friends

https://www.quakercloud.org/cloud/stillwater-ok-friends-meeting

The Lodge, 315 W 12th Ave, Stillwater, OK 74074

Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business: 10/11/2015

Present: Ron Brooks, Bailey Norwood, Anne Collins, Jan Michael, Keith Garbutt, Christine Garbutt.

The meeting opened with silence.

The minutes from 9/13/2015 were read and approved.

Greeter for the next month: Anne Collins.

Opener for the next month: Christine Garbutt.

Committee Reports:

Treasurer: The full report is attached.

Income this month was $710 and cash funds available amount to $509.77. We still have $800 in charitable donations to make before the end of the year and we will have one more rent payment to make to cover the first quarter of 2016. $1400 will cover this and a deposit into the Meetinghouse fund. Contributions to cover these expenses are really needed and greatly appreciated.

On behalf of FGC Anne Collins thanked Stillwater Friends for their continuing financial support that is sorely needed. Sadly FGC will be laying down some current programs and staff due to a current lack of funds and the consequences of the recent recession.

Donations can be placed in the small wooden donations box at Meeting, given directly to the Treasurer or mailed to Stillwater Friends Meeting, PO Box 94, Stillwater, OK 74076-0094. Checks should be made payable to ‘Stillwater Friends Meeting’.

Friends accepted the Treasurer’s report.

Adult Religious Education: Our regular discussion is scheduled for next week (10/18/15). We will continue discussing Parker Palmer’s keynote address at the recent FGC Gathering (The Quaker Tradition: Broken Into Wholeness).

Next month we will discuss the plenary talk at 2015 Gathering given by Daryl Atkinson and Scott Holmes concerning ‘Moral Monday in North Carolina’. Each week religious members of the public attend the NC legislature to talk to right-wing legislators about the ethics of the current judicial system.

Children’s Religious Education: Thank you Bailey for posting online the schedule for teachers and assistants at First day School and the books used each week. Please see www.quakercloud.org/cloud/stillwater-ok-friends-meeting

Peace and Social Concerns: The question was asked – Should we again stand vigil as state executions are carried out?

Quarterly Meeting: 31 people and 4 children enjoyed Fall Quarterly Meeting at Robbers Cave State Park in SE Oklahoma. There were enough funds to cover all expenses with about $100 left over (probably because some people do not ask for reimbursement when they provide meals for the weekend). Check the Yearly Meeting website (www.scym.org) for the film that was made of the weekend’s activities.

Jan enjoyed the Oklahoma/Arkansas Quarterly Meeting and felt that it should meet more often.

Winter Quarterly Meeting will be 1/22/16-1/24/16 at Dwight Mission near Sallisaw.

The reservation for Fall Quarterly Meeting 2016 at Robbers Cave State Park has already been made.

Old Business:

The minute regarding the erosion of the separation of church and state was sent to the other Quaker groups in Oklahoma, both FGC and FUM. So far only Green County Friends have responded and they will discuss it today. We await their response and that of any other Friends Meeting in Oklahoma. The minute will then be submitted for publication in the newspapers - the Stillwater News Press, The Oklahoman and Tulsa World and will be sent to Governor Fallin and legislators.

Due to problems encountered during recent executions in Oklahoma the death penalty is in abeyance at the moment. This gives an opportunity to investigate the means and the cost of these executions.

Friends Gathering at Hominy: Friends are encouraged to visit Hominy Friends Meeting on 10/24/15 and join them and other Oklahoma Friends for a day of fellowship and food. Details are below.

New Business:

Friends it is time to think about how your talents can serve the Meeting during the coming year. Members of the Nominating Committee will be contacting you all in the next few weeks. Bailey Norwood, Christine Garbutt and Jan Michael have agreed to serve on this committee. Please see below for committees and other positions of responsibility in our meeting.

Announcements:

Hominy Gathering: Saturday 10/24/15 from 10a.m.-3:30p.m.

Programs at Pendle Hill: more info and more events at www.pendlehill.org

9/2015-2/2016 & 3/2016-8/2016: Answering the Call to Radical Faithfulness

10/30-11/1: Inquirer’s Weekend: an Introduction to Quaker Faith and Practice

with Emma Lapsansky-Werner & Chris Mohr

11/20-22: Clerking: Serving the Community with Joy and Confidence with Arthur Larrabee

Respectfully submitted

Christine Garbutt

Recording Clerk


Treasurer’s Report

10/10/2015

“Encourage a spirit of Christian bountifulness. Let all…cultivate from early years a true liberality according to their means; it should be a joy to the Christian to support wise efforts to promote the good of others.”

From: Faith and Practice - London Yearly Meeting (1988 edition)

Donations may be placed into the small wooden donations box at Meeting, given directly to the Treasurer or mailed to the Meeting at - Stillwater Friends Meeting, PO Box 94, Stillwater OK 74076-0094. Checks should be made payable to “Stillwater Friends Meeting”. Friends are thanked for their 9th Month donations.

