Minutes of the 2011 Central Executive Committee
Undefined
Minutes of the Central Executive Committee
Friends World Committee for Consultation
Held in Rudlingen Centre, Near Zurich, Switzerland
April 24 – 27, 2011
Members present:
Rachel Bewley-Bateman (Ireland YM) Clerk EME Section
David Bucura (Rwanda YM) Clerk Africa Section
Jocelyn Burnell (Britain YM) Clerk Central Executive Committee
Kenya Casanova Sales (Cuba YM) (Mins 1 – 23) Member at large
Dilawar Chetsingh (General Conference of Friends in India) outgoing Clerk AWP Section
John Fitzgerald (Ireland YM) Member at large
Margaret Fraser (Philadelphia YM) Exec Sec Section of the Americas
Elizabeth Gates (Philadelphia YM) Assistant Clerk FWCC
Nancy Irving (North Pacific YM)(not Min 24) General Sec FWCC
Marisa Johnson (Britain YM) Exec Sec EME Section
Valerie Joy (Australia YM) Exec Sec AWP Section
Duduzile Mtshazo (Central and S Africa YM) Clerk FWCC
Dorothy Selebwa (Kakamega YM) Member at large
Jane Snyder (North Pacific YM) Clerk Section of the Americas
Roger Sturge (Britain YM) Treasurer FWCC
Visitors:
Harry Albright (Britain YM) (Mins 1 – 23, 34 – 38) Communications Director FWCC
Churchill Malimo (Nairobi YM) Incoming Exec Sec Africa Section
Robin Mohr (Pacific YM) Incoming Exec Sec Section of the Americas
CEC11 – 03 Welcome We welcome: Rachel Bewley-Bateman (Ireland YM), new Clerk of the EME Section; Churchill Malimo (Nairobi YM) , incoming Executive Secretary of Africa Section; Robin Mohr (Pacific YM), incoming Executive Secretary of the Section of the Americas; Dorothy Selebwa (Kakamega YM), Member at Large; and Jane Snyder (North Pacific YM), new Clerk of the Section of the Americas.
CEC11 – 04 Deceased Friends In our opening worship we have remembered the service given to FWCC by Friends who have died in the last year. We know of the following names (but the list may be incomplete) and give thanks for their lives and inspiration:
Irwin Abrams, Margaret Hope Bacon, Angela Beharie, William (Bill) Bliss, Elise Boulding, Christopher Cadbury, Marion Elkinton, Robert Gray, Rose Mae Harkness, E. Virginia Helm, Lewis Hoskins, Alice Langworthy, Alice Miles, Harry Scott, Virginia Sutton, Sadie Taylor, Preston Eugene Wolfley (all Section of the Americas); Joseph Kisia (Africa Section); Elsie Bennett, Margret Caverhill, Nahomia Dass, Graham Hodgkin, Owen Jackson, Helen Johnson, Patricia Lawson, Daniel Yakub Masih, Kamal Prasad, Hiroshi Sakamoto, Jai Singh, Bernice (Bunny) Thompson (all Asia West Pacific Section); and in the previous year George Loft (Section of the Americas).
CEC11 – 05 Electronic minutes The following electronic minutes have been agreed:
CEC 11-01e Nominations.
Following the recommendation of the Nominating Committee, we make the following appointments:
For QUNC-New York
Oliver Kisaka Simiyu of Nairobi YM to serve a three-year term from January 2011 to December 2013 [replacing David Kikaya who has served two terms]
For CEC at large
Dorothy Selebwa of Kakamega YM to serve the remaining term of David Bucura who has become clerk of Africa Section, to December 2012.
CEC 11-02e: 2011 Budget.
The budget for 2011 as recommended by the International Finance Committee (Minute IFC-11-04) is approved. A small deficit of £10000 is anticipated, reflecting the impact of the 2008-2009 economic downturn. The IFC has requested the Treasurer and staff to draw up expenditure reduction options.
CEC11 – 06 Beginner’s guide to FWCC World Office Finance Our Clerk has presented a Beginner’s Guide to FWCC World Office Finance. We ask that this material be made available for the induction of new Trustees.
