The Christmas Program will be on Saturday, December 15, gathering for worship and a turkey dinner.
Come at 4:00 to help prepare the meal and set up.
Worship, sharing of poems, songs or personal stories will be at 5:30 with dinner to follow.
The Christmas Program will be on Saturday, December 15, gathering for worship and a turkey dinner.
Come at 4:00 to help prepare the meal and set up.
Worship, sharing of poems, songs or personal stories will be at 5:30 with dinner to follow.
By Nancy Marstaller
My mom (Clarabel) and I are still collecting commemorative stamps. A group of Friends collects them and prepares them for sale to collectors. Money raised goes to various Friends organizations.
There is a box on the library table for your stamps. Please cut them off the envelope with about ¼ inch around the edges (unless it is a special postmark) and don’t try to soak them off the envelope.
We’ll send off what we’ve collected after the first Sunday in December: 12/2. But don’t stop saving them! We’ll keep sending off what we have a few times during the year.
Thanks for your help!
You are invited to a pot-luck dinner to join Pastor Ida, Administrator of the Kakamega Orphans Care Centre on Monday, November 5 at 6:00 p.m. at the meetinghouse.
After the meal, Ida will bring us up to date with changes happening with the Care Centre programs. He will share personal reflections on his own work as it, and his thinking and understanding has evolved. This will be more of a conversation with old friends, rather than a slide presentation.
Bring a favorite dish to share. Questions: Sukie Rice, 318-8531.
Member Janet Douglas, the mother of Jim Douglas, a member and former pastor here at Durham, passed away on September 10. Her life will be celebrated in a memorial service at the Meetinghouse of Durham Friends on Saturday, November 10 at 11:00 a.m. All are welcome to join the Douglas family.
By Cindy Wood
Social justice film and discussion series:
November 16 It’s Criminal, film with discussion led by Paul Miller. Light refreshments. Durham Meetinghouse 7 pm.
December 7 I Am Not Your Negro, — discussion to follow. Light refreshments. Durham Meetinghouse 7 pm.
By Martha Hinshaw Sheldon, Adult Sunday School Coordinator
The adult Sunday School class is looking at the following books to read and discuss for the months of November and December. If one is of particular interest to you and you would like to attend the class, please let me know.
Feel free to attend Sunday mornings at 9:30 or seek out these books for your own library.
By Martha Sheldon
Ralph Greene has played a pivotal role of guidance, grounding, and encouragement for many, many Friends in New England and beyond! Now, it is our turn to help Love circle back around to Ralph and Twila, his wife! Last winter, while Ralph was in the hospital, winter did things to their house that Maine winters do—pipes froze, damage resulted. Costly repairs won’t be made in time for this winter.
Ralph served as pastor at Durham Monthly Meeting for many years. He also served Friends at Dartmouth at Smith Neck in Massachusetts among other Meetings throughout New England. Wherever he served, he exemplified the invitation into New Life through faith that he extended to others.
Let’s help Ralph and Twila find alternative safe and warm housing for this winter. Friends are invited to make contributions on their behalf to Durham Monthly Meeting with “The Greene Family” on the memo line. Checks may be mailed to:
Durham Monthly Meeting, 532 Quaker Meetinghouse Road, Durham, ME 04222.
For more information contact Sarah Sprogell or Martha Hinshaw Sheldon.
After Meeting on Sunday, October 28, 2018, we will have a Meeting-Wide Discussion on Strengthening Durham Friends Meeting.
For nearly a year, Durham Friends Meeting has had an Ad Hoc Committee working on developing ideas for strengthening the Meeting.
After input and discussion from many Meeting members, we came to focus on three areas where we might try to strengthen ourselves: pastoral care, outreach and coordination.
In May, after the Ad Hoc Committee reported, Business Meeting asked that various Meeting committees discuss their current efforts and effectiveness and let the Ad Hoc Committee know how they are doing. More specifically, Ministry and Counsel was asked to consider pastoral care, Christian Education, Peace and Social Concerns, and the Newsletter Committee were asked to consider outreach, and the Clerks Group was asked to consider coordination.
On October 28 the Ad Hoc Committee will report what we have learned and invite Meeting members to consider how we want to proceed.
