Chris Newell Lecture and Film: When Native Peoples Tell Their Own Stories, November 1, 6:00-7:30 pm

From Peace and Social Concerns Committee:

A Lecture & Film Screening with Chris Newell

When: Nov 1st, 6 – 7:30 pm

Where: Meetinghouse Arts, 40 Main Street, Freeport

Tickets:

  • $10 for non-members,
  • $5 for members,
  • Free for Teachers & Students (ticket still required)
What is the impact of history and education when more inclusive of Native peoples of this land? How do you bring it into your learning space? Chris Newell will examine these questions and more as he discusses the far-reaching work of himself and his partners at Akomawt Educational Initiative to bring Native content to all areas of education in our society.

The lecture will be followed by a screening of the short film “Weckuwapok (The Approaching Dawn).”

Chris Newell’s book “If You Lived During the Plimoth Thanksgiving” will be available for purchase.

TICKETS

For more information about our speaker, Chris Newell, access his biography here!

Falmouth Quarterly Meeting, Saturday, October 26, 9:30 to 3:00

Ubuntu – I am because of your Love*

Falmouth Quarter will meet on October 26th from 9:30 – 3 at Durham Friends Meeting

We invite you to come and share about the life and spirit in your meetings.  Our hope is that our entire time together is a time of worship, with laughter, business, connections and fellowship.  All are welcome. 

Please plan on a brown bag lunch.  

In the afternoon we will focus on Martha Shelden’s report on her experience as a Friends’ recorded minister and the queries she offers to our meetings.

Love Fritz Weiss & Wendy Schlotterbeck, co-coordinators, Falmouth Quarter

* From FWCC World Plenary this summer

+++

Materials for nthe October 26, 2024 Falmouth Quarterr can be found here

Agenda October 26th,  2024

10:00 Land acknowledgement:   We meet on land that is a part of the ancestral homelands of the Wabanaki.  We are the beneficiaries of the brutal taking of this land by European Colonists.  We acknowledge this and acknowledge that the Wabanaki are still here. We know and grieve that there are many whose names we do not know, whose stories we will not hear and whose sacred songs will not be sung again.  We are responsible to the land and to our neighbors to attend to what has been damaged and to listen to what they have to tell us. 

  • Sharing news from each meeting 
  • Treasurer’s report (Leslie Manning)  (attached)
  • Receive a report from Diane Dicranian, Quaker Representative to the Maine Council of Churches, with a call for financial contributions from Maine Quakers and Quarters. (see attached report)
  • Approve Budget for coming year (Leslie Manning)
  • Consider approving a Minute from Winthrop Center in support of Shirley Hager and an emerging Wabanaki Elder-in-Residence Program at UMaine attached.  Both Vassalboro Quarter and Falmouth Quarter will be considering this request.  
  • Confirm dates for coming year 1/25, 4/26, summer.
  • Suggestions re January Quarter program.
  • Sharing about the Bible Half Hours from annual sessions (Jessica Eller) 

12:00 Lunch

12:30 Martha Shelton’s letter and queries.  One of the essential responsibilities of a Quarter is to pay attention to and nurture the spiritual health, experience and  ministry in the monthly meetings of the Quarter. Last April Martha Shelden (Durham) submitted a report on her experience as a recorded minister with queries for Friends and Meetings. We set the report aside to engage with more deeply when we had an opportunity.  Our plan for the afternoon is to do that.  

The queries Martha shared are: 

Questions for the Meeting on calling, gifts of the Spirit, vocation, Spiritual journey 

  • Ubuntu.  I am because of your love.  Question for meeting and for self:  Whose love brought you to where you are now?
  • Notice pivotal moments in your spiritual journey, moments in how you walked with God. One of mine was at Wellesley meeting.  ‘You are very intuitive, aware of ministerial’  Thoughts began of going into ed or ministry.  Ministry instead of counselling as I wanted to include God Spirit in the conversation.   – What pivotal experiences have you had that have influenced your life to date?
  • What are your leadings?
  • What fears go in the way?  What successes and joys encouraged you along?
  • Where had the Spirit taken you and where is Spirit taking you now?
  • What music makes your soul soar? When did you smile down to your toes? Who has encouraged you?  To do what?  How?  When?
  • What do others see in you? Does it suit with your own assessment?  
  • Is there a benefit in recognizing the gifts of the Spirit in IYM?  Encouragement?  Allowing for a person to focus on a leading of the Spirit?
  • Why are you a Quaker?
  • Ministry as vocation.  Defines self.  How much is your occupation your identity?  Who are you when no longer in a job?  

