On November 9, we sent out a Friends Note seeking monetary assistance for legal costs in aid of two migrants (Miguel and Patricio) who had been seized by ICE. Haven Immigration Law has filed habeas corpus petitions on their behalf, but funds are needed to pay for this legal assistance. Money can be sent via Venmo to Christine Livia@steeny-bean, or to one of the four organizations below. (NB: links need to be retyped.)
Friends United Meeting has put together a series of daily devotional readings from individuals across FUM Yearly Meetings in North America. Leslie Manning from Durham Frienfs Meeting contributed one. They are available to read below.
2025-Advent-Devotional-FUMEdwin Hinshaw departed from this life November 27, 2025, peacefully in his sleep, with family members present.
Ed was born in 1934 in Winchester, Indiana. After they both graduated from Earlham College, he married Dorothy Ellen Stratton in 1955. Together with Dot, he worked in various ministries in Indiana, Maine, Kenya, Iowa and Maryland. He retired after many years as Head of Sandy Spring Friends School in Maryland, and thereafter lived in Maine, a beloved member of Durham Friends Meeting.
Information about a memorial service will be posted here when it becomes available.
Durham Monthly Meeting of Friends Business Meeting Minutes, November 16, 2025
Ellen Bennett — Recording Clerk
Durham Monthly Meeting of Friends met for the conduct of business on Sunday, November 16, 2025, with eleven people in attendance at the Meetinghouse.
1. Meeting Opening
Clerk opened with the following poem:
From "Many Winters" by Nancy Wood
Now this is what we believe.
The mother of us all is the earth.
The father is the sun.
The Grandfather is the Creator
Who bathed us with his mind
And gave life to all things.
The Brother is the beasts and trees.
The Sister is that with wings.
We are the Children of Earth
And do it no harm in any way.
Nor do we offend the sun
By not greeting it at dawn.
We praise our Grandfather for his creation.
We share the same breath together--
The beasts, the trees, the birds, the man.
2. Approval of Minutes of October 2025
date corrected.
3. Ministry and Counsel — Renee Cote
Please see report.
Diana White’s memorial minute was read aloud.
Great appreciation was expressed for those who serve as our Zoom technicians.
Meeting members, Cush and Maureen Anthony, are downsizing. An initial offer/suggestion was made by Maureen to donate the household items for a rummage sale, the proceeds from which would go to the Meeting. Meeting members feel that we may not have the capacity to handle
such an event. A solution might be to donate the items to Furniture Friends in Portland, an organization established by Cush Anthony.
Recording clerk will check to see if the Christmas candlelight service will take place again this year.
4. Finance Committee Report — Doug Bennett
Please see reports: Third 3rd quarter income and expenses, and proposed 2026 budget.
Headline for 3rd quarter: the Meeting is in good financial shape. Income covers expenses. Electricity expenses are up, likely due to the move to heat pumps, and the overall increase in costs of this utility.
There are few changes in the 2026 budget compared to 2025. Note that Ministry and Counsel has asked for an increase to cover the cost of an upcoming event. The Sister Meeting account budget has increased, reflecting continuing travel to Cuba, as are contribution to NEYM, which is financially stretched. The 2026 budget will be brought before the Meeting for approval next month.
Questions ensued about support of FUM, which is in financial distress. Information about ways to support FUM operations will be forthcoming.
5. Nominating Committee Report — Wendy Schlotterbeck
Please see report.
The slate of committee members and other Meeting roles was distributed. Discussion centered around roles that are currently unoccupied.
Committee clerk also prepared a list of a number of ways people can support the life of the community without necessarily being on a committee, but perhaps being on part of a team that supports some aspect of Meeting life.
Important to check with current committee clerks about continuing in that role for another year.
The meeting expressed its gratitude for the comprehensive look at committees and individual participation in the life of the meeting.
6. Peace and Social Concerns Report — Ingrid Chalufour
Please see report.
The committee requests $1000 be sent to LACO, from the Charity account, in light of the temporary loss of SNAP benefits this fall. Appreciation was expressed for focusing on local issues and needs.
the request with funds to be distributed immediately.
7. Other Business
Note from Quarterly meeting: Janice Beattie, who has been the long-term pastor at Windham Meeting has stepped down after 30 years of service. Reverend Cheryl Cuddy will be assuming the position.
Respectfully Submitted, Ellen Bennett, Recording Clerk
From the Friends General Conference website, November 12, 2025
Friends General Conference Adopts New Governance Model, by Rashid Darden
The newly adopted governance model aims to better serve meetings, broaden service opportunities, and strengthen inclusion.
Friends General Conference (FGC), a North American association of Quaker meetings, has adopted a new governance structure. The change aims to better serve meetings, enhance diversity, expand volunteer opportunities, and align decision-making with FGC’s mission and values.
The decision came during FGC’s Central Committee Annual Sessions after several years of discernment. Sessions were held October 23–26 at the Mother Boniface Spirituality Center in northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Outlined in the FGC Governance Working Group Final Report, the new model replaces the long-standing Central and Executive Committee system. It creates a two-tier structure composed of a Governing Board and a Representatives Council. This framework meets Pennsylvania’s legal requirements for membership associations and helps FGC stay responsive to its members.
The Governing Board, with 12 to 22 members, will meet at least quarterly. It will handle fiduciary oversight, budget approval, and the appointment and evaluation of the General Secretary. The board will also guide the organization’s overall direction and spiritual integrity.
The Representatives Council will serve as a larger, participatory body. It connects FGC’s affiliated meetings, program committees, and staff. Meeting several times a year, the Council promotes communication, discernment, and collaboration across FGC’s network of Friends. It also approves members of the Governing Board, ensuring accountability within the association.
This structure simplifies representation for affiliated meetings. Each Yearly Meeting will now name two representatives instead of using proportional representation. This change makes participation easier and allows meetings to balance their work with FGC and other Quaker organizations. Monthly Meetings directly affiliated with FGC will also have representatives, deepening community connection.
