Meeting for Worship with a concern for Business: The Meeting approved the 2001-2002 budget that was presented by Treasurer Bill Mitchell. He writes:
| I would like to remind Friends that even though we do not pass the plate at meeting or ask members to make formal pledges, we do depend on contributions from members to cover our financial needs. We have two costs that depend directly on the number of members: our contribution to Southeast Yearly Meeting and the newsletter. Together, these add up to about $60 for members and $35 for attendees. In addition we have a number of fixed costs. Our budget is currently $14,000. During the 2000 calendar year there were approximately 40 people or families who contributed to the general fund, with contributions ranging from $10 to $4,000 and averaging about $450. The median was $200 -- that is, half of those contributing gave less than $200, and half gave more. In addition, about 10 people or families contributed to the building fund, with contributions ranging from $10 to $1,500 and averaging about $300. |
| Please make a contribution to the building fund in addition to your normal contribution to the general fund. We are having an exciting time planning the new meetinghouse and thinking about how it will fit into our lot - but we will have to pay for it, and as far as possible we would like to do so without a burdensome mortgage. |
Don't forget to voice your opinion on the death penalty to your legislators. Thanks, Mona and Walter Morris for organizing a letter-writing campaign.
Greg Ray graduated with a major in theater studies. He will stay at Guilford till the end of the year working in the library, and in the fall he will take courses in film design and video editing in preparation for graduate school.
Congratulations, Devender and Greg. We are proud of you!
Several people visited St. Joseph's Episcopal Church at the corner of Routes 241 and 26 (Newberry Road) with Reuben Keppel. the simple concrete block structures with metal roofs and covered walkways were attractive and functional.
The open Building Committee meeting on April 29 was lively and well attended. Morrie Trimmer gave a brief presentation on two building materials proposed for our new meetinghouse: broken concrete block for the walls and coated metal for the roof. We saw their attractiveness in pictures of commercial and residential buildings, and heard about their practicality, feasibility, and low maintenance. We formulated minutes on using these materials, and they were adopted at the next business meeting.
At the April 29 meeting, we looked also at ads for windows and doors, and some further floor plans which we will be sharing in the newsletter an don the web. the one below has an interesting idea about the entrance, which is not completely thought out, and good traffic patterns, but lacks sufficient utility space. Morrie suggested we not air-condition the space for the hall the bathrooms to keep our utility costs down. Dick Beardsley shared some ideas about parking, and we suddenly realized that roads to and from the parking and in paved parking spaces might cover more land than will be covered by our building. After all, a typical 2-card garage is 22 feet by 24 feet, close to the size of our proposed meetinghouse.
In the meantime, new air potato vines are sprouting, so there are lots of excuses to spend an hour now and again enjoying the play of sun and shade on the land, looking for butterflies and flowers, and clearing a few exotic plants.
Go Building Committee, Go! We're on a roll! Our new Meetinghouse is begining to acquire a personality and a style under the able leadership of clerk Jean Larson. Thanks for all you hard work, Jean.
Joan Andrews, editor j6and8@aol.com