Westport Friends Meeting

September 07 Monthly Meeting Highlights

MONTHLY MEETING HIGHLIGHTS

Marion Athearn, Clerk of Meeting, presided over the following business on September 16th:

Ministry and Counsel: June Correia, Clerk, reported that the committee had appointed her clerk of the Committee for Ministry and Counsel!

Vieri (Guy) Volterra, a regular attender at our meeting, requested a letter of introduction to Beacon Hill Friends Meeting as he anticipates making Boston his principal residence for the foreseeable future. We wish Guy well, and we will miss him at Westport.

Our second Sunday Discussion in October and November will focus on Quaker history. Several Friends are presently being considered to lead this discussion.

Finance Committee: Deana Chase, Treasurer, reported that the transition to Quick Books from Quicken has been smooth.

The committee recommended setting up $200.00 petty cash for use by Friends in Residence for miscellaneous meeting expenses, with the fund being replenished as used. Friends approved this recommendation.

Property Committee: Dave Sutton reported that the tents were dried out (finally) and have been stored for the winter.

Emily and Dave, having completed their first year as Friends In Residence, were asked to reflect on their experience:

They report having experienced a warm and welcoming community that has been thoughtful, caring and supportive, which has helped to make it a very good year.
With the focus on developing community outreach, they are looking for more clarity from the Meeting on the following: As a spiritual community in transition, where does the meeting see itself going? Where are the Meeting’s energies to be placed? The Community House and the overall facilities are extraordinary, which fortunately are all supported by the proceeds from the Book Fair. Just how does the meeting want to invest and utilize these resources and gifts? Are we accessible as a Meeting, especially to visitors? How do we address the importance of religious education? What are the bonds that tie us together in both the past and the future? As an unprogrammed meeting, how do we not just fill the silence, but broaden it? Does the Meeting, like many others in New England, want to focus on social action, or rather limit our primary outreach to our active role in NEYM youth ministry?

Friends approved a minute that Ministry and Counsel should take these matters under consideration.

Barbara Wicks reported on Town Meeting's agenda to improve the safety and ambiance of Westport’s Central Village. It was recommended that a letter be written to the Town requesting signs that would restrict parking near the meetinghouse driveways. Property Committee will be asked to bring a letter to the next business meeting to that effect for Friends to consider.

Property Committee recommended, and Meeting approved, that Sunday, October 28th be set aside as fall clean-up day. (Please mark your calendars!) The committee will define chores and provide for pizza!

Book Fair Committee: No formal report presented, but it was noted that Drew Lizak has been added to the Book Fair Committee. The Meeting minuted and expressed its appreciation to Drew for the many hours prior to the Book Fair that Drew has labored preparing the book shed, making signs, category boxes and sorting books as they arrived.

Speaking of books..! There are many, many books that have arrived in the book shed that need to be sorted. Book sorting has begun again on Thursdays as well.

Other Business: A Friend raised the concern that since there is currently no formal Peace and Social Concerns Committee, then how are such concerns brought forward? Most understood that an ad hoc committee would be created to attend to peace and social concerns matters that are brought to the Meeting. At present, several matters are pending, including outreach and support to a local family in need of assistance. Following discussion, Friends approved that Dave Sutton and Barbara Wicks will attend to these concerns that ordinarily would have come to the attention of Peace and Social Concerns Committee. They will report back at our next business meeting.

Friends are reminded that members of the FUM Board will meet with Westport Friends over potluck at the Community House on Wednesday, October 10th at 6:00 PM. Please mark your calendars and join us! Dave and Emily Sutton, and Joe Bossom will coordinate planning for the potluck. Meeting also agreed to cover the cost of renting a van to transport the FUM Board members should it be needed.

Marion Athearn, Clerk, requests that clerks of standing committees advise her if they have met at least one week prior to the next business meeting. Also, if Friends bring a concern to the attention of her, as Clerk of Meeting, that the matter may be sent as a preliminary step to the applicable standing committee.

The next meeting for business will be held on October 21. Marion Athearn will be away and Deana Chase will clerk the business meeting.

MEETING NEWS

More updates on where and how our young adults are doing:

Nancy Dubler, mother of Allon, Max and Turner, reports that: “Allon is finishing his 'cognitive studies' major at Vassar this year. He's started a campus Quaker meeting (at midnight) and makes all kinds of music. Contact Allon at aldubler@vassar.edu.

Max is a junior at Sarah Lawrence College. He's studying politics, history, and economics. Concrete Wave's newest edition (it's a skateboard magazine) has an article and photograph that Max did under the name "Max Wells." Contact Max at max2k@cox.net.
Turner returned to Guilford this year after taking a year off to 1) crew a sailboat around the Caribbean for a month, 2) help his dad out for 6 wks when his medical assistant left unexpectedly, 3) spent Nov-May at Kirpalu as a volunteer in production, shaving his head and sharing a dorm space with 10 guys, 4) May-August he was in a tent at Omega Institute, again volunteering in production. Quite a year, he returns with new enthusiasm to his studies and a new set of majors: religion, philosophy, and education! And he can now do a wicked headstand. Contact Turner at turneround1@gmail.com.”

There is a story that God and Satan were walking down the street one day. The Lord bent down and picked something up. He gazed at it glowing radiantly in His hand. Satan, curious, asked, “What’s that?” “This,” answered the Lord, “Is Truth.” “Here,” replied Satan as he reached for it, “Let me have that—I’ll organize it for you.”
- Ram Dass

Kevin Lee, editor.
kevin@jymretreats.org