The new framework advances FGC’s commitment to equity. It creates dedicated representation for Friends of Color, Young Adult Friends, Young Friends, and LGBTQ+ Friends. These voices will play an active role in shaping decisions and direction. Built-in evaluation and accountability measures will track FGC’s progress toward diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism goals. Together, these steps strengthen FGC’s vision of an interracial, intergenerational community guided by Spirit.
Friends also asked for clearer boundaries between governance and program work. Previously, representatives were expected to serve on both the Central Committee and a program committee, which required a heavy time commitment. Now, Friends can choose to serve in governance, program work, or both. This flexibility opens more paths for participation.
Leadership continuity remains strong. Marvin Barnes of Detroit (MI) Friends Meeting (Lake Erie Yearly Meeting) will continue as Presiding Clerk. Treasurer Colby Abazs of Duluth-Superior (MN) Friends Meeting (Northern Yearly Meeting) and Recording Clerk David Nachman will also continue in their roles. Melissa Rycroft of Pennsdale (PA) Monthly Meeting (Philadelphia Yearly Meeting) has been appointed Rising Presiding Clerk and will assume the position in 2026.
The governance overhaul emerged from deep consultation and reflection across the FGC community. The Governance Working Group, led by clerk Paul Mangelsdorf of Atlanta (GA) Monthly Meeting (SAYMA) and supported by FGC Treasurer Colby Abazs, guided the process. FGC also honors former Associate Secretary for Organizational Cultural Transformation Vanessa Julye of Kea’au (HI) Friends Worship Group. Her leadership and recent retirement mark the close of decades of faithful service.
FGC leaders describe the new model as a more faithful, responsive, and inclusive system. It aims to sustain FGC’s mission of nurturing Quaker spiritual life and witness for years to come.
For more information or to read the full Governance Working Group report, visit the FGC Governance Restructure hub.
Lisbon Area Christian Outreach (the food pantry we support) will hold a Christmas Craft Fair on December 6, 2025, from 8am to 4pm at the Lisbon Falls Baptist Church, 555 Lisbon Street, Lisbon Falls, Maine.
The agenda and materials for the November 16, 2025 business meeting of Durham Friends is HERE.
Durham Monthly Meeting of Friends
Agenda – November 16, 2025
Clerk: Ingrid Chalufour
For the message at Durham Friends Meeting on November 9, Jeanne Baker Stinson read Encounter, a children’s book by Brittany Luby (writer) and Michaela Goade (illustrator). The publisher (Little, Brown) describes it as “A powerful imagining by two Native creators of a first encounter between two very different people that celebrates our ability to acknowledge difference and find common ground.”
From Storytime Trail: “Based on an actual journal entry by French explorer Jacques Cartier from his first expedition to North America in July 1534, this story imagines the first encounter between a European sailor and a Stadaconan fisher.
“As the two navigate their differences (language, dress, food) with curiosity, the natural world around them notes their similarities. The seagull observes their like shadows, the mosquito notes their equally appealing blood, the mouse enjoys the crumbs both people leave behind.
“This story explores how encounters can create community and celebrates varying perspectives and the natural world. It is at once specific and universal. It’s a story based on a primary document and historical research, but it is in equal measure beautifully imagined. It makes room for us to recognize our differences while celebrating our shared humanity.”
From the November 2025 New England Yearly Meeting newsletter: Since a seminal spiritual experience when I was 17, I have felt God’s love over me as a cloud of love. This cloud has been hovering, leading, following and protecting even when I forget it’s there. And sometimes love breaks through in the words of others I meet or in raindrops. As I grieve and fret about the pain I see in the world, I think about the words I heard from Steve Chase at a Quaker Gathering in 2011: Build Community, Have Fun, Take Action and Do it Now.  Another person who offers me wisdom and hope is a Penobscot leader and activist, Sherri Mitchell. I heard her speak right after the election about feeling hope that we’ll finally realize that building community is paramount to saving the earth and each other.Last April she invited anyone who desired to join her, to a ”Walk for Peace and Friendship.” Many people joined the 10-day walk from Indian Island to Augusta, Maine, praying with our feet and sending love and peace into the world. During the 7 miles on Saturday, we walked through a steady rain. It was a blessed experience as I walked in the rain, the falling drops from the clouds above both washed and filled me with love. A few weeks ago on a sunny, blue sky fall day, I went to the top of the Penobscot Narrows Observatory for the spectacular 360-degree views of the sparkling Penobscot River and backdrop of extraordinary foliage. This river is home to Sherri and her community. I was reminded again of her words about water and struggles of the Penobscot people to save their ancestor, the river.From the November 2025 New England Yearly Meeting Newsletter  Two weeks ago, I attended a very beautiful, fun and meaningful concert titled “We Are Water.” The blend of Indigenous music, stories, puppets, and wisdom, against the backdrop of photos and videos of the Penobscot River and other bodies of water was powerful. The loving collaboration, humor, integrity, and creativity among the Indigenous artists and YoYo Ma was a joy to witness. The audience was challenged to take the joy, beauty and love we witnessed and let it ripple out like a pebble dropped into water. What is the role of water in your life? What pebbles can you drop to ripple out to our broken world? With gratitude for the many circles of community in my life and God’s faithful cloud of love, Wendy Schlotterbeck |
Beginning November 9 and continuing on the second and Fourth Sundays of every month until
March, we will be offering Quaker Basics, 9:30 to 10:15 AM, in the meeting room, and on Zoom. All are welcome.
We will be using chapters from New England Yearly Meeting’s current Faith and Practice, a
proposed chapter on Testimonies and videos and other sources. Please join us for any session, or
for the whole series.
To begin, we will read and discuss “A Brief History of Friends in New England” (LINK)
in November. If you want a printed copy, just let us know by emailing durham@neym.org and we will make it available.
And, if you want a preview, check out this QuakerSpeak video, where a different account of that history is offered (LINK).
The Durham Friends Woman’s Society met on October 20, 2025 for a hybrid meeting.
Present: Dorothy Curtis, Nancy Marstaller, Susan Gilbert, Sarah Sprogell, Joyce Gibson, Qat Langlier, Dorothy Hinshaw.
Cards: For Friends.
