Westport Quakers

Westport Meeting News: 

Jean Schnell, is a Friend, fine arts photographer, and member of Framingham Friends Meeting, who’s award winning photography has gained recognition throughout New England and beyond.  In 2014, Jean began a new photographic project of photographing Quaker meetinghouses throughout New England, which eventually was published as a book. Our meetinghouse was among the collections which you can view HERE. Jean’s exquisite work was further recognized when she was selected to participate in the Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts, “Behind the Lens: 2023, Everything is Different ot Six Degrees,” exhibit that begins with the opening reception on Thursday, Feb 16, 5-8 PM, and continuing until March 10.

“Each year the Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts celebrates Women’s History Month by hosting or curating an exhibition featuring women artists exploring photography in their practice. The series focuses exclusively on women behind the camera, rather than those objectified by it, and is presented as part of our mission to promote and celebrate diversity, be it in technique, area of interest, presentation, perspective or other…” (From the Center’s website. – ed.) Kevin Lee is interested in going to the opening night reception, both to enjoy the exhibit and to represent our Meeting with gratitude for Jean’s work as a photographer and as a F/friend. Please let Kevin know if you are interested in attending also.

NEEDED: MEN’S HATS AND WOMEN’S/MEN’S GLOVES AND MITTENS: The Pilgrim Church Home urgently needs men’s hats and women’s/men’s gloves and mittens to make available to patrons at their morning breakfast program. Please bring these items to the Westport Friends meetinghouse and leave in the meetinghouse foyer. Barbara Sullivan will deliver them to the Pilgrim Church Home in downtown New Bedford. Questions? Contact Barbara at 774-454-1498.

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.