Extracts from the CFHA Chair’s Message to CFHA membership and friends at the CFHA AGM September 14, 2024:
On November 16, 2023 the remaining members of the CFHA executive met via Zoom*. Because Elaine Bishop, interim chair, had stepped down at the 2023 AGM there was no one acting as chair. Eve Schmitz-Hertzberg offered to take on the role until the 2024 AGM. At the 2024 AGM the current Executive volunteered and has been accepted to continue until the 2025 AGM.
As chair I have called executive meetings, set the agenda, and chaired meetings. Bob Barnett has been acting as treasurer, Ginny Walsh as recorder, and Sylvia Powers attending. We have met every four or five weeks since November 2023.
The 2024 CFHA AGM was held in person at Yonge Street meeting house in Newmarket, Ontario. Before lunch a number of us visited the Sharon temple. (The photo above is the abandoned Sharon temple before renovations) It is always fascinating to contemplate what motivated the Yonge Street Quakers to separate under David Willson’s charismatic leadership and to form the Children of Peace 1812-1889. The temple in Sharon is now an historical monument to the Children of Peace who essentially ceased to exist after David Willson died.
The executive has been coming to grips with the workings of CFHA as a registered charity, a not-for-profit corporation, receiving BMO bank signatories and statements, and understanding the membership list. A registered charity must deal with CRA and file an annual tax return. As a not-for-profit corporation CFHA must have Ontario Not-For-Profit Corporations Act (ONCA) compliant bylaws. CFHA has undertaken a relationship with Business Sherpa Group (BSG) to do our accounting and CRA filing. CiviCRM, constituent relationship management software for not-for-profits, manages our membership list. Tax receipts are issued by Canada Helps and by CiviCRM.
We have moved CFHA from a “Cash Accounting” system to a more formal “Accrual Accounting” system, using professional accountants at BSG. This has been a learning curve for all of us on the Executive, but puts us in a better position to make more accurate budgets, to be transparent to auditors, and to take advantage of tax rebates that are available to Not-for-Profit corporations. The first year startup costs have been higher than we expected, but we are in discussion with BSG to change our fee system to a fixed monthly rate. The costs can be appreciated by looking at the financial statements. The executive has felt that Gordon Thompson and the subsequent CFHA executive left us “holding the bag” without clear understanding of what was in the bag. Bob Barnett has been doing most of the work to sort it out and reporting to the executive.
Bob’s message to CFHA regarding the new by-laws: “Find attached a new set of By-Laws for CFHA that are compliant with the requirements of the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (ONCA). The Act went into effect in October 2021, with a three-year grace period for Not-for-Profit Corporations to come into compliance.” We have formally confirmed this new by-law at our 2024 AGM and we have submitted the new bylaws to the Province in October 2024. (The by-laws were sent out to CFHA membership). We thank the Ontario Historical Society for having provided the template we used, for conducting a webinar, and for answering our questions along the way as we tailored the template for CFHA. Thank you, Bob, for your work in this process. Thanks also to the Ontario Historical Society which has enabled to do this without having to hire a lawyer to do the work.
Bob Barnett has attached the financial statements June 1, 2023 to May 31, 2024 and the budget June 1, 2024 to May 31, 2025. He was present to answer questions at the AGM via Zoom from Holland. Please note Bob is looking for someone to assist him with the treasurer’s role.
Allana Mayer is CFHA digital archivist. She manages the website. She has also been organizing CFHA archival material at our space in the Haslam room at Friends House, 60 Lowther Ave, Toronto. The executive is seeking to clarify our contractual relationship with Allana. The executive is very thankful for her continuing care for the website.
The CFHA transcriptions of Quaker minutes that have been done over many years and are posted on the CFHA website, have been done under the supervision of Randy Saylor. Carm Foster was the main transcriber. Sheila Havard was and still is active doing transcriptions. However this project has been essentially laid down due to participants’ age related health limitations. This work has been in cooperation with the Canadian Quaker Library and Archives at Pickering College and York University Ontario Archives microfiche collection. We are very thankful for the dedicated work. It would be wonderful if a volunteer would step forward to continue supervising this interesting work. Shiela Havard is the contact to understand what is involved. Transcriptions allow us to get a glimpse of what Quakers in the past where thinking. Of course what is behind the words that were written as minutes of a meeting is always up to our imaginative understanding. The original documents are handwritten in cursive and are difficult to decipher.
Donna Moore sent a report of Friendly Fridays, a study of George Fox Journal (Nichols Edition) on line. Those that participate find it very inspiring.
The executive is also very thankful for the continuing work of Sydney Harker to post submissions on the CFHA blog. At this time this is the only publication that CFHA is undertaking. Please sign up to receive notifications for blog postings and read them. Comments are welcome.
In May 2023 Canadian Yearly Meeting clerks Ruth Pincoe and Marilyn Manzer were approached by Elaine Bishop as interim chair of CFHA along with Bob Barnett. This meeting was an attempt to see if a change in the relationship of the Canadian Quaker Library and Archives (CQLA) and CFHA should be brought about. Elaine was envisioning that CFHA be merged with CQLA. CQLA is owned by Canadian Yearly Meeting trustees and managed by a CYM committee. CFHA is an independent organization. The CYM clerks could not see this merger as a possibility. The clerks of CYM recommended that CFHA be laid down. I am still quite disturbed that this was the only suggestion that came out of this meeting. CQLA has a different mandate from CFHA. CQLA is the repository of minutes and documents of Canadian Yearly Meeting, constituent Monthly Meetings, and committees. CFHA is an organization with the mission to do historical research into and write about Canadian Quaker history. The CQLA archives are an important resource for this work. I hope that CQLA and CFHA may continue to have a mutually agreeable relationship.
I am Kathleen Hertzberg’s daughter and would like to try to carry on her legacy with CHFA. As she would quote:
A people without history
Is not redeemed from time,
for history is a pattern
Of timeless moments.
-T.S.Elliot “Little Gidding”
Eve Schmitz-Hertzberg, Chair Canadian Friends Historical Association
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