Category Archives: Events

AFSC Corporation Sessions in April

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This year, taking advantage of our recent ability to gather Friends from all corners, the American Friends Service Committee Annual Corporation Meeting will be preceded by an exciting series of afternoon/evening seminars on a number of important topics in peace and justice.  The presenters will be a mix of AFSC staff and external partners/colleagues.  AFSC does peace and justice work in your name—come learn about what they are doing.  ALL ARE WELCOME!  

If you are interested in any of these events, you can get further information and register here: https://www.afsc.org/corpprogram

Sunday, April 11, 7-8:30pm:  Quakers, AFSC, and abolition:
Then and now

Monday, April 12, 8-9:30pm: #FreeThemAll: How we are living into
the call to free folks in the context of COVID-19 and beyond

Tuesday, April 13, 8-9:30pm: Pursuing freedom for Palestine: A
campaign for Palestinian children’s rights

Wednesday, April 14, 4pm: Global migrant justice: Manifesting
the joint Quaker migration statement

Wednesday, April 14, 8-9:30pm: Restorative Justice: What does it
look like/feel like in our communities?

Thursday, April 15, 1:30-3pm: Making new worlds: Creating a
society based on care and a solidarity economy—what to divest from/what to
invest in?

Thursday, April 15, 7-9pm: KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Plenary session on Abolition with Nyle Fort

Nyle Fort is a minister, activist, and scholar based in Newark, New Jersey. He has worked in education, criminal justice, and youth development for over a decade in various capacities including: the national director of Communities Against Militarized Police; founder and co-director of the Organizing Praxis Lab at Princeton University; and lead trainer at Momentum, an activist incubator that builds large-scale social movements in the United States and around the world.

Looking Ahead to Easter Sunday, April 4, 2021

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Easter Sunday worship- 10:30 am April 4. Theme/ eggs and new life.

For Easter, Kim Bolshaw will grow small containers of wheatgrass for anyone who would like one. Friends can pick up a small pot of wheatgrass on March 28 at the hike or at the Meeting house or free delivery! Contact Wendy Schlotterbeck or Kim Bolshaw if you have questions.

On Easter Sunday morning, attenders are encouraged to have an egg with them during Meeting for Worship- placing one in the wheat grass if desired- or have scrambled eggs for breakfast that day!

Cafe Corner, 7-8 pm, March 29, 2021

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Cafe Corner returns! Durham Meeting’s social experiment in revelry. 

Monday, March 29th, 7-8pm.

Our theme will be “Fiber Forward!” Guests will share in a “round robin” (or salon style ) about our encounters with fiber. We might share a precious memento gifted by another or our own creation. All types of fiber experiences are welcome! This includes fabrics and plants.

Join us via Zoom link for Durham Meeting’s Sunday worship.

Earthcare, Call to Action, Empowerment and Engagement, February 27, 8:30/9:00 to Noon

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Vassalboro Quarterly Meeting and Acadia Friends Monthly Meeting invites Falmouth Quarterly Meeting and NEYM Young Adult Friends to an interactive workshop via Zoom.

Earthcare, Call to Action, Empowerment and Engagement

Saturday, February 27, 2021, 9:00 a.m. — noon (8:30 a.m. to gather)

Speakers: Andy Burt, Jay O’Hara, Peter Garrett, Gray Cox

Facilitators: Margaret Marshall and MaineBob O’Connor

Maine Activist Earthcare Friends will speak about their personal journeys including moments of insight, and anecdotes of success and failure. There will also be two break-out groups (3-5 people) in which each attender will share their own journeys, and hope and intentions for 2021.

If interested, please reach out to Carole Beal (carolebeal@gmail.com) to make sure you get the Zoom link (to be sent out a few days before the event) and for a document with a personal witness prepared by each speaker, plus information about the facilitators, and queries and levels of climate concern prepared by the NEYM Earthcare Committee.

Join Zoom Meeting with this Long Link
https://zoom.us/j/96109694747?pwd=Q1NkVDVjL1lRYkkzeFhLRHd6RU1Bdz09
OR
Meeting ID: 961 0969 4747
Passcode: 207207
OR
By Phone Dial by your location
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
Be sure to press # after the Meeting ID and Passcode.

