Local Youth Ministries Supporting Each Other (LYMSE) Next session: September 23, 7:00 to 8:00 pm CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE NEXT LYMSE SESSION |
Fall Retreats in an Election Year: Rebuking the Wind and Waves |
Junior High Yearly Meeting (JHYM) Fall Retreat for 6-8th graders October 4-6 Portland Friends Meeting Portland, ME Junior Yearly Meeting (JYM) Fall Retreat for 2nd-6th graders November 8-10 Woolman Hill Retreat Center Deerfield, MA to register for events, go to the Youth Ministries Retreats page on the NEYM Website |
Rebuking the Wind and Waves When I realized that I had scheduled a JYM retreat on the weekend after the election, I gulped. Would we be able to tune out the world just two days after learning the results? Would the staff be ready to answer questions the kids might be asking – questions that adults might be still asking themselves? Did I need to plan multiple contingency schedules to respond to different scenarios, results, and reactions? And what about JHYM – should I be planning a retreat that addressed the rhetoric and controversies that would be undoubtedly swirling around us by October? I conceded that I didn’t have a crystal ball, and realized that I had to plan something that would ‘work’ regardless of the outcome, making space for any outcome and any emotions we may be feeling. Something steadfast. Something hopeful. And it occurred to me that this ‘something,’ this theme, this message, should be the same – unchanging – whether it was a month before the election or two days after. Because our values won’t have changed. God* won’t have changed. Our faith – whether emboldened or shaken – is always relevant. As I meditated on the concept of this no-matter-what faith, I remembered the story of Jesus calming the storm. He was on a boat with his disciples when the storm started. In response to the disciples’ fear, Jesus uttered the famous line, “O ye of little faith.” Jesus had not been afraid. In fact, his mood and behavior hadn’t changed since the calm sea had rocked him to sleep hours earlier! It was only because they woke him up in a panic that he felt the need to do anything at all. And they say he “rebuked the wind and waves,” calming the sea, along the with the fears of the crew. Wind and waves always exist in our lives. Sometimes they are political and societal. They can also be emotional, spiritual, relational, medical, or financial. But we can have hope no matter what. We can have faith no matter what. And this election season is a great time for us all to be reminded of that concept, which we can carry into the rest of our lives. Wherever your child is on the politically savvy spectrum, whatever else they might be struggling with in their life – and even if they are blissfully ignorant of any hardship in the world right now – this theme can speak to them and provide comfort in storms of the present or future. We will explore the aforementioned scripture passage in that open-ended, metaphorical, individualized way that Quakers do. We will play team-building games that are ocean and/or ship themed. We will talk about how to be grounded in our lives. At the retreat in Portland, we will experience waves on a ferry ride. At Woolman Hill we will visit the preserved home of war tax resisters who rebuked the winds of injustice by living simply. Please join us by registering today! In Peace, Kara Price Children and Family Ministries Coordinator New England Yearly Meeting *Sometimes I use the word God to refer to that divine light that exists within and outside of all of us. Sometimes I use other words. The volunteer staff use a variety of words too. Retreats are an opportunity for all of us to ‘listen in tongues’ and learn from and about each other’s spiritual journeys in a mutual respectful way. Similarly, scripture is one of many ways that we can access the divine and explore concepts of faith at this and other retreats.THANKS FOR A WONDERFUL SESSIONS! CHILD CARE STAFF Rainer Humphries (Coordinator) Carol Baker (Assistant Coordinator) Brooke Burkett Jennifer Hogue Jerry Carson Mary Lee Morrison Pamela Drouin Paula Rosvall Peter Colby JYM STAFF Kenzie Burpee (Coordinator) Leah Kelley (4-6th Grade Leader) Joli Reynolds (K-3rd Grade Leader) Annie Bingham Craig Jensen Emily Smith Isaac Bingham Luke Coletta Lizzie Szanton Martha Schwope Mary Chenille Rebecca Edwards Sophie Jones Tyler Green JHYM STAFF Emily Edwards (Coordinator) Merritt Bussiere-Nichols (Asst. Coord.) Buddy Baker-Smith (Asst. Coord.) Abigail Adams Amy Greene Ari Schifman Brennon Schifman Chloe Grubbs-Saleem Chris Fitze Dave Baxter |
Category Archives: New England Yearly Meeting
Vassalboro Quarterly Meeting, September 6-7, 2024 — Invitation
Durham Friends folks are invited to Vassalboro Quarterly Meeting’s Fall gathering, Friday and Saturday, Seotember 6&7. The Friday evening session will be via Zoom. The Saturday session will only be in-person at Friends Camp (no Zoom). The full announcement and schedule is below. (Vassalboro is a neighboring Quarterly Meeting; Durham is part of Falmouth Quarterly Meeting.) Note an RSVP is requested if you plan to attend either session.
