Mac Computer Needed

The Meeting's panoramic camera has capabilities that are not accessible to us through the use of a Windows based operating system. If anyone has an Apple computer that is collecting dust and works, the Meeting could put it to good use.

Sunday Morning Study Group

We are switching our Tuesday night book group to Sunday morning at 9 am. We will try for the third Sunday this month, May 15. We will be reading "Our Life is Love" by Marcelle Martin, Inner Light Books. It is about the Quaker spiritual journey. Marcelle has led many spiritual development programs at Pendle Hill and in New England. We see this group developing into more of a spiritual preparation group than a pure book group. If you have the book, we will look at the beginning possibly up to page 17. Let me know if you want me to send you those pages for now. There are some interesting questions at the end of that section. We will open the Worship link at 9 and meet in the Meetinghouse Worship room at the same time. We'll spend some time getting organized then as well. - Sara Smith

Thank you to our Boiler Cleaners

The heating season is over and it's time to appreciate our stalwart team of boiler cleaners who have helped keep us warm this past winter. Thank you Rich, JJ, Jonah, and Greg.

Fourth Sunday Program - May 22 - Presentation/Q&A about Friends House Moscow by Julie Harlow

Friends House Moscow (FHM) has gained attention from the Quaker community by organizing and hosting the daily international worship for peace, which is still well attended. Their spokesperson, Julie Harlow, will tell us how and why they formed their organization and what they are doing now. Here is FHM's description of the presentation, which will be followed by a Q&A session. Questions can also be submitted before the presentation by emailing Julie at fhmus [at] sbcglobal [dot] net.

"Julie was in Russia when the Soviet government fell in 1991. One day she was in Leningrad, and the next day, she was instantly in St. Petersburg. She had spent the previous seven years leading tours of Russia for Friends and friends of Friends, carrying a traveling minute from Pacific Yearly Meeting.

Julie speaks with great empathy and knowledge about the general outlook of the Russian people, whose lives have been constricted by poverty, government corruption, and lawlessness, all of which have worsened dramatically since the fall of the Soviet Union. She speaks with equal empathy about the outlook of contemporary Ukrainians, whose culture was forcibly suppressed and “Russified” under Soviet authority, resulting in a “pressure cooker” of resentments among Ukrainians against ethnic Russians.

Friends House Moscow has been a candle in the dark in Russia for twenty-five years – sponsoring programs that provide material aid and education for orphans, offering workshops by the Alternatives to Violence Project, translating Quaker reading materials into Russian and publishing them, providing venues for worship, meditation, peaceful fellowship, and much more."

Ending the war in Yemen - now

This week NH Peace Action has asked members to contact our reps about Yemen (message below). How about we add our voices to amplify the message?

Over the past month there have been encouraging changes in the conflict - a Ramadan cease-fire, a slight easing of the blockade which allowed a few ships with vital supplies to reach Yemen. This is the most progress we've seen in years and we want to continue to build on it. So, please join us in calling our representatives today and urging them to stand with Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Rep. Peter DeFazio to end U.S. involvement in the Yemen war.

You can also use this FCNL tool which makes it very easy and also gives FCNL info on what we've done to help in their tracking: www.fcnl.org/ATyemencall

Dear Friends,

Since 2015, the U.S. has been funding, arming, and providing logistical support to the Saudi Monarchy as it wages a brutal war against the Yemeni people. This is a clear violation of Article I of the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which grants Congress the power to declare war and authorize US military involvement.

As a candidate, President Biden pledged to end support for the war in Yemen while many who now serve as senior officials in his administration have repeatedly called for shutting down precisely the activities the US is engaged in.

Recently, Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Rep. Peter DeFazio published an article in the Nation announcing their intention to submit and pass a new War Powers Resolution which would re-affirm congresses control over declarations of war and use of military force.

Call your representatives today and urge them to stand with Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Rep. Peter DeFazio and end U.S. involvement in the Yemen war.