Information about Speakers and Facilitators and Useful Materials for the Session

Schedule:
*8:30 am log in, gather, request sign in of name, meeting, email address into chat for distribution
to participants only. (welcome individual by Margaret)
*9:00 Welcome by Margaret. (5 minutes.)
*9:05 Worship for 15 minutes. (15 minutes.) (Margaret)
*9:20 Gray introduces speakers by name and asks them to speak out of the silence in this order:
Jay O’Hara, Peter Garrett, Andy Burt. They share their personal journeys for 15 minutes each.
Bob will announce 1 minute left. (45 minutes plus time for silent transition between speakers.)
*10:15: Breakout groups of 3 random individuals:
“Where am I in my personal journey? What gifts do I bring?
(Gray will put in chat) (10 minutes.)
*10:25: Chat: Bob invites all to write a word or two or short phrase reflecting your journeys and
gifts in the chat and Margaret reads them as they come after a pause to give all a chance to think
about ideas.
(3-5 minutes)
*10:30: Gray invites all for10 minute break. Short music Earthcare theme (Bob). (10 minutes)
*10:40: Speaker: Gray Cox. (15 minutes)
*10:55: Breakout groups sharing out of the silence with 4-5 participants assigned randomly.
Query: What am I led to do? What might my meeting be led to do? What action do I imagine?
What is the next step? How do we remain engaged on behalf of the Earth beyond good
intentions?
(Gray will enter these in Chat) (screen prompt will be provided halfway through. (20 minutes.)
*11:15 Bob invites all to write short phrases of leadings into chat out of the silence. Candle or
fireplace on screen. (5 minutes.) Chat read out loud by Margaret after a pause to give participants
and chance to contemplate ideas…
*11:20 Query: What am I led to as a next step for us? Gray invites all to take three breaths as we
enter Worship Share: things that rise up out of the silence. (40 minutes)
*12:00 Gray offers gratitude to participants with an invitation to linger with an explanation of the
breakout room options. After thoughts?
MaineBob opens up chat to private sharing. Also optional breakout rooms would be available for
people to talk in small groups for as long as they wish (one hour?). Bob will ask for titles to go
with numbered breakout rooms. 1.Pine Tree Amendment, 2.Citizens Climate Lobby 3…

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

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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.

Maine Council of Churches Faith-Based Advocacy Series: 2/23, 3/16, 4/6, 4/26

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The Maine Council of Churches will is holding a four-part online series designed to inspire and equip Mainers of faith to become advocates for public policies that promote peace built with justice and justice guided by love.  Each session will include worship (led by Rev. Sara Ewing Merrill), engaging interactive discussions featuring theologians, policy experts and legislators, and opportunities to develop real-world skills and practice in speaking about policy with the voice of faith.

Cost is $10 per session or $30 for all sessions.
Churches that register 5 or more participants – $100 flat fee.
For those for whom this cost would be prohibitive, we are happy to provide scholarship assistance. To request a scholarship please call 207-772-1918. For those who are able to afford more, we would gratefully accept your donations to help us defray costs.

More information here.

Cafe Corner, February 4, 2021

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Cafe Corner, an experiment in creative revelry, returns Thursday, February 4th. This week’s theme is “Beauty in Brokenness.”  The gathering is facilitated by Mey Hasbrook.

Relaxed chatting starts at 6:30pm, and a listening circle is held from 7pm to 8pm; join us at either segment.

Creativity of many expressions is welcome.

Access the Zoom link for Sunday worship to join.

Alicia McBride of FCNL to Speak January 24, 2021

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On January 24 Alicia McBride from Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) will join us for Meeting. She will give the message and after Meeting she will join us to discuss the FCNL publication,  A Theological Perspective on Quaker Lobbying. 

This is available for you to read here, or email Doug Bennett (dougb AT earlham DOT edu) to request a copy.

Alicia will also share FCNL current work on legislation related to Indigenous sovereignty.

Café Corner, December 30, 7-8pm, via ZOOM

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Cafe Corner is an online social experiment hosted by Durham Friends. We’ll revel in fellowship and creative sharing.  The debut is Wednesday, Dec 30th, from 7pm to 8pm (Eastern Time) for a special edition, ” Holiday Cheer.” 

We’ll continue periodically on select Thursdays;  please read the newsletter and visit the web site for future listings. The Zoom link for Sunday worship will be used to join.