Questions? Contact Doug Bennett (dougb@earlham.edu or 207-721-9575).
There will be be a Family Game Night, Saturday, November 3 from 5-7:30 at Durham Friends Meeting. It will be a potluck followed by games. All are welcome.
There will be a Halloween Party, Friday October 26 from 5:30-8pm at the Durham Friends Meetinghouse. Creative costumes are encouraged. We will have snacks, bobbing for apples, donuts on a string and pumpkin carving. A fun time for all ages!
Trustees have scheduled a “Love Your Meetinghouse Day” for Friday night and Saturday, October 19 and 20, 2018.
The chore list includes window washing, cleaning pews and cushions, prep and painting of parsonage porch, and priming and painting the replacement windows in meetinghouse basement. All are welcome to participate.
By Linda Muller
Peace and Social Concerns Committee wants all of Meeting to know that “Dawnland” a new film from an excellent group – Maine Wabanaki-REACH – will be shown at Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick on Thursday, October 4 in the Merrill Meeting Room from 6 to 8 p.m. for free though donations will be accepted.
The film was years in the making and shares the findings and recommendations of the Maine Wabanaki Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was set up by Maine’s Legislature and funded for 2 years. The archives of this are stored at Bowdoin Library. Most of the findings focus on kidnapping and abusive treatment of native Maine children and the long-term consequences of that treatment.
The film also teaches history – 1300 to the current day – with “view from boat” and “view from the shore” perspectives. This proves to be very powerful and educational, refreshing change from the often misleading “history written by the winners” often taught in schools.
P&SC Committee highly recommends that all of us in Meeting take advantage of this free showing, leave a donation and enjoy the insightful discussion group directly after the film.
By Martha Sheldon
Adult Sunday School will be reading “In Fear and Trembling Be Bold in God’s Service” from The Freedom & Justice Crier, a periodic newsletter from the Committee on Racial, Social & Economic Justice of New England Yearly Meeting. It was published by NEYM this past summer.
All are welcome to join us at 9:30 each Sunday morning.
The Annual Eat-Out of Durham’s Woman’s Society is this coming Monday, September 17 at 6 p.m. We will be meeting at the Thai’s Cuisine Restaurant at 6 1st Street, Topsham. It is located behind the Topsham Town Office; 1st Street turns off Monument Drive, near the Route 201/Main Street end.
The restaurant’s website is https://thaismaine.com/ and they can be reached by phone at 721-0103.
This is a great opportunity to come out for a nice meal, talk with people from Meeting, and find out more about Woman’s Society. The restaurant sets no minimum on orders, so you could have a full meal, something less, or just sit and chat.
Please join us, all are invited.
By Dorothy Hinshaw
Four books on the USFWI Reading List were purchased following the suggestions of Woman’s Society members:
Also “check out” our renewed subscription to the pamphlet series, Quaker Religious Thought. These are short reads on Quaker theology and experience. Don’t forget that we continue to receive Pendle Hill Pamphlets on relevant topics. A gem of a recently discovered pamphlet in our collection is Friends and the Sacraments, by various Quaker leaders. Pamphlets are located on the Pamphlet Shelf!
Vassalboro Quarter Fall Gathering Weekend
Friday through Sunday, September 7-9, 2018
The Vassalboro Quarter Fall Gathering weekend at Friends Camp will be a wonderful opportunity to have time with Friends from around Maine to share our actions, what inspires us and where we are stuck!
60 minute breakouts: Here are a few samples:
There will be 60 minute gatherings Friday evening and Saturday morning, with more spontaneous sharing/break outs welcomed for Saturday morning and afternoon. The preliminary schedule is below. If anyone would like to offer a 45-60 min workshop, they can contact the Fall Gathering committee below or sign up on Friday night.
Pre-registration by August 31st is appreciated to allow for meal planning and any child programing that is needed. To sign up, please go to this link: (copy and paste it in your search).
Pre-register at: https://goo.gl/forms/ec5KQVfXsTrLpoMe2
Spread the word in your meeting’s newsletters or correspondence by forwarding this or copying. Be sure everyone has the link.
Walk-ins are always welcome! Register when you arrive or at the next meal. Come for one day or stay for the full weekend.
