2025-06-29 Newsletter of
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) .
Self-Portrait
“It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done.”
~ Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)
A Dutch Post-Impressionist painter known for his striking colors, bold brushwork, and expressive forms. In just over a decade, he created around 2,100 artworks, including landscapes, still lifes, portraits, and self-portraits.
Day | Date | Time | Event |
---|---|---|---|
Sunday | June 29th | 10:00 a.m. 11:30 a.m. ~11:30 a.m. 12:30 p.m. 4:00 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 With Children: TBA; Closing: Juliet & Sue. Potluck at Weare/Henniker Meeting Dover Quarterly Meeting at Weare/Henniker Meeting Solstice Sing & Pie Social at Weare/Henniker Meeting |
Monday | June 30th | 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 | July 3rd | Noon | Peace Vigil, State House Plaza. |
Sunday | July 6th | 10:00 a.m. 11:30 a.m. |
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: TBA; Closing: Juliet & Elaine M. |
In this Edition:
- Past Minutes of Meeting for Business
- Quaker Basics course offering in July
- Dover Quarterly Meeting & SOLSTICE SING & PIE SOCIAL
- NEYM 2025 Annual Sessions
- FGC: Young Adult & Youth Gathering
- Quixotic! Bicycling Storyteller in Canterbury
- FUM: “Around the World in 90 Days”
- Vigil for a Cease Fire - Thursdays, Noon-1:00 p.m. at State House Plaza
- QuakerSpeak Videos
- Midweek Worship Opportunities
Past Minutes of Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business
The draft minutes for the June 2025 meeting for Worship with Attention to Business are available at 2025-06-08_CMM_Minutes or via MinutesofConcordMonthlyMeeting#2025.
Quaker Basics Course Readings Available this Sunday
Friends,
There will be seven printed copies of Readings for Quaker Basics - Week 1 (ReadingsForQuakerBasicsWeek1) at the Meetinghouse on Sunday for those who are joining the course in July. If more copies are needed, please let me know.
With love, and peace, and tenderness,
MarkB [at] ConcordFriendsMeeting [dot] org (subject: Quaker%20Basics%20Course) (Mark B)
--
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”
– often attributed to Philo of Alexandria, et al. [see also “sonder”]
Dover Quarterly Meeting, SOLSTICE SING & PIE SOCIAL at Henniker Quaker Meeting on Sunday, June 29th at 4 p.m.
Dover Quarter will be held at Weare/Henniker Meeting on June 29th. The address is 529 Quaker Street, Henniker. Schedule is as follows:
10:30 | Meeting for Worship |
~11:30 | Potluck lunch |
12:30 | Meeting for Business |
Walk to nearby historical Quaker District Schoolhouse after Business Meeting (if desired) | |
4:00 | Solstice Sing and Pie Social ("Join voices in song with friends and neighbors, enjoy the historic ambiance of our 1799 Meetinghouse, and indulge in homemade pies, both savory and sweet") |
I hope you will all join us for whatever portion of this day that you are able.
Please see the Agenda below and visit Andrea Szirbik Groft’s website https://FriendAndrea.com/Friends-capital-F prior to the meeting. See you soon!
Sandy Hargy, Clerk, Dover Quarter
AGENDA for Dover Quarterly Meeting:
- Minutes of March 30th
- Treasurer’s report Report from Ministers Report from attenders at Sessions Visioning regional meeting
- State of Society Reports:
- Concord
- Dover
- Gonic
- New England Evangelical Friends
- Nashua
- North Sandwich
- Weare/Henniker
- Souhegan Worship Group
- West Epping
- New Business: Vocal Ministry – Andrea Szirbik Groft for more information check out https://friendandrea.com/friends-capital-f
- North Sandwich Meeting report of community-building efforts
- Next meeting: August 31st
NEYM 2025 Sessions
Sessions Registration Is Now Open!
Early Registration Closes July 14th
A reminder that we will gather for the 365th Annual Sessions of New England Yearly Meeting of Friends, August 1st through 6th in a new location—the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus!
In order to guarantee housing we ask Friends to register during the early registration period. After that time we will need to confirm availability with the University.
FGC: Young Adult & Youth, or “YAY” Gathering in Clarkston, MI
Imagine how powerful it is for young Friends to have the life-changing experience of attending a Quaker Gathering!
Next week, FGC will host the Young Adult & Youth, or “YAY” Gathering in Clarkston, MI. Children, youth, and young adults will have the opportunity to play, connect, laugh, learn, and grow with one another, along with volunteers and family members. For participants from smaller monthly meetings, this is a rare opportunity to be with Friends their own age.
Would you consider sponsoring a young Friend attending YAY?
Rae is an adult young Friend who has volunteered with youth at the last few Gatherings:
"There is a Faith & Play story about how each member of a meeting brings special gifts that make our communities strong and beautiful. The gifts I've seen children bring to our community are plentiful —gifts of welcome, gifts of play and playfulness, gifts of music and art, and still many more are discovering their gifts.”
