2021 October Stewards Minutes
Seekers Church
Stewards Meeting
Sunday, October 10, 2021
Stewards Present: Marjory Bankson, Peter Bankson, Ken Burton, Cynthia Dahlin, Joan Dodge, Elizabeth Gelfeld ,Judy Lantz, David Lloyd (meditation leader), Sandra Miller, John Morris, Trish Nemore (recorder), Brenda Seat, Keith Seat, Vincent Shepherd, Margreta Silverstone, Deborah Sokolove (moderator), Jacqie Wallen, Glen Yakushiji.
Absent: Michele Frome
Guests: Anita Jackson, Kolya Braun Greiner
Meditation: Dave Lloyd offered reflections on recommitment from Elizabeth O’Conner’s Call to Commitment and Marjory Bankson’s Stalking the Spirit.
Housekeeping: November Stewards meeting is Sunday, November 7 at 5 pm due to the change from DST to ST. Moderator: Ken Burton; Meditation Leader: Joan Dodge; Recorder: Peter Bankson.
Recommitment: All Stewards stated their intention to recommit as Stewards. Our two guests stated their intention to recommit as Members.
Budget Input: Marjory asked mission groups and others attentive to programmatic items in the budget to submit their request to her ASAP so that FOG could present us with a proposed budget in November. After the meeting, she sent out the current budget for reference.
Report on Wellspring/Dayspring: Since Kent Klopfenstein’s departure from Wellspring management after seven years, a temporary management group has been established as well as a visioning group with four Dayspring members and three from the rest of CofS. Marjory is interested in joining with other Seekers who would like to offer input to this visioning conversation. Elizabeth Gelfeld, Pat Conover and possibly Kolya are interested; Amy Moffit was suggested as another who might be.
Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake Congregation Partner Pledge proposal: Kolya presented a proposal for Seekers to become a Congregation Partner in this initiative from the organization for which she works. https://www.interfaithchesapeake.org/sign_our_partner_congregation_pledge Earth and Spirit Mission Group has endorsed it. DECISION: After a few suggestions as to what Seekers might do beyond what it’s doing, e.g. solar panels, permeable surfaces, pollinator garden in our back, the proposal was affirmed by all Stewards present. Kolya will get the necessary documents to our officers for signature and will draft a statement for our identifying “card” on their website.
CreatureKind Partner Community proposal: On behalf of Peter Bankson, Deborah Sokolove, Dave Lloyd and Anita Jackson, John Morris presented a proposal for Seekers to become a CreatureKind Community Partner with emphasis on improving the lives of farmed animals. Though it seemed that most if not all were in favor of the general idea, intense discussion ensued over one paragraph in the statement of our pledged actions:
3. Adopt Default Veg for our annual Christmas Eve dinner. We will ask people to bring a vegetarian dish to share. For our annual Easter breakfast, we will request that all egg casseroles be meat-free (i.e., no bacon or sausage), and that eggs come from hens raised humanely (such as from free-range hens).
Some raised questions concerning hospitality and how this language would land for guests from outside the community who have not made such a pledge and who would be bringing food to these events; how do we be celebratory and invitational while also embracing our desire as a church to follow this path? Others noted that the statement is prophetic. DECISION: After considerable discussion, Stewards agreed to let the drafting group work on that sentence again and bring it to the November Stewards meeting.
Pastoral Concerns: Were discussed by all of Stewards after asking guests to leave.
Two Stewards Sharing: Marjory Bankson and Jacqie Wallen shared from their lives during the past year.
Soul Talk: All Stewards.
Trish Nemore
Recorder
October 11, 2021