Present were Nancy Haines, Jeanne Kinney, Marcia Matthews, Peter Hughes and Lynn Hughes.
The meeting was called to order at 7:15.
Draft mission statement:
The Friends of Adin Ballou celebrate the ideas and achievements of Adin Ballou and the original Hopedale Community, including non-resistance, social justice, and racial equality. Our mission is to promote the ideals of that cooperative community. We hope that this legacy may inspire and inform others in their own efforts for "the progress and redemption of humanity."
We reviewed the "By-law Prescribing the manner of Calling, Notifying, and Conducting Business Meetings" adopted by the Hopedale Community in August, 1841 (see History of the Hopedale Community, pp. 55-56). To the extent possible, we would like to use the practice of the original Hopedale Community as a model for our organization.
The following topics were discussed:
Dues and membership. We decided to collect a small amount of dues, enough to cover the cost of the newsletter and other mailings, but not so high as to exclude anyone from membership due to inability to pay. A figure of $5/year was proposed.
Executive Council. President/chair, treasurer, and secretary/clerk are required for incorporation. We propose to have these officers plus a vice chair. Following the practice of the Hopedale Community, we propose an Executive Council of 6 to 10 people including the officers. Four members of the Executive Council, including two officers, would constitute a quorum. The Hopedale Community elected "Intendants," similar to committee heads, with responsibility for various aspects of Community life. We identified the following duties and the persons responsible (not a complete list):
Programs and publicity - Marcia
Membership - Lynn
Web site - Peter
Rules of order. We feel that formal parliamentary procedure as described in Roberts Rules of Order is too cumbersome for our small organization. We will use the simple rules set forth in the Hopedale Community bylaw.
It was noted that recent meetings have moved away from discussion of the work of Ballou and the Hopedale Community, in favor of formal programs and business meetings. While these are important, we do not want to move away from the discussion format, which many members find very valuable. At our next meeting we will have a short business meeting followed by a discussion.
The following dates and programs were suggested for meetings in 2004:
April 18 - business meeting to continue work on bylaws;
discussion led by Peter and Lynn based on Christian Non-Resistance in Extreme Cases
and the response of the Hopedale Community to the Civil War
August 1 - a picnic commemorating the anti-slavery picnics held by the Hopedale Community;
a speaker on a present-day human rights issue
November 7 - annual lecture
Following the practice of the Hopedale Community, the meeting was closed with a moment of silence.
prepared by:
Lynn Gordon Hughes, Secretary
18 January 2004