2021-06-10 Announcements for

Concord Friends Meeting

The Meeting Calendar

Thurs Jun 10    7:00 - 8:00   PM Mid Week Meeting (no Zoom)

Sun    Jun 13   10:15 AM      Meeting for Worship (blended) followed by Meeting for

                                             Business. Zoom Link

Sun    Jun 27   10:15 AM     Meeting for Worship followed by Meeting Party at 12:30 (see below and please RSVP) 

Sun Jun 27  -  Sat July 3     Friends General Conference (FGC) (virtual)

Sat Aug 6 - Thurs Aug 12    NEYM Sessions (virtual)

Announcements: Next Two Weeks

Greg and Ruth will be away in Alaska for the coming two weeks.  Sara has offered to send out emailed announcements in their absence.  Please contact Sara with items to announce from now through June 25.  Sara [dot] Rose [dot] SSmith [at] gmail [dot] com.  On the subject of travels:  Happy Birthday to Thomas.  He and Lynda are traveling today to Paris in honor of his birthday, June 11.  Bon Voyage!

Prepare for Meeting for Business:

Please bring a brown bag lunch if you are staying at the meetinghouse for business meeting. We plan on eating outside. We will continue our current hybrid meeting plan (masks etc. except when eating or drinking, which should be done outside)

Minutes from May

Draft minutes for Fifth Month 2021 are now on the website at https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/2021-05-09_CMM_Minutes and https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/Minutes_of_ConcordMonthlyMeeting

Watch for other materials coming separately.

Please RSVP for the Annual Spring (early Summer) Party!

Our annual Spring (early Summer) Party will be held on Sunday, June 27 after Meeting. We hope most people will be able to arrive by 12:30. This year's party will be held at Kathi and Roland Connors' home near Locke Lake in beautiful Center Barnstead, about a 40 minute drive from the Meetinghouse. Kathi and Roland look forward to welcoming us to their home with a large deck and lawn down to the water. If you are planning to attend, please RSVP to wlapham [at] comcast [dot] net so that we can have an accurate count.

The children have made the traditional Spring Baskets for all of us. If you would like to contribute some small items to be included in the baskets, please bring them to Meeting on Sunday, June 13 or 20 and leave them in the classroom. Baked goods for the baskets must be individually wrapped and can be dropped off at Meeting on June 27. We will have an optional outdoor potluck with distancing and safety precautions so please bring a food item to share if you wish (or your own food if you do not want to participate in the potluck), a chair, a mask, and your own plates, cups, drinks and utensils. This will be a fun, relaxing event for all as we welcome summer (safely) together. We hope you will join us!

Help repeal the 2002 Iraq Authorization for Use of Military Force

Breaking News: The House is expected to vote on this the week of June 14. This is the first floor vote this bill has had!

FCNL (Friends Committee on National Legislation) Advocacy Alert

June 10, 2021

The 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq (2002 Iraq AUMF) authorized war against Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi regime. The 2002 Iraq AUMF has been used to justify lethal military action beyond its original scope, including to justify the January 2020 assassination of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani. Congress must repeal the 2002 Iraq AUMF to prevent its further abuse.

Can you help by writing a letter or calling your Congressional Representatives?  A sample letter appears at the bottom of these announcements. 

Roots of Injustice, Seeds of Change: Toward Right Relationship with Native Peoples (a workshop for New England Yearly Meeting)

In this 2-hour participatory workshop — Saturday, July 17, 4-6 PM — we will hear the story of the colonization of this land in the words of Indigenous leaders, Euro-American leaders, and Western historians. We will take part in the story through experiential exercises, and share our responses and reflections in small groups. Together, we will explore steps that we can take to build relationships with Native peoples based on truth, respect, and justice.

This Roots of Injustice, Seeds of Change event will help us prepare to acknowledge past harm and offer a sincere apology when we assemble (virtually) for sessions in August and move on a Letter of Apology to Native Americans.

The workshop is appropriate for high school students and adults. It will be co-facilitated by Paula Palmer and Gail Melix.

Pay as led. Choose the amount (sliding scale) that is right for you, including $0. When discerning the right amount to pay, we offer the following guidance:

  • $30 covers direct costs (suggested fee)
  • $60 covers your direct costs plus those of a Friend who cannot pay
  • $15 makes a helpful contribution if budgets are tight

The last day to register is July 11, 2021.

OUR TEAM

  • Paula Palmer co-directs Toward Right Relationship with Native Peoples, a program of Friends Peace Teams. She is a member of Boulder Meeting, Intermountain Yearly Meeting, and lives on Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Ute land.
  • Gail is a Manomet Wampanoag and a Quaker. She lives in Cotuit, Ma., the ancestral homeland of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. She is a board member of Native Land Conservancy in Mashpee, Mass., co-clerk of New England Yearly Meeting’s Earthcare Ministry Committee, and clerk of Sandwich Monthly Meeting Ministry and Counsel. She carries concerns for climate crisis and environmental justice, racism, and right relationship with indigenous peoples.
  • Annette Brickley and Gretchen Reinhardt will be technical hosts for the workshop.
  • Andy Grant, a member of Mt Toby MM, serves on the NEYM Right Relationship Resource Group and is the local organizer of this event.

The Familias Separadas art exhibit opening at Dover Friends, Sunday, June 13 from 1-4pm.  for more info click here.

Dover Friends Meeting was chosen as one of three national sites for the Familias Separadas public art installations featuring the stories of local community members who have been impacted by detention and deportation.

Two very, very large original banners will be unveiled on the side of the meetinghouse at 2pm. Grace Kindeke is the local artist who helped create the banners. There will be speakers including Maggie Fogarty, a movement performance, food and fellowship!

