Executive Committee of Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting
April 1, 2023
Held at Community Friends Meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio, and via Zoom
1. Opening Worship: The meeting opened with centering worship at 12:08 pm.
2. Introductions: Rachel Ernst Stahlhut, presiding clerk, invited Friends to introduce ourselves and to share a spiritual word that evokes something deep in us as a way to help build our spiritual community and connect with each other.
3. Roll Call: The Recording Clerk called the roll of Yearly Meeting officers and administrators, Committee Clerks, Quarterly and Monthly Meeting Representatives, and Yearly Meeting staff.
Yearly Meeting officers:
Presiding Clerk: Rachel Ernst Stahlhut
Assistant Presiding Clerk: Barry Zalph
Recording Clerk: Lisa Cayard
Assistant Recording Clerk: Cecilia Shore
Treasurer: Wilson Palmer
Assistant Treasurer: Cathy Habschmidt
Committee Clerks:
Auditing: Cathy Habschmidt
Braddock Fund: Steve Angell
Budget & Finance: David Garman
Children’s Committee: absent
Development Committee: absent
Earthcare: David Duvall
Nominating: Paul Buckley
Peace & Social Concerns: absent
Personnel: Steve Angell
Religious Nurture & Education: Rex Sprouse
Yearly Meeting Planning: Martha Viehmann and Ben Griffith
Young Adult Friends: absent
Youth Services: David Hyde
Quarterly Meeting Clerks:
Miami: Peter Hardy
Whitewater: Christine Carver
Monthly Meeting representatives:
Bloomington: Rex Sprouse
Campus: absent
Clear Creek: Cathy Habschmidt
Community: Eric Wolff
Dayton: Nikki Coffee Tousley
Eastern Hills: Wilson Palmer and Martha Viehmann
Fall Creek: absent
Fort Wayne: Mary Anna Feitler
Lafayette: absent
Lexington: Richard Mitchell, Betsy Neale
Louisville: Jolene Curry and Cindi Goslee
Miami: Jeanette Rockwell
North Meadow: Dinah Duvall
Oxford: Cecilia Shore
White Rose: absent
Yellow Springs: David Hyde
Yearly Meeting staff:
Administrative Assistant: Susan Lee Barton
Youth Secretary: Adam Funck
Administrators:
Statistician: Rex Sprouse
Website Administrator: absent
Records Coordinator: absent
Quaker Quill Editor: Cecilia Shore
Publications Coordinator: absent
Registrar: Eric Wolff
4. Agenda review: The Clerk reviewed the agenda. The agenda was accepted with one addition.
5. Treasurer’s Report: Wilson Palmer provided a spreadsheet in advance (attached). The treasurer had no concerns to raise, and there were no questions. The report was accepted with gratitude
6. Budget and Finance Committee: David Garman explained that the proposed budget for the next fiscal year is included as the last column on the treasurer’s spreadsheet. Line items that are changed from last year are in italics. The recommended level of reimbursement of Yearly Meeting representative travel expenses has been increased from $300 to $600. Friends APPROVED this increase in the recommended level of reimbursement of travel expenses. Friends also APPROVED the budget in anticipation that final approval for this proposed budget will be requested at annual sessions.
7. Child Abuse Prevention Policy Working Group: Susan Lee Barton presented the draft policy, which was shared in advance (attached). She explained that the Yearly Meeting’s child safety policy is to be reviewed and updated every three years. The current policy revision is incomplete. It leaves more responsibility to parents to make arrangements for youth overnight events. This working group has done all they were able to do. Other members of the working group were Andrew Hardy, David Hyde, Susan Hyde, Gail Kohler, and Lois Kay. Adam Funck was also included in the review. Friends APPROVED the policy as it was presented to us, with gratitude for the work of the group. A concern was raised about statistics included in the policy that did not include sources. Susan Lee offered to cite the sources for statistics when the policy is included in the OVYM handbook. The question was raised regarding how to move forward with any work that still needs to be done on this policy. It was recognized that the work has gone as far as we are currently able to go, and that the issue of overnight events is still unclear. It was suggested that the next step should be asking the youth services committee and the children’s committee to have a plan in place for annual sessions. The plan should include clear communication with parents of the youth who will be attending. It was recommended that we should plan for another review beginning in 2025. Our goal is to minimize risk to children as much as possible. Monthly meetings were invited to share any additional recommendations. Friends APPROVED the plan to begin the next review of the policy at Yearly Meeting sessions in 2025, and to ask the youth services committee and the children’s committee to develop an agreement with parents and older youth attending 2023 Yearly Meeting sessions regarding expectations for safety. We are also asking both these committees to report to us how this process is working during Yearly Meeting sessions.
8. Nominating Committee: Paul Buckley provided a written report in advance (attached). The committee requested approval for the annual sessions roles: Rick Boyce for Epistle Summary, Peter Hardy and Laurene Scalf for the Epistle Committee, and Dale Hayes for the Memorial Committee. Friends APPROVED these names. Paul highlighted some committees where additional names are still needed. Monthly meeting representatives were asked to make sure each meeting has a named member on Nominating Committee. The report was accepted.
9. Personnel Committee: Steve Angell shared that he has reached the limit of two three-year terms, but he is willing to continue if asked. He also recommended, if approved to continue, that he and Dinah Duvall would serve as co-clerks. Friends APPROVED asking Steve to continue on this committee, and to appoint Steve and Dinah as co-clerks.