• Rep. Chris Pappas (CD-1)- (603) 935-6710
• Rep. Ann McLane Kuster (CD-2)- (603) 595-2006
• Sen. Jeanne Shaheen- (603) 647-7500
• Sen. Maggie Hassan- (603) 622-2204

Thank you for your continued support and action,

The team at NH Peace Action

info [at] nhpeaceaction [dot] org - www.nhpeaceaction.org - (603)228-0559

4 Park Street, Suite 304, Concord, NH 03301

Asylum Seekers Support Fund

We are launching a drive to raise money for our Asylum Seekers Support Fund and sending it to the wider community (Immigrant support groups, churches) as well. We would love to have as many people as possible contribute. Whether or not you can contribute, can you send it to five friends and tell them how or why you support this cause? That will be another way to build awareness and help the cause! See the poster here. Also, thanks to Kathi C's efforts, we will also have a page on our website to help this as well. Thanks to all who helped bring this forward.

The following items have appeared previously in emailed announcements.

Richard Cornelius - Memorial Service

We have received this letter from Judy Reed, Dick's wife. Though they moved to Keene many years ago, Dick and Judy were active in Concord Friends with their two children Roma and Galya for more than a decade in the 80s and 90s.

Dear Friends and Family,

Our memorial gathering for Dick is coming up soon, on Saturday May 14, at 2:00 PM in the Parish Hall of the Keene Unitarian Church: 69 Washington Street Keene NH 03431.

I know many of you are unable to attend in person, but your support and your affection for Dick has been expressed and is deeply appreciated.

For those who will be present, this will be a gathering of people from Dick’s life, coming together to share thoughts, memories, and feelings through our own words and music. In the manner of Friends (Quakers), there will be no predetermined program and no spiritual leader other than our inner selves. After a short period of silence, members are invited to offer words or music if and when they feel called to do so, leaving a few moments of silence between offerings.

Afterwards, there will be time to mingle and converse informally over an array of tasty vegan refreshments.

Please feel free to get in touch if you have questions.

Love,

Judy (603-357-4905)

NEYM Annual Sessions, Save the Date Aug 6-11

Friends, an exciting update on plans for Sessions 2022:

At this writing we are expecting that, after two years' absence, Friends will be able to joyfully gather together, in person, at Castleton University for the Annual Sessions of New England Yearly Meeting of Friends, August 6–11. All of us, especially youth staff, are looking forward to welcoming children, youth, and their families to what will be for many the first time together in two years.

We are aware that not all will be comfortable or able to gather in a large group and are planning some hybrid events so that those who so choose may participate again by Zoom.

Friends responsible for Sessions planning continue to wrestle with balancing a desire for a good number of different events/activities with the awareness that the busyness of Sessions can feel like “too much.” And with how to provide meaningful experiences for both in-person and remote participation. While in-person and remote can in no way be “equal,” our hope is all Sessions participants will find spiritual comfort and meaning, and will come away from the experience a bit richer.

Add to this the exhaustion of staff and volunteers from two years of the extra burden of planning events in an unfamiliar platform, now needing to plan hybrid (in-person and virtual) events, and you will understand that this year’s Sessions will likely be based on a simpler schedule.

While the schedule and details are yet to be resolved we do have news to share:

• We have a new clerk of the Sessions planning process: Phil Veatch of Fresh Pond Meeting has stepped into the role that Rebecca Leuchak was filling until a new clerk had been named. Rebecca is now released to live into her new role of Rising Clerk of the Yearly Meeting. A veteran Sessions attender, Phil is catching up and getting ready for the busy season of Sessions planning.
• Our theme for Sessions 2022 is "This is the hour: How does the Spirit find you?" This grew out of our sense that Friends’ condition, as we gather, will reflect two years of living with the pandemic. We all are carrying myriad conditions, among them: joy, grief, longing, outrage, happiness. “How does the Spirit find you” invites you to acknowledge the many and sometimes seemingly contradictory feelings. But “This is the hour” is a query in the form of a statement. What is this the hour for? Concerns have been brought to Sessions in recent years about the state of our earth, systemic racism, the history of our relationship with Native Americans, and more. “This is the hour” invites us to consider what this is the hour for.
• The Bible Half Hours will be given by Regina Renee Ward. Regina Renee is someone for whom the Bible is not just a foundational document for our faith tradition, but is a living, breathing, guide to daily living. She has given Bible Half Hours at Friends General Conference and Pacific Yearly Meeting, and was a presenter at the Walking with the Bible series offered by Woolman Hill Quaker Center and the Beacon Hill Friends House.

Watch for further news and the official Sessions invitation coming soon, but for the time being, mark your calendars!

Bruce Neumann, Presiding Clerk

clerk [at] neym [dot] org

Phillip Veatch, Clerk of Sessions Planning

sessions [at] neym [dot] org

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