We hope some Concord Friends can join us for this special event witnessing for humane immigration policies.

In faith and friendship,

Beth Collea

Blended Meetings Have Begun Windows may Remain Closed

We are delighted to welcome Friends back to the meetinghouse for worship in person.  The Pandemic Group reports that we may leave windows closed.  Zooming in continues to be an option.  There are some restrictions noted below so, please read carefully. Bear with us as we work out the technological kinks and work to minimize their impact on worship space.  Your feedback to Ministry and Counsel about the worship experience and the Tech Committee about how tech solutions are implemented is most welcomed.

Guidelines from the Pandemic Response Group

(expect updates, sometimes without notice)

  1. Only people who are fully vaccinated should be in the meetinghouse.  That is to say, everyone who attends in person should be willing to affirm they are vaccinated.  
  2. The fellowship room and kitchen will not be used except for access through the space to bathrooms, storage spaces, etc.  No lingering.
  3. Masks will be worn at all times indoors and also when outdoors if closer than 6 feet to people not from the same household.
  4. Eating was not discussed but JJ believes that means eating needs to be outside.

Life and Times of Penobscot poet

June 15th 5:00 pm "Life and Times of a Penobscot Poetess"

Join us for this Virtual Event Via Zoom

Carol Dana, Penobscot Language Keeper, has devoted years to Penobscot language revitalization, working on the Penobscot dictionary project during the 1980's, and teaching Penobscot at the Indian Island School during the 1990's.  She is the author of two books of poetry, When No One is Looking and Return to Spirit and other Musings, both published by Bowman Books.

There will be a Q& A after the event.

Some Resources on Indigenous People Issues

The following list of resources, provided by Sara, is commended to you.  The listing will appear again over the next three weeks since it may take some time to take them all in.  Do read the "Apology" before 4th Sunday if you can.

Moral injury and Quaker Boarding Schools- This has a Quaker Speak video and Friends Journal article, both by Paula Palmer, embedded. Since she also reads the article, it too can be listened to as a podcast. This would be a good overall intro to the subject of the apology from a quaker perspective. copy and paste link.

https://jeffkisling.com/2021/02/19/moral-injury-soul-repair-and-quaker-indian-residential-schools/?fbclid=IwAR0irjH_O4OjPpNwo2OSg8uMwD-zctbDg2tLCwqWSawAUf2Uq8O72S1fcZA

Nobel Peace Prize Nominations

Sheryl has passed this on from her Annapolis Friends Meeting.

Hi Friends,

I serve as Co-Clerk of the AFSC committee tasked with nominating a person or organization for the Nobel Peace Prize each year on behalf of Quakers worldwide. This year, we submitted a joint nomination focused on the conflict in Yemen, uplifting the local organization, Mwatana, which gathers evidence of international arms use in the conflict. We paired Mwatana with the British group, Campaign Against Arms Trade, which used evidence from Mwatana (among other actors) to successfully but temporarily stall British arms sales to Saudi Arabia. The press release is here: https://www.afsc.org/newsroom/quaker-orgs-announce-nobel-prize-nominations

We are now seeking candidates for the 2022 Peace Prize and I want to encourage AFM or any Quaker individuals to consider suggesting an individual or organization to our committee! The website where you can submit nominations is: https://quakernobel.org/nominations However, it looks like it's currently broken for some reason (I'll get on it!) so you can also reply to this email or send an email to nobelclerk [at] afsc [dot] org

Please feel free to circulate this through other Quaker connections!

Thanks,

Bethanne Bruninga-Socolar

Sample Letters re. FCNL Action Alert. (addresses are at the bottom)

Background information (here) explains more about the 2002 Iraq AUMF and why Congress should repeal it.

Letter to Senators:

As soon as this month, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC)  plans to take up S.J. Res. 10, a bill to repeal the 2002 Iraq AUMF, at the committee's next business meeting. This would be the first time that a Senate committee has ever marked up legislation to repeal the 2002 Iraq AUMF.

Let them know you support, S.J. Res. 10 and repeal of the 2002 Iraq AUMF. Ask them to be a cosponsor. Jeanne Shaheen serves on the SFRC, so it is especially important that she hear from her constituents.

Letters to Representatives:

Both of our representatives supported repealing the 2002 Iraq AUMF in 2019.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee has approved Rep. Barbara Lee’s bill, H.R. 256, to repeal the 2002 Iraq AUMF.

Representative Kuster is a cosponsor. Thank her and tell her why this is important to you. Ask her to reach out to Representative Pappas to cosponsor the bill.

Ask Representative Pappas to cosponsor the bill.

Here are some talking points.

  • Explain why this affects you personally (for example, the effects on veterans, as a pacifist, parent, former refugee or friends or family of someone, because of war’s effect on climate change - the things that matter to you).
  • These bills have bipartisan support.
  • Constitutional issue: It is Congress’ job, not the President’s, to declare war.
  • To prevent further abuse of power: Since its passage, Presidents have used the AUMF to justify military actions in countries around the world.
  • It’s not necessary: The President already has the power to defend the country against attack.
  • It’s not relevant. The Iraq war is over.

Contact information for our Congressional delegation:

  • Representative Chris Pappas, 323 Cannon HOB, Washington, DC 20515, (202) 225-5456
  • Representative Annie Kuster, 320 Cannon HOB, Washington, DC 20515, (202) 225-5206
  • Senator Maggie Hassan, 324 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510, (203) 224-3324
  • Senator Jeanne Shaheen, 506 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510, (202) 224-2841
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