Minutes 5-6-25 Called Meeting

On 5/6/25, Falmouth Quarter gathered by zoom for a called meeting.

Present: Portland: Fritz Weiss (clerk), Ann Dodd-Collins, Paula Rossvall, Jim Grace, Karyl Sylken; Durham: Sarah Sprogell, Leslie Manning, Wendy Schlotterbeck, Mimi Marstaller, Doug Bennett, Kristna Evans, Susan Gilbert; Brunswick: Marian Dalton; Southern Maine: Louise Sandmeyer; Guest and prayer presence: Kathleen Wooten

The clerk reviewed the agenda.

Opening worship and land acknowledgement

1. Falmouth Quarter received a letter from Susan Davies, clerk of Permanent Board (PB)  reviewing the status of the discernment about the form of annual sessions.  We also received the report from the visioning day hosted by the yearly meeting on 4/12 where the various groups across New England who had participated in the sessions discernment exercise gathered to consider the form of annual sessions going forward.  Unity on the form of sessions for 2026 was not reached on 4/12 and the conversation would continue at the upcoming Permanent Board meeting on 5/10.  Quarters were invited to attend and participate in the continuing discernment.  The clerk asked for guidance from the quarter on what to bring to the PB meeting.

The quarter was clear on the following:

• Quakers in New England have not found unity on the purpose of the annual gathering at sessions, and this makes finding unity on the form or schedule impossible.
• It seems clear that there is movement towards shortening sessions from six days to a long weekend.
• Falmouth Quarter is clear that the essential experience of sessions is to gather in God’s presence, to experience being gathered together in Spirit.
• Falmouth Quarter is clear that the essential work of sessions is the spiritual discernment of business meeting, seeking unity on what is required of us.
• We are comfortable moving other activities (e.g workshops, committee meetings, coffee house ) away from sessions to other times.
• We are not certain that a long weekend will be sufficient to accomplish the experience of being gathered.
• We have experienced repeated instances of agenda items being sent to Quarters for seasoning and we are not certain that this has worked.
• If the YM is committed to strengthen quarters, there will need to be a commitment of time and attention to this project and an examination of how regional or interim meetings align with the life of quarters.

2. Falmouth Quarter has received a letter from North East Kingdom Monthly Meeting (NEK), with many links and attachments sharing NEK’s deep concern that it was not right to gather at UMass campus in light of the university’s forceful suppression of an encampment in support of Palestinian rights and in protest of the war in Gaza.  The YM was not able to change to location of sessions, consequently NEK has declared a jubilee year and will not participate in NEYM or financially support NEYM for the coming year. NEK welcomed any thoughts we had to share. 

We also received a link to the independent review of the university’s actions, and  a summary from the presiding clerk of NEYM of the YM response to NEK.

The discussion was serious and wide ranging.  The clerk was directed to write a letter to NEK sharing the following observations:

• We are grateful for their long faithful witness and thank them for bringing their concern about holding sessions at UMass to our attention.  We agree that it is important that our vision and our mission be aligned with our actions.
• We hear the deep concern that they have for the situation in Palestine and know that NEK Monthly meeting has carried this concern faithfully for many years.  It is clear that they came to the decision they came to with great care and also with great grief.
• We will miss having their voice at sessions. We need their voice at session and it pains us that they will not be there.  We, as the Quakers of New England gathered together this summer will be diminished by their absence.
• The situation at Gaza is awful, worse now than it was last March, worse now than it was in January when NEK came to their decision.  We are heartbroken by what is happening in Gaza and by the complicity of our government in supporting the actions of the Israeli Government and that is where our attention needs to be focused.
• We are concerned about a pattern of conflict which we have seen repeatedly in NEYM where, when there is no agreement, we withdraw our presence and support. This is a pattern which makes it easier for those involved in the conflict but does not move us towards the third way. 

3. The clerk was also directed to write a letter to the presiding clerk in response to the letter we received with the following concerns.

• In the letter from NEK, it is clear that this meeting has been experiencing frustration with NEYM over other issues over time, and that their decision to take a year’s sabbatical from participating in NEYM is in part a reflection of this history.  We urge the YM to do the necessary work of repairing the relationship – we are all diminished by the separation.  Repairing relationships is not accomplished through negotiating agreement on actions, but by deep listening and accompaniment.
• We are concerned about a pattern of conflict which we have witnessed in the YM of withdrawing our presence and support when in conflict and unable to reach agreement. This is a pattern which makes it easier for those involved but leaves the conflict unresolved and does not move us towards the third way.
• The situation in Palestine weighs on all our hearts. It is awful, worse now than it was last March, worse now than it was in January when NEK came to their decision.  We are heartbroken by what is happening in Gaza and by the complicity of our government in supporting the actions of the Israeli Government and that is where our attention needs to be focused.
• It is not enough to reference our history of responding. What is needed is wrestling with what is required of us now.  We hope that in planning our time together in August, this concern is heard.

• It was also noted that UMass Amherst is a large, complicated and clumsy organization.  We did not feel it was productive to focus on any disappointment we might have with UMass’s decisions or actions.

• It was noted that Mid Coast meeting in Maine has also decided to withdraw from NEYM for a year. We heard a suggestion that we reach out to Mid Coast as neighbors in hopes of remaining connected during a period of possible isolation from other Friends.

Respectfully submitted, Fritz Weiss, acting clerk.