Friday evening will focus on the spiritual state of member meetings of Vassalboro Quarter. The Saturday program will focus on Friends relations with Native Americans.
Fall Gathering 2024, Sept 6th, 6:30 pm-8pm on Zoom and Sept 7th, 8:30 am- 3pm at Friends Camp, China Maine
“Few are guilty………All are responsible” Rabbi Abram Joshua Heschel
“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. 8 But others fell on good soil, sprang up, and yielded [a]a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” Luke 8: 5-8
Greetings , Friends,
Many “seeds” were sown during Yearly Meeting sessions this August. We were asked to have ears to hear so that we may be the “good soil” and yield.
We were also told of some of our Quaker history and involvement in the Indian Boarding Schools in the 1800-1900’s.
Through the deep and personally-grounded messages, we, as a body, discerned the way forward on the heavy issues facing us.
So, for this Fall Gathering, we wanted to hear the voices from Friends in Maine (all of you!) on what is lifting you up? How are you led, and how do you prepare the soil? How do you nourish the seeds of good within and around you?
On Friday evening, we will be hearing highlights from our monthly meeting’s spiritual life, “state of society,” and reflecting on how those “seeds,” from other monthly meetings, find soil in us to start to grow towards the Light.
On Saturday morning, we will be hearing from two Friends. First, Shirley Hager will share how she came to her most recent leading to foster creation of a program of support for first time Wabanaki university students. Then we will hear from Janet Hough and how following her current deep dive into the Friends Indigenous Boarding school’s is changing her. We will have worship following each offering and a chance to reflect and share.
On Saturday afternoon, there will be a choice to have discussion and open sharing about either:
1) diving deeper into what is rising up for us when we hear of historic & present indigenous oppression
or
2) what is rising up in our response to other injustices
Please save the date and spread the word of Fall Gathering , on the weekend after Labor Day, Fri. Sept 6 and Sat.Sept.7th.
Friday, Sept 6th on Zoom from 6:30-8 pm; a link will be sent
Saturday, Sept 7th in-person at Friends Camp (no Zoom) under the tent or in the Aviary, if the weather requires
See next page for more information about hospitality & Saturday’s schedule
Saturday schedule
8:30 am : Fellowship with refreshments and finger foods
9-10 am : Intro and worship sharing on the Parable of the seed and the soil.
10:15-11 am : Shirley Hager: “The Evolution of a Leading: Way Keeps Opening,” followed by worship sharing
11:00 am: Janet Hough will share about her journey exploring NEYM’s involvement in Quaker Indigenous Boarding Schools, followed by worship sharing;
12:00 pm Lunch (soups from Vassalboro MM), veggies, fruit, salads, breads from other attenders
1: 15pm-2:30pm Break into group of choice for sharing
2:30- 3pm Sharing reflections from the day
For those who would like to stay with Vassalboro Friends on Friday or Saturday evenings, hospitality is offered at the contact below.
Please bring a veggie, fruit, salad or bread to offer for lunch. A choice of soups is provided by Vassalboro MM Friends.
A link for Friday eve will be sent the week prior to all on this email list. If you didn’t receive this email directly from Janet, please ask to be added to the list if you wish to receive further correspondence and the link directly.
FMI or hospitality questions…………Holly Weidner weidnerholly@gmail.com or 649-1305
RSVP is appreciated for Friday and Saturday attendance but not required.
Feel free to invite others who you feel may be interested in joining us for this day of sharing and listening.
