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There is a quiet, open place in the depths of the mind, to which we can go many times in the day and lift up our soul in praise, thankfulness, and conscious unity.  Withpractisethis God-ward turn of the mind becomes an almost constant direction, underlying all our other activities.

~ Kenneth Boulding, 1910-1993 (photo by By Thomas Huntke, Germany)

The Meeting Calendar

This Fourth Sunday, after fellowship and potluck, we will have a worship sharing on the topic of "What is Real Hope?".  We will start the sharing with a recording of a talk on this topic given by Genna Ulrich at the recent New England Yearly Meeting sessions.  Please come and add your light to our discussion.

Note: You can find the recordings of the Bible Half Hour, Plenary Speaker, and more from 2024 and previous years on the NEYM podcast, Then I Heard a Voice. It's a great resource!  (https://neym.org/beliefs/then-i-heard-voice-our-podcast-feed)

The draft minutes for the September 2024 Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business are available at 2024-09-08CMMMinutes or via https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/Minutes_of_ConcordMonthlyMeeting. Click or tap to follow the link.">MinutesofConcordMonthlyMeeting

For corrections, missing documents, and/or clarifications of the minutes, please reply to web clerk, Concord Friends Meeting webclerk [at] concordfriendsmeeting [dot] org (<webclerk [at] concordfriendsmeeting [dot] org>).

When I realized that I had scheduled a JYM retreat on the weekend after the election, I gulped.  Would we be able to tune out the world just two days after learning the results?  Would the staff be ready to answer questions the kids might be asking - questions that adults might be still asking themselves?  Did I need to plan multiple contingency schedules to respond to different scenarios, results, and reactions?  And what about JHYM - should I be planning a retreat that addressed the rhetoric and controversies that would be undoubtedly swirling around us by October?

I conceded that I did not have a crystal ball, and realized that I had to plan something that would 'work' regardless of the outcome, making space for any outcome and any emotions we may be feeling.  Something steadfast.  Something hopeful.  And it occurred to me that this 'something,' this theme, this message, should be the same - unchanging - whether it was a month before the election or two days after.  Because our values won't have changed.  God* won't have changed.  Our faith - whether emboldened or shaken - is always relevant.

As I meditated on the concept of this no-matter-what faith, I remembered the story of Jesus calming the storm.  He was on a boat with his disciples when the storm started.  In response to the disciples' fear, Jesus uttered the famous line, "O ye of little faith." Jesus had not been afraid.  In fact, his mood and behavior hadn't changed since the calm sea had rocked him to sleep hours earlier!  It was only because they woke him up in a panic that he felt the need to do anything at all.  And they say he "rebuked the wind and waves," calming the sea, along the with the fears of the crew.

Wind and waves always exist in our lives.  Sometimes they are political and societal.  They can also be emotional, spiritual, relational, medical, or financial.  But we can have hope no matter what.  We can have faith no matter what.  And this election season is a great time for us all to be reminded of that concept, which we can carry into the rest of our lives.  Wherever your child is on the politically savvy spectrum, whatever else they might be struggling with in their life - and even if they are blissfully ignorant of any hardship in the world right now - this theme can speak to them and provide comfort in storms of the present or future.

We will explore the aforementioned scripture passage in that open-ended, metaphorical, individualized way that Quakers do.  We will play team-building games that are ocean and/or ship themed.  We will talk about how to be grounded in our lives.  At the retreat in Portland, we will experience waves on a ferry ride.

At Woolman Hill we will visit the preserved home of war tax resisters who rebuked the winds of injustice by living simply.

Please join us by registering today!

Peace, Social, and Earthcare Concerns Committee (PSECC) is sponsoring two films at Red River Theatre, put on by a group called Not in my Name which is associated with NH Peace Action. The movies are “Israelism” (9/19) and “Where Olive Trees Weep" (9/26).

The filmmakers journeyed to the occupied West Bank in 2022.  Background to the current crisis is given as the film examines the lives of people they met.  The Palestinians share their universally human stories of intergenerational pain, trauma and resilience.

