CMM 2018-06-10 Possible Items for Agenda

Here are some possible agenda items for Sixth Month’s Meeting for Worship with attention to Business, which will be on the 10^th of Sixth Month.  Some of the items from Fifth Month may have been carried forward.  Some of the proposed items may need further seasoning. They are in no particular order at the moment.  [See also http://quakerspeak.com/quaker-decision-making-consensus/ [1]]

During worship, please hold in your heart the following from Eden Grace’s paper “An Introduction to Quaker Business Practice” [2].

Quakers profess a theocratic understanding of authority. “The primary authority is that of God, as the God whose will is sought, as Christ who presides, and as the Holy Spirit who inspires and empowers. Thus the task of the meeting is to listen in worship, putting itself under that authority, to discern the right way forward on any piece of business.” ^* All human leadership is subordinated to the authority of Christ, the true shepherd of any gathering of Christians. All participants in the Meeting are equally capable of being used by the Holy Spirit, and those who moderate the Meeting are seen as servants of the gathering discernment process.

* Scott, Janet “Business Meetings”, manuscript submitted for inclusion in the forthcoming Dictionary of the Religious Society of Friends, 1999.

• Minutes of Fifth Month’s Meeting for Worship with attention to Business [3].
• Budget Committee report
  • “How does our Meeting engage its members in the support of the Meeting’s work, its ministry, and the upkeep of its property?” ¹ [4]
• Property Committee report
  • “Does our Meeting serve social and economic justice in its uses of property and money?” ¹ [4]
  • “[Dave Woolpert] talked with AMTP’s creator and former Executive Director Donna San Antonio ... and she has requested there be a commemorative event re: the transfer of the land to honor and acknowledge the role that the Booths played in making this gift possible.  She didn’t think it needed to happen close to the property closing date but we agreed it would be good to have it soon enough to have Lois Booth attend.  Can ... Ruth or Sara ... look into this and come up with some suggested dates?”
• Solar Committee report
  • “We do not own the world, and its riches are not ours to dispose of at will. Show a loving consideration for all creatures, and seek to maintain the beauty and variety of the world. Work to ensure that our increasing power over nature is used responsibly, with reverence for life. Rejoice in the splendour of God’s continuing creation.” ² [5]
• Peace, Social, and Earthcare Concerns Committee report
  • AFSC’s Sanctuary Everywhere [6]
  • FCNL’s #LoveThyNeighbor (No Exceptions) [7]
  • AFSC-NH’s, GSOP’s, and NH Council of Churches’ Immigrant Solidarity Network [8]
• Youth Religious Education Committee report
  • Children and young people need love and stability. Are we doing all we can to uphold and sustain parents and others who carry the responsibility for providing this care? ³ [9]
• Outreach Committee report
  • “Are you patterns, examples; do your lives preach among all sorts of people, and to them?  Do you walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in every one?” - https://neym.org/faith-practice/part-3/queries [10]
• Ministry & Counsel Committee report
  • Query 2. “b) Are we aware of the roles we fill as heirs of the meetings of ministers and elders? What do we do to support each other in the use of our gifts for God’s work? Do we actively seek to identify and nurture these gifts in each other?” https://neym.org/sites/default/files/2015-09-15Minute%20of%20Exercise%20... [11]

Announcements & Events:

NEYM Annual Sessions Registration Information and Instructions [12] August 4–9, 2018 at Castleton University, Castleton, Vermont.

Volunteers to be ready to support Manchester Unitarian Universalist Church as a Level 1 physical sanctuary in the New Hampshire Immigrant Solidarity Network.  There's a sign-up sheet on the easternmost bulletin board.  Here's a list of the support roles needed.

• Day Citizen Companions
• Provide Food
• Provide Transportation
• Offer Entertainment (games or movies)
• Provide Emotional Support
• Provide Language Translation
• Provide Legal Support
• Provide Medical Support
• Raise Funds
• Provide a Gift Card
• Organize other Volunteers
• Laundry
• Other support you could offer

May 14 (Mon)   2:00 p.m.  Poor People’s Campaign: Somebody’s Hurting Our People:  Children, Women, and People with Disabilities in Poverty.  Rally at the State House in Concord, NH.  Civil Disobedience (CD) direct actions begin at 3 p.m.  Everyone participating in CD must be trained.  If there’s a week you’d like to do CD, you must arrive at 12 p.m. for specific orientation on the day’s CD.  Connect at http://PoorPeoplesCampaign.org [13]; http://Twitter.com/NewHampshirePPC [14]; http://Facebook.com/NewHampshirePPC [15]; Text MORAL to 90975.

