(Announcements added October 1)

Two Sets of Announcements in One Week!

I try to limit our communications to once a week so that Friends are not overwhelmed with information, but this week is an exception. There has been lots to say!

Closing of the Meetinghouse on Sundays

While we remain in COVID difficulties, the number of people coming to the Meetinghouse on Sundays is small but we still need participants in the schedule for closing up after fellowship. As it gets cooler outside, we will need to use more space inside for socially distanced fellowship. For now, I believe that removing masks to have drinks will need to be only outside until the pandemic response team finds that the delta variant outbreak is no longer a major threat. Even so, there may be a bit more cleaning to be done as the fellowship room may have heavier use now. I continue to try to have a pair of Friends scheduled each Sunday. We could use more participants in this light service to the Meeting . Please be in touch with the property committee clerk, JJ, to be added to this schedule. As before, if you cannot come on a particular day, please find someone else in the rotation to switch with so that juggling this schedule does not fall on the clerk of property committee.

James F and Rich K are on for this Sunday from the prior schedule. Here is the next rotation:

• October 10 - Kathy U and Chris H
• October 17 - Elaine B and Betsy M
• October 24 - Faith S and Kathi C
• October 31 - Ruth and Greg H
• November 7 - Sara and Jennifer S
• November 14 - Wendy L and Heidi B
• November 21 - James F and Rich K

Thanks, J. J.

A letter from the Presiding Clerk, New England Yearly Meeting (NEYM)

September 7, 2021

To Friends around New England:

Friends gathered during our business meetings at our annual sessions in August engaged deeply with a number of weighty concerns. Our time together was challenging, but blessed by much wisdom, insight, and grace.

The following actions which occurred at business sessions are of interest or have some significance for monthly meetings. Several points need further follow-up, but I wanted to get a first communication in your hands about some of the things we approved.

• Most of you are aware that NEYM has a long-standing relationship with Cuba Yearly Meeting. Over recent months we have had some correspondence with Cuban Friends that reveals the significant challenges posed by the combination of embargo and COVID. Friends approved a minute, which you can read here, from the Puente de Amigos Committee encouraging the Biden administration to lift the blockade against Cuba and rescind executive actions which are harmful to the Cuban people. Individuals and monthly meetings are encouraged to consider how they might engage in lobbying for change for the wellbeing of our F/friends in Cuba. You may forward the minute to your congresspeople, copy the text and put it on your meeting letterhead, or use it as inspiration for other action.
• The Yearly Meeting Secretary and the Presiding Clerk presented a denominational letter they had signed on our behalf, also encouraging the Biden administration to a series of actions to benefit the Cuban people. The letter can be found on the NEYM website here.
• Letter of Apology: Friends approved the Letter of Apology to Native Americans, with some changes that had been suggested during open discernment. We recognize that, while significant, approval of the letter is not an end to this work, it is a step on the road. Friends approved the offer of several members of the Right Relationship Resource Group (RRRG) to shepherd how the letter is distributed and made public. Given recent news about boarding schools which leaves many Native people feeling tender about non-natives, and our (those of us who identify as white) tendency to center on our own needs and feelings, I ask that Friends not rush into delivering this letter to a local tribe. Please wait for a final copy, and some guidance from the RRRG, which includes individuals who are more well-versed than myself in native concerns.
• Faith and Practice: Friends gave preliminary approval to a chapter on “Personal Spiritual Practices.” Friends are encouraged to use and engage with this text, which is available, along with other chapters which have received preliminary approval, on the NEYM website here. Final approval will occur when the whole of Faith and Practice is ready.
• Earthcare Ministry: Friends approved forwarding a minute from the Earthcare Ministry Committee. The minute, which you can read here, recognizes the escalating crisis to our planet and encourages a number of actions, including getting involved in public policy and supporting those led to direct action.
• On behalf of the Yearly Meeting, I was asked to write a letter to the General Board of Friends United Meeting (FUM), again asking them to consider and delete the discriminatory part of the personnel policy, and sharing our deep belief in how this policy is wrong. I will share the letter and any response we get at some later date.
• Bayard Rustin Fund: Friends approved a proposal from the FUM Committee to establish a fund which would receive money from individuals and monthly meetings. The money accumulated in this fund would be distributed annually to organizations working towards LGBTQIA+ justice and wellbeing. A small group of Friends will be appointed to discern which organization(s) will receive these funds. [Note that a few Friends observed that there is an existing fund with the same name at FGC. Permanent Board will consider whether to re-name this fund, which will not affect its approval or function]. More information will be forthcoming on how to submit to this fund.
• Recognizing the pain that continues to be felt about our continuing relationship with FUM, and recognizing the enormous disparity of viewpoints about that relationship, not just around NEYM, but within many monthly meetings, Friends recognized the importance of a mechanism that would allow Friends to divert the portion of their donations which would otherwise go to FUM as part of NEYM’s annual contribution to that organization. Friends approved a new mechanism which does not withhold, but which directs those funds to the new Bayard Rustin Fund. Two additional points about this mechanism: the mechanism has no end date—it will “remain in effect until the Personnel Policy changes, or until Friends find a new way forward.” Also, the minute approved does not include establishment of a separate fund where those Friends who are interested can contribute to make up the difference in what is sent to FUM. Please note that any Friend who is so led may donate directly to FUM. Once the final language of the minute is approved by Permanent Board, I will send more information on how to engage with this mechanism.
• Collaboration with other Yearly Meetings: Friends approved a second proposal from the FUM committee, which asks our FUM Board Representatives to convene a meeting of open and affirming Yearly Meetings “for the purpose of mutual encouragement, support, strategy building, and development of a plan for wider intervisitation.” A few Friends, while supporting this initiative, pointed out that conferring with like-minded Friends does not go far enough—we need to spend time with those with whom we disagree. Our work here is far from done—perhaps this consultation will result in a plan we can engage with.
• No Way to Treat a Child: We were presented with two minutes from Quarterly Meetings asking the yearly meeting to endorse AFSC’s No Way to Treat a Child program, and US bill HR2407. We heard deep concerns about the AFSC program, and deep concerns about the wellbeing of children, not only in Palestine but in the US and around the world. We did not find unity to approve these minutes, but MM are welcome to consider whether or how they are led around these concerns. We were reminded of Minute 2017-46 (re-affirmed in 2019), which encourages Friends to individual and corporate action, including learning about the Israel-Palestine conflict and working towards the end of military aid to all involved parties. Please be aware that a working group under the oversight of Permanent Board has been formed to help Friends live into this work. Expect to hear from them this year.
• Internalized Homophobia and Transphobia: A third proposal from the FUM Committee invites us “to examine the ways that homophobia and transphobia lives in the broader culture, in our meetings, and in us.” As much as cisgendered straight people like myself would like to deny it, I have heard enough comments revealing lingering homophobia that I am convinced that this is important work. In the company of seemingly more pressing concerns, this proposal did not receive enough attention during open discernment to approve it, but I mention this as it remains on my heart.

