Westport Meeting News:
Thievery continues: As most Friends know, the Black Lives Matter banner that we had on display for over a year, was stolen a week or so ago. Knowing that Black Lives Matter banners have been routinely vandalized or stolen around the country, Peace and Social Justice Committee had a replacement at the ready should it be needed. Kevin hung the replacement up this past Monday, August 16. Unfortunately, our second Black Lives Matter banner was stolen two nights later. Peace and Social Justice Committee purchases the banners directly from the Black Lives Matter organization, which is a fundraiser for them. So P&SJ intends to continue replacing them as needed for the time being, which in effect raises funds for Black Lives Matter.
Appreciation expressed: The Quaker Voluntary Service organization, lead by Kristina Keefe-Perry, Coordinator, recently completed their annual Fellows four-day retreat at Westport Meeting, sent a thank you card signed by the Fellows in attendance. “Thank you for letting us use your meetinghouse and Community House for our retreat. It was wonderful.”
A note from our Clerk of Meeting (on 8-11-21):
FELLOWSHIP AND REFRESHMENTS FOLLOWING WORSHIP CONTINUES! Gorman Reilly, clerk of Hospitality Committee, continues to head up efforts of the Hospitality Committee to bring light goodies, coffee, tea, and related refreshments for Friends to enjoy during fellowship after worship each Sunday. However, providing hospitality also falls to a small circle of Friends and more help is needed. Can you help? If so, email Gorman HERE, or call him at 917-495-9107.
MEETING CALENDAR: (All meetings via Zoom Unless Noted)
- Worship each Sunday in meetinghouse and via Zoom at 10 AM
- Midweek worship, Wed, Set 1 , 3:30-4 PM. (link sent day of)
- BIRTHDAY: Amy Lee Vieira, Monday, Aug 30!
- Seekers Group, Monday, Aug 30, at 7 PM. (Gretchen sends link)
- SAVE THE DATE: Exploring Spiritual Practices, Sept 7 – Nov 16, 2021 (Details below)
- Monthly Meeting for Business, Sept 19 at 8 AM
MIDWEEK WORSHIP, via Zoom, WEDNESDAYS, 3:30-4:00 PM!
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Yearly Meeting/Wider Quaker News:
Gretchen’s JYM-JHYM latest bi-weekly newsletter, “Relentlessly Trusting,” of August 4, 2021, contains programming and retreat info for young people, parents and Friends in general can be read HERE.
NEYM Newsletter: Grounded in Blessing, July 10, 2021, may be read HERE.
Exploring Spiritual Practices
Save the Date: Next Gathering on Ministry and Spiritual Life
Proposed chapter for Faith & Practice
Poem: “Trauma Tree”
New QuakerSpeak video
Right Relationship resource group news
Friends coalition for racial justice
Quaker parenting resource
What’s new in the Archives
Roadmap for action on Climate Change
Quakers in the news
Exploring Spiritual Practices, Sept 7 – Nov 16, 2021:
A helpful note from NiaDwynwen Thomas, NEYM’s Faith and Practice Leadership Coordinator, detailing this upcoming course:
“This fall New England Quakers, in partnership with the Beacon Hill Friends House, are offering a ten-week online course called Exploring Spiritual Practices: Meditation, Prayer, and Presence. The lead teacher and course designer is Marcelle Martin, a deeply experienced Quaker teacher and author and founder of the Nurturing Faithfulness program. The course runs from September-November on Tuesday evenings.
This course would be a great fit for people in your meeting who are newer to Quakerism and are seeking to “dive deeper” into their understanding and spiritual practice. This course would also be a great fit for more seasoned Friends who are looking for an opportunity to renew and grow in their practice with others. From registrations so far, we have seen a lovely mix of experience.
The course is designed to be flexible–something you can really dig into if you have more time this fall or something you can just spend 3 or so hours a week on if you are juggling other commitments. This course is also something that individuals can participate in on their own (connecting with other participants via an online classroom tool), or that partners or self organized small groups in local meetings could participate in together, reflecting on the sessions and practices with each other at a time they choose during the week.”
Interested Friends can learn more by watching this short video or by reading the detailed description on the registration page here.
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Quaker organizations, and our Yearly Meeting as a whole, are offering an amazing array of opportunities to expand our knowledge and improve our practice as Friends in a variety of ways. Check out the following links and see what we are being offered! Also, take a few minutes and explore additional programs offered by NEYM by visiting the Events page HERE.
- Daily at 8 a.m., Beacon Hill Friends House: Meditation practice
- Mondays at 3 p.m., Facebook Live: Singalong Concerts
- Sunday–Thursday at 9:30 p.m. Calming Pajama Party
- 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
- Alternate Tuesdays at 7 p.m.: Support for Friends Serving in Local Meeting Leadership Roles
- Saturdays at 12:30 p.m. Open Heart Worship Group
Events coming soon:
Connect, Learn, Explore, and Be in Service among Friends Regionally and Globally.
Check out an array of Quaker schools, camps, retreat centers, other yearly meetings and Quaker organizations listed on NEYM’s website.
Closing:
A Blessing of Solitude
May you recognize in your life the presence, power, and light of your soul.
May you realize that you are never alone, that your soul in its brightness and belonging connects you immediately with the rhythm of the universe.
May you have respect for your own individuality and difference.
May you realize that the shape of your soul is unique, that you have a special destiny here, that behind the façade of your life there is something beautiful, good, and eternal happening.
May you learn to see yourself with the same delight, pride, and expectation with which God sees you in every moment.
- From Anam Cara, A Book of Celtic Wisdom, by John O’Donohue, 1997, p. 36