Minutes of Peace & Social Concerns Committee, 2/27/20

Present: Diane (clerk), Ka (recording), Dan, Jane, Sandi A-S liaison from C&C

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We begin with silence.

Sandi asks, do we need more members; are we happy being an umbrella group. We agree that mutual representation between P&SC and related committees would be an improvement. Jane describes the sociocracy model as an effective system. We discuss the temporary setting aside of letter-writing until we have more members.

Friends Committee on National Legislation Soon we will determine legislative priorities, due at FCNL on 4/10/20. The full discussion will occur in our March meeting; we should remind people every Sunday in anncts. There has been an article in the newsletter, and posters in several places in the Meetinghouse.

11:40 hour March 1. On peace, and P&SC committee campaign for more members. Dan describes tension between faith vs acts. Is it possible to be a ‘spiritual’ Quaker without activism? Or an activist Quaker without spirituality? Would we welcome radical thinkers like George Fox here, today? We discuss possible queries, also how to get the word out about this.

Co-sponsor Pioneer Valley Interfaith Refugee Action Group & Critical Connections, Vital Voices: Women of Color and the 2020 Election. The event is 3/29, Edwards Church.

Wellesley Friends - Minute of Exercise. Diane reads the minute, which decries FUM’s policies on marriage. NEYM has stopped withholding funds from FUM. We are not entirely clear on the background to this. We will continue to monitor this, and we hold Wellesley Meeting in their concern.

Budget. We will ask for the same amount, $250. For the balance of this year’s budget, we will donate $100 to First Church for Lucio Perez sanctuary.

FCOO. Ka describes the situation for Hopi communities in northern AZ where the local coal mine has been closed & people are left without heat. Would they be appropriate for FCOO? We will reflect on this cause, but it may not meet the criterion of Quaker-related.

We close with silence.

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To do:

1. Ka, send 3/25 poster to committee.

2. Diane, future agenda item: as a committee, how often do we want to co-sponsor and what are our criteria?

3. Diane - let David Scott know to send $100 from committee budget to First Church to support the Lucio Perez sanctuary.

4. Diane - two ‘tabled’ items, to revisit in a future meeting: hopi Indian need for solar energy; Wellesley Minute of Concern about FUM.

5. Diane - gather input from those who want their pet projects to receive FCOO donation.

Addendum to 2/27 Minutes

Since we forgot to revisit the ‘to-do’ list from January’s meeting, Ka appends this response regarding The Promised Land exhibit.

How many days is the Exhibit available to be seen Publicly?

I understand there are 5 "sets" of The Promised Land exhibit. I have been storing one Exhibit here since Spring 2019. I am comfortable saying it can be available for however long you want. We can be in contact with Steve Feldman's office about this.

I would recommend a request for Steve and his Guest Traveler (He is sort of like Quakers: interested in traveling by two.) to be present at some point of the exhibit to share from his life experiences and/or/both do a panel discussion like Cambridge Friends Meeting did.

Distance for setting up the Exhibit:.

There are 6 units whose bases are approximately 8 inches wide. At Hanover Friends Meeting there was a two foot space between each base = 14 linear feet. I suggest this as a minimum. So any larger areas spacing may be explored per event.

Cambridge opted for a large open floor plan. Near the entrance door they had two rows of 3 panels each with lots of space for the 100 persons present to have viewing access. Opposite the entrance at the far end of the room two tables and microphones were set up for the 3 panelists and Moderator