May 15 (Tue)   8:30 – 10:00 a.m.  Interfaith Prayer Vigil for Immigrant Justice [16] [Joshua 6:1-27 [17]] for those reporting to ICE [18] for deportation that day at the Norris Cotton Federal Building, 275 Chestnut Street in Manchester.  [Also, see resources at the website sponsored by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops https://justiceforimmigrants.org/what-we-are-working-on/immigration/daca-resource-page/]

May 17 (Thu)   6:00 – 7:00 p.m.  Study group using “Friendly Faith & Practice Study Guide” by Joanne & Larry Spears. [19]   Printed booklets for each session are available in the meetinghouse or from MarkBarker [at] ConcordFriendsMeeting [dot] org.  At the end of each session, we will agree the date and time that is most convenient for the next session.  (Usually, meetings will be on the first and third Thursdays of the month.)

May 19 (Sat)   1:00 – 4:30 p.m.  Open House & Tours to promote Solar Group Net Metering at the Quaker Meetinghouse near Exit 17 of route I-93. Group Net Metering is the concept of electric rate payers banding together so that a solar array on one large building supplies the energy for other buildings that do not have good solar orientations.  The Quakers have developed legal and financial tools that can help interested parties become Net Metering Groups.  Churches and nonprofit organizations may be especially interested due to the funding challenges they face.  The Quaker Meeting is offering free consulting services to interested parties.  The event address is 11 Oxbow Pond Road, Canterbury, NH.  For more information contact SolarCommittee [at] ConcordFriendsMeeting [dot] org

May 20 (Sun)  10:00 a.m.  Worship.  Closing: Rich, Kathy U; Boiler Cleaning: Rich.

May 20 (Sun)    1:30 – 3:30 p.m.  Medicare for All Now (M4ANow.org).  New England National Strategy Gathering at the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Manchester, 669 Union Street, Manchester, NH.

May 23 (Wed)    5:00 – 6:30 p.m.  Ribbon-Cutting for Resource Center and New Winter Shelter, Concord Coalition to End Homelessness (CCEH) 238 North Main Street, Concord, NH:  Remarks and Ribbon-Cutting at 5:45 p.m.  Hot dogs and treats.  Tours of the Resource Center and New Winter Shelter.  Parking available on Franklin Street at First Congregational Church, accessed off Washington Street; St. Peter's Church, 135 N. State Street; and Merrimack County Savings Bank Business Ceter, 190 N. Main Street.

May 23 (Wed)    6:30 p.m.  Prayer Service of Immigrant Solidarity: Beauty Ever Ancient, Beauty Ever New at St. Anne-St. Augustin Church, 382 Beech Street, Manchester, NH:  Affirming the dignity of all refugees and immigrants, particularly those in our state whose lives have been and impacted by current immigration policies and increased enforcement practices.  The prayer service will feature music in Spanish, Vietnamese, Arabic, and English as well as special prayers for those who are suffering family separation.

May 24 (Thu)    8:30 - 10:30 a.m.  Pilgrimage for Dignity, Compassion and Justice we will gather at the Warren B. Rudman U.S. Courthouse (55 Pleasant Street, Concord).  The pilgrimage is sponsored by Voices of Faith and the Advocates for Ethical Mental Health Treatment [20] to draw attention to the terrible practice of incarcerating people with acute mental health needs in the Secure Psychiatric Unit (SPU) at the NH State Prison for Men. This includes the incarceration of people who have never been charged or convicted of a crime but whose mental illness needs cannot be accommodated in our underfunded state hospital. We are walking in response to the case of Andrew Butler, a young man from Hollis, NH who has been involuntarily committed to the SPU. ("Hollis Man at Heart of Debate Over Locking Up Non-Criminal Patients in Prison Psych Unit [21].)  A habeas petition has been filed in federal court challenging the legality of his incarceration; the hearing on that petition will begin at 11 a.m.  We will shuttle people up to the state prison for a short program which will begin at 9 a.m.  We will then walk the 2.2 miles from the state prison to the courthouse, pausing briefly in front of the State House.  We will conclude with a short program in front of the courthouse at about 10:15 a.m.  You are welcome to attend the 11 a.m. hearing if your schedule allows.  Nancy West, at InDepthNH [22], has done an excellent series of articles on the SPU which you can read here to learn more: "Sen. Avard Compares Secure Psychiatric Unit at State Prison to 'Horror Movie' [23]", March 28, 2018 and "A state of contradictions, especially if you are mentally ill [24]", May 13, 2018.  We have three volunteer shuttle drivers, which may be enough, but one or two more volunteers might be needed.  Please help us to spread the word to your own networks and congregations.  Here is a Facebook event page [25] that might be helpful.

