Seventh Month, 2006
Seventh Month: Social and Economic Relationships
QUERIES for the Seventh month
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Are you working toward the removal of social injustices?
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Have you attempted to examine objectively their causes, and are
you ready to abandon old prejudices and think anew?
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What are you doing as individuals or as a meeting to insure equal
opportunities in social and economic life and in education for
those who suffer discrimination because of gender, race, creed,
or social class?
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Do you take a living interest in the social conditions of the
community in which you live?
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Do you seek to promote the welfare of those in any kind of need
and to secure a just distribution of the resources of the world?
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Do you regard your possessions as given to you in trust and do
you part with them freely for the needs of others?
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Do you recognize that we are a part of the natural world and
are you responsible heirs of its resources?
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Are you concerned that our increasing power over nature should
be used responsibly with reverence for life and with a sense
of the continuing creation of God in which we are called to participate?
ADVICE for the Seventh month:
- Seek to 'live in the virtue of that life and power that takes
away the occasion of all wars.'
- War is contrary to the life and teaching of Jesus.
- Seek through God's power and grace to overcome in your hearts
the emotions which lie at the root of conflict.
- Every human being is a child of God, and has that divine spark
which claims our reverence. War is a denial of this truth.
- Friends' peace testimony is not negative. It is the positive
exercise of good will calling us to lend our influence to all
that strengthens the growth of international friendships and
understanding.
- Cultivate an active spirit of love and peace.
- Show a loving consideration for all creatures, cherishing the
beauty and wonder of all God's creation.
- As parents and teachers, share this sense of reverence and stewardship.
"The question now is not whether we will be extremists but what
kind of extremist we will be. Will we be extremists for hate
or will we be extremists for love? Will we be extremists for
the preservation of injustice - or will we be extremists for
the cause of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill,
three men were crucified. We must not forget that all three were
crucified for the same crime - the crime of extremism. Two were
extremists for immorality, and thusly fell below their environment.
The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and
goodness, and thereby rose above his environment."
- Martin Luther King
Calendar Notes
- First-Day School (older children): We have
looked the Protestant
Reformation and the movement to "purify" the Church of England
during the rule of the Tudors. We also looked at the development
of the Anabaptist movement in England at that time. We have reviewed
Quaker belief and testimonies and are finding that they have
their roots in the Bible ("Light"), Puritanism (Simplicity),
and Anabaptism (silent meditation and Peace). While Puritans
used the Bible to simplify the church and service, Anabaptists
used the Bible to learn to live by the teachings of Jesus, especially
the Sermon on the Mount. Now we are looking at the Sermon on
the Mount to find other testimonies. Then we will move into the
rule of the Stuarts and the chaos of the middle of the 17th century,
the time in which Quakerism and William Penn were born. (Connie
Ray)
- Solutions to Violence Discussions: The Peace
and Social Concerns
Committee, in conjunction with the ad hoc Gainesville Interfaith
Peace Center Committee, is hosting a series of discussions titled
"Solutions to Violence," to be held at the meetinghouse from
10-11:30 a.m. The remaining 4 meetings will occur on July 8 and
22, and August 12 and 26. The July 8th session will focus on
the philosophy of Martin Luther King; the July 22 session will
focus on the writings and peace work of Joan Baez. The sessions
are guided by the outline of Colman McCarthy's 14-week course
on "Peace and World Order." Colman McCarthy is the founder of
the Center for Teaching Peace in Washington, D.C, and the compiler
of the text "Solutions to Violence," which is the basis of the
summer sessions. Don Smith will lead the discussions. Don notes
that this series should not be seen as being in competition with
the Quaker Study Group in that it is interfaith, and its ultimate
goal is to influence people who are not yet committed to a nonviolent
lifestyle. The hope is that it will spawn a number of outreach
efforts, that is, courses held at other sites on related topics
led by a number of other people. (Don Smith)
- Meeting Workday: Saturday, July 8, starting
at 8:00 a.m. We plan
to spruce up the grounds and meetinghouse so it looks nice for
Christi's party on July 9. We are starting early when it is still
cool. Come when you can and be prepared for a job you would like
to do. The routine cleaning in the
meetinghouse is done by the cleaning committee, but the windows
and exterior doors could use washing. There are a variety of
gardening tasks to be done: the walkways need sweeping, the edges
of the lawn need trimming, the mulched areas need weeding, the
lawn almost surely could use mowing. I will be gardening, so
I plan to wear long, loose clothing and a hat for sun protection,
and wear gloves to protect my hands. I have my favorite weed-digging
tool and a pair of grass shears that I use around the edges.
