4^th Sunday Program

From Ministry and Counsel Committee's Report: We would like to offer the Fourth Sunday in September (the 26^th) as a time for those Friends who attended New England Yearly Meeting to share what they have learned, new insights, or other thoughts they experienced.  Of course, this is meant for all of our attenders to listen to and draw inspiration from, not just those who attended the sessions.  You can, in fact, listen to recordings of Bible Half Hours and Plenary presentations here. https://neym.org/sessions/recordings-annual-sessions-0  Other Fourth Sundays are in the works - stay tuned!

Graduation Gowns for Friends Theological College

We have a special request from Friends Theological College in Kaimosi, Kenya.

The College is thriving and under Dr. Robert Wafula's leadership has grown 10-fold in the last three years.  They have been especially successful at opening the ministry to women.  Friends Theological College has a very large graduating class at the end of October!

FTC needs commencement gowns--any color!  Marian Baker is traveling in the ministry in Kenya, leaving October 12 and is happy to carry any donations.  If Friends have a commencement gown hanging in the closet they would like to donate, it could be mailed to Marian, quakerbonnet [at] gmail [dot] com (subject: Graduation%20Gowns%20for%20Friends%20Theological%20College)

Marian Baker, 10 Crosby Road, Hillsborough, NH 03244-4111

Lectio Divina

David Coletta, host of Three Rivers, an online group led by NEYM Friends, is offering a new program.  Starting Wednesday October 13^th, at 8 a.m., he'll be hosting Lectio Divina - and experiment that will run for eight weeks.  Lectio Divina is a contemplative spiritual practice and will be offered on Zoom.  Find out more about this Ministry under the Care of Three Rivers, the practice, and registration, by following THIS LINK.  There's a video with more information and a set of "frequently asked questions."

News of Friends

Christine Leonard writes, “Hello. It's been a while. My news is that I moved to Burlington VT where my son is attending UVM. I'm interviewing for research jobs at UVM.  Please keep me in your thoughts that I might connect with the public health/social welfare research analyst position that will best use my talents. My son, Simon, and I have joined the Meeting here.”

NEYM News

Sara has shared this link to the Yearly Meeting News and commends it to us.  Please read https://mailchi.mp/neym/september-2021-walking-humbly?e=0d9667514a

Solidarity Walk Aims at Political Will for Immigration Reform

Arnie Alpert, retired co-director of the AFSC New Hampshire Program, published an article about the recent Solidarity Walk for Immigrant Justice on his blog, InZane Times.  You can read it here.

The following items are repeated from prior announcements.

Minutes

Draft minutes of our meeting for worship with attention to church affairs are at https://ConcordFriendsMeeting.org/2021-09-12_CMM_Minutes.  Friends may also access them via https://ConcordFriendsMeeting.org/Minutes_of_ConcordMonthlyMeeting

The draft minutes of Dover Quarterly Meeting for August 29^th 2021 are now at https://ConcordFriendsMeeting.org/2021-08-29DoverQuarterlyMeeting or via https://ConcordFriendsMeeting.org/Minutes_of_DoverQuarterlyMeeting

NH Peace Action: 39th Annual Event & Fall Fundraiser with Phyllis Bennis

ONLINE EVENT, Friday, October 1 @ 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Phyllis directs the New Internationalism Project at Institute for the Policy Studies (IPS), focusing on Middle East, U.S. wars, and UN issues.  She is also a fellow of the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam. In 2001 she helped found the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, and now serves on the national board of Jewish Voice for Peace.  She works with many anti-war and Palestinian rights organizations, writing and speaking widely across the U.S. and around the world.  She has served as an informal adviser to several top UN officials on Middle East issues and was twice short-listed to become the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Tickets are just $20 per person, free attendance for those of limited means.  https://actionnetwork.org/ticketed_events/nh-peace-action-annual-event?clear_id=true

An Invitation from AFSC-NH

Saturday, October 2, 2021 – 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.

The American Friends Service Committee's New Hampshire Program will host its annual gathering on Saturday, October 2, 2021.  Join us online for Journey to Abolition: Love as the Roadmap Toward Justice & Liberation, a fall fundraising gathering to celebrate community and deepen our work to end systems of oppression.  This year we are excited to host this event with a special guest, scholar-activist Nyle Fort.

