North Pacific Yearly Meeting Coordinating Committee
Saturday, November 10, 2012, 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Multnomah Meeting, Portland, OR
CC11/10.0 Clerk Melody Ashworth opened the meeting in silent worship followed by brief introductions. Present were:
Melody Ashworth, Coordinating Committee Clerk, South Mountain
Carrie Black, Coordinating Committee Recording Clerk, Eugene
John Allcott, Annual Session Presiding Clerk, Eugene
Lisa Ferrari, Rising Annual Session Recording Clerk, Tacoma
Esther Schiedel, Corvallis
Elee Hadley, Outreach & Visitation Clerk, Umpqua Valley
Margaret Coahran, Pullman-Moscow
Linda Spencer, Ministry & Oversight, South Mountain
Chris Cradler, Structure Evaluation Committee Co-clerk, Bridge City
Tom Rawson, Annual Session Rising Clerk, Salmon Bay
Linda Kocourek, Staff Secretary
Otis Kenny, Boise Valley
Lucy Fullerton, University
Rose Lewis, Salem
Annis Bleeke, Multnomah
Caroline Wildflower, Port Townsend
Ann Stever, Structure Evaluation Committee, University
Clint Weimeister, Information Technology Committee Clerk, Port Townsend
Helen Dart, Eugene
Lynn Travis, Youth Committee, Bridge City
Debbie Townsend, Committee on the Discipline Clerk, Eastside
Chris Willard, CC Associate Clerk, Tacoma
Sean Downing, Junior Friends
Pearl Thompson, Junior Friends
Laura Arcidiacono, Treasurer, Bridge City
Janet Jump, Nominating Committee Clerk, Multnomah
John Etter, Site Committee Clerk, General Arrangements Clerk
Jane Ewert, Bridge City
Kate Jaramillo, Bridge City
Marty Crouch, Webkeeper, Multnomah
CC11/10.1 Minutes from the July 18, 2012 meeting were approved.
CC11/10.2 Structure Evaluation Committee Report
The Structure Evaluation Committee presented their report along with the NPYM mission and vision statement. Is this structure helping to bring us closer to our vision and mission? We split into groups for a brainstorming activity and discussion.
Chris Cradler will send a summary of this activity and the questions to Coordinating Committee members.
CC11/10.3 Junior Friend Report
The Junior Friends are planning their winter ski trip, as well as a possible service trip to Guatemala or Bolivia in 2014. They welcome people to contact the co-clerks (Waylon Costello and Clara Ewert - claraify.20@live.com) or to join the Junior Friends facebook page for more information about their activities. They look forward to adding eight new junior friends from the Central Friends group.
CC11/10.4 Executive Committee Report
We confirmed the membership of Yearly Meeting relationships ad hoc committee:
Patty Lyman, Clerk; Lynn Fitz-Hugh, Carl Abbott, Angie Alexander, Bill Ashworth, Don Goldstein, Eddy Crouch, Elaine Webster, Kathy Hyzy, Margaret Coahran, Michael Williams, Molly Cooley, Sarita Lief.
And Executive Committee appointed the members of the ad hoc committee for Oversight of the 2013 Structure Evaluation: Chris Cradler and Ann Stever co-clerks; Lucretia Humphrey, ELee Hadley, Ted Etter, Margaret Coahran, Kate Jaramillo.
Both ad hoc committees will report to the 2013 Annual Session.
We approved the appointment of Dorsey Green as a representative to FCNL.
We approved the use of the Washington portion of the NPYM Directory contacts for a once-a-year mailing by FCWPP
CC11/10.5 Job descriptions
Clerk Melody Ashworth summarized the implementation of the report at Annual Session by the ad hoc committee to study funding of travel by our representatives to national Quaker organizations. Jonathan Brown, who clerked the ad hoc committee drafted the necessary changes in the job descriptions of the representatives, and his amendments were reviewed by the editing committee established last year. New versions of the job descriptions for AFSC Representative, FCNL Representative, Friends Peace Teams Representative, FWCC Representative, QEW Representative, Coordinating Committee Associate Clerk, and Western Friend Director were approved.
The approval of the job description for FLGBTQC correspondent is postponed until spring, as it needs to be edited to incorporate the decision at 2012 Annual Session not to fund nor require the Correspondents' travel to FLGTBQC national events.
CC11/10.6 Annual Session Planning Committee Report
We named an ad hoc committee to to review current NPYM practice for decision-making relating to Annual Session, to identify any areas where the good order is unclear or undefined, and to write a job description for ASPC. The committee is to consider these practices in writing the ASPC job description.
1. Who is responsible for reviewing job descriptions for Annual Session positions and updating?
2. Are fee waivers a matter of NPYM policy?
3. Who reviews the list of volunteers eligible for fee waivers and whether a whole or half waiver is available?
4. How can NPYM be Family Friendly?
The committee will be composed of Planning Committee members (John Allcott, John Etter, Margaret Coahran, Lynn Gordon, Laura Arcidiacono, Mim Lilly), Caroline Wildflower, and Chris Willard. Margaret Coahran will convene the first meeting. Approved.
