January/February/March 2015 - The Religious Society of Friends

 U-C Friends w 1904 E. Main St., Urbana, IL 61802 w (217) 328 5853 w Jan.-Mar., 2015
Urbana-Champaign Friends Meeting
PNC Bank and Mountaintop
Removal Coal Mining:
Good News To Share!
Quakers are known historically for boldly and persistently confronting injustice using nonviolent action. Here’s an inspiring story of Quakers who are continuing this tradition, and U-C
Friends Meeting played a part.
Five years ago a small group of Philadelphia Quakers decided to focus on combatting climate
change. They formed Earth Quaker Action Team (EQAT) and eventually settled on a
campaign, called Bank Like Appalachia Matters (BLAM!). The purpose of BLAM! was to
persuade PNC Bank, the seventh largest bank in the U.S., to stop making loans to companies
doing mountaintop removal coal mining. Burning coal is a major contributor to climate
change, and mountaintop removal mining is destructive to the environment and harmful to the
people living in the Appalachian Mountains. In 2010, EQAT members met with PNC officials,
but they were offered a hollow lending policy, vitually allowing PNC to continue its heavy
investments in mountaintop removal mining. Dissatified with the result, EQAT members held
demonstrations at PNC banks in their region and urged people to withdraw their accounts from
the bank. In 2014, EQAT expanded their grassroots campaign to include communities in more
than fourteen states. On Dec. 6, approximately 300 people participated in over 30 actions in 12
states and Washington D.C.
On Valentine’s Day 2015, our Meeting joined the campaign with our “Love the Mountains”
demonstration at the PNC Bank in Urbana. Twenty-eight Friends and community members
braved cold, blustery winds to hold signs and hand out flyers. Two people, including Bobbi
Trist, closed their PNC Bank accounts during the demonstration.
Query for the Fourth Month:
In the past , the l ive s of
Qu ak er s cen te re d ar o un d the ir me eti ng s. Ho w can yo u , in the se
chan g in g ti mes , con tr ibu te to pr es er vin g a str o ng s en s e of
co mmun ity?
TABLE OF CONTENTS: 1-2: PNC Bank and Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining w 3-6:
January Minutes from the Monthly Meeting for Business w 6-10: February Minutes from the
Monthly Meeting for Business w 10-16: March Minutes from the Monthly Meeting for
Business w 16: «God Is My Plumber» w 17: Joys and Sorrows
1 Good News to Share! (Cont.)
Afterwards, many of the demonstrators gathered in the food court at Lincoln Square for a thoughtful
discussion. Many people expressed interest in continuing to work on this issue.
On March 2, 2015, PNC announced that it would restrict its financing of mountaintop removal coal
mining in Appalachia. The bank will no longer make loans to Arch Coal and Alpha Natural
Resources, two of the largest coal companies, leaving PNC without any major investments in
mountaintop removal mining. With PNC Bank joining the ranks of JP Morgan Chase and Wells
Fargo in withdrawing financing from this destructive mining practice, it is hoped that other financial
institutions will follow suit.
The Light in each of us is a powerful force, especially when we work together for the common good.
- Charlotte Green
(photos: curtesy of author)
2 Minutes from the Monthly
Meeting for Business: January
First Month Meeting for Business
(1/18/2015), U-C Friends Meeting House,
1904 E. Main, Urbana, IL
Sten Johannsen, Chris Menard, Gretchen
Hoenes, Chris Jocius, Tracy Satterthwaite,
Charlotte Green (recording clerk pro tem), and
Ann Lowry (clerk) were present.
Meeting opened with silence.
Announcements: Updates on Young Friends
Corbin Phillips is winning diving awards. He is
on his high school swim team.
Kajetan Haas had the leading role as the
Nutcracker in the December “Nutcracker”
performance at Krannert Center.
Ian and Rebecca Brooks’ twins, Heather and
Mathew, have exciting news to share. In
November Heather will perform at the Macy’s
Thanksgiving parade with the Marching Illini.
Matthew is in the stage management program at
Krannert Center and is looking for summer
internships.
Sylvia Haas is starting her second semester at
the U of I, majoring in computer science and
minoring in statistics. She finds that she still has
time to help provide childcare at the Meeting
once a month.
Advancement
See M&O report Minute #1, about outreach and
promotion.
Holiday celebrations: On Friday, December 19,
there was a pizza and social time. On Christmas
Eve, Gretchen Hoenes carried forward our
tradition of shadow puppets telling Luke’s
version of the Christmas Story. Belle and Anna
Ginsburg-Sullivan and Don Chenoweth were
puppeteers. A potluck also took place on
Christmas Day at the Meeting House.
Building Use and Building & Grounds
Building Use: Barbara Minsker has inquired
about use of the Meeting House for her program
Joyful U. She would like to hold an all-day retreat
on a Saturday, either February 21 or March 14.
Chris Menard’s Mindfulness classes for the U of I
continue this semester.
Building & Grounds
Windows/doors: Three windows in the meeting
room and the front doors have lost their seals.
Replacement windows and doors arrived and are
in storage until warm weather allows installation.
At that time the wood framing will be sealed with
varnish or shellac. Friends approve recording a
minute of appreciation to Chris Menard and Phil
Fiscella for ordering and storing the
replacements.
Library Shelving: Building and Grounds has
perceived that the Library committee and other
Friends would like more suitable shelving. The
shelving we have was never meant to be
permanent. B&G recommends that the Library
committee investigate better shelving, including
built-ins, and report back to B&G with their
findings. The original Library committee (Don
Chenoweth, Lidia Geiser, and Brian Vura-Weiss)
has been joined by Chris Jocius and Terri
Mittenthal.
Ministry & Oversight
On January 14, 2015, at the Ministry and
Oversight meeting, 5:30-7:45 p.m., at Cracked
Glass, Tracy Satterthwaite, Sten Johansen,
Brenda Koenig, Ann Lowry, and Sandy Bales
were present.
Query: Each of us may know someone who is
hurting physically or emotionally. How do I
respect boundaries and at the same time
demonstrate my desire to help in a way that will
be accepted?
Minute 1: Outreach/Promotion Sub-Group (Sten
Johannsen, Brenda Koenig, and Brian VuraWeis) met recently and discussed ways to bring
an awareness of Quaker Meeting to our
community.
3 A. Placards inside MTD buses were considered.
It is possible Dixon Graphics might make such
cards.
