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General Assembly Update
General Assembly of the Peace and Justice Center June 15, 2019, at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Bangor.
Mary Ellen, chair of the Steering Committee, reminded us of the General Assembly in November 2018, attended by some 50 Center supporters, who expressed a desire for the Center to continue as is, with meeting space and staff, setting as goals a more diverse membership and an increase in funding. Kay reported on the work of the Ad Hoc Committee, which, with the crafting of a Mission statement and new Bylaws, has now completed its work. Christina read the Mission statement, which has been presented to and approved by the Steering Committee.
Financial status. Kay presented a report showing we are ahead of last year in assets, partly because people have stepped up and also because we’ve been understaffed. As more staffing positions are filled, the funding edge will decrease, so we need to remain vigilant in regard to fundraising.
Bylaws, presented by Kay and adopted by consensus, our form of decision-making. Tom White-Hassler (away at the Poor
People’s Campaign meeting in D.C.) and Kay were recognized for their work on the Bylaws.
Steering Committee membership. Mary Ellen Quinn, Kay Carter, Samantha Le, and Jane White-Hassler will serve one-year
terms. Charlotte Holbrook and Peter Phillips will serve two-year terms. Nominations of new steering members were approved. They are the following: Danielle Ravyn Vanhelsing, Andrea Simoneau, Andrew Williams, and Ambureen Rana. Election of officers will continue to be held by Steering Committee according to the By Laws. Goals of the Steering Committee: to continue to increase revenue and membership, actively pursuing strategies so people from exploited communities can be involved with leadership at the Center.
Diversity Inclusion: A handout on Diversity Inclusion was distributed and discussed. This is understood as a living document for P&JC, one which will shift and change as a dynamic process moving forward. Desiree spoke of the intersectional Women’s March held in January and of the equity
training workshop she and David Patrick organized in February. Desiree also led an exercise on recognizing privilege. As part of their monthly meeting, the Steering Committee has begun to pursue a course of self-study in regard to racial equity and white privilege. Other members are encouraged to do the same. Dawn Neptune Adams (P&JC consultant) related her work with the Sunlight Media Collective, which has made a documentary about water rights, “Penobscot Ancestral River: Contested Territory” and is working on “Bounty,” about the 1755 proclamation by Massachusetts Gov. Phipps offering a bounty for Native American scalps. She also reported on the ways the Juniper Ridge Landfill is polluting the Penobscot River, and efforts to stop that.
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