Our small caring community meets weekly for worship and gathers on occasions for adult education, ministry and counsel, and meeting for worship with attention to business, and committee work.
During these times when we face many issues including those of ongoing warfare in our country and around the world the loving support of one another is especially important. The Meeting attempts to provide regular worship with two homebound members as well as support for several folks who are unable to attend Meeting. There are many hours of volunteer work to maintain our historic building, surrounding property, and two sizeable burial grounds. Our service and support to one another continues as a top priority.
Pertinent and poignant readings often start our worship service. Attenders express appreciation for inspired and touching messages out of silence. Our worship hour is often enhanced by visitors. What was a small core group of half a dozen over the past year has grown to twelve. We added one member during the year.
At the suggestion of one of our home-bound Friends we recorded an official minute on racism. (See attached.) The conversation brought forth the importance of tolerance and inclusiveness as well the strong opinions related to disrespect, injustice, insensitivity, and misunderstanding.
The Adult Education Program engaged folks several times from fall to spring. Topics for each study are discussed among Friends and the organizers prepare that topic for the study. In 2017 we had a focus on Community Building. We spent time talking and listening to understand each other’s ways of working together and worshiping as a meeting. “Love” and “Truth” have been the most recent topics and our meeting is excited to explore similar topics in 2018. This is an important community building activity along with our potlucks and workdays.
Like so many small New England Meetings, NSFM is without an active First Day School. We continue to discuss ways to attract families and children to our meeting.
We accept the challenge of offering problem-solving assistance and loving support to Friends without being intrusive. Many individuals do their good work in our communities.
NSFM has been an active member of the Quarterly Meetings, including hosting the July Quarterly. The American Friends Service Committee (NH) with Maggie Fogarty and her traveling family provided a special program on their work in Cuba. A North Sandwich Friend was inspired by her attendance at NEYM in Castleton, the NEYM Ministry and Counsel gathering in Winthrop and shared these experiences with the Meeting.
A special project developed when we discussed how Quakers might respond to a potentially dangerous situation. Conversation flowed to protocol related to safety issues, including an appropriate response to a threatening intruder. Within our small group we worked out a response. The Meeting invited the town’s emergency rescue team to instruct us on the use of our portable AED (automated external defibrillator). From this informative and well-attended session an educational workshop on outdoor response and rescue was initiated for January 2018.
We join several other area churches to provide a friendship meal, Dinner Bell, to those who face financial challenges or simply desire a night out with good “home-cooked food” and an opportunity to socialize. Community members are invited to use our library and our building. Joining with three other area churches we solicited funds and recruited walkers for the Church World Service Crop Walk. A gathering early in the year, the day of the Presidential Inauguration, brought together community members to consider the appropriate actions we might take to push back the wave of intolerance and greed, support one another, and work toward preserving and protecting our rights and freedom. The first hour was one of listening for the whisper of God and the second hour sharing loving support for the work that would follow. Facing a frightening political situation in the fall one of our members initiated a Friday night songfest, “The Lucretia Mott Family Peace Songfest”. It proved to be a satisfying and peaceful time for those who attended four evening events. As cold weather set in, attendance dropped, and the gatherings ended. Several from NSFM participated in a scheduled event where a religious bigot spoke ill of Muslims. Two weeks later a peaceful and well-attended event corrected ill propaganda and misinformation, showing support and concern for citizens facing discrimination.
A Gmail communications group has proven to be a successful means of information sharing with one another as well as Quarterly and Yearly Meetings. The search continues to find a willing worker to tend to a Facebook page and a section on the NEYM website.
Our historic meetinghouse is unheated; winter Meetings are held in our newer, heated addition in the back of the building. It took a new attender to bring to our attention the “clutter” that had accumulated over the years which was not conducive to worship or other Quaker activities. We worked to simplify our 3 spaces: Worship area, Meeting for business and committee room and Children’s room. The feedback from Friends is that the areas are more serene and peaceful and more in line with Quaker simplicity.
Being no different from many small meetings around the country we continue to struggle with the budget. Our highest costs are heating and insurance and as they continue to rise beyond the revenue, we are forced to reduce the amount available for sharings. In 2017 we were able to share more because of a generous one-time gift. Our sharing went out to local causes as well as national causes. Our total expense for maintaining the meetinghouse and burial grounds last year was $4,413.00 with an income of $4,708.00 (without the gift).
The wit, wisdom, and faith of those gathered over decades continues to inspire, grow, and strengthen our meeting.
“Mind that which is pure in one another which joins you together, for nothing will join or make fit but what is pure, nor unite nor build but what is pure. [2]” - George Fox, 1652
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Canterbury, New Hampshire 03224-2043 USA
Links:
[1] https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/sites/all/files/documents/2017StateOfSociety-NorthSandwichFriendsMeeting.doc
[2] https://esr.earlham.edu/qbi/gfe/e001-020.htm#e13