B. Facebook: U-C Friends Meeting has two
Facebook sites: one made years ago, using the
keyword “Quaker,” originally administered by
Jon Holmes; and another, with keyword “U-C
Friends,” administered by Peter Lasersohn. (The
latter may have been generated by Meeting’s
listing in the Yellow Pages.) We will ask Peter if
other Friends can be added as administrators.
Brenda volunteered to be an additional
administrator. Facebook would serve as a good
platform for announcements and would reach
young professionals. [Update: At Meeting for
Business, Tracy reported that she had contacted
Jon Holmes, who now lives in Boston, and Peter
Lasersohn about the two Facebook sites. Chris
has handed off the administration of the
“Quaker” site to Tracy. Peter will redirect any
traffic from the “U-C Friends” site to the
“Quaker” site.]
C. NPR announcements on WILL radio: Each
such announcement would cost $37 if read
during "All Things Considered." Possible taglines discussed are: “Sharing an all-inclusive
ministry through silent worship” and
“Celebrating centuries of peace activism.” “Like
us on Facebook" should be mentioned also.
Minute 2: A check was sent to Celo meeting in
North Carolina for Chris and Anya’s wedding.
Minute 3: The Clerk has the very out-of-date
photo portraits of Friends that were removed
from the hall bulletin board.
Minute 4: E-list: Five new people from the
Guest Book have been added to the elist. [Update: We now have a new Guest Book,
which will include all Guest info since August
2013. The new Guest Book has explicit spaces
for Date, Name, Address, Phone, and E-mail
address. The notebook in use for the past 18
months did not encourage visitors to record these
details.]
Minute 5: Assistive Hearing Update:
A. Corson has ordered equipment so that he can give a
demonstration of a sound system in coordination with
the "loop system" for hearing aid users.
B. There is a new configuration of seating in the
Meeting Room, with benches moved toward walls and
chairs moved in a smaller circle in the center of the
room. On the first-week trial basis (11 January 2015)
it was well received. We will continue to get feedback.
C. M&O offers for Friends' consideration the
possibility of installing cork flooring in the Meeting
Room.
[Update: Friends present at Meeting for Business
made the following observations during discussion:
1) Cork flooring in the Old Meeting House (714 W.
Green, U.) was installed ca. 1950s and is different
from the material under consideration now. The old
flooring consisted of individual tiles, probably of a
different thickness and surface than what is
manufactured nowadays.
2) When M&O began researching acoustics more
than a year ago, Corson and another sound specialist
advised that remediation should involve the floor first,
and the walls/ceiling second. Flooring choices would
be #1 carpeting (on which Friends are not likely to
achieve a sense of the Meeting), #2 cork. The
specialists indicated that wood flooring would not
remediate acoustic problems.
3) As of May 2014, M&O had an estimate of $4,000$5,000 for cork flooring, materials only, uninstalled.
4) Cracks have been observed in 3 of 4 corners in the
Meeting Room, probably due to settling, cause
unknown. Chris Menard states that these cracks do
not appear to have worsened in the past couple of
years; therefore it might now be safe to cover the
polished concrete flooring, although that will prevent
future such observations of structural problems.
5) Building & Grounds/Building Use convenorship
has recently been transitioning from Sandy Bales to
Chris Menard. In Sandy's absence from today's
Business Meeting, Chris observes that Friends should
be aware that any significant construction/renovation
project may involve "mission creep," leading to
increased costs both at the time and ongoing into the
future (maintenance and repairs).
4 6) M&O will continue to gather updated
information on costs of materials and
installation and return to Business Meeting in
the future.]
Broadway, Urbana, at 10 a.m. We encourage
anyone who has a PNC account to close it at that
time in protest. Our committee invites Friends
and community members to help make posters for
the demonstration on Saturday, February 7, 4-6
p.m. at the Meeting House. Pizza will be
Minute 6: Youth Religious Education
In December the Young Friends made chocolate provided. We especially invite families with
children to participate. P&S will pay for the
candy and learned about the Cadbury family.
The Junior High and High School Friends will
pizza and poster-making supplies out of its
participate in an outing and/or invite Fab Lab to budget. Bobbi will purchase the supplies and
coordinate with Cindy Shepherd of Faith in Place,
come to the Meeting House this spring.
which has agreed to help write a press release,
submit it to the News-Gazette, and publicize it
Minute 7: Records to UI Archives. The clerk
noted that the collected U-C Friends' minutes of among the local Faith in Place
community. Charlotte and Bobbi will publicize
Monthly Meetings for Business, long held by
the U of I Library Archives, are now up to date the action among other religious and community
through 2014. Peter Lasersohn and Ann Lowry groups.
2)
Local campaign against police
recently visited archivist John Hoffmann,
militarization: P&S would like to thank Dottie
depositing minutes for the past several years.
Vura-Weis for speaking against militarization of
Copies of these are also in the Meeting Library
our local police force on behalf of U-C Friends
and at the home of the Recorder (Peter). Ann
Lowry also deposited all of the known materials Meeting at the Urbana City Council meeting,
December 15, 2014.
relating to construction of the Meeting House,
starting with fundraising and site investigations
Other items:
in the mid-1990s and continuing through the
1)
Homelessness: Friends have donated $250
receipt of payment from contractor Gary
so far to the Phoenix Center, a drop-in center for
Perkins's insurance agent in June 2014. These
include the architect's extensive files (drawings, homeless people and a project of C-U at
Home. P&S agreed to use its funds if needed to
correspondence, etc.) as provided by Todd
reach our goal of $300 so the Meeting can
Barnett.
become a C-U at Home Support Partner. P&S
discussed Meeting’s possible interest in an ad hoc
Library
committee on homelessness. Terri plans to
See Building and Grounds report above, final
contact Hugh Bridgeford to see if he would be
item, about bookshelves.
interested.
2)
Citizens Climate Lobby: Jay reviewed the
Peace and Service
mission and organization of the Citizens Climate
Present at the January 14 meeting were
Lobby, which promotes a specific plan to reduce
Charlotte Green (convenor), Jay Mittenthal,
carbon emissions. CCL is an international
Terri Mittenthal, Dave Lewis, and Bobbi Trist.
organization. There are several chapters in the
Chicago area but none downstate. Jay plans to
Action Items:
contact people in the Meeting and the community
1)
PNC Bank and Mountain Top Removal
who might share an interest in starting a CCL
coal mining: Peace and Service Committee
chapter in Champaign-Urbana.
requests that Meeting sponsor a Quaker action
Quaker Network against Mass
on Saturday, February 14, 2015, demonstrating 3)
against PNC Bank’s investment in mountaintop Incarceration Steering Committee request for
resources: This AFSC committee is putting
removal coal mining. We recommend that the
together a “toolkit” of resources for those who
action take place at PNC Bank, 507 S.
