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

“How far that little candle throws his beams!

So shines a good deed in a weary world.”

~ William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”

The Meeting Calendar

We'll have a short cleanup of the Meetinghouse following Fellowship this Sunday.  Most of the work is light.  Dust seems to have accumulated heavily on the baseboards and chairs in the meeting room and other rooms.  The exterior of the  front door has gotten caked with pollen and road dust.  The kitchen and bathrooms always need a good going over and the tile grout could use a bit of a scrub in the kitchen and bathrooms especially. Perhaps you have a particular pet project that needs attention.  Hope to see you then.

Greg is interested in finishing up the project of getting the loam and mulch placed in front of the Meeting Room.  There is also light work of weeding the areas that need attention there.  The plan is to dig out the many wild violets, placing loam and then replanting the violets into healthier soil that can fill the spaces behind the landscape timbers.  If we have loam left over we can then improve the soil over to the left front of the building just east of the child care entrance.

If you have time and energy to contribute to this effort, consider your schedule this coming week and sign up to work with Greg by contacting him at 603-219-4491 or GregoryHeath51 [at] gmail [dot] com.  Potential times to pick from are potentially five slots:  Monday AM or PM, early Thursday before the heat rises, or Friday AM or PM.  He'll work when he has company and the weather cooperates.  Right now the weather for Friday suggests AM only, but who knows?  This is New England after all.

In order to knowledgeably participate in decision-making regarding our solar array later this year, please read this Solar History [3].

We've been working quietly behind the scenes and expect to bring important business to the Meeting and we wanted to check in with the Meeting now.  We have written a history of our solar project that includes the overall scheme of how the plan was developed and how it is intended to work.  Jennifer Smith has contributed to this history as well.  Please take some time to read the document that you can download by clicking here [4]. The report is not short, and the arrangement is somewhat complicated.  We've worked hard to make this history readable and clear and sincerely hope that you find it so. 

Please contact any one of us if you have questions.  By sharing this now we hope that we are laying the necessary foundation for our discernment when the time comes. 

9^th of Sixth Month, 2024 Concord (NH) Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends CLICK HERE [5]

The silent vigil for a ceasefire in Gaza continues every Thursday from Noon-1pm at the corner of Main and Center 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.

Cambridge Friends offers a forum to prepare for Worship.  This spiritual reflection is guided by Gail Melix Greenwater (Sandwich) and Lewis Randa (Wellesley).  Many Friends are searching for ways to reach for reparation with the land and with Indigenous tribes.  We will hear the spiritual journey of Friends who have formed a reparative pledge of returning a minimum of the sale of any property to a local native tribe.  We'll be joined by Mare Tomaski, Lead Organizer for the Reparation Pledge.  The Native Land Reparation Pledge is a solemn pact one makes with their conscience.

Native Land Reparation Pledge [7]

Israeli Human Rights Activist Rabbi Arik Ascherman will speak about the current situation in the West Bank, Gaza, his Human Rights work, and prospects for a just peace in Israel-Palestine.

Rabbi Arik Ascherman was a long-time leader with Rabbis for Human Rights.  He went on to co-found Haqel (The Field): Jews and Arabs in Defense of Human Rights.  He is the founder of Torah-Tzedek (Torah for Justice).  He has engaged in decades of Human Rights work defending the rights of Palestinians in the West Bank and the Israeli Bedouin communities, and founded HaMaabarah, a public housing advocacy organization.  Rabbi Ascherman has been arrested numerous times for his defense of Palestinians from settler-colonial violence.

Zoom registration: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwsdeusrD0pHtMhm3FAPkyLhJpBOi9... [9]. Click or tap to follow the link.">Meeting Registration - Zoom  / Jun 17^th, 2024

07:00 p.m., Eastern Time US/Canada

Event information: 

Homewood Friends Meeting Baltimore, Maryland [8]

Come sing with us again!!!! We're continuing our tradition of singing old favorites (hymns, folk songs, sun-fun songs) as a Summer Solstice version of our Annual Carol Sing.  All ages are invited and welcome! Join voices with friends and neighbors, enjoy the historic ambiance, and indulge in home made pies, both savory and sweet. For more information call 603-995-4311.  Join us at Henniker Quaker Meetinghouse at 529 Quaker St in the historic district of Henniker.

Quakers in New England will gather in August for the 364^th year—for worship, spiritual nurture, fellowship, and discernment of our shared calling.

Again this year there are two ways to attend Sessions: in-person at Castleton University and via Zoom.

We encourage Friends to read the details on the Yearly Meeting website before registering [12].

Register to Attend at Castleton [13]

Register to Attend Online [14]

We strive to create a beloved community which shows loving concern and actions toward all attenders of the Meeting and all with whom we interact in the wider world.  We demonstrate this care and love by being vaccinated, because vaccination protects the person vaccinated and others with whom they come in contact.  We encourage all attenders to be vaccinated and keep their vaccinations up to date.  We believe this will make our meetinghouse a safer space for attenders whose own network includes people who are at greater risk of death or disability should they get the COVID-19 virus.

We request that you attend via Zoom if any of the following apply:

• You have a fever, cough, or other viral symptoms.  (This is because you can have COVID and spread it before testing positive.)
• If you have had COVID recently, please don't attend in person until after the 5^th day after you tested positive; and please wear a mask until the 10^th day (or longer if your doctor recommends).
• If you know you have been exposed to COVID, please do not attend in person until after testing negative on the 5^th day after exposure.  Then please continue to wear a mask until the 10^th day after exposure.

Otherwise, masks are currently optional in the Meetinghouse unless the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports hospital admissions for COVID as “red” in any county of New Hampshire on the following map: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#maps_new-admissions-rate-county [16]  For further clarification or questions, please contact Clerk [at] ConcordFriendsMeeting [dot] org.