Fund Balances

Funds / End of 9th Month
Funds for Suffering / $300.00
Quarterly Meeting Funds / $762.54
Meeting Funds / $509.77
Meeting House Fund / $3,996.51

Account Balances

Balances as of 10/2/2015 for the BankSNB Checking account, the U&CFCU Savings account, the BankSNB CD, and the U&CFCU CD.

Account Balances / End of 9th Month
Checkbook Balance / $1,572.31
BankSNB Balance / $1,597.31
U&CFCU Savings Balance / $9.13
BankSNB CD / $2,792.38
U&CFCU CD / $1,195.00
Cash Funds Available / $509.77

Please note we have yet to pay most of our charitable obligations.

The difference between the BankSNB checking balance and the Checkbook balance is due to checks that have been written and sent but are yet to be presented (See outstanding checks table below)

Outstanding Checks
Date / Check # / Payee / Payment
9/30/15 / 1022 / CWU / $25.00
Outstanding Total / $25.00

Account Activity 9th Month 2015

Income / 9th Month / 2015 Income/Expend to Date / 2015 Budget
Unrestricted Contributions / $710.00 / $4,937.95
Restricted Contributions / $0.00 / $0.00
Total Contributions / $710.00 / $4,937.95 / $7,645.00
Expenditures / 9th Month / 2015 Income/Expend to Date / 2015 Budget
Rent / $525.00 / $2,100.00 / $2,100.00
PO Box / $62.00 / $60.00
Postage / $0.00 / $20.00
SCYM / $864.00 / $550.00
Love Feast / $0.00 / $250.00
Friends Journal / $140.00 / $140.00
Religious Ed / $583.55 / $600.00
Peace & Social / $149.58 / $400.00
Meeting House Fund / $0.00 / $600.00
Ministry & Care / $25.00 / $50.00
Website / $120.00 / $120.00
Conf & Workshop / $500.00 / $1,000.00
Clerk / $0.00 / $30.00
AFSC / $0.00 / $50.00
Church Women United / $25.00 / $25.00 / $25.00
Earth Care Witness / $0.00 / $50.00
FCNL / $0.00 / $50.00
FGC / $600.00 / $600.00 / $600.00
Frs Peace Teams / $0.00 / $200.00
FWCC / $0.00 / $50.00
OK Coal. X Death Pen / $0.00 / $50.00
OK Conf Churches / $0.00 / $50.00
Quaker UN / $0.00 / $50.00
Right Sharing / $0.00 / $50.00
Stwtr Interfaith Coun / $0.00 / $200.00
William Penn House / $0.00 / $50.00
Misc / $159.40 / $250.00
Total Expenditures / $1150.00 / $5,328.53 / $7,645.00
Monthly Net Income / -$440.00

Expenditures were: $525 for rent for the Meeting House, $600.00 donated to FGC and $25.00 donated to Church Women United

Stillwater Friends Meeting

Nominating Committee

List of Positions

Friends who feel called to be part of particular committees or to a particular position are encouraged to contact a member of the Nominating committee:

Bailey Norwood, Christine Garbutt, Jan Michael

Clerk

Recording Clerk

Treasurer

Love Fest Coordinator

Librarian/Archivist

Committee Clerks and Members:

Religious Education

Adults

Children

Peace and Social Concerns

Ministry and Care (Four members with two- year terms and clerk as ex officio)

Representatives to:

Inter-Faith Council

Church Women United

South Central Yearly Meeting

Meeting Contacts for:

AFSC

Peace Teams

Friends Committee on National Legislation

Friends General Conference

Letter from Hominy Friends

Dear Friends,

Last fall Hominy Friends Meeting issued an invitation to every Friends group in the State of Oklahoma. In Tenth Month we hosted a wonderful gathering of Friends from around the State. We were blessed as we shared from our personal spiritual journeys, examined past examples of Spirit-led Friends, and worshipped together. Laura Dungan of University Friends, Wichita,KS, and I served as facilitators. Inspiring piano accompaniment was contributed by LaVonna Loesch, also of University Friends. Hominy Friends served a delicious Osage-style feast featuring fry bread and dried corn soup. Participants were so enthused about this gathering that there was unanimity that another similar gathering be held in 2015.

Thus Hominy Friends joyfully extend an invitation to all Friends groups in Oklahoma to enjoy our hospitality on Saturday, the 24th of October for what we are calling the Oklahoma All-Friends Gathering. This event is also open to interested Friends in neighboring States.

We are delighted that Max Carter, recently retired as director of the Friends Center at Guilford College, NC, has consented to share with us. While all ages are welcome and should benefit from this gathering, we have chosen to focus on young people in grades 6-12. We will again provide an Osage-style feast, free of charge at noon. We propose to start promptly at 10 am and to finish by 3:30pm. Max Carter will share about Friends history and beliefs. He has a unique way of making events and people come alive and his sense of humor is almost legendary. His sharing will be within a context of worship and once again there will be opportunity for those present to share from their personal spiritual experiences.

Please put this event on your calendars and help spread the word. We would appreciate hearing a rough estimate of the number of possible participants from each group to help us in planning the dinner. We look forward to great fellowship and pray God’s blessing upon this event and all who may find their way to Hominy.

On behalf of Hominy Friends Meeting,

David E. Nagle, Minister