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Monthly Meeting February 2023

Ithaca Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends
Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business

February 12, 2023 

Clerk: Barbara Chase

Assistant Clerk: Marin Clarkberg

Recording Clerks: Marin Clarkberg, Antonia Saxon

(The @ signifies that the minute has been read and approved during Meeting. Copies of all written reports are on file with and available from the Clerk or Recording Clerk.)

2023.2.1 Opening Worship

Ithaca Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends met on-line, using Zoom remote conferencing service, for Monthly Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business on February 12, 2023. At 12:33pm, ten Friends settled into worship.

Clerk recognized Nancy Gabriel, who is holding the meeting in the Light today.

2023.2.2 Ministry and Worship: Lifting the Mask Requirement

In December, after holding two meeting-wide listening sessions, Ministry and Worship proposed changing the IMM requirement to wear masks in the Third Street Meetinghouse. The proposed policy left decisions about mask-wearing up to individual discernment. The Meeting did not come to unity about the proposed wording of the policy. The ministry that followed reflected the difficulty of balancing care for those in the community who are at risk, and care for Friends who cannot or will not wear masks; Friends whom the Meeting hopes can rejoin Meeting for Worship in the Meetinghouse.

This month Ministry and Worship brought a revised policy to the body.

Meeting approved the following statement regarding masks, and will post it at the Meetinghouse and on the Meeting’s website:

MASKS ARE WELCOME.

  • Some of us are at a higher risk for serious illness, and some disabilities are not visible. Please be considerate of those among us who are trying to avoid illness.
  • Stay home if you have any symptoms of a contagious disease
  • Consider wearing a mask, to protect others (as well as yourself)
  • Consider social-distancing, especially from others wearing masks

ALL ARE WELCOME.

Ministry and Worship also expressed support for – and this policy does not preclude – the idea of small groups of Friends requiring masks for activities that they organize; for example, organizing a supplemental meeting for worship where masks are required.

Friends expressed gratitude for Ministry and Worship’s bringing this promptly back to the body.

Friends approved the policy. @

2023.2.3 Ministry and Worship: Transfer of Membership

For Ministry and Worship, Carol Clarke brought a request for transfer of membership for Friend Rachel V. Ruth from the clerk of Poughkeepsie Monthly Meeting.

Meeting approved the transfer and warmly welcomes Rachel Ruth to the Meeting.@

2023.2.4 Ministry and Worship: Process for the State of the Meeting Report

Marin Clarkberg reported that Ministry and Worship is preparing to draft the State of the Meeting report, an annual report that is sent on to Farmington-Scipio Regional Meeting and from there to New York Yearly Meeting. This year, the query given to monthly meetings by New York Yearly Meeting is, “How do you live your Quaker Faith?”

In the past few months, the Meeting has had many opportunities to gather in worship-sharing.

Ministry and Worship invites Friends to reflect on the query and to share their thoughts with the Clerk or with Carol Clarke, the clerk of Ministry and Worship. The committee is not proposing to meet to share worship about the query. The committee will bring a draft of the report to Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business in March.

Friends received the report. @

2023.2.5 Burtt House Working Group: Report on the Second Round of Worship Sharing.

Gina Varrichio presented a report from the Burtt House Working Group on the second round of worship sharing sessions held in January 2023. The queries for those sessions were:

  1. How has the Burtt House contributed to the Meeting’s Quaker life in living out Friends’ testimonies?
  2. How has the Burtt House helped me live out my faith as an individual?
  3. What would it mean to you as a Friend if Ithaca Monthly Meeting released the Burtt House? What would it mean to Ithaca Monthly Meeting as a community to release the Burtt House?

Friends who attended the worship sharing sessions shared memories of ministry connected with the Burtt House, individual and corporate experiences of Quaker life in the house, and a sense that the place of the House in the life of the Meeting had changed since the Meeting moved to the Third Street Meetinghouse. Friends were comfortable with the use of the word “released,” and the concern was voiced that support for the FCRJ continue no matter how the Meeting is led to go forward. The Committee is working on queries for the next round of worship sharing.

Friends received the report. @

2023.2.6 Committee Annual Reports

A share of Meeting’s annual reports for 2022 are to be read this month. For the last few years, we have distributed annual reports across two or three months. Friends presented annual reports and answered questions as follows:

  • Barbara Chase read the annual report of the Greeters. Friends expressed gratitude for the work of the Greeters and joy that the Meeting is coming to life again. Friends received the report.@
  • Pat Sewell read the annual report of the Finance Committee. Friends asked questions and received the report.@
  • Margaret McCasland read the annual report of the Library Committee. Friends expressed gratitude for the work of the committee and received the report.@
  • Jill Marie read the annual report of the Peace and Social Justice Committee and detailed contributions the committee made from their discretionary funds. Friends expressed gratitude for the work of the committee and received the report.@
  • Marin Clarkberg read the annual report of the Communications Committee. Friends expressed gratitude for the work of the committee and received the report. @  

At 2:09, 13 Friends settled in worship before adjourning. Our next regularly scheduled Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business will be March 12, 2023.

Respectfully submitted,

Antonia Saxon

Monthly Meeting January 2023

Ithaca Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends
Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business

January 8, 2023 

Clerk: Gina Varrichio (outgoing clerk), Barbara Chase (incoming clerk)

Assistant Clerk: Marin Clarkberg

Recording Clerks: Marin Clarkberg, Antonia Saxon

(The @ signifies that the minute has been read and approved during Meeting. Copies of all written reports are on file with and available from the Clerk or Recording Clerk.)

2023.1.1 Opening Worship

Ithaca Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends met on-line, using Zoom remote conferencing service, for the Annual Meeting of the Corporation and for Monthly Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business on January 8, 2023. At 12:35pm, twenty-eight Friends settled into worship.

