Christmas Eve Plans (From YRE Committee)

Christmas Eve program: There is some interest in having a semi-programmed Christmas Eve  Meeting for Worship at 6:00 pm followed by potluck at 6:30pm.  Please contact Ruth if you are coming.

Caroling: Although we cannot go caroling anywhere inside Havenwood, the Assisted Living folks would love us to come carol outside their dining room windows.  That is where Charlie Friou is living, and he will be there then. Charlie is thrilled with this idea.  We will meet at 4:45 to sing for 20 minutes or so. (Then those who want to go to the Meetinghouse for the program and potluck can also do that.)  Please contact Ruth if you will be caroling so you can receive more exact information on parking there.  We'll also need to carry candles or flashlights to see the books and be seen by those inside.

Child Safety Policy (From YRE Committee)

In reviewing our child safety statement, the committee realized we should be making it available to all members annually for review, as well as having every childcare worker and teacher and parent sign it.  Find the policy on the website here.  We will have some paper copies available at the Meetinghouse.

The committee asked the November Meeting for Business to revise this policy to allow remote (Zoom) monitoring of the rooms in use for children's programming.  We were asked to bring revised wording to the Meeting.  Here is that revised wording (in bold) which we will bring to January Meeting for Business:

• If two areas of activity are in use, there will be three adults present with the children: a teacher or child care worker in each room plus a third adult floater between the rooms observing and assisting as needed.
  • People attending via Zoom may serve as the observer by signing into each active classroom breakout room (one will be set up in each active classroom) periodically during worship.

The committee discussed that the observer can either use one device and “Leave Worship Room”, “Enter Classroom 1” and monitor it for a period of time, then “Enter Classroom 2” (if active) and monitor, then “Enter Worship” again. This should be done at least twice randomly between 10:15 and 11:00am.  Or they can use two devices and just shift their focus from the Worship Room device to each of the Zoom Classrooms in turn.

Thank you to all those who have been teachers and helpers this year!  It is a great gift to have children among us, which would not be possible without the help of the teachers (Rich, Wendy, and Ruth, and new teacher Elaine) and the other 16 people who have had a background check.  It is also a gift to have the schedule filled out in advance, so we are not scrambling to find someone who has already gone into Meeting for Worship.  There is a google doc of the schedule of teachers and helpers that was just emailed out.  If we have both toddlers and older youth we'll have two active rooms and need 3 people out.  So on any given Sunday we may need zero,, 2, or 3 people out with children.  Please look for that emailed message and sign up. Thank you.

Staying in Touch, Connecting with Others

To help our community keep in touch, we have a number of lists, including an email list, a membership list, a contact list.  Currently, the email-address list is maintained by Greg H; the membership list is maintained by Paula W, our Recorder; the contact list of members and regular attenders is maintained by Mark B.

To add or update your contact information on the contact list, please fill in the “Contact List Consent Form” [https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/sites/all/files/documents/MeetingContactList-ConsentForm-Fillable.pdf].  You only need to fill in the information you wish to share, then mail it to Mark B or email it to: MarkWBarker [at] ConcordFriendsMeeting [dot] org (subject: Contact%20List)

If you are in membership, you may wish to fill in the “Record of Membership” form [https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/sites/all/files/documents/MembershipRecordForm-Rev2019-fillable.pdf], which you can send to Mark at the same time, and he’ll forward it to the Recorder, Paula W.

With thanks, Mark

Kitchen Clean Up

A few people have replied that they will help in a rotation for Kitchen Clean-Up on 2nd and 4th Sundays.  We're trying to get this into a regular schedule so that everyone can relax with the knowledge that all has been planned for. We are sure there are regular attenders who would like to be of service in this way but have simply not noticed the need or have forgotten to reply. If you would like to help out in this way please reply to this message and we can work out the details with you. Thank you. 

Minutes

Dear Friends,  The draft minutes for the December 2022 meeting for worship with attention to business are available at https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/2022-12-11_CMM_Minutes or via https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/Minutes_of_ConcordMonthlyMeeting

For corrections and/or clarifications of the minutes, please reply to Clerk, Concord Friends Meeting <clerk [at] concordfriendsmeeting [dot] org>.   With love, and peace, and tenderness, Mark

Unleashing the Power virtual workshop: Gifts & Leadings—Service & Nominations.

Thursday, January 26, 7 p.m. ET.  Charlotte Stangeland, of Iowa Yearly Meeting, will lead a discussion about the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives. How can we increase our awareness and openness to the Spirit’s leadings? How can we recognize and appreciate each others’ spiritual gifts? The discussion of gifts will focus on the grace gifts in Romans 12 and the leadership gifts of Ephesians 4. Register here.  When you follow this link you will need to scroll down the page to find the correct workshop.  Several are listed.

POSTPONED: We Are Stronger Together! Projection & Action - 12/20/22 @ 5pm

Info on this event submitted by Sara

Hello friends!

The weather this week is not turning in our favor and we are expecting sleet and rain for Friday. To avoid that mess and keep everyone safe (and dry!), we will postpone the action until Tuesday 12/20 at 5pm at 1589 Elm St. Manchester, NH 03101. Please keep a lookout for an updated calendar invite and FB event. See you next week!

Everyone deserves to live in safety and peace – no matter where they were born or how they came to the United States. But politicians across the political spectrum, including Senator Hassan, continue to block policies that would keep families and communities together.

Now, more than ever our communities are Stronger Together when we recognize migration as a human right and pass laws and policies that invest in a humane and fair immigration system that does not discriminate against Black and Brown people. Our elected leaders must not overlook the ongoing harms of detention and deportation and support real investment in the immigration infrastructure we need to keep families together and strengthen our communities.

Please join our Stronger Together creative art action on Tuesday 12/20 at 5pm at Senator Hassan's office in Manchester (1589 Elm St), to demand our Congressional delegation end Title 42, support updating the Registry Date and provide permanent protections for immigrants!

FB event here: https://fb.me/e/2fSn2beYG

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