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)
NEYM Midwinter Young Friends Retreat, January 13-15, 2024
From New England Yearly Meeting: Register for the Midwinter Retreat by January 2nd Hello Young Friends!You are invited to our upcoming Midwinter Young Friends Retreat! We will gather at Woolman Hill Retreat Center in Deerfield, MA from Saturday, January 13th at 10 a.m. to Monday, January 15th at 12 p.m. The theme is “We are Whole Beings!”. Over the long weekend, we will explore inward, with choices to engage in conversations and activities around different aspects of our whole selves: gender, sexuality, relationships, mental health, spirituality, and Quakerism. We will also play games, get to know each other, and enjoy the beautiful nature that Woolman Hill has to offer. Anyone who is of high school age and curious about Quakerism is welcome to come!While we will not have a formal sex education as part of the structured retreat program, there will be educational materials available to Young Friends (such as books and pamphlets on sexuality, sexual health, and gender), as well as opportunities to ask anonymous questions to a health professional. This topic is part of the retreat because we hear from Young Friends that our sexuality, gender, and relationships–just like our spirituality–are aspects of ourselves that warrant loving reflecting and learning as we grow through adolescence. At this retreat, we seek to offer an affirming and age-appropriate space for that reflection and learning. We know different aspects of this broad theme will speak to different individuals and nobody will be required to engage in a program that they are uncomfortable with. The goal is to have electives so that each Young Friend can explore topics that feel relevant for them. If you have any questions or concerns about any aspect of the retreat, please be in touch with Young Friends Interim Coordinator Drew Chasse (drew@neym.org). Join us for a long weekend centered around embracing our wholeness with integrity, understanding, openness to Spirit, and love. Other reasons to be excited about Young Friends Midwinter:It’s 8 hours longer than our other weekend retreats: more time to get to know one another and have fun!We sleep in beds and there are showersCozy fireplace in a 150-year-old farmhousePlease note that this retreat will begin on Saturday morning on January 13th (rather than Friday night on the 12th). Young Friends may arrive between 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, and leave between 11:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. on Monday. This retreat does fill up, so please register early to make sure you get a spot! The deadline to register is Monday, January 2nd. I really hope we’ll see you later this winter! Love, Drew Drew Chasse, she/they Interim Young Friends Coordinator 978-382-1850 drew@neym.org |
NEYM Statement on Conflict in Israel-Palestine
November 3, 2023
Statement on Conflict in Israel-Palestine
These troubled weeks have brought yet again a devastating eruption of the long suffering caused by the conflict in Israel-Palestine. With anxiety and heartbreak, we witness the horrors unfolding in Gaza, Israel, the West Bank, and beyond. The global community of Quakers, of which we are a part, includes Friends with deep roots and relationships in the land between the Mediterranean and the Jordan. As violence has expanded and intensified in recent days, alongside continuing strife raging across the globe and violence in our own region, we write on behalf of the Quaker faith communities in the six New England states to offer our prayers and raise our voices and hands for the healing of the world.
The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) holds that every person has the capacity to receive and respond to the love and guidance of God. All human beings are created and unconditionally beloved by God. We are dependent on one another, and it is through our relationships—as persons and as societies—that our lives make real our love for God and neighbor. We join our voices with all who strive to meet the sacred obligations to acknowledge and honor the belovedness and dignity of every person, every life.
We affirm again the declaration of the first Quakers in 1660:
“We utterly deny all outward wars and strife and fightings with outward weapons, for any end, or under any pretense whatsoever; and this is our testimony to the whole world. The spirit of Christ by which we are guided, is not changeable, so as once to command us from a thing as evil and again to move unto it; and we do certainly know, and so testify to the world, that the spirit of Christ, which leads us into all Truth, will never move us to fight and war against any man with outward weapons, neither for the kingdom of Christ, nor for the kingdoms of this world.”
We are called to reflect and pray more deeply, resisting reactivity, aggression, self-justification, and othering of those we experience as enemies. We must recognize and resist the escalating pressures throughout our human family that attempt to justify atrocities against fellow human beings. We remember that we are each capable of evil, even in the name of good. And we are called to daily examine and reject the seeds of war in our own hearts and living, through God’s help.
Promoting adherence to universal humanitarian values, and to the essential use of nonviolent methods to resolve differences, is not simply an option but a necessity for the survival of the human family. With humility and boldness, we take up and renew a commitment to turn from indulging our own hostile impulses, from the fostering of division within our local communities, and from the rush to violence and escalating cycles of retributive action in conflicts worldwide, and turn toward the courageous work of peacebuilding.
We join with people throughout the world calling for an immediate ceasefire and for the provision of desperately needed humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. We affirm and support the ongoing work of the Friends Committee on National Legislation and the American Friends Service Committee in their advocacy and service in support of a just peace for all. We unite with this recent statement on Gaza issued by wider Quaker bodies and Friends organizations of which we are a member.
Let us each continue to seek paths to participate in the work of peace, in whatever ways and with whatever tools are available to us. We are called to act in faith, with persistence, patience, and courage, as partners with Divine Love in the deep healing of the world.
New England Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
Rebecca Leuchak, Presiding Clerk
Noah Merrill, Yearly Meeting Secretary
Draft Introduction for NEYM Faith and Practice — Comments Encouraged
From the Faith and Practice Revision Committee to the Clerks of NEYM’s monthly meetings:
This August the F&P Revision Committee brought a draft Introduction to Sessions for the Yearly Meeting to consider. Attached is the Draft Introduction and a Cover Letter asking meetings to consider the text and to send responses to the Revision Committee by March 1, 2024.
Any questions should be addressed to fandp@neym.org.