May 27 (Sun)  10:00 a.m.  Worship, followed by Fourth Sunday program with Marian Baker will speak to us about her ministry and travels in Kenya and specifically about her work to empower women's ministry there.  She will have just returned from a six month sojourn in Kenya.  Marian, a member of Weare Meeting, has built up relationships in Kenya over 40 years.  Closing: Mark, Gini; Boiler Cleaning: Mark.

May 29 (Tue)   2:00 p.m.  Poor People’s Campaign, Week 3: The War Economy:  Militarism and the Proliferation of Gun Violence.  Rally at the State House in Concord, NH.  Civil Disobedience (CD) direct actions begin at 3 p.m.  Everyone participating in CD must be trained.  If there’s a week you’d like to do CD, you must arrive at 12 p.m. for specific orientation on the day’s CD.  Connect at http://PoorPeoplesCampaign.org [13]; http://Twitter.com/NewHampshirePPC [14]; http://Facebook.com/NewHampshirePPC [15]; Text MORAL to 90975.

May 31 (Thu)   6:00 – 7:00 p.m.  Money and Soul:  Worship Sharing:  a discussion of Pamela Haines’ Money and Soul talk given at Intermountain Yearly Meeting and recently published as a Pendle Hill pamphlet.  All are welcome!  Here is the link to the talk: https://westernfriend.org/media/money-and-soul-unabridged [26].  Participants are asked to read the talk prior to the gathering of the 31^st.

Jun   3 (Sun)  10:00 a.m.  Worship.  Opening:  Mark; Closing:  Rich, Kathy U.

Jun   4 (Mon)   2:00 p.m.  Poor People’s Campaign, Week 4: The Right to Health & a Healthy Planet:  Ecological Devastation and Health Care.  Rally at the State House in Concord, NH.  Civil Disobedience (CD) direct actions begin at 3 p.m.  Everyone participating in CD must be trained.  If there’s a week you’d like to do CD, you must arrive at 12 p.m. for specific orientation on the day’s CD.  Connect at http://PoorPeoplesCampaign.org [13]; http://Twitter.com/NewHampshirePPC [14]; http://Facebook.com/NewHampshirePPC [15]; Text MORAL to 90975.

Jun   5 (Tue)   8:30 – 10:00 a.m.  (First Tuesday) Interfaith Prayer Vigil for Immigrant Justice [16] [Joshua 6:1-27 [17]] for those reporting to ICE [18] for deportation that day at the Norris Cotton Federal Building, 275 Chestnut Street in Manchester.  This will be followed by the Sanctuary Support Network [27] meeting at Blessed-Sacrament Church, 14 Elm St, Manchester where there will be refreshments.  We have signed the pledge to stand with our immigrant neighbors.  If you have not seen a copy of the revised solidarity statement, it can be found here [28].  [Also, see resources at the website [29] sponsored by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.]

Jun   7 (Thu)   6:00 – 7:00 p.m.  Study group using “Friendly Faith & Practice Study Guide” by Joanne & Larry Spears. [19]   Printed booklets for each session are available in the meetinghouse or from MarkBarker [at] ConcordFriendsMeeting [dot] org.  At the end of each session, we will agree the date and time that is most convenient for the next session.  (Usually, meetings will be on the first and third Thursdays of the month.)

Jun   9 (Sat)   Racial Dialogue Capacity Building at Wellesley Friends Meeting.  A workshop to prepare potential racial dialogue leaders and/or monthly meetings to learn from each other about effective and skillful ways to engage in learning about racial identify and how to foster racial healing at all levels.  The goal is to establish pairs of individuals to help initiate and support racial dialogue within their own monthly meetings and potentially to travel to others.