5 wish to get involved in the work to end mass
incarceration. Dottie Vura-Weis has agreed to
send a list of resources (local, statewide, and
national) suggested by Friends to the steering
committee. Many suggestions have been
made to Dottie through e-mail
correspondence. Charlotte will ask Barbara
Kessel to send Dottie the list of local
organizations involved in criminal justice
issues, which Barbara compiled earlier this
year.
4)
Energy Audit: Bobbi is in the process of
filling out an application for an energy audit of
the Meeting House to Smart Energy Design
Assistance Center (SEDAC) at the U of I.
Bobbi will contact the Treasurer to get
information about power usage, which is
needed to complete the application.
5)
ACLU Free Film Screening:
Overcriminalized will be shown at the Art
Theatre in Champaign on Tuesday, February
10, 7:30 p.m. P&S plans to publicize this film
and panel discussion. The film includes three
short documentaries about innovative and
successful police-community initiatives.
The next Peace & Service meeting is
scheduled for Wednesday, February 11, 2015.
The fund-raising letter will go out shortly.
The Treasurer handed out YTD reports for the first
7.5 months of FY2015 (1 June 2014-15 January
2015). The Meeting’s Budgeted YTD Expenses =
$23,881; Actual Expenses = $22,340. However, the
Income picture is less favorable: Proposed Income
YTD = $23,881; Actual = $15,232.
Treasurer’s Report/ Finance
Finance committee met January 15 and
reviewed the Meeting’s fiscal situation. It is
fortunate that we have three outside groups
using the Meeting House on a regular basis,
because in FY 2014 $14,000 was donated by
the three most frequent user groups. Friends
themselves donated less than $20,000. The
Clerk handed out an Income Overview sheet to
those present, showing Total $ Donated, Total
# Donors, Building Use $, FY1997-FY 2014.
Meeting needs three new members for two-year
terms, plus a fourth to replace Ann for one
year. Tracy Satterthwaite and Andrea Bretl have
both agreed to serve two-year terms. Other Friends
who were identified at Business Meeting will be
asked to serve for the one-year and remaining twoyear term. The committee’s work should start
during February, with the final report presented for
approval at the May Meeting for Business.
Youth Religious Education
See M&O report, Minute 6. At this time Citlaly
Stanton is providing child care during Meeting for
Worship on 2nd and 4th First Days, and Sylvia Haas
is serving on 3rd First Days.
Adult Religious Education
The next scheduled discussion group is a Quaker
Q&A at noon on January 25.
Nominating
January is the month when members for the
Nominating committee are selected. Three members
from last year would typically carry forward. Those
three would have been Yelena Forester, Ann Lowry,
and Merlin Taber. Anya has offered to succeed
Yelena (who married and moved to Pennsylvania
last summer). Ann feels that, as Clerk, she should
not serve as a member of Nominating.
Meeting closed with silence.
Minutes from the Monthly
Meeting for Business: February
U-C Friends, Monthly Meeting for Business,
2nd Month 15, 2015
Present: Ann Lowry (Clerk), Gretchen Hoenes,
Marielllen Gilpin, Brian and Dottie Vura-Weis, Chris Jocius, Chris Menard, Jean MarronBeebe, Charlotte Green, Bobbi Trist, Dave
Lewis, Barbara Kessel, and Sandy Bales
(Recording Clerk) 6 Announcements:
1. Dear Friends,You are strongly encouraged to
attend Meeting for Worship this Sunday (Feb.
15), at 10:30 a.m. You will see that 4
microphones on tall stands have been positioned
in the Meeting Room. These are part of Ministry
& Oversight Committee’s effort to help Friends
hear vocal ministry, as well as the
announcements and introductions afterward.
Today (Feb. 13) about a dozen Friends attended
a demonstration of “hearing loop” technology,
offered by Dyke Corson (who set up a PA
system) and by Brian Adams and Lee Jenkins
(who “looped” a copper wire around the Meeting
Room). We were also joined by Merlin Taber’s
audiologist, Dr. Emily Love from Carle Clinic,
who is familiar with this type of system. Four
Friends with hearing aids were among those
present, including Merlin himself. This Sunday’s
experiment involves the loop system and
standing mikes. A week from Sunday (Feb. 22),
M&O plans a demo using the loop system with
hand-held mike(s). More variants may take
place on several future Sundays. Please plan to
attend as often as you can. It is important for all
Friends to become aware that M&O is now
actively pursuing acoustic improvements in the
Meeting Room, starting with ways to assist
Friends who use hearing aids. As we move
toward seeking “a sense of the Meeting” on
particulars, we hope that each Friend will
develop his/her views based on full information
about the options as we discover them. The
equipment is on loan for a limited period.
Thanks in advance for your participation.
2. Please like us on Facebook. To view the page
on your Facebook search go to “Quaker Meeting
of Urbana-Champaign.”
3. We received a thank you note from Camp
Woodbrooke for our donation to their summer
camp.
Advancement: no report
Building and Grounds and Building Use
1. See announcement above, on hearing
assistance.
2. The committee will soon be in touch with Lee
Stoops and Jane McClintock about the
trim that needs to be replaced and painted,
exclusive of the fascia trim that will be covered
when gutters are installed. Chris Menard agreed
to check with Phil Fiscella to see whether
Friends have identified an installer for the metal
fascia covers; these covers need to be in place
before Dalton & Sons can install the gutters.
3. Barbara Minsker will hold a Joyful U retreat
on Saturday, March 14.
Finance and Treasurer’s Report
A fundraising letter is in the works.
So far this year half of our income is from each
of two sources: Building Use donations and
Friends’ donations. Thus we are financially
quite reliant on Building Users.
Our phone bill is very high. Gretchen will look
into ways of saving money through Internet
phones.
Library
Chris Jocius will contact Chuck Cowger to see
if he is available to build custom bookshelves,
which would replace the current shelves.
Ministry and Oversight
February 11, 2015. Present: Hugh Bridgeford,
Sandy Bales, Brenda Koenig, Sten Johansen,
Ann Lowry, Tracy Satterthwaite, and Brian
Vura-Weis
Third Month Query: How do I help ensure a
safe space for diverse voices and opinions in the
communities where I participate and serve?