10. Proposed revisions to Whitewater Quarterly Meeting description in the OVYM Handbook: Christine Carver provided a written report in advance, with recommended revisions (attached). The schedule for Whitewater Quarterly Meetings is being changed to the third First Day of January, April and October. Hopewell Meeting, which was laid down several years ago, is being removed from the list of meetings. These handbook updates were accepted. It was also recommended that the deadline for submitting State of the Meeting reports be changed to “between January and March.” Since this would also affect Miami Quarterly Meeting, we will wait until Miami Quarterly Meeting considers this recommendation to approve this change.
11. Yearly Meeting Restructuring Committee: The committee provided a written report in advance, which proposes that a “Peace, Justice, Earthcare, and Social Action Coordinating Group (PJES)” replace the current Peace & Social Concerns and Earthcare Committees (attached). Paul Buckley explained that this proposal will come to the June Annual Sessions for approval. The primary change is that the Yearly Meeting role would be to facilitate the work of monthly meetings regarding peace, justice and earthcare concerns.
- Friends were invited to give feedback. A concern was raised about those in small monthly meetings who don’t have an active Peace & Social Concerns committee. There was clarification that the plan for a Yearly Meeting facilitator is intended to support such isolated Friends with opportunities for virtual meetings and actions across monthly meetings. The benefit of enabling communication among meetings was noted. There was concern expressed about grouping earthcare together with peace and justice issues, since both have so many issues to address. Another concern was that this would add an additional meeting for those active in social justice issues to attend.
- There was also discussion about whether the PJES Coordinator should be a paid position in order to sufficiently resource this important work. One response was that this work would not be as much as we are asking other committees to undertake without pay. Another response was that this is work that some of us are led to undertake, and it would not feel right to pay someone to do it.
Appreciation was expressed to the restructuring committee for their work. The committee will take the responses back for consideration.
12. Annual Sessions Planning Committee: Martha Viehmann shared an update on the work of Planning Committee. The work of the committee is well underway. The committee brought a proposed COVID Safety Policy for Yearly Meeting sessions, which was provided in advance (attached). The policy is aligned with Mount St. Joseph University’s policy, which strongly recommends vaccination and asks those who are ill not to attend in person. Friends APPROVED this policy. The committee also brought a recommendation that the registration fee be revised to be “pay as led” between $0 and $30. It was noted that monthly meeting assessments help subsidize the cost of attending Yearly Meeting sessions for children, youth, and plenary speakers. Friends APPROVED this recommendation. Martha shared that one plenary speaker will be Gretchen Castle, former General Secretary of the World Office of the Friends World Committee for Consultation and current Dean of Earlham School of Religion. She will speak on diversity of belief among Friends. Cai Quirk, a transgender person, will bring us a plenary on how the rainbow of diversity enriches all of us. Eight workshops are confirmed. Appreciation was expressed for the work of Planning Committee.
13. Religious Nurture and Education Committee: Rex Sprouse reported that the committee plans to offer a workshop at Yearly Meeting sessions, on “Coming to Unity the Quaker Way” through seeking God’s will. It was discerned that Friends do want to learn more about Quaker business practices, though not necessarily through a clerking workshop. The committee is also planning Quaker Swap Meets at Yearly Meeting sessions where Friends are invited to share innovative responses to pandemic disruptions. Friends accepted this report.
14. Listening Session from Ad Hoc Committee on Yearly Meeting Restructuring:: Rex Sprouse asked for Friends to share thoughts about the role and function of quarterly meetings. Feedback from visitations so far have ranged from suggestions to enhance the role of quarterly meetings to laying them down. One suggestion was to have a half-yearly meeting to replace quarterly meetings. Another suggestion was to have a threshing session on this topic at yearly meeting, or an open forum for sharing ideas. It was noted that there is a big difference between the two quarterly meetings regarding attendance and frequency of meetings. There was a concern about increasing responsibilities of Yearly Meeting clerks if we were to implement half-yearly meetings. Some Friends spoke favorably about the importance of social connections provided by quarterly meetings, and the benefit of visiting other monthly meetings. Others spoke about the contrived nature of quarterly meeting business and how much more meaningful it would be to have more time with the whole Yearly Meeting in a half-yearly meeting. The importance of drawing in younger attenders was mentioned. It was also noted that many Friends to not attend either yearly or quarterly meetings, but when a monthly meeting hosts quarterly meeting it gives them the opportunity to meet and socialize with Friends from other meetings. The business of quarterly meetings is not as meaningful as the social connections. We need to create more opportunities for making connections, especially for young people, to visit other meetings and get to know other Quakers beyond their monthly meeting. It’s important for us to feel that we are part of the larger Society of Friends. There was interest expressed in overnight events at a camp like joint quarterly meetings.
15. Administrative Announcements:
- The deadline for submitting Quaker Quill items is tomorrow.
- April 15 is the deadline for monthly meeting information, State of the Meeting reports, Quarterly Meeting reports, and committee reports (admin@ovym.org).
- May 15 is the deadline for requesting paper copies of any publications including the directory and reports in advance.
- Susan Lee is requesting names of all young adults in each monthly meeting between age 18 and 35.
- Reminder that Susan Lee is able to do criminal background checks for monthly meetings.
- A few monthly meetings still need to submit statistical reports that were due March 1.
16. Closing worship: The meeting closed with silent worship.
Save the Date:
- Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting Annual Sessions, June 14 – 18, 2023 at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, Ohio. The theme is “Finding our Way – Your Gifts are Needed!”
- Next Executive Committee Meeting will be August 26th at noon.
