Stewards Minutes

SEEKERS CHURCH  Stewards Minutes August 5, 2018 Present: Marjory Bankson (recorder), Peter Bankson (moderator), Kevin Barwick, Ken Burton, Cynthia Dahlin, Joan Dodge, Michele Frome, David Lloyd, Sandra Miller(worship), Trish Nemore, Brenda, Keith Seat, Vincent Shepherd, Margreta Silverstone, Deborah Sokolove, Jacqie Wallen, Glen Yakushiji. Absent:, Elizabeth Gelfeld, Judy Lantz. Worship: Sandra read a poem, “I Rain,” by Hafiz from The Gift. Housekeeping: Stewards will next meet on Sunday, September 2, 5:30pm at the church. Moderator: Deborah               Worship: Cynthia Recorder: Sandra                    Angels: Margreta & Trish Reports:

• Takoma Park Street Festival, Oct 7: Keith

OMG has created a flyer inviting people to “enjoy the company of fellow Seekers” as a soft approach to inviting interaction with others. The booth will feature books & cds by Seekers, flyers about the School and a children’s table.

• Down the Road Together: Jacqie

After meeting with John and Peter, Jacqie has a new name (Down the Road Together) for various conversations around aging at Seekers. She was named the coordinator at the last meeting and has secured a domain name – www.downtheroad.life – which can make information available to all Seekers. She has applied to the Growing Edge Fund for funding to start the website. On September 16 (the third Sunday), she will preach on this and invite a “third Sunday conversation” open to the whole community. The flyer is attached. Jacqie assured people that this would remain one of many concerns at Seekers, and not the central focus. Others noted that these issues are also important for younger people with aging parents, but we do need to be sensitive about not making aging too much of a focus.

• Broken & Beloved: Keith

After 15 years together, the B&B mission group has come to the end of its call. In the end, it had gotten down to the original four (Kevin, Keith, Kate Amoss & Sheri Bergen), although a number of other people have participated over the years. Now Kevin and Keith are dreaming of a new call around nature as nurture for their spirituality. Stay tuned…

• Seekers and Social Action: Trish

Trish reminded us that this topic is one of those “big questions” that we carry together. It came up because we wanted some way for individuals and groups to speak “in the name of Seekers.” Last November, Stewards prioritized the following list of concern areas: 1) Women & children 2)Care for the environment 3) Addressing racism and supporting diversity and LGBTQ people 4) Immigration issues 5) Homelessness and social insurance issues 6) Peacemaking, preventing and ending war The Servant Leadership Team was designated as the oversight group, able to authorize signing a petition or otherwise to represent Seekers in one of these areas because there is often not time to circulate the information for all Stewards to weigh in. Action: Deborah suggested that she could design a Peace & Justice page for the website on which we identify endorsements (e.g. the Boston Declaration and the more recent UN Human Rights Council regarding Nicaragua) AND events which Seekers might sponsor for this purpose (e.g. a fundraising concert on August 24 to assist Nicaraguans protesting government repression there). Pastoral Concerns Trish shared the guidelines which the SLT uses for determining how the Holy Spirit Fund is used. There was general agreement on the guidelines and deep appreciation for the difficult decisions that they are making. Two Stewards, Keith and Vincent, shared in depth, followed by Soul Talk. Submitted by Marjory Bankson Aug 5, 2018