Meeting began with silence.
Minute 1: Dyke Corson, sound system
specialist, contacted Tracy and said he could
install the loop system for about $500. Corson
will set up the sound/loop system in the
Meeting House this Friday for people to witness
a demonstration of T-coil technology. This
technology helps people with hearing aids
adjusted to it. Two other installers, Brian
Adams and Lee Jenkins, plan to attend. It was
pointed out that the floors could still need to be
addressed.
Update 1: Please see announcement above for a
brief report on the Friday demo, hosted by
7 Dyke Corson, Brian Adams, and Lee Jenkins.
Friends suggest that the estimate to install sound
and loop systems should be revised upward, close
to $2,000.
Update 2: Friends discussed putting a carpet in the
Meeting Room. Gretchen reported on her
experience hosting a birthday party in the Meeting
Room several years ago. When she moved carpet
from the Commons into the Meeting Room, there
was some evidence that carpet helped moderate
reflected sounds.
Another Friend mentioned wall hangings as well
as carpet. This Friend has a hearing aid and has no
problem hearing in the Meeting Room the way it
is, whereas she can’t hear well in a restaurant
because of ambient noise. With the electronics in
use during today’s demo, the spoken sound was
too loud for her.
In the past Meeting had discarded the idea of
carpeting because of allergies. However, today we
learned that problem could be resolved by regular
cleaning. It was suggested that we ask a carpet
company to loan carpeting so that we can
experiment with its ability to absorb sound. Chris
Menard and Brian Vura-Weis will make requests
of carpet companies for a loan.
Friends approve inviting a local contractor with
acoustical experience to look at our space. Ann
will contact one to examine the Meeting Room
and give us his analysis.
Minute 2: Jean Marie Marron-Beebe has requested
a committee for clearness for marriage for herself
and her fiancé, Edward Hertenstein. Mariellen
Gilpin, Sten Johansen and Tracy Satterthwaite
have agreed to be members of the clearness
committee. Jean Marie will be asked to send two
letters to the clerk: one requesting a clearness
committee for membership, and one for clearness
for marriage.
The marriage would take place at the Meeting
House in late June 2015. Given Jean Marie’s
contact with members of M&O, we are
comfortable with the choice of her clearness
committee for marriage and refer this to Business
Meeting.
Update: At Business Meeting the clerk read the
two letters from Jean Marron-Beebe. One was her application for membership.
Charlotte agreed to be on Jean Marie’s
membership committee. Charlotte will serve
as convener and find other members for the
committee. The second letter was a request for
a clearness committee for marriage to Edward
J. Hertenstein. Due to communication with
M&O before the letter was received by the
clerk, that clearness committee is fully in
place: Sten Johansen, Mariellen Gilpin, and
Tracy Satterthwaite have agreed to serve.
Minute 3: Brenda reported that Meeting’s
Facebook page is up and running. M&O
recommends that Brenda be the official
gatekeeper of the Facebook page, and that it be
restricted to U-C Friends’ and ILYM activities.
At Business Meeting, M&O will ask for others
willing to be administrators, so that posting
becomes a community endeavor. To view the
page: on your Facebook search, go to “Quaker
Meeting of Urbana-Champaign.”
Update: At Meeting for Business, Friends
urged Peter Lasersohn and Brenda to
coordinate the posting of information on
Meeting’s Website and our Facebook page.
Nominating
Tracy Satterthwaite has agreed to convene the
committee. Other members are Merlin Taber,
Anya Hamrick-Nevinglovskaya, and Chuck
Cowger, all for one-year terms. Andrea Bretl
and Sharon Haworth join Tracy for two-year
terms. New committees and officers are to
start their assignments in May.
Peace and Service
Correction to First Month minutes: Meeting
approves sponsorship of a Quaker action
demonstrating against PNC Bank’s investment
in mountaintop removal coal-mining. Also,
Meeting, in addition to Peace and Service
committee, thanks Dottie Vura-Weis for her
presentation at the Urbana City Council
meeting. Friends approve the corrections.
February 11, 2015. Present: Charlotte Green
(convener), Dave Lewis, Jay and Terri
Mittenthal, Bobbi Trist.
8 Action item: Channing-Murray Cosponsorships. Peace and Service Committee
asks the Meeting to give the committee the
authority to approve co-sponsorship of
Channing-Murray’s sponsored events on behalf
of the Meeting. Friends approve giving them the
authority.
tricks, artwork, etc.) during the talent show.
PNC Bank Demonstration: U-C Friends
Meeting is sponsoring a demonstration at the
PNC Bank, at 507 S. Broadway, Urbana, on
Saturday, February 14, at 10 a.m. The purpose
of the demonstration is to convince PNC Bank to
stop making loans to mountaintop removal
mining companies. Our demonstration is part of
a broader campaign by Earth Quaker Action
Team (EQAT). Bobbi Trist plans on closing her
PNC account during the demonstration, and we
encourage others with PNC accounts to do
likewise. We are grateful to Cindy Shepherd of
Faith in Place and George Hardebeck from the
Mennonite Church for their help in organizing
the event.
The sign-making party on Feb. 7 was a big
success. Several people from the community
joined Friends in creating 16 signs for the
demonstration. We enjoyed working together
and eating pizza.
Update: Approximately 25 people showed up
for the demonstration in spite of the bitter
cold. Two people, including Bobbi Trist, closed
their PNC accounts during the
demonstration. Afterwards, many of the
demonstrators gathered at the food court in
Lincoln Square for a thoughtful
discussion. Several people expressed an interest
in planning future events.
Coalition for Police Demilitarization: Hugh
Bridgeford represented U-C Friends Meeting at
the inaugural meeting of the Coalition for Police
Demilitarization on Jan. 31, 2015. Plans were
made to present the Coalition’s statement, “Halt
Police Militarization in CU,” at the Champaign
County Board meeting on February 19, at 6:30
p.m. A subcommittee is working on a draft of an
ordinance, which would regulate the county’s
acquisition of federal surplus military equipment,
as well as the way in which it would be used.
