Special Notice: We are putting together a new printed Directory for Westport Meeting. This handy resource is not placed online, nor made available to any outside groups – it’s just a way for us as a Meeting community to share mailing addresses, emails, phone numbers, and birthdays. If you were not in the 2010 edition and would like to be in the new one, or if your information has changed, or if you would like to be removed from the next edition, please be in touch with Gretchen Baker-Smith, Betty Ann Lee, or Kevin Lee. We hope to have this out by June.
APRIL CALENDAR
4-6 Couples Enrichment Retreat at Woolman Hill
6 Ministry and Counsel Committee, 8:30 AM
5 NEYM Sessions Committee, Jaffrey, NH
12 NEYM Committee Day, Dover, NH
13 Finance Committee, 8:30 AM in Meetinghouse
13 Property Committee, 8:30 AM in Community House
13 Family Worship (Second Sunday)Format. See details
19 United Society Friends Women at Smithfield, RI
19 Money and Spirit: Keeping Faith in Finances, W. Hartford, CT
26 Sandwich Quarterly Meeting, Location TBA
26 Faith and Practice Revision Committee, Dover, NH
27 Meeting for Business, 8:30 AM
MAY CALENDAR (partial)
16-18 Young Adult Friends Retreat at Westport Meeting.
17 Friends and the Internet at Moses Brown School. Details here.
APRIL BIRTHDAYS
Fall Clean-up Day!
2 Aimee Belanger
2 Lee MacGregor
7 Bill Nixdorf
13 Carol Guay
16 Tristan Athearn-Hess
19 Martyn Little
MONTHLY MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
Ministry and Counsel:
At the rise of meeting for worship on March 2, 2014, a Coffee Hour was held to welcome Susanna Sylvia as our newest member of Westport Friends Meeting! Welcome, Susanna! Other attenders of our Meeting who are interested in learning more about Friends practice and/or membership are encouraged to speak with any member of Ministry and Counsel Committee, or Melinda Foley-Marsello, clerk.
The Committee announced that it will undertake a State of Society report this year after a three-year hiatus.
Ministry and Counsel met recently with Gretchen Baker-Smith in her role as our Property Coordinator, to hear how some of her work in that capacity also includes outreach and ministry among people in the wider community who rent and attend programs held in our Community House. Friends engaged in an in depth discussion about the role that the Community House itself plays within our spiritual life as a Meeting community, and how we currently witness to the wider community when we make this facility available to others. The committee recognizes that a balance needs to be maintained between displaying and promoting our Quaker testimonies within the Community House and keeping the space welcoming to the general public as well.
Still, the Committee felt that some Quaker witness was always appropriate within the Community House itself. This discussion led Friends to recommend revamping the two prominent bulletin boards and to affix a subtle printed quote from William Penn, “Let us see what love can do,” on the inside wall of the Community House. Monthly Meeting approved these suggestions, and encourages ongoing input from our Meeting community. Jen Moura will create and affix the painted quote. We seek another Friend (Maybe you?) who would be willing to redesign the bulletin boards. Please speak with Melinda Foley-Marsello or Kevin Lee if you can take this on. Thanks.
Seekers Group
The next Seeker’s Group meeting is on Wednesday, April 30 at 7pm in the Community House.
At our most recent gathering, we talked about unconditional love and forgiveness. We shared some experiences of forgiveness and agreed it is a complicated, un-linear process – and part of our human experience. Being in relationship invites us into an ever-deepening vulnerability, where we will be hurt – and will hurt others – at times. Honestly admitting our hurt, rather than brushing it off as ‘nothing’, provides opportunity for true healing by both parties. But this is scary for many of us to do, especially with those in our inner circles at home, work, and Meeting. Humility seems to be a necessary quality (and gift).
We sincerely marveled at those who can reach forgiveness when they have been deeply and tragically hurt by another. We honestly shared our own heart-wisdom, as well as the teachings of Jesus and others, around seeing that of God in every person. This led to some personal stories about moments in our daily lives when we have been able to connect with individuals whom we and others have found challenging. Compassion is so powerful; transformation often happens when another feels simply heard.
How can we, as Friends, take love and forgiveness, compassion and humility, onto a more national level? How can we as individuals more fully live it in our daily lives? We decided that we want to explore aspects of conflict resolution at our next meeting, perhaps learning some specific techniques or steps, thinking that it might provide some tools for more fully living out our faith in our daily lives. Stay tuned for more information and suggested readings for this next discussion – to which all are most sincerely welcome! – Gretchen Baker-Smith
Property Coordinator and Property Committee
First Day School Classroom
Please read Gretchen’s latest Report Here.
A few important highlights in Gretchen’s report:
- Bathrooms to be painted!
- Property Committee reviewing cost of replacing Community House windows
- Summer on Stage youth theatre to return.
- Use of Community House by groups. See report!
- Routine repairs and upkeep. See report!
Believe it or not, warmer weather will come, and it’s time to plan to take down the meetinghouse storm windows! Usually, this gets done after worship on Sundays. We need a crew of four people for about 35-40 minutes of work to do this. If you can help, please call Kevin Lee at 508-287-9056, or email him. Once a few folks have offered to help, Kevin will find a time that works best for all. Thank you.
New England Yearly Meeting News
Our Yearly Meeting has a new Web site and it’s wonderful! Check it out at neym.org. The newly revamped site also contains a “News” section that highlights what individual Friends and Meetings are doing locally and globally. A new “Events Calendar” has been added too which allows visitors to easily see upcoming retreats, workshops and NEYM Committee meetings and dates. Congratulations to Jeffrey Hipp, Communications Director, who built and made this new site a reality!
NEYM Structural Review Survey: Please share your thoughts and dreams by taking this very brief survey! Thanks.
Visit Westport Friends Meeting Photo Site!
Our Meeting Photo Site features a number of albums that showcase Meetinghouse stills, Community House, our grounds, First Day School, Meeting life, past Book Fairs, milestones, etc. Our photo site also contains an album called “Remembered with Love,” of Friends who are no longer with us. In addition, I have begun to make digital copies and scans of our archival photos from over a hundred years ago and have added them to our photo site as well. The process of compiling these cherished images effectively creates a digital back-up copy of the originals. Equally important, it also affords us an opportunity, as a Meeting Community, to appreciate and remember with love, the many contributions that these dear Friends have made to the spiritual life of the Meeting down through the decades. Please take a moment and visit our photo site here. – Kevin Lee
Clerk of Monthly Meeting: Betty Ann Lee, 508-994-16
Ministry and Counsel Clerk: Melinda Foley-Marsello, 401-624-9840
Property Coordinator, Gretchen Baker-Smith, 508-636-4963
Newsletter Editor, Kevin Lee | 508-994-1638
Visit Westport Friends Meeting Photo Site