Program and Devotions: We took turns reading from the new Blueprints: “Kindness the Action of Love” by Shelly Kirby. Scripture: Proverbs 31:26. Hymn “Love Lifted Me”. The author, a member of Archdale, NC Friends Quaker Meeting wrote of a dear elder Friend, Miss Florence, who in her long life treated everyone with kindness. Her family decorated the Meeting House for Christmas over the years. She loved and cared for family, friends and church community, in all things with loving kindness. We discussed our sense of the importance of loving kindness in our Meeting and lives.
Treasurer’s Report: Nancy said we received $20 for memberships and $10 toward Blueprints. She paid $70 to the USFW-NE for members (7). Our current balance is $301.95, including the $281.75 for LACO, donations from jam made by Dorothy Curtis.
Minutes: Nancy read her 9.15.2025 minutes.
Tedford Meal: The Oct. 6 Tedford meal was nachos, chili, savory corn pudding, chocolate zucchini cake, oranges, milk and cider. Durham Friends provide dinner for Tedford House on the first Monday of each month. The Nov. 3 Tedford meal Team F leader is Leslie Manning, (207)319-0342. Contributions of prepared food or money for Tedford meals are always welcome.
Next Meeting: November 17, 7 PM at Nancy Marstaller’s home.
Other Business:
* Silent Auction in November – Items and Bidders Needed *
The Woman’s Society will hold a silent auction the last three Sundays in November. Proceeds will go to Tedford Housing and the Warm Thy Neighbor programs.
Dorothy closed the meeting with words of Thomas A Kempis:
Have confidence in God’s mercy, for when you think . He is a long way from you, He is…near.
Respectfully Submitted, Susan Gilbert
Durham Monthly Meeting of Friends Business Meeting Minutes, October 19, 2025
Ellen Bennett — Recording Clerk
Durham Monthly Meeting of Friends met for the conduct of business on Sunday, October 19, 2025, with twelve people in attendance at the Meetinghouse and two by Zoom.
1. Meeting Opening
Clerk opened with reading from Thomas Kelly’s A Testament of Devotion.
“There is a way of ordering our mental life on more than one level at once. On one level we may be thinking, discussing, seeing, calculating, meeting all the demands of external affairs. But deep within, behind the scenes, at a profounder level, we may also be in prayer and adoration, song and worship and a gentle receptiveness to divine breathings.
“The secular world of today values and cultivates only the first level, assured that there is where the real business of mankind is done, and scorns, or smiles in tolerant amusement, at the cultivation of the second level — a luxury enterprise, a vestige of superstition, an occupation for special temperaments. But in a deeply religious culture men know that the deep level of prayer and of divine attendance is the most important thing in the world. It is at this deep level that the real business of life is determined. The secular mind is an abbreviated, fragmentary mind, building only upon a part of man’s nature and neglecting a part — the most glorious part — of man’s nature, powers, and resources. The religious mind involves the whole of man, embraces his relations with time within their true ground and sitting in the Eternal Lover. It ever keeps close to the fountains of divine creativity. In lowliness it knows joys and stabilities, peace and assurances, that are utterly incomprehensible to the secular mind. It lives in resources and powers that make individuals radiant and triumphant, groups tolerant and bonded together in mutual concern, and is bestirred to an outward life of unremitting labor. ”
2. Approval of Minutes of September 2025
The Meeting approved the Minutes of the September 21, 2025 Business Meeting
3. Trustees Report — Sarah Sprogell
Please see report. The Meeting affirmed its gratitude for the work of Trustees.
4. Ministry and Counsel — Renee Cote
Please see report.
Renee Cote, Doug Bennett and Sarah Sprogell will be the representatives of Durham Friends at Quarterly Meeting on Saturday, October 25, which will take place in the Durham Friends Meetinghouse.
The recommendation was made that the Meeting Care Coordinator (MCC) be funded through 2026, and that Leslie Manning continue in the position.
Meeting approved continuing the MCC position through 2026.
Meeting approved Leslie Manning as the MCC position through 2026.
Note that the 5th Sunday in November is the first Sunday in Advent. Therefore, we will be having a programmed Meeting for Worship.
5. Woman’s Society — Dorothy Curtis
No report.
6. Peace & Social Concerns — Ingrid Chalufour
No report.
7. Finance Committee Report — Nancy Marstaller
No report.
8. Other business
Would anyone be led to form an ad hoc choir for Christmas-time? The annual Christmas program will be Sunday, December 21st. There was much enthusiasm for this idea, and two names came up as possible choir conductors/organizers.
Discussion ensued about placement of the projector and computer for the Zoom setup. Suggestions for improvements will be brought to Ministry and Counsel.
9. Meeting Closing
Business Meeting was adjourned with appreciation for everyone’s input and the beautiful fall day.
Respectfully Submitted, Ellen Bennett, Recording Clerk
Acting on the request of New England Yearly Meeting Sessions 2025, a called meeting of New England Friends, convened by the Permanent Board, was held on October 18, 2025 to seek where we were led to act on the ongoing crisis in Palestine and Israel. The full minutes of the meeting can be found here. The deep and rich worship of those gathered at that meeting led us to find unity on a minute of actions and queries (see Minute 25-*1). While it cannot be expected that we all act on every one of the nine points in this minute, I ask that you bring this minute to your monthly meeting and consider which actions speak to your meeting and find ways to bring them alive. A minute is just words on paper until we bring them to life.
The gathered meeting found unity to endorse the Joint Quaker Organizations Statement on genocide in Gaza; a powerful statement that calls on its signatories and countries world-wide to take steps that will end the cycle of violence and violations of human rights in Israel and Palestine. By joining with many other Quaker bodies, we bring a united voice saying, “We hold in the Light all suffering peoples and leaders, praying they choose justice. In
Palestine and Israel, peace built on equality is the only path forward.” (see Minute 25-*2)
The final minute of the called meeting charged the Presiding Clerk, the Clerk of Permanent Board and the Israel-Palestine Resource Group to convene to explore, in consultation with those with experience in the region and who could provide context on the ground, the idea of sending witnesses to Gaza from the Yearly Meeting (see Minute 25-*3). After this consideration, this group will bring a recommendation forward to Permanent Board for their discernment. Details and advance documents for the Permanent Board meeting will be posted here when available.
