Ice Skating Party, February 28, 1-2:30 pm

On Sunday, Feb. 28, the Christian Education Committee will host an ice skating party from 1-2:30 p.m. Skating will take place on a pond near the meetinghouse.

Meet at 740 Durham Road; park nearby or park at Durham Meeting and walk a half mile up the road. Please wear a mask and observe social distancing. Kid friendly!

Contact Wendy Schlotterbeck with questions.

Children’s and Youth Sunday – Sunday June 7

Plans are being developed to celebrate Durham Friends’ Meeting children and youth on our traditional Children’s Day on the first Sunday of June (June 7).

We will be inviting families to come to the horse shed sometime before June 7 and while observing physical distance (if others are present) complete activities and choose some gifts including a plant or flower to plant June 7. Meeting for Worship via Zoom on June 7 will include content directed at our younger participants. Stay tuned for more information!

Annual DFM Plant Sale, June 5 to June 8, 2020

Annual Plant Sale! Durham Friends Meeting will be holding a safe, self-serve (no contact) plant sale from Thursday June 4 through Monday, June 8 or until all plants are sold.

Please bring plants to the Meetinghouse horse shed by Wednesday June 4. 

We ask that donations include a tag with as many details as possible (see list below). Extra pots and tags are available in the horse shed. Ask Wendy for any help with tags! There will be clear signs and a locked cash box for cash or check donations. Members of CE may be inside the Meetinghouse to oversee the sale from the window. 

The proceeds will be used to support the Durham Young Friends Kakamega sponsee, Cornelius.,

  1. Name of plant
  2. Sun or shade requirements
  3. Annual or perennial
  4. Height
  5. Color of blooms
  6. Any special instructions
  7. Suggested donation amount

Homecoming Sunday, October 6, 10:25 a.m.

You are invited to celebrate Homecoming Sunday with our beloved Durham Friends community on Sunday, October 6, World Quaker Day 2019, joining Friends around the world. We look forward to experiencing the fullness of the many people who have been a part of Durham Meeting and for whom Durham Meeting has been an important part of their life.

As we think about our Friends at Durham and around the world from the present and the past, we encourage anyone who is unable to attend in person to send a message with your memories, stories, and even pictures.

Children will be most welcome to join us for the entire Meeting. (Childcare will be available as well.)

Following Meeting for Worship, all are invited to share a meal and conversation with us.

Hope to see you there!

Family Game Night, January 12, 3 p.m.

By Tess Hartford

We will have our next Family Game “Night” on Saturday, January 12 beginning at 3 p.m. Please join us. Durham Friends of all ages have enjoyed these nights.

As part of Durham Meeting’s efforts at outreach, we encourage all Durham Friends to invite neighbors and friends to our special family events as well as our regular weekly Meetings.

Donation Requests: Mittens! Legos! Christmas Boxes!

Mitten Tree!

By Nancy Marstaller

The Woman’s Society is collecting new or gently used hats, scarves, mittens, and gloves, which will be donated to local places (such as Head Start or homeless shelters) to warm those in need. Please pin your items to the mitten tree hanging in the vestry on or before December 16. Thanks for your help!

Lego Blocks!

by Wendy Schlotterbeck

Friends, do you have some Lego blocks that are looking for a good home? Some kids and youth at Durham Meeting are finding Legos to be good way of building community and would appreciate a few more!

Christmas “Boxes”

By Nancy Marstaller

The Woman’s Society is collecting items for small boxes (or bags) to give to those we especially think of this season but don’t see as often as we’d like. Please bring donations for the boxes to the Meetinghouse by December 16. Items such as soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, dried fruit, warm socks, pens and pencils, and calendars are appreciated. Thanks for your help!

December 2018 Family Events at Durham Meeting

By Wendy Schlotterbeck, Youth Minister

We will have our Annual Wreath Making Party on Sunday, December 2 after a potluck following worship. Materials will be provided, but live greens of any kind are welcomed!

On Saturday, December 15 we will gather for a Christmas Worship and Turkey Dinner. We have found that often the preparation is as rich as the actual event. So, come at 4:00 to help prepare the meal and set up. Worship, a sharing of poems, songs or personal stories, will be at 5:30 with dinner to follow.

As part of Durham Meeting’s efforts at outreach, we encourage all Durham Friends to invite neighbors and friends to our special family events as well as our regular weekly Meetings.

Friends Camp for Durham Meeting Young People

April 28, 2018

By Sukie Rice

This year three children from Durham Meeting will attend Friends Camp at China Lake, in part through the scholarships the Meeting is giving to make it possible for these children to go.  We believe that “investing” in Friends Camp scholarships is one of the best ways of giving young people the fun, loving, experience of Friends values and community that Friends Camp offers.

