LACO Food Pantry Benefit Car Show, June 4, 2022

The annual LACO (Lisbon Area Christian Outreach) car show will be held Saturday, June 4th from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Shiloh Church in Durham (12 Beulah Lane). Shiloh Church is one of the LACO partner churches (as is Durham Friends Meeting).

Proceeds of the car show benefit the LACO Food Pantry. Breakfast and lunch available. Margaret Copeland writes, “I hope people will come at lunch time since that is when we make most of our money.”

Please direct questions to Margaret Copeland.

Durham Meeting Donations to LACO Food Pantry

In December, the Durham Meeting Woman’s Society organized an Advent “food drive” for the Lisbon Area Food Pantry. During this month we asked people to bring in foods that LACO has on its “wish list” for their families, after which Kim Bolshaw drove a truckload of goods to the food pantry.
Dorothy Curtis once again worked her cooking magic this past autumn, making about 80 jars of raspberry, grape, and peach jams from fruits grown in the Meeting garden. These absolutely delicious jams were then happily purchased by members and attenders, raising a little over $400, which was donated to LACO. Thanks to all who brought in food for the pantry. Thanks to Dorothy for making all that jam! Thanks to those who helped in the garden to grow and harvest the fruits. And thanks to everyone who purchased the jams (and some garlics), making this a very successful Meeting outreach.
There are nine Durham area churches that make up Lisbon Area Christian Outreach. Questions about LACO can be brought to Margaret Wentworth, Margaret Copeland, and David Dexter, who have been our representatives on the LACO board.

LACO Benefit Dinner May 19

By Margaret Wentworth
Holy Trinity Parish of Lisbon Falls is holding a spaghetti / lasagna dinner to benefit the Food Pantry run by Lisbon Area Christian Outreach. It will be held Saturday, May 19, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the church, 67 Frost Hill Ave., Lisbon Falls. The tickets are $6 for adults and $3 for young people. If you are unable to attend but would like to support LACO, buy a ticket in advance but let LACO keep it to pass along to a client of the Food Pantry.
$6 = 31 pounds of food from Good Shepherd Food Bank, but it could also mean … $6 = an evening out and nice dinner for a LACO client.
Durham is to provide desserts for this benefit dinner. As we go to print the details on this part of the plan are not yet available. Listen for announcements at Meeting or contact Margaret Wentworth or Daphne Clement for more information.
Yard Sale May 26 8-1

From our Pastor

The Transition Movement
The last weekend in February 2012, Steve Chase and his partner, Katy Locke, brought to Durham Meeting a daylong seminar on gathering Transition Communities. Steve Chase was the Plenary Speaker at New England Yearly Meeting sessions in 2011. The theme of the 2011 Yearly Meeting was “Called to Heal a Broken Earth.” The DFM event was well attended by both Durham Friends and visitors from nearby communities. Below are excerpts from a paper Steve has written:
“Blessed Are the Organized
Why Quakers Should Consider Joining the Transition Movement”
by Steve Chase “Our lives are caught in a system/culture/society that exploits people and the planet, and leaves us spiritually wanting.”
In his paper Steve Chase quotes a Statement from a 2011 Young Adult Friends Gathering held at Mt. Toby Friends Meeting: “Back in the mid-1600s, Quaker founder George Fox called on the emerging Quaker Movement to help transform the world. The early Friends called this effort the “Lamb’s War,” a term to evoke the nonviolent revolutionary ministry of Jesus … Early Friends clearly felt that it was their responsibility to raise up a new spiritual and community renewal movement …” He suggests in his paper that “there is a strong ethical common ground between” the Religious Society of Friends and the Transition Movement, noting: “Like Quakers, the broader Transition Movement is committed to:
“Earthcare: recognizing that the earth is the source of all life, that the Earth is our only home and that we are a part of the Earth’s web of life, not separate from it.
“Peoplecare: supporting and helping each other to live in a way that is not harmful to ourselves or the planet, and to promote just and healthy societies.
“Fairshare: ensuring that the Earth’s limited resources are utilized in ways that are equitable and wise for both the present and the future wellbeing of the human family and the entire biosphere. … [&] the Transition Movement is visionary, upbeat, and invitational.”

An Invitation
So, how can we at Durham Friends Meeting join the Transition Movement? Well, in many small ways, by the choices we make regarding our personal use of natural resources. And you can come and help with creating the Durham Friends Community Garden. If you are hearty there are plenty of jobs to be done; if not, please bring a plant (tomato, herb or other vegetable) and plant it in one of the raised beds. Stop by from time to time and pull a weed or three. And when it’s harvest time come and gather in the harvest. God’s miracle of creation: from a single seed comes plenty. And lastly, if in the past year there have been physical challenges for you, just come and enjoy the beauty of creation while sitting on the soon to be created bench beneath the new (soon to be created) trellis where our grapes will grow. And there will, I hope, be plenty of flowers. Pick a few, take them home or share them with a friend.
At the end of the summer all of our surplus produce will be donated to the LACO Food Bank. We will save some for our Harvest Supper and Pig Roast (proceeds also to LACO).

Durham Meeting Hosting LACO Benefit Dinner

From Durham’s LACO Team

Durham Monthly Meeting is hosting a Pork Roast and Strawberry Shortcake Dinner to benefit the Food Pantry of Lisbon Area Christian Outreach (LACO). to be held on Saturday, June 25 at 5:30 pm at the meetinghouse.  The menu is pork roast, vegetarian baked beans, cornbread, a variety of salads, and dinners at Durham are never complete without our luscious strawberry shortcake.

The LACO Food Pantry serves hundreds of people every month, people who otherwise cannot afford to put enough food on the table for their families.  Donations of food and money are vital for the success of the Food Pantry. Many people in our community depend on it and the numbers of those in need have increased greatly over the last two years and continue to rise.  Come join us for a delicious meal while helping LACO help so many others.

Tickets:           In Advance    At the Door

Adults                          $10                  $12

Seniors & Teens          $8                    $10

Family of 5                  $25                  $30

Children                      $5

For more information and tickets, please call Daphne Clement, pastor, at 353.6354.

Support LACO: Eat Pasta

On Saturday, May 21st Lisbon Area Christian Outreach (LACO) is holding a fund raising dinner at Holy Trinity Parish, 67 Frost Hill Avenue, Lisbon Falls.  From 5 – 7 they will be serving an “All You Can Eat” spaghetti and lasagna dinner.  The price of admission for one is $5.00 for those age 12 and up, $2.50 for children and children under 6 years of age eat for free.  The proceeds will support LACO’s Food Bank and Clothing Pantry.  Hope to see you there.

Fill the LACO box for April

Sukie Rice
People asking Lisbon Area Christian Outreach (LACO) asking Food Pantry for help has doubled this year. At the same time, sources of food donations are harder to find.  Durham Meeting’s Peace and Social Concerns Committee is taking on this need as one of its high priorities.  We hope each month to fill a box to overflowing with food for to LACO, concentrating on a couple of items.  The items for April are tuna fish, peanut butter and pasta. Our goal is to fill our box to overflowing by Easter Sunday.  Please bring in your donations to help us meet our goal.  A big “Thank You” to the Meeting for reaching our goal in February with a huge amount of flour and sugar.
Thank You!