Yours in peace, Phillip Veatch, presiding clerk; Susan Davies, clerk, Permanent Board
Minute 25-*1 from Called Meeting on Gaza held October 18, 2025
1. Engage with the AFSC Palestinian Program in their Fall 2025 efforts: Read, Mourn, Learn and Act; and consider taking up steps in the program in your monthly meeting.
https://afsc.org/news/6-ways-you-can-support-palestinians-gaza
2. Support Jewish neighbors
These two years have been deeply challenging in the Jewish Community. Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) is an incredible organization, but for years it has been demonized by APAIC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee )and others, so it isn’t always easy to turn to. There are increasing numbers of individuals who are horrified by what is being done supposedly in their name. It can be incredibly hard to speak up, but it is happening. How do we as individuals reach out to these folks and help them find their voices? What support do they need?
How do we support our Jewish neighbors who are targets of antisemitic actions? How can meetings and individuals reach out to Jewish communities and be clear of our support for their human rights and dignity regardless of political affinities?
3. Learn more about tax resistance and how to support those making this choice.
Next conference is November 7–9, 2025 at Worcester Friends Meetinghouse
4. Support those in or considering military service who struggle with conscience
5. Travel to the area and bear witness to the suffering. Contact us at https://neym.org/israel-palestine-resource-group to connect with those who have.
6. Provide financial support for the relief of suffering:
Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, https://www.pcrf.net/
AFSC Gaza relief https://afsc.org/news/afscs-gaza-emergency-relief
Support Ramallah Friends School in the West Bank, which lost US AID funding:
7. Invite your Meeting to hold this discussion:
Peace and Reconciliation
Do you “live in the virtue of that life and power that takes away the occasion of all wars”?
Do you faithfully maintain Friends’ testimony against military preparations and all participation in war, as inconsistent with the teachings and spirit of Christ?
Do you strive to increase understanding and use of nonviolent methods of resolving conflicts?
Do you take your part in the ministry of reconciliation between individuals, groups, and nations?
When discouraged, do you remember that Jesus said, “Peace is my parting gift to you, my own peace, such the world cannot give. Set your troubled hearts at rest, and banish your fears”? John 14:27 NEB
(NEYM 1985 Faith and Practice, Query 12)
8. Discussion of Britain Yearly Meeting’s Statement on Genocide in Gaza
Adapted for United States Friends by Quakers for Peace:
9. And, finally, how do we hold ourselves accountable? Can the Israel Palestine Resource Group assist Meetings and Quarters in discerning what is ours to do?
Friends approved this minute.
Minute 25-*2 from Called Meeting on Gaza held October 18, 2025
The clerk asked if the body gathered was comfortable having the Presiding Clerk and the Yearly Meeting Secretary endorse the AFSC statement, mindful of the Policy on Public Statements (2015-57). “Quakers discern genocide is occurring in Gaza and urge courageous action.”
Friends approved this minute.
Thursday, November 20, 2025
5:30-7:00 Make Basket-Weave Christmas Ornaments with Dorothy Curtis
Advance sign-up required. Details forthcoming.
6:30-8:00 Cafe with Live Music by Craig Freshley
Drop in. No sign-up. All welcome. Details forthcoming.
Future Maker Cafes:
NEYM will hold a series of workshops on November 15, 2025, 9:00 to 3:00, that may be of interest to Friends. Schedule of the day and additional information below
First Parish Church
75 Great Rd
Bedford, MA 01730
United States
Here is the list of workshops to be held:
| Quaker Group Discernment: Clerking, Recording, and Active Participation Great for: New and experienced committee, board, or meeting clerks. New and experience committee, board, or meeting recording clerks. Any Friend who wants to develop & deepen their understanding & skills in discernment and Quaker process. |
| Best Practices in Nominating Great for: Friends serving on nominating committeesAnyone who yearns to draw out gifts and grow leadership in our Quaker communitiesFriends with a concern for healthy relationships and healthy functioning in our Quaker meetings. |
| Setting the Table for Newcomers Great for: Friends looking to share and hear ideas related to outreach Friends working to create a culture of welcome in their meeting. Friends concerned for connecting seekers and new Quakers with adult religious education opportunitiesFriends passionate about working towards a healthy future for our meetings. |
| Emerging Conversations About Ministry and Eldership in Our Meetings Great for: Friends serving on Ministry & Counsel (or similar role) in their meeting. Any Friends seeking to enrich the spiritual life at their meetingFriends bringing questions, resources, or experiences to share related to ministry and eldership in meetings. |
Do you serve your local Quaker meeting? Are you looking to connect with others serving in similar roles to discuss challenges and explore best practices? Join us for Meeting Care Day, an in-person event featuring multiple workshop options related to specific service areas. Before and after the morning and afternoon workshop sessions, we will gather for worship and fellowship, making for an energizing day.
All workshops are three hours, broken into two 90-minute sessions. Participants choose one workshop to participate in throughout the day. This year, participants can choose from one of four workshops:
Best Practices in Nominating
Nominating is an essential way we draw out gifts and grow leadership in our Quaker communities. Nominators sit at the intersection of the meeting’s needs and individual spiritual journeys. This work is deeply relationship-based and involves seeing the “big picture” of our ever-evolving meeting communities as well as the details involved in getting various tasks done. In many of our meetings, nominators quietly and lovingly engage in the one-on-one conversations that help our meetings thrive. This workshop, which will be of special interest to Friends serving on nominating committees, will provide a place to share best practices and unpack challenges in nominating. Facilitated by Lucy Meadows (Beacon Hill) and Jackie Stillwell (Monadnock).
Quaker Group Discernment: Clerking, Recording, and Active Participation
Join New England Friends’ new Presiding Clerk Phillip Veatch (Fresh Pond) and other Friends to develop and deepen skills in Quaker group discernment and decision-making processes used in our meetings, organizations, and committees including the particular functions of clerk and recording clerk. This workshop is designed to be of use to both those new to and experienced with Friends’ practices. Whether you are currently serving as clerk or recording clerk in a local meeting or on a committee or you are hoping to strengthen your participation in discernment outside a particular role, you are welcome.