However, to reach the amount needed for the three scholarships, we need an additional $445 to add to our budgeted amount.  We ask Friends to consider making a special donation to the Meeting to help us share the costs of this rich and exciting two-week camp for the children in our Meeting’s care.   Checks can be sent to the Meeting at the above address or added to the offering plate on Sunday mornings and should be earmarked for Friends Camp.

Questions should go to Wendy Schlotterbeck or Sukie Rice.

Thank you!

Youth Minster’s Report

Plant and yard sale The plant and yard sale held Saturday May 21, netted $333.30 which along with the funds raised from selling Christmas wreaths, will enable us to continue sponsorship of Cornelius, from Kakamega, Kenya who is now in high school. Thank you to all the many Durham Friends for your generous support! Children’s Day The annual “Children and Youth Day” was held on June 5, 2016. After a meaningful worship and a message from Tess Hartford about Godly Play, we honored the graduates with cards and bookstore gift cards and all the children and youth with a flower to plant. Then we were treated to an amazing array of picnic food. Special thanks to Dorothy Curtis, Dan Henton and Katherine Langelier in addition to the many yummy treats brought by others. Don Goodrich brought his human-sized “hamster wheel” which was enjoyed by many of the 11 children and youth. We also took a group photo to send with Kristna Evans on her visit to Cuba. Durham Young Friends Durham Young Friends gathered on June 13 for a dinner to celebrate the end of the school year and congratulate the high school seniors on their graduations. Annual family campout Durham families gathered June 18-19 at the summer home of Betsy Muench in Georgetown, Maine on the beautiful Atlantic ocean. This is a highlight of each year for many of us. Thank you Betsy for this special gift! School year 2016-17 Many children and youth activities are suspended for July and August. Sunday School and Durham Young Friends will begin again in full on our annual Rally Day which will be Sunday, September 18, 2016. In preparation for the new year, we plan to gather interested parents and children/youth to discuss what each child/youth/family needs to further their spiritual growth and connection to the Durham Friends community. Stay tuned for more information about this important process. NEYM Wendy Schlotterbeck, as youth minister, attended a day long retreat/workshop in Amesbury, Massachusetts on June 12, 2016 led by Nia Thomas, the New England Yearly Meeting Young Friends and Young Adult Friends coordinator. It was a very rich time for all participants. The group of 12 reflected on the joys and challenges of working with the youth of NEYM and discussed plans for the upcoming Yearly Meeting in Vermont August 6-11. Wendy will again be a full-time resource person (RP) for this gathering of about 50 high school youth from New England. All ages are encouraged to attend this annual event which provides amazing programs for all ages from birth to 100+. Check out <http://neym.org/sessions> for more information and to register

Christian Education Committee Minute of Appreciation for Clarabel Marstaller’s Contributions

The Christian Education Committee minutes its appreciation for our beloved Friend Clarabel Marstaller’s many years of faithful work in Christian education for Durham Friends Meeting. When she resigned from our Committee in March, she mentioned that she has been involved in the work here since 1949 – 67 years! She has seen our Meeting and its work in religious education go through many changes over the years, and has worked creatively every step along the way. We are grateful for the continuity and resilience she has lent the Committee’s work. She has offered a deep well of experience and knowledge to draw upon. We hope we can continue to draw upon her insights and encouragement in the future. Thank you, Clarabel! For the Christian Education Committee, Tess Hartford, Clerk Approved at Monthly Meeting, April 17, 2016

Yard and Plant Sale a success

This year the Durham Friends Meeting’s annual Plant and Yard Sale was organized and staffed by our youths, with guidance from our Youth Minister Wendy Schlotterbeck and advice from members of the Woman’s Society, which had run the yard sale in previous years. They raised $1,200.