The gathering is facilitated by Mey Hasbrook, Meeting Care Coordinator

“Decolonizing in Everyday Life,” December 10, 7:30 to 8:45 pm

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“Decolonizing in Everyday Life” is a worship-focused discussion hosted by Durham Friends Meeting on Thursday, December 10th, from 7:30pm to 8:45pm (Eastern Time). The event will use the Zoom link from Sunday worship. We especially invite local and area Friends to join us for a time of deep listening and self-examination.

The evening is a springboard from a recent series on anti-racism. A common point of reference will be Sacred Instructions: Indigneous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change by Sherri Mitchell, Weh’na Ha’mu Kwasset.  A land acknowledgement and introduction will be made by Ingrid Chalufuour, clerk of the Peace and Social Concerns Committee. An extended time in small groups will be offered.

Contributors are Mimi Marstaller, member of Durham Friends currently residing in Salt Lake City; and Mey Hasbrook, a Durham attender and member of Kalamazoo Friends Meeting (Michigan). Mimi will share experiences as a teacher about the “throes of labor pains” within the education community around de-centered collective action, racism, and equity. Mey will offer reflections as a person of mixed lineage (Cherokee-Irish Descent) and a traveling minister among the Religious Society of Friends.

Meetings for Healing, Thursday Evenings at 7pm

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Durham Friends are invited to join an ongoing series of Meetings for Healing, hosted by Portland Friends Meeting on Thursdays at 7 p.m. From the convenors: “Meeting for Worship for Healing is an old Quaker tradition. Our goal with this meeting is to focus on the physical and spiritual illnesses of the current world. It’s not intended to be the same as a full meeting for worship but instead is meant to be focused communal prayer. We may be blessed with a time of deep silence. Messages may arise but should be de-centered from our ego.”

Meetings are held via Zoom. Because of changes to Zoom you may be in a waiting room. Don’t worry, someone will let you in soon. (https://zoom.us/j/91925135193,Meeting ID: 919 2513 5193)

Falmouth Quarterly Meeting, Saturday, October 24, 10am to Noon

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Falmouth Quarterly Meeting will meet on Saturday, October 24, 10am to Noon. The Meeting will take place via ZOOM. Link information:

  • Meeting Link        https://zoom.us/j/2814426094
  • Phone number     301-715-8592
  • Meeting ID           281-442-6094
  • Password            Ask your Quarterly Meeting representative or e-mail dougb AT earlham DOT edu

Maine Young Friends Meetup, Saturday, October 24th 2-5pm

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Mark your calendars! Teens from Southern Maine who are Quaker or curious about the Quaker way are getting together for an afternoon of fellowship and fun in person. 

We’ll meet outside at Durham Friends Meeting and spend time playing games, going for a short hike, and enjoying meaningful discussion with a small group of youth and staff. 

RSVP here and use that form to let us know your ideas for more things we could do together.

For more information, contact Maggie Nelson, Young Friends Events Organizer, at maggie@neym.org or at 978-382-1850.

Becoming Anti-Racist, A Discussion Series

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An Invitation from Peace and Social Concerns

In Ibram X. Kendi’s book, How to be an Antiracist, he says, “Antiracism is a powerful collection of antiracist policies that lead to racial equality and are substantiated by antiracist ideas.” Join the Peace and Social Concerns Committee in an examination of racist ideas and policies with a goal of moving our thinking and actions toward an antiracist future.

Meet with us on Zoom on the following Tuesdays at 7:00:

September 15 – Where are you in your journey toward antiracism? What are you reading and thinking about? Where do you see, through reading or lived experience, racism in our society and our communities? Have you had new insights into the way systemic racism has played out in our country?

Readings: Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Case for Reparations, The Atlantic, June 2014. Nikole Hannah-Jones, What Is Owed, NYTimes, June 26, 2020.  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The Danger of a Single Story (TED Talk). Leonard Pitts, The Appraisal of How Little a Black Life Is Worth Begins at Birth

October 6 – Where do we see change happening? What do you understand about making change happen? Can attitudes and beliefs be changed or is policy the route to change? Does changed policy lead to changed attitudes and beliefs?

Readings: Zona Douthit, OK, Boomer, It’s Time To Fund Reparations, Friends Journal, September 1, 2020. Parker Palmer, The Broken Open Heart, Weavings, March/April 2009.  