Recordings from NEYM Annual Sessions, 2023
New England Yearly Meeting’s Annual Sessions for 2023 have come to a close. Available here are recordings of some programs from those sessions, including
— a plenary with Joseph Bruchac (an Abenaki storyteller) & Jesse Bruchac (an Abenaki language teacher), and
— the Bible half-hours with Emma Condori Mamani, a Bolivian Friend who spoke recently at Durham Friends Meeting.
Annual Sessions, NEYM, August 5-9
New England Yearly Meeting’s Annual Sessions will be held this year from August 5 to 9, at Castleton State University in Vermont. This link will take you to further information and registration information.
These will be the 363d annual sessions of NEYM.
Report from the Kenya Triennials
[Updated August 1, 2023] Our member Dorothy Curtis has safely and happily returned from her travel to the USFWI and FUM Triennials in Kenya. (That’s every-third-year or so gatherings of U.S. Friends Women International and Friends United Meeting, for those not familiar. She will make a report on the experience at the September 17 Monthly Meeting for Business.
Meanwhile, here is a link to the combined Epistle from the Triennial.
And here is a report on these gatherings from Marian Baker, also from New England Yearly Meeting that includes some photos of Dorothy in Kenya among Friends:
Rept.-from-Kenya-USFWI-Triennial-2023NEYM Seeks Input on Future of Legacy Gift Funds
The letter below from New England Yearly Meeting tells the story of the origin of the Legacy Gift Funds (the Future Fund and the Witness and Ministry Fund). They are now beginning a discernment process about the future use of remaining money, and are seeking input.
Letter-to-meetings-v-2Meeting for Listening: The Spiritual Life in Our Local Meetings, June 24, 9am to 3pm
On June 24th, “Meeting for Listening: The Spiritual Life in Our Local Meetings” is an opportunity for Friends across New England to reflect together on the spiritual life in our local meetings: to dream together; to identify the resources meetings have to offer each other; to unpack themes in State of Society reports, as well as trends from statistical reports; and to explore what’s possible now.
From 9am to 3pm, Friends can gather together in-person or Zoom in. You can register for the event here online. There will be a local cluster participating at Midcoast Meeting House in Damariscotta, ME. This is a smaller group of Friends connected to the other participants via a shared Zoom connection. If you are interested in participating from this site, please contact clerkmfm@gmail.com. If you plan to attend on-site in Concord, please register by June 20th, if possible.
Meeting for Listening: The Spiritual Life in Our Local Meetings
Saturday, June 24, 2023, 9am to 3pm, Concord Friends Meeting (NH) and also via Zoom from Midcoast Meeting.
Join us for a day of worship, prayer, celebration, and discovery. Come together to explore the gifts and paths that our meeting’s challenges have offered us the past year. Let’s see where Spirit is alive in our communities.
We will reflect on the life in our local meetings to see where we can inform the Yearly Meeting on how to best support local meetings through programmatic priorities.
Together we will:
- Dream together
- Identify the resources meetings have to offer each other
- Unpack themes in State of Society reports as well as trends from statistical reports
- Explore what’s possible now
A guiding quote for the day will be the following:
“Friends are most in the Spirit when they stand at the crossing point of the inward and outward life. And that is the intersection at which we find community. a place where the connections felt in the heart make themselves known in bonds between people, and where the tugging and pullings of those bonds keep opening our hearts.” (Parker Palmer, A Place Called Community, Pendle Hill Pamphlet #212, 1977)
This meeting will be planned and hosted by the clerk of Ministry and Counsel, the clerk of the Meeting Accompaniment Group, and by the Program Director.
Participants can participate in this event on-site at Concord (NH) Meeting, via Zoom, or gathered with a local cluster connected via Zoom.
There will be a local cluster participating from Midcoast Meeting in Damariscotta, ME. If you are interested in participating from this site, please contact clerkmfm@gmail.com.
If you plan to attend on-site in Concord, please register by June 20th, if possible. This will help us comfortably accommodate everyone.
We are looking for volunteers who are willing to serve as event greeters and tech assistants. If you are interested in volunteering, email Nia (nia@neym.org).
Questions? Suggestions? To contact the gathering hosts, email Carl Williams (mc-clerk@neym.org)
Covid Precautions for this event
All in-person participants over the age of 4 years must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 (with boosters strongly encouraged for all eligible). Friends are encouraged to test at home before the event. Stay home if you are experiencing Covid symptoms. Participants who have recently tested positive must follow the CDC guidelines for isolation and exposure. Masks are optional and the choice to mask will always be respected. There will be indoor and outdoor dining spaces.