If someone doesn’t have internet access to pre-register, or is having any problems with pre-registering, they can call the registrar, Stephen Assante, at 207-649-0619 and leave a message or email at sassante314@gmail.com.
Youth of all ages are welcome and there is no fee for children or for parents/guardians bringing children. The VQM subsidizes all children under 18 yo.
Young Adult Friends are also meeting with us for the second year.
Their programing and Vassalboro Quarterly Friends program will be overlapping as-led! We will be gathering together Friday starting with supper. YAF should use the same link to pre-register.
Housing: There are cabins with bunkbeds, tenting areas and a few handicapped accessible cabins with a bathroom. The latter are limited and usually reserved for those who indicate at pre-registration that they need one. If you would like hospitality off campus with a local Friend, please contact Joann Austin: austinlaw@fairpoint.net
Meals: All vegetarian: please let us know at pre registration about any special dietary needs.
Cost of the weekend:
Due to the generous support of Friends in the Vassalboro Quarter, this gathering is pay-as-led for participants – and children are free, as are. Please do not let cost get in the way your attendance but feel free to donate as led and able. Payment is due at registration when you arrive at Friends Camp. 0-17years: free.18-35 years: $0-$50. All parents and adults bringing children: $0-$50. All adults over 35: $0 – $100. Please indicate your total amount that you are able to contribute.
Common questions about costs: Friends Camp charges VQM based on the number of adults and children who eat each meal, stay over each night (regardless of whether they camp, use a cabin or trailer), or attend for just part of a day. Those who attend may make a contribution based on what their charges would be or what they think they can afford. This is called Pay-as-Led.
Here are costs to VQM: Meals are around $10, day rate is $7, and day with an overnight is $14. So one adult staying for the entire weekend including overnight would be 6 meals and 2 overnights or $88.
Hope to see you there!
Vassalboro Quarter Fall Gathering Weekend &
YAF Retreat
Link to the Pre-registration: https://goo.gl/forms/ec5KQVfXsTrLpoMe2
Draft Schedule
Friday (PM)
4:30–6 (VQM) Ministry & Counsel Meeting
5:00–7 Registration
6:00–8 Dinner
7:00–8 VQM and YAF: Gathering of Friends in Gratitude
8:00-9 Separate VQM and *YAF activity
Saturday (AM)
7:30–8:30 Breakfast—Grace at end of meal
8–8:30 Registration
8:45–9:30 *Program—Introduction—Centering Worship Sharing
9:45–10:45 *Small Group Session
11–12 *Small Group Session
12–1:15 Lunch
Saturday (PM)
12–12:30 Registration
1:30–3 VQM *Business Meeting
3:15–4:30 *Small Group Session
4:30–6 Free Time
6:15–7:15 Dinner
7:30–8:30 *VQM and YAFs Sharing with music, singing and dance.
YAFs and others may plan to continue longer.
Sunday (AM)
7:30–8:30 Breakfast
8:45–9:45 *Worship Sharing/Reflections on our weekend
10–11 *Meeting for Worship
12–12:45 Lunch
12:45 PM Camp Clean-up and goodbyes!
*held in the Aviary at the top of the hill or in multiple other locations
One way to stay aware of what’s happening around the Quaker world is to subscribe to Martin Kelly’s Quaker Ranter Daily, a nearly-daily blog and e-mail service. Kelly reads dozens and dozens of blog posts by Quakers around the U.S. and beyond, and posts links to what he thinks are the most interesting ones.
Today, for example, he links to a post from Emily Provance, a member of 15th Street Meeting in New York, about Generational Strategies for Quaker Outreach. nEmily believes we need different communication strategies for those over and those under age 45.
He also links today to a blog post from J. J. Lund, the rising clerk of Wilmington Yearly Meeting, which is experiencing a schism broadly similar to what has happened recently in Indiana Yearly Meeting and in North Carolina Yearly Meeting. Lund closes on a hopeful note, one that I believe will resonate with members of Durham Friends Meeting:
The Wilmington Yearly Meeting that emerges will be smaller. It will still be diverse, including a range of views on same gender marriage and Biblical authority. It will consist of meetings that have chosen Christian fellowship over dogma, the Gospel of Love over the letter of the law.
