Quaker Earthcare Witness (QEW) Spring Meeting,
Publications Committee Minutes
April 2008
THE PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE met in two sessions on 2008 April 25 at the Cenacle in Chicago. Members present for at least part of the time were Roy Taylor, Nancy Halliday, Ken Lawrence, Louis Cox, Judy Lumb, Brad Hornick, and Roy Treadway; Hollister Knowlton, Dorothy Zug, and David Millar joined our discussions. Tracey McCowen and Alan Baker were not able to be with us. Roy Treadway agreed to take minutes.
We supported putting on the Quaker Earthcare Witness website the pamphlet Quakers and The New Story: Essays on Science and Spirituality by Philip Clayton and Mary Coelho (2007). Some desirable format changes could be made to reduce the number of pages and make it available on standard letter-size paper as a .pdf. Others might help with artwork; Roy Taylor will follow up. Since we are simply making it available on our website with proper credit, there is no editing of the text by the Publications Committee or Steering Committee. Louis will check with Mary to see if she approves the layout changes and see what contact information she wants included. Publication committee members will be able to review the revised format. Steering Committee (or Continuing Counsel) can review the revised format and decide whether to include the pamphlet on the Quaker Earthcare Witness website with responses by May 31.
We reviewed existing publications, particularly the pamphlets and brochures. Many are still in stock, and others are printed on demand.
The pamphlet, Walking Gently on the Earth—an Earthcare Checklist, 3rd edition, Jack Phillips, 1992, rev. 2000, 18 pages needs to be revised and reissued. It has easy-to-follow queries about lifestyle and consumption patterns for individuals and groups who are becoming more sensitive to how their daily lives affect the earth. New themes, such as climate change, need to be addressed. Louis will co-ordinate the revision and will contact Jack Phillips for an update and new foreword. Publications Committee members should make suggestions by May 15. We should have a revised pamphlet, which members of the Publication Committee can review for accuracy, in electronic format by May 31. Publications Committee should suggest changes because of inaccuracies by June 15.
We approved the writing of a flyer on Friends, Money, and the Earth for the fall appeal letter. Steve Walsh has agreed to draft and Louis will coordinate the writing of the flyer. It needs to cover why money is needed and used. It might involve a Quaker view of the money economy by which a new money system might help us avoid chaos; it might also connect how we are living on a surplus of oil, which is now coming to an end. By June 30, Louis and Steve will have a draft for Publications Committee review, which is due on July 31; and a revised version will be ready to send to the Steering Committee for review by August 31. Steering Committee responses are due by September 15. A final version will be made available for the Steering Committee by September 30. Final approval (or not) will be made by Steering Committee at the Annual Meetings in October, with no editing.
Most of the publications of Quaker Earthcare Witness are available in electronic format. One problem with tri-folds (and quad-folds) when printing .pdf versions from the website is that the margins used for publication are often too narrow for many printers. While small runs can be ordered and printed for Meetings by Louis, these brochures might also be in .html and regular letter-size .pdf formats on the website.
Brad Hornick, from Vancouver, B.C., has had considerable experience in developing websites for non-profit organizations. He is willing to help us with our website, with the amount of time spent and compensation to be worked out. He showed us examples of websites he has worked on and a schematic page of a possible website. He has developed an extensive questionnaire for organization users of a website to indicate what they want on a website, how they use it, and what features they desire. This might guide us whether we want an extensive revision of our website or smaller changes in organization and function. Do we want to allow committee clerks and officers to modify materials on the website and not rely on the webmaster? Do we want forms that can be filled out and returned, contributions to be made electronically, or emailing and faxing from the website? How complicated do we want the website to be? Should a search function be put on the website?
We agreed to send the questionnaire to Steering Committee members. Roy Taylor will coordinate this with Brad and will consider possible revisions to the questionnaire to make it relevant to Quaker Earthcare Witness. Roy will send this out by May 15. Responses will be optional but encouraged from all, and questions may be skipped. The responses will be due on May 31. Roy will prepare a coordinated draft of the responses and send it to the Publications Committee by June 15. Publications Committee will respond by June 30. As a result of this report, a proposal for work to be done on the website and a budget will be prepared by August 31, before the October Annual Meeting .
We discussed a procedure for having minutes of each committee, working group, and project put on the website in a timely fashion after each meeting or conference call. This will help keep the website up to date and make Quaker Earthcare Witness look like an active organization.
- Annual reports in the Fall should be sent to the Publications Coordinator (as well as the Clerk for publication with the Advance Documents) to be put on the website prior to the Annual Meeting.
- Minutes of each meeting and conference call should be sent to the Publications Coordinator (as well as the Clerk) to be put on the website within three weeks.
Hollister will announce this policy to the Steering Committee.
Dorothy Zug, who led our workshops on fund-raising, asked us how can BeFriending Creation get more people involved in Quaker Earthcare Witness? She suggested that BeFriending Creation list officers to identify our leaders; also an annual report, including financial information and a list of donors, should be included in BeFriending Creation. We discussed whether BeFriending Creation was an organizational report or a journal and whether it should be published bi-monthly or quarterly. To reach more people, particularly youth, should we be using the internet more, including face book and blogs, in addition to our printed materials?
We reviewed our expenses as of the 2008 March financial report. Some expenses seem to be low, perhaps because Louis has been walking or because the expenses have been posted incorrectly. As we consider next fiscal year’s budget, we need to pay a responsible professional salary for professional services on the website work and publications. We will need to develop a suitable, realistic budget by conference call well before the Annual Meeting.
Our first conference call will be the last week of June. Roy Taylor will set an exact time.
After the meeting, we also agreed to publish (if funds can be obtained) and put on the Quaker Earthcare Witness website a slightly revised version of the pamphlet, Walking in the Light: John Woolman’s Witness for Living in Right Relationship with All Creation, by Louis and Ruah. This was used as a short study guide for their 2007–2008 Peace for Earth Walk. Publication Committee members should obtain a copy of the pamphlet and make suggestions for revision to Louis and Roy Taylor by May 15. Suitable changes will be made by Louis and Roy by May 31.
We have much to do for the work and communication of Quaker Earthcare Witness.
—Roy C. Treadway, Recording Clerk Pro-Tem |
