Smithfield Friends Newsletter January 2002 Smithfield Monthly Meeting of Friends 108 Smithfield Road Woonsocket, RI 02895 Vol.14________________________________________________________________________ No.135 Parsonage: 762-5726 Internet: www.smithfieldfriends.org Clerk: Richard Frechette Recording Clerk Connie Bair-Thompson Pastor: Marnie Miller-Gutsel Treasurer:Bruce Buteau Ministry&Counsel Rhoda Mowry Newsletter: Randy Oftedahl CALENDAR FOR January/February EVERY SUNDAY 10:30 am: MEETING FOR WORSHIP First Day school Child Care Available LAST SUNDAY OF EACH MONTH: Unprogrammed Worship and Pot Luck Lunch OTHER WORSHIP UNDER THE CARE OF SMITHFIELD MEETING OR RI/SMITHFIELD QTLY. MTG. SECOND SUNDAY OF MONTH 7:00 PM: Unprogrammed Worship at Uxbridge Meetinghouse, Uxbridge, Mass EVERY WEDNESDAY 6:00 PM: Unprogrammed Worship and discussion at ACI(Maximum) Other events Saturday, Feb. 2 5 PM: Midwinter (Groundhog's Day) Meeting Celebration Sunday, Feb. 3 Monthly Meeting for Business following worship Sunday, Feb10 Newsletter deadline Every Friday--Gathering to Pray for Peace--6 PM at the Meeting House, followed by a simple supper at 6:45 (note supper time change) Our continued Gathering to Pray for Peace As the situation in Afghanistan changes, new threats loom elsewhere in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. There is also a continuing fear that this so-called "war on terrorism" could spread. So Smithfield Friends continue to gather on Fridays at 6:00 PM in the Meeting House to pray for peace; we now continue in prayer until 6:45, to allow more time for centering. A simple supper follows. All Friends and attenders are encouraged to join the group. The Gatherings are open to the wider community, so please invite your neighbors and friends. Letter from Marnie Dear Friends, Happy New Year to you all! And let us keep praying that the rough ride we had last year will never recur. Yet there will always be troubling times to get through. There always seems to be a threat to peace somewhere in the world, and from time to time, trouble may also invade the private worlds of individuals and families. This is why I was particularly touched by a message given by a Friend at last Friday's regular Gathering to Pray for Peace. He observed that when difficult times seem likely to continue for a while, it can be enormously important to learn to accept and appreciate moments of respite, plateaus where we can rest, even if they are temporary. His words reminded me of some verses from Psalm 4 that spoke strongly to me some years ago during a troubled time in my own life: Hear me when I call, 0 God of my righteousness! Thou hast given me room in my distress. Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer. There are those who say, "0 that we might see some good! Let the light of thy face shine on us, 0 Lord! Thou hast put gladness in my heart more than when their grain and wine abound. I will both lie down in peace, and sleep, for thou alone, 0 Lord, makest me to lie down in safety. -Psalm 4, verses 1 and 6-8 The line that particularly struck me was "Thou hast given me room in my distress." And I suddenly became aware that yes, the difficult times were not over, and were not likely to be over any time soon. Yet I felt as if I had just been given an almost literal room, a place to sit down and rest for a while, before I had to take up the struggle again. And I also realized that I had often been given such "rooms" in my distress, though I hadn't fully appreciated them--there had been many times and spaces to pause, rest, recover, to rejoice, even to play for a while, before I had to continue on the stony path that was my life at that time. And I was grateful. Friends, in the troubled moments of your lives, may you always find such rooms where you can rest for awhile. Love, Marnie Addendum to the Minutes (this was not attached to the Minutes printed in this newsletter) 2002-10 Next Meeting of New England Yearly Meeting Sessions Committee - March 23, 2002 Friends approved hosting the next meeting of New England Yearly Meeting Sessions Committee on March 23, 2002. Rhoda Mowry, who serves on Sessions committee, will act as liaison. GroundHog Day celebration! What better than a Smithfield Meeting groundhog day celebration to shake off the mid-winter doldrums? Saturday February 2 at 5:00. We'll have a pot-luck supper - a food item. Each celebrator should also bring a inexpensive wrapped gift for an old-fashioned Yankee swap ($5 or less or something already in your possession - can be silly or serious). Don't know what a Yankee swap is - you'll have to ask one of our Meeting's old-fashioned Yankees (Hmmmm. Just what is an appropriate gift wrap for groundhog day?????). We'll also have some other fun activities for all ages. Moses Brown Class Days for Parents of Prospective