Smithfield Friends Newsletter SUMMER 2001 Smithfield Monthly Meeting of Friends 108 Smithfield Road Woonsocket, RI 02895 Vol.13________________________________________________________________________ No.130 Parsonage: 762-5726 Internet: http://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 SUMMER 2001 EVERY SUNDAY 10:30 am: MEETING FOR WORSHIP No First Day School in the Summer 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: Sunday, July 1 Guest Minister: Marion Baker Pot-luck lunch following worship Monday, July 2 7 pm: Quaker Discussion Group at Meetinghouse Monday, July 9 7 pm: Quaker Discussion Group at Meetinghouse Sunday, July 15 9:30 am - 4 pm: RI/Smithfield Quarterly Meeting at Worcester/Pleasant Street Meeting, Worcester, MA Monday, July 16 7 pm: Quaker Discussion Group at Meetinghouse Monday, July 23 7 pm: Quaker Discussion Group at Meetinghouse Monday, July 30 7 pm: Quaker Discussion Group at Meetinghouse August 4 - 9 New England Yearly Meeting at Bryant College, Smithfield, RI Sunday, Sept. 9 Monthly Meeting for Business September Newsletter deadline Letter from Marnie Dear Friends, Recently I saw an intriguing headline in the Providence Journal. It stated "Doctor says animals are good for you." I expected it to be an article on the "pet therapy" now being used with nursing home residents and emotionally disturbed children. But in fact, the article was about a doctor and his wife (a nurse) who not only maintain their practices, but also run a farm in South County. They raise sheep and organic vegetables, and enjoy visitors, especially school children. But above all, they keep up the farm because "It's medicine" for the stress of their lives. It's not just that "animals are good for you." Dr. Fritz Vohr and his wife Pat believe that in our technologically oriented world, reality is being blurred with "virtual" images. We control those "virtual" images, which are not connected to the rhythms and natural cycles of the earth--which we don't control. But the Vohrs believe that we need to stay in touch with those natural rhythms in order to remain healthy. Probably you gardeners know this well. Even I--who know next to nothing about gardening--find it relaxing to putter around with my plants--which clearly have mysterious little lives of their own, quite apart from mine. Take my lavender. It arrived from Michigan with two siblings which immediately died. The remaining sprig sulked for two years, refusing to grow more than three inches high. But finally it took hold. Now, defying cold, drought, and insects, It is about to take over the front walk. Yet I haven't really done anything except talk to it. This is in great contrast to the poinsettias -who count on me to battle a host of ills--bugs, mildew, drought, whatever. (I talk to them, too.) But no matter how much or how little care they take, they all keep reminding me that I and they are together in a realm much bigger than the "world" I have control over-- a very mysterious realm, but clearly part of God's mysterious Presence on earth. It's far too easy to focus on what we have wrought, and imagine that we will quite soon be able to extend our control over everything of significance in the natural world. This is a dangerous delusion, as global warming is beginning to show us. To our peril, we forget that our life is tied to the rhythms of that world, and most of the time we haven't a clue to how all the connections work. To counteract human conceit, I recommend a good dose of time outdoors this summer, preferably doing nothing but admiring the creation. And take a copy of Psalm 104 with you: it is a glorious hymn to the One "Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment; who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain; who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters; who maketh the clouds his chariot; who walketh upon the wings of the wind." (vv. 2-3) Yes, humankind has a place in the world of this Psalm-a rather small one. Humans are only one among the innumerable other creatures, from wild goats on the high hills, to leviathan, who 'frolics' in the sea--all of whom are objects of God's tender care: "What thou givest them, they gather; thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good... .Thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created; and thou renewest the face of the earth." (vv. 28, 30) Love and blessings for summer, Marnie The Talking Quakers - Everyone Welcome Friends continue to gather every Monday at 7 PM, using the Bible as a springboard to discuss a variety of ideas from a Quaker perspective. Each discussion stands on its own; you do not need to have attended previous sessions. Drop-ins are welcome! All meetings are at the Meetinghouse. Topics will be announced at Meeting for Worship the day before Visit by Marion Baker On 1st day, July 1, Marion Baker of Weare, NH Meeting will join us in worship and will give a message about Friends United Meeting. A pot-luck will follow worship.. Marion will