Durham Monthly Meeting of Friends convened for the conduct of business on Sunday, September 15, 2019 with 10 people present. Martha Hinshaw Sheldon served as clerk in the absence of Susan Rice, reading a quote from the Journal of George Fox. We did not meet in August.
1. The July minutes were approved.
2. Christian Education Committee: Wendy Schlotterbeck reported for the committee and included her report as Youth Minister.
Three Durham youth attended Friends Camp this summer and reported having a great time. Thanks to Durham Meeting for your continued support through scholarships enabling these young people to attend.
Ashley Marstaller continues to staff childcare every Sunday from 10:15-12:15. She is loving and competent, and engages well with our children. Thanks so much, Ashley! She also provides care during Monthly Meeting until 1:15.
Sunday School for children and youth began the third Sunday of September, and will be held the first and third Sundays until June, except for October 6, when we will all be observing World Quaker Day with a special Homecoming celebration
This October 6 on World Quaker Day, Durham Meeting is inviting past, present, and new friends to our Homecoming celebration. Meeting for Worship begins at 10:25, followed by a meal prepared by the Christian Education committee. Please invite interested neighbors and encourage friends we haven’t seen for a while to come.
Please consider whether you may be called to teach in the Durham Friends Meeting Sunday School program. We are looking for at least two teachers for the age 3-12 class. Wendy will continue to teach the middle/high school class. As we begin another school year, you can find great information on the NEYM website about youth programs: https://neym.org/events/Youth%20Programs. Wendy Schlotterbeck will be staffing many of the Young Friends retreats. New England Yearly Meeting has been blessed with spiritually robust, well- attended, and fun year-round youth retreat programs, covering a span of ages from 7 to 35. A description of these retreats will be included in the newsletter.
The Permaculture Seminar at Pendle Hill scheduled for September 15-27 was unfortunately cancelled due to low enrollment. The scholarship given to Qat Langelier to help her attend will be refunded.
3. Ministry and Counsel: Martha Hinshaw Sheldon announced that a Ministry and Counsel retreat will be held on October 13. Ministry and Counsel continue to discuss pastoral care needs and Meeting for Worship.
4. Peace and Social Concerns Committee: Ingrid Chalufour reported that the committee met on September 12 to continue planning for our fall activities. We will be launching our climate crisis events on September 29 with a youth panel here at the meetinghouse. We hope everyone will be able to stay after Meeting on that day. Other activities will be announced on October 6. These include Brunswick- based house parties for the film Paris to Pittsburg, which addresses the immediacy of the climate crisis and how some local communities are responding. Parties are scheduled at Ingrid Chalufour’s home on October 17 and Linda Muller’s home on November 1st. A sign-up sheet will be available on October 6. If anyone wants to host a party in another location, talk to Ingrid.
5. Margaret Wentworth reported that the library has added several new books. A list of titles will be included in the newsletter.
6. Communications Committee: Liana Knight reported that the Communications Committee met on September 13. Doug Bennett, Sukie Rice, and Liana Knight were present. The newsletter editor role remains unfilled. Sukie Rice is filling in temporarily, but does not plan to continue as the long-term editor. If the Meeting wants the newsletter to continue, someone needs to come forward to handle the newsletter. On Sunday, September 22, the Committee will hold a discussion about the newsletter from 12:00-12:30. We are seeking input about what parts of the newsletter are most important, and about whether or not people actually read the newsletter. Donna Hutchins asked the group to consider whether someone else could take over the Facebook page. Liana Knight agreed to take it over.
7. The meeting approved a request by Nancy Marstaller from the Woman’s Society to hold a silent auction in November.
8. Sarah Sprogell reported that Falmouth Quarterly Meeting will be held at Durham Friends Meeting on October 26, and the following persons were approved to be representatives: Sarah Sprogell, Margaret Wentworth, and Leslie Manning (upon her consent).
The meeting ended in record time: 12:45, after a brief silence.
Dorothy Hinshaw, Recording Clerk
