Category Archives: Articles
Doug Gwyn Tells His Story
Former Pastor Doug Gwyn tells the story of his faith journey and work as a Friends pastor and writer in a new book edited by Chuck Fager called Passing the Torch: When Quaker Lives Speak. Gwyn felt the call to … Continue reading
Sophia’s House, by Leslie Manning, Chaplain for Sophia’s House
Sophia’s House is a new residence in Lewiston scheduled to open in December 2019 for women coming out of addiction, prison or jail, and/or sex trafficking. It is a project of The Center for Wisdom’s Women, an established peer support … Continue reading
Climate Crisis; Youth Speak Out!
By Linda Muller, for PSC At this September 29 afternoon gathering, our Meeting provided a platform for three local youth activists to share their concerns and ideas about how to move forward. After a finger food potluck, we started at 12:30pm with … Continue reading
Durham Meeting Members Participate in Vigils at Bath Iron Works
By Renee Cote and Brown Lethem Durham Monthly Meeting of Friends, along with over a dozen Maine organizations including Maine Veterans for Peace, has co-sponsored vigils at the “christenings” of two warships to be launched from Bath Iron Works. … Continue reading
Wendy Schlotterbeck Hosts a Family of Eight from East Africa
In early August, with the many recent asylum seekers staying at the Portland Expo needing homes, a call went out for people to host families in their homes. Wendy Schlotterbeck, Durham’s Youth Minister who has devoted a great deal of … Continue reading
Durham Meeting Makes Donation to the Make Shift Coffee House
At the June Monthly Meeting for Business, Durham Friends approved a $2,000 donation to the Make Shift Coffee House, founded and run by Durham Friends member Craig Freshley. Craig began the Make Shift Coffee House gatherings about six years ago, … Continue reading
James Nayler, Excerpt from a Letter to Charles II, 1660
Nayler sent this letter to Charles II, who had recently been restored to the throne of England in 1660. (His father, Charles I, had been beheaded during the English Civil War, 1641-1652.) 0 King! God hath in these Nations a … Continue reading
Peace Vigil at Bath Iron Works
On the morning of April 27th at 8:30 a coalition of peace groups including the Durham Meeting of Friends gathered at the Bath Iron Works to witness their opposition to the military buildup represented by the “Christening of another Zumwalt … Continue reading
Meeting Music and Pianists, by Nancy Marstaller
Currently there are 3 of us who take turns playing the piano during meeting for worship: Dot Hinshaw, Sue Wood, and Nancy Marstaller. Dot started taking lessons when she was 6 years old. She could play by ear … Continue reading
Stamp Collecting for Friends’ Work, by Nancy Marstaller
My mom (Clarabel) and I are still collecting stamps. In January we sent off a large envelope full of your donations, and plan to send more in May. A group at Indianapolis First Friends collects the stamps and … Continue reading
1782 Map Shows Durham Friends Meeting
Portion of a 1782 map showing Quaker Meetings in New England. Among the Meetin gs shown is Royaltown or Durham. It is on a road 25 miles north north east of Presumpscot or Falmouth Meeting, and 17 miles west north … Continue reading
My Experience at Yearly Meeting Summer Sessions, 2018
By Sarah Sprogell For those who are not familiar with Summer Sessions, it is a time of year that Friends from across New England gather to attend to business, learn from each other in workshops, share meals, art, music and … Continue reading
Talking Points from New England Yearly Meeting Sessions 2018
Please share the news and joy from NEYM Sessions 2018 with Friends at home. Consider posting these talking points and making a report to your local meeting for business. The theme for this year’s Annual Sessions was In Fear and … Continue reading
Book Review: Trouble I’ve Seen: Changing the Way the Church Views Racism by Drew G. I. Hart
By Nancy Marstaller For the last couple years, I’ve been reading to understand how racism has affected the attitudes and actions of myself and others. It’s been a saddening and sometimes shocking journey to learn of the experiences of many … Continue reading
Reflections on Indigenous Peoples Day – October 8, 2018
By Linda Muller I am glad to recognize the continuing debt we owe to the original people of our area; Casco Bay and beyond. I am relieved not to recognize C. Columbus, who practiced severe genocide and never stepped foot … Continue reading
