Smithfield Friends Newsletter February 2003 Smithfield Monthly Meeting of Friends 108 Smithfield Road Woonsocket, RI 02895 Vol.15________________________________________________________________________ No.146 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 February/March EVERY SUNDAY 10:30 am: MEETING FOR WORSHIP Child Care Available LAST SUNDAY OF EACH MONTH: Unprogrammed Worship and Pot Luck Lunch Children's First Day School during worship OTHER WORSHIP UNDER THE CARE OF SMITHFIELD MEETING OR RI/SMITHFIELD QTLY. MTG. SECOND SUNDAY OF MONTH 4:00 PM: Unprogrammed Worship at Uxbridge Meetinghouse, Uxbridge, Mass EVERY WEDNESDAY 4:00 PM: Unprogrammed Worship and discussion at ACI(Maximum) Other events Sunday, Feb. 9 Peace and Social Concerns Committee meets after Worship Regular Meeting For Worship at Uxbridge, 4 PM Monday, Feb. 10 M&C at Rhoda's, 7 PM Saturday, Feb. 15 Ecumenical Dialogue on Iraq at the Meeting House Sunday, Feb. 16 9:30-10 AM, Meeting for Worship for Healing--special Program "Exploring the Realms of Healing," led by Ron Belliveau Sunday, Feb. 23 9:15 Discussion group--Rufus Jones video Also--Rise of Meeting--Monthly Potluck, with Discussion of Annual State of Society Report Sunday, March 9 Special Potluck and continued discussion of revision of NEYM Faith and Practice Public Forum on Iraq: War or Peace? Saturday, February 15 2 - 4 PM Smithfield Friends Meetinghouse See inside for details Letter from Marnie Dear Friends, Lately I've been thinking about the meaning of membership, and that got me thinking about my own experience of joining the Society of Friends, way back in 1985. I started attending Meeting regularly about two years earlier. I had drifted out of the UU church I was raised in some time before because the particular church I had been attending provided a lot of rather intellectual conversation but not much spiritual nourishment. But when my marriage started coming apart, I felt the need of that nourishment. So I started attending the Quaker Meeting on the Guilford College campus, partly because a lot of my friends were members there but also because I wondered what it would be like to sit in meditation for an hour with no preacher or hymns. Well, it was pretty dramatic--sometime I'll share some of my convincement experiences with you. Anyway, I discovered that I had probably been a Friend for a long time but just didn't realize it. And little did I know the surprising places I would be led as an outcome of making that decision to request membership. There is a Navajo teaching that because everything is connected, the fluttering wing of the corn beetle affects the direction of the wind, the drift of the desert sand, even the way the light strikes the eye of the person contemplating the world. The effect of a small action extends and expands far into the future--and we never know where it will take us. That has certainly been the case with my decision to ask for membership. It never occurred to me ~ to ask for membership--I felt so much at home among Friends. But I did wonder if the clearness committee would think I belonged in the Society. I had some doubts about some of the Testimonies, especially the Peace Testimony--I'd been involved in vigils against the Viet Nam war, but I wondered if World War II might not have been a "good" war. But when I met with my clearness committee, they assured me that other Friends also struggled with similar issues. They asked if I knew, for instance, that X-- and here they mentioned the name of a very weighty Friend who was on the Guilford College Board of Trustees---had served as a naval officer in World War II, because although he was a birthright Friend, he felt Hitler would kill millions more innocent people than he already had if he were not stopped by force. Well, no--I hadn't known that about X. But I knew X personally, and had great respect for him as a Quaker. I think what my F/friends were trying to tell me was kind of like what George Fox said to the young William Penn when Penn asked if he had to stop wearing his sword: "Wear it as long as thou canst." What I think Fox meant was that God doesn't expect us to have arrived at some level of Quaker perfection before we can be considered Friends. What God expects is a commitment to keep wrestling with the issues. It's a question of what we feel ourselves drawn toward, not whether or not we have fully arrived there. In fact, I suspect that if we ever think we have "made it," spiritually speaking, we are sadly mistaken. All we have really done is cut off the process of spiritual deepening that should continue for our whole lives, lest we forget that "My thoughts are not your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8) Love, Marnie Reminder to M&C Members At our next M&C Meeting on Feb. 10, we want to complete the suggested reading list for our new brochure on membership. Bring your suggestions! Save These Dates! On Sunday, Feb. 23 at noon, we will have our regular