Concord Friends Meeting

A Monthly Meeting in Dover Quarter of New England Yearly Meeting, Religious Society of Friends

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The Meeting Calendar

Please socially distance for all indoor events and mask when not eating or drinking (more info).

NB. Midweek Meeting is not scheduled.  Please be in touch with Rich or Lucy if you are interested in attending.

Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business – Sunday, June 11

May 2023 Minutes

The draft minutes for the May 2023 meeting for worship with attention to business are available at https://www.ConcordFriendsMeeting.org/2023-05-07_CMM_Minutes or via https://www.ConcordFriendsMeeting.org/Minutes_of_ConcordMonthlyMeeting

Balance Sheet Comparison FY23 to FY22

https://ConcordFriendsMeeting.org/sites/all/files/documents/CMM-BalanceSheetComparison- FY23toFY22.pdf

Concord Friends Meeting Statement of Operations

https://ConcordFriendsMeeting.org/sites/all/files/documents/CMM-OperationsFY2023asof2023-05-31forJun2023.pdf

Childcare Proposal; Meeting for Business, May 7 at 12:30 p.m.

The Childcare Planning Committee will present a detailed plan for building improvements required to offer our space for rent to the outdoor childcare program, now named Pathways Learning Center. The proposal will also include a funding mechanism to get the work underway this summer: a combination of a capital fund raising campaign and loan(s). The committee has consulted with a friendly architect to advise on code compliance and met twice with the Canterbury Fire Department Chief who is the decision maker on these code/safety items.

Likely needed Improvements include lighted exit signs, emergency lighting, a fire department accessible key lock box, a 45 or 60 minute rated fire door to the mechanical room, closing the entrance to the attic above the lobby, certain improvements to the wall between the Mechanical Room and the Fellowship Room, and a fire detection and alarm system with pull stations by each entrance and fire dispatch notification.

Find: 1) the committee's narrative proposal here, 2) the architect's code compliance report to the Fire Chief here, and 3) the fire detection/alarm proposal for Mango Security Systems here. We look forward to a full discussion at Meeting for Business.  Due to the lateness of the season for families to plan for their childcare for the fall, a decision should not be delayed.

Ruth, Greg, and Dave.

MEETING FOR LISTENING: The Spiritual Life in our Local Meetings at Concord Friends Meetinghouse

A full-day, hybrid event June 24, 2023

Friends are most in the Spirit when they stand at the crossing point of the inward and outward life. And that is the intersection at which we find community. a place where the connections felt in the heart make themselves known in bonds between people, and where the tugging and pullings of those bonds keep opening our hearts.

- (Parker Palmer, A Place Called Community, Pendle Hill Pamphlet #212, 1977)

JOIN US FOR A GATHERING OF FRIENDS IN NEW ENGLAND CARING FOR THE NURTURE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE AND MINISTRY IN OUR LOCAL FAITH COMMUNITIES.

Together, we will:

• Dream together,
• Identify the resources meetings have to offer each other,
• Explore themes in State of Society reports and trends from statistical reports, and
• Discover what’s possible now.

Background:

As you know, our yearly meeting’s primary purpose is to support monthly meetings, to be a vehicle to share resources and experiences among and between us in order to better understand our life in the Spirit and to be able to listen more closely to the Teacher. With that in mind, at yearly meeting annual sessions last year, we decided to hold a “Meeting for Listening.”

Our first “Meeting for Listening” is scheduled for JUNE 24, 2023. It will be a FULL-DAY, HYBRID GATHERING where Friends can gather in different ways: on-site at Concord (NH) Meeting, in local clusters connected via Zoom, as well as individually via Zoom.

We gather to share with each other—to reflect on where Spirit is alive in our local worshiping communities. These insights and reflections will both inform programmatic planning in the year ahead and our annual Funding Priorities.

And while that’s all very serious, don’t be misled. We are looking forward to a day of joyful worship, celebration, and discovery.

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN.  Whether you plan to participate via Zoom or gather with others, you can register for this free-of-charge event at NEYM.org/Meeting-for-Listening.  If you plan to attend on-site in Concord, please register by June 1^st.  This will help us comfortably accommodate everyone.

Are you led to host a local cluster in your area? If, rather than travel to Concord, you are interested in inviting area Friends (for example, your Quarter) to gather at your meeting’s location in a regional cluster to participate in the gathering together connected via a shared device or system, we would love to support you in doing so, as much as we are able. Contact us (mc-clerk [at] neym [dot] org and Nia [at] neym [dot] org) to begin a conversation.