On Monday, June 25, Durham Friends Meeting will be hosting a potluck and presentation about the Ramallah Friends Schools in Ramallah, Palestine. We will be hosting Adrian Moody, the new head of Ramallah Friends Schools, and Eden Grace, the Global Ministries Director of Friends United Meeting.
Potluck will begin at 6 pm, program at 7 pm.
A committed Roman Catholic with a master’s degree in theology, Adrian feels deeply called to the particular witness of a Friends School under occupation. As he shared with the school when he visited: “I am drawn to RFS for so many reasons. It has a long history of shared communities. It has a strong academic program and is able to offer its students wonderful opportunities. But RFS is not just a school – it is much more than that. I look at RFS and I see that the grace of God is working within your community. I see God carrying us all on a journey, together through moments of success and challenges which strengthens our lives and our bonds with each other and God.”
Adrian, an Australian national, and his wife Gillian, a New Zealander, will took up residence in Ramallah at the beginning of August while their teenage daughter continues in boarding school in New Zealand.
Eden Grace, Global Ministries Director. Eden Grace has served as FUM’s Global Ministries Director since July, 2013. From 2004 through mid-2013, Eden served as the Field Officer for FUM in the Africa Ministries Office in Kisumu, Kenya. Eden is responsible for shepherding FUM’s programmatic work in 11 countries on 4 continents. She has a passion for the holistic and transformational witness of Friends that arises from deep worship in the gathered body. She thinks of her role specifically, and that of FUM in general, as a ligament in the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:15-16 and Colossians 2:19).
Eden holds a Masters of Divinity degree from Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a Certificate in International Mission and Ecumenism from the Boston Theological Institute. Her undergraduate degree is from Brown University in Providence Rhode Island, where she studied drama literature and semiotics. In addition to Eden’s extensive involvement with Friends’ organizations, she has also served in leadership roles in the World Council of Churches and the Massachusetts Council of Churches, and carries a deep concern for Christian unity.
Eden Grace is a member of Beacon Hill Friends Meeting (Boston, Massachusetts, USA) in New England Yearly Meeting. She and her husband Jim have two young adult sons, are the host family for a Kenyan college student, and have taken in a Richmond teen. Eden loves to travel, sing, read fiction and make quilts using African fabrics.
You are invited!
Please come to part or all of the 24 hours (or more) we will be “camping” on the ocean at Betsy Muench’s family paradise- 710 Bay Point Road in Georgetown
Noon Saturday, June 16 to Afternoonish Sunday, June 17
What to bring?
1. Bathing suit, towel and sunscreen
2. Change of clothes, jacket for evenings and bug spray
3. Sleeping bag, optional-tent (there are several beds and floor spaces inside)
4. Board games/ outdoor games
5. Friends! We welcome your friends.
6. Water- Please bring a jug of drinking water- they are having a few issues with their plumbing. Some water will be available through a hose. FYI- we may be using Wendy’s lovely sawdust composting toilets
Saturday lunch- bring you own
Saturday supper- something to grill and a dish to share
Saturday campfire time- Snacks, drinks to share
Sunday breakfast- Wendy will bring eggs and pancake mix, we need fruit, milk, and other breakfast yummies as desired
Sunday lunch- POTLUCK bring something to share (Wendy will bring ice cream and cones)
April 28, 2018
By Sukie Rice
This year three children from Durham Meeting will attend Friends Camp at China Lake, in part through the scholarships the Meeting is giving to make it possible for these children to go. We believe that “investing” in Friends Camp scholarships is one of the best ways of giving young people the fun, loving, experience of Friends values and community that Friends Camp offers.
However, to reach the amount needed for the three scholarships, we need an additional $445 to add to our budgeted amount. We ask Friends to consider making a special donation to the Meeting to help us share the costs of this rich and exciting two-week camp for the children in our Meeting’s care. Checks can be sent to the Meeting at the above address or added to the offering plate on Sunday mornings and should be earmarked for Friends Camp.
Questions should go to Wendy Schlotterbeck or Sukie Rice.
Thank you!
