Minutes of Meeting for Worship for Business
Concord (NH) Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends
12th Month 10, 2006
Concord (NH) Monthly Meeting gathered in a regularly called Meeting for Worship for Business at the Merrimack Valley Day Care Center in Concord, NH. Friends present were, Lois Booth, Don Booth, David Freeman-Woolpert, Dick Gerstenberger, Martha Gerstenberger, Ruth Heath (treasurer), Rich Kleinschmidt (recording clerk), Zane Knoy, Roberta Nichols, Jay Smith, Sara Smith (clerk), Kathy Urie
The meeting was opened by the clerk with a period of worshipful silence.
12.1 Minutes. The minutes from 2006 11th Month were approved as circulated.
12.2 Housing Committee. The charge of the Housing Committee was to investigate alternative meeting spaces, and they have striven to accomplish this over the past several years. Today we heard a report from the Housing Committee. They presented two possible building sites in Canterbury and a possible church building in Concord. A summary document about the advantages and disadvantages of the sites is attached.
Following the presentation, we entered into a worship sharing where those present shared their insights, hopes, and fears as we prayed for divine guidance on how to proceed.
12.3 Committee to investigate funding. Based on our prayerful consideration of the housing choices, the Meeting appointed a small committee to consult friends and families to determine what financial resources we might find to proceed with a meeting house project. We appointed Lois Booth, Martha Gerstenberger, and Sara Smith to the committee.
The meeting ended with a period of worshipful silence, purposing to meet again on the second First Day of First Month or at the call of the clerk.
Respectfully submitted
/s/ Richard Kleinschmidt, Recording Clerk
Accepted as the approved record when signed,
/s/ Sara Smith, Clerk
Three Meeting House Choices
- Existing small church in south end, Concord:
- Nice size of worship space could allow good growth but would be comfortable for 20 people as well
- Close to Exit 12 on 1-93
- Quiet residential neighborhood
- No off-street parking, some people might have to walk further than they do now
- Little visibility due to being on 2-block long side street
- Fairly small back yard would allow some recreation but would be close to windows of the meeting space - noises would carry inside
- Suggested purchase price by current church: $250,000
- No bathroom on the same floor as the worship space
- Good variety of rooms for classes in lower level that offers walk-out to back yard
- Two bathrooms in lower level
- Likely transfer of louder noises from lower level into the worship space above
- Ramp for handicap access to worship space and sloping lawn to lower level rear door.
- Some exterior painting needed but in good shape overall
- Installing bathroom on worship space level would be expensive and take away from the beauty of the worship area
- Stage at one end of worship space for plays, etc.
- Possible use of building for community service projects for helping Concord residents
- Walking distance from some of Concord’s residential areas
- Likely bus service from Havenwood/Heritage Heights
- No rush by current owner to sell and they just want to deal with us
- “Yurt” style worship building with attached rectangular classroom building on either of two parcels of land just across Concord line in Canterbury, with the following features on either site:
- Very attractive circular worship space with many windows and high coned ceiling with vent
- Post and beam construction might be done with free labor by Timber Framers Guild (we would pay for the materials)
- We would pay for the site work, foundations, exterior and interior walls, roofing, electrical, plumbing, heating and finish carpentry
- Estimated cost of all work excluding the work to cut and assemble the framing of both buildings: $200,000 to $300,000
- Location far from current Meeting location but only another ten minutes drive for attenders from south of Concord and less than a mile from the highway
- Not very visible although signage could be arranged on highway near turnoff to this neighborhood
- Possible requirement for sprinkler system that could be expensive
- Well and septic system would need to be designed and then approved by state and local governmental officials
- Flat and sandy soils would be easy to build on and likely to require only a simple septic system
- Good sound separation between worship space and other building
- Two choices of sites in same part of Canterbury for these structures:
- One-acre Site in Canterbury on Booth-donated land:
- Nice trees on fairly flat site
- Would be quite visible to drivers entering or leaving this subdivision street
- Limited space for parking - only 28 maximum
- Located in industrial zone so possible disruption during worship service by future neighbors on two sides
- Would be owned by the Meeting in fee simple
- Traffic on 1-93 quite noticeable when busy
- Several acres on leased land somewhat further into subdivision:
- Site owned by non-profit Appalachian Teen Project led by peace activist known by several Concord Meeting members
- Concord Meeting would require a 99-year lease providing control of the building and the land around it at little or no cost to the Meeting in return for the Teen Project being allowed to use the buildings for free during week days
- More spacious and nature-focused site near hilly portion of very large total property
- Would have more room for 40 + cars near to Meeting House
- Potential problems for future generations with leasehold agreement, especially if Teen Project would stop being the land owner
- Good likelihood of the building being used every week day by the Teen Project to provide indoor workshop and class space to help troubled youth
- Quite distant from any likely neighborhood activities or traffic noise from 1-93
- More space for outdoor play areas not next to worship room
- Some complexities if Meeting wanted to sell the building at market value