If you have favorite garden tools or a squeegee that works really
well on windows, bring them
along and show us how they work.
-Jean Larson
- Quakerism 101 will meet on Sunday, July 9,
at 9:15 a.m. We are
reading the first two chapters of The Journal of George Fox.
Please feel free to join us whether you are a newcomer or a long-time
member. Look for the "openings" or revelations or insights that
Fox had in his youth. Keep a notebook to record any questions
or concerns you may have about Fox's 17th-century words and "Bible
talk." Also write down the "openings" that you find most meaningful
today. We will discuss these, if you are willing to share, and
then there is more "lecture" stuff I will read, time permitting.
The Journal of George Fox can be read free on-line at
http://www.strecorsoc.org/gfox/title.html.
The "Journal" should also be available at the UF library. The
UF library has a copy of A Testament of Devotion by Thomas Kelly.
A Testament of
Devotion can be bought used from
http://www.abebooks.com. UF library also has a copy of Encounter
with Silence by John Punshon.
Encounter with Silence can be purchased
used for $6 to $12 at www.amazon.com . Please note that that
folks could make announcements after meeting for worship if they
would like to see if a meeting member has a copy available to
borrow.
- (Connie Ray)
- Welcoming Party! for Christi and Her
Parents: Please join the
Gainesville Friends Meeting and its members Karen and Jim Porter
for the celebration of Christi's adoption. Joyous festivities
will begin at the rise of meeting on July 9th.
- Quaker Market Dinner: Quaker Market will
host a dinner on Saturday,
July 22, 6 p.m., at the meetinghouse. The menu will consist of
miso soup, a medley of summer salads, crusty French bread, and
ice cream sundaes. There will be a variety of games. 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. For more information, please
call Gene Beardsley, 386-462-3201.
- (Gene Beardsley)
- A "Community Brainstorm" will be held at the
FCPJ Peace Farm
on Saturday, July 22, from 1 to 5 p.m., with a potluck to follow.
Folks from the local area who are forming intentional communities
will be in attendance; anyone else interested in community is
encouraged to come. We are located 5 miles north of Waldo. Turn
left off 301 at the Gate Station (CR 18), follow 18 to the T-intersection
and turn
left. We are the first driveway on the left. For other directions,
call Chris or Helen Hooley at 352 468-3390. (Helen Hooley)
- Beach Party!: It's summer surf, sun, and
fellowship time at the
annual Gainesville Friends Meeting beach day at the Winefordner
house (1512 South Central Avenue, Flagler Beach, Fla., 386-439-2898)
on July 29. Lunch will be around 2 p.m. Please bring food to
share and whatever you want to drink. Refrigerator space is limited,
so ice chests and ice are helpful. If there is sufficient interest
and space, people can stay overnight Friday, Saturday, or both.
For overnight reservations or for further information, please
contact Laura at laura34@bellsouth.net or 372-3972. DIRECTIONS:
Gainesville to Palatka (through either Melrose or Hawthorne),
take Rt. 100 through San Mateo and Bunnell to Flagler Beach.
As you approach Bunnell, turn left at the traffic light, then
turn left a second time at the next traffic light. (These lefts
keep you on Rt. 100.) In Flagler Beach, turn right on South Central
Ave., one block west of A1A. Go to 1512, a two-story house on
the west side of the street. Parking spaces are in front of the
house and in the rear, reached by the alley. (About 85 miles
from G-ville to Flagler Beach!).
