A few recent events have nudged this issue into new territory and have made the publication
date a little fluid. Twice in the past two weeks we have lost dear friends and family members.
Macy Whitehead, our dear friend, passed away on Wednesday, May 16. On Sunday, May
20, his beloved wife, Edie, and their family attended meeting for worship, where they were
welcomed in by the Meeting.
At the Monthly Meeting that followed on that day, the Memorial Minute for Bobbie Jordan
was read.
On Saturday, May 26, Stuart Muench, cherished husband of our dear friend Betsy Muench,
passed away.
On Sunday, May 27, the Ad Hoc Fundraising Committee made a presentation at Meeting
that was intended for all to hear.
At the Monthly Meeting of May 20 it was decided that both Macy’s obituary and Bobbie’s
Memorial Minute should be published in our newsletter. The Ad Hoc Fundraising Committee
asked that their presentation be published as well. As you will see, these documents are each
quite long. The usual length of the newsletter has been close to doubled by their inclusion. All
of the additional costs above the usual five sheets of paper are being paid by two anonymous
donors who feel that these documents need to be made available to our members.
Our condolences go out to the families and loved ones of both Macy and Stuart. Our prayers
are with you.

From Liana Thompson Knight & Sam Knight
Stella Jean Knight, with a double first name for two of her great grandmothers, was born on Friday, April 27.
Welcome to the Durham Friends family!

Information from Leslie Manning
Leslie sent an email recently stuffed with information about what was happening with the Maine Council of
Churches. I couldn’t possibly fit it all in, even this month, but I chose three pieces that relate to the election
cycle that are important and current. The rest of this is directly from Leslie’s email.
We are happy to share via video, MCC’s Covenant for Civil Discourse, starring our wonderful Board
members. Please view, share and encourage others to do their part to keep disagreements
civil. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvSZpCMZYCU
The first piece on our Covenant for Civil Discourse was written by our Executive Director, Rev. Jill
Saxby. This piece was published in the April 19 Bangor Daily News:

Covenant for civil discourse

Next, our Public Policy Committee member Karen Hessel wrote a piece in support of Clean
Elections. Karen’s letter was published by the Sun-Journal on April 29:
http://www.sunjournal.com/news/columns-analysis/2012/04/29/karen-hessel-democracy-relies-voicescitizens/
1186605

June 2012 to August 2012
Thank you for being willing to prepare refreshments!
Please switch if needed.
Directions are posted in the kitchen. Supplies need to be donated- check what is already
available in the kitchen. “Basic” refreshments are coffee, milk and/or half & half, tea, juice, and
crackers. People appreciate having cheese, sweets, veggies, or fruit, but it can be as simple as you
like. The Woman’s Society makes this schedule with people who come to Meeting regularly and
have been willing to prepare refreshments in the past. We have not checked with each person
regarding dates. If you would like to be added to or taken off this list, see Nancy Marstaller. Thanks!
June 3 Harmony & Kathy Brown
10 Sarah Sprogell, Leslie Manning
17 Linda Muller & Jim McCarthy
24 Eileen Babcock, Mildred Alexander
July 1 Bee Douglas, Nancy Marstaller, Jo-an Jacobus
8 Margaret Wentworth, David Dexter
15 Brenda Masse, Wayne Hollingworth
22 Helen Clarkson, Sally Skillman
29 Kitsie Hildebrandt, Clarabel Marstaller
August 5 Dotty DeLoach, Don Goodrich
12 Sukie Rice, Susan Wood
19 Pam & Leonard Rainey
26 Martha Sheldon, Charlotte Anne Curtis

A celebration of the life of Stuart Muench will be held on Sunday, June 24 at 2:00 p.m. at Durham Friends
meetinghouse. It will be preceded by a gathering time beginning at 1:15. A reception and time for fellowship
will follow.
A committal service will be held on Saturday, July 28 at 2:00 p.m. It will be preceded by a gathering time
beginning at 1:15. A reception and time for fellowship will follow.