Report on the All Maine Gathering, May 8, 2023
At the All Maine Gathering on 5-8-23, we invited Friends to share concerns and queries that they hoped to have brought back to Monthly Meetings. If a Monthly Meeting engages with any of these concerns and would like to share reflections, please send your reflections to either Fritz Weiss (rossvall.weiss@gmail.com) or Wendy Schlotterbeck (wendy.schlotterbeck@gmail.com) for FalmouthQuarter, or Carole Beal (carolebeal@gmail.com) and Janet Hough (janet.hough5@gmail.com) for Vassalboro Quarter and we will forward the reflections to all the meetings in Maine.
The following concerns are shared.
- The Eli and Sybil Jones Ramallah School Scholarship Fund of Vassalboro Quarterly Meeting is raising funds to continue to support scholarships as they have for over 12 years. Checks can be sent to Cynthia Harkleroad, Treasurer, Vassalboro Quarterly Meeting, PO Box 69, Bowdoinham ME 04008-0069. Please note “Ramallah Friends School” in the memo line.
- Friends across Maine are invited to take a 1 to 3 hour turn at the Quaker Table in the Social-Political Action area of the MOFGA’s Common Ground Country Fair, held September 22-24 in Unity, Maine. Sometimes we pose or post queries and listen, often we answer questions about Quakers, we offer brochures and stickers, we discuss Friends’ faith and practice, we hear about fairgoers’ experience with Friends Camp, Quaker schools, other meetings around the region, etc. As a theme for posters and connection to Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association values, sometimes we use Right Relationship: Building a Whole Earth Economy, from Quaker Institute for the Future or Joanna Macy’s, Active Hope. Three hours in a day earns a free pass to the Fair for that day. Often there are two people at the table at a time. FMI please call, text or email Mark Rains, cell 207-500-9131, mainerains@gmail.com
- The Friends Committee on Maine Public Policy would like the attached one page summary shared with all meetings. This faithful group has been advocating with the Maine legislature on Government for decades and continues to do good work. It is not clear where the next generation to carry this witness will come from.
- Queries on the experience of Responding to a Call. Throughout Saturday in the conversation and worship the theme of responding to a call was present. We heard about the powerful response of Friends at All Maine to the invitation to visit Kakamega was still echoing in people’s lives, and had resulted in the remarkable work that is continuing through the Kenya Rising organization. We invite Friends to share with each other their experience at being nudged, called or whispered to – Where the call comes from? How does it feel ? How do we discern that it is from God or Spirit and not from other human motivations? How did you respond? What barriers and resistance did you feel?
- Finally, from the morning worship, we are reminded of Marge Nelson’s advice to Friends: “Our job is to kiss frogs.” (ask someone who attended for more context.)
Love Fritz Weiss, 23.5.12
Israel-Palestine: Resources for Engagement from New England Yearly Meeting
A small group of Friends has been appointed to shepherd and support Friends responding to Yearly Meeting minute 2017-46 and the request made in Yearly Meeting minute 2019-36 for monthly and quarterly meetings to consider whether they have lived into minute 2017-46.
To be connected with the Israel-Palestine Resource Group, please send an email.
As meetings share back how they are engaging with this work, we will share what we have heard here so that it can serve as a source of inspiration and fruitful connection.
Useful resources are available at this link including several videos
Learning Conversations in April from NEYM’s Noticing Patterns Working Group
New England Yearly Meeting’s Noticing Patterns Working Group is offering four “Learning Conversations” in April. They encourage attendance at one or more of these sessions as schedules allow.
These sessions will happen on April 5, 18, 25 & 26 from 7 to 8 pm.
The sessions focus on a topic (the first one is “making mistakes”) and use structured interactive learning activities to support Friends in understanding more about patterns of difference, patterns of faithfulness, and patterns of oppression. Those facilitating will also stay on for an additional 30 mins, till 8:30pm, for anyone interested in engaging in further discussion and/or Q & A.
NPWG intends for this to be a supportive space for exploring and learning together.
Friends Camp Seeks Kitchen Assistants for This Summer
Friends Camp is seeking to hire kitchen assistants for this summer, June 16 to August 19. Friends Camp is located in China, Maine.
Here is more from Friends Camp from their most recent newsletter:
NEYM Living Faith Gathering, April 1 in Portland
We are excited to announce a next chapter in the ongoing experiment of daylong opportunities for spiritual nurture and intergenerational relationship, what we have called “Living Faith.” On April 1, 2023, after a four-year absence, we are looking forward to greeting Friends again in Portland, Maine. More details and registration info is coming soon. In the meantime, please mark your calendars!
