Westport Meeting Newsletter Sept 10, 2021

September 11, 2021
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Westport Meeting News: 

Our Community House is slowly getting used more frequently again by area groups and Quaker organizations. We’re not at the pre-pandemic level of community use yet, but we’re getting there. When Friends are on the property, please be mindful that the Community House may be in use, and if so, please try not to interrupt them. Currently, the Community House is in use on:

Wednesday: Woman’s Club – Meets monthly 3rd Wednesday, 6:30pm-8:00 pm
Thursdays: South Coast Music Together: 9-11:30 am (Through Nov, and may renew.)
Saturdays: SouthCoast Music Together: Behind Community House outdoors, 9-11:30 am, weather permitting, until it’s too cold. 
Saturday: Westport Gardeners Club, usually first Sat of month, 8:30-11:30am
Sundays: AA Meeting, every Sunday 6:30-8:30 pm.

A note from our Clerk of Meeting (on 8-11-21):

Our next Monthly Meeting for the Purpose of Business will be Sunday, September 19, at 8 am, via Zoom. 
 
Reports from Friends attending NEYM Sessions and WMM Committees, along with items needing our attention, will be on the agenda. All Committees should have the opportunity to meet before our MMFB. It will be good to have updates as we journey into a new season. – Betty Ann Lee, clerk of Meeting
 
Black Lives Matter Banner:  Friends are aware that the Meeting’s first Black Lives Matter banner was stolen after being on display for over a year. A second Black Lives Matter banner was stolen earlier in August. The banners are purchased directly from the Black Lives Matter organization, so in a sense each time that the banner is stolen and replaced it also supports BLM and their ongoing work. Several Westport Meeting Friends have already offered to donate funds to purchase future flags as needed. Peace and Social Justice Committee plans to continue displaying, and replacing the Black Lives Matter banner if needed at least for the time being. Please contact Pamela Terien, P&SJ committee clerk for more information and to support this effort.
 
A third BLM banner was set out for display on Friday, Sept 3, and was stolen within four days. A fourth BLM banner was set out on Sept 10, and was stolen in broad daylight the same day.
 
Peace and Social Justice Committee will considering next steps to take at their meeting on Sunday, Sept 12, at 8:15 AM via Zoom. 
 

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.

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 via Zoom Unless Noted) 

  • Worship each Sunday in meetinghouse and via Zoom at 10  AM
  • Midweek worship, Wed, Set 15, 3:30-4 PM. (link sent day of)
  • Peace and Social Justice Committee, Sunday, Sept 12, 8:15 – 9:45 AM
  • Seekers Group, Monday, Sept 13, at 7 PM. (Gretchen sends link)
  • Monthly Meeting for Business, Sept 19 at 8 AM
  • Ministry and Counsel Committee, Mon, Oct 4, 7 PM
  • SAVE THE DATE: Second Gathering on Spiritual Life and Ministry for Friends in New England, Nov 13, 2021. (info below)

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 3, 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.

Monthly Check-In for Friends Serving Their Local Meetings

September 14: 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:

“A church that doesn’t provoke any crisis,
a gospel that doesn’t unsettle,
a word of God that doesn’t get under anyone’s skin,
What gospel is that?

Very nice, pious considerations that don’t bother anyone,
that’s the way many would like preaching to be.
Those preachers who avoid every thorny matter
so as not to be harassed,
so as not to have conflicts and difficulties,
do not light up the world they live in.

– Saint Oscar Romero

Thank you, Friends,
Kevin Lee 

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