Anne Romney is a member of Not in My Name and will moderate a discussion after each film.  Participants will be encouraged to share their reactions as well as questions about the films and the Israel/Palestine situation. Anne is an educator and facilitator who  has traveled to Israel/Palestine on a Compassionate Listening Journey to meet with both Jews and Arabs living in and out of the Occupied Territories. She has researched the background of the conflict for many years and is committed to promoting awareness and action around a humanitarian crisis that has long been in the shadows.

The silent vigil for a ceasefire in Gaza continues every Thursday from Noon-1 p.m. at the corner of Main and Park Street.  Make your own sign, use one provided, or just stand in silent witness besides others. This is done in coordination with NH Peace Action.  We suggest that people make signs that convey something about justice for Israel and Palestine.  Also please avoid the word genocide, ethnic cleansing, and similar terms.

Registration at Latter Day Saints on Clinton Street opens at 9:00 AM, we gather for introductions, etc. at 9:30, and the 2 ½ mile walk begins at 10:00 AM.  This year the GCIC will be partnering with Domino’s Pizza, Constantly Pizza, and Sal’s pizza to give a $10 gift card to everyone who raises $100 or more.

Seven faith communities have already set up teams online: https://events.crophungerwalk.org/cropwalks/event/concordnh. Click or tap to follow the link.">https://events.crophungerwalk.org/cropwalks/event/concordnh and five others have started fundraising offline.

Contact GCIC if you have questions, need materials, or would like to help on Walk Day by providing desserts for returning walkers.

Look on the Greater Concord Interfaith Council’s Facebook page (link at https://www.greaterconcordinterfaithcouncil.org/. Click or tap to follow the link.">https://www.greaterconcordinterfaithcouncil.org/) and share it to spread the word.

At the August 2024 Annual Sessions, the NEYM Quaker Indian Boarding School Research Group presented its findings on specific ways that New England Yearly Meeting as a whole, and individual Friends, were involved in the Indian Board School movement.  This marked another significant step in the Yearly Meeting's work towards Right Relationship with Indigenous Peoples, and was a direct response to requests from the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition and the Department of the Interior.  Concord Monthly Meeting has previously hosted Paula Palmer, another Friend who has been working to help Friends understand our complicity in this history.  Friends are encouraged to read the https://neym.org/sites/default/files/2024-07/NEYM%202024%20QIBS%20final%.... Click or tap to follow the link.">most recent report.

This is Jen Newman, Beacon Hill Friends House Executive Director! Following are some upcoming events:

Friends who weren't able to be at NEYM hybrid sessions this year may want to explore some of the recordings made. And some who were there may want to revisit some of this, too.

neym 2024-sessions-recordings

Join AFSC New Hampshire for "Rooted Resilience: Building a Solidarity Economy for People & Planet" on Saturday, September 28^th from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Tuckaway Farm in Lee, NH for a community workshop for people of all ages who are interested in learning more about how our economic system works, how we got here and how we create an economy that works for all of us.

Facilitated by AFSC's U.S. Economic Justice Director Rick Wilson and Emily Kawano, Co-Director of the Wellspring Cooperative Corporation and Coordinator of the U.S. Solidarity Economy Network, this interactive and inclusive workshop will grow our understanding of how we build a solidarity and resistance economy that can transform and strengthen our communities so that we all have what we need to live and thrive.

Learn more about inspiring work currently underway in New Hampshire and connect with diverse community members from across the state! This event is by donation. The full day workshop includes breakfast and lunch. Childcare and transportation support will be available for those who need it. All are welcome!

You are invited to register for our Fall Retreat! Our theme will be "The Costumes We Wear."

Each year on the last day of 10^th month (October), people across the country don costumes and assume new identities in celebration of Halloween. Though Early Friends did not observe this tradition, many Friends today do. But what about the costumes that we try on, both intentionally and unintentionally, during other times of the year? How do the costumes that we wear affirm and how do they obscure our identities? How do the Early Friends' customs of plain dress and “clothing ourselves in righteousness” resonate with our spiritual practices and traditions today?

Join Young Friends for a weekend of silliness, deep conversation, and reflection at Portland Friends Meeting. You can register for the retreat here.