Benefit for Emergency Fund: We are planning
an event similar to last year’s benefit, including a
stone soup supper, improv theatre, and talent
show. We scheduled the benefit for Saturday,
April 25, if the Meeting House is available
then. Charlotte will ask Brenda Koenig if she
will direct the improv theatre as she did last
year. We will need Friends to bring soups, quick
breads, and fixings and to volunteer in setting up,
serving, and cleanup. We will encourage Friends
to share their talents (songs, poetry, stories, card
Energy Audit: Bobbi is in the final stages of
completing an application for an energy audit of
the Meeting House to Smart Energy Design
Assistance Center (SEDAC) at the University of
Illinois.
Donations: P&S spent $60.25 for supplies and
pizza for the sign-making party on Feb. 7. We
decided to donate $50 to the Citizens Climate
Lobby and $75 to Faith in Place.
Immigration Forum Retreat: Brian Vura-Weis
represented our Meeting at the retreat on Feb. 7,
2015. Some of the topics included outreach to
immigrants, an immigrant friendly community
initiative, and aid to unaccompanied
minors. Three immigration lawyers presented
good input to the group.
The next Peace & Service Committee is
scheduled for March 11, 2015.
Religious Education
ADULT RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
COMMITTEE EVENTS--SPRING 2015
REFLECTING TOGETHER ON QUAKER
TESTIMONIES
Session 1: Sunday, February 22, 12-1pm:
Stewardship (pp. 15-16)
Session 2: Sunday, March 22, 12-1pm: Equality
(pp. 7-8)
Snacks and childcare provided. Handouts
circulated.
Preparation for Testimonies Discussions
9 The Quaker Testimonies express the
commitment to put Quaker beliefs into practice.
Each Quaker searches for how they can best be
expressed in his or her own life.
This spring we again invite friends to join in
discussing two additional Quaker Testimonies:
First, Stewardship and, second, Equality. We
will draw on an American Friends Service
Committee online pamphlet compiled to generate
discussion among friends. Each testimony is
illustrated with several quotations and queries–in
two short pages. We will circulate hard copies,
and the whole booklet is available online
at: http://afsc.org/resource/introduction-quakertestimonies-study-advice.
To print the booklet, Click on “Friends
Testimonies Booklet” at bottom left.
Then click on “AFSC-Quaker-Testimonies.
PDF” at bottom right.
FRIDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES: WORLD
WAR I ANTI-WAR FILMS
Chuck Cowger, Presenter and Discussion Leader
Urbana-Champaign Meeting House, at 6:30 p.m.
Four Sessions.
Please join us to watch and discuss selected
WWI anti-war films made after WWII.
Feb. 13 – Richard Attenborough’s Oh What a
Lovely War. (1969) 144 min.
A stage version of this novel was sold out at
Krannert Center in the Fall and will be on again
in February, starting the week after this viewing.
March 13 – Dalton Trumbo’s Johnny Got His
Gun. (1971) 111 min.
April 10 - Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of
Glory. (1957) 88 min.
May 15 - Philippe De Broca’s King of
Hearts. (1966) 103 min.
WWI films made between the two wars
tentatively scheduled for a later series.
Youth RE
Brenda Koenig is in the process of scheduling
the teens for a field trip to the Fab Lab.
Update: Trip is scheduled for March 15, with
Young Friends to gather at the Meeting House at
10:30 a.m. for carpool to Fab Lab.
Gretchen is planning an RE fundraising event for
our Ugandan student. Friends approve a brunch
that will serve in place of the March potluck,
March 1, at noon.
Meeting closed with silence.
Minutes from the Monthly
Meeting for Business: March
U-C Friends Meeting Minutes, 15th day of Third
Month, Business Meeting for Worship
Present: Ann Lowry – Clerk, Sandy Bales –
Recording Clerk, Dave Lewis, Chuck Cowger,
Dorothy Day, Don Chenoweth, Charlotte Green,
Anya Hamrick-Nevinglovskaya, Tracy
Satterthwaite, Chris Jocius, Gretchen Hoenes
and Chris Menard. Corrections to Second Month
Minutes: Add Chris Jocius and Chris Menard as
present.
Announcements and Appreciation:
The Blue River Quarterly Meeting of Illinois
Yearly Meeting is April 10 to 12. This year’s
theme is: Fostering Community Across the
Generations. Typically our Meeting is
responsible for Spring BRQ programs.
Minute of Appreciation: Friends greatly
appreciate that Mariellen Gilpin took the
initiative to contact IYM Young Friends.
Together they are coordinating the program for
BRQ Spring 2015.
Minute of Appreciation: Thank you to Gretchen
Hoenes and to each and every one who cooked,
cleaned, ate, donated, organized and participated
in the March 8th Sunday Pancake Brunch. It was
a nice turnout and lots of fun for all ages. The
fundraiser was for our Ugandan student, who
now attends high school in Uganda. We
surpassed our $300 goal.
Minute of appreciation: To Mariellen, for
synthesizing reports from M & O members to
write our State of Society Report.
Advancement: No Report
10 Building & Grounds/Building Use:
- Sandy Bales and Chris Menard have completed
the transition of duties for this committee
convenor. Chris now has all of the paperwork for
Building Use. Also, he has Meeting House keys
and the list of people who have keys. In addition,
he keeps the on-line calendar of Building Use.
- Sandy & Gretchen will remain on this
committee to support and advise Chris.
- Chris Menard and Phil Fiscella continue to seek
an installer of metal fascia covers, without which
gutters cannot be installed.
- Sandy Bales has called Lee Stoops about
additional trim painting and awaits his response.
- Dorothy Day submitted a proposal for Quakers
to give a presentation to the Parliament of World
Religion in October (Salt Lake City). In June she
needs to organize at Intermountain Yearly
Meeting (New Mexico) to develop a presentation
for the October Parliament. Dorothy’s expenses
include a registration fee, as well as room and
board at the yearly meeting.
- Friends approve earmarking $100 to
support Dorothy. Also, Friends approve the
Treasurer sending an appeal via e-mail
inviting interested individuals to send
contributions to the Treasurer earmarked for
this purpose.
Library: Chuck Cowger does not have time to
build library shelves. The committee is
investigating alternatives.
Ministry and Oversight:
Finance and Treasurer:
- All of the fundraising letters have been mailed.
Please note that replies are requested by April 1.
