FALL 2008Phil Anthony
(856) 769-0066 (voice)
(856) 769-1416 (fax)
salemqtr@verizon.netAfter ten years I’ve cycled off the Board of Trustees of Friends School Mullica Hill. It was a hard decision to make; the work has been exciting and rewarding. It’s also been an opportunity to serve Salem Quarter. I believe I’ve helped open opportunities for Quaker witness.
But several years back, the board adopted a policy of suggesting that after three terms, trustees step down for at least a year. It was a good decision, I think. It gives new people a chance to contribute time and energy to a Quaker institution. It broadens the Board’s connections to the community. Maybe most important, it keeps trustees from viewing ourselves as essential, or of becoming set in agenda that may not be in the best interests of a growing, changing school.
SEPTEMBER QUARTERLY MEETING
Lower Greate St. Meeting House Meeting House, Greenwich
Sunday, 14 Sept 20082:30 pm Gather 3:00 pm Business Meeting 5:00 pm Supper 6:00 pm Program: Arthur Larrabee on Quaker Leadership 7:00 pm Worship Child care, beverages and dessert provided Taking part in those school board decisions has given me a new appreciation for our Friends’ institutions. Drew Smith, the head of Friends School, has often talked about the tensions between what we want to do as Quakers and what we have to do in the name of fiscal responsibility.
It gets trickier to steer a rightly ordered course when the institution operates in a highly regulated environment. Schools have to meet multiple standards. Local, state, and federal requirements are added to accreditation by ISM and FCE. It’s even harder for a retirement community like Friends Village, with all the layers of government, insurance, and accreditation regulation imposed (for good reason!) on care of older people. I’m sometimes in awe of the staff who take on that job and the board members who guide them.
One thing I learned is that boards often are composed of two basic groups. First, there are those who seek actively to carry out the mission of the institution at all costs. Their vision and ideals drive the institution forward, and help keep it true to its mission. On the other hand there are members who keep us in mind of the practical implications of visionary proposals—fiscal impact, budget constraints, balancing the concerns of different constituencies.
I’m glad for the existence of both these groups. Without either one, the institutions would fail. With both, and with the carefully considered decisions on which Friends can come to unity, they will endure. Whatever failings we may find in them—and I take some responsibility for any failings—Friends Village and Friends School need and deserve the grateful support of Salem Quarter.
And Salem Quarter will be coming together at our meeting on Sunday, 14 September, at Greenwich MM’s lower meetinghouse. Our featured speaker is Arthur Larrabee, General Secretary of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Arthur expects to speak with us about the sometimes troubling question of Quaker leadership, based on his address to Southeastern Yearly Meeting. You may remember that address; it was excerpted in the Spring 2008 issue of Salem Quarter News.
Arthur is in a unique position to speak on the subject. He has been clerk of Yearly Meeting, clerk of its Interim Meeting, and now is General Secretary. He’s also an engaging speaker. I invite everyone to come meet and hear a warm, wonderful individual.
The full schedule for quarterly meeting, which starts at 3:00 pm, is at upper right. Directions are also available. Remember to bring your brown-bag supper, and I’ll look forward to seeing you there.
RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS
Last modified:
Saturday, February 28, 2009 at 09:01 AM