Students Thinking of sending your child to Moses Brown? Class visitation will continue through February, on special days when you may come to observe classes at the school. Reservations are required. See the notice on the Bulletin Board for dates and times. High School Juniors and Seniors--Don't Forget the Trip to DC! The Quaker Youth Seminar 2002 will meet Feb. 15-18, at William Penn House, just blocks from Capitol Hill. The topic will be "The Equality Testimony." Enrollment is limited to 30, first come, first serve, so sign up soon. Only $50! See bulletin board for more details and registration forms. (Marnie has extras) Workshop on Prayer On Saturday, January 24, from 10-4, the Friends Meeting at Cambridge will host a workshop on Prayer, led by Andrew Nash. See the bulletin board for details. Woolman Hill Weekend for Friends in the Healing Arts Are you involved in the healing arts in any way? Woolman Hill has planned a gathering especially for you, on February 1-3. Details on the bulletin board. Messages from Distant Friends Check out the bulletin board for Christmas letters and other messages from distant Friends, including a post card from Marian Baker, Aaron Frechette's letter on his decision to be a conscientious objector, and a Dec. 22 E-Mail from the Mangelsdorfs, who are still in Argentina and still safe. Monthly worship at Uxbridge meeting house Smithfield Meeting will continue to sponsor worship at the old Meetinghouse in South Uxbridge on the second Sunday of the Month. However, in March (3/10), the worship will be at 4PM, then convert back to 7PM in April. Thereafter, we will follow the daylight savings calendar i.e. 4 PM during November through March, 7PM during April through October. Christmas Baskets and more Christmas Baskets Our meeting collectively produced 17 Christmas baskets, which was given to Family Resources, Inc. for distribution to needy families. Our goal was 10 baskets, so this was a great success! Thanks for your generosity, Friends. New Contact List The Meeting contact list has been revised. Copies may be picked up at the meeting house. Non-resident Friends can e-mail or call the clerk for a copy (RFrech@home.com, 401-769-4433). Meeting for Worship with attention to Business: January 6, 2002 2002-1 Opening Minute Smithfield Monthly Meeting met for a regularly scheduled meeting for worship with attention to business at noon on January 6, 2002. Richard Frechette was presiding clerk, Connie Bair-Thompson was recording clerk, and 9 other Friends were present. We began with a period of waiting worship. 2002-2 Nominating Committee Report For Nominating Committee, Diane Gauthier reported the following recommendations for committee and other duty assignments, which are in addition to those approved at the December 2, 2001 meeting for worship with attention to business. Diane noted that nominating committee proposes to eliminate the Scholarship/Campership committee and the Retreats Coordinator assignment because they are not currently utilized by the meeting. She also noted that the nominating committee proposes using two coordinators for music instead of a music committee and that additional people would be desirable for the Finance Committee, if anyone feels so led. Friends approved of these committee and duty assignments and thanked the Nominating Committee for their work. If the need arises in the future for a Retreats Coordinator, Friends agreed that Ministry and Counsel Committee can ask someone to perform this role. Friends asked Finance Committee to address whether and how we can provide Scholarships and Camperships to the meeting community. Based on their recommendations, Nominating Committee will nominate a Scholarship/Campership Coordinator or Coordinators at a future meeting for worship with attention to business. Building and Grounds Committee: Marcel St. Germain (convener of first meeting) Ron Belliveau Dorothy Bushnell Harry Bushnell Bruce Buteau Suzanne Frechette Ana Hidalgo Dan Warren Finance Committee Bruce Buteau (convener of first meeting, treasurer - ex, officio) Rhoda Mowry Martha Smith Peace and Social Concerns Committee Kathy Malin (convener of first meeting) Ralph Barlow Yvonne Barlow Liberty Goodwin Paul Klinkman Randy Oftedahl (beginning in June 2002) Marcel St. Germain Bob Sumner-Mack Ministry and Counsel Committee Connie Bair-Thompson Ron Belliveau Richard Frechette (presiding clerk, ex-officio) Diane Gauthier Marnie Miller-Gutsell (pastor, ex-officio) Rhoda Mowry Martha Smith Eunice Strobel Flowers Coordinator: Marnie Miller-Gutsell Greeters Coordinator: Richard Frechette Hospitality Coordinator: Yet to be named Child Care Coordinator: Heather Smith Music Coordinators: Ron Belliveau, Marnie Miller-Gutsell 2002-3 Child Care Concerns and Suggestions - Nominating Committee For Nominating Committee, Connie Bair-Thompson