Looking forward in faith, Carl Williams, Ministry and Counsel Clerk and Nia Thomas, Program Director

An Invitation from the Presiding Clerk and Clerk of Sessions Committee:

Friends around New England and beyond—you are invited to the 363^rd Annual Sessions of New England Yearly Meeting, August 4–9, 2023!

Last year we pioneered hybrid sessions, with some of you attending at Castleton University, and others participating by Zoom. Continuing that successful experiment, our focus this year is building connections, strengthening local meetings, and practicing our faith together. Our schedule has been built with attention to creating time for sitting with old F/friends and making new ones.

Click here for more information

Quaker Podcasts

There are a number of newly active Quaker podcasts, and some on hiatus which had a good run. Friends may find some of these listed below interesting. Contributed by Jonah:

The Seed: Conversations for Radical Hope, from Pendle Hill, interviews one person, generally active in social justice movements.  https://pendlehill.org/learn/podcast/

Thee Quaker, a new podcast from John Watts (previously of QuakerSpeak) looks at Quaker history and presents with both an outsider and an insider. http://quakerpodcast.com/subscribe

New Hampshire Pow Wows

Here is a fun and interesting way to develop your relationship with the local Native American community. The link takes you to a listing of all the Pow Wows in NH this summer. Sara and JJ are going to the Alstead one (15 Mechanic Street) and then to the Keene concert with the Concord Chorale at 3.

https://calendar.powwows.com/events/categories/pow-wows/pow-wows-in-new-hampshire/

Maintenance Committee

Fellowship Cleaning Day

There are some Friends who couldn't stay on the third Sunday of May who may want to pitch in a bit before the next scheduled day on July 16th. Here are some suggestions:

• While we already shoveled and raked out a good bit of the gravel that the snow plowing had pushed into piles at the edge of the parking lot.  There is more of that work needed, especially at the east end near the shed.  I believe there is a shovel and iron rake in the shed.  The combination for the padlock is the same as for the lockbox where the front door key is kept.
• Spreading out more of the bags of mulch in the play area would also be helpful (and would also need that kind of rake, I think).  Bringing tools with you could make it quicker than getting things out of the shed. Greg could let you know where more of the mulch is especially needed.
• Weeding the front areas is always helpful and there may be debris like sticks and branches that could be picked up and put into the woods to reduce clutter around the building.  I believe we have a wheelbarrow in the shed that could make that task easier.
• If anyone feels there are things that ought to be added to the list (and may need to be done before July), let me know.

Jennifer Smith

FAHE Annual Conference 2023

Please join us and spread the word:

44^th Annual Meeting of the Friends Association for Higher Education

Quakers, Colonization, and Decolonization

June 12-15, 2023. Hosted by Haverford College, Haverford PA

Get more information and register here.

• Full in-person overnight option
• Commuter option
• Zoom option

4 Hybrid Plenary Sessions:

• International Decolonization Issues
• Decolonizing and Land Back
• Quaker Indigenous Boarding Schools
• Insights for discernment moving forward

25 Concurrent Presentations

• 4 session In-person series
• 4 session Zoom series
• From “Quaker Colonists” to “the Future of a decolonized quakerism.”
• From “Seeking Peace Without Land Justice” to “Researching Native American Boarding Schools.”

50 Presenters

• 12 of Indigenous heritage representing 11 Turtle Island Nations
• 30 Quakers representing 13 Yearly Meetings and 5 continents
• 10 Colleges and Universities

All are welcome regardless of your academic background or current knowledge of these issues

From Past Issues:

• May 2023 Minutes from Meeting for Business
• Committee Updates
• COVID Information from Other Meetings

Minutes of Meeting for Business, May 7 at 12:30 p.m.

The draft minutes for the May 2023 meeting for worship with attention to business are available at https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/2023-05-07_CMM_Minutes or via https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/Minutes_of_ConcordMonthlyMeeting.

Update of Meeting Roles and Committees:

The webpage for "Leadership Roles & Committee Service of Concord Friends Meeting" as well as the forwarding email addresses for FY2023-2024 have been updated: https://www.ConcordFriendsMeeting.org/Contacts

For corrections and updates, please contact WebClerk [at] ConcordFriendsMeeting [dot] org (subject: CFM%20Roles%20%26%20Committees%20-%20update)

COVID Information from other Meetings

As a follow-up to last week's Meeting for Business and the subject of COVID protocols, here is an interesting read on the practices of 14 Meetings around our Quarter and the Yearly Meeting.  It contains much food for thought.

This Newsletter

Dear Friends,

If you have information to share via this Newsletter please have your information submitted to ConcordFriendsNewsletter [at] gmail [dot] com by 5:00 PM on Thursdays. 

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Juliet Curran / Wendy Lapham Newsletter Editors

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