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By neeruart [3]

“As you experience changes and breakthroughs,

know that integrity, honesty, and truth are the highest vibrating energies

to guide you forward.  Everything else will fall away.”



Molly McCord

A professional astrologer, intuitive business coach, and modern consciousness teacher.

Take two steps forward and then take a step back.  Or perhaps as I keep making steady progress on the big problems, I discover more layers that need to be addressed.  Overall, I'm doing well, at home with multiple trips Io consult with my surgical teams, get imaging and keep planning.

Monday was belly day, with a CT scan and appointments with the vascular and trauma surgeons.  Overall, it is good news.  My G.l. symptoms are gradually improving and all expected given the extent of surgery dial I had.  However, in discussion with the vascular team, I will be getting one more procedure to protect a blood vessel that was injured.  It is fairly low risk to rupture, but would be almost certain death if it did, so definitely worth addressing.

Friday was orthopedic day (i.e., arts and crafts time!).  For the first time I actually got to see all of my limbs. reassuring to see that they still exist, but still emotional to see the extent of damage and deconditioning.  It was also a long day, removing over 70 staples and over 60 stitches from various parts of my body.  I am still not putting any weight on my hands or leg, but the casts and splints are smaller. There may be some small procedures as well to fine-tune the hardware, but I am starting to work on range of motion in my various injured joints.

The day-to-day has settled into some routines, sleeping and eating as much as I can, visits with home PT and OT, as well as visits and food deliveries from my community.  On the one hand, everyone reassures me that I am healing quickly and very well.  On the other hand, these coming weeks will continue to be a test of my patience as I slowly rebuild.

Pastor and biblical scholar Clarence Jordan, ... worked with a team to found Koinonia Farm in Georgia, welcoming people of different races to live and work together, caring for each other and for the land ... offered wise counsel to a young peace worker named Craig Peters.  It is worth repeating today:

[7]

I am increasingly convinced that [Jesus] thought of his messages as not dead-ending in a static institution but as a mighty flow of spirit which would penetrate every nook and cranny of [human] personal and social life …. I really don’t think we can ever renew the church until we stop thinking about it as an institution and start thinking of it as a movement. [1]

On Sunday January 19th, after Fellowship, we will have a 20-to-30-minute period of attending to maintenance tasks that have been waiting for our every other month time to do this.  If you must miss this but want to help on another day, please let property committee know and we will get back to you about tasks that were not yet done after that time.

You are invited to register for our annual Midwinter Retreat.  But don't delay, registration closes on January 10^th, shortly after the new year.

The theme will be "Spirit-led Activism: Discerning Our Roles in Changemaking"

From the beginnings of the Quaker movement, Friends have sought to embody and act upon their awareness of "that of God in each person" through advocating for a more just and equitable social order based on their vision of a world renewed.  Early Friends built robust communities of care to persevere in the face of trying circumstances and utilized spiritual practices to support each other in discerning their individual leadings.

Today, many Friends wrestle with similar questions of how to act upon our spiritual and ethical values in the political realm.  How can we balance self-care, community care, and activism when we feel stretched thin?  How can we be thoughtful and intentional about decisions in how we participate in each of those domains?  How can we tune in to the wisdom of our mind, body, and spiritual community to discern our next steps in this collective journey.

Join Young Friends as we explore these queries and themes and over MLK weekend at Woolman Hill.  For more information and to register click here [11].

The silent vigil for a ceasefire in Gaza continues every Thursday from Noon-1 p.m.  The vigil meets at the (Northwest corner of) North Main Street and Park Street in Concord [12] on the plaza in front of the State House.  Make your own sign, use one provided, or just stand in silent witness beside 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.

[13]

The draft minutes for the December 2024 Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business are available at 2024-12-08_CMM_Minutes [13] or via MinutesOfConcordMonthlyMeeting [14].

For corrections, missing documents, and/or clarifications of the minutes, please reply to web clerk, Concord Friends Meeting, webclerk [at] concordfriendsmeeting [dot] org (subject: CMM%20Minutes%20for%202024-12-08) .