April 28, 2018
Ministry and Counsel Announces Two New Prayer Opportunities
A new Contemplative Prayer group will meet at the Meetinghouse on Wednesday, May 9 and Tuesday, June 5 from 7:00-8:00pm. Once the group gets started we’ll figure out where the meeting place should best be held. Contact Joyce Gibson jetrag64@gmail.com or 978.501.6194 if you have questions or if you’d like to be part of it but are unable to make these dates.
A Prayer Circle of people who wish to make a commitment to daily or regular prayer is beginning. Members of the prayer circle will be praying on their own (rather than in a meeting) but will be in communication about people and situations we wish to hold in the Light. Ministry and Counsel will be guiding this group. Contact Sukie Rice sukierice45@gmail.com or 207.865.3768 if you are interested in being a part of this group.
Library News, By Dorothy Hinshaw
Our library has added a new book to the library by Doug Gwyn, our former pastor: “The Call to Radical Faithfulness, Covenant Quaker Experience”, an interesting and readable historical overview.
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You can also see a new QuakerSpeak video on Queries featuring Doug Gwyn.
March 28, 2018
Do Quakers celebrate Easter? In the past, not so much. For early Quakers, “the church holidays were seen as pagan festivals with a superficial Christian overlay.” And today?
These days Easter is largely celebrated by Friends standing up on Sunday to break the silence of worship with nostalgic stories of Easters in their pre-Quaker youth. Sometimes they’ll admit to having attended a Easter service at another church before coming to meeting that morning. If you’re really lucky, you’ll get ministry about flowers or hats.
So says Martin Kelley in The Quaker Daily, a new source keeping us informed about what’s happening among Quakers. Is that a fair assessment of what will happen at Durham Friends this coming Sunday? Come find out. Here’s what’s happening:
8:30: Easter Breakfast. All welcome.
10:25 Meeting for Worship. An Easter choir will sing, we’ll have a children’s program, and Doug Bennett will bring the message. (Spoiler alert: not about flowers or hats.)
11:40 Refreshments after Meeting. Always tasty.
12:30 Memorial Service for Eileen Babcock
Sunday, March 25: Join a special Called Meeting to Consider Peace and Social Concerns Committee’s Request for Meeting Direction
By Linda Muller, for P&SC
Peace and Social Concerns Committee is bringing the booklet “The World We Seek” created by Friends Committee on National Legislation for Durham Meeting to consider. The Adult Sunday School will be reading and discussing this pamphlet during its 9:30 Sunday School meetings beginning March 4, 11 and 18, and continuing again in April if they have not finished on the 18th. Monthly Meeting joins P&SC in encouraging friends to attend these meetings to really get to understand the issues brought forth by this pamphlet and to discern in what ways it most strongly speaks to our Friends Meeting.
On Sunday, March 25, after a quick “pot-luck finger food” time of fellowship, we will all gather for a Called Meeting to consider what “stirs the heart of Durham Meeting” – what issue calls to us to WORK ON TOGETHER, as a corporate concern or project.
This will be a time of listening to priorities and ideas, coming forth from the discussion of the FCNL booklet, and as people look into their hearts as to what Peace and Social Justice issue(s) call to them.
P&SC is making the booklet available to all who want one. Speak to Brown Lethem or others on P&SC (Cindy Wood, Linda Muller, Ingrid Chalufour) to get a copy. They will also be available at Sunday School. FCNL has requested feedback on the Meeting discernment.
This is an exciting opportunity for Durham Friends to look at our commitment to the Peace and Social Justice testimonies and where we feel we can step forward as a Meeting. We encourage Friends to join us at the Called Meeting.
Learn how Friends Journal is growing the audience for Quakerism, using video to nurture and educate new generations of seekers, and standing up for Quaker values in a changing world.
Presentation by Friends Journal director, Gabriel Ehri
Where: Portland Friends Meeting, 1837 Forest Ave., Portland 04103
When: Sunday, March 4, at 12:00
What: Potluck and Program
February 22, 2018
Jay O’Hara will be giving the message this Sunday, February 25. Jay is known among Friends and beyond for his faithful prophetic work on climate change, which has included blockading a 40,000-ton shipment of coal and helping shut down 5 tar-sands pipelines in 2016. He travels in the ministry among Friends in New England under a minute of Sandwich Monthly Meeting on Cape Cod with a “concern for the spiritual foundation that gives Life to Friends’ actions in these times of crisis.”
