Are Meetings for worship held in expectant waiting for divine guidance? Are Friends encouraged to share spiritual insights? Are special gifts of ministry recognized and encouraged?

Do you come to meeting with heart and mind prepared? Are you careful not to disturb the spirit of the meeting by late arrival or in other ways?

Norman and Shelly O'Foran have returned from China with their new daughter Lan Yulin O'Foran--nicknamed Lannie. Lannie was born on January 12, 2000 in Yulin, China. The O'Foran's traveled to Nanning to be interviewed bby the Ministry of Civil Affairs and Ministry of Justice. After another week in China, they flew back to Virginia, arriving on December 30,2000.

"Stu Brown, Treasurer, handed out his detailed report…" The total meeting budget for 1992 was $12,500.

Cathy Tunis gathered 20 Friends in a meeting for worship with attention to business at 12:30 PM on 1/13.

(The absence of Katherine Cole, Anna McCormally, and Gretel Von Pischke who were seeking enlightenment on a mountaintop on St. John, US Virgin Islands was duly noted.)

Cathy opened the meeting by reading the first two queries from Faith and Practice on Meetings for Worship and Meetings for Business. She thanked Ting Yi Oei for his years of service as clerk.

Cathy noted that there were two vacancies on the Nominating Committee report. After discussion:

Asa Janney, noting the length of business meetings and contemplating the work of our upcoming visioning process presented a proposal to increase to 8 the number of business meetings a year, by having 2 meetings a quarter. The schedule would have no meeting on the first month of the quarter, and then have a meeting on the 1^st Sunday of the 2nd month, and the 3^rd Sunday of the 3^rd month of the quarter.
Bonnie Stockslager suggested that if this schedule was adopted, potluck be moved to the 2^nd Sunday of each month. Kate Murphy asked that we consider the possibility of having a monthly meeting. Worth Kirkman suggested an alternative of scheduling additional meetings on an Ad Hoc basis.

Ting Yi Oei, newly appointed clerk of the Visioning Committee, presented a summary of the Visioning process, designed to lead Herndon Friends to an understanding of how we should prepare for the future. The process grew out of consideration of expanding the building last year. The $400,000 price tag would have required a doubling of the meeting budget, and called for clearness on our future growth and outreach before proceeding. One visioning meeting has already been held and there are three more scheduled for Friends to participate in the process of deciding on the future direction of Herndon Friends Meeting. (See calendar on page 1)

Ting Yi described 3 themes that emerged from the December 5^th worship sharing about the future of HFM.

Ting Yi also presented a list of queries for Friends to consider as they prepare for the meetings:

All Friends are encouraged to attend at least one of the sessions, and to sign up at the meetinghouse.

Asa Janney reported for the Ministry and Oversight committee.

Bonnie Stockslager announced that the hospitality committee will arrange a welcoming ceremony.

A letter has been received from Gary Garriott requesting membership in the meeting. A clearness committee will be appointed to meet with Gary.

The M&O committee has received 30 responses in request to their census about the needs of Friends for adult religious education. Topics of interest were Quaker response to current events, basic Quaker testimony, and modern Quaker literature. M&O will be using this information in designing the year's education program

Al Taylor presented the Treasurer's report

The meeting finished 2001 with a $3500 surplus.

The net worth of the meeting is $144,982, assuming a meetinghouse value of $235,000 and a current mortgage of $130,820. The meeting had $34,000 in assets in our brokerage account, Certificates of Deposit, a money market account and the checking account.

There are 34 families who contributed financially to the meeting in the last year, supporting our $34,000 budget.

Al reported that there was a good response to the mailing of solicitation letters with some sizable contributions and some contributions from Friends who had not made contributions in the past.

There was discussion of the pattern of meeting finances in that contributions usually lag behind expenses until the end of the year. With the loss of our tenant and $4000 in rental income the meeting will need to watch more closely the balance of contributions and expenses.

It was recommended that the newsletter contain each month a report of the current finances.

Don Chamlee reported that with more than 100 years of experience, 40 years of formal education, and $4.00 in parts, our crack H&G co-clerks have persuaded a leaky toilet in the meeting house to stop leaking on the floor.

Debbie Kirkman reported that the enthusiastic response of teachers has filled the First Day School Schedules through mid February. The four First Day Classes continue to crowd the meetinghouse "great room". Two sometimes unwieldy partitions are used to separate the classes.

The meeting united with the recommendation of the Religious Education Committee to purchase an additional rolling partition for the meeting room for a cost of $1632.

