2025-04-06 Newsletter for

Concord Friends Meeting

A Monthly Meeting in Dover Quarter of

New England Yearly Meeting, Religious Society of Friends

To request log-in information for Zoom Worship: Zoom [at] ConcordFriendsMeeting [dot] org (subject: %E2%80%9CWorship%E2%80%9D%20Zoom%20Link%20Request) .

JamesThurber

Library of America

“Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear,

But around in awareness.”

James Thurber (1894-1961)

An American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist, and playwright.

Day Date Time Event
Sunday April 6th 9:00 a.m.

10:00 a.m.



11:30 a.m.

 		 Deepening Our Quaker Experience

Meeting for Worship

For Zoom link, email Zoom [at] ConcordFriendsMeeting [dot] org (subject: %E2%80%9CWorship%E2%80%9D%20Zoom%20Link%20Request) .

Fellowship

With Children:  TBD;

Closing:  Ruth & Dave.
Monday April 7th 4:00 p.m. In-Person Worship at Lucy's House. Contact RichK [at] ConcordFriendsMeeting [dot] org (subject: CFM%20Monday%20Afternoon%20Worship) (Rich) to confirm.
Thursday April 10th Noon Peace Vigil, State House Plaza.
Sunday April 13th 10:00 a.m.



11:30 a.m.

12:30 p.m.		 Meeting for Worship

For Zoom link, email Zoom [at] ConcordFriendsMeeting [dot] org (subject: %E2%80%9CWorship%E2%80%9D%20Zoom%20Link%20Request) .

Fellowship & Potluck

Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business

With Children:  TBD;

Closing:  Sharon & Kathy U.

In this Edition:

Deepening Our Quaker Experience

9:00 AM, Sunday April 6th



     This coming Sunday please join us for another hour of thoughtful conversation on the topic of Quaker Decision-Making and the process of Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business.  Bring your questions!

Lenten Luncheon Series 2025



     The Greater Concord Interfaith Council invites you to attend its 66th Lenten Luncheon series. This series offers an opportunity to share a meal, fellowship, and to hear a different speaker each week. Speakers share how faith has impacted their work, volunteer activities or other aspects of their lives.

     Luncheon Dates: Thursdays: March 20th, 27th, April 3rd and 10th, 2025.     

     Time: 12:00-1:00pm. Ticket Price: $7.00 per luncheon (proceeds will be donated to area nonprofit organizations).



For more information click the link below:



Lenten Luncheon Locations and Speakers

 

2025 Annual Meeting of the AFSC Corporation

 

AFSCCorporationAnnualSession

Announcing Fourth Sunday in April



     Friends. I am happy to announce that the AFSC NH program will be able to visit us the fourth Sunday in April after potluck. They will give us all the news about the many areas of their work in New Hampshire some of which are so new you might not be familiar with them. It will be a great time to get to know them and hear about their work in immigration, faith and labor organizing, and transitioning women from incarceration to being part of the wider community. We will also be having a conversation time with Grace Kindeke  on a different date TBD. 



Sara Smith

Richard Rohr Meditation:

     Jesus called his disciples to be fishers of people—to be caught up in love and drawn out of the world’s illusions. Have we been caught? Have we been pulled out of a system that thrives on violence, on stepping over others to climb higher? Or are we still trapped in it, confused and disoriented?  If we have been pulled out, then we must see clearly. We must commit to both inner and outer work. We must say no to violence, no to greed, no to power that exploits and destroys. And we must do it even when it costs us—because that is what it means to live in truth. That is what it means to allow ourselves to be caught in the net of love.   



Episcopal priest Adam Bucko

(Shared by Ruth H.)

Register Today for the Spring Retreat

NEYM-YoungFriendsSpringRetreat

Dear Young Friends,



     You are invited to register for our Spring Retreat. The theme will be "Nurturing Creative & Spiritual Practices."

     ​Young Friends retreats are special opportunities for high schoolers in New England to take a deeper dive into building community and exploring the Quaker way together. Join Young Friends for a weekend at Framingham Friends Meeting where we will explore art, music, worship, and other practices that give meaning to our personal and communal lives. 