be leaving shortly for a three year ministry in Kenya. At our May Meeting for business, Friends approved helping Marion to meet the expenses of her upcoming three-year stay in Kenya, by soliciting funds and "seeding" the fundraiser with $100 from the Bessie Ewen Fund. Additional contributions from individuals can be left in the contributions box or mailed to the Treasurer, earmarked for this purpose on or before to July 1. Quarterly Meeting Rhode Island-Smithfield Quarter will meet on 1st Day, July 15 at the Worcewster/Pleasant St. Meeting. Schedule: 9:30 Quarterly Meeting Ministry and Counsel Committee 11:00 Meeting for Worship Noon Pot luck lunch 1:30 Kathy Knight, Witness for Peace delegate, will tell about Plan Columbia, and her trip to Columbia with Witness for Peace, a Human Rights organization made up of observers of conflict in countries within the America since 1983 2:30 Meeting for Business All are encouraged to attend. However, Smithfield Meetinghouse will be open for unprogrammed worship for those unable to attend Quarterly Meeting. Child care will be provided. Yearly Meeting Sessions New England Yearly Meeting will hold its 2001 sessions at Bryant College, Smithfield, RI from August 4-9. Yearly Meeting is a wonderful mixture of worship, business, workshops, and fun. The options are plentiful: Friends may choose to register for any one or more single days or for the entire session; Friends may commute, room in a dorm at Bryant, or camp on campus. Sound System for Hearing Impaired Authorized by Friends at a recent meeting for business, Ron Belliveau has procured and installed a sound system geared to aid those with hearing difficulties. Unlike a common PA system, this system is geared to pick up sounds from anywhere in the meeting room and to transmit it to individual headsets. Anyone who has difficulties hearing at meeting for worship should ask for a headset upon entering the meetinghouse. New Officers and YM Represententives Selected At the June 3 meeting for business, Friends approved the following Nominating Committee recommendations: Clerk, Richard Frechette; Recording Clerk, Connie Bair-Thomson; Treasurer, Bruce Buteau. Also, The following Yearly Meeting assignments were approved, Ministry & Counsel, Rhoda Mowry; representatives to 2001 YM sessions: Martha Smith, and Jeanne Kinney (adult representatives); Rocky Malin, Alex Malin and Nathan St. Germain (youth representatives) New Treasurer's Address For those wishing to mail contributions to support the meeting, as of July 1 such contributions can be sent to the new Treasurer, Bruce Buteau, at 210 Newland Avenue, Woonsocket, RI 02895. Checks should be made payable to Smithfield Smithfield Monthly Meeting of Friends Minutes of Meeting for Business, June 17, 2001 2001-45 Opening Minute Smithfield Monthly Meeting met for a called meeting for worship with attention to business at noon on June 17, 2001. Richard Frechette acted as Presiding clerk, Connie Bair-Thompson was recording clerk, and 11 other Friends were present. We began with a period of waiting worship. 2001-46 Care of the Meeting's Money Friends approved the following regarding care of the Meeting's money: - Bruce Buteau, Treasurer, is authorized to open and close bank accounts in the name of Smithfield Monthly Meeting of Friends as needed. - Bruce Buteau, Treasurer; Richard Frechette, Clerk of the Meeting; and Rhoda Mowry, member of the Finance Committee, are named as alternate signers, individually, of all bank accounts of Smithfield Monthly Meeting of Friends. - Any checks in excess of $5,000 from any bank account of Smithfield Monthly Meeting of Friends, must have the signature of two of the three authorized signers. 2001-47 Nominating committee report For Nominating Committee, Connie Bair-Thompson presented Karin Sprague as a replacement for Susan Kay on the Ministry and Counsel Committee. Friends approved. 2001-48 Letter to Rep. Patrick Kennedy Regarding US Policy toward Iraq Bob Sumner-Mack has asked Friends to consider writing corporately to Rep. Patrick Kennedy, asking him to co-sign Rep. Bonior's letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell urging a change in policy on the Iraqi sanctions. After some discussion, Friends asked the clerk to generate the letter, making sure the meeting's earlier stated concerns on this issue are referenced. Friends also recognized and encouraged individual Friends to write to their own representatives on this issue. 