Debbie announced that the meeting is seeking donation of a TV, VCR, and a rolling stand for use by the religious education program

The Big Kids ran their pre business meeting bake sale, and raised $87 dollars for the support of their sponsored child. It may be that the presence of lunch is one of the things that encouraged the great turnout at business meeting.

Dennis Jones attended a workshop on clerking sponsored by BYM, and shared some of the insights with Clerk Cathy Tunis, who shared some of them with business meeting. Cathy reminded Friends that business is conducted in a spirit of worship with an attempt to discern the proper course of action. She asked that Friends allow silence after a message in business meeting to allow it to be properly weighed. To facilitate this, she asked that Friends not speak until recognized by the clerk. (It should be noted that our compliance with these suggestions was marginal at best--but we're trying).

This approach to community decision making is based on two rather remarkable assumptions.

First it assumes that there is a "right" thing to do. Some would characterize it as "the will of God" or the "leading of the Spirit", others as an innate consequence of the structure of the cosmos, but we have faith that "the truth is out there." The correct course of action does not come down to a vote, or to a compromise between opposing views.

Second, it assumes that it's possible for us to discover that right thing to do. The Quaker method of discovery has been seasoned for almost 350 years--and has a heritage far longer. This trial and error, waiting on the spirit, thinking before speaking, reflecting before respponding method provides a dependable way for us to investigate question outside the realm of the scientific method. This belief that we can still make reliable judgements about parts of our experience that defy logical explication is what makes the Religious Society of Friends a mystical sect. It's not necessarily magic--but it is mysterious.

However, we don't want it to be too mysterious. That's why it helps to know some of the rules.

Here's another rule that came up in business meeting. Question: How do you get on a committee at Herndon Friends Meeting? Answer: You show up. Sure, the nominating committee tries to consult with Friends as it prepares a clerks and committees roster for approval by the meeting in November, but Friends who are led to assist in the work of a committee, or who desire the assistance of a committee in their own leading are invited to approach the clerk of that committee or to attend any meeting.

One exception is that on occasion the Ministry and Oversight committee discusses some private matter--for example, the counsel of a troubled Friend--in which discretion is valued more than wide input.

Quakers continue to experiment with Quaker process. Do you have to be in the same room to have a gathered meeting? Can discernment occur through email, or conference calls? Is it Quakerly to send out solicitations for contributions?

We value and rely on the wisdom of our forebears and our weighty Friends: "The Spirit of Christ, by which we are guided, is not changeable." But it is an evolving faith, where the most important tenet is that with courage and discipline each individual has access to the inner light.

The meetinghouse Christmas sing a long was a joyous and loud occasion especially blessed by visiting violins, guitars, bells brass, and one really cool saxophone. Dessert was pretty good too.

The Christmas Eve Worship Sharing story telling was finely balanced between reflection and tales--some taller than others.

The meeting participated in Reston Interfaith's Adopt a Family and holiday food basket programs. The program received $635 dollars in donations from Herndon Friends, which exceeded the cost of gifts and food purchased. To meet the expectations of donors to the program the treasurer sent a check for the surplus $240 to Reston Interfaith's food pantry.

Although the new Governor supports the death penalty, and there are still men on Death Row, there are no scheduled executions at this time in Virginia. The Virginians for alternatives to the Death Penalty ( VADP) has designated Monday February 4^th as Virginia Death Penalty Awareness Day in Richmond.
Proponents of alternatives to the death penalty will meet at 10:30 at St. Peter's Catholic Church (Grace and 8th St.) for an overview on death penalty related bills and then Rally at 11:30 AM outside the General Assembly Building/ Capitol Grounds on 9th St. between Grace and Broad Streets.

There will be an opportunity to meet with your legislator in the afternoon. Contact 888-567-8237 (VADP) for details.

Margaret Fisher's application for membership in Herndon Friends Meeting was accepted at meeting for business. Although Margaret has been attending Quaker meeting her whole life, this is the first time she has formally joined a meeting.

Margaret was born into Haddonfield Meeting in Haddonfield, NJ, not too long after her parents were led to the meeting from their Presbyterian and Episcopal roots. She attended Friends Schools in Haddonfield and Morristown through high school, and then attended Princeton.

She and her husband Jonathan Rosenthal were married under the care of Haddonfield meeting. They have two children, Jake and Joshua, and live in Clifton.

Margaret first attended HFM four years ago, and has visited other area meetings before deciding to apply for membership at HFM.

After finishing medical school and an internal medicine residency, Margaret did a fellowship in rheumatology in Cleveland. She and Jonathan, a specialist in infectious diseases, practiced in Cleveland before moving to this area 10 years ago. They are both in practice with the Kaiser group.

Margaret moderates an internet discussion support group for parents of children with emotional disabilities.