Tenth Month, 2004

QUERIES for the Tenth Month: SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE

• Do I seek to transform the world with my loving spirit?
• Do I take an active interest in the social and economic conditions of my community?
• Have I considered objectively the causes of discrimination and am I ready to abandon old prejudices and think anew?
• Do we, as individuals and as a Meeting, do all in our power to end governmental, social, economic and educational injustices in our community, and to create equal opportunity for all?
• What are we doing as individuals and as a Meeting to promote the welfare of those in need and to secure a just distribution of the world's resources?
• What are we doing as individuals and as a Meeting to understand and remove the causes of war and develop the conditions and institutions of peace?

CALENDAR NOTES

• You and friends are invited to a New England Dinner Party

  Please make reservations with Patricia. Suggested donations, to benefit the new meetinghouse are $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for children.

• The Bible Seminar in October will begin a study of what we really know about Jesus. No advanced reading is required, although it wouldn't hurt to review the Gospel of Mark.
• Nourish body and soul in a Friendly setting. Deeply satisfying way to start the weekend. We meet at the Buskirk's to discuss the Walton 2003 lecture, Equality by Deborah Saunders. Pamphlets are available on the table at rear of Meeting room; see Connie.
• Ministry and Nurture committee is sponsoring an Inquirer's Group for attendees who are interested in learning more about Quaker faith and practice.
• Karen and Jim Porter recently returned from four weeks in China. They will share their adventures, service commitment and photographs. They hope to facilitate a dialogue about the place of Missionaries in Modern China. For anyone interested there is on the back table a copy of a download from the Internet on this topic.

MEETING NEWS

We are saddened by the death of Judy Shea. She leaves a legacy of total commitment to our Quaker Witness. A person of many gifts, she knew the roles of both Martha and Mary in her life in the Meeting. She died as she had lived -- with an indomitable spirit and great courage. She was, and is, a source of inspiration. We miss her.

The family requests donations to the new Meetinghouse in lieu of flowers. Cards may be sent to her son, Peter Shea, at 16 Flax Island Road, Otego NY, 13825. A small memorial meeting will be held in Piseco, NY where she last resided, and a larger one is planned for next summer for family and friends in Piseco. Our Meeting is planning to hold a memorial for her at a later date when some of her family might be present here in Gainesville.

WELCOME New Attendees --- Doug Shoemaker, Kathy Goody, Brook and Beryl Shoemaker, and Christy Grace, the new daughter of Jim and Karen Porter. We feel blessed.

• Please hold Arnold Von der Porten in the LIGHT as he recovers from recent surgery.
• A number of copies of A Quaker Book of Wisdom by Robert Lawrence Smith have been donated to the meeting by Bud Brennan. It is an easy-to-read introduction to Quaker Life. They are in library to be borrowed.
• Calling all Swarthmore alumni: A brunch is to be held November 6, 2004 at the home of David and Jean Chalmers, for Swarthmore alumni living in the Gainesville area.
• Thanks from the treasurer. Again. Way to go F/friends.
• UN Day Observance is on Thursday, October 21 at the Gainesville Women's Club from 10:00 a.m.-1:00 pm. The theme is Women's Rights and Empowerment. Panel discussion in morning followed by lunch and a noontime speaker. Flyers at Meeting house.
• Hurricane Frances stole the limelight from CAFTA so we will extend through October 3 our project to raise some money for American Friends Service Committee for Cafta. Peace and Social Concerns will sell Patricia Ulrey's famous Tres Leche Cake after meeting that day.
• QUAKER EARTHCARE WITNESS committee will meet on the 3rd Sunday of each month after potluck and this month that falls on the 17th. The first chapter of Simpler Living, Compassionate Life, The Good Economy, the Great Economy will be the topic of discussion. Gavin van Horn will lead.

See To a New Meetinghouse for a description of our new floor plan, and the effects of Hurricane Francis.