- (Laura Winefordner)
Meeting News
From Business Meeting
- We had $17,321.28 in our accounts as of the end of May, but we
still do not have a mortgage. We approved changes to the Nominating
Committee report. Manuals for appliance use and a daily use checklist
are in place. We agreed to adopt the Meetinghouse Committee's
recommendation that any
committee using the meetinghouse have one member of the committee
be named responsible to ensure clean-up occurs after the meeting
or event, to provide hospitality, and to follow the "Daily Use
Checklist" before leaving. We set the date for our "Open House/Activity
Day" for October 29. An Ad Hoc Committee consisting of one member
from each standing committee will work on this project.
- Tim Fogarty, Tracy Skidmore, and Dick Beardsley were thanked
for volunteering to mow the grass.
- A Meetinghouse Workday is scheduled for Saturday, July 8, 8 a.m.
to 1 p.m.. Peace and Social Concerns committee members have chosen
two areas to work on in the coming year: peace education and
Pro-Nica. They are planning a forum on Pro-Nica. The Quaker Earthcare
Witness committee is sponsoring a forum by Betty Odum on the
"Prosperous Way Down" (editor note: this already occurred). The
garbage collection issue is being referred to the Meetinghouse
Committee. All after-worship activities in the month of July
are being postponed for one week so that we can participate in
a celebration of the adoption of Christi by the Porters on July
9 at the rise of meeting. Cheryl Demers will be married in August.
The Prosperous Way Down
Thanks to Betty Odum for giving us a
great forum based on the book The Prosperous Way Down, authored
by Betty and her and her late husband, H.T. I believe many good
things will come out of this forum. Skip's question regarding
xeri-scaping with ground covers suitable for active children
(instead of high-maintenance grass) led us to find an expert
in the field, Claudia Larsen, to talk at our August Earthcare
Witness Meeting. Also, one idea resulting from this presentation
is that each member in Earthcare Witness may choose one of the
categories presented by Betty to investigate (for example, housing,
transportation, or religion). That person could then share his
or her ideas about what will happen in that category as nonrenewable
resources are used up, as well as what could be done. Betty would
be willing to lead a discussion on this sometime in the fall.
In July, Earthcare Witness will discuss these ideas further,
as well as a possible fund-raiser for the meetinghouse (cloth
grocery bags), composting, future guided tour of our natural
grounds, books we can use for discussion, and so forth.
- (Arlene
Epperson)
"This is the word of the Lord God to you all, and a charge to
you all in the presence of the living God: Be patterns, be examples
in all countries, places, islands, nations, wherever you come;
that your carriage and life may preach among all sorts of people,
and to them; then you will come to walk cheerfully over the world,
answering to that of God in every one."
- George Fox
Ministry and Nurture
In an effort to better serve our Meeting community, the Ministry
and Nurture Committee would like you to let them know if you
are aware of Friends who are ill or in need of contact and/or
pastoral care.
- Annie McPherson, Arnold von der Porten, Bill Mitchell, Connie Ray,
Helen Hooley, Karen Porter, Walter Morris -
The Man Watching
Rainer Maria Rilke
I can tell by the way the trees beat, after
so many dull days, on my worried windowpanes
that a storm is coming,
and I hear the far-off fields say things
I can't bear without a friend,
I can't love without a sister.
The storm, the shifter of shapes, drives on
across the woods and across time,
and the world looks as if it had no age:
the landscape like a line in the psalm book,
is seriousness and weight and eternity.
What we choose to fight is so tiny!
What fights us is so great!
If only we would let ourselves be dominated
as things do by some immense storm,
we would become strong too, and not need names.
When we win it's with small things,
and the triumph itself makes us small.
What is extraordinary and eternal does not want to be bent by
us.
I mean the Angel who appeared
to the wrestlers of the Old Testament:
when the wrestler's sinews
grew long like metal strings,
he felt them under his fingers
like chords of deep music.
Whoever was beaten by this Angel
(who often simply declined the fight)
went away proud and strengthened
and great from that harsh hand,
that kneaded him as if to change his shape.
Winning does not tempt that man.
This is how he grows: by being defeated, decisively,
by constantly greater beings.
Catherine Puckett, editor
Converted to HTML by Bill Mitchell,
mitchell@math.ufl.edu