3:00 Wrap up, close worship.  

Makers Sessions Planning Dinner, October 4, 5pm

Maker Sessions — A Planning Meeting, October 4, 5pm

Craig, Leslie, Ellen, Doug, Kim, and Ezra have met a couple of times to talk about “Maker Sessions” — a way build community within and beyond Durham Friends Meeting.

Please join us to share ideas, hopes and aspirations at 5 p.m. on October 4 at the Meetinghouse.

A pot-luck “soup-er supper” will be served.

Details about ideas generated up to this point can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/55fea32z And you can always ask questions or send comments to craig@Freshley.com. 

Listening Session, September 22, after Meeting

Ministrfy and Counsel announces:

This Sunday, September 22, we will be having a Meeting-wide listening session to continue our ongoing conversation regarding

the use of Zoom technology in the Meetinghouse during our Sunday worship.

We expect to allot1 hour for the discussion, which we will hold after fellowship and the rise of Meeting. Approximately, from 12:00-1:00 pm.

Please bring your thoughts, comments and questions so that we may discern our way forward with this important aspect of our community life!  

Respectfully,Tess Hartford, co-clerk of M&C

Meet Mary Rowlandson, July 19, 2024, 7pm

Meet Mary Rowlandson, presented by Quaker storyteller Katie Green

Friday, July 19 at 7 PM, Durham Friends Meeting

Based on her own account, Mary speaks of her capture by Native people during Metacom’s Rebellion, aka King Phillip’s War, in 1670’s Massachusetts. 

This challenging narrative will be followed by discussion on issues that remain important today- racism, theocracy and right relationship with Indigenous neighbors.

It will also be made available by Zoom; please email durham@neym.org for details.

NEYM Annual Sessions, August 2-7, 2024

We look forward to seeing you at Sessions 2024!

The theme for this year’s Sessions is Let us faithfully tend the seed. Rich with imagery, our theme both calls us to act in the world in ways that give voice to the Inner Light and also to let go of our individual truth and listen for the voice of God in others. 

This Year’s Sessions at a Glance:

Dates: Friday, August 2 through Wednesday, August 7
Location: Vermont State University (formerly Castleton University) in Castleton, VT
Sunday Plenary: Lloyd Lee Wilson, Friendship Friends Meeting, North Carolina (Conservative)
Bible Half Hours: Genna Ulrich, Portland Friends Meeting (ME)
Monday Night Plenary: Toussaint the Liberator, Stone of Hope Drumming (MA)

More information about sessions is available here.

Two hands holding an apple shaped block of text that says: Let us faithfully tend the seed.

AFSC Briefing, June 29, 3:30pm, Friends School Portland

Invitation:

A conversation with Joyce Ajlouny, General Secretary, American Friends Service Committee, and

Keith Harvey, Director, AFSC Northeast Region

Saturday, June 29, 2024, 3:30 p.m., Friends School of Portland, 11 US-1, Cumberland Foreside, ME

Learn about AFSC’s life-saving aid in Gaza, support for immigrant rights, and ongoing commitment to confront injustice and promote healing among the Wabanaki communities in Maine.

(Click here for driving directions listed on the school’s website.)

Please RSVP by June 21

This is a rare opportunity to hear first hand about some crucial and desperately needed work bringing our Quaker witness to life in the world.

Keith Harvey, AFSC’s Regional Director, will update us on AFSC’s work in the Northeast, especially its advocacy on immigration and the rights of indigenous peoples in Maine. Joyce Ajlouny, AFSC’s General Secretary, will speak about AFSC’s work globally,  including an update on the work our Meeting has been supporting in Gaza. 

Please help us in spreading the word, and RSVP’ing at this link: https://secure.afsc.org/a/conversation-afscs-joyce-ajlouny 

Also, we welcome some help! We could really use 2 set-up helpers, 2 break-down helpers, and those of you who feel led to hold this very important AFSC mission and presentation in the light, to do so in person. If you can be one of those helpers, please contact Becky (steelebecky@gmail.com) or Doug (douglas_mccown@yahoo.com).