Gina Varrichio, outgoing Clerk, shared the day’s agenda and reviewed that the Annual Meeting of the Corporation would precede the regular, monthly Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business. Gina recognized that Nancy Gabriel would be holding both of these meetings in the Light today.

2023.1.2 Annual Meeting of the IMMRSF Corporation

Present for the annual meeting of the corporation: Barbara Chase, Marin Clarkberg, Carol Clarke, Chris Dunham, Melissa Travis Dunham, Karen Friedeborn, Nancy Gabriel, Linda Griggs, Fran Helmstadter, Carolyn Kenyon, Betsy Keokosky, Judith Knight, John Lewis, Bronwyn Mohlke, Steve Mohlke, Liam Murphy, Nancy Riffer, Ellie Rosenberg, Rachel Ruth, Antonia Saxon, Elizabeth Schneider, Pat Sewell, Mike Simkin, Connie Thomas, Garry Thomas, Gina Varrichio, Martin Willitts, and Ruth Yarrow. (Given 177 members of the Corporation, the 28 present exceed the 10% in-attendance requirement.)

Marin Clarkberg, co-Convener of Trustees and co-President of the Corporation convened the Annual Meeting of IMMRSF, Inc., and read the President’s Annual Report to Membership. 

The report noted that trustees considered two issues in 2022: the signing of an agreement with the city relating to sidewalk repairs, and the status of the Memorandum of Understanding between IMM and Friends Center for Racial Justice.

Antonia Saxon, Secretary of the Corporation, then delivered the Secretary’s report. Antonia noted that timely and correct notice was given to the membership for the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Corporation (held on January 9, 2022). Twenty-seven members attended, and the reports from the Officers of the Corporation were received and approved at that time.

Antonia noted that at the December 11, 2022 Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business, the membership of the Board of Trustees for 2023 was approved as: Barbara Chase (Clerk of the Meeting), Pat Sewell (Treasurer of the Meeting), Antonia Saxon, Marin Clarkberg, Gina Varrichio, and Steve Mohlke.

Pat Sewell, Treasurer of the Meeting and of the Corporation, gave the Treasurer’s Report for 2022. Pat reported that IMM received $26,191 in donations by the end of November, and our total expense in 2022 was $67,700. As of the end of the year, Ithaca Monthly Meeting held approximately $43,000 in checking, approximately $26,000 in savings and approximately $92,000 in a Friends Fiduciary Account. Pat noted that the Meeting is able to meet all of its financial obligations and that final numbers for 2022 will be provided in March.

Liam Murphy, co-President, reported that in 2023, Marin Clarkberg will serve as President of the corporation (and clerk of Trustees), Antonia Saxon will serve as Secretary of the corporation (and recording clerk of Trustees), and Pat Sewell will serve as Treasurer of the corporation.

Friends received the reports of the corporation. Marin Clarkberg adjourned the Annual Meeting of IMMRSF, Inc.

Gina Varrichio reflected on her time as Clerk and the intensity of clerking during the pandemic. Gina expressed enthusiasm for Barbara Chase as our Meeting’s new Clerk. In turn, Barbara Chase, in-coming Clerk, expressed gratitude for Gina’s work over the last few years. Friends are encouraged to hold Barbara in the Light as she takes on the new role.

2023.1.3 Nominating Committee

Carolyn Kenyon from Nominating Committee brought forth the name of Antonia Saxon to serve as co-Recording Clerk for a one-year term, closing at the end of 2023. Friends approved the nomination.@

2023.1.4 Annual Reports

A share of Meeting’s annual reports are to be read this month. For the last few years, we have distributed annual reports across two or three months. Friends presented annual reports and answered questions as follows:

  • Carol Clarke read the annual report of the Ministry & Worship Committee. Comments included two clarifications. Friends received the report.
  • John Lewis read the annual report of the Third Street Meetinghouse Committee. Friends asked questions and expressed gratitude for the work that was done in 2022. Friends received the report.
  • Karen Friedeborn read the annual report of the Ithaca Monthly Meeting Pastoral Care Coordinating Team (IMMPaCCT). Friends discussed the scope of the “buddy system” and appreciated the availability of pastoral care in our Meeting. Friends received the report.
  • Antonia Saxon read the annual report of the Burtt House Committee. Friends asked questions about the Friends Center for Racial Justice and expressed appreciation for the contributions of the committee to the substantial work of maintaining this old building. Friends received the report.
  • Although not a member of the committee, Gina Varrichio read the annual report of the Hector Meetinghouse Committee. A Friend reflected on the value of worshiping at Hector. Friends received the report. @

2023.1.4 Clerk’s Report: Hybrid Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business (MfWwAtB)

Barbara Chase invited Friends to share their thoughts regarding switching MfWwAtB from an online-only format to a hybrid format (with in-person gathering in the Third Street Meetinghouse in addition to Zoom). Friends commented on the value of the in-person experience. Other Friends spoke on the value of including Friends who cannot join us in the Meetinghouse. Friends noted that there are logistical issues that would need to be addressed to facilitate hybrid Meetings. In particular, the technical support role would need to be filled and those serving in this role may be unable to fully participate in worship. A hybrid format also poses additional challenges to clerking, in part due to the subtle differences in how we communicate and experience one another across the different formats. A Friend observed that the world has changed, and we are challenged to learn new ways of being and new ways of working together.

Clerk encouraged us to continue this discussion. @

At 2:20, twenty-four Friends settled in worship before adjourning. Our next regularly scheduled Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business will be February 12, 2023.

Respectfully submitted,

Marin Clarkberg