​About staying at Framingham Friends Meeting

     ​When staying at meeting houses everyone is expected to bring a pillow, sleeping bag, and sleeping pad in order to sleep on the floor. If this poses a challenge for you or your child please reach out to Collee (collee [at] neym [dot] org)

​Payment​

     Pricing for the retreat is pay-as-led sliding scale. $50 is great for families with a limited budget, $150 covers direct costs, $250 covers all costs.

Registration will close on April 28th, 2025. Register https://neym.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9d926a263c32aba63d418859.... Click or tap to follow the link.">here today.



Love,

Collee & Kenzie



Collee Williams

Teen and Outreach Ministries Coordinator

collee [at] neym [dot] org



Kenzie Burpee

Program Assistant

kenzie [at] neym [dot] org

https://neym.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9d926a263c32aba63d418859.... Click or tap to follow the link.">Register Here

Solemn Vigil for a Cease Fire in Gaza

Ceasfire Vigil

Thursdays at Noon

The silent vigil for a ceasefire in Gaza continues every Thursday from Noon-1 p.m.  The vigil meets at (the northwest corner of) North Main Street and Park Street in Concord on the plaza in front of the State House.  Make your own sign, use one provided, or just stand in silent witness beside others.  This is done in coordination with NH Peace Action.  We suggest that people make signs that convey something about justice for Israel and Palestine.  Also please avoid the word genocide, ethnic cleansing, and similar terms.

PSECC Committee

 

 

BHFH - “Taking Reparative Actions”

BHFH-TakingReparativeActions-IndigenousBoardingSchools

Dear Friends,

Continuing Revelation is a core part of Quaker spirituality.  It’s the belief that truth is not frozen in the past, but alive, unfolding, and available to us right now. When we listen deeply, new insights come to us. In 1660, George Fox urged Friends to live in a way that reflects the power of love and truth, removing the need for war. It was an early expression of the Quaker peace testimony, but history shows us that good intentions alone are not enough. Real advocacy requires wisdom, humility, and cultural awareness.

For generations, Quakers were involved in the forced removal and assimilation of Native children through boarding schools, stripping them of their language, culture, and connection to their people. These schools weren’t just places of learning, but of erasure, meant to reshape Native children into something more acceptable to white Christian society. Today, Native communities are carrying the generational trauma of these policies while also reclaiming their languages, stories, and heritage.

In a few weeks, on April 11, non-Native speakers from three yearly meetings—New England, Baltimore, and Alaska—will share how they have discerned and carried out actions to build new relationships with Native communities based on truth, respect, and justice.  Gail Melix (Greenwater) will close the evening with some thoughts and queries.  Gail is a member of the Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe of Plymouth and of Sandwich Monthly Meeting. 

The question before us is not just what Friends did but what we do now.  What does acknowledgment, apology, and reparation look like in the face of this history?  The work of repair is not about condemning our spiritual ancestors but about an ongoing commitment to truth and justice.  Just as truth continues to unfold, so must our response.

Join us for this conversation. 

Let’s listen, learn, and step forward together,

Brent Walsh

BHFH Program & Engagement Manager


CMM Minutes for Third Month 2025

The draft minutes for the March 2025 meeting for worship with attention to business are available at 2025-03-09_CMM_Minutes or via Minutes_of_ConcordMonthlyMeeting.

For corrections, missing documents, and/or clarifications of the minutes, please reply to WebClerk [at] ConcordFriendsMeeting [dot] org (subject: CMM%20Minutes%20for%202nd%20Month) .

*Draft* of our “2024 State of Society Report”

Please Remember

Please remember to keep a pair of slippers or indoor shoes on the shoe rack to limit damage to our floors.

Plastic Bags can be put inside the box by the entrance of the Meetinghouse.

Questions, comments, etc.

Questions, comments, suggestions?  Email us at: ConcordFriendsNewsletter [at] gmail [dot] com

From Past Issues

Midweek Worship Opportunities

There are other online Meetings for Worship that are generally available to Quakers, unlimited by geography, if that would be of interest. Some of those are listed here.

Submissions

Dear Friends,

If you have information or personal news to share via this Newsletter please email your submission to  ConcordFriendsMeeting [at] GMail [dot] com (subject: Newsletter) by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesdays.

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  • Typically, the announcements will go out by Saturday.  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 used by Juliet.  Look for the signature to be clear who the actual sender is.
  • 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 C, Newsletter Editor

 

Are you wanting information from past announcements? 

Visit this page on our web site: Past Announcements

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