Westport Meeting Newsletter May 21, 2021

May 21, 2021
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Westport Meeting News:

Reminder: Monthly Meeting for Business will be held THIS Sunday morning, May 23, at 8 AM via Zoom. Ministry and Counsel will also be presenting our draft of the 2020 State of Society Report. Please read the document before business meeting HERE.

HELP NEEDED! John W. is looking for some help with the special sale of the “Ten Bucks a Box” sale that is proving to be very popular. John needs help especially on Sundays, 11:30-2:00 PM. If you can help, please email John at westportquakerbooks@gmail.com, or click HERE. Thank you!

Book Shed Reopened for book donations! Beginning May 1, the Book Shed is open for book donations on Wednesdays and Saturdays (ONLY) from 9-5 PM. Please let your friends and neighbors know. A maximum of 6 bags or 6 boxes allowed per drop-off. Please do not leave books to be donated anywhere outside, or, inside the meetinghouse or Community House.  
Questions? Contact John Wojtowics via email or Meeting phone at 508-636-4963. For more information about donating books, and for a list of items that we cannot accept, please click HERE.

Reopening Meetinghouse, Spring 2021: Ministry and Counsel committee continues to support reopening our meetinghouse for worship in greater numbers as Friends feel comfortable to attend. Worship each Sunday via Zoom also continues. Ministry and Counsel’s “Reopening Meetinghouse Statement Spring 2021” may be read HERE.

Midweek worship will continue to be offered each week on Wednesdays at 3:30 PM. Please note that the link for midweek worship is not the same as our regular worship on Sunday. A link for joining Midweek worship (which is the same link each week) will be emailed each week on Wednesday mornings. To insure security, we never post Zoom links on websites or portals visible to the general public. Questions? Contact Kevin Lee.
 
Candle Light Vigil of Remembrance outdoors, hosted by our Meeting and held on Meeting grounds, May 29, 8-9 PM: See Local Community News below.
 
Help with Zoom Connections: Instructions for connecting to worship each Sunday, and Monthly Meeting for Business each month, is HERE.

​ MEETING CALENDAR: (All meetings via Zoom) 

  • Annual Team C.O.W. (Clean Our Westport), Saturday, May 22, 9 AM-1 PM. Details below.
  • Monthly Meeting for Business, May 23 at 8 AM
  • HELP NEEDED IN BOOKSHED, Sunday, May 23, 11:30-2:00 PM. Details above. 
  • Peace and Social Justice Committee, Monday, May 24 at 6 PM
  • Seekers Group, Monday, May 24, 7 PM. (Gretchen sends link)
  • Midweek worship, Wed, May 26, 3:30-4 PM. (link sent morning of)
  • Vigil Planning meeting, Wed, May 26, 7:00-8:30 PM
  • Quaker Family Night, May 28, 6:30-7:30 PM. Details
  • Candle Light Vigil of Remembrance outdoors on Meeting grounds, May 29, 8-9 PM. Details below.
  • Midweek worship, Wed, May 26, 3:30-4 PM. (link sent morning of)
  • JYM Retreat, June 4-6. Details
  • David Coletta and Jen Higgins-Newman: Exploring Hybridity, June 2, 7:30-8:30 PM. Details below.
  • Seekers Group, Monday, June 7, at 7 PM. (Gretchen sends link)
  • Pendle Hill: Becoming Blended Worshipping Communities, June 11-13. Details
  • SAVE THE DATE: NEYM Annual (virtual) Sessions, Aug 7-12, 2021. Preliminary details

MIDWEEK WORSHIP, via Zoom, WEDNESDAYS, 3:30-4:00 PM!

Yearly Meeting/Wider Quaker News:

From Rebecca Leuchak, clerk of Providence Friends Meeting:

Providence Meeting’s Anti-Racism Dialog series will continue to study the origins, history and enduring contemporary 
effects of racism in America from a range of perspectives. We know this work is important  and truly a life-long engagement.
 
And we invite you to join us! Please feel welcome to our bi-monthly gatherings on Mondays from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. 
We especially extend an invitation to Friends in other monthly meetings in our Southeast Quarter and beyond.
Please contact me if you or other members of your monthly meeting wish more info and are not on our Providence Google 
group email list. For more info, and receive a Zoom link, email Rebecca Leuchak HERE.
The remaining dates for the spring are: 
May 31
________

June 2, 2021
David Coletta and Jen Higgins-Newman | Exploring Hybridity (via Zoom)

As the world changes quickly around us, it is unclear what the future of programming will look like, exactly. What we do know is that we have learned a lot about the value of both in-person gatherings (as we reflect on what we’ve missed) and online opportunities (for accessibility and connecting across geographic areas). Details and registration

________

Resources for spiritual growth and education offered by our Yearly Meeting: *

Friends, though we are living in challenging times these days, many individual Friends, monthly meetings, 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.

Gretchen’s JYM-JHYM latest bi-weekly newsletter, containing programming and retreat info for young people, parents and Friends, can be read HERE. 

“One Thing Necessary:” NEYM May 2021 Newsletter by Maggie Edmondson,  may be read HERE

“Ministry Cannot be Untethered.” A reflection by Leslie Manning, can be read HERE.

Recurring virtual Quaker events:

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.

Local Community News: 

 

Martin Costa, Meeting member and founder of “C.O.W.” (Clean Our Westport) is pleased to announce that this year’s litter cleanup along the roadways of Westport will take place on Saturday, May 22, from 9 AM until 1 PM. Volunteers may work as little or as much as they want. (Rain date is next day, Sunday.) Tools, gloves and bags for trash pickup are supplied. A green “safety color” t-shirt with C.O.W. logo will be supplied. Gretchen Baker-Smith wil serve as “captain” for our Meeting members and people who receive this newsletter. A t-shirt will be suppled if Gretchen knows sizes needed by April 24. Meet at 9 AM at the south parking lot at High School on Main Road. Email Gretchen to sign up and reserve a t-shirt at hellogretchen@gmail.com  or call her cell at 508-287-6441.

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Save the Date: Candle Light Vigil of Remembrance outdoors on Meeting grounds, May 29, 8-9 PM:

Earlier this month our Meeting was approached by Westport resident, Donna Amaral, who asked us to consider hosting and holding a candlelight vigil on Meeting property, with the goal of holding in prayer and remembrance the lives lost due to Covid-19 over the past year. Donna is coordinating a number of planned events during May in Westport to highlight May being “Mental Health Awareness Month. The vigil, held at the end of May, is intended to serve as the culmination of the month’s events. Donna, who is a psychiatric Registered Nurse working in the mental health field, also serves on the Westport Board of Health. Donna is passionately involved in educating the public regarding the need for increased awareness of mental health initiatives.

Given the nature of this proposed event, it was forwarded to Ministry and Counsel Committee for its consideration. M&C was clear to support this proposal, and Property Committee also indicated its approval for the event to be held on Meeting property, out-of-doors. A working group comprised of Deana, Randy, Pamela Drouin, and Kevin have been meeting with Donna Amaral via Zoom, and will continue planning up to the vigil on May 29. Other Westport Friends are welcome to participate in planning as well. We will also need help with setup and breakdown following the vigil on the evening of May 29. (May 30 is rain date.)

Closing:

Not because 
We have made peace this day
Not because
We have treated the other as our self
Not because we have walked the earth with reverence today
but because there is mercy
because there is grace
Because your Spirit has not been taken from us
We come
Still thirsting for peace
Still longing for love
Still hungering for wholeness

– John Philip Newell

Thank you, Friends,
Kevin Lee 

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