The AFSC’s New Hampshire Program works with individuals, partner groups and coalitions to address the causes and effects of injustice in the state, with a special emphasis on promoting economic justice and the rights and well-being of immigrants, workers and prisoners; strengthening the safety net for low-income people; ending systems of state violence; developing new leaders and supporting community-led initiatives for social change; and supporting New Hampshire people to be active in policy advocacy.  To support movement building, AFSC-NH engages in a variety of coordinated strategies to vitalize and nourish a growing movement of diverse people calling for social, racial and economic justice.

Date and time:

Saturday, October 2, 2021, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. ET

Speakers include:

Nyle Fort, Scholar-Activist

Nyle Fort is a minister, activist, and scholar.  He works on issues of social justice in a variety of capacities, including through activist scholarship, faith-based organizing, and large-scale social movements.  Nyle received a B.A. in English from Morehouse College, a Masters of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. in Religion and African American Studies from Princeton University.  He currently teaches at Columbia University.

Moderated by:

Maggie Fogarty, AFSC-NH Program Director

Grace Kindeke, AFSC-NH Program Coordinator

Register below.  This virtual event is free, but please consider making a contribution to AFSC-NH to support our work into the future!

Portland Friends Program

Wabanaki REACH and our local planning team (Ann, Jennifer, Wayne, and now Jessica!) invite you to attend the online workshop “Decolonization and the Role of Faith Communities” on three Monday evenings, October 4, 18, & 25 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Participants will explore the role of churches (and Quakers) in the colonization of this country, learn about the harmful ongoing impacts of colonization on Wabanaki peoples, and identify strategies for repair and healing. Sessions include film, testimony, discussion, and an action/study plan for follow-up after the sessions. This workshop is intended specifically for Portland Friends Meeting and is meant to be part of our own faith community’s journey of decolonization. It is important to commit to all three sessions because they build upon each other.

Decolonization means:

• Waking up to difficult truths about the past and present that have generally been kept hidden from us by the dominant culture.
• Dealing with our feelings of grief and anger in response to centuries of genocide and white domination.
• Recognizing our social location within this process, and how we may have benefited or suffered from colonization.
• Becoming accountable for our participation in what has happened and is happening, and choosing to resist further oppressive harm, and act in support of Indigenous self-determination, healing and empowerment.
• Opening our hearts to transformation, while abiding in love and compassion.

Wabanaki REACH is a cross-cultural collaborative of people working with Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities in Maine to support truth, healing, and decolonization. REACH recommends that participation be limited to folks who attended the Interacting with Maine-Wabanaki History program on May 24 of this year. However, space permitting, others in our PFM community who have shown interest in Indigenous-related matters may be accommodated. As with any Zoom event, a strong internet connection is required.

To register, email Wayne Cobb at wcobb2 [at] gmail [dot] com (subject: Decolonization%20and%20the%20Role%20of%20Faith%20Communities) (wcobb2 [at] gmail [dot] com). Please include your full name and phone number. Participation is “pay-as-led,” with a suggested donation of $12 to register. You may send your payment by Venmo (preferred) to @wcobb2, or by PayPal to my email address, or by cash or check to Wayne Cobb, 147 Allen Avenue #47, Portland ME 04103. While two people may share a screen, we ask that each consider a separate donation. All monies will be gifted to Wabanaki REACH (http://www.mainewabanakireach.org). You’ll receive a confirmation email shortly after your payment is received. Registrants will receive details about preparing for this event as the date approaches. Please register promptly!

We on the planning team look forward to gathering with you and other Portland Friends at the event. Contact: Wayne Cobb, 147 Allen Avenue #47, Portland ME 04103, 207-838-3393

Coffee and Tea Lovers

If you find it not too inconvenient to bring a mug with you to meeting and then take it home to wash, you would be upholding two important concerns of the Meeting: first is our commitment to keep our use of resources to a minimum; the second is to reduce the spread of COVID-19 as we maintain social distancing by not congregating around the sink in the kitchen. We will continue to provide paper hot cups for anyone who needs one.

