Bennington Friends Meeting
Minutes for Meeting for Worship on the Occasion of Business
Senior Citizens Service Center, Bennington, Vermont
February 20, 2011
“If you don’t listen, as Miss Daisy struggles to, you miss the nuances of what others
are saying… I’ve certainly taken it as something I’ve worked on myself–listen, listen,
listen, really listen. You think you’re listening, but you really have to work at it.”
Vanessa Redgraves, commenting on her Broadway role in
Driving Miss Daisy, New York Times, Feb. 16, 2011
Present: Timmy Bullock, Beth Cheadle, Bain Davis, Auberta Galusha, Maurice Kahn, Peggy Kahn, Arnold Ricks, Joseph Tracy, Priscilla Tracy.
In the silence at the beginning of the Meeting Co-Clerk Timmy Bullock read the above observation by Vanessa Redgraves.
Acting Recording Clerk Arnold Ricks read the minutes of the January Meeting for Business.
2011-10 Co-Clerk Timmy Bullock presented the minutes of Ministry and Counsel’s meeting on February 14, which are appended. In accord with its recommendation the Meeting decided that our regular Meeting for Worship at 10:00 AM on Sunday, April 3, would be the occasion of our memorial Meeting for our late member, Thoreau Raymond. At the outset of the Meeting Friends will be reminded of the trajectory of Thoreau’s life and her coming to Friends during the time she taught in Bennington. We anticipate that there may be those not from this area who knew her who may wish to be present.
2011-11 The Meeting is pleased to accept the offer of Sheila Mann of the Unitarian Fellowship, tendered through the Interfaith Council, to serve as Treasurer of the Meeting succeeding Jane Radocchia. The Meeting recommends that a Clerk of the Meeting, Co-Clerk Beth Cheadle, sign checks. It also recommends that we compensate Sheila Mann at the rate of $10/hour for her services.
2011-12 After participating for a decade in Bennington’s annual downtown Mayfest, the Meeting decides that we will not have a booth at Mayfest this year.
2011-13 In light of the heavy snow on Sunday, February 6, and consequent reduced attendance at Meeting our consideration of the State of Society is laid over to Sunday, March 13.
2011-14 Welcoming Emma Rinaldi back from her winter work term in Ghana, we look forward to hearing a report from her and from other Bennington College attenders at Meeting on their work after the rise of Meeting on Sunday, March 27.
The Meeting closed in silence.
Timmy Bullock, Co-Clerk Arnold Ricks, Acting Recording Clerk.
Meeting of Ministry & Counsel
February 14, 2011
Present: Timmy Bullock, Co-Clerk, Bain Davis, Priscilla Tracy, Co-Clerk, Auberta Galusha and Beth Cheadle
Pastoral Concerns were discussed; this included some discussion of the changes in our worship, but observations were preliminary, with no recommendations derived.
05.11 After considering several scheduling variations, Ministry & Counsel settled on recommending that the April 3 memorial service for Thoreau Raymond be incorporated into our regularly scheduled meeting for worship. We should announce the fact of the memorial service in the Banner and also be in touch – via phone, note, Bennington Google group etc – with all those who would be interested in attending a memorial service for Thoreau. This meeting for worship would be clerked by Arnold Ricks, and the meeting would be followed by our usual first Sunday potluck luncheon.
06.11 Ministry & Counsel hopes the Meeting will undertake to accept Sheila Mann’s offer to take up our treasurer’s duties. Ministry & Counsel also recommends that check-signing be carried out by a member of the Meeting, and also recommends that we pay Sheila Mann a modest hourly sum for her work.
The meeting closed with a moment of silence.