Emerging Conversations About Ministry and Eldership in Our Meetings
What conversations regarding ministry and eldership are happening (or not happening) in our meetings? What guidance, practices, and resources are Friends able to offer one another in seeking to enrich the spiritual life within our meetings? What new challenges and opportunities are emerging, as we live into these unsettled times? Whether you serve on your meeting’s Ministry & Counsel committee or otherwise hold a concern for the spiritual health of your meeting, we invite you to join an exploratory conversation and resource-sharing opportunity. Facilitated by Janet Hough (Cobscook), clerk, NEYM Ministry & Counsel.
Setting the Table for Newcomers
In each of our local communities, there are spiritually hungry seekers yearning to connect. How can we extend a living invitation and set the table to feed newcomers and long-time Friends alike? Join us for a conversation about outreach, welcome, religious education, building belonging, renewal, and change in our Friends communities. Conversation starters will include Emily Mason who followed a leading to begin the Orchard Hill Worship Group in New Hampshire and Phil Fitz who was led to develop the Elements of Quakerism course to move Friends past Quakerism 101 in his home meeting in Northampton, MA and beyond, and Regina McCarthy who has been a part of Wellesley Meeting’s varied efforts to welcome newcomers and families. Facilitated by Program Director Nia Thomas (Northampton).
Ready to register? Go here.
Questions or suggestions? Contact Program Director Nia Thomas.
Peace and Social Concerns Committee would like to call our attention to the emerging food crisis with the interruption of SNAP benefits during the federal government shutdown. P&SC urges DFM folks to be especially generous in contributions to local food banks and pantries.
Here’s a statewide initiative to support food banks.
At Durham Friends Meeting on October 19, 2025, three women from the Meeting shared reflections on their experiences at the 4th Annual Global Matriarchs Gathering sponsored by the Land Peace Foundation.
from Linda Muller:
This August women gathered at the Land Peace Foundation in Monroe. This was the fourth Global Matriarchs Gathering and my second.
The spiritual influences on me are an amalgam of many interactions with indigenous women over the years, including the series of Healing Turtle Island gatherings some of you are familiar with and the recent Walk for Peace and Friendship.
Much of this activity is now being framed as, “let’s create the world we wish to inhabit and pass down to our grandchildren”. And” let’s show our deep gratitude to our earth, for generously sustaining us from our very origins”.
At the Matriarchs Gathering-we first acknowledged that we humans are all one family and that women have a unique spiritual role across cultures. We bring forth the next generation of children and we have a special responsibility to attend to that which sustains all aspects of life.
We acknowledged that we are confronted, now, with men needing our attention, in a manner that conveys self and mutual respect. We noted that some tender hearted men we know are suffering under cultural influences to restrict emotional display to anger and violence, only. We see that their impulse to nurture, provide and protect is often thwarted by our economic system.
We acknowledged the concept of ‘rugged individualism’, which may lead us to to believe we’re to solve our own problems individually. This concept also specifies that if we do not succeed in tending to our own needs (with the limited resources of our nuclear families) the problem is due to our lack of initiative.
Special challenges for those of European ancestry were noted; that centuries of violence, feudalism (with its repression of workers on the land), conquest and the forming of kingdoms left a trail of forgotten land grabs and trauma many generations deep. Periodic changes in attitude about religion and the role of women and earth based spirituality; the emergence of the institution of Christianity with its Inquisition, more conquest and displacement, witch burnings and torture generated fear and rejection of diversity.
When our relatives immigrated to Turtle Island (North America) many ties to our ancestry were severed, no cell phones then. Many of us have lost the knowledge of our ancient ancestors, their community based celebrations, ceremonies and earth based spiritual practices. This can leave us feeling like we’re standing in a open field with no protection but the naked knowledge of science. Balancing this with our spiritual, emotional and physical well-being requires community, ceremony, celebration, belonging, sharing and caring for each other.
As we move forward now, rigid gender roles and rugged individualism (medicated by the temporary satisfactions of consumerism) are not supporting the mutuality and love we need to create the world we want to inhabit.
I came away from the Matriarchs gathering with renewed hope that:
Acting on the world we want to inhabit is our responsibility and we each bring valuable, unique gifts and talents to this.
Thank you.
A few days ago, Friends United Meeting sent out the following sad story. If you are not familiar with FUM, you can learn more HERE. New England Yearly Meeting (to which Durham Friends belongs) is itself oner of the member Yearly Meetings of FUM.
 |
October 23, 2025 The North American and Caribbean Board of Friends United Meeting write:Dear Friends, We will put the bad news first: at our current income and expenditure rate, FUM will not have sufficient operating funds to remain open by July of 2026.We understand that this may come as shocking news, and we’re taking some actions to improve the situation. Keep reading to learn more.The Board has been aware of the magnitude of our financial crisis for several months now; in late spring, we were startled to learn that we were not certain we would make payroll. Rather than release bad news in a piecemeal fashion, we took some time to fully understand the problem. We assessed all our various forms of income and expenditures, looked at historical trends to understand how much of our current situation is temporary and how much is an ongoing problem, asked Lloyd Stangeland of Iowa Yearly Meeting to serve as our temporary CFO, and worked to reconcile bookkeeping errors.Over time, overall giving to FUM has risen—especially for designated ministry work. What has not kept pace is support for the Ministry Support Fund, which covers the administrative expenses of FUM’s work. While most of our individual ministries have sufficient funding for themselves, for the past several months our administrative expenses have exceeded income by an average of about $34,000 a month. In the past twenty years, contributions from Yearly Meetings that funded our administrative work have decreased significantly. Individual donations have risen, but not quickly enough to make up the difference. The costs of doing our work have risen tremendously. We also experienced unexpected complications with a transfer between bookkeeping systems, which obscured the seriousness of our financial predicament.We, the Board, are profoundly sorry to Friends for the role our own inaction has played in this crisis. Our audits have not been done in a timely fashion, internal financial controls have been missing, and we did not ensure that good accounting practices were being followed. We have not been careful enough in reviewing financial information given to us or in developing the ability of new board members to understand FUM’s complex financial structure. In response to this crisis, we are taking several steps… Read the rest of the letter from the Board here (link opens as a PDF). If you have questions, you can use the Contact List below to get in touch with your representatives or other members of the Board. The Board is meeting in a called session on Friday, October 24th, to consider the Fiscal Year 2026 budget. Please pray that Board members will be open to hearing God’s wisdom and able to hear how the Spirit is calling Friends forward.In Peace, Sarah Lookabill Presiding Clerk of the Friends United Meeting Board |
Resource Documents (links open as PDFs): Further Financial Information North American and Caribbean Board Contact List Copyright © 2025 Friends United Meeting, All rights reserved. |
From Ministry and Counsel:
On November 9 we will begin our adult education program with an introduction to
Quakerism.
