Present: David Bates, Ann Bradley, Ted Brinton, Francis Brown, John Bryer, John Caughey, Aaron Crosman, Suzanne Day, Zac Dutton, Jonathan Evans, Pat Finley, Robin Harper, Arthur Larrabee, Liz Perch, Peggy Pillard, Thomas Swain, Jim Waddington, Barbara Walker

Regrets: Sam Caldwell, Gretchen Castle

The meeting began with worship.

Introductions: The clerk spoke, saying he wanted to hold up two things in the meeting. The first, both from the Advisory Committee and his own sense in talking with Friends, is that we are planning an event that holds up our faith as a witness and is grounded in our faith. Secondly, at the initial meeting there was a sense of planning a conference that would change the world. Perhaps we are planning a conference that will change us, which is more manageable.

Friends introduced themselves by name and meeting.

Review of work to date: Robin Harper summarized his report to Interim Meeting, sent to committee members in advance. He related an overall positive response. One friend was concerned with the reference to “sacrificial witness.” Later clarification indicated that he believed we would be making a sacrifice by spending money on this event.

Arthur Larrabee reported on his visit to FGC Central Committee: In announcing the planning of this conference during the first general meeting, Bruce Birchard lent great energy, and many Friends spoke with Arthur as well as clerk Thomas Swain and conference coordinator Liz Perch during the weekend. Anthony Manousos, Pacific Yearly Meeting, has offered to provide some resources from his work in interfaith relations. Thomas and Pat Finley reported on their visit, with Alden Josey, to Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting in October. We are reminded that within Philadelphia Yearly Meeting we also have the Committee to Revision the Peace Testimony, and with this conference we will be not only living our testimony, but proclaiming it.

The Church of the Brethren agreed to join as a cosponsor and has made commitment of $50,000. It is not yet clear if the total amount is for direct expenses of the conference, or if some portion of the money will be for Brethren participation in planning and attendance. Thomas is still working with the Mennonite Church and Mennonite Central Committee, and we hope to have representatives from both the Brethren and Mennonites at our next meeting.

Focus of the Conference Friends spoke with great passion and concern about the possible breadth and scope of the conference, what brought them to this committee and hopes for all that could be accomplished. The collected lists are attached at the end of these minutes.

The clerk lifted up themes from the discussion: love, learn, sacrifice, speaking truth to power, solidarity, conflict resolution.

There was some unity in exploring a query like, “In the context of overcoming evil with good, how can people of faith build on the heritage of the world’s peacemakers to advance the cause of peace?”

Membership of Committees: We will be adding Brethren and Mennonites to the Steering Committee. Friends felt that if we expand the Steering Committee beyond those from the three historic peace churches there will be challenges, including tokenism of some participants and a lack of a strong common peace history. We are planning on adding voices of Muslims and Jews to the Advisory Committee and this seems appropriate.

Budget: Aaron Crosman reported. A draft budget has been developed, which makes several assumptions that will be adjusted as planning moves forward. Variables include the number of presenters and workshops leaders, the needs for breakout spaces and audio visual support, and decisions about meal service. It is assumed that the cost of meals is a “pass through,” that is, that participants will pay the cost through their registration fees. Other costs will be subsidized by grants, individual contributions, and sponsor support. We hope to keep the total fee (meals and registration) at or under $300 per person. The fee will cover a portion of the cost, but will also commit an attendee to coming—if the conference has no fee associated, one could sign up and then decide to go or not.

Friends approve the budget as a tentative, working document, with the understanding that there was an immediate concern to increase the “communications” line.

Going Forward The clerk will be in touch with committee members to form task groups, which should start work before the next meeting. After a brief silence, the committee adjourned, planning to meet again First Day, December 2, at 3 pm at Plymouth Meeting Friends Meeting.

Respectfully submitted,

Liz Perch
conference coordinator

Lists from easel pad sheets

Focus & Goals

• Learning conflict resolution in schools, with families & within each of us.
• To focus on simplicity: taking away the seeds of war.
• To seek alternative to military to solve world problems
• Is the goal macro? Or micro?
• To build on our Quaker heritage to articulate direction
• To try to move towards alternatives to violence
• Knowing our solidarity and our faithfulness to God
• To instill in ourselves and others a denial of the ‘war on terror.
• To address conflicts and tension without ourselves as models for the world

Summary of focus

• To build on the heritage of the world’s peacemakers to articulate direction and see what love can do
• Scriptural basis for peacemaking across faiths
• How to make what love can do real?
• How can peoples of faith build on the heritage of the world’s peacemakers to articulate a new direction of love and peace.

Personal Sharing
What brought each of us to this work?

• Strengthen personal peace testimony
• Looking for peace within myself; help other find way to peace
• Change the paradigm in the US government
• Imitating the light
• We’ve not lived up to our potential since 9/11
• Learning to listen to each other with respect
• Want to change the militaristic environment in which we live. There is an alternative to violence.
• To energize individuals and organizations; to give a voice.
• To be open to the light; to respond to the moving of the Spirit; to know the truth.
• For PYM to express to the world our message
• Love is the message. We have to address fear and lack of trust to build peace
• I want PYM to be more unified in the Peace Testimony; I want to invite interaction with others. To make waves to change the world.
• Finding Solidarity with my Quaker faith community to end war and to find alternative to violence.