Ben Lomond Quaker Center Association

QUAKER CENTER’S MISSION STATEMENT

Quaker Center seeks to nurture the spiritual growth and faithfulness of Friends and others, while strengthening Quakerism and its witness in the world.  We offer programs and personal retreats exemplifying Friends’ testimonies of community, integrity, simplicity, peace, and equality. We strive to live in right order with all creation, especially with the redwood forest that sustains us here in the Santa Cruz mountains.

STATE OF THE ASSOCIATION REPORT

Each year the board presents a report on the State of the Association to College Park Quarterly Meeting. Following is our most recent report:

Ben Lomond Quaker Center Association
2010 State of the Association Report to College Park Quarterly Meeting
May 2011

As we concluded our first decade of the 21st century in 2010, Quaker Center celebrated some significant accomplishments and began a far-reaching process of transition and renewal.  We conducted a successful search for new directors to replace Jacob and Gretta Stone, who retired in March 2011, and laid the groundwork for creating a vision with which to move forward into the next decade.  We also hosted hundreds of groups and individuals from our community and beyond in retreats ranging from two to 25 days, and presented a full schedule of stimulating programs.   We also spent a lot of our time dealing with the challenges of our physical environment.

Campus and Facilities:  We continued to improve the office and intern apartment with the addition of a new public rest room next to the office, giving the intern a private bathroom and providing a much appreciated convenience for guests.  We also accomplished a massive weeding of paper records, some of which went back to the 1960′s.

Quaker Center’s location presents unique challenges due to its terrain, its weather, and its vulnerable connections to the power grid.  We endured a five day power outage in January that not only disrupted the annual board retreat but also cost us anticipated income from three rental groups scheduled to use our facilities.  The beauty and isolation of our forest environment comes at a cost!

Although we have made great progress in reducing the danger of a forest fire at Quaker Center in recent years, a fire erupted in the home of Maintenance Manager David Forbes on Labor Day weekend and caused a significant amount of smoke damage.  The smoke damage remediation process severely impacted David’s life for several months and cost us much staff time and expense.

Other physical plant accomplishments include installation of a larger and better functioning grease trap at the Orchard Lodge, installation of lighting on the steps on the orchard hill, creation of a comprehensive maintenance manual, building of safety barriers in several parking areas, and a large scale cleanup of the maintenance workshop.  Volunteer John DeValcourt was immensely helpful with this last project, serving as “clerk of the works” and doing some of the hands on work himself.

The Watershed project was funded by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, but staff turnovers at NRCS and the impact of the recession on state agencies has meant delays in implementing the project.  Recently, we have engaged with the Santa Cruz County Resource Conservation District in a collaborative effort that may significantly fund our efforts to rebuild the culvert crossing on Hubbard Gulch Road; this  will result in some changes to how we manage the overall Watershed project as we move forward.  Board members Chris Adair and Steve Harris have done a great deal of background and liaison work on this exciting initiative.

Quaker Center operates its own water treatment and distribution system, and we must meet steadily increasing reporting and testing requirements.  We are grateful that Dave Trowbridge, a board member who is also a certified water quality technician, has been doing the daily testing once a week as well as providing relief coverage so that David Forbes can take an occasional vacation.

Last year with help from Meg Given and Ray Rischpater we transitioned the Web site to WordPress, and renovation of the site continues as the Runyans add more photographs and take fuller advantage of the capabilities WordPress provides; this work should be visible to all in June.

Programs:  We offered 13 programs, including 4 summer camps, on a variety of topics in 2010; two were cancelled because of a lack of registration.  A major highlight was the Rightly Ordered Financial Management for Friends Meetings and Organizations weekend in March.  The program was jointly sponsored with Western Friend.  It proved to be so successful and valuable that it has been replicated twice with the same presenters, once by Northwest Yearly meeting and once at Woolman Hill Conference Center is Massachusetts.  Another program highlight was Chloe Schwenke’s retreat on Gender issues in society and faith-based communities in September.  Participants were led to create an epistle that was subsequently published in Western Friend, Friends Journal, and Quaker Life.  Other programs offered new ways of looking at Jesus, an introduction to contemplative photography, clerking skills, a silent retreat, and a joyous celebration of musical community in many forms.  Activities and meals at the music program were planned by the participants, allowing us to set very minimal fees.

Once again the 2010 youth camps were a great experience for dozens of young people as well as the folks who spent the summer with them.  We are very grateful to the enthusiastic young staff and dedicated volunteers of all ages who make the camps possible every year.

Another significant volunteer contribution in 2010 was the reorganization of the Quaker Center library by Deborah Ross of Santa Cruz Meeting.  The materials are much more accessible, and rental and program guests have expressed their appreciation for this resource.  Volunteers also contributed time and labor removing non-native plants and fire hazards near the buildings.

Rentals and retreats:  We were pleased to welcome some new “regulars” among the groups holding their retreats and events at Quaker Center.  We continued to offer substantial subsidies to community groups working on peace and nonviolence, social justice, personal growth, building community, and other concerns close to Friends’ hearts.  These groups are among the last to recover from the recession, and their need for a helping hand remains critical.

Personal retreats nurtured many individuals and families, most of which continue to be non-Friends. The former Art Center, now known as the Haven, is now the most popular of our three retreat options – and still a bargain!

Staff:  At the beginning of 2010 Jacob and Gretta Stone let the board know that they planned to retire as directors of Quaker Center early in 2011.  A search process was initiated in the spring, and in November we were pleased to announce that Bob and Kathy Runyan had been selected as their successors.  Many thanks to the Search Committee: Tom Farley, Dennis Walker, Robert Levering, Barry Ansell, and Sarah Tyrrell.

Other staff changes included the hiring of Brad McDonald as Maintenance Assistant and Lisa Holland as Housekeeper, and the appointment of Aaron Wheeler as our 2011 Intern.  Our longtime maintenance manager David Forbes marked his fifteenth year of service to Quaker Center in 2010.

Board:  The Ben Lomond Quaker Center Association board membership remained fairly stable during 2010.  Brian Vura-Weis of Palo Alto Meeting continued as presiding clerk, Nancy Curdts of Redwood Forest Meeting retired from the board, and we added new members Pat Howe of Marin Meeting and Kate McClellan of Palo Alto Meeting.  Several vacancies remain on the board, and we invite Friends to consider joining us in helping this unique and precious resource continue and expand our service to western Quakerism.

Our Vision for the Future:  As the Stones began making plans to retire from Quaker Center last year they suggested to the board that the months following a change in directors would be an ideal time for a visioning session; with the board’s encouragement they included it in the 2011 program schedule.  We especially invite everyone who cares about Quaker Center and is excited by its possibilities to spend a weekend here June 3-5 “Creating the Future of Ben Lomond Quaker Center.”  We’ll be reflecting on our past and our future, working to articulate a vision for what is next, and to develop a plan to guide decision-making and resource allocation.  We’ll also have time to enjoy Quaker Center at the height of its late springtime beauty.

Respectfully Submitted,

Brian Vura-Weis, Clerk