Ministry and Counsel Report

September 2021

Looking for more or different opportunities for sharing and fellowship? We will be sending around a questionnaire so you can indicate what kinds of small groups are of interest. Possibilities include fellowship and caring support, books or topics to discuss, short courses and whatever ideas you can imagine.

Care of worship: As we make this massive transition to hybrid worship, we wanted to remind Friends that some aspects of Quaker worship remain constant. All people are welcome and affirmed, whether they are in person or online, your presence is precious to us. Other thoughts on how we share in worship came to mind.

A thought from Ministry and Counsel about vocal ministry: All present, are invited to give vocal ministry out of the silence as led by the Divine. It is an awesome experience to feel the call to speak for the Holy. Of course, the Divine message is filtered through the lens of the speaker’s human vocabulary, thoughts, and experiences. Yet, we hope that something of the Spirit that is too deep for words comes through in the messages we give and receive. Once a speaker has finished, the message no longer belongs to the speaker; it belongs to the beloved community. Each hearer receives the message and lets it work within. The message may be understood in ways that the speaker never intended. That is okay, it no longer belongs to the speaker.

For this reason, we ask that Friends refrain from mentioning the name of any particular speaker in later messages in worship or in afterthoughts. Hearing one’s name in this way tends to make the speaker feel self-conscious, tying them back to a message they have released. Sometimes a message will cause a stirring in a hearer who will feel the awesome power of the Spirit compelling vocal ministry, building on an earlier message. This can be given without reference to the name of the previous speaker. After worship, we may want to share what resonated for us from the messages in meeting; this also can be done without naming the speakers. Observing a silence of at least two minutes gives us all time to absorb that message before the next message is given.

Fourth Sunday. We would like to offer the Fourth Sunday in September (the 26^th) as a time for those Friends who attended New England Yearly Meeting to share what they have learned, new insights, or other thoughts they experienced. Of course, this is meant for all of our attenders to listen to and draw inspiration from, not just those who attended the sessions. You can, in fact, listen to recordings of Bible Half Hours and Plenary presentations here. https://neym.org/sessions/recordings-annual-sessions-0 Other Fourth Sundays are in the works- stay tuned!

Technology Committee. We add a special thanks to the technology committee for all their care in making hybrid worship a reality! We love how they keep thinking of ways to make it better. Please let them or us know if you think of ways to make it better too! Life is an experiment right now.

CROP Walk (to eradicate hunger) October 9

As you may remember, the CROP Walk is an annual fundraiser held nationally to alleviate the challenges of disease, disaster, and displacement that leave people hungry locally and internationally. Local congregations form teams and members make donations to support those teams. Over the years, CFM has been a strong contributor to this effort.  This year's CROP Walk is currently planned to return to an in-person walk starting from the Jesus Christ Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS) on Clinton St. in Concord.  People will begin gathering at 12:00 with a kick-off rally at 12:30 and the walk beginning at 1:00.

To Join as a Walker and/or Support the Team

1. Click here: https://events.crophungerwalk.org/2021/team/concord-friends-meeting
2. Click Join The Team to sign up as a walker (you will be able to donate if you’d like from this link), or
3. Click Make a Donation to donate via credit or debit card. 
4. Note that donations online can be made anonymously if you wish.
5. Alternatively, you can donate by writing a check payable to CWS/CROP Walk and mail to: Sheryl Ingraham,  4 Fogg Street, Concord, NH. 03301

If you would like to support the CFM team financially, donations can be made in two ways:

1. Click here: https://events.crophungerwalk.org/2021/team/concord-friends-meeting to donate via credit or debit card.
2. Write a check payable to CWS/CROP and mail to Sheryl Ingraham,  4 Fogg Street, Concord, NH. 03301

Note that donations online can be made anonymously if you wish.

Please contact Sheryl Ingraham if you have any questions: (410) 972-1222 orsheryl [dot] ingraham [at] gmail [dot] com (  sheryl [dot] ingraham [at] gmail [dot] com)

News of Friends.

Anne S Blog Link Ruth has been reading her blog and commends it to you!  Find it here.

World Quaker Day

Resilience and hope: Drawing strength from our Quaker faith