Jun 10 (Sun)  10:00 a.m.  Worship, followed by potluck and Meeting for Business.  Opening:  ; Closing:  Dave, Penny.

Jun 10 (Sun)   1:00 - 5:00 p.m. Nonviolent Direct Action Training in Concord:  There is one final training session for the 40 Days of Moral Action!  If you’d like to engage in nonviolent civil disobedience you must attend this training (if you have not already done so): Click here to register and share! [30]

Jun 11 (Mon)   2:00 p.m.  Poor People’s Campaign, Week 5: Everybody's Got the Right to Live:  Education, Living Wage Jobs, Income, Housing.  Rally at the State House in Concord, NH.  Civil Disobedience (CD) direct actions begin at 3 p.m.  Everyone participating in CD must be trained.  If there’s a week you’d like to do CD, you must arrive at 12 p.m. for specific orientation on the day’s CD.  Connect at http://PoorPeoplesCampaign.org [13]; http://Twitter.com/NewHampshirePPC [14]; http://Facebook.com/NewHampshirePPC [15]; Text MORAL to 90975.

Jun 17 (Sun)  10:00 a.m.  Worship, followed by Spring Party at the home of Jonah, Rue, Rowan, and Elanor.  Opening:  ; Closing: Heidi, Kathy M.

Jun 18 (Mon)   2:00 p.m.  Poor People’s Campaign, Week 6: A New and Unsettling Force:  Confronting the Distorted Moral Narrative.  Rally at the State House in Concord, NH.  Civil Disobedience (CD) direct actions begin at 3 p.m.  Everyone participating in CD must be trained.  If there’s a week you’d like to do CD, you must arrive at 12 p.m. for specific orientation on the day’s CD.  Connect at http://PoorPeoplesCampaign.org [13]; http://Twitter.com/NewHampshirePPC [14]; http://Facebook.com/NewHampshirePPC [15]; Text MORAL to 90975.

Jun 19 (Tue)   8:30 – 10:00 a.m.  Interfaith Prayer Vigil for Immigrant Justice [16] [Joshua 6:1-27 [17]] for those reporting to ICE [18] for deportation that day at the Norris Cotton Federal Building, 275 Chestnut Street in Manchester.  [Also, see resources at the website [29] sponsored by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.]

Jun 21 (Thu)   6:00 – 7:00 p.m.  Study group using “Friendly Faith & Practice Study Guide” by Joanne & Larry Spears. [19]   Printed booklets for each session are available in the meetinghouse or from MarkBarker [at] ConcordFriendsMeeting [dot] org.  At the end of each session, we will agree the date and time that is most convenient for the next session.  (Usually, meetings will be on the first and third Thursdays of the month.)

Jun 22 (Fri)  12:00 – 5:00 p.m. The Conference of Quaker Historians and Archivists have set up sessions on the afternoon of June 22 which provide a great opportunity to learn more about best practices for both Meeting recordkeeping, a tour of the NEYM Archives at UMass SCUA [31] and preservation of family collections.  With the Conference taking place at the Amherst campus of the University of Massachusetts,  the Archives Committee encourages those who want to get a tour of our records as well as to learn more about best practices for record keeping in your Meeting to try to attend.  To pre-register,  visit http://library.guilford.edu/cqha/home [32] or https://umass.irisregistration.com/Home/Site?code=CQHA [33].

Jun 23 (Sat)   All Day  Poor People’s Campaign, Global Day of Solidarity & Sending Forth:  Call to Action and Mass Rally.  Connect at http://PoorPeoplesCampaign.org [13]; http://Twitter.com/NewHampshirePPC [14]; http://Facebook.com/NewHampshirePPC [15]; Text MORAL to 90975.

Jun 24 (Sun)  10:00 a.m.  Worship, followed by next event.   Opening:  ; Closing: Mark, Gini.

Jun 24 (Sun)    5:30 p.m.  Fourth Sunday program potluck with Eden Grace, who on behalf of Friends United Meeting will be travelling in New England with Adrian Moody [34], new head of the Ramallah Friends School.

Jun 27 (Wed)   8:30 – 10:00 a.m.  Sugrat Mohamed’s check-in at the Norris Cotton Federal Building, 275 Chestnut Street in Manchester. 