A refresher on Living Faith: the Living Faith gathering is an opportunity for Friends new and old (and the Quaker-curious) to get to know one another, hold multigenerational worship together, participate in interactive workshops, eat tasty food, share the different ways we experience and live our faith, and build community. Age-appropriate youth programming and childcare will be available, in addition to some parts of Living Faith programming being intergenerational, like worship. More about a teen-specific offering below.
Workshops sought for Living Faith
We are now seeking workshop proposals for the April 1st Living Faith gathering in Portland, ME. Our 90-minute workshops provide an opportunity for adult and teen Friends to explore their Quaker faith, connect around an area of interest, and make meaningful connections through activities, conversations, or worship. Do you have a workshop idea? Experienced and emerging facilitators alike are invited to submit a workshop proposal by February 5th. Details here.
Living Faith teen retreat
New this year is a weekend retreat for teens built around participating in Living Faith together. Youth age 13-18 are invited to arrive on Friday evening, sleep over on site on Friday and Saturday nights, and participate alongside adults and families at Living Faith on Saturday. There will be time on Friday and Saturday nights for teens to connect with one another, share what the experience was like for them, and have fun with their peers, with support from a few adult staffers. Contact Maggie Fiori (Teen Ministries Coordinator) for more info.
Friends United Meeting E-News, January 25, 2023
Friends United Meeting sends out a weekly e-mail newsletter (FUM Weekly E-News) that contains information about news, events and opportunities across Quakerism that may be of interest to FUM-inclined Friends.
The January 25, 2023 issue is here.
You can subscribe to the FUM Weekly E-News here.
New England Yearly Meeting is a member organization of Friends United Meeting, and Durham Friends Meeting is in turn a member of New England Yearly Meeting. New England Yearly Meeting is also a a member of Friends General Conference.
Most Quaker Yearly Meetings are affiliated with either FUM or FGC. New England Yearly Meeting, along with New York Yearly Meeting and Baltimore Yearly Meeting is unusual in being affiliated with both FUM and FGC.
Quaker Indigenous Boarding Schools: Facing Our History and Ourselves, November 15, 7-9 pm [Updated]
sponsored by New England Yearly Meeting, Beacon Hill Friends House and Friends Peace Teams
UPDATE: The recording of The Quaker Indigenous Boarding Schools: Facing Our History and Ourselves, as well as guidance for its use, is now available at: https://bhfh.org/the-quaker-indigenous-boarding-schools-facing-our-history-and-ourselves.
Mimi Marstaller to Facilitate Discussion of The Lemon Tree, by Sandy Tolan, Saturday afternoons in February 2022
Book Discussion: The Lemon Tree
February 5, 2022 – February 26, 2022, Saturday afternoons, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
New England Yearly Meeting’s Israel-Palestine Working Group (under the care of the Permanent Board) invites you to join a group discussion of The Lemon Tree: An Arab, A Jew and the Heart of the Middle East by Sandy Tolan (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/151740.The_Lemon_Tree).
Everyone in the Yearly Meeting and beyond is invited to attend one or more sessions, every Saturday afternoon in February.
The discussion will be facilitated by Mimi (Amelia) Marstaller, a member of Durham (ME) Friends Meeting and high-school English teacher. Mimi spent two years teaching at Ramallah Friends School and worked last summer at Friends Camp. More about Mimi here.
Young Friends are especially welcome.
For more details or to register, please contact us at israel-palestine@neym.org
Apology to Native Americans, 2021
At its annual session this past August, new England Yearly Meeting approved an Apology to Native Americans. Its text along with a note concerning its distribution are here.
New England Yearly Meeting Annual Sessions – August 3-8
359TH ANNUAL SESSIONS
AUGUST 3-8, 2019
CASTLETON UNIVERSITY
CASTLETON, VERMONT
SESSIONS REGISTRATION NOW OPEN
What are the “Annual Sessions” of New England Yearly Meeting?
Each August, more than 600 Friends come together for worship, fellowship and seeking how God will guide us in meeting for business. Having first gathered in 1661, New England Yearly Meeting of Friends is the oldest “yearly meeting” in the Quaker world.
While this gathering is large—among the largest Quaker events in North America—there are many opportunities to connect with Friends old and new: vibrant youth programs, adult small groups, variety shows, topical interest sessions and shared meals. In recent years, Sessions has featured plenary addresses, Bible Half-Hours, a contra-dance, and coffeehouse.
CONTENTS
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 community; to meet new people, see old friends, have meaningful conversations, and much more. Opportunities abound for conversation, prayer and friendships to flourish. Quoted sections in the article below are taken from the Epistle written, as is our custom, at the close of Sessions. (See the October Newsletter for the complete Epistle.)