MEIRS Gala Invitation, July 12, 6:00 to 9:00 pm

Maine Immigrant & Refugee Services (MEIRS) is holding its 2nd Annual gala, themed “Connecting Cultures, Creating Community,” on Saturday, July 12, from 6:00 to 9:00 pmin Lewiston at the Agrora Grand Event Center.

Bopnnie Lewis (MEIRS) wrote Wendy Schlotterbeck, “Here is the Gala information for your crew! Let me know if they are interested. I think everyone would have a wonderful time and they would get to meet some incredible people who are new Mainers!  Along with the fabulous food there will be dancing and music!!!! We would ask you to come as our guest!”

Thopse interested in attending should contact Wendy. More information on MEIRS available here and also below.

Falmouth Quarterly Meeting & Potluck Dinner, June 8, 2024

Falmouth Quarterly Meeting will hold a community gathering on Saturday, June 8, 2024 at 3pm at the Durham Friends Meetinghouse. All are welcome. We will plan family fun, some worship, purposeful connection time and singing.

Potluck- Quaker Feast at 5:30.

Please come for any or all of the day on Saturday- “Sing and rejoice, ye Children of the Day and of the Light” (G Fox)

Gathering for Friends with a Concern for Gospel Ministry

June 8, 2024, 10:00 a.m. to mid-afternoon

Location, Durham Friends Meeting

Brian Drayton (Souhegan) and Noah Merrill (Putney), following a concern, invite Friends active in gospel ministry to gather for worship and conversation at the Durham (Maine) Friends Meetinghouse from 10 a.m. to mid-afternoon, June 8th, 2024.

You may travel in ministry, or your service in speaking as led in worship may be primarily in your own meeting. If you contribute to the vocal ministry under a sustained sense of duty and concern, you are invited to join us.

If you hope to attend, or have questions, please email Brian and Noah.

Diana White Memorial Service, June 22, 11am to 2pm

The Memorial Service and Potluck for our member Diana White will be held Saturday, June 22 from 11-2 at Durham ME Friends Meeting (durhamfriendsmeeting.org) and available on Zoom. 

The memorial service will be from 11:00 to 12:15, with the potluck lunch to follow.

Diana, formerly of Farmington and Portland Meetings, was also a clerk of Friends Committee on Maine Public Policy and active in New England Yearly Meeting in several leadership roles.  She was the first woman to serve as Treasurer of the Yearly Meeting.

To learn more about her, please read her recent First Day message postyed on this website, “What I Bring to the Spiritual Potluck.

And join us on the 22nd to celebrate her life and spirit.  All are welcome.

Annual Family Campout, June 8-9, 2024, Now Cancelled

UPDATE June 2, 2024:

Due to a major broken water pump at Betsy’s cottage in Georgetown, we need to cancel the Family Campout scheduled for next weekend- June 8-9. Instead, we invite Friends to gather at Durham Friends meetinghouse on Saturday only (no planned events on Sunday)

For those interested- come at 10am Gathering for Friends with a Concern for Gospel Ministry with Brian Drayton and Noah Merrill

At 3pm all are welcome to a FQM Quaker Community Gathering at Durham Friends Meetinghouse. We will plan family fun, some worship, purposeful connection time and singing.

Potluck- Quaker Feast at 5:30.

Please come for any or all of the day on Saturday- “Sing and rejoice, ye Children of the Day and of the Light” (G Fox)

Also Falmouth Quarterly Meeting gathering.

“Common Ground” to be Shown at Meetinghouse, April 26, 7pm

Peace and Social Concerns Committee will be showing a film, “Common Ground” at the Meetinghouse on April 26 at 7:00 PM.  More on the film HERE.

From the film’s website:

From the filmmakers of ‘Kiss the Ground’ (Netflix) comes the follow-up documentary ‘Common Ground’, winner of the Tribeca Film Festival. Common Ground is an important new documentary film featuring Laura Dern, Jason Momoa, Woody Harrelson, Ian Somerhalder, Donald Glover, Rosario Dawson, Mark Hyman, Gabe Brown, and many others.

Directed by Josh and Rebecca Tickell, Common Ground provides hope for future generations with concrete ways to fix a broken planetary system. The film explores how regenerative agriculture can help heal the soil, our health and the planet.

