Wednesday
Again the larks of PYM rose early to join in outdoor worship, Bible study, or the “Transformative Quakers” series- Wednesday’s notable Quaker being Anthony Benezet, advocate of public education and ending slavery. After breakfast and open worship, worship groups considered queries such as “Do I accept and provide eldering in a humble and loving spirit?” and “Do I look for ways to build bridges and nurture trust within my Meeting and beyond?”
The Junior Yearly Meeting of PYM (ages 13-18) spent a portion of their morning engaging in intensive coversation groups called “chat boxes” considering topics such as “Quakers and the Future”, Quakers and God”, and “Quakers and Christianity.” They found the exercise so fruitful they decided to post the notes from each chat box in the plenary hall, and then invited adults to join them in similar discussions over dinner that evening.
After interest groups on topics ranging from “Virtual Discernment: Electronic Communications and Friends’ Processes” to the single-payer approach to health care reform, Plenary II began with a lively report from Statistician Lee Sisson. In all, there are currently37 Monthly Meeting in PYM, and 13 Worship Groups. Three Meetings have over 100 members; six have ten or fewer. Three Meetings- Chico, Visalia, and San Diego- reported growth rates of 10% or more this year. Overall membership in PYM is down by 13, to 1,449.
Friends then heard a report from the Treasurer. Noteworthy items included:
- PYM has taken in roughly $64, 000 in registration fees for this years gathering, and has paid out roughly $99,000 to Claremont McKenna College. Some refund may be coming back to PYM once the final bills are settled. (PYM does have $113,000 in reserves.)
- Last year, PYM recognized the need to increase its income in order to fund the new Youth Program Coordinator position. Rather than raising assessments, Meetings and individuals were asked to make contributions. PYM received $45,000 in Youth Program Coordinator funds from Meetings, and an additional $2,700 from individuals.
- Friends approved augmentations to the budgets for several PYM Committees which went over budget this past year.
Finance Committee followed with a proposal for next year’s budget. In order to create a balanced budget that does not dip into reserves, they are proposing raising the assessment (amount paid per member of a Meeting to the Yearly Meeting) from $38 to $96. This increase reflects the inclusion of full funding for the Youth Program Coordinator position. Friends were invited to attend an open committee meeting that evening to further discuss the proposal.
Vanessa Julye, a Friends from Friends General Conference who has been laboring for the past five years with PYM Friends on issues of racial equality in the Society of Friends, shared some reflections on her time with PYM. She thanked Friends for welcoming her into their family, and read aloud an open letter to PYM from Friends of Color, which was written and shared in the Daily Miracle at last year’s PYM Annual Sessions. She then outlined a handful of steps PYM could easily take in order to continue the work of racial healing among Friends, and invited everyone to continue to consider her a resource, though her time with PYM has come to a close. (More of Vanessa’s talk will be in the October issue of WF.)
Friends also heard a brief report from the Futures subcommittee of PYM’s Ministry & Oversight. This subcommittee has been working for several years to determine how the structure of the Yearly Meeting might better support the spiritual growth of its Meetings, and brought forward a proposal for a number of changes. (Available online here- title begins “PYM Ministry and Oversight…”.) Friends were invited to attend an open committee meeting that evening for further discussion.
After dinner, Friends attended open committee meetings (including one for PYM’s new Latin American Concerns Committee), participated in affinity groups, checked out the lovely AFSC-sponsored bookstore, and sang well into the night.