explained some of the concerns, suggestions and questions that grew out of the committee's search for a Child Care Coordinator for our youngest attenders. The committee would like to ask Friends to help address these issues. The committee found it difficult to find someone willing to serve in this capacity and spent much time discussing various alternatives. Although Heather Smith did agree to serve in this capacity, she did so somewhat reluctantly and would prefer to have someone else serve with her. Nominating Committee was unable to find anyone else for this position. The committee found that most of the hesitancy is due to Friend's concerns that, as Coordinator, they will have to provide care too often and will miss the Meeting for Worship experience most of us seek on First Day mornings. Concerns about the coordinator's availability on a given Sunday were also raised. Friends discussed various options and agreed to ask the Childcare Coordinator to pass a sign-up calendar once per month after meeting for worship for the following month for people to indicate which First Days they can take responsibility for childcare, if it is required. The childcare providers will also be posted in the newsletter. 2002-4 Confirmation of Smithfield Meeting representative(s) to the Campaign of Conscience Summit January 18-19-20 Previously (minute 2001-83), Friends agreed to be open to the idea of sending a representative to the Summit if someone felt led to go. Richard Frechette said that both he and Bob Sumner-Mack would like to represent our meeting at the Campaign of Conscience Summit on January 18, 19 and 20, 2002 in Philadelphia and asked Friends to confirm their previous decision and allow them both to attend as our representatives. Friends approved. 2002-5 2002 FUM Chain of Prayer For Ministry and Counsel, Connie Bair-Thompson reported that May 8, 2002 has been designated by FUM to Smithfield Friends Meeting as the day we will participate in their Chain of Prayer. Connie noted that we had requested a 12-hour time slot, but it is unclear whether we are responsible for the 12 midnight to 12 noon, or for the 12 noon to 12 midnight time period. Connie agreed to try to clarify this with FUM before the February meeting for worship with attention to business. 2002-6 Uxbridge Worship Group Smithfield Friends currently sponsor a meeting for worship at the Uxbridge Meetinghouse every second First-Day. Because attendance at this meeting has been down recently, including one second Sunday when no one attended, the clerk asked whether Friends wish to continue sponsoring this worship group. Friends affirmed that the Uxbridge meetinghouse has served to make our presence known in the wider community and that attendance at our monthly service could probably be increased through additional community outreach. This meetinghouse also holds a special place in our hearts. Jeanne Kinney offered to serve as coordinator for our services at Uxbridge and Friends gratefully approved. 2002-8 Never Again Campaign - Karin Sprague Karin shared with Friends that Yumiko Nogami from the Never Again Campaign is coming next Sunday to stay with her and her family for the next four months. "Never Again" refers to "Never Again Pearl Harbor," "Never Again Hiroshima," "Never Again Nagasaki," and "Never Again War." In the United States, the Campaign is a volunteer program of Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield, Massachusetts that allows volunteers from Japan, like Yumiko, to live temporarily with volunteer host families in the United States and Canada. During her stay with the Spragues, Yumiko plans to speak to a variety of audiences about Japanese culture and what she has learned from Hiroshima and Nagasaki A-bomb survivors. Friends will invite Yamiko to join us at our January 18 open gathering to pray for peace and for supper following. 2002-9 Use of New Membership Roll Book The new membership roll book we commissioned Eric Zimmerman to create is now in our posession. The clerk recommended that we clarify what and how information will be recorded in the book. Marnie Miller-Gutsell, Rhoda Mowry and Karin Sprague offered to form an ad hoc committee that will decide what information will be recorded in the new book and in what form. This committee will present its recommendations at a future meeting for worship with attention to business. Oppression in the extreme appears terrible, but oppression in more refined appearances remains to be oppression, and where the smallest degree of it is cherished it grows stronger and more extensive: that labour for a perfect redemption from this spirit of oppression is the great business of the whole family of Christ Jesus in this world. -John Woolman, A Plea for the Poor, 1763 Smithfield Monthly Meeting of Friends 108 Smithfield Road Woonsocket, RI 02895