| Sunday Jan 8 | 1:30 pm | Meeting for Business at Jean Chalmers's home |
| Sunday Jan 15 | 1:00 pm | Earthcare Witness, meets at Books Inc., 505 NW 13th St. |
| Sunday Jan 22 | 9:30 am | Peace and Social Concerns at Brenda Bayne's home |
| Friday Jan 27 | 6:00 pm | Quaker Study Program, potluck, at Buskirk's home |
| Saturday Jan 28 | 9:00 am | Great Air Potato Roundup |
| Saturday Jan 28 | 6:00 pm | Quaker Market Dinner, Winefordner's home |
| Sunday Jan 29 | 9:15 am | School Committee Meeting, Marylynn and Phil Hall's home |
| Tuesday Feb 7 | 11:30 am | Friendly lunch at Books Inc |
Quaker Market dinners are a fundraising effort for the new meetinghouse. Suggested donations are $10.00 per adult, $5.00 for children over 5 years old, and free for those under 5.
Message in a Dove chocolate wrapper; we assume the chocolate was enjoyed by Gene Beardsley, who sent this in: "Listen to your heartbeat and dance."
Tom Fox and Christian Peacemakers. For those concerned about Tom
Fox and the other Christian Peacemakers who are being held captive
in Iraq, I have found a few things that each of us can do in addition
to holding them in the Light. Langley Hill (Va.) Meeting, where Tom
has his membership, asks individuals to join them by lighting a candle
in your window or on your front lawn on Friday nights at 7 p.m. The
Langley Hill Meeting then holds all-night vigils from 7 p.m. Friday
until 7 a.m. Saturday. Langley Hill Meeting encourages individuals
to send email messages to Aljazeera.net thanking them for helping
in efforts to free the hostages and urging them to continue to call
for the release of these men who went to Iraq to "stand in the way"
of the war and to monitor human rights abuses. The Christian Peacemaking
Teams have been placing advertisements in Iraqi newspapers asking
for the release of the hostages. You can donate to this effort by
contacting them at http://cpt.org.
Introducing Jake! Jean and John Burton are delighted to announce the birth of their new grandson, Jake, to their daughter, Joan, and her husband, Clive Whent. Jake was born on Dec. 23, 2005, and weighed 9 lbs., 13 ounces. With the help of Grandmom Jean, Jake's parents returned home to the balmy Turks and Caicos Islands in the Bahamas. The Burton's next adventure will be to go to Anchorage, Alaska, where their other daughter, Julie, is expecting a child on Jan. 19, 2006.
The Electronic Age. The yearly per person cost of mailing the newsletter is about $8.00. To help reduce costs for the meeting and to save paper, some Friends have elected to receive E-Friends Newsletters from now on. If you would like to get on the electronic list, please let me know via email or in person. Whether you are receiving E-Newsletters or hard-copy ones, please let me know if you have problems with format when you receive the E-Newsletter or if you have suggestions for changes/improvements.
Touching the Christmas Spirit. This is for all those who bring Christmas to others, even in ways you don't normally think of being part of the holiday. Perhaps it is a kind word, a ride to a function for a friend with failing eyesight, a gift of teaching someone a skill you cherish, sending love and light to a stranger, or easing another's suffering. All of the efforts you have made are appreciated. You may never know the effects of your actions. But out there, someone is very grateful for your kindness.
An example of this is seen in a lovely note we received from Kathryn van der Pol regarding the Clark family and how so many of our members contributed to making their holiday memorable. Kathryn wrote:
"I want to tell you how excited Anita and her children were about her Christmas. Your lovely gifts brought great cheer to her and her family. Anita came over on Saturday night to help me wrap the remaining gifts. She had never wrapped presents or curled ribbon before but she learned fast. My family delivered all of the goodies on Christmas Day along with a Christmas dinner. The children were very excited and helped us unload this mountain of presents. They were so appreciative.Toward Community and Sustainability Reminder: A tool-lending library is now available. How often have you bought a tool for a special purpose that you have only used a few times? By pooling our wealth of tools and lending them to each other when needed, we can personally save money and as a community save energy. Dick Beardsley has a notebook to sign up members who wish to take part in this exchange. He can answer whatever questions you might have."I want to thank your meeting for such generous, loving, and thoughtful gifts. You all have made this family feel supported, which is the most wonderful gift of all.
"Your work has been a great assistance to Anita as well as to our meeting, which has been working hard on several fronts of hurricane relief issues. Thank you so much."
Sheree Sims
The Winter Interim Business Meeting (and Michener Lecture by Frank Massey) of the Southeastern Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends will be from Friday Jan. 13 through Sunday Jan. 15, 2006, at the Orlando Meetinghouse, 316 E. Marks Street, Orlando, Fla., phone: 407-425-5125. Annie McPherson from the Gainesville Friends Meeting will be attending. For more information on the lecture, the agenda, housing options, the Michener Lecture, or for directions to the Orlando Meeting, visit http://www.seym.org/, email admin@seym.org or call 427-425-5125.