“Walking in the World as a Friend,” from QREC, 2nd Mondays in 2024 @7:30pm

an invitation from the Quaker Religious Education Collaborative:

Walking in the World as a Friend Discussion & Practice Group
Please join us for a free Online Practice & Discussion Group sponsored by Quaker Religious Education Collaborative (QREC)We meet monthly to enrich adult Quaker Religious Education for ourselves and our meetings/churches.Each month will open with worship and a message from the book Walking in the World as a Friend: Essential Quaker Practices. Then we will hold worship sharing to hear from each person, followed by a discussion on any questions, reflections, or implications for us as Friends and our witness in they world, then close with worship. We may discuss practices, such as journaling, spiritual companions, and faith and practice or scripture study, that help us and our meetings/churches.We are using Walking in the World as a Friend for reference. You may purchase the book at CourageousGifts.com or download the PDF HERE for free. You may also watch the videos on YouTube.
Monday, January 8, 2024 7:30pm Eastern US Time
Experiences of Living in the Spirit and the role of a Minister (pp 27-30 or relevant videos)
Monday, Febuary 12, 2024 7:30pm Eastern US Time
Experiment with Spirit and the Role of the Steward (pp 35-37 or relevant videos)
Monday, March 11, 2024 7:30pm Eastern US Time
Essential Quaker Structures as an Ecology of Practices (pp 45-58 or relevant videos)
In 2024, we plan to meet the second Monday of the month in January, February, and March and take a one-month break in April. We expect to continue this pattern of 3 months on and 1 month off through 2024. This is spiral curriculum. Every time we engage the themes, we bring more to the reflections and go deeper.

REGISTER HERE

FGC Changing Times Conference, January 18-21, 2024

Join Us Online January 18-21, 2024
Registration is Open
Dear Leslie, Registration is open for FGC’s Changing Times Conference –
In these changing times, how is Spirit moving among us?

Join Friends from across North America in seeking what messages Spirit offers us as we explore Spirit led growth and transformation. We will have time to deepen our spiritual lives, share ideas across yearly meetings and explore new ones as we meet online.

Our schedule will begin with a plenary each day followed by workshops and we will have the opportunity to reflect and consider the day’s events in Reflections Groups each evening. There will be morning worship and chances for fellowship online in the evenings.The main components of the conference are:Our connection to SpiritBecoming an Actively Anti-racist Faith CommunityChanging structures for Changing TimesThe Future of the Religious Society of Friends.Come, take a break, find community, share ideas and concerns and find refreshment as we seek together what messages Spirit offers us.
with excitement and gratitude,
Ruth ReberRuth ReberSpecial Events CoordinatorFriends General Conference1216 Arch St. #2BPhiladelphia, Pa 19107ruthr@fgcquaker.orgwww.fgcquaker.orgWhy this Conference now?
This online conference grew from the seeds of desires expressed by Friends in Gathering Anew Focus groups to have opportunities to share across Yearly Meetings and Monthly Meetings. It is one of four Gathering Anew Experiments to explore meeting Friends needs in these changing times.

In consultation, Yearly Meeting Clerks and Secretaries spoke of a deep desire to seek the Divine together. What messages might Spirit be offering to us at this time? Changing Times is a chance to explore together, some of the key questions before us. We are in a time of change, a time full of potential and choices.Who will speak to us?Tuning InFrancisco Burgos,
Executive Director, Pendle Hill
Francisco Burgos is the executive director at Pendle Hill and has facilitated spiritual retreats and lectio divina sessions for many audiences. Francisco was a De La Salle Christian Brother for almost ten years, serving in Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Costa Rica, and has been a Friend since 2004. He is a member of Harrisburg Friends Meeting and an attender of meetings including Monteverde Friends Meeting in Costa Rica and Adelphi Friends Meeting in Maryland.Living into Continuing RevelationVanessa Julye,
Friends General Conference’s Associate Secretary for Organizational Cultural Transformation
Vanessa Julye, works on increasing awareness of White Supremacy and its impact in the Quaker and sectarian communities. She meets with and provides programs for BIPOC Quakers throughout the world both in-person and virtually. She has been recognized as having a calling to a ministry with a concern for helping the Religious Society of Friends become a whole blessed community. Vanessa speaks on racism focusing on its eradication and the healing of racism’s wounds.Changing Structures in Changing TimesTitle: Empower, Support, Cross-Fertilize, and Encourage
Paul Buckley is a member of Clear Creek Friends Meeting in Richmond, Indiana. Since his graduation from the Quaker Studies Program at the Earlham School of Religion, he has been a traveling minister and a writer on Quaker topics. He is serving as the Clerk of OVYM’s Restructuring Committee. His most recent publication is a 2023 Pendle Hill Pamphlet, Quaker Testimony: What We Witness to the World, the product of twelve years of thought and contemplation on Quaker Testimony.