October 27 – Where are you feeling called to act? What is your leading at this time? Do you feel complicit? How? What would lead you being more antiracist?

Readings: Catherine Besteman and Joseph N. Jackson, Maine Voices: Want to help remedy racial inequity in Maine? Here are places to start, Portland Press Herald, June 13, 2020. Bill Brown, What Do Quakers Owe Blacks? Tools for Racial Justice, July 2002.

November 17 – Hold the date for a possible follow-up discussion

**Please prepare for the first discussion by reading one or both of the double-starred articles on the list below. Both are available on the Durham Meeting website. We recommend other readings in addition (see list below), particularly Ibram X. Kendi’s book.

  •  *How to be an Anti-Racist, by Ibram X. Kendi
  • The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander
  • So You Want to Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo
  • White Fragility, by Robin DiAngelo
  • The Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson
  • Cast: The Origins of Our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson
  • Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates
  • Me and White Supremacy, by Layla F. Saad
  • The Color of Law, by Richard Rothsein
  • Waking Up White, Debby Irving
  • The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas
  • The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin
  • **The Case for Reparations, by Ta-Nehisi Coates in The Atlantic Monthly 6/2014
  • **What is Owed, by Nikole Hannah-Jones in the New York Times Magazine 6/24/2020
  • America’s Enduring Cast System, in the New York Times Magazine 7/1/2020

Links to other readings are on the Peace and Social Concerns page of the Durham Friends Meeting website.)

Clarabel Marstaller Memorial Service — Saturday, August 8 at 1:30 p.m.

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Clarabel Marstaller’s Memorial Service will be held at the meetinghouse and on Zoom on August 8, 2020, at 1:30 p.m. We look forward to celebrating her life and sharing memories with as many people as possible.

            As we are still in a pandemic and are limited in how many can physically be present at the meetinghouse, we encourage people to attend by Zoom. If you do want to attend in person, please let Nancy Marstaller at marstallern@gmail.com or 207 725-4294 know so she can make sure we are following current guidelines. Face masks will be required to enter the meetinghouse and there will be no refreshments after the service.

            To join the meeting by Zoom you may log on through the Durham Friends Meeting website: https://www.durhamfriendsmeeting.org/.

You can log on after 1 p.m. on August 8.

            The family thanks everyone for all their support.

Falmouth Quarterly Meeting, Saturday, July 25, 10am to Noon

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Falmouth Quarterly Meeting asks:  How are we being nourished?

Friends, it’s good to feel nourished, especially in times of heightened concern.  Falmouth Quarter intends to meet on Saturday July 25 for fellowship, spiritual nourishment and worship.  We will use the Zoom format and gather there from 10 to noon.

We invite each meeting to bring a reflection/meditation to share on what you have discovered in this season of virtual community and bring a query that all can respond to.  We are imagining each meeting would share their thoughts and query, followed by worship sharing, repeated six times for all six meetings.

We hope all meetings will feel led to participate in this time to gather, connect, share and worship together as a larger community.  Durham Friends who would like to be involved in any way, please reach out to Sarah Sprogell at sarahsprogell@gmail.com or 319-5077.

In Peace and Gratitude for our gathered communities, Sarah Sprogell and Fritz Weiss, co-conveners of Falmouth Quarter.

Planning for an Active Prayer Group – June 18 at 8:30am

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CALLING DURHAM PRAYER WARRIORS!

Conversations about an ongoing, active prayer group or practice have been happening for several months now, and it is time to act!  A meeting to discuss how we are to proceed will take place via Zoom and telephone on Thursday, June 18 at 8:30 am.  Please bring your experience, ideas and your spirit to help us launch another way for us to pray together.  

Praying has always been important to the Society of Friends and in the life of Friends in Durham Meeting.  Prayer chains, contemplative prayer groups, healing circles, for local and world needs are examples of our involvement in prayer.  Individual prayer and requests for special prayer from within the Society of Friends are ongoing ways we seek the Light.

Remember to join the meeting by Zoom on the Durham Meeting site, or by telephone.  We are looking forward to our time together. Information on how to connect is here.

Joyce Gibson

Join the Poor People’s Campaign Now and on June 20!