CEC11 – 07 2010 Accounts Roger Sturge has presented the 2010 accounts along with the relevant part of the IFC report. Our expenditure exceeded our income by some £20k but thanks to other gains the general reserves are up from £92k to £108k. We now have over 6 months’ operating costs in our general reserve, so have met our target there. There is a drop in our total funds compared with last year as expenditure on the World Conference is already occurring but the income comes later. Our donation income is down – we recognise that we need help fundraising. Roger has explained the various designated, restricted and endowment funds. We thank him for his report.
CEC11 – 08 Trustees Annual Report We approve the Trustees Annual Report, including the 2010 accounts and authorise our Clerk to sign the report.
CEC11 – 09 2011 Budget International Finance Committee has recommended a change in the format for the 2011 budget, showing a deficit of £18k before World Conference monies are considered and £11k after World Conference monies are included. We still have six months’ operating costs in our General Fund. The World Conference figures are best estimates, but are uncertain. We receive this restructured budget.
CEC11 – 10 International Finance Committee Report Our International Finance Committee (IFC) continues to provide us with valuable advice and we are grateful for their report.
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Fundraising. We have discussed the suggestion of the IFC that we should appoint a Friend with fund-raising experience to the IFC. We note that the fund-raising would likely be in the UK (in conjunction with EMES) and that the IFC has few UK Friends on it. We judge that the best person would have time to make contacts, keep in touch with Foundations and Trusts, and would be good at writing applications. We agree to this suggestion.
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Charging staff and office costs. We have moved to a cost-centred budgeting system where staff and office costs are attributed to the projects they work on. Previously staff and office costs relating to an International Representatives Meeting (IRM), a Triennial, or a World Conference have not been fully allocated this way. We agree with the IFC that this should be done from now on, and note that this is how the 2011 budget has been drawn up.
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Grant to Africa Section. We are encouraged that Africa Section wishes to become more independent and less dependent on the World Office while working in partnership. We look forward to seeing their strategic plan for achieving this and hearing how it will be implemented. We agree with the IFC suggestion that the grant to Africa Section should be reduced by £500 in 2012 and a further £500 in each year until 2016. However we ask for a review of the reduction in the grant in 2014 before our 2015 budget is set.
CEC11 – 11 Membership of the International Finance Committee We note that Nancy Wallace has asked to be released from the Clerkship of the International Finance Committee (IFC). The CEC Clerk (who is responsible for determining the membership of the IFC) reports that Alastair Reid (Britain YM) has been appointed to the IFC.
CEC11 – 12 Signing powers The Clerk reports that we have been unable to implement the revised signing powers on our US bank account as set out in minute CEC 08-2 . To implement this revision the US bank requires all signatories to appear in person at the same time at the appropriate branch, and this has not so far been possible. We hope that in 2013 we can hold a CEC meeting near this bank to implement revision of signatories.
CEC11 – 13 Communications report Harry Albright has reported on progress on the new World Office website. He has demonstrated to us the latest version of the website, which is almost ready. It has the same underlying architecture as the Sections’ websites. They are designed to be simple to update, so we can update them ourselves. Training will be needed for those who will be responsible for updating sites. We hope this project will be completed soon. Harry has designed the registration form for the World Conference. The office has signed up with ‘Constant Contact’ for delivery of newsletters and event registration.
Next year his work will be dominated by the production of Conference materials and perhaps targeted fund-raising materials.
CEC11 – 14 Investment Report Roger Sturge has reported. The transfer to our new investment managers Rathbone-Greenbank is almost complete and they are now acting for us. The Investment sub-committee monitors their work. We thank Gayle Matson for her work on this sub-committee, especially in the development of the investment policy guidelines. She leaves the sub-committee to become Treasurer of the Section of the Americas.
CEC11 – 15 Treasurer’s report – 2012 figures Roger Sturge has presented to us his estimated figures for 2012. He hopes we will have a surplus of about £10k bringing our General Fund balance back to what it was at the end of 2010. We will need to seek funding from an outside source for the salary for the incoming General Secretary, to allow that person some overlap with Nancy Irving during 2012.