The sessions will be held on the second and fourth Sundays from 9:30 to 10:15 from
November through March, both in the meetinghouse and on Zoom. Leslie and Joyce will be the
initial facilitators. After the first session we will focus on the Quaker testimonies as presented in
Faith and Practice, with sharing about how particular testimonies have influenced us.
The old two-holer at the end of the horse shed. It needed to be available the day we celebrated the 250th because our well pump had failed, disabling the indoor plumbing.
The reports and other materials for the October 19, 2025 DMM Business Meeting are HERE.
Durham Monthly Meeting Agenda, October 19, 2025
1. Approval of September minutes
2. Trustees
3. Ministry and Counsel
4. Woman’s Society
5. Peace and Social Concerns
6. Finance
7. Other business
References and links from Leslie Manning’s message at Durham Friends Meeting, October 12, 2025.
“Hold fast the Hope that anchors the soul, which is sure and steadfast, that you may sail above the world’s seas.” George Fox’s Letter to Friends in America (Epistle 314). [Note: Fox’s Epistle to Friends in America is based in Hebrews 6:19]
New England Yearly Meeting Called Meeting on Gaza Sat. October 18, 3-6 PM on Zoom: https://neym.org/events-calendar/2025/10/called-meeting-gaza
Statement from Eight Quaker organizations on Genocide in Gaza: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uOryTVQSzVIhsGfyvJC_Z0yeHy3QQN1F/view
Quakers and the Holocaust: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/quakers
Falmouth Quarter will meet on October 25th from 9:30 – 3:30 at Durham Meeting Meeting (or by zoom, link password 1775). We invite you to come and share about the life and spirit in your meetings. Our hope is that our entire time together is a time of worship, with laughter, business, connections and fellowship. All are welcome.
We invite you to come and share about the life and spirit in your meetings. Our hope is that our entire time together is a time of worship, with laughter, business, connections and fellowship. All are welcome.
The schedule for our time together is:
· 9:30 gather
· 10:00 Meeting for business – agenda at end of this announcement
· 12:00 break, brown bag lunch – there is a stove, microwave and tea kettle in the kitchen.
· 1:00 Afternoon program:
Description of the afternoon program:
“Rekindle the gift of God that is in you… for God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control” (2 Tim 1:6-7). “Behold I will do a new thing” Isaiah 43:19
We are living in different times, do we have the what we need now? How can we find our spiritual bearings in the face of the institutional cruelty locally, nationally and internationally? What is the Truth that is needed now and how do we tell it’s story?
We will listen to the story as told in Isaiah that the community learned to tell during the exile in Babylon, and listen to the story told in Ramallah by Jean Zaru in the present time.
Through their stories, we expect to begin to find new threads of Truth that speaks to our current condition — the story that we need today. A story that equips, empowers and encourages us.
Agenda for business meeting:
· One of the essential responsibilities of a Quarter is to pay attention to and nurture the spiritual health, experience and ministry in the monthly meetings of the Quarter. Please come prepared to share about the life of your meeting.
· Report from Annual Sessions –
o The concern brought by Falmouth Quarter about supporting LGBTQAI+ communities and especially Transgendered folks.
o Our experience of the bible half hours brought by Kirenia Criado Perez
o Other
· Treasurers report, approving the budget, approving donations.
· Approving the Quaker representative to the Maine Council of Churches.
· Approving the dates and suggesting topics for Quarterly meetings for the coming year.
Message given at Durham Friends Meeting, October 5, 2025, on the occasion of Durham Friends Meeting’s 250th Anniversary and also World Quaker ay 2025
Today, October 5, is World Quaker Day, a day for Quakers around the world to recognize and celebrate one another – and worship, too, in one worldwide community. Across the globe, Quakers are gathering today, holding hands with one another across the miles. Kenya to Kansas; Norway to New Zealand; Bolivia to Brigflats in England; Durham in England to Durham in North Carolina to Durham in Maine. We join in that celebration.
We are also gathered today to celebrate 250 years of this Meeting. This Meeting began before people in this country declared their Independence and founded a new nation. We do not know the exact date, but sometime in 1775, Quakers first gathered here in Durham, Maine for worship. Those first members worshipped in the house of one or two of those earliest members. So we have chosen to celebrate this 250th anniversary on World Quaker Day 2025.
A celebration: is this what we are having? We celebrate birthdays. We do that with a cake and candles. We celebrate the 4th of July, the beginning of our new nation. We do that with hot dogs and fireworks. We celebrate triumphs. We do that with parades and cheers. But how about a Quaker Meeting that has existed for centuries? Is this a celebration? Is it an occasion for taking pride? It’s hard not to feel some pride, but should that we the center of our experience of the day? I think we celebrate such a day with gratitude and with worship.
There is a story here, a story of faithfulness, I’m thinking. Just like the Bible, read cover to cover, is a story of faithfulness. We should tell that story, but no one can tell the whole story and certainly not in fifteen minutes. It is a story of a shared journey, and no one of us was present for the whole journey. Certainly none of us gathered here today were present at these beginnings. We are inheritors of those who journeyed before us, seeking and striving to build a Beloved Community. And for that inheritance we are grateful.
Where does the journey begin? A long, long time ago.
Each week when we gather, we remind ourselves that we gather on Abenaki land. The Abenaki were here in this place for thousands of years before there were Quaker settlers here. And we are grateful to them for their stewardship of this beautiful place. These were our first neighbors; we’ve had many others.