Upcoming Programs at Portland Friends Meeting 1837 Forest Avenue, Portland
An Open-Hearted Inquiry into Racial Identity Sunday 1/14/18; 12:30-2:00
Facilitators: Julie de Sherbinin (Portland) and Susan Davies (Vassalboro)
Format: Interactive workshop for everyone; bring your lunch if you wish
Description: This workshop offers an entry point into the conversation about racial identity for all Friends, wherever we may be on the journey toward increased awareness, action and racial healing. Julie de Sherbinin and Susan Davies have co-led a number of sessions on inquiry into racial identity in Maine. Both are members of NEYM Permanent Board’s ad hoc Work Group Challenging White Supremacy.
Cracking the Codes: The System of Racial Inequity Sunday 1/21/18; 12:30-2:00
Facilitators: Julie de Sherbinin
Format: Film Clips & Discussion; bring your lunch if you wish
Description: Shakhti Butler’s film delves into the internal components and external relationships that perpetuate the system of racial inequity. We will watch pre-selected clips and focus discussion on responses to the issues posed therein. “Cracking the Codes” is designed for dialogue and is being used at meetings around New England as a catalyst for conversation.
Voices of Color/Color Of Change Sunday 2/11/18; 12:30-2:00
Facilitators: Julie de Sherbinin & Dorothy Grannell
Format: Discussion of selected text & film clips; bring your lunch if you wish
Description: Further exposure to the heartbreak of racism and the ways it shows up in Quaker communities. Getting comfortable with the words “white supremacy.” Readings will come from “Black Quakers”; October 2014 volume of Friends Journal (the articles are available online at Friends Journal and some copies may be available in the library)
White Fragility and Dismantling Racism Sunday 2/25/18; 12:30-2:00
Facilitators: Julie de Sherbinin, Melissa Brown & Maggie Nelson (Portland)
Format: Readings/small group sharing/discussion; bring lunch if you wish
Description: Moving from learning to action ideas on advocating for racial justice. What holds us back? Where do we start? How do we discern future action?
Privilege Walk Sunday 3/11/18; 12:30-2:00
Facilitators: Sophie Szatkowski & TBA
Format: Experiential activity for middle school, high school, and adult ages
Description: A Privilege Walk is a group exercise enabling participants to investigate how a range of types of privilege manifest in their lives. Possible sources of privilege and identity include social, economic, gender-based, age-based, racial, and cultural. Participants will be invited to discuss their experiences of the Walk after the exercise.
Worship Sharing Sunday 3/25/18; 12:30-2:00
Convener: PFM Facilitators
Format: Worship sharing
Description: Join with others to both listen deeply and share as led on two key questions: “Racism, Privilege & Quakers – What have we learned personally and as a meeting? Where or what do we do next personally and as a meeting?”
Child Care will be provided as needed for those planning to attend any of the series of programs offered through Portland Friends Meeting on “Racism, Privilege & Quakers” To ensure that your child has care, please contact Susan Grannell at grannell8@gmail.com or call 401-413-5951. Indicate the dates you will plan to attend, you name and the child’s (children’s) name.
From Martha Hinshaw Sheldon
The Adult Sunday school class will be reading the book Eternal Promise by Thomas Kelly starting in January. We will be using a study guide written by Colin Saxton. All are welcome at 9:30. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
Because Jo-an Jacobus is the contact person between the Meeting and the 12 Step meeting that calls Durham Meetinghouse home she has become aware of the importance of the Trustees’ calendar that hangs in the entry way. When events, regular or not, are not entered on that calendar it is as though those events do not exist. And the whole process actually starts one step earlier than entering your event on the calendar.
If you have an event that is not a regular Durham event – a committee meeting or a scheduled time for worship – but rather a one-time event, or something non-Durham related, you must check with the Trustees for approval for use of the building. Margaret Wentworth is the clerk of Trustees. Once that has happened then your event, and the date and time need to be entered into the calendar. If those things haven’t been done, other events may be happening during the time you expected to be able to use the meetinghouse.
Whether or not your event is regular it needs to be listed on the Trustees’ calendar in the entry way. This allows Friends to schedule meetings around yours rather than on top of them.
Jo-An Jacobus and Margaret Wentworth