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Placing decent work and social justice at the core of policymaking is simply a recognition of the obvious:

None of us can build a better future for ourselves unless we include others.

~ Guy Ryder (1956-present)

International civil servant who currently serves as

Under-Secretary-General for Policy at the United Nations

The Meeting Calendar

We gather this coming Sunday, September 29th for Dover Quarterly Meeting.  We will be meeting at 1 pm on site at Dover Friends Meeting and on Zoom (the link is below).  This is a change, our hope to meet at New England Evangelical Friends will need to happen another time. We look forward to that.

This will be a time to be together, to hear reports from our ministers, consider travel minutes from Friends called to go to Cuba next February and to invite Friends to consider if they may be called to step into leadership roles in the Quarter.  We will also hear from Friends around the Quarter about the life in their home meetings.

The agenda and draft minutes from our June meeting are below.

I look forward to being together.

* Anna Fritz, a Quaker cellist and performance artist from Portland Oregon who gave the plenary at New England Annual Sessions in 2023 is bringing a performance of "An Iliad" to the Friends School of Portland on October 19^th at 7 pm.

No RSVPs are required for this event.  Tickets will be available at the door and are all pay-what-you-will.  Hope to see you there!

"An Iliad" is a modern retelling of the ancient epic by Homer written by Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare, performed by Paul Susi and Anna Fritz with an original musical score composed by Anna Fritz.

Using performance to connect people across prison walls.

The Fig Tree Committee tours An Iliad, by Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare, to correctional facilities, while also performing for the communities that surround them.  So far, over 3,000 people have seen our production of "An Iliad", most of whom were incarcerated at the time.

This work knits together audiences on both sides of the prison walls by using one of the world's oldest stories to examine the cycles of violence, trauma, displacement, and hope for healing that unite us all.

At the Greater Concord Interfaith Council Meeting, it was announced that this would be happening.  [Each year on or near the Feast Day of St. Francis, which falls on October 4^th, there are requests for a liturgy of blessing for animals.]  I don't know that it would ordinarily be of interest to many in our community.  However, the recent public attacks on Haitians who are living and working in this country make many of us want to show support for the new Haitian priest at St Paul's who will be leading this.  No need to enter the church itself as it will happen outside on the statehouse side just across Park St.

We invite you to attend an important meeting on Tuesday, October 8^th, at 1:30 p.m. at East Congregational Church on 51 Mountain Road in Concord.

The Concord Female Charitable Society, founded in 1812, has been reexamining its mission and membership.  We are looking to attract new and active members and would like to engage you in brainstorming methods of enlarging our reach in the community.  For those not familiar with our work, this meeting will explain it in detail.  We are blessed with a substantial endowment which gives us the freedom to help with a variety of requests.

We would value your input and assistance as we consider enlarging the number of faith communities that participate in our work.

You are welcome to send a representative to this meeting if you are unable to join us.  Please send any questions to linda [dot] baines [at] comcast [dot] net and RSVP to Kathy Gray at kbushmv [at] gmail [dot] com.

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.

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!

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.

As the world’s attention remains focused on the unfolding crises in Gaza and southern Lebanon, the resilience and struggles of those living in the West Bank—particularly in Ramallah—remain alarmingly under-reported.  Among those profoundly affected by these ongoing tensions are the families, staff, and students of Ramallah Friends School, who daily navigate the uncertainties and fears of this war.

The RFS community faces a series of challenges as part of their daily lives.  Ongoing incursions by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Ramallah, the presenting threat of settler violence, and the economic pressures stemming from rising inflation collectively create an atmosphere of stress and instability.  Near the gates of our school, a military convoy hit a car belonging to one of our teachers, but fortunately he and his children survived.  Additionally, the marketplace neighboring the school was burned.  Many families in Palestine, including members of the RFS community, are choosing to relocate—which is causing additional financial stress to the school which will result in a budgetary shortfall this year.

In the face of such adversity, RFS has taken active steps to ensure that its community can cope.  Recently, the school organized training in Alternatives to Violence, a program dedicated to fostering non-violent conflict resolution and equipping participants with tools to manage interpersonal relationships constructively.  Moreover, RFS has renewed its commitment to weekly chapel services, recognizing the importance of spaces for reflection and silence.

RFS is doing great work providing a sense of normalcy and care for our students and their families.  While the headlines may focus on the immediate crises in the region, it is vital to recognize the ongoing struggles and resilience of the community we serve.

Please continue to hold the RFS community in prayer.

Please consider supporting the Financial Aid programs of RFS.

Over Labor Day weekend, Ben Lomond Quaker Center marked its 75^th anniversary among friends, neighbors, staff and former staff, children, young people and elders, old timers and newcomers, locals, visitors and far-flung supporters.  About 150 people attended over the course of the event.

It was a festive and gathered celebration.  A few highlights included a scavenger hunt that brought participants from the Casa to the waterfall, a beautiful Meeting for Worship at the Redwood Circle, a memorable potluck lunch at the Casa de Luz, and a spirited rendition of a Quaker Center version of “Those Were The Days,” before an open house lunch at the Orchard Lodge.  Alma Moon baked a birthday cake for the ages, with a custard filling made from Quaker Center apples.

Perhaps most importantly, we rang in the next 75 years to come.  Together, we recommitted the Ben Lomond Quaker Center to its mission of providing Friends programming that nurtures the faithfulness and spiritual growth of our community and beyond.  We planted some hardy seeds in the vegetable garden, which Quaker Center staff as always are committed to tending and watering.  It was a marvelous and inspiring event that we will keep with us as we walk forward together.

Welcome to the September State of the Thing!

In this issue we welcome a new member to the LibraryThing team, share some site updates—including the news that our store is reopening! —invite members to list their favorite banned books, interview author Andrew K. Clark, and present 4,890 free Early Reviewer books!

We also serve up our usual rundowns of the book world: "Freedom of Expression, "In Memoriam," and "Awards."  (If you never read down that far, you really should!)

Click here for link

The Holy Land is pockmarked

With the graves of martyrs

Crusaders, false prophets

And maybe even

Interspersed

In shameful proportion

With child-sized graves

The seeds of the future

Planted where they will not grow

For they are the meek

But what will be left for them

If all we make is rubble?

By the hungry jaws of industry

Or the violent jaws of war

(Industry of another kind

Ceasefire

Cease now

Lest all the Earth

Become a grave