We are grateful for those neighbors, and for the many others who have been our neighbors here in the Androscoggin Valley, in a place we today call Durham. We have neighbors farther afield, too: those who have worshipped here once or many times and now live elsewhere. For instance we have neighbors in Cuba, at Velasco, our sister Meeting, and in Cuba Yearly Meeting. “Love Your Neighbor” is the theme of this year’s World Quaker Day around the globe.
A little closer to the present, in 1652, George Fox preached at Firbank Fell in England to a large gathering of seekers. Perhaps that’s the beginning of what we know as Quakerism. He gathered people in worship. In 1657, just five years later, the small ship Woodhouse took eleven Quakers on a voyage to the Americas that eventually landed them in Rhode Island. I think that’s a part of the story.
Those on the Woodhouse had a fitful journey. Robert Fowler, who built the boat and was their captain, wrote about going ashore one day. He says, “they gathered sticks and kindled a fire, and left it burning.” That’s pretty dodgy as a contemporary environmental practice, but it’s an arresting metaphor of tending and spreading the Light. It’s what we do week by week, year by year: We gather sticks, we kindle a fire, we leave it burning. It’s a welcome we offer, and an invitation to know God’s will, gathered here with others.
In 1661, just four years after the Woodhouse, we have the first gathering of New England Yearly Meeting. We are grateful to be a part of New England Yearly Meeting all these years.
1775, 250 years ago, is the first gathering of Friends in worship here in Durham. 1790 we acquire this land, purchasing this plot from a Quaker family that had purchased a larger plot. In 1800 we built a new larger Meetinghouse. In 1829, we built this new brick Meetinghouse, where we have gathered in worship ever since – and gathered, too, for pot-luck suppers, for singing hymns and singing folk songs, for plant sales, for fellowship – and for many, many other purposes. We invite others to use our Meetinghouse as well.
There is so much that has happened here over our 250 years of worship together.
For many years there were separate entrances for men and women. Men and women also sat separately, and they held business sessions separately, at least until 1881. This despite women being leaders in this meeting, and among Quakers generally, right from the beginning. I do not know when we removed the separate entrances or the sliding partition: sometime in the 19th century.
Over the 250 years, there were schisms in Quakerism, sometimes bitter divisions. Hicksite Quakers contended with Orthodox Quakers in the 1820s and for decades after. But not so much here in New England. At Durham we were relatively untouched by that schism. A few decades later, a visit from English Quaker Joseph John Guerney brought a revitalized evangelical thrust to American Quakers, and that was felt here in Maine. Our fondness for hymn singing probably stems from that renewal.
In 1914, we hired a pastor for the first time, a woman named Laura Ellison In doing that, we were a minority among Friends in the east coast of America, but joined with a majority of Friends around the world. We had a pastor for about 100 years, until recently, when we decided that we would continue having a prepared message most First Days, but have no pastor. Through all our years, we have especially wanted a time of still and silent worship in which anyone present may feel called to rise and speak as they are led by God, by the Holy Spirit, by the Inner Light. We do not insist on any one way of speaking of the source.
We remember fondly many of those pastors: Dwight Wilson, Ralph Greene, Jim Douglas, Peter Crysdale, Daphne Clement, Doug Gwyn, just some of these pastors. We have also been blessed by our elders, people we regard as unusually faithful and wise. This morning I’ll just name a few who departed from this life in the memory of those present: Beatrice Douglas, Louis and Clarabel Marstaller, Margaret Wentworth, Sukie Rice. For all these Friends, we are grateful.
Throughout our history, we seem to have been a Meeting with a relatively wide tolerance for differing theological understandings. Quakers in general, and this Meeting in particular, have no Creed. There are no beliefs to which one must swear allegiance. We trust one another in our faith journeys, our lifelong efforts to find God’s will. We gather in silence to hear what God is saying to us, and speak what we find when we feel moved to offer ministry.
An 1899 history of Durham describes the Friends as “quiet, industrious, honest and devout.” I suppose that was accurate as far as it went, but we’ve always been more than that.
In our shared worship, many of us find ourselves compelled to take action. That has been a thread throughout Durham Meeting’s history, but there has been quite a variety in the ‘leadings’ (that’s what we call them) to which we find ourselves drawn. Many from Durham Friends served as missionaries both here in the U.S. and abroad, in Ramallah Palestine, for example, and in Africa. For many years we had a vacation Bible school. Friends from this Meeting have served important leadership roles in New England Yearly Meeting and with other Friends organizations. We have supported an orphanage in Kenya.
Today, our Woman’s Society offers a monthly meal at Tedford housing. We support the LACO Food Pantry; we donate to Women’s Shelters in Maine. We maintain three cemeteries that provide for simple burial of those departed. (Just this weekend, a man named Po, born in Hong Kong, was buried in Lunt Cemetery.). We donate mittens and coats in the winter, and to funds to provide home heating for those in need. Friends from this Meeting are active in prison ministry efforts, in peace vigils, in efforts to end gun violence, in efforts to improve education in social justice, in support for migrants and refugees. I could go on.
We worship as a community; have done for all our history. We’re not just a collection of individuals; what we do, we do together. We support one another; we gather strength in being together. I especially appreciate what Noah Merrill, the superintendent of New England Yearly Meeting, had to say at Annual Sessions this year. He voices our hope, our commitment:
“The Religious Society of Friends, our local meetings, were never meant to be places for the welcoming, respectful practice of hyper-individualism. The discovery and nurture of these fellowships, centered in worship, was always intended to help Friends gather and be gathered by the Spirit into local covenant communities—
And all of this, all these fruits of this journey together, however imperfect, are our Testimony.
“But there is one thing needful. We must not allow ourselves to fall into despair of the living water, even in this parched wilderness. It is the witness of countless generations, who like us suffered and struggled and mourned and rejoiced and lived and died in faith, that the Life and Power we seek is closer than breath to us, always seeking new channels through which Love might continue to come into the world.”