2001-49 Closing minute No further business arising, after a brief period of silent worship, Friends planned to meet next for business on September 9, 2001 as previously minuted, God willing. -Respectfully Submitted, Connie Bair-Thompson Recording Clerk Walking With a Three-year-old T his year, I walked through Holy Week with a 3-year-old. I didn't plan to. I just did it. I bought a CD, and from the CD I made a tape. The songs were about Jesus and the Cross and the nails and the blood And the broken hands and the broken heart. It is not a tape for 3-year-olds. Driving down the road, my 3-year-old son Jonathan buckled in his car seat... I played the tape. I didn't plan to. I didn't really even mean to... I just did it. "Come to the table and saver the sight The wine and the bread that was broken All have been welcome to come if they might And accept as their own these two tokens." I hit the stop button. (Not as a Quaker resisting Communion, but as a parent shielding my child from the horror of the Cross) Jonathan: "But Mom, I like that song!! I want to hear it!" I hit the play button... "The bread is His body the wine is His blood..." Jonathan: "WHAT did he say??" "And the One who provides them is true" Mom: "I'll tell you later." "He freely offers, we freely accept. To accept and believe Him is all we must do. Come to the table. Taste of the glory. Savor the sorrow. He's dying tomorrow. The hand that is breaking the bread soon will be broken..." Jonathan: "Broken?!?! Whose hand will be broken?" "Come to the table and see in His eyes the Love that the Father has spoken" Mom: "Jesus hands were broken." "And know you are welcome, whatever your crime, though every commandment you've broken." Jonathan: "Why did his hands break?" "For He's come to love you and not to condemn. And He offers a pardon of peace. If you'll come to the table, you'll feel in your heart The greatest forgiveness The greatest release..." Mom: "On the Cross. They broke on the Cross." At home, we open the Easter book. I read the words. Jonathan turns the pages. He stays for a long time on the page with the priests. I stay with him. Jonathan: "Priests are bad guys." Mom: "Priests try to teach people about God - but these priests didn't understand about Jesus. They were afraid - and they didn't understand." He lights up at the Last Supper. Jonathan: "That's like in the song!!" He stays with the sleeping disciples... Jonathan: "I think that one is praying - but the others are sleeping." ...and with the soldiers... Jonathan: "The soldiers are so mean. They have sharp swords." I stay with him. Mom: "They were very mean to Jesus. They hurt Him and they put Him on the Cross and they killed Him. They didn't understand about Jesus." Jonathan stays with the picture of Jesus on the Cross. He is quiet. He looks hard at the crown of thorns At the hands At the blood. I stay with him. I tell him Jesus never stopped loving -even when the men killed Him on the Cross - I tell him Jesus came to show us That God loves us that way That He loves us with a Love that never quits -never - ever - quits... We turn the page. The stone is rolled away. Jonathan's face lights up. Jonathan: "It's empty!!" The man asks Mary why she's crying Jonathan: "It's Jesus!" He calls her by name... Jonathan: "Jesus says, 'Mary...'" We read it again and again...we are still reading it. Now Jonathan knows about the bread that was broken and the hands that were broken. He knows about the disciples who fell asleep And the One who prayed for them while they slept - the One who prayed as much for them as for Himself - He knows about the soldiers and the priests and the angry mob who were mean Because they were afraid and because they didn't understand... He knows about the kiss that couldn't be taken back And perhaps someday he'll even see -as I believe Jesus did - not just the meanness, but also the sadness the very tender sadness of that cruel moment. He knows about the thorns and the nails and the Cross and the unfairness of it all. He knows about the big rock That was rolled away And about the tomb that was empty He knows about the Risen Christ who was gently calling "Mary..." Who is just as gently calling "Jonathan..." Who is gently calling each and every one of us - by name... This year, I walked through Holy Week with a 3-year-old. I walked at his pace. I saw what he saw. This year, I saw through young eyes Through tender eyes Through a 3-year-old fresh-from-God eyes A Love that refuses to stay only where it is safe. A Love that refuses to stay only where there is peace and harmony and unity A Love that does not hide A Love that cries out In Light and in Darkness A Love that never quits That never ever quits... -Susan Kay The last fruit of holy obedience is the simplicity of the trusting child, the simplicity of the children of God. It is the simplicity which lies beyond complexity. It is the naiveté which is the yonder side of sophistication. It is the beginning of spiritual maturity, which comes after the awkward age of religious busyness for the Kingdom of God - yet how many are caught, and arrested in development, within this adolescent development of the soul's growth! The mark of this simplified life is radiant joy. It lives in the Fellowship of the Transfigured Face. Knowing sorrow to the depths it does not agonize and fret and strain, but in serene, unhurried calm it walks in time with the joy and assurance of Eternity. -Thomas R. Kelly: A Testament of Devotion, 1941 Smithfield Monthly Meeting of Friends 108 Smithfield Road Woonsocket, RI 02895