- Because of the excessive phone line expenses
(i.e., $200 paid to AT&T per month), Gretchen
has been researching options with the alarm
company. She has learned that we can switch to
another system that would not depend on
sending a signal through the old phone
lines. The new system would cost approximately
$800 to install, and then Meeting would pay a
service fee of $65/month, as opposed to the
current alarm company fee of
$29/month. Gretchen and Chris Menard
recommend upgrading the alarm system so that it
does not need a traditional copper phone line to
send a signal, instead switching to a radio
signal. They also recommend dropping one of
the two copper phone lines once the new system
is installed. They will research how to replace
the one remaining copper phone line with
internet phone or cell phone. One remaining
phone line will continue to be needed, so that the
alarm company can call the Meeting House in
the event that the alarm is triggered. Friends
approve the immediate change to radio
system and agree to reduce the phones by one,
with the intention of more research on the
remaining phone line to further reduce phone
costs.
State of Society Report, Spring 2015
The spiritual health of a Quaker meeting is
always a work in progress. This is especially true
in a Meeting in a college town, with older
Friends dying and younger Friends graduating or
moving to follow the job market. We think we
are learning a few things currently about how to
keep a meeting vital. This report seems to fall
naturally into naming the problems we’re
recognizing and the ways we are responding.
One of the ways we are celebrating our tenth
anniversary in our new meetinghouse is by
making concerted efforts to deal with the hearing
issues many Friends experience. The bare walls
and concrete floor and the expanse of windows
make our worship space beautifully Quakerly,
but also make for lots of echoing. Ministry and
Oversight committee has been researching
possible solutions, ranging from wall coverings
and cork flooring, to various electronic ways of
amplifying sound. They have set up different
sound systems on a trial basis and specially
invited Friends with hearing issues to come to
worship and report what works for them. We
have been impressed with the increase in
attendance during these trials. We notice that
Friends who cannot hear the ministry feel less
incentive to come to worship, and we also
appreciate how much our worship and fellowship
is enhanced by the presence of our dear hearing11 impaired Friends.
Ministry and Oversight moved the chairs
from the perimeter of the worship room into
smaller concentric circles in the center. They
also phoned Friends to alert them, not only that
the room would look different, but to encourage
us to model sitting in the inmost circle. We
notice that it is not only easier for us to hear
spoken ministry, but also Friends are more likely
to speak in worship, and more likely to stand
when they speak. We wonder if the greater
intimacy possible in the smaller circle makes
speaking in worship, and standing to speak, less
intimidating.
Along with these changes in our worship
room, Ministry and Oversight is also
encouraging Friends to wear their nametags,
including replacing old and tattered nametags,
and also walking over to Friends already in
worship and smilingly handing them their
nametags. This, plus the smaller worship circle,
does much to increase our sense of community.
A small sign of that growing community may be
that it now seems more likely after worship that
Friends will share joys and sorrows and
volunteer thoughts that came up for them during
the silence. Another aspect of growing
community among us is that not only our Clerk,
but also members of Ministry and Oversight,
take turns closing worship and making
introductions and announcements. Members of
Ministry and Oversight who happen to be
present in worship are invited to stand, and
Friends are encouraged to share their concerns
with Ministry and Oversight members after
worship. Just being reminded regularly about
who is on Ministry and Oversight and what they
are there for helps to make Ministry and
Oversight feel more accessible to the rest of us.
Other problems the Meeting faces
include three committees which currently aren’t
meeting regularly: Advancement, Youth
Religious Education, and Library committees. If
there is no children’s program and curriculum,
parents and grandparents feel discouraged from
bringing children—and themselves—to Meeting.
We are the poorer on both scores. Again
Ministry and Oversight members have been
proactive. They have organized a convivial meal
and discussion. Now on three Sundays of the
month, we have a paid childcare worker, at least,
and in March our young teen Friends went on an
outing together to the Fab Lab—a community
DIY electronics/computer lab on campus. Adult
Religious Education committee has sponsored a
very well-attended series of discussions and has
begun sponsoring a Friday Night at the Movies
series, based on anti-war movies about World
War I, which were filmed after World War II.
Anyone who has attended marathon
Quaker business meetings will know how hard it
is to get excited about attending still another one,
yet our method of decision making has the
potential to grow the spiritual life of the meeting.
When is it that a business meeting really needs to
be a marathon? We are happy to report that our
business meetings of late have benefited from
advance consultations between our Clerk and
Recording Clerk, who prepare the agenda
beforehand as much as possible and also
disseminate the minutes as soon as possible
afterward.
A bright spot in our Meeting’s spiritual
life continues to be our very active Peace and
Service committee. We continue to make
sandwiches for the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen.
We also have been part of the (successful!)
national Quaker effort to persuade PNC Bank to
stop supporting mountaintop removal through
loans to coal companies, whose mining practices
have already destroyed more than 2000 miles of
rivers. Our Young Friends planned and carried
out a pancake brunch and raised $331 for our
student in Uganda’s continued education. As part
of the brunch, for which Friends turned out in
amazing numbers, we all signed a card to our
student. Friends are actively involved in local
efforts to encourage the Champaign County
Board not to militarize the Sheriff’s Department
through accepting cast-off Department of
Defense equipment, and to discourage a multimillion dollar addition to the county jail (instead
of increasing services to keep the mentally ill in
the community, rather than warehousing them in
the jail). Friends continue to be involved in the
Education Justice Project at the Danville
Correctional Center through the University of
Illinois and support volunteer Friends.
12 We celebrate that Karen Linder has become a
member of our Meeting, and that the Yearly
Meeting teens helped create our Faith in Place
butterfly garden. Sylvia Haas has returned from a
gap year in Germany; she is studying at the U of
I and providing childcare for our Meeting. Casey
Kashnig has finished an education degree. He is
teaching at a local school and joins us for
worship. We are delighted that Jason Ebaugh has
returned from spending two years helping his
older brother (who has MS) find a better living
situation. And last but not least, we look forward
to two weddings this summer under our care, one
for Anya Hamrick-Nevinglovskaya and Chris
Zabrocki, and the other for Jean Marie MarronBeebe and Ed Hertenstein.
We have two problems for which we still
have not discerned a way forward. At least half
of a typical week’s attenders arrive late for
worship. We would welcome Friends in other
meetings sharing their successful solutions to
Friends arriving late. Also, our financial
contributions are lagging, although the
contributions from other groups using the
Meeting House have so far covered the gap. We
can hope that growing our sense of community,
meeting the needs of our hearing-impaired
Friends, and increasing the number of Friends
moved to speak in worship may soon impact our
finances for the better. Perhaps the letter
requesting donations recently sent to Friends by
the Finance Committee will help in that regard.