By Jo-an Jacobus
Get those creative juices flowing so you can add your something to the September Creative Issue of “The
Best of Friends.” Again this year we invite you to send something you created to be included in the September
newsletter. It can be anything “flat” or a photo of something “not flat.” Poetry, short prose, music lyrics,
drawings, paintings, photos, photos of sculptures or of a dance performance, of … If you think of something we
haven’t, check it out with us, Jim McCarthy, Daphne Clement, Jo-an Jacobus. We’ll let you know if we can
make it fit onto a piece of paper.
If you need help with having something scanned, get in touch with Jo-an. It must be a flat object no larger
than 8.5” X 11.” For written material it would be helpful if it was in some version of Word. If that is not
possible, please email me and let’s see what the options are. We will find a way! Images need to be in .jpg
format, high resolution is helpful.
Please note, the deadline is earlier for the creative submissions than for standard news submissions.
Creative works must be submitted to Jo-an by Wednesday, Aug. 1, at 5 p.m. at mjo.anjacobus@gmail.com.
Please bring your light out from under that basket and share yourself with the meeting.

at Durham Friends Meetinghouse
Come celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the
Friends Orphan
Care Center at
Kakamega, Kenya
Saturday, June 23rd
at 5:30 p.m.
Please stay for a presentation at 6:45 p.m.
See for yourself what a difference your help has made in the lives of these children
The Friends Orphan Care Center of Kakamega is an orphanage run by Kenyan Quaker women.
It is a highly successful grassroots effort to reach out to children who need love, care, and a
chance for schooling. The Orphan Project depends entirely on the kind generosity of others to
give the care, education, and hope these children need for a healthy future.
Tickets: $10/adult if ticket is reserved in advance ($12 at the door)
$ 8/seniors and teens if reserved in advance ($10 at the door)
$ 5/children Children under 5: free
$25 for a family of 5 ($30 at the door)
DURHAM FRIENDS MEETINGHOUSE is on the corner of Route 125 (Pinkham Brook
Road) and the Quaker Meetinghouse Road (Durham Road).
To reserve tickets, please call 353-6354 or email: pastor@durhamfriendsmeeting.org

By Jo-an Jacobus
Again this month comes sad news of the passing of another Durham Friend. Our beloved “Aunt” Bee
Douglas died at home surrounded by her family on the evening of June 26. At 103 ½ years old, Bee was our
eldest Durham Friend, Durham friend.
A memorial service, a celebration of her life, will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, July 4, at Durham
Friends Meetinghouse. A reception will follow. The committal service will follow, but will be for family only.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Woman’s Society of Durham Friends Meeting. Checks
may be made out to that organization and mailed to Durham Friends Meeting, 532 Quaker Meetinghouse Road,
Durham, ME 04222, or to a charity of your choice.

By Jo-an Jacobus
With a heavy heart I share the sad news of the sudden and unexpected passing of Glenice Hutchins. She was
involved in a multi-car accident on Saturday, June 23, that resulted in her death. She was traveling near her home
with her dear friend and partner, Al Anderson. Al was bruised and “beaten up” but released from the hospital.
The memorial service was held on Tuesday, June 26, at Durham Friends Meetinghouse.
We send prayers and condolences to Al and to both their families. We also send prayers for Al to heal quickly
from his injuries.

By Jo-an Jacobus
The September issue of “The Best of Friends” will carry representations of what our community is doing
creatively. But that will happen only if you choose to share what you are doing. We would like to see what it is
that gives your heart its delight — if you would be willing to share that with us. Don’t hide your gifts under a
bushel; bring them into the light for all to see.
The nuts and bolts: It can be anything “flat” or a photo of something “not flat” (remember Glenice’s sweater
and Curt’s new family). Poetry, short prose, music lyrics, drawings, paintings, photos, photos of sculptures, of
a dance performance, of … If you think of something we haven’t, check it out with us, Jim McCarthy, Daphne
Clement, Jo-an Jacobus. We’ll let you know if we can make it fit onto a piece of paper.
If you need help with having something scanned, get in touch with Jo-an. It must be a flat object no larger
than 8.5 x 11 inches. For written material it would be helpful if it was in some version of Word. If that is not
possible, please email me and let’s see what the options are. We will find a way! Images need to be in .jpg
format, high resolution is helpful.
Please note, the deadline is earlier for the creative submissions than for standard news submissions.
Creative works must be submitted to Jo-an by Wednesday, Aug. 1, at 5 p.m. at mjo.anjacobus@gmail.com.
We would love to see your creative side. Please share with us.

Gather to prepare the ground and raise the trellis and to prepare to build
the Louis Marstaller bench at the Parsonage. We’ll meet on Saturday,
July 14, at 9 a.m., with a picnic lunch planned at 12:30 p.m.
Contact Daphne Clement for more information.

Contemplative Prayer group will be meeting in the meetinghouse on Tuesdays beginning at 7 p.m. through May. The group will then take the summer off.