Bruce Neumann, Presiding Clerk

A Story from Friends United Meeting

I thought Friends might want to read this inspiring story of ongoing work being done through Friends United Meeting (FUM) -J.J.

During the recent gathering held in celebration of fifty years of Turkana Friends Mission, one of the featured Mission activities was the Girl Child Education programme. The women in the audience who graduated from the programme were asked to stand. Among them were mothers, wives, pastors, clerks, teachers, nurses, and administrators.

Every day, girls in Samburu and Turkana face barriers to their education caused by poverty and cultural norms. The girls in these communities are traditionally valued for what they contribute to their families by staying home, or the dowries they earn by being married off at an early age.

Turkana and Samburu Friends Mission work in collaboration with Friends United Meeting to provide opportunities for girls by empowering them through the Girl Child Education programme. Every year this programme provides scholarships to over forty girls to fund their secondary school education. This year FUM sponsors twelve girls from Samburu and twenty-eight girls from Turkana.

The Girl Child Education programme goes beyond providing scholarships. The girls in the programme and their families receive ongoing encouragement and counseling to ensure the girls complete their education without dropping out of school. It also ensures that the girls feel safe while in school.

The Girl Child Education programme in these semi-nomadic communities is a strategic approach to expand educational opportunities, reduce early childhood marriages, and empower the girls to understand their full potential. All these factors help lift households, communities, and countries out of poverty.

Joyce, now grown, was one of the girls who has benefitted from the program. For John Moru, she wrote about how the scholarship had affected her life:

My name is Joyce Asimit Simiyu. I’m 36 years old and the firstborn of seven in my family. My early childhood education began in a Catholic mission, and this allowed me to attend the Turkana Integrated Primary School. During that time, my family became members of Friends Church Katilu. The church played a great role in my childhood and I was involved in youth leadership and the choir.

When I completed my primary education, I was among the best students in my class. I was so excited to learn that my grades had earned me a place in high school, but my excitement was cut short because of the huge school fees, and my parents could not afford it. We put our hope to God, and we approached our Friends Church pastor and explained this school matter. Pastor John Moru understood my parents’ situation and told us about the Girl Child Education scholarship. I was accepted into the programme and managed to report to AIC Kangitit High School to pursue my Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE). This was a timely blessing that came at a time when I was almost losing hope.

