HOLLY SPRING FRIENDS MEETING
2938 Holly Spring Road
Ramseur, NC  27316

Todd Brown, Pastor                                     Jennifer York, Associate Pastor

June 24, 2015

Dear Friends in NCYM,

We would like to share our thoughts regarding Number 5** on the New Committee report regarding what a restructured or divided yearly meeting might look like.  We appreciate the work of the New Committee in trying to answer this question by sharing the three options that they had. However, we do not believe that either of these three, standing alone, is the answer to our situation. We believe there is a “fourth option.”

We would define this “Option 4” as a complete and total separation including finances. The explanation that was given in Option One regarding forming two different groups has some very good concepts; however, we do not feel that having shared funds of any kind is a good idea. Maybe this could be seen as taking Option One to a higher level.  We are a peace-loving people, and we believe this could and should be a peaceful, amicable separation whereby we “bless and release” each other.

To achieve this goal we believe our superintendent, our clerk, and the “task force" that was created on June 6 should be authorized and empowered to obtain objective legal counsel and work towards a complete separation where each side gets what is fair. Hopefully, an objective attorney could give us some realistic ways to handle the future of Quaker Lake as well as separate other assets. We realize this could be expensive, but given our current situation, we feel this is necessary.

As two separate Associations or Yearly Meetings are formed, we would also like to state that Holly Spring wants to be part of a group of like-minded meetings that not only affirm Faith and Practice but particularly the following beliefs, as these are some of the core issues in this conflict.

a.    We believe in the Deity of Jesus Christ and His virgin birth.  We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose atoning blood was shed on the cross for the forgiveness of sins.  He is the only way to the Father in Heaven.

b.    We believe that the Holy Scriptures, Old and New Testaments, were given under the inspiration of God. We believe in the authority of the Bible as God’s Word.

c.    We believe that marriage is to be only between one man and one woman. The Bible makes it clear that homosexual marriages and /or unions are contrary to God’s will and plan. All Recorded ministers should be authorized to solemnize or perform marriages only between one man and one woman.

d.    We believe there should be a provision for this new association to provide accountability on theological issues. The New Testament speaks many times about the importance of “sound doctrine.”  If a church or meeting strays from teaching Christ-centered and Bible- based sound doctrine, then the association should be able to discipline them, and ultimately remove them from membership if needed. This process should begin with Ministry and Counsel eldering or confronting those Meetings who do not uphold sound doctrine as set forth in Faith and Practice.

The other Association or Yearly Meeting that could be formed would also then be free to function and believe as they feel necessary. We realize that a division of this magnitude will be difficult in many ways; however, we feel this step is necessary to bring us to a place of peace. It is clear that the division within NCYM has been going on for many years and is not getting better, but actually worse. As was stated in Southern Quarter’s letter to the NCYM Executive and Finance Committees dated August 23, 2014, “North Carolina Friends Yearly Meeting is not in unity and that the issues that divide us are beyond the reach of compromise.  As a result, trying to thrive and grow under the same organizational umbrella is apt to prove impossible.  As it now stands, neither side is able to vigorously pursue their respective ministries…The persistent, irreconcilable and growing division in NCYM saps us of our spiritual vitality, our emotional strength, and weakens our ability to do effective ministry on behalf of Jesus Christ. None of us benefit.” 

As with the three options that were presented on June 6, we also do not believe the “Unity Alternative” that was recently presented is the answer to this situation. As your Monthly Meeting considers the options that have been shared so far in preparation for the called Representative Body on August 1, 2015, at Holly Spring, we would ask that you also consider this “fourth option” that we have described as a peaceful but complete separation.

Read and approved, Holly Spring Friends Meeting, Ministry and Counsel, June 22, 2015.
                        _______________________________________________
                        Todd Greene, Clerk
Read and approved, Holly Spring Monthly Meeting of Friends, June 24, 2015.
                        _______________________________________________
                        William J. Allen, Clerk

**NOTE: “Number 5” refers to item #5 on a questionnaire that was used in discussion of options for North Carolina Yearly Meeting-FUM. Here, for clarity, is the text of it: “What might a restructured or even divided yearly meeting look like?”