We’ve been here 250 years. A long time. We celebrate that new beginning in 1775 here today. This morning, this beautiful morning, however, I’m thinking the story doesn’t begin 250 years ago. It doesn’t begin a few thousand years ago with the coming of the Abenaki into this valley. It doesn’t begin at Firbank Fell with Fox speaking to gathered seekers. It doesn’t begin with the voyage of the Woodhouse or the founding of New England Yearly Meeting. The story begins with time itself. It begins, as it always does and always should, with God.
From their beginnings, Quakers have been especially drawn to the Gospel of John. Most of you know the beginning of that Gospel, that telling of the story.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
This day is an occasion for recommitting ourselves to what was done on that First Day when Friends gathered in Durham 250 years ago, and on the First Day a week later, and on the First Day after that, and so on for about 13,000 First Days. We gather here in worship. We gather to hear what God has to say to us. We gather to hear what God would have us do after the rise of worship.
Like those who voyaged on the Woodhouse, “we gather sticks and kindle a fire, and leave it burning.”
As we prepare to settle into silent worship in the manner of Friends, will you join with me in reciting a very special song of gratitude, the 100th Psalm. It seems especially appropriate this day:
Psalm 100 (King James Version)
100 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise:
be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
Also posted on River View Friend
Durham Monthly Meeting of Friends met for the conduct of business on Sunday, September 21, 2025, with eleven people in attendance at the Meetinghouse and two by Zoom.
1. Meeting Opening
Ingrid Chalufour, serving as clerk pro-tem, opened the meeting with an excerpt from Amanda Gorman’s poem The Hill We Climb, written for President Biden’s inauguration, January 20, 2025:
This is the era of just redemption.
We feared it at its inception.
We did not feel prepared to be the heirs
Of such a terrifying hour.
But within it we’ve found the power
To author a new chapter,
To offer hope and laughter to ourselves.
So while once we asked: How could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert: How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was,
But move to what shall be:
A country that is bruised but whole,
Benevolent but bold,
Fierce and free.
We will not be turned around,
Or interrupted by intimidation,
Because we know our inaction and inertia
Will be the inheritance of the next generation.
Our blunders become their burdens.
But one thing is certain:
If we merge mercy with might, and might with right,
Then love becomes our legacy,
And change, our children’s birthright.
So let us leave behind a country better than the one we were left.
With every breath from our bronze-pounded chests,
We will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one.
We will rise from the gold-limned hills of the West!
We will rise from the windswept Northeast, where our forefathers first realized revolution!
We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the Midwestern states!
We will rise from the sunbaked South!
We will rebuild, reconcile, and recover,
In every known nook of our nation,
In every corner called our country,
Our people, diverse and dutiful.
We’ll emerge, battered but beautiful.
When day comes, we step out of the shade,
Aflame and unafraid.
The new dawn blooms as we free it,
For there is always light,
If only we’re brave enough to see it,
If only we’re brave enough to be it.
2. Approval of Clerk and Recording Clerk, pro-tem.
The Meeting approved Ingrid Chalufour as clerk pro-tem.
The Meeting approved Sarah Sprogell as recording clerk pro-tem for the meeting.
3. Approval of Minutes of July 2025
The Meeting approved the Minutes of the July 21, 2025 Business Meeting.
4. Finance Committee Report — Nancy Marstaller
Nancy reviewed the attached written and numerical reports for the first and second quarters of the year. She highlighted that our income is higher than usual for this time of year because of a large financial gift received at the beginning of the year, and a large interest payment when a CD was cashed in. On the expense side, Peace and Social Concerns’ spending is high but is balanced by a grant from Obadiah Brown’s Benevolent Fund and a donation from the Meeting Care Coordinator funds. Legal fees to resolve the Babcock estate have been an unexpected expense. Despite the over-budget items, however, we continue to be in good financial shape at this point in the year.
A suggestion was made that we encourage and promote weekly giving and direct deposit giving.
5. Trustees Report — Sarah Sprogell
Please see the written report for a summary of recent work done at the meetinghouse to replace our bulkhead and the meeting sign at the corner. It was suggested that we include a history of the “Quaker” star added to the sign, for those who are not familiar with it.
Trustees request the Meeting’s approval to spend up to an additional $10,000 for legal expenses that may be necessary to carry out the probate work needed to resolve the Babcock estate. A detailed report of the history and progress of this effort is attached. The next hearing date is October 22, 2025. There was a suggestion to consider mediation if that is appropriate.
This brings the total amount approved thus far to $20,000.
6. Ministry and Counsel — Renee Cote
M&C recommends that we ask Falmouth Quarterly Meeting to address our concerns about the current environment of cruelty being expressed towards immigrants and other targeted groups in our communities.
Meeting for worship on Nov. 2 will be a Meeting for Grieving. It will be a time to remember those who have passed away this year as well as other heartfelt losses.
M&C is planning an adult-hour series of Quaker instruction called Quaker Way, to be offered at 9:30am two Sundays a month, from November through March. There was a sense of gratitude and appreciation for this opportunity.
7. Peace & Social Concerns — Ingrid Chalufour
Ingrid reviewed the attached report of updates and activities including the October 4 movie night for World Quaker Day/DMMF 250th Anniversary, the Social Justice Book Project work at Kate Furbish Elementary School in Brunswick, and a teacher training conference focusing on Wabanaki curriculum being planned for January 2026. Please see the report for details.
8. Woman’s Society — Dorothy Curtis
Women’s Society would like to hold a silent auction in November.
The Meeting heartily approved.
9. Other business
The Town of Durham request for help with parade and/or other activities to celebrate the US 250th anniversary in 2026 – carry-over from July Monthly Meeting:
We did not reach unity on this request, and it was suggested that further discussion with a larger group of Friends would be beneficial. Leslie Manning will reach out to Durham to gather more information.
10. Maker Café Update —Kim Bolshaw
There was a knitting group at the September Makers session with an excellent instructor and 10 knitters. Many non-knitters also came for the conversation, meal and music. About half of those in attendance were not associated with the Meeting. Jenny, who bought the parsonage a few years ago, came for the first time, and also came to meeting for worship today! The music and food were enjoyed by all. Donations covered our expenses with $72 to spare.
11. Meeting Closing
Business Meeting was adjourned with appreciation for everyone’s input and the beautiful fall day.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sarah Sprogell, recording clerk pro-tem.