Minutes of Ministry and Oversight
Committee Meeting 3/11/15
Hugh Bridgeford, Sten Johansen, Ann Lowry,
Tracy Satterthwaite and Sandy Bales were
present.
Query: In the past the lives of Quakers centered
around their meetings. How can you, in these
changing times, contribute to preserving a
strong sense of community?
Minute 1: Jean Marie Marron-Beebe Clearness
Committees:
- Thursday, March 5, Mariellen Gilpin, Sten
Johansen and Tracy Satterthwaite, the committee
for clearness for marriage, met with Jean Marie
and her fiancé, Edward Hertenstein, and
approved their marriage. The wedding is planned
for August 2015 at the Meeting House.
- Jean Marie’s committee for clearness for
membership, Charlotte Green, Sharon Haworth,
Brian Vura-Weis, and Sandy Bales, is scheduled
to meet with her on March 18.
Minute 2: Report from Advertising Study Group:
The study group recommends that Friends reach
out to the Champaign area community via WILL
radio. This was approved at the January business
meeting. Today M & O recommends buying
announcements on “Morning Edition” and “All
Things Considered.” Sten will call WILL to
arrange announcements for the first three weeks
in April, a total of 13 spots. The goal is to attract
members and to let people know Friends are
here, at 1904 E. Main Street.
Friends approve the expenditure of about
$400 for WILL underwriting announcements.
Minute 3: Assisted Hearing Progress:
- There was a lengthy discussion about how to
move forward on improving the acoustics in the
Meeting Room. The question is: Are we going to
address the acoustics in the room first or the
electronics? M & O will ask the March Meeting
for Business to approve the installation of the
electronic system for hearing aid users that Dyke
Corson demonstrated on Friday February 13 in
our Meeting Room.
- The main system costs $1,350 not including a
sound system with speakers. Including
microphones, it would cost less than $2,000.
Dyke Corson can install the external loop system
(copper wiring around the Meeting Room’s
periphery) and does not think it would be very
expensive.
- Friends approve the installation of the loop
system, the soundboard, etc. Tracy is
authorized to contact Dyke Corson to begin
installation as soon as possible. Tracy will also
contact the other contractors that helped set up
the loop system to let them know that we do not
need their services. Friends feel that getting the
loop system is an important first step.
13 At the same time Friends, wish to make clear
that we are committed to looking into further
refinements.
- Next month M & O plans to make a specific
proposal about floors (including carpet and cork)
and walls. This week Tracy asked Mr. Corson to
give an estimate on installation of the loop
system and electronics to support it (see above
estimate). Tracy will also ask him to consult
Auralex, an Indianapolis company specializing
in acoustic treatments, about placement of
acoustic panels.
Minute 4: Contacting Away Members:
Friends miss Simon, Rebecca, and Aurora
Pearish. We hope they are well after a harsh
winter in upper New York State. Tracy emailed
them and reports that Aurora is nine months old
and a joy to her parents. The family will be
moving because Simon has accepted a position
as an assistant professor in Vermont.
Minute 5: Volunteers to close worship: March 15
- Ann; March 22 - Sandy; April 5 – Tracy.
Nominating:
The committee met as a group during the
pancake breakfast on March 8. It continues its
work, the goal being to have committees and
officers chosen by the April 19th business
meeting. They met again today; the work is
progressing very well.
Peace and Service: Report from Peace and
Service Committee meeting on 3-11-15.
1. Update on the PNC Bank Demonstration:
About 28 people participated at the
demonstration on February 14th. Bobbi Trist
and one other person closed their accounts at
PNC and explained their reasons. On March 2nd
PNC announced that it is pulling back from this
activity. According to the New York Times,
“Under its new policy, PNC will not extend
credit to individual mountaintop removal
projects or to coal producers with 25 percent or
more of their production coming from such
mining.”
(http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/10/business/d
ealbook/pnc-joins-banks-not-financingmountaintop-coal-removal.html?_r=0 ).
Cindy Shepherd from Faith in Place asked us to
put up a display about the PNC action at the
Earth Care Expo at the Anita Purves Nature
Center on April 18th. We discussed the lack of
newspaper publicity for the action in February
and the possibility of a press release about it
related to the display at the Expo. Bobbi will
check with Cindy Shepherd about this.
2. Benefit for Emergency Fund: The committee
will sponsor an evening with a Stone Soup
Potluck (with bread and dessert as well),
followed by an Improv performance led by
Brenda Koenig and a talent show that Bobbi will
MC on April 25th, about 5:30-8:00 pm, at the
Meeting House. More details to follow.
3. Energy Audit: Bobbi is making progress on
arranging this.
4. Coalition for Police Demilitarization: Hugh
Bridgeford attended a recent meeting. The
statement approved by our Meeting and 21 other
organizations was read at the Champaign County
Board meeting on February 19th. Their next
meeting is March 28th. They are planning a
public forum on April 9th and have invited the
county sheriff and 3 local police chiefs (Urbana,
Champaign, and UIUC).
5. Our Facebook page: Brenda Koenig is the
administrator of our page, “Quaker Meeting of
Urbana-Champaign.” She would like someone
from P&S to be an additional administrator to
facilitate posting announcements from the
committee, the Meeting, and IYM. Lisa Schict
expressed interest and will contact Brenda.
6. Sentence Modification Program (ACTION
ITEM): A new bill has been introduced in this
session of the General Assembly, modified from
the former Elderly Prisoner bill, in order to make
it more likely to pass. We decided to ask
Meeting to approve a letter of support for the bill
to be sent to members of the General Assembly’s
Judiciary-Criminal Committee, and to encourage
members and attenders to send similar letters to
their representatives (to send now if their
representatives are on the committee, or later
14 when it reaches the Assembly floor). The letter
is at the end of this report.
Friends approve the letter and sending it to
members of the Judiciary-Criminal
committee. Charlotte Green will do this.
7. Account for “Sandwiches for Homeless”:
There is $560 in the account now, and additional
donations are made every month when the
sandwiches are made. Treasurer Gretchen
Hoenes suggested that we might want to donate
part of that to a charitable organization. We
decided to donate $360 to Daily Bread.
8. Donations from P&S budget: We have
$274.45 remaining in this year’s budget. The
fiscal year ends on May 31. We decided to bring
information on potential groups to receive
donations to the next P&S meeting in April.