~~~~~~~~~
The theme for this year’s NEYM Sessions was “In Fear and Trembling Be Bold in God’s Service”. We gathered “on lands once cared for by Abenaki ancestors and appropriated by European settlers centuries ago….dedicated to our use for five days” from August 4 – 9, 2018 by Castleton University in Vermont. Over 600 Friends were gathered, including over 100 children, youth and their families. We gathered as “queer and straight, physically challenged and able-bodied, trans- and cis-gender, descended from the peoples of most continents of our globe, and of various income levels.” We were grateful for the opportunity to be present together in such a beautiful and gracious place.
This was my seventh year attending New England Yearly Meeting Annual Sessions. I arrived on Sunday in time to hear the plenary presentation by three Quaker women who have been courageously and faithfully working on social justice issues for a number of years. Each spoke movingly of their personal experiences and deep commitment to work that resonated clearly with our theme of being bold in God’s service. The Bible Half Hour sessions, presented by Diane Randall, Executive Secretary of Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), also echoed our theme, as she spoke of how her faith plays a role in her work in the political sphere.
In the spring before Sessions, NEYM Ministry and Council had asked if I would be among a few Friends to hold the gathered body in prayer during our business meetings throughout the week, sitting as an elder in front of the clerk’s table. I was honored to be of service in this way and found it to be a unique way to experience Sessions. I have always found Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business at annual Sessions to be a profound experience in a number of ways, presenting opportunities for deep listening, careful discernment, and unexpected openings that reveal our unified truth. While fulfilling my role as a prayerful elder this year, I was able to let go of my usual practice of taking notes and following the agenda items closely. My practice this year allowed me to ride the waves of the spirit, which could range from challenging to frustrating, heart-breaking to heart-warming, energizing and uplifting to occasionally exhausting and sometimes entertaining.
This year the work of challenging white supremacy became a central feature, as patterns and language were called out and named throughout many items of business. During business sessions we witnessed our work with social justice issues, approving the formation of an Immigration Justice Working Group; endorsing the Poor People’s Campaign; affirming a minute on Criminal Justice Reform; and approving a minute supporting the 2017 UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Earthcare Ministries brought forward a Carbon Calculator to determine carbon footprints, which we gratefully received. We honored our spiritual practices by receiving the work of the Faith and Practice Revision Committee’s draft chapters on Death, Dying and Bereavement, and Pastoral Care. We witnessed the movement of the spirit throughout New England, made possible by projects generously supported by our own Legacy Fund.
As always, the week was full and rich with the Life of the Spirit. Once again, I left Sessions feeling moved by the power of Quaker testimonies and actions in both the temporal and spiritual worlds.
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 Trembling Be Bold in God’s Service. During the plenary session we heard ministry from Adria Gulizia (Chatham Summit, NJ-New York Yearly Meeting), Sarah Walton (Vassalboro, ME) and Meg Klepack (West Falmouth, MA) sharing experiences from their journeys of faith.
Diane Randall (Hartford, CT), Executive Secretary of Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) spoke in the Bible Half Hours each day about the role that her faith has played in her work in the political sphere, and the ways in which the practices of Friends have influenced public policy. Recordings of the Bible Half Hours and the plenary session will be available soon online at neym.org and on the NEYM YouTube channel.
Of the more than 620 people gathered, close to 15% were attending for the first time. For the third year in a row youth attendance was at a record high. We continued to celebrate strong representation from each of the New England states; from visitors including Friends from Kenya, Bolivia and El Salvador; and from several other North American yearly meetings; as well as ecumenical representatives. Though we mourned the U.S. government’s continuing denial of visas which prevents representatives of our Cuban Quaker family from being with us in body, we felt their presence with us through a series of video clips, which captured their greetings and prayers for us. They were with us in Spirit.
Throughout the week Friends gathered at Castleton University engaged in a continuing conversation about the need to identify and interrupt the patterns of seeing and doing– within each of us, and within New England Yearly Meeting–that lead to complicity in white supremacy and oppression. The need for this continued work was identified in committee reports, during several items of business, in ministry during our sessions and worship, in the writing and approval of minutes and in ongoing conversations among small and large groups of Friends. We-as individuals, in our meetings, and in our organization-must continue this conversation. We must continue to follow the Spirit wherever it leads, trusting in the Grace that is with us always.
Here’s a summary of important news from the week:
Responding to Previous Years’ Commitments:
Continuing Support for Immigrants and Refugees: Friends shared news of the responses to Sessions’ minuted commitment (Minute 2017- 42) to support the rights and dignity of all 2 of our neighbors who are threatened in this time, including especially undocumented immigrants, refugees, and Muslims. We heard about some of the myriad ways that Friends and Friends Meetings throughout New England have been responding to this commitment. Friends approved the formation of an Immigration Justice working group to bring together Quakers across New England who are under the weight of this concern, and committed the support of the yearly meeting to this group. If Friends in your meeting are engaged in ministry in support of these concerns and would like to connect with others similarly involved, please contact the Yearly Meeting office at neym@neym.org.