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On June 20th, there will be the largest digital and social media gathering of poor and low-wealth people, moral and religious leaders, advocates, and people of conscience in this nation’s history. A global pandemic is exposing even more the already existing crisis of systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, the war economy and militarism, and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism. On June 20, the 140 million poor and low-income people across this nation will be heard!
 
Dear Friends,
 
Hope you are staying well during these challenging times. We are at a crucial moment in history when we could go back to “business as usual” with its racism, militarism, poverty and ecological devastation or we could use this as an opportunity to build a build a new society – with justice for all, peace with the rest of the world, and living in harmony with Mother Earth. A massive peoples movement is already underway and we all have an opportunity to join in this effort. 
I am very impressed with the Poor Peoples Campaign: a National Call for a Moral Revival (PPC).  Led by Co-Chairs Rev. Dr. William Barber and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, the PPC has organized a people power movement in 45 states to challenge what Martin Luther King called the triple evils of racism, militarism and poverty (building on MLK’s last campaign, known as the Poor Peoples Campaign, in which I had the opportunity to be involved back in 1968).   You can join the Mass Poor People’s Assembly and Moral March on Washington Digital Justice Gathering  by tuning in live to June2020.org at 10am EST on Saturday June 20 – or join the rebroadcast at 3pm PST ( 6pm EST) the same day or at 6pm EST on Sunday, June 21.
 
More than 100 organizations will participate, along with 16 religious denominations, and national figures and celebrities including Al Gore, Danny Glover, Wanda Sykes, Debra Messing and Jane Fonda.  But the core of the program will be the words and experiences of poor and impacted people from across the country.
 
Please invite your friends, family and your networks to join us as well. See the list of  Demands and the Moral Budget of the Poor Peoples Campaign at their website:  poorpeoplescampaign.org.
 
Warm Greeting and Peace,
David Hartsough

WHATThe Mass Poor People’s Assembly and Moral March on Washington will be the largest digital gathering of poor, dispossessed and impacted people, faith leaders, and people of conscience on June 20, 2020.The increasing urgency of a broad movement led by the poor and most impacted is more apparent every day. Now is the time to organize towards collective action to enact a moral agenda for the nation. As our ranks grow in the coming months due to COVID-19 and the ongoing crisis of poverty, building a platform for the plight, fight, and insight of the poor is even more urgent.We are marshaling our collective voices to demonstrate the power of our communities. We demand that both major political parties address the interlocking injustices of systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, militarism and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism by implementing our Moral Agenda.
WHENThis 2 hour program will be broadcast live on Saturday June 20th at 10:00am EST and again at 6:00pm EST.  You can also listen in on Sunday, June 21st at 6:00pm EST.   Adjust all to your time zone.
WHERE The Mass Poor People’s Assembly & Moral March on Washington is going digital! We will gather from all 50 U.S. states and territories, and from across the world.  Visit June2020.org to tune in.
WHY We are gathering on June 20, 2020 to dramatize the pain and prophetic leadership of the poor and build power to enact our demands.We are waking the nation to the interlocking injustices facing 140 million poor and low-income people, 43% of the nation.But it’s not enough just to be awake. It’s not the waking, it’s the rising. On June 20, 2020, we rise together!If the rejected millions—the poor without health insurance, without living wages, without clean water, without voting protections—unite, we can move the moral and political imagination of this country and revive the heart of our democracy!
WHO The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is made up of people of all backgrounds, we are Black, Brown, White, Native, and Asian; we are old and young; we are Christian, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim; we are people of faith and not of faith; we are people of all sexual orientations and gender identities; we are led by poor people and we are a cross-class movement; we are people of all abilities; and we live across this nation, from Alabama to Alaska, from Maine to California to Mississippi.
HOW We will gather online on June 20, 2020 from across the country and world.We will launch a robust accessibility campaign to ensure those of us most affected by poverty and its interlocking injustices are able to participate fully.To begin, go to www.june2020.org to let us know you will join us on June 20, 2020.Spread the word in your networks and social media.Get connected to your state’s coordinating committee. 
—David Hartsough, author of WAGING PEACE: Global Adventures of a Lifelong Activist,
PM press 2014. Available through Peaceworkers for $20 at 721 Shrader St., San Francisco, CA 94117. 
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world: 
Indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead
Our mailing address is:
Peaceworkers721 Shrader StreetSan Francisco, CA 94117

Children’s and Youth Sunday – Sunday June 7

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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!