9. Unaccompanied Minors Working Group of
Immigration Forum: DottieVura-Weis brought a
verbal report from Brian, who has been
participating on behalf of the Meeting. There are
at least 9 unaccompanied minors in the
Champaign-Urbana area, including one who may
need a new living arrangement from which he
can easily get to Urbana High School and a job
in downtown Urbana, and others whose
educational needs aren’t being met
adequately. Also, funds are needed to help
subsidize legal representation and transportation
fees to go to Chicago for hearings. The group is
making plans for a fundraising event in April,
which may include showing a film about the
dangers of the journey from their home countries
and across the border. P&S decided to consider
this group, along with others, in April for a
donation from our fund.
Urbana-Champaign Friends Meeting
1904 East Main Street
Urbana, IL 61802
16 March 2015
(address to - Rep. ____________ , member of
the Criminal Justice Committee of the General
Assembly, Springfield IL)
Dear Representative __________:
I am writing you on behalf of the UrbanaChampaign Friends Meeting (Quakers) to
encourage support of HB1310, which calls for
the creation of a sentencing modification
program similar to the federal compassionate
release program. Under the measure, offenders at
least 55 years old, who have served at least 25
consecutive years in a Department of Corrections
facility, would be eligible to petition the Prisoner
Review Board to participate in the program and
be considered for release from prison.
In addition, prisoners who are terminally
ill and expected to live less than 9 months, would
be eligible for Medical Parole. This would apply
to any terminal individual in a DOC facility,
even if they have not served their minimum
sentence.
This bill will move the state in the
direction of recognizing that prisoners are
capable of rehabilitation. Furthermore, research
shows that individuals released from prison after
age 50 are unlikely to commit further crimes.
As Quakers we have a long history of
advocating for the humane treatment of prisoners
and for their rehabilitation. We feel that this bill
would be an important step in that direction.
Sincerely,
Ann Lowry, Clerk
Urbana-Champaign Friends Meeting
Religious Education:
Adult Religious Education Committee Meeting
On Wednesday, January 21, 2015, at 7pm, at
Neely’s. Present: Ann Donovan, Mariellen
Gilpin, Sten Johansen, Carol Neely (Convener).
We discussed our sessions on the Integrity and
Peace Testimonies in Fall 2014 and decided,
since they were lively and well attended, to
continue the discussions of additional
Testimonies in Spring 2015, following the
Quaker Q&A we are sponsoring on January 25.
We decided to discuss Simplicity on Sunday,
February 22, and Equality on Sunday, March
22. (Subsequently, after it turned out that the
entire Quaker Q&A in January was spent
discussing the topic of Simplicity, we changed
the topic for February’s discussion to
Stewardship.)
15 We discussed and approved Chuck Cowger’s
proposal to show World War I Anti-War film
made after World War II. We decided, in
consultation with Chuck, to show them at the
Meeting House on Friday nights, at 6:30, and to
invite family and friends and others in the
community who wish to attend. Films to be
shown are: Fri., Feb 13: Oh What A Lovely War,
1969; Fri., March 13: Johnny Got His Gun,
1971; Fri., April 10: Paths of Glory, 1957; Fri.,
May 15: King of Hearts, 1966.
In all, Adult RE decided to sponsor three
discussion sessions and four films and
discussions in Spring 2015.
We also decided to ask at the March Equality
discussion if there was desire for another
session - on the Testimony on Community-on
the fourth Sunday in April. We will organize it
if there is demand.
Youth Religious Education:
This morning Brenda Koenig and Young
Friends went to the Fab Lab, a U of I applied
digital laboratory with a 3D printer.
Meeting ended with silence.
God Is My Plumber
On Sunday morning, very early, it was below
zero outside the bathroom window. I was getting
ready to go to worship, starting with a good hot
shower. I was still pretty groggy, but I became
aware that something about the sound of the
water splashing in the tub wasn't just right. I
looked down -- I was standing in three or four
inches of water. Tub drain was stopped up. I did
what I knew to do -- I checked for hair in the
drain, and I jiggled the flapper that controls the
plug. The drain remained plugged. In the
interests of marital bliss, I refrained from waking
up my husband. I finished my shower and
continued to get ready for my long day at the
meetinghouse.
I told my husband when he got up,
shortly before I left for meeting. When I returned
to the house a little before suppertime, I learned
he'd spent the day alternately researching bathtub
drains online, and trying various things to free
the drain. No success. First thing on Monday
morning, he would call the plumber. At bedtime,
I peeked in the tub. It was still full of water, but
after all of my husband's various efforts, the
water was now a whole lot dirtier.
I woke up about four on Monday
morning, and lay there relaxing and saying my
prayers. Shortly I realized God wanted to do the
praying. I invited God to pray through me,
commenting that I didn't know who or what was
being prayed about, but I was thankful for the
opportunity to be the vessel of God’s prayer.
There was an unusually strong Flow of prayerenergy. Suddenly I heard the bathtub draining. I
trotted into the bathroom. Yes, the tub was now
empty, except of course for the very dirty ring
left behind when the water drained out. I said to
God, "I never realized You healed tub drains!"
I was ready to leave for the gym when
my husband appeared in the kitchen. I reported
that the tub was no longer full of
water. Astonished, but gratified, he hurried to
the bathroom and turned on the tub faucets full
force. Yes, the water did drain out perfectly well.
He hurried to the utility room to check if there
were a pool of standing water beside the tub
outlet. No, the crawl space was entirely dry. He
grinned from ear to ear, but he was also puzzled.
There was no way the drain might have thawed
itself free on that frigid morning. Had something
he'd tried the day before finally worked, and if
so, what?
I felt duty bound to tell him everything I
knew. I ended by saying, "I'm making no claims,
but I am reporting the sequence of events!" Then
I left for the gym. I reflected as I walked
downtown, whether I knew of any precedent for
the idea that God included drain clearing in His
miracles. There was the parting of the Red
Sea...and before that the Big Bang...so it seemed
clear that clearing a tub drain is probably not a
major undertaking for the Lord of the Universe.
- Mariellen Gilpin
16 Joys and Sorrows
Dear Friends, thank you to all who cooked, cleaned, ate, donated, organized and socialized at Sunday's Pancake
Brunch (March 8, 2015). It was a nice turn out and I had a lot of fun. We collected $331, which covers the annual
tuition for our student in Uganda, Wanasolo Yusef. Thank you for joining in.
-Gretchen
Young Friends at U of I's Fab Lab. March 15th, 2015
17