Westport Meeting Newsletter Oct 1, 2021

Westport Meeting News: 

Mark your calendar! A Welcoming into membership celebration for John Wojtowics, will be held following worship, Sunday, Oct 31 at 11:30 AM. John became a member two years ago, but a celebration was postponed due to the pandemic.    

Scheduled Meeting cemetery work: A non-profit group of Westport historians, dedicated to the preservation and care of Westport’s oldest cemeteries, headed by Todd Baptista and Betty Slade, will be working in our Meeting’s cemetery the morning of Oct 2. The group is dedicated to using biodegradable materials to repair and clean old headstones.Oct 2 will be the first day, followed by other days to follow. The biodegradable cleaning material used to clean headstones, which consumes the mold and mildew currently on many of our headstones, will turn a bright orange in in the days following application. The group will return the following week to finish the cleaning process and to continue making repairs as needed.  
 
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.
 
Help with Zoom Connections: Instructions for connecting to worship each Sunday, and Monthly Meeting for Business each month, is HERE.

MEETING CALENDAR: (All meetings held via Zoom, in person, or hybrid (meaning in-person and via Zoom), as noted)

  • Worship each Sunday in meetinghouse and via Zoom at 10  AM (hybrid)
  • Meeting cemetery work; headstone repairs, cleaning, Oct 2, 8 AM – 12 PM
  • Ministry and Counsel Committee, Mon, Oct 4, 7 PM (Zoom only)
  • Midweek worship, Wed, Oct 6, 3:30-4 PM. (link sent day of) (Zoom only)
  • Seekers Group, Monday, Oct 11, at 7 PM, on site in Community House and via Zoom (Gretchen sends link. Hybrid)
  • NEYM Meeting Leaders Call, Tuesday, Oct 12 at 7 PM. (ask Kevin for link, if needed. Zoom only)
  • Monthly Meeting for Business, Sunday, Oct 17, at 8 AM (Zoom only)
  • Peace and Social Justice Committee, Mon, Oct 18, at 7:30 PM (hybrid)
  • Welcoming into membership celebration for John Wojtowics, following worship, Sunday, Oct 31 at 11:30 AM. (In person!)
  • Ministry and Counsel Committee, 7 PM, via Zoom
  • SAVE THE DATE: Second Gathering on Spiritual Life and Ministry for Friends in New England, Nov 13, 2021. (info below. Zoom only)

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

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Yearly Meeting/Wider Quaker News:

New England Yearly Meeting Newsletter, Sept, 2021 may be read HERE:

Introduction by Holly Baldwin 
Save the date: next gathering on Ministry and Spiritual Life
Midweek Meditations fall series
Support for addressing racial justice among Quakers
Clerking workshop: October 23rd
Young Friends leadership & welcoming workshop series
Lectio divina: a friendly exploration of Quaker writings
International prayer gathering
For Friends ages 35 to 59-ish
2021 Weed Memorial Lecturer: Sarah Gant
News from Annual Sessions
Word from Cuba
Yearly Meeting calls to end the Cuba embargo
Book launch: These Walls Between Us
The stirrings of transformation: a letter
Obadiah Brown trustees announce Special Focus Grants
World Quaker Day
Quakers in the news

Gretchen’s JYM-JHYM latest bi-weekly newsletter, issue of Sept 20, 2021, contains reflections, programming and retreat info for young people, parents and Friends. Read her newsletter  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.

October 12, 7 PM: An online check-in for Friends serving in leadership roles in their local meetings.

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.

Closing:

To watch the spirit of children,
to nurture them in Gospel Love,
and labour to help them against
that which would mar the beauty
of their minds,
is a debt we owe them.

– John Woolman, 1758

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Thank you, Friends,

Kevin Lee