Your support can help young people to discover and celebrate their gifts!
Right now, your gift can provide scholarships and work grants for YAY participants. A gift of $300 will support one of several adult young Friends who are offering workshops at YAY. These workshops are so meaningful! They allow younger presenters to share their spiritual gifts with the community, and they give participants the chance to hear new topics and insights from other young Friends. Any amount you can give will help create a powerful experience. Please donate today to support young Friends!
In Friendship,
Kody Gabriel Hersh
Young Adult and Youth Ministries Coordinator
Friends General Conference
Your partnership impacts the spiritual lives of Friends.
Copyright © 2025 Friends General Conference. All rights reserved.
Quixotic! Bicycling Storyteller in Canterbury, Sunday Evening, July 6th
On July 6th Andy Davis is setting off by bicycle from Tamworth on an 800-mile, three-week trip through all six New England States, performing his new story, “Quixotic,” at stops along the way. His first stop will be our house.
“Quixotic” is an engrossing and humorous one-man show in which Andy celebrates his long relationship with Don Quixote and the capacity of art to impact the world. Through personal story, scenes from the novel, glimpses into the author’s life, and a snapshot from recent history, Andy connects the themes of Cervante’s masterwork to the enduring questions as to how humans should live. No prior knowledge of the novel is necessary for enjoyment, which is good because neither of us have read it.
From Canterbury, Andy will pedal on to other house concerts and formal venues in Keene, Brattleboro, the Pioneer Valley, Great Barrington, three locations in Connecticut, Providence, Cape Cod, Boston, the North Shore, Portsmouth, and southern Maine.
On July 6th, we'll get started with a potluck at 5:30, and storytelling will get underway promptly at 6:30. We'll either be inside or outside, weather depending. Consider bringing your own chair. (The timing means you can go to the Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki concert at Shaker Village from 4 to 5 pm and come to our house after.)
We’ll be passing the hat, with a suggested amount of $15, but you are invited to have your own personal, private interaction with the hat. We want you here, whatever you're able to drop in.
If you can make it, please let us know by email (judyarni [at] gmail [dot] com) or text (603-491-0198). We’re trying to get a good head count and also a car count, since parking is a bit limited.
Friends United Meeting: “Around the World in 90 Days” this Summer
This summer, embark on a 90-day pilgrimage of faith, fellowship, and service as Friends United Meeting (FUM) connects communities across continents through Zoom conversations about new life and shared joy. This journey isn’t just about geography—it’s about God’s Spirit at work in diverse Quaker ministries around the world. As we share the joy of this journey together, we will be making several stops along the way.
- Indiana, USA
- Belize City, Belize
- Ramallah, Palestine
- East Africa
Roughly 90 days after our Zoom journey begins, you’re not just back home—you’re transformed. With stories in your heart and global connections in your soul, you will return with renewed passion for FUM’s work around the world in this “Season of New Life and Shared Joy.”
You can register here: https://www.cognitoforms.com/FriendsUnitedMeeting/FUMAroundTheWorldIn90DaysFriendsUnitedMeetingAGlobalJourney. After filling out the short registration you will receive a link via email to your Zoom journey, and regular reminders about upcoming stops as we experience the shared joys of ministry in this new season.
Vigil for a Peace in Gaza
Thursdays at Noon
The 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 coordinated by NH Peace Action. We suggest that people make signs that convey something about justice for Israel and Palestine.
PSECC Committee
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
Quaker Speak: A Quaker YouTube channel.
Online Meetings for Worship
QuakerSpeak Videos
A Quaker YouTube channel. We interview Friends of all different backgrounds and ask them the core questions of our faith.
YouTube · QuakerSpeak, 34.6K+ followers
Sample Videos:
“Quakerism in the 21st Century: What is the Future of Friends?”, Feb 14, 2025
“The Communal Power of Meeting for Worship”, Nov 21, 2024
“The Transformative Practice of Being”, Sep 12, 2024
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.
- In New England, there is a new Monthly Meeting that is currently entirely online. It meets via Zoom link on every other Thursday. Here is their "about" page: https://www.ThreeRiversMeeting.org/about
- While it is not a usual Meeting for Worship, there is a weekly Taizé worship offered Thursday evenings online by a member of Mt. Toby Meeting in Western Massachusetts. See https://neym.org/events-calendar/weekly-taize-service-online
- Pendle Hill, the Quaker study and retreat center near Philadelphia, has Worship available every morning. This can also be accessed online. Go to https://pendlehill.org/explore/worship/online-daily-worship/
- Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) has a webpage with online worship opportunities around the world, a few of which are midweek. got to https://fwcc.world/find/online-worship/
- The Ben Lomond Quaker Center offers a daily online meeting for worship from 7:30-8:00 a.m. (Pacific)/10:30-11:00 a.m. (Eastern). You can join them from anyplace in the world. Online meeting for worship. NB. Connection is NOT SECURE
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 9:00 p.m. on Wednesdays.
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- Typically, the announcements will go out on Thursday. 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.
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- 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