CEC11 – 16 Treasurer’s report; 2013 – 2016 We have received a paper prepared by Roger Sturge on the World Office’s financial future, along with a recommendation from the International Finance Committee warning us that if current trends continue we will likely have a persistent 20% shortfall between income and expenditure. The International Finance Committee has suggested that we should set up a small group to look at the scope of the World Office work and additional sources of income. This is a time of transitions and new opportunities. We welcome and agree with this suggestion, although we see the issue as being rather wider, involving a re-articulation of our purpose and identifying a sustainable way of operation for the World Office.
Accordingly we agree to set up a small group charged with radical and creative thinking around the following topics to do with the purpose of the FWCC World Office.
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What should be the work of the World Office now in the 21st century?
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How best can the World Office be relevant and visible and of service to Friends worldwide?
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How successful is the World Office in promoting consultation between Yearly Meetings, groups, traditions, and mission, witness and service bodies?
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In consultation with the Sections, to ascertain what essential things the World Office does for them.
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To ascertain what Friends would wish us to do, perhaps by conducting a carefully constructed and cautiously interpreted survey.
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To imagine an FWCC without a World Office – what other ways might the work get done? What essential, necessary work would not get done? What other consequences might there be?
We have great respect for our World Office staff and their work, but we want this group to feel empowered to ask challenging questions.
In addition we ask the group to consider how the World Office can be made sustainable – e.g.
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How else might the World Office generate income?
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Can programmes be repackaged or restructured in order to attract new sources of funding, or could programmes be devolved into short-term project work?
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Are there things the World Office could stop doing, to save money?
We ask Roger Sturge, [and others subject to consent] to serve on this group, feeling free to draw on other expertise as they feel necessary. (Alternate names: [subject to need, identified.) We ask John Fitzgerald to convene the first meeting.
We ask for an initial report in early October in time for the recruitment of the new General Secretary, the preparation of the outline budget for the planning period 2013 – 2016, and the October meeting of the IFC.
CEC11-17 International Membership Harry Albright has reported. The International Membership Applications Committee (IMAC) is active and has met three times since the last CEC meeting. There are now 114 international members. The Clerk of IMAC wishes to stand down at the end of 2011.
Individual members of the International Membership Committee (IMC) are active, but this committee has not come together as a group. Harry Albright has been asked to find out what international members want from a body like the IMC. We ask Section Secretaries to consider what best would serve their relationship with international members and enquirers, and we will consider this whole area at a future meeting.
We lay down the IMC now, aware that the pastoral care of all international members, especially those newly accepted into membership, was this committee’s responsibility, and that it is being done on an ad hoc basis by Harry and by some IMC members. We hope that the active IMC members will continue to be active for the time being while we review how we carry out this work. We ask IMAC to continue its work.
CEC11 – 18 International Planning Committee Report to CEC Elizabeth Gates has reported. The International Planning Committee met just before the last CEC meeting and meets again after this CEC meeting. We note the change of date from August to April 17 – 25th 2012.
People are applying for Open Places and Yearly Meeting representatives are registering on line. By September it should be clear who is coming. Study material should be available by September.
The Local Arrangements Committee (LAC) still has a large task ahead of it. For example, pre- and post- conference excursion information is needed urgently or else people will book flights without this knowledge.
We are encouraged to talk to Friends we meet about the World Conference and to encourage them to apply for Open Places, or to fundraise for the Travel and Accommodation Fund to help Friends to travel to the Conference.
Roger Sturge has presented the latest Conference budget to us. Total income is expected to be £476000, consisting of £282000 registration fees, £100000 transfers from other funds, and £94000 from fresh fundraising. On the expenditure side £137000 will go to Kabarak, £14000 to LAC costs, £91000 for planning, £18000 for literature, £77000 overheads and £140000 for subsidised travel.
We look forward to a challenging, moving, exciting and deeply spiritual conference, and will hold the IPC and the LAC in our prayers.
CEC11 – 19 Asia-West Pacific Section Report There has been a long string of natural disasters recently in the region. Funds are being forwarded through the Section to Christchurch and to Japan.