Youth Minister’s Report

By Wendy Schlotterbeck The Passages class has continued exploring other faith communities. On Sunday, Feb. 3, six youths, three parents and I attended the First Unitarian Universalist Church in Auburn. The service centered on the origins of Unitarian Universalists and was geared towards kids. It was a perfect introduction to this church. So far we have visited Winthrop Friends, Portland Friends and the UU church. Our next visits will include Temple Shalom and the Boston Islamic Center. Junior Young Friends (elementary grades) have had three meetings and the kids are asking to continue. As one young friend said: “I wish we would meet every week! This is fun.” We are in the process of making a documentary about Durham Friends Meeting. During our last meeting we videoed many Durham Friends and will finish interviews at our next meeting on Sunday, March 3, from noon to 1 p.m. If you didn’t get the chance to be interviewed in February, please come March 3 and let us know you are interested! We hope to have the “film” ready for Children’s Day, June 9. Durham Junior Young Friends meets the first Sunday of each month at noon. Durham Young Friends (middle and high school grades) continues to meet the third Friday of each month at 7 p.m. We are gearing up for the Big Concert at 7 p.m. on March 22 preceded by a light supper at 5:30 p.m. It will be a tribute concert for Bee Douglas by renowned folk singer Joe Crookston. You won’t want to miss this uplifting event! Save the date! The Annual Family Campout at Betsy Muench’s seaside “compound” will be June 21-23. All are welcome! There is plenty of room for tents and a few beds are available in the house for the less hearty. The view is spectacular and the private sandy beach is a favorite of all ages! Some activities in the works: 1.) Three young friends have had their portraits painted by Martha Miller and we hope to have all completed by summer. Stay tuned for the opening of the Durham Young Friends Portrait Show! 2.) We plan to put a Durham Meeting cookbook together in the near future. We would love to have your recipes and stories about them for this special cookbook. Thanks for supporting the Young Friends!

News of ‘Young’ Friends


Children’s Day Breakfast June 3

The youth will be preparing breakfast beginning
at 8 a.m. Breakfast should be ready by 9:30 a.m.
Please come and enjoy!
Children’s Day – June 3
Sunday, June 3, is Children’s Day, the end of the
Sunday School year. The youth will have the
Care of Meeting. Please come and give an ear to
our young friends.
Durham Meeting of Friends Graduates
A number of (F)friends at Durham are graduating
this year. Mitch Newlin, Jessica Sheldon, Reeve
Wood, Katherine Perkins, Robbie Civiletti and Erik Brooks all
have graduated or will soon be graduating.
Congratulations! We wish each of you all the
best.
Family-friendly Campout
On June 9 -10 at Betsy Muench’s family camp on the ocean in Georgetown there will be a family-friendly
campout. All are invited for some or all of the time. Please contact Wendy Schlotterbeck at 777.1980 if you
are able to come, long or short. Once you get here you won’t want to leave! (Yes, this is still going on.)
Children’s Day Special Offering
By Clarabel Marstaller
On Children’s Day, Sunday, June 3, children and youth will be in charge of Meeting for Worship. There will
be a second offering at that time to go to the Children and Youth Project of the United Society of Friends
Women International [USFWI]. USFWI hopes to raise $7,000 this year to go to three programs: 1. Children
and Youth programs of three centers under the Associated Committee of Friends on Indian Affairs [ACFIA].
Responsibility for the Indian centers which had been under the care of ACFIA has been taken over by Yearly
Meetings, but need help at three of the Centers (Mowa Choctaw in Alabama, Mesquakie in Iowa, and Kickapoo
in Oklahoma) for children and youth programs. 2. The Amari Play Center in Ramallah (West Bank). The
Ramallah Friends Meeting and School have supplied leadership in the Play Center for refugee children who live
in a refugee camp in Ramallah. These four-year-old children depend on the Center to provide one good meal a
day and a start on their education. 3. Expectation is to keep ten girls in school for a year, since many girls drop
out of school before finishing primary school to help at home to do chores, carry water, etc.
Durham Meeting has an opportunity to help these three programs by contributing on Children’s Day. Thank You!

Guidelines for Youth Story

By Linda Muller
The youth story is an important part of our worship.
— It should be Spirit led.
— Aim for 3-5 minutes in length (any longer
takes away from other portions of our worship).
— Be ready to customize it for the age group
present that particular week.
— Remember that children under the age of 10-
12 are not likely to understand symbolism.
— If you can include props or pictures it is
likely to be more engaging.
— Get close to the group, look up at the group
and speak loudly and clearly.
— Don’t let these guidelines trounce your
creative energy.
Thank you for keeping this in mind,
— on behalf of M & C and our Youth Pastor

Youth Story Schedule

Since Peace and Social Concerns is now back in the
rotation for the youth story, and there was some
switching due to other circumstances, the youth
story rotation has changed. The rotation is, for the
foreseeable future:
June – Library Committee
July – Ministry & Counsel
August – Peace & Social Concerns
September – Christian Education
And so on (until it changes again …)

Falmouth Quarterly Meeting

By Margaret Wentworth
Falmouth Quarterly Meeting will meet at Portland meetinghouse on April 28. The schedule is:
 8 a.m.Ministry & Counsel (M & C members from all meetings are invited)  10 a.m.Meeting for Worship  11:15 a.m. Meeting for Business Noon(ish) Lunch, provided by Portland Friends 1:30 p.m.Program concerning prison reform, with emphasis on the problems of solitary confinement. There will be a video.
There will be a youth program on sustainability facilitated by Wendy Schlotterbeck. We will be watching a movie and building stick sculptures. Childcare will be provided.
Quarterly Meeting gives us all an opportunity to meet and worship with Friends from other meetings, and can be a great time of fellowship and inspiration! Do plan to come for all or part of the day.