Monthly Potluck, but this month it will include a Discussion of the annual State of Society Report. So bring a dish ~ your ideas of how Smithfield has been doing over the past year. And on Sunday, March 9 we will have a Special Potluck, at which we will continue the discussion of the revision of NEYM's Faith and Practice. Child care will be provided. Discussion Group Off to a Great Start--Y'all Come! Last month's discussion of Thomas Hamm's keynote address on the Peace Testimony was very successful--we had a hard time stopping. This month we will view and discuss the new video on Rufus Jones. Everyone is invited to come-Young Friends are very welcome, along with adult members and attenders. Each topic is self contained--you do not need to have attended previous meetings. We meet the last Sunday of the month at 9:15 The next adult discussion group will be held on first day February 23 at 9:15-10:15 AM. The topic will be Rufus Jones, one of the most famous American Quakers. We will begin with watching a video entitled "Rufus Jones: A Luminous Life." In the March (23) discussion group we will discuss Mary Lord's Speech at the 2002 annual meeting of the Friends World Committee for Consultation entitled "Can Love Really Overcome Violence and Hate? Reflections on Friends Peace Testimony." Copies of the transcript are available in the lobby, or can be received by e-mail in word processing format from Richard Frechette (RFrech@cox.net) Friends may participate in any or all discussion groups. There is no registration. Our Little Ones Need You! The sign up sheet for Child Care Providers is looking mighty blank! We need volunteers to look after our infants and toddlers during Meeting for Worship. If we don't have any of our tiniest attenders, you can stay in worship, but we do like to be prepared, so please sign up. Retreat and Workshop Opportunities Check out the bulletin board for announcements of up-coming Woolman Hill and Quaker Studies programs. This month, February 21-23, there will be a weekend retreat on Journaling at Woolman Hill, and on February 22, a Quaker Studies Workshop on Quaker Decision Making at Cambridge Meeting. March Jr. High Retreat The next Jr High Retreat (open to all 6th, 7th, and 8th graders) will take place at Wellesley MM, March 28-30. The topic is "Me and My Culture." Bring a friend! Registration is first come, first serve--to avoid the waiting list, send in your registration soon! See the Bulletin Board for details. If you need a registration form, ask Marnie. Call for Volunteers--Care of Worship at Uxbridge Remember the gathering for unprogrammed worship in the old Uxbridge Meeting every second Sunday at 4 PM (unless the parking lot is snow-bound!) We need volunteers to open the building, start the fire, close worship, and return the key afterwards. A simple but very rewarding ministry--sign up sheet is on the bulletin board. Witness for Peace Looking for somewhere to express your concern about the Iraq situation? There are a number of weekly vigils in our area: Mondays--Westport, Tuesdays--Worcester, Fridays--Providence (2--midday and afternoon) and Westerly. Check the bulletin board for times and locations. Urgent Appeal: Family Hygiene Kits for Iraq AFSC in coordination with the Mennonite Central Committee is asking for donations of family hygiene kits containing basic supplies of items we take for granted but that are difficult or impossible to obtain in Iraq. Lists of items for these kits and the address where they may be sent are available on the table by the front door. Please note the request to send ALL the items listed and ONLY those items. Please help! (see details on page 7) Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business: February 2, 2003 2003-1 Opening Minute Smithfield Monthly Meeting met for a regularly scheduled meeting for worship with attention to business at 12:15PM on February 2, 2003. Richard Frechette was presiding clerk, Connie Bair-Thompson was recording clerk, and 8 other Friends were present. We began with a period of waiting worship. 2003-2 Memorial Minute - Lester Taber Out of the silence, Suzanne Frechette read the memorial minute for Lester Taber. Friends approved this minute, remembering what a remarkable and inspirational person Lester was. Friends expressed a desire to share Lester's poetry with a wider circle of Friends and discussed various ways to do this. We will share one of his poems, set to music, at an appropriate time during Quarterly and Yearly meetings. In addition, we will add a printed copy of one of his poems set to music with this minute. Finally, we will include his published poems in our library. 2003-3 Peace and Social Concerns Committee Report For Peace and Social Concerns Committee, Kathy Malin reported that the committee will be co-sponsoring a public forum on the looming war in Iraq with the Blackstone Valley Interfaith Council. Kathy said this event will take place on Saturday, February 15, 2003 from 2 to 