Fifth Month, 2004

QUERIES for the Fifth Month: EDUCATION

• Do your children receive the loving care of the meeting?
• Does the influence of the meeting promote their religious life and encourage their desire for service to others?
• What efforts are you making to educate all your members in the knowledge of the Bible, especially the teachings of Jesus and their relevance to the principles and practices of Friends?
• Do those of you who are parents seek to share your deepest beliefs with your children, while leaving them free to develop as the Spirit of God may lead them?
• Do you encourage members to consider the advantages of education in Friends' schools and colleges for their children and do you give such financial aid as may be necessary?

CALENDAR NOTES

• A fundraising event for our new meetinghouse sponsored by Quaker Market: $10.00 per adult, $5.00 over 5 years. Country Cooking, including fried chicken. Music by Annie McPherson and David Cook. Please bring a friend!

  Welcome to mountains of rural Appalachia...
  Each evening as the shadows become long on the mountain, a breeze settles in and the evening is filled with the pleasant sent of wild flowers that wash away the heat of the day.

  Sheree Sims

• Come meet Field Program Secretary, Kathie Guthrie, for Friends Committee on National Legislation. She will update us on the work of FCNL and issues of immediate concern on Capitol Hill. Refreshments.
• You-all Come! Everyone is invited to the home of Ellie and Larry Clayton. Bring your swimsuit and towel for swimming and your favorite dish for supper. Later we will have the opportunity to share with each other the experience of our first Quaker Meeting.
• To prepare for the Bible Seminar in May, please study the First, Second, and Third Letters of John in the New Testament.
• Threshing a proposed section to SEYM's Faith and Practice: Establishing New Communities of Friends.

MEETING NEWS

• Blessings: A new baby grandson, John Raymond Shea, has blessed Judy Shea's life. He was born on April 13 and weighed in at 8 pounds. She has also been recently blessed by the visits of family and friends from New York. And we feel blessed, Judy, to have your shining testimony of faith and love to inspire us.
• "The Lord Giveth and the Lord Taketh Away": Kara Beisner attended her first meeting with us and her three charming little boys livened up the Easter egg hunt. On the same day, we bade farewell to the Timmers: Adrian, Hillary and sweet Quinn, who has been a source of joy to our meeting for several years. Adrian has served as our treasurer and Hillary has been active on Peace and Social Concerns Committee. We will sorely miss you, Timmers, as you move on to a new chapter of your lives in Ft. Worth, Texas. We hold you in the LIGHT.
• Reminder from the Peace and Social Concerns Nicaragua sub-committee: Time is running short for organizing a trip to Nicaragua. If you are interested in further, detailed information get in touch with Sheree Sims, Karen Porter, Tim Fogarty or Patricia Ulrey.
• Clerk of House and Hospitality, Mona Morris, led her crew in transforming the exterior of the Meetinghouse on our recent workday. Bud Brennan did a yeoman's job of manning the power washer. Dick Beardsley and Arlene Epperson cut back bags and bags of overgrown shrubs, Walter Morris transported them to the landfill site, Joan Andrews repotted plants, Gene Beardsley was chief cook and bottle washer. Tak Hayakawa swept the roof. Kara Beisner planted around the Peace Pole. Thanks to all.

• Friends General Conference 2004 Gathering of Friends is coming up on July 3-10. It will be held at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. On page 2 of the brochure, the Clerks of this year's Gathering have this to say:

  If we are serious about pursuing a simple life and a radiant faith we need community -- a community that lifts up our light within, that holds us accountable, that supports us in our risk taking. The FGC Gathering is a place where you can renew your search for simplicity and radiance among fellow seekers. You can live and participate in a community that is writing in each other's hearts. Please join us. On page 22 of the brochure under Women Only, you will see that workshop 68 is led by our own Sybil Ann Brennan. The title is Crones: Creative Aging.

• At our Meetinghouse, Thursday May 27: a Middle Eastern fundraiser dinner to raise money to help the Model UN programs of Santa Fe Community College and University of Florida. Starting at 5:30 p.m., there will be Middle Eastern food, music, and a speaker. The mission of Model UN programs is to simulate the work of the United Nations.

  ---

  Introducing...
  Hi! I'm Cheryl Demers.

  I was raised a devout Catholic and my mother taught me how to hold a picket sign so the newspaper could see it and I carried one to protest Vietnam, abortion, the treatment of farm workers, and to encourage civil rights. My Dad taught me that hard work is it's own prayer, and how to be a responsible caretaker of the planet. A few years ago I looked at my relationship with God and my relationship with my worship community. I realized that God and I were okay but my church was not nourishing me or my relationship with God. In fact the conflicting messages from God and teachings of the church just confused me. I started to learn more about other faiths to see if I might find a community I fit in. A friend told me that he did not know why I was wasting my time trying to find "some Catholic Lite sort of religion" when I should realize I am a Quaker. So I looked up Quakers on line and discovered you have a lot in common with me. I have long believed that the true sacrament is that moment of connection between a person and their God. I believe that each person carries God within. I believe there is nothing more that war can teach can teach us and that peace is the only answer. I believe that the truth is always the right thing to say. I believe it is my responsibility to feed the hungry, cloth the naked, visit the sick...

  I moved here to be closer to my parents. I have a son who is twenty-four and a daughter, twenty-three. I work as a nurse for Hospice and have the honor of going into people's homes to care for them. I thank God daily for the blessing of this job. There is nothing I would rather do.

  Thank all of you who have made me feel so welcome. Love is in the walls of this meetinghouse and I am glad to be a part of it.

LETTER

In the LIGHT
Arlene Epperson

TOWARD A NEW MEETINGHOUSE

• Karl Thorne and Associates, our architects, are in the completion stage of our plans.
• Since we need numerous plants grown to order ready when the building is, Walter and Mona Morris are contacting local nurseries for estimates.
• More Pledges Are Needed the New Meetinghouse Building-Fund Committee reminds us. A favorable interest rate on our mortgage is dependent on the number of pledges we have. A letter is coming to you from Jean Chalmers to explain the bank-form for mortgage pledges. If you are not comfortable with the bank process, the building fund will be glad to take your pledge directly. The Finance subcommittee is planning further Fund-Raising Events. The Bean Bag sale was a great success. Now invite your non-Quaker friends to join us for:
  • Monthly home-made ethnic dinners on second Saturdays, $10 for adults, $5 for children
  • Student Sale: in August a front-lawn sale of household items especially for incoming students
  • Birthday Party: Quaker Market dinner and silent auction. Start making your knits and wood toys now.