Westport Meeting News:
Ministry and Counsel Committee:
Quakerism 101 Series at Westport Meeting will hold its first session on Sunday, April 30, at the rise of worship. Friends are invited to bring a lunch. Randy With, co-clerk of our Ministry and Counsel Committee, will facilitate. Our first gathering will explore the question, “What is it that we “do” in Worship?” Newer Friends and more Seasoned Friends are encouraged to join in. The following resources are available in preparation for this discussion:
Chapter 2 of NEYM Revised Faith and Practice: Worship: https://neym.org/faith-and-practice/worship
The following are episodes from the Quaker Speak series:
https://quakerspeak.com/video/why-do-quakers-worship-in-silence/
https://quakerspeak.com/video/quaker-worship-meditation/
https://quakerspeak.com/video/how-to-deepen-quaker-meeting-worship/
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Ministry and Counsel Committee: The committee will begin working on our Meeting’s State of Society for 2022 soon. The committee welcomes input, in writing, or in person, from Westport Meeting Friends and attenders, on how individuals feel our Meeting faired as we came out of the pandemic in the early spring of 2022 and throughout the remainder of the year. If you would like to email your thoughts, please send your comments to Randy Wirth, HERE.
Newsletter Editor: In 1994, Jean Kennison, due to advancing eye health challenges, asked me if I would consider taking over the Westport Meeting Newsletter. I said “yes,” figuring I would do it for a few years and then pass it on to another Meeting Friend. During that time, as the use of computers and digital formats increased exponentially, our Meeting Newsletter moved from printed monthly formats, painstakingly sent via US Mail, to monthly digital formats that arrived via email. Over time, we incorporated the Newsletter into our Meeting’s website, so that every issue was automatically archived and remained accessible by visiting westportfriendsmeeting.org. In recent years I have found it more efficient time-wise to update the Newsletter each week on a rolling basis, instead of monthly. Doing so has kept content fresher and gives us the ability to easily add content from committees and monthly meeting for business as requested.
After twenty nine years, I still enjoy putting the Newsletter together, but I know, too, that the time is nearing for me to pass this service to the Meeting on to another Westport Meeting Friend. If you, or if you know of another Westport Meeting Friend who might be interested, I am happy to answer questions and explain what’s involved. Choosing the next Meeting Newsletter editor is decided by monthly meeting for business. Ideally, I would like to help the next Newsletter editor transition into the role as needed. That said, I plan to continue until business Meeting names the next editor to continue after me. – Kevin Lee
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Approved previous minutes of Monthly Meeting for Business may be read HERE.
MEETING CALENDAR:
(All meetings held in person, via Zoom, or hybrid (meaning in-person and via Zoom), as noted)
- Worship each Sunday in meetinghouse and via Zoom at 10am (hybrid)
- Westport Meeting’s “Quaker 101” begins. Sunday, April 30, 11:30-1:00pm. See above
- “Fun for Everyone Committee” Zoom meeting, 7-8 PM, Monday, May 1
- Midweek Meeting for Worship, Wed, May 3, 3:30-4pm. Via Zoom
- Fun & Games @ Westport Meeting, Saturday, May 6, 4-7PM. Details above
- NEYM Meeting Leaders Call, May 9, 7-8pm via Zoom. See below
- Midweek Meeting for Worship, Wed, May 10, 3:30-4pm. Via Zoom
- Ministry and Counsel Committee, Mon, May 15, 8pm Via Zoom
- Midweek Meeting for Worship, Wed, May 17, 3:30-4pm. Via Zoom
- Monthly Meeting for Business, Sunday, May 21, at 8am Via Zoom
- Peace and Social Justice Committee, Sunday, May 21, 7-8:30pm Zoom only
- Seekers Group, Monday, May 22, 7-8:30 PM. HYBRID
- Midweek Meeting for Worship, Wed, May 24, 3:30-4pm. Via Zoom
MIDWEEK WORSHIP, via Zoom, WEDNESDAYS, 3:30-4:00pm. (Kevin sends link day of)
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Yearly Meeting/Wider Quaker News:
NEYM April 2023 Newsletter, “Serving the Body,” by Alison Levie (Bennington, VT, Friends Meeting) may be read HERE.
Recurring virtual events
- Daily at 8:30 a.m.: Daily Worship at Pendle Hill
- Weekdays at 10:30 a.m., Portland Friends Meeting: Waiting Worship
- Daily at noon: International Meeting for Worship
- Alternate Thursdays at 4 p.m., Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL): Thursdays with Friends
- Thursdays at 7 p.m.: Taizé worship
- Thursdays at 8 p.m.: Parents’ Tea-and-Chat
Other events coming soon
- April 27 (hybrid): All Real Living is Meeting (Parker Palmer)
- April 27—29, Richmond, IN: Quaker Leadership Conference
- April 28–May 1, Pendle Hill: Beloved Community as Prophetic Witness
- May 6, South China, ME: All-Maine Gathering
- May 12–14, Woolman Hill: Junior YM Retreat
- May 13, Jaffrey, NH: Friends Decision Making: Active Participation, Clerking, and Recording
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Sandwich Quarterly Meeting News:
- SQM Meeting for Business Saturday, April 22 at 10:00. For details, contact Kathy Olsen.
Fall SQM Sept. 23 in Mattapoiset
Quaker Programs, Study, Retreats, and Spiritual Nurture:
QuakerSpeak (Our Quaker faith as shared by those who experience it firsthand, every day, via weekly video interviews)
FGC Gathering, “A week of Quaker worship, workshops, and community for all ages.” July 2-8, 2023. Theme: “Listen. So That We May Live.” Details HERE.
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Closing:
I arise today…Blessed by all things,
wings of breath,
delight of eyes,
wonder of whisper,
intimacy of touch,
eternity of soul,
urgency of thought,
miracle of health,
embrace of God.
– John O’Donohue
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Thank you, Friends,
Kevin