Concord Friends Meeting

A Monthly Meeting in Dover Quarter of New England Yearly Meeting, Religious Society of Friends

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Listen to the Inner Light; it will guide you.

Listen to the Inner Peace; it will feed you.

Listen to the Inner Love; it will transform you.

Sri Chinmoy, Indian Spiritual Leader (1931-2007)

The Meeting Calendar

As of July 9^th, 2023, masks are optional in the Meetinghouse.  Vaccination, Quarantine Guidelines and Testing Protocols remain the same.  Please refer to the following link for more information. (more info [2]).

Special Called Meeting for Worship (South Pittsfield)

Hello, Friends,

There will be a special called Meeting for Worship 3 p.m. this Sunday at the South Pittsfield Meetinghouse, 465 Dowboro Road, Pittsfield, NH.  Please plan to join us if you can for worship and an opportunity to explore this historic building.

The Meetinghouse is currently under the care of NEYM Permanent Board while discernment proceeds on what should best happen with the building.  It has not been used regularly for Quaker meeting for many years.  As I understand it, part of the agreement for the building remaining in Quaker hands is that a meeting for worship be held there at least once a year. This will be that meeting in order to not default on that agreement and to preserve options going forward. 

I look forward to being with you for this special meeting.

In faith,

—Jeremiah

Concord’s August Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business

Dear Friends,

The draft minutes for the August 2023 meeting for worship with attention to business are available at https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/2023-08-13_CMM_Minutes [3] or via https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/Minutes_of_ConcordMonthlyMeeting [4].

For corrections, missing documents, and/or clarifications of the minutes, please reply to web clerk, Concord Friends Meeting (WebClerk [at] ConcordFriendsMeeting [dot] org (subject: CFM-Eighth%20Month%20Minutes) )<webclerk [at] concordfriendsmeeting [dot] org>.</webclerk [at] concordfriendsmeeting [dot] org>

With love, and peace, and tenderness,

Mark

Fire Safety and New Heating System

Updates from Greg:

On Tuesday the drilling company filled the two 400 foot wells with grout that will assist in the heat transfer. Soon another crew will come in and connect the piping under the building's footing and into the mechanical room.  At that point we can begin to recover from the destruction of all those wonderful plantings.  The fire alarm system and exit signs with emergency lighting are all installed.  The alarm will be activated soon and we'll have instructions about what to do in case it should sound.  Soon we'll get around to the touch-up painting for the wiring of the emergency lights.

Change for Sunday Singing

This Sunday singing will need to be in the Meeting Room rather than the Fellowship Room.  We have to empty the mechanical room for the work to be done there.  Some items may need to be stored for a short while in the meeting room as well.  Another change you may notice is that we have disabled the range top in the kitchen in order to avoid the cost of an expensive fire suppression system.  Consider this as you plan potluck offerings!

Pathfinders Natural Learning Center Opens Monday

August 21 marks the first day of school for the Pathfinders.  Deb reports that enrollment is growing.  She's meeting with two children as this is typed and met with two others this morning.  Since their storage space is in the Mechanical Room she's been told to just keep her class set up in the Fellowship Room this Sunday.  This provides a nice chance for Friends to see her setup. The drapes she has hung over one of our bulletin boards and the library books will be a place to hang art work and other decorations.

Water Problems

The Property Committee is working on a solution for keeping bacteria out of our water supply.  There is a 2-gallon thermos sitting on the "drink sink" in the Fellowship Room filled with drinking water. Please do not use the Meetinghouse water system for drinking water until further notice.  The Committee has quotes from two companies to repair the well cap and gasket and "shock" the well itself with chlorine.  The gasket has degraded and is leaking.

Advices & Queries Audio Experiment

Jonah is exploring ways to engage with the Advices & Queries and other short Quaker texts as a podcast or other recorded audio experiment.  This idea is in very early and rough form, and he would appreciate feedback or volunteers to do some brief recording (no specialized equipment or previous experience needed).  A fuller explanation and some early recordings are at https://jsuttonmorse.me/advices-queries-an-audio-experiment/ [5].

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

From the Writings of Robert Lawrence Smith (A Quaker Book of Wisdom, 1999)

Silence is as common as the air we breathe.  It is a vast pool always available to us where we can refresh and renew ourselves, or simply stop for a while.  Silence is God's gift to our minds, a gift that modern life seems to have lost or crowded out.  We need more silence in our lives, more stillness in our homes.  We need, in our increasingly complex and frenetic world, to silence ourselves - and to listen.

Ben Lomand Quaker Center

Offers a daily online meeting for worship from 7:30-8:00 a.m. Pacific Time (10:30–11:00 a.m. Eastern Time).  You can join them from anyplace in the world! online meeting for worship [6]

Questions, comments, suggestions?  Email us at: ConcordFriendsNewsletter [at] gmail [dot] com (subject: Newsletter%20Submission)

From Past Issues:

• Quaker Podcasts
• Pow Wows in New Hampshire
• How to Make Submissions

• Sample of Quaker Podcasts:
  • https://quakerstoday.podbean.com/ [7]
  • https://quakersofnewengland.buzzsprout.com/ [8]
• Here is a list of Pow Wows in New Hampshire.  They are fun, interesting, and you can learn more about Indigenous culture. A great way to show support! https://calendar.powwows.com/events/categories/pow-wows/pow-wows-in-new-hampshire/ [9]

Submission for this Newsletter

Dear Friends,

If you have information to share via this Newsletter please have your information submitted to ConcordFriendsNewsletter [at] gmail [dot] com (subject: Newsletter%20Submission) by 5:00 PM on Thursdays. 

• Items should begin with a headline followed by text that can be copied and pasted without editing.
• Please remove any formatting if you are able.
• Please keep postings directly related to the Meeting or activities and groups supported by the Meeting, or personal news to share. 
• Typically the announcements will go out by Friday.  It is our intention to acknowledge receipt of all submissions.  If you don't receive an acknowledgment we probably have not seen your message, and it would be helpful if you followed up with us.
• The Newsletter Gmail account is owned by Wendy, but it is also used by Juliet.  Look for the signature to be clear who the actual sender is.
• And finally, it's best to keep your Zoom links in a handy place in case the announcements are not sent in a given week.

Juliet Curran / Wendy Lapham, Newsletter Editors

Are you wanting information from past announcements and newsletters?

Visit this page on our web site: Past Announcements and Newsletters [10]

Are you wanting to donate to Concord Monthly Meeting?

Visit this page on our web site for more information: Donations [11]