The Section Gathering in Manila was successful, with programmed and unprogrammed Friends learning from each other. There’s a strong inter visitation programme, with guidelines in the Handbook on how to make these visits successful. A new Quaker learning centre “Silver Wattle” has opened in Australia. There is a new (or renewed) worship group in Singapore. The Global Change committee is active.
We note that Patricia Macgregor (Aotearoa/New Zealand YM) has taken over the Clerkship of the Section from Dilawar Chetsingh; Ronald Titus becomes Associate Secretary and Taisoo Kim Watson becomes Treasurer in the new year.
Since the last Gathering the membership of the Section has doubled with three new groups (Marble Rocks, Mahoba and PEFIM Philippines) joining. Two more groups have recently applied.
We are grateful for this heartening report.
CEC11 – 20 Next meeting of the International Representatives We expect the next International Representatives Meeting (IRM) after 2012 to be in 2016. It would be a meeting of about 300 people. Yearly Meetings have been encouraged to host the IRM, but so far only one country in Latin America has expressed any interest. However, we have no formal invitation yet. We ask the Section of the Americas to investigate further.
CEC11 – 21 Dates of 2012 CEC meeting We agree to meet on the morning of 17th April 2012 in Nakuru (so we will need to arrive in Nairobi airport by 12 noon on 16th April). After the World Conference we would travel back to Nairobi on Wednesday 25th April and meet on Thursday 26th, Friday 27th and Saturday 28th April. We could depart late at night on Saturday 28th, or on Sunday 29th April. We hope we would have the new CEC members meeting with us for those three days.
CEC11 – 22 Report from the Section of the Americas Margaret Fraser has reported.
Over the last year major effort has been devoted to running a series of events on the World Conference theme. As of March 2011, seventeen events had been held over a six-week period, reaching about 350 people. Many more are planned in 2011- the limit is the availability of meetings to host such an event. Programmatically it has been very successful, but has not brought in the funds they had hoped for.
Running the Quaker Youth Pilgrimage in a large country has proved difficult. They plan to rethink the way they run future pilgrimages. The rationalization of the governance and operation of the Section is now almost complete.
We have had a demonstration of the Voices of Friends website (www.voicesoffriends.org) which introduces Quakers today, with links to many online resources. They received funding from the Shoemaker Trust for this work. Soon they will start actively promoting this web site. This will be an excellent resource for Friends in other continents too.
We thank Margaret Fraser for her service to the Section and on this committee, and wish her well in the next phase of her life.
CEC11 – 23 Africa Section Report Moses Musonga has reported. In Africa also there have been changes in the Section Officers and the Executive Committee. There are now Executive Officer meetings between the Executive Committee meetings.
Moses has spoken of the growth of Friends’ groups in various parts of Tanzania. He has also visited Friends in the eastern part of Congo, where there are about four groups, several of which had broken away from Congo Yearly Meeting. Following his visit they are working together with Congo YM again.
Evangelical Friends Churches in Kenya: these churches have broken away from the Friends Church in Kenya, but have been seeking recognition from Quakers for some time. Moses has visited them and written a detailed report on each of these churches. These three Evangelical Churches are now affiliated to the Section.
In Uganda the conflicts within the YM are now largely resolved with most of the two rival groups working together. There is now one Uganda YM, recognised by the Section.
CEC 11 – 24 Personnel Dudu Mtshazo and Jocelyn Burnell have met with Nancy Irving for her Annual Review. We are aware that Nancy feels isolated, and hope we can all keep better in touch with her so that she feels held and nurtured. In addition we will set up a support and transition group for Nancy, to help her finish her time with FWCC on as high a note a possible, and to help us learn how to do better for her successor. Such a group should have people from outside CEC as well as some overlap with CEC membership. We suggest the following names: Rachel Bewley-Bateman; [and others subject to consent], and invite Nancy Irving to suggest some names. The group should be no more than four people. (All these names except Rachel Bewley-Bateman’s are subject to consent.)
We thank Nancy for her good work and commitment to FWCC and recognise the enormous effort and energy she is putting into this role.
CEC11 – 25 Personnel Committee The Clerk reports that Chris Lawson (Britain Yearly Meeting) has joined the Personnel Committee and has become its Clerk. He replaces Trevor Grubb whose term has finished.