My four years in secondary school were full of determination and hope. Indeed, growing up in poverty and faithfully praying to God became my motivation to work hard so that one day I will be able to give back to my community. I graduated in 2004.

In 2006, World Vision Kenya advertised job positions for food monitors to undertake general food distribution intervention to avert drought and starvation in Kenya. I applied and got the job. I successfully worked with World Vision in the relief programme for two years, after which I resigned to further my education. I joined the African Institute of Research and Development Studies (AIRADS) to undertake a Diploma course in community health and development. While in World Vision, I met my husband and father of my two boys.

In February 2011, the National Government of Kenya released various job adverts for the position of community health extension worker. I managed to apply and secure the job and was posted to Kalemng’orok dispensary in the Katilu division, Turkana South. For seven years I have worked in Kalemng’orok, and while there I enrolled at Mt. Kenya University to undertake a bachelor’s degree in environmental science, graduating in 2017.

I really want to thank God for walking with me on this journey. It is my personal calling to be a role model to other girls, empowering them to reach their fullest potential. My husband and I currently sponsor two girls to pursue their secondary education. I trust in God that in time we will be able to sponsor more girls, believing that we can change the world, one girl at a time.

I wish to conclude by thanking God for this evident milestone. I am also grateful to the Friends Mission for providing me with a Girl Child Education scholarship. For sure if you didn’t intervene, today I would probably be a street woman, single mother, housewife, or housemaid. May God continue to bless those who give to this programme so that more challenged girls in Africa will be helped.

(Announcements as of September 28)

Lots to Do!

Usually I think of spring as popping, but now that fall is here and the air is cooler, everything seems to be popping again. This weekend there are a myriad of activities scheduled for which Friends have been strong advocates over the years. AFSC-NH and NH Peace Action are both hosting their virtual fund raising events. There is also a climate action event in Bow that Friends in Cambridge have asked us to hold in the light with our participation and prayers. Read on for more details....

Boiler Season

Speaking of cold air, the high this week is expected to be 66. Presently the meeting room is 67 degrees. So.... dress warmly for worship. We will be starting the boiler before long and that means weekly cleaning. Please let us know if you can participate in that rotation of boiler cleaners by replying to this message. Training is provided! This is something you can do a time that is convenient to you.

Camping in Waterville Valley

A group of Concord Friends made a second camping trip in September; this time to Waterville Valley. The banner photo (missing Greg, the photographer) was taken in a spot along many, many cascades. The sound and spray were renewing and inspired Elaine to share her impressions. Reading it brought back the wonder of the experience. (See Elaine's essay and photos)

AFSC Event - Register Today

Dear friends,

Our annual fundraiser & celebration is this Saturday! If you haven't already done so, register today to join us on Saturday, October 2 at 7 PM for an inspiring (online) program entitled “The Journey to Abolition: Love as the Roadmap Toward Justice and Liberation.” Our special guests include scholar-activist Nyle Fort, artist Martin Toe, and dear friend Arnie Alpert who will offer a remembrance of the great Susan Bruce.

The event is free, and all are welcome. Please register today and consider making a donation to AFSC-NH Click here! to support our work for justice and peace in the Granite State.

More about our presenters:

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 Master 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.

Martin Toe is a dynamic American Afropop/hip-hop artist from New Hampshire. From African roots, Martin inspires his fans to be unstoppable through a combination of raw energy and undaunted lyrics. His music promotes diversity and overcoming all obstacles, pulling from his past experiences with loss, war trauma, and hurt. His debut album Civic Leader received international critical acclaim. He is also the author of the book America Calls to Me: The Story of a Refugee Boy’s Journey. Martin was a Grassroots Organizer with AFSC-NH for two years and is a co-founder of Change for Concord. Currently he is a Housing Justice Organizer with the Granite State Organizing Project in Manchester.

Arnie Alpert is happily retired and continues to share his talents as a writer and photographer. Follow his work at InDepthNH.org (“Active with the Activists" and at his website dedicated to New Hampshire’s radical history!

Many thanks to our event sponsors: Betsey Neville, Betsy & Richard Morse, Charlie Friou, David Blair & Lina Hervas, Dick & Jane Kaufmann, Jan Schaffer, Judy Elliott & Arnie Alpert, Len & Mary Ann Cadwallader, Lina Shayo & Enrique Mesa - Mesa Law, Lindsay Dearborn, Susan Almy, Tom & Bev Westheimer and Willie Colon.

We look forward to celebrating with all of you on Saturday as we build community and deepen our work to end systems of oppression. Register today and invite your friends!