CC11/10.7 Nominations
The following names are under consideration:
YM officers: Treasurer – Laura Arcidiacono for one additional year 10/2012 – 2014
AS 2013 Planning: Volunteer Coordinator – Mim Lilly (Tacoma) 10/2012 – 9/2013
Committees:
Peace and Social Concerns Clerk – Jesse Laird (Multnomah) 10/2012 – 9/2014
Finance & Legal Clerk – Carl Abbott (already on Committee) 10/2011 – 9/2014
Outreach & Visitation – Kate Jaramillo (Bridge City) 11/2012 – 9/2013
CC11/10.8 Youth Committee
The focus this year will be on sustainability. The committee is hoping to recruit "advisors" - experts in different youth efforts to work on specific projects with the committee.
CC11/10.9 Outreach and Visitation
ELee Hadley passed out short questionnaires about worship groups and isolated friends, visitation, and online publications. Coordinating Committee members were asked to fill out and return these questionnaires before lunch.
CC11/10.10 Webkeeper
Marty Crouch presented the new NPYM Database Project.
CC11/10.11 Secretary
Should we order more copies of Faith and Practice or wait until the newly approved version is ready? Coordinating Committee members recommend looking up prices, then speaking with Executive Committee to order copies, possibly adding an insert for Ch. 11 (already approved).
CC11/10.12 Communication
We brainstormed ideas for how to communicate reports and information prior to Coordinating Committee Meetings:
-Set a date that reports will be posted on the website, and announce it well in advance. Anyone who misses this date should bring the report in an accessible format.
-Sent out a final, numbered Agenda ahead of time.
-Link via email or on the website? Password-protected website?
-Alert email to look at the website for additional items.
-Numbered and/or grouped emails (possibly connected to agenda numbers).
-Email communication of the Coordinating Committee outside of CC meeting time. Can we answer emails on behalf of our meeting directly, informational input? Could save discussion time, plus an opportunity to not discuss everything at this meeting.
-Friends on Coordinating Committee sending emails to the NPYM Secretary to send out, without going through the CC clerk. Keep it short and simple for maximum response.
-Concerns about technology skills.
CC11/10.13 Nominations: All of the nominations submitted in the morning were approved.
CC11/10.14 The ad hoc committee to revise the Annual Session positions of Children’s Program Coordinators reported recommended changes in that description and in the description of the Youth Committee to eliminate overlaps and duplications.
They suggest adding additional positions for the children's program: Children’s Program Coordinating Team, Central Friends Camp Coordinator, and Children’s Activities Coordinator.
Coordinating Committee approved the recommended changes, with the addition of a designating a clerk for the three person team of Children's Program Coordinators, and a request to clarify who is responsible for finding a Children’s Activities Coordinator.
As needed, this committee for Children's program will continue working the committee to edit job descriptions; final versions of the job descriptions will be presented at the spring CC meeting.
Coordinating Committee recommends that Nominating Committee use these draft job descriptions to recruit for the following positions: Children’s Program Coordinating Team (3), and Central Friends Camp Coordinator (2).
CC11/10.15 Committee on the Discipline:
Debbie Townsend presented several question for CC response. How much is too much to ask Monthly Meeting to review? Is it important that all meetings are on the same schedule?
Would Meeting prefer to be sent bigger chunks, less frequently? - 2 times a year.
Resignations from Committees: how do you resign and to whom do you resign?
-Having resignation in writing is helpful and more official; report to Nominating Committee clerk, Committee clerk, or meeting clerk. Regardless, the resignation needs to come back to Nominating Committee so that they can fill the vacancy. Ask the person to put it in writing.
How do you end a person’s appointment in the middle of their service? How do you work through this concern?
-Only the appointing body can withdraw an appointment. Communication needs to occur.
Debbie read through the Discipline Committee’s suggestions for dealing with disfunctional committees.
-Other suggestions include: offer a clearness Committee (not assign), bring to Ministry & Oversight (meeting, quarterly, or yearly level), and seeking advice or insight from Nominating Committee.
-Coordinating Committee agrees that this sort of list would be useful in the chapter on Nominating.
CC11/10.16 The spring Coordinating Committee meeting will be held Saturday, April 6, 2013, at Tacoma Monthly Meeting. Note: due to a conflict with the spring FWCC gathering in Portland, THE DATE of the CC meeting HAS BEEN CHANGED TO APRIL 13, 2013.
CC11/10.17 Ministry and oversight has written guidelines for spiritually meaningful queries. John Allcott led us in a short sharing on how we center / prepare for discernment.
We ended with worship and song.
Melody Ashworth, Coordinating Committee Clerk
Carrie Black, CC Recording Clerk