Title: Restorative Quaker Design
Rashid Darden is a member of Friends Meeting of Washington and Associate Secretary for Communications and Outreach for Friends General Conference. He is also a novelist who focuses on the Black LGBT experience, whether in contemporary fiction or in urban fantasy. 

Title: The economic and sociologic context of contemporary Quaker experience and how it informs our future
Barry Crossno is a member of the Monthly Meeting of Friends of Philadelphia sojourning  with Cleveland Friends Meetings. He serves as the General Secretary of Friends General Conference. He brings to FGC a deep commitment to the future of the Religious Society of Friends and the  nurture and care for Friends.WorkshopsEach day offers a new selection of workshops focused on the topic of the day. Check out the website for a full listing of topics and leaders.
 Learn more about the Speakers and Workshop LeadersRegister Now
Some workshops have limited space.
And please consider making a gift.
Your support helps make FGC programs like the Gathering possible and accessible. Whatever the amount, your contribution connects Friends, newcomers, and meetings in spiritually powerful ways. Thank you for nurturing a vibrant Quaker faith!Support Friends. Give Today.Like what you’ve read? Please help us by sharing this Gathering update with your friends and Friends by using the buttons below!

“Returning to the Land” Webinars from Toward Right Relationship

UPDATE: Peace and Social Concerns is asking that Friends meet at the Meetinghouse to view these webinars together (and to do the readings suggested beforehand). .

The Peace & Social Concerns Committee at Durham Friends Meeting Invite you to a Webinar Series, January-February 2024:

“Returning to the Land” by Nia To Go There (Cree) 

Nia To Go There, PhD will offer a series of four webinars that are co-sponsored by Toward Right Relationship with Native Peoples and Decolonizing Quakers (both national Quaker organizations). Nia will recommend short readings for each program. 

January 13, 3:30-5 pm: “Returning to the Land: Cultural Perspectives.” Readings for this first session are AT THIS LINK.

January 27, 3:30-5 pm: “Returning to the Land: Seeing with a Native Eye.” Readings for this second session are AT THIS LINK.

February 10, 3:30-5 pm: “Returning to the Land: Colonization.” Readings for this third session are AT THIS LINK.

February 24, 3:30-5 pm: “Returning to the Land: Decolonization.”

Durham Friends look forward to some collective thinking about how we bring the important messages from these sessions home to Maine.

We hope to see you for all or some of these sessions at our Meetinghouse, 532 Quaker Meetinghouse Rd, Durham ME 04222.

Please contact Ingrid Chalufour at ichalufour@gmail.com with questions or to ask to have recommended readings forwarded to you.

Training to Be a Volunteer in Support of New Mainers

From the United Way of Mid Coast Maine, lifted up by Peace and Social Concerns

For those interested in volunteering with the New Mainers in Brunswick! 

I am pleased to announce that we will be holding a public volunteer orientation on December 11th and December 14th at Curtis Memorial Library in the Morrell Meeting Room from 2 pm until 4 pm on both days. 

The orientation will include: 

  • Overview of New Mainer Needs/ Background 
  • Cultural Competency 
  • Expectations of Volunteers 
  • Panelist discussion with community organizations 
  • Opportunity to sign up for volunteer opportunities 

Please sign up for one of the two days at this link: https://volunteer.uwmcm.org/event/

Again, thank you so much and I hope to see you in a few weeks. Don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions!

Best, Maggie Cummings, Community Response Coordinator, United Way of Mid Coast Maine

34 Wing Farm Pkwy, #201, Bath ME 04530

Phone: 207-295-3876

Main Office: 207-443-9752

maggiec@uwmcm.org | uwmcm.org