All the best,

Maggie Fogarty, Grace Kindeke and Lidia Yen

No Coal, No Gas Rally - Bow Power Plant Oct 3 Noon

A Cambridge Friend and environmental activist will be camping at the Heaths this weekend. Minga Claggett-Borne is coming to participate in the above rally. Many others will be camping for three days at Pitch Perfect in Canterbury participating in trainings and planning. She and others from Cambridge are asking that we hold the participants in the Light. And if we can participate ourselves, please come. Following the event a group of us will be kayaking and canoeing up and drown the river by the plant, holding it and the crisis we inhabit in deep care and prayer.

If you think you are likely to attend any portion of the events it would be good of you to register, only for their planning purposes.

Here is info from 350nh.org's event Facebook page: On Sunday, October 3rd, we will gather at the coal plant in Bow for a family-friendly rally to call for a shut down of the coal plant. The coal plant is hurting our air, water, and climate and it is time to SHUT IT DOWN!

Join us for music, speakers, and community! It is time to shut down the coal plant, and build a better future. The rally will end with a family-friendly kayak/canoe paddle down the river to protest- if you'd like to participate on the river, please bring a boat! Please park along the baseball field side of the street.

COVID SAFETY: We ask that everyone please wear a mask at the rally and social distance where possible. Please get a negative covid test before attending.

This rally is part of a 3-day-weekend Mass Action, to learn more, visit this website: https://www.nocoalnogas.org/events/mass-action-2021

NH Peace Action Fall Event with Phyllis Bennis - Oct 1 5:30 or 6:00

For details and registration

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

News of Friends

David and Penny are heading off to the south western 4 corner states and will be back in mid-October. For COVID-19 safety they are renting an RV! David wants to remind everyone to gear up for the return of our Story Hour on Oct 23.

Michael Evans wrote: Things here are going very well. Intense, fast, lively, a bit crazy--but very well. Everyone is being extremely warm and welcoming, and we are enjoying getting to know the community. We're also enjoying exploring Nebraska. We are in the Southeast corner, and a couple of weeks ago we drove to the Northwest corner for a Board of Trustees meeting. It was 500 miles each way--and we drove through a fascinating shift of landscapes, from our green rolling hills, to the flatlands, to the sandhills, to the grasslands. We had dinner that night alongside a stream--Bordeaux Crick--on a ranch owned by one of the Trustees, and we learned about how her family homesteaded there 150 years ago, living in a sod hut dug into a hillside. We have had some spectacular thunderstorms, which we haven't seen since leaving Indiana, and the days now are cooling nicely.

Michael and Joanna moved to Nebraska for his position of President at Peru State College. They are looking forward to the resumption of our Story Hour and hoping their busy schedules will permit participation!

Meetinghouse Sprucing Up

Every other month, the property committee leads a brief period of cleaning at the Meetinghouse after fellowship on Sunday. Since in-person attendance is small with the resurgence of the pandemic, getting some things done at other times would be helpful. Earlier this month, we managed to do some weeding and some window washing. While the weather is still good for these activities, it would be great if anyone going near the Meetinghouse could plan to go there and spend 20 minutes or so doing more of this. Materials for window washing can be found in the utility/furnace room. I will be there this Thursday half an hour or so before 7 pm midweek worship (when I think there will still be enough light outside). Contact JJ if you want to do some of this another time soon.

The following items are repeated from prior announcements.

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

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

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

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

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:

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

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

Elaine's Impressions, and Photos from Waterville Camping Trip

Concord Friends, A Feeling of Closeness

There’s a feeling of closeness that comes from spending time together out in the woods. The rhythms of such things as meal preparations, activity planning and equipment sharing settle into place allowing for casual conversation, quiet walks together and time to deepen friendships.

Our 2021 Fall Camping Trip encompassed these elements nicely. There were long coffee hours by morning fires, warm hellos and goodnights called out from the campground road, outbursts of pilliated woodpecker calls and beautiful melodies from a French Horn.

The surrounding mountains of Waterville Valley were only beginning their fall show as they lay drenched in Wednesday’s downpour. The Cascades with their fans, drops and deep, dark pools were there to delight, prompting one small hound dog to take a flying leap into the water far below which he survived. There were birthday songs and stories of early Quakers and long talks about native friends both eastern and Alaskan. We talked of our perceptions of time and visited the Mad River to soak in the warm sun. There were comments on the deep green of the dense White Mountain National Forest and the iridescence of a spider’s web I the bright setting sun. And the mushrooms were in special abundance, in oranges, fluorescent yellows and moon colored whites.

It was a time filled with sweet generosities and serious, down-to-earth talk and sleepy relaxation after strenuous exercise, all serving to knit us more tightly together while freeing us to reach farther out into the world; refreshed and renewed.

- Elaine B.