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Note: No Business Meeting was held in August.

Religious Ed Committee: The start date for First Day School is Sept. 9 with an Orientation and Barbeque for members and attenders. Grilling meat, beverages and ice cream sundaes for dessert will be provided. Please bring a salad to share with others.

The First Day School curriculum begins on Sept. 16. Please see Alice Mercer-Medeiros to sign-up to volunteer to teach a First Day School lesson. First Day School pamphlets are available for recruitment and information purposes. You can find them on the bulletin boards in the community and meetinghouse. A schedule of the First Day School curriculum is available to anyone interested. Please speak with any of the Religious Ed. Committee members.
Our childcare teacher, Sara Mercer-Medeiros will continue to need a parent volunteer on each Sunday. Lee MacGregor will maintain the parent sign-up sheet.
Please donate your shoeboxes to the Religious Ed. Committee! They will be used for curriculum lessons storage.
Donor appreciation goes to our Friends who helped make the sandbox a possibility with $100.00 and who will be reimbursing the committee for the future purchase of Bible storybooks.

Volunteer appreciation goes to all of you who helped with our young people by teaching a curriculum lesson on First Day or provided childcare. Special thanks go to Jay and Dave for building the sandbox and the Mouras and MacGregor’s for sand and toy donations.

MEETING NEWS

The following is a partial list of where in the world some of our young adults are headed this fall. (Contact Kevin to add to, or modify this list. Thanks.)

Katey Baker-Smith has begun her studies at Temple University. Her mailing address is Johnson Hall, Room 407, 2029 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122-1115. Email her at katelyn.baker-smith@temple.edu

Ben Baker-Smith has returned to Oberlin College. His mailing address is 135 West Lorain Street, Oberlin, OH, 44074. Email Ben at Benjamin.baker-smith@oberlin.edu

Jeremy Baker-Smith is still in Dartmouth (a senior!) wondering where his siblings went! Jeremy might feel better if someone gave him gift certificates to Amazon and a new iPhone.

Sara Mercer-Medeiros continues her studies locally at Bristol Community College and at last count works two to three jobs as well! See Sara at meeting or email her at purplemonkeydishwasher1011@hotmail.com .

Tristan Athearn Hess returns to Hampshire College. His mailing address is Hampshire College, Box 0060, Amherst, MA 01002. Email Tristan at tba04@hampshire.edu

Maggie Bauer returns to Skidmore College, but will actually be studying this fall in Spain. Email Maggie at mbaue1@skidmore.edu .

Aliza Correia returns to Salem State College. She says that she has no clue what her mailing address is just yet, but email her at a_correia@salemstate.edu .

Mark Severs, who worships with us occasionally, will begin the next phase of his education at Harvard University’s School of Law. Mark commented, “I may not make it to meeting very often for awhile.” But he wishes to be remembered by Westport Friends.

Nick Bauer, having graduated from Brown University this year, heads to Washington DC to do an internship with FCNL. Email Nick at Nicholas_bauer@brown.edu .

Meeting leadership transitions: Friends are reminded that beginning this month, our new Clerk of Meeting is Marion Athearn. We’re confident that when meeting business comes to the attention of or former Clerk of Meeting, Buddy Baker-Smith, that he we gladly point you in the right direction!

Emily Sutton begins her new role as Recording Clerk as well. Please speak with Emily regarding future minutes and matters related to our records, etc.

Ministry and Counsel Committee will select a new clerk for its committee sometime this month. Until a new Ministry and Counsel clerk is selected, please continue to bring matters related to this committee’s work to attention of Steven Correia.

Cost of the Iraq War

In Human Lives: (As of 8/30/07)
• 3,735 US Soldiers and Americans
• 71,000 – 77,000 Iraqi civilian deaths (est.)
• 27, 600 US Soldiers Wounded (est)

Source: US Dept of Defense | Iraq Body Count Project | antiwar.com

As this newsletter is printed, the war in Iraq, in addition to the staggering loss of lives to the Iraqi people and American soldiers, this war has cost 450 billion dollars.

Had these funds been committed to other purposes, we could have:
• Provided health insurance to 268 million children for one year.
• Hired 7.8 million teaches.
• Built 4 million additional public housing units.
• Provided Head Start to 59 million children for one year.

Source: National Priorities Project | nationalprioritiesproject.org


Kevin Lee, editor. 508-994-1638 kevin@jymretreats.org

Posted by Kevin Lee at October 2, 2007 09:18 AM