Sugrat was detained on February 20^th during a routine check-in appointment at the ICE [18] office in Manchester, NH.  Sugrat arrived to the US as a six year old child, fleeing war-torn Sudan with his mother and siblings. In the more than 20 years he has lived here, his home country has split into two and remains divided in a bitter war.  Following an order of deportation several years ago, ICE detained him twice while they tried, unsuccessfully, to deport him to Sudan.  He has been checking in regularly to his deportation officer for five years, and in that time he has become a father and breadwinner for his family.  To be suddenly detained yet again so that ICE can try again to secure travel documents for him, from a country that does not recognize him as a citizen, is cruel and pointless.

  Sugrat was finally released on the 25^th of May and must check in with ICE on the 27^th of June

Jul   1 (Sun)  10:00 a.m.  Worship.  Closing: Pat, Faith.

Jul   3 (Tue)   8:30 – 10:00 a.m.  (First Tuesday) Interfaith Prayer Vigil for Immigrant Justice [16] [Joshua 6:1-27 [17]] for those reporting to ICE [18] for deportation that day at the Norris Cotton Federal Building, 275 Chestnut Street in Manchester.  This will be followed by the Sanctuary Support Network [27] meeting at Blessed-Sacrament Church, 14 Elm St, Manchester where there will be refreshments.  We have signed the pledge to stand with our immigrant neighbors.  If you have not seen a copy of the revised solidarity statement, it can be found here [28].  [Also, see resources at the website [29] sponsored by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.]

Jul   8 (Sun)  10:00 a.m.  Worship, followed by potluck and Meeting for Business.  Closing: JJ, Sara.

Jul 15 (Sun)  10:00 a.m.  Worship.  Closing: Greg, Ruth.

Jul 17 (Tue)   8:30 – 10:00 a.m.  Interfaith Prayer Vigil for Immigrant Justice [16] [Joshua 6:1-27 [17]] for those reporting to ICE [18] for deportation that day at the Norris Cotton Federal Building, 275 Chestnut Street in Manchester.  [Also, see resources at the website [29] sponsored by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.]

Jul 22 (Sun)  10:00 a.m.  Worship.  Closing: Pat, Faith.

Jul 29 (Sun)  10:00 a.m.  Worship.  Closing: Rob Y, Jon.

Aug   5 (Sun)  10:00 a.m.  Worship.  Closing: Dave, Penny.

Aug 12 (Sun)  10:00 a.m.  Worship, followed by potluck and Meeting for Business.  Closing: Rich, Kathy U.

Aug 19 (Sun)  10:00 a.m.  Worship.  Closing: Mark, Gini.

Aug 26 (Sun)  10:00 a.m.  Worship.  Closing: Greg, Ruth.

Aug 31 - Sep 3 (Fri-Mon)  Exploring Art as a Practice of Faith Quaker camp for adult artists of all media over Labor Day Weekend at Friends Camp, South China, Maine.  Registration opens June 1^st and closes August 15^th at http://Art-Camp.org [35] or e-mail ArtCampRes [at] gmail [dot] com; follow on @artcampres and #artcamp2018.

Sep (xxx)  Manchester NAACP Annual Meeting:  Debby Irving, author of Waking Up White [36], will be the featured speaker.

First Day School Help:  If you would like to be a helper in the children’s program, and have not yet filled out the Youth Worker Screening Form [37].  Please download and print one out, fill it in, and pass it to Kathy Urie.  You can find it at Youth Worker Screening Form [37].  We need one helper each week.  Look for a sign-up sheet on the left bulletin board this Sunday.  And thank you!  The children thank you too!

In August 2017, we published a statement in response to the tragedy in Charlottesville, Virginia [38].  Please also see “Such a Time as This: A Response to Hate and Violence [39]” as well as the “2017 Epistle of New England Yearly Meeting [40]”, Ruby Sales’ Plenary Message [41] on NEYM’s Youtube channel, and the audio recordings of the 2017 Annual Sessions Bible Half-Hours by Marty Grundy [42] focusing (exegeting [43]) on Romans 12:2 [44].  Draft booklet of Bible Half Hour texts [45].

^1. See http://www.pym.org/faith-and-practice/queries/11-stewardship-of-resources/ [46]

^2. See http://qfp.quaker.org.uk/chapter/1/ [47] № 42

^3. See http://qfp.quaker.org.uk/chapter/1/ [47] № 24