CEC11 – 26 World Office Report Nancy Irving has presented this report. She has helpfully focussed on those activities that CEC does not normally see. She has spoken of the UK bureaucracy that the General Secretary has to handle. Nancy Irving’s personal goal is to make FWCC relevant to international Quaker organisations and to the wider Quaker world so she puts considerable time into Quaker United Nations Office work and other networking.
We agree that the networking and making FWCC recognised is important. It may be that our role is as a convenor, putting groups with interests in the same area in touch with each other.
Nancy has also reported on the ecumenical networking that she is involved in. FWCC is the Friends representative to many international ecumenical bodies. We thank Nancy for this report.
CEC 11 – 27 Global Change Programme Report Nancy Irving has reported. The vision for this programme has been revised as funding has not been forthcoming. The emphasis now is on finding the views from the grassroots on each of the six queries posed.
A listening committee is being set up for each query. Each committee will synthesise the responses posted on the website to their query. A report will come to a Thread Group at the World Conference, hopefully leading to a World Conference statement. A small grant has been received from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust to fund grassroots cluster organisers in Africa and Latin America. There are some cluster groups in India. Quaker Earthcare Witness is organising clusters in North America. Responses are also coming in from Europe. Nancy will offer a paragraph to go in Section newsletters about the future of the programme.
CEC11 – 28 Travel in the Ministry We have received a report from Nancy Irving. Roger Sturge has been twice to Kenya since last we met and had useful conversations, and Jocelyn Burnell has visited several North American Yearly Meetings and Border Meeting in Europe.
CEC11 – 29 Future meetings of CEC 2013 – 2015 The pattern for CEC meetings that we have adopted of meeting alongside a Section has improved mutual understanding of both CEC and the Section and we hope to continue this pattern if we are able to. In 2013 we hope to meet in Ohio or Indiana, alongside the Section of the Americas meeting in March of that year. Asia West Pacific Section are meeting in Darwin, Australia in July 2014, and we will explore the possibility of meeting alongside them. In 2014 we will have to set up an International Planning Committee (IPC) for the 2016 International Representatives Meeting. It might be helpful to separate this IPC meeting from the CEC meeting. We will defer a decision on the 2015 meeting format and place, but note the advantages of meeting at Woodbrooke in the UK.
CEC11 – 30 Recruitment of next General Secretary. Jocelyn Burnell has reported. The three groups have been set up as follows:
Search Group: Duduzile Mtshazo (Clerk, CEC); Zablon Malenge (Africa); Valerie Joy (CEC); Lindley Gregory (AWPS); Benigno Sanchez-Eppler (Americas); Marian Baker (Americas); Bronwyn Harwood (EMES); Johan Mauer (EMES); Thomas Taylor (Americas).
Short-listing Group: Ray Treadway (Clerk, ex-CEC); Mary Lord (Americas); Jennifer Barraclough (EMES); Marisa Johnson (CEC); Niedhart Petry (EMES); John Muhanji (Africa); Alice Simiyu (Africa); David Purnell (AWPS); Sachiko Yamamoto (AWPS).
Interview Group: Jocelyn Burnell (Clerk, CEC));Rachel Bewley-Bateman (CEC); Gladys Kang’ahi (ex-CEC); Dilawar Chetsingh (ex-CEC); Lon Fendall (Americas).
The material being made to those interested in the position will be forwarded with these minutes.
CEC11 – 31 Nomination Nominations Committee bring us the name of Alastair Reid to serve as the next FWCC Treasurer from 1 January 2013. We endorse this recommendation and forward the name to the International Representatives Meeting. We hope he can serve as an Assistant Treasurer from now.
CEC11 – 32 Nomination Committee We agree to add one or two people to the Nominations Committee to support the Clerk Martín Garate. We understand that these are co-options and that they serve until the International Representatives Meeting.
We note the name Therese Ann Asis (AWPS – PEFIM Philippines) has been considered by Nominations Committee for appointment to the Young Adult Friends Committee, till the end of 2012. Responses so far received from members of Nominations Committee have been positive. We agree to this appointment, subject to Nominations Committee not objecting by 31st May 2011.