Latest Library News, June 2018
By Dorothy Hinshaw The latest addition to the meeting library is a very interesting book: “Memories of Milton Hadley” who was a Quaker pastor at meetings in Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina, and Florida, serving both programmed and unprogrammed meetings. His … Continue reading
“Finding Simplicity in My Life,” by Robert Bennett
From the May 2018 issue of Friends Journal, The Student Voice Project 2018 on “What Are Quaker Values Anyway?” Finding Simplicity in My Life by Robert Bennett on May 1, 2018 As many people’s lives become more cluttered with events and activities, we … Continue reading
Quakerism = Hope
April 17, 2018 “As the stillness of Quaker Meeting unfolds, it opens up a space in which we can listen and wait — both comfortable and uncomfortable, holy and ordinary, still and dynamic. And whilst I don’t pretend Quakerism has … Continue reading
Ann Audland, Early Quaker Prophet
This is one of the stories I’ve been preparing for the New England Yearly Meeting sessions this month, about early Friends answering the call to radical faithfulness. Ann Audland is one of the lesser known early Quaker prophets. She and … Continue reading
The Phoebe Family: Empty-Nesters – or Not?
I’ve enjoyed hosting a family of phoebes, a species of flycatchers, on the parsonage porch. I noticed them one day in May trying to build a nest on an impossibly narrow ledge under a corner of the porch ceiling. So … Continue reading
The First Motion
John Woolman said in his journal on one of the days he spent travelling in earnest pursuit of God’s will for him, that “Love was the first motion,” after which “a concern arose to spend some time with the Indians, … Continue reading
Elizabeth Fry: Quaker Prison Reformer
I’ve been reading a biography of Elizabeth Fry (1780 – 1843) that I bought from the USFW used book table in the meetinghouse. The biography is itself a century old and USFW used book table in the meetinghouse. The biography … Continue reading
Aspirations for Durham Friends Meeting
March 2016 In 2014, Durham Friends Meeting held a series of Visioning sessions to better understand who we are and where we would like to go as a Quaker Meeting. At the end, the Committee on Ministry and Counsel drafted … Continue reading
‘Service is our sacrament’
By Mimi Marstaller One of the phrases from June’s Friends United Meeting Triennial that sticks with me is “As Quakers, service is our sacrament.” The man who spoke these words is named Ross and he works with the Quaker Voluntary … Continue reading
Teen Camp: Relationships, Spirituality and Sexuality
By Nat Shed, Director of Friends Camp This three-day camp session will give teens an opportunity to explore relationship ethics and to define the elements of healthy and equal relationships. Teen Camp starts at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 18, … Continue reading
Queries on Financial Giving
These Queries were read by Sarah during the presentation: From remarks at Chestnut Hill Meeting, Philadelphia, PA By Thomas Jeavons January 6, 2002 Do we as individuals see giving to our Meetings (and other Quaker bodies) as: An obligation … Continue reading
Witnessing for a Faithful Budget
By Leslie Manning Pete Sirois, a Pax Christi member from Madison, and I lobbied our elected representatives after attending Ecumenical Advocacy Days in Washington, D.C. We were part of a group of 750 clergy and faith leaders from many denominations … Continue reading
From our Pastor, Daphne Clement
“The Meeting for Worship is, however, not all silence. The silence is preparation. One listens before one speaks. There is a quickening power in the living silence… Where the temperature and atmosphere of the group are right, the one who … Continue reading
Why Forgive
From our Pastor, Daphne Clement True forgiveness opens the heart making us tender and available to God. Without practicing forgiveness, we loose the capacity to give and to receive. If we really want to love, we must learn how to … Continue reading
Daphne Clement Introduces Herself to Durham Meeting
Asked for a biography for the December Durham Friends Meeting Newsletter… I sat down to write and found that the threads of my life (like the threads in the poem below) would not organize themselves in a linear fashion. To … Continue reading