By Jo-an Jacobus
I’m sure you’ve heard it before: “Be sure to take the copier paper you didn’t use out of the machine and put it in the ream wrapper in the case box and close the box.”
Annoying process isn’t it? And slow, when you are in a hurry. I mean, what can it really hurt? It worked fine without any hassles. What’s the big deal?
For whatever reason, the copier is very sensitive to the moisture level in the paper, even though we buy paper that is for use with machines that have paper-jamming difficulties. If the lid of the case box is not all the way down, if the ream wrap has been ripped off so it can’t be wrapped around again, even if those things happen at the beginning of a ream, it may be enough to jam the copier.
Then you could be the person on the other end of that conversation, “Who left the paper in the machine? It has jammed 6 (12, ___ ) times! I can’t get it to run through! I need this for Monthly Meeting ( ______ Committee), now!”
The meeting needs for all of us who use the copier to slow down and treat the paper the way it needs to be treated to keep the copier running smoothly. The copier repair person comes as needed to set it to rights again but often the paper is the issue. For us to find that out costs a minimum of $40. We can each do our part by being kind to the copier and in using less paper that will go straight into the recycle bin.
New, and hopefully easier and more effective, ways of storing the paper are being set up and will be in place before long. Until then, please take the paper out of the copier, put it back in the box and put the lid firmly on the box.

By Ministry & Counsel
We have new attenders and visitors who don’t know all our names. Out of courtesy to them, and any forgetful regulars, please wear your nametag at Meeting. Some of you have already made them. They are in a box or basket on the shelf in the entryway. If you don’t already have one, or have forgotten it at home, there are blank nametags in the basket, so you make yourself one.
The Meeting thanks for your help!

Creativity is a gift of the Spirit!  And what is it that inspires us to create?  The beauty of God’s creation; the love between us; a light heart; something funny or tender or even tragic … here is the sacred in our ordinary lives.  Let us give voice to this, or capture it with your camera, your palette and your brush.

George Fox asked: “And what cans’t thou say?” and so does your Newsletter Committee.

Daphne Clement

By Sukie Rice

I will be leaving for Kenya July 27, and am excited about this year’s trip.  We have a great group of 14 adults and youth going, all ready for adventure.  We’re carrying 30 storage bins of children’s clothing, gifts, art supplies sports equipment, sheets and towels.  I am excited that this year we are bringing 258 fleece jackets and all the children will have a jacket now to keep them warm, thanks to all the sponsors,

Although the project was begun with a focus on the Care Centre, the High School portion of the Care Centre has steadily grown from three students in the first year to 58 this year.  Please read the report and know that, without sponsorships, the boys would be in despair as to what to do with themselves and the girls would be pregnant by 16, with or without a young man to take care of them and their baby.

As we can see from Tess Marstaller’s article, she is doing marvelous work in Africa.  The package we sent was well received and my understanding is that we will probably try to send another.  Please speak to Nancy Marstaller concerning future needs.

By Jo-an Jacobus, Editor

As editor of our newsletter, some things have become clear to me as I work with Wayne to get the newsletter to you in a timely manner.

The most obvious to me is I can’t guarantee you will receive the information about events happening during the first week of the month before they occur.  The turn-around time after monthly meeting is just too short.  It is a virtual certainty that the paper copies will not have arrived until late in the first week of the month.  It is tight in some months for the email version as well.

The most important area of clarity involves a positive step that can be taken by those submitting articles concerning upcoming events.  Tell us in advance.  Put an October event into September’s newsletter.  Even if your event is in late October, September is better.  Send it to us early, at least a month early.  Get the news in a month early to be sure Friends can attend your event.

Another positive step for those submitting articles is not new but bears repeating.  Please get your articles to me by 5 P.M. on the Wednesday following monthly meeting.  If I don’t have it by then, it won’t go in.

My last thoughts on hearing about upcoming events in a timely manner I have said before but it does make a difference.  If you want to receive your newsletter in time to see notices about events occurring in the first week of the month, email is the way to go.  This might not be an issue for you.  If it is, I’m doing everything I can to get it to you on time.  Once the newsletter is in final copy, that’s the end for the email edition but only the beginning for a paper version.  It must be copied, collated, prepared for mailing, and go through the US Mail.

I spoke with a Durham (F)friend this week who was very upset with the quality of the photographs in the paper copy of the newsletter.  This friend felt the photos weren’t worth printing, although having seen them once online thought those were terrific.  This friend is adding email delivery to paper delivery, wanting to see the lovely photos but still wanting to have a copy to hold.  A “twofer” that works for one friend: early news with great photos and paper to hold.

By Ann Ruthsdottir

I sent two boxes to the relief project for Japan.  After I took all the packaging off (mostly around tooth paste), I was able to tightly pack all of the generous offerings into 1.75 boxes.  I filled the last quarter box by adding a small, child-safe wooden toy, a small baby quilt and some wash clothes.  I used wash clothes for packing material.  Everything in the boxes could be of use.

Thank you all for your wonderful offerings to a people who have been harmed in so many ways.