We thank Nominations Committee for their consideration of the issues around appointment and reappointment of members at large of CEC and officers. We hope that with four years between International Representatives Meetings in future that some people might be willing to do two terms. We note also that where necessary CEC has the powers to fill vacancies that occur mid-term, making an appointment until the next International Representatives Meeting.
CEC11 – 33 Intervisitation and Travel in the Ministry for all ages Dudu Mtshazo has brought us a revised version of this paper. With a few amendments we accept this document. Dudu Mtshazo will provide the office with the final version. We ask that the final version be put on the FWCC websites.
CEC11 – 34 Europe and Middle East Section Report We found it valuable to meet with the Section at Herzberg immediately before this meeting.
Marisa Johnson has reminded us of the natural difficulties the Section has because of the many languages in Europe and how misunderstandings can arise when non-native language speakers fail to pick up nuances.
The Section is keen to resist compartmentalisation of the Section into under- and over-35s and are searching for ways to enable Young Friends to be both an integral part of the Section as well as having their own space. They are also considering how best to run the Quaker Youth Pilgrimage in the future.
We have had a demonstration of the ‘Quakers in the World’ website (www.quakersintheworld.org) which has been developed by Jordans (Britain Yearly Meeting) Friends. It aims to provide a compilation of all Quaker work world-wide.
The Section is aware of some planted Evangelical Friends Churches and is developing links with these Friends.
CEC11 – 35 Young Adult Friends Committee John Fitzgerald has reported. We are pleased to hear that this committee is now meeting, with regular Skype calls, although we recognise that not all members have yet participated. Pradip Lamichhane has joined recent phone calls and the focus has been on Young Adult Friend input to the World Conference.
CEC11 – 36 Quaker United Nations Work. We have received the report on developments in both New York and Geneva.
Nancy Irving has reported on developments in the governance of the Geneva Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO). FWCC appoint half the QUNO Geneva committee (5 people – normally the General Secretary plus a person from each Section). The rest are appointed by Britain Yearly Meeting. FWCC provides one of the co-clerks of the committee; at the moment Nancy is the FWCC co-clerk. Britain Yearly Meeting pays the salaries of the three senior staff and the part-time office manager. Recently FWCC and Britain Yearly Meeting had to register with the Swiss Government, forming the Quaker UN Association Geneva. Following a restructuring, staff will all report to the Director, not to Britain Yearly Meeting. Each programme area in Geneva has to fund-raise for its own work.
We are pleased to learn of the growing credibility and convening authority of the Quaker UN Offices and the increased access and impact. We thank David Atwood for his service as QUNO Geneva Director, and welcome his successor Jonathan Woolley.
CEC11 – 37 Review of this meeting Rüdlingen has been a good place to meet, comfortable, with sufficient space for break-out groups. It was good to have it largely to ourselves, and having wi-fi was also helpful.
Our system of buddies for new members has been appreciated. It has been good the way the new members of the committee have integrated and contributed. It has been helpful to us and to them to have Robin and Churchill here in advance of their taking up office. There has been wide participation by all CEC members and difficult topics have been given careful and serious attention. The beginner’s guide to finance was useful.
Ideally it would have been better to have the committee papers further in advance, but we appreciate the help given to many of us is accessing the papers and we recognise the usefulness of being able to have the papers on our laptops.
The relaxed pace and space around the breaks has been welcome. Working in small groups for part of the meeting was helpful, as was the absence of late-night sessions.
The help with travel arrangements was much appreciated and as always we have greatly valued the opportunity to meet with the Section.
CEC11 – 38 Closing minute. Mist over a shining Rhine; small steep hills; flowers and stars; verdant green growth; wonderful weather; even the dandelions were glorious as we recognised the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. We have been much blessed by our surroundings as we met in Switzerland, and blessed in our work. We say ‘goodbye’ or ‘God be with you’ to Dilawar Chetsingh, Margaret Fraser and Moses Musonga at the end of this meeting and give thanks for the blessing of their presence with us over many years.
S Jocelyn Burnell, Clerk