Continuing to Respond to the Climate Crisis: At the recommendation of the NEYM Earthcare Ministries Committee, those gathered affirmed a commitment to using the Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative’s carbon calculator to calculate their carbon footprint and commit to a 10% reduction from baseline measures this fall by December 2019, and to encourage Friends throughout New England to do the same. More detailed information on support for this work will be forthcoming from the Earthcare Ministries Committee.
Consideration of Minutes brought forward from Quarterly Meetings:
Poor People’s Campaign: At the recommendation of Vassalboro Quarterly Meeting, Friends approved New England Yearly Meeting endorsing the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. Sessions encourages Friends and Friends Meetings to “…unite with the Poor People’s Campaign by working to change the war on the poor to a condemnation and eradication of poverty itself, and to become involved through volunteering, organizing and/or financially supporting the coming together of many people across many different spectrums to further the witness of the Poor People’s Campaign.”
Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons: Connecticut Valley Quarterly Meeting brought forward a minute asking that the Yearly Meeting “…encourage Friends in New England to seek ways to support [the 2017 United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons] and… inform people about it.” Friends approved sharing this minute with local and Quarterly Meetings.
Criminal Justice Reform: Salem Quarterly Meeting asked Sessions to support a minute stating their “…support [for] comprehensive criminal justice reform in Massachusetts that will promote restorative justice, support alternatives to incarceration, reform the pretrial process, and reduce the criminalization of poverty and race.” The minute further invites Friends, and meetings across New England to “join [Salem Quarterly Meeting] in the work of repairing and restoring our communities by reforming our criminal justice system.” Friends affirmed this minute as well seasoned, and asked that the Clerk share this minute with other quarters for discernment and further action.
Other Important Reports and Decisions:
Legacy Gift Funds: Friends gathered were moved by a slideshow of images of the many ways in which the Funds have been being used to support the ministry of New England Quakers in the areas of racial justice, climate change, outreach, religious education and more, coming soon to the NEYM YouTube channel. A list of recent grant recipients can be found on the NEYM website. The deadline for the next round of grants is October 1, 2018. For more information and to apply, visit neym.org/legacy-gift
Faith and Practice Revision: As part of the Yearly Meeting’s ongoing process of revising the book of Faith and Practice for Quakers in New England, Friends considered a draft paper on Membership. Important questions arose, including consideration of the effect that approving a practice of dual membership might have on our understanding of the core commitments of our tradition. Two additional draft papers were presented for comment–one on Pastoral Care and one on Death, Dying, and Bereavement. Meetings are encouraged to further engage corporately with the material presented, and to share with the Faith and Practice Revision Committee what unity and wisdom they receive, trusting in the guidance of the Spirit in our midst. The draft chapter on membership is available here. For further information, or to share your meeting’s responses, contact Phebe McCosker (Hanover, NH, Friends Meeting), Clerk of Faith and Practice Revision Committee, or visit neym.org/fprevision.
Transforming our Relationship with Money: After five years of dedicated and faithful work, its charge fulfilled, we celebrated the laying down of the Ad Hoc Long Term Financial Planning Committee. The Finance Committee’s proposal of a balanced budget for the coming fiscal year–the fruit of a diligent process including both expense reductions and increased income–included a reduction of the total amount of New England Yearly Meeting’s donations to three of the organizations of which NEYM is a member (Friends United Meeting, Friends World Committee for Consultation, and Friends General Conference). This provided Friends in attendance an opportunity to engage with the dynamic tension between our responsibility for fiscal stewardship, and our responsibility and commitment to support the work of the wider Quaker movement of which we are an inextricable part. After much discernment and with a sense of God’s continual provision, Friends approved maintaining our current level of support for these three organizations, recognizing that further increases in contributions from meetings and individuals will be needed to prevent a deficit in the coming year.
Further details, video & audio recordings are posted at neym.org/sessions. Minutes of Annual Sessions will be posted soon and distributed to all local meetings.
To receive news and updates on the life and ministry of Friends across New England, subscribe to the monthly email newsletter at neym.org/mc-signup. New England Quakers also have an active and growing presence on social media through Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.
The next Annual Sessions will be held August 3-8, 2019 at Castleton University, in Castleton, Vermont. For questions or more information about anything mentioned in this document, contact neym@neym.org.