To request log-in information for Zoom Worship: Zoom [at] ConcordFriendsMeeting [dot] org (subject: %E2%80%9CWorship%E2%80%9D%20Zoom%20Link%20Request) .

No[one] can think clearly when [their] fists are clenched.

~ George Jean Nathan (1882-1958)

American critic and magazine editor

The Meeting Calendar

Day	Date	Time	Event
Sunday	April 28th	10:00 a.m. 11:30 a.m. 12:30 p.m.	Meeting for Worship First Day School:  Ruth Helper:  Jennifer Closing:  Greg & Ruth Potluck Fourth Sunday Program: “What is Outreach?”
Tuesday	April 30th	6:30 p.m.	Midweek Worship at the Meeting House.  All are welcome.  If possible, please let Rich know you will be joining us. klnschmdt [at] gmail [dot] com (subject: Mid-week%20Worship) (603-899-7574)
Sunday	May 5th	10:00 a.m.	Meeting for Worship & Fellowship. For Zoom link, email Zoom [at] ConcordFriendsMeeting [dot] org (subject: %E2%80%9CWorship%E2%80%9D%20Zoom%20Link%20Request) . First Day School:  TBD; Helper:  TBD; Closing:  Juliet and Elaine

What does the Quaker way have to offer the world?  How can we reach "Quakers who don't know it yet"?  We'll explore these questions together this Sunday April 28^th after Worship and Potluck.

Sara Smith is inviting you to come enjoy a spring concert of the Merrimack Valley Philharmonic Orchestra MVPOmusic.com [3]  featuring the wonderful Cellist Lori Singer in the Dvorak Cello Concerto along with other Czech favorites. That is this Sunday at 2:30 pm at the Timberlane Performing Arts Center, 40 Greenough Rd, Plaistow, NH. Tickets $30, Seniors $23.  Go to the website [3] and check out the amazing bio of our soloist Lori Singer!

Everyone is welcome to the second meeting of the group sharing on "An Altar in the World" which will be at 9 a.m. on May 5 in the Meetinghouse.  We'll have read Chapter 2 beforehand. This is a drop-in type book ... you don't have to come each session.  If you want to check out the book before committing or purchasing, it is available on Hoopla in both Ebook and Audiobook.  In general, we will meet each 1^st and 3^rd Sunday before Meeting for Worship.  Call Ruth with questions 603-724-4343.

The silent vigil for a ceasefire in Gaza continues every Thursday from Noon-1 p.m. at the plaza in front of the State House.  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.

The draft minutes for the April 2024 Quarterly Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business are available at https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/2024-04-14DoverQuarterlyMeeting [4] or via https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/Minutes_of_DoverQuarterlyMeeting [5].

For corrections, missing documents, and/or clarifications of the minutes, please reply to web clerk, Concord Friends Meeting webclerk [at] concordfriendsmeeting [dot] org (subject: DQM%20Minutes%202024-04-14) (<webclerk [at] concordfriendsmeeting [dot] org>).

At Boscawen Town Meeting this year, a proposed design was presented, but no decision was taken.  The Boscawen Beautification Committee is sponsoring a series of public information meetings at the Boscawen Municipal Offices to “share your vision and ideas with the group” at 5:30 p.m. on April 28, May 6, and June 3.  In announcing the meetings, they have shown five ideas for a design.

I have no objection to flags and banners. They are a way for people to share and express their support for and values of what the banner represents.  A banner may represent a vision of the past or an aspiration for the future.[1]

Several of the designs include historic, iconic images associated with the Town of Boscawen:  the Boscawen Congregational Church at the top of King Street where U.S. Routes 3 and 4 split, the split itself, and the Hannah Dustin Memorial in the southeast corner of the town.  Two of the images face the past, and what they represent to some of our residents; my hope is that a banner for Boscawen offers a vision of our future.

Using the iconic image of the Boscawen Congregational Church may imply an affiliation between church and state, which some might argue is a violation of the ‘Establishment Clause’ of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution which reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...”  Perhaps this image could be replaced by an image of the face of Boscawen’s Municipal Office, the former Penacook Academy building [7].

Using the image of the Hannah Dustin Memorial [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_Duston#First_successful_memorial_(erected_1874) [8]] is also of concern since it reflects a sad time in our nation’s history when European settlers took the land of indigenous people without their agreement.  This theft of land was justified by the now-repudiated papal bulls beginning in 1452, collectively known as the ‘doctrine of discovery’ by which a state can acquire territory by conquest, cession by agreement, or occupation of land. “The Doctrine of Discovery had been used for centuries to expropriate Indigenous lands and facilitate their transfer to colonizing or dominating nations.” [United Nations (8 May 2012)].  Ironically, the doctrine of discovery is contrary to the teachings of Jesus.

For a vision of the past in the future, I would prefer to see one of the “Peaceable Kingdom” images of Edward Hicks.

Perhaps it would be useful to keep with the green base-color of the proposed banners, and use the image of a pine tree, echoing the original name of the area in the Abenaki language, Contoocook, meaning "place of the river near pines".

Our annual work weekend is just around the corner, and we are looking for more hands to help get work done!  So far we have had an intrepid group of 10 volunteers sign up; we hope for 40-50 total volunteers.  Work weekend is happening Friday, May 17 – Sunday, May 19, at Friends Camp in South China, ME.  Tasks for the weekend will include:

Come prepared for physical labor, although we can adapt work to people's different abilities.  Please use this link [11] or the button above to register, and to find some more details.  Families are welcome to attend and work, but we do not offer a children's program or childcare during this weekend. Kids of all ages are welcome, and we will do our best to accommodate your family!

We provide basic meals Friday dinner thru Sunday breakfast, and you are welcome to attend for any portion of the weekend or the entire time.  Many folks choose to just do a work day on Saturday!  You should pack warm clothes and bedding, gardening tools or rakes if you have them, work gloves, and a flashlight.  Please leave alcohol at home. We'll have a campfire after the workday on Saturday.

Additional volunteer day May 4th!

We are also seeking volunteers for a work day on May 4th! On this Saturday, volunteers will work to clean up the remaining branches and debris from the trees that were felled in December from high winds.  Volunteers will also rake wood chips onto the paths, and other small projects to prepare camp for summer.

We will provide a lunch, and people are welcome to come for part or all of the day. Like work weekend, families are welcome to join but we will not be offering child care.  Click the button below to register!

In this two-hour workshop, you will be introduced to a methodology to reconcile relationships and build trusting communities.  Virginia Swain will offer an overview of the program that she has been designing.  Most of the workshop will be an experiential exercise in which you engage in imaging/visioning (developed by Quaker Elder and Peacebuilder, Elise Boulding) – one of the key tools of Reconciliation Leadership.

Please bring paper and colored markers for the exercise.

Learn more at https://fmcquaker.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Virginia-Swain-06-06-24-Flyer.pdf [17] and register for the 6/6 workshop https://bit.ly/VirginiaSwain [18]

(Virginia is dedicating this workshop to the memory of Ian Harrington, a dear f/Friend, elder, and dedicated supporter of Reconciliation Leadership).