Rally Day: Sunday, September 11

By Wendy Schlotterbeck

Rally Day marks the beginning of the new year for Children and Youth activities at Durham.  Activities start early on Rally Sunday with the kid-chefs cooking up breakfast for the meeting.  Come join us right from the start of our new year.

Breakfast creation 8:45 AM – kids who like to cook, come help!!

Breakfast 9:30 AM Open to all

Program 10:00 Come learn what’s happening in Christian Education

Meeting for Worship 10:25 – Inter-generational, kid friendly service – no Sunday School.

Schedule 2011 – 2012:

This year we will have three age groups meeting on different Sundays.

As usual, childcare will be provided for babies and toddlers.

Elementary Grades (preschool age through grade five) meet 1st and 3rd Sundays beginning at 10:25 AM.  We will be using the Godly Play curriculum.

The middle school age group (grades six – eight or nine) will meet 2nd and 4th Sundays beginning at 10:25am.  The curriculum will be announced shortly.

Passages, the high school group, will meet 1st and 3rd Sundays, beginning at 10:15 AM.

After September 11th, the regular Sunday School schedule begins:

September 18: Godly Play and Passages

September 25: Middle School

Durham Young Friends Activities

Please join DYF (Durham Young Friends) on Children’s Day Sunday, June 12 for Meeting for Worship.  That is Children’s Day Sunday and they have care of worship that morning.  A picnic will follow with food, games and activities.

DYF and all of Durham Meeting are warmly invited to the Annual Campout taking place June 17 – 19, at the summer home of Betsy and Stuart Muench in Georgetown.  Even if you can’t stay overnight, come for a few hours during the day for kayaking, swimming, beach activities, singing and wonderful conversation.  Please contact Wendy Schlotterbeck for more details.

Youth Minister’s Report Spring 2011

By Wendy Schlotterbeck

1. Durham Young Friends held a very successful “Rise Up singing” sing-a-long concert on March 19th.  It seemed that all who came had a wonderful time and the youth made $1001.  My highlight of the year was watching the young friends in the front row thoroughly engaged and enjoying both the concert and one another.

2. The April Young Friends Meeting was held at Aunt Bee’s house and the youth, as always, had a fabulous time.  Special thanks to Brenda Masse for helping with the group as Wendy was at the Playing in the Light workshop along with Jeanne Baker-Stinson and five others.

3. At our May 20th meeting, we had a sleepover at the Meetinghouse.  We held a wonderful, lengthy Quaker discussion about whether we wanted to sponsor a Kakamega child.  The sense of the meeting was that we would indeed sponsor a child and accept the responsibility of continuing the sponsorship year by year.  The youth were excited about writing letters and hope that in a few years, some of us may participate in the Summer Trip to Kakamega to meet the children.

4. As the school year comes to a close, I am amazed and humbled by our youth who in a short time (the Philadelphia trip was just last year!) have really bonded into a lovely group.  Some remarked how Durham Young Friends (DYF) feels like family, they love coming to Meeting, and really enjoy being friends and Friends.  We at Durham are so very blessed to have such incredible young people in our midst.

5. Passages has been focusing more on Conscientious Objection this spring, our final gathering on May 22nd featured excerpts from the documentary “Soldiers of Conscience,” and a special guest who is a member of Veterans for Peace.  We hold Kris Reed in the Light as he ventures forward in his journey after graduation from high school in June.  Next fall, we plan to continue the high school “Passages” group and look forward to more study of faith communities especially Islam and Judaism.

6. Please attend “Children’s Day” on Sunday, June 12th when the youth will have the care of worship.  There will also be a picnic after meeting with food, games, and activities.

7. On June 17 – 19 our annual campout will be held at Betsy Muench’s summer home.  All of Durham Meeting is warmly invited.  If you can’t stay overnight, come for a few hours during the day for kayaking, swimming, beach activities, singing and wonderful conversation.  Contact Wendy Schlotterbeck for more details.

Youth and Children’s Activities April-August

Sunday School classes for ages 3-13,

During Meeting for Worship

May 1        Jesus and the 12
May 15      Paul’s Discovery
June 5        Plan for Children’s Day
June 12      Children’s Day – an All Meeting picnic at the Meetinghouse following worship, everyone is invited.

 

Passages for teens in high school,

Second and fourth Sundays, 10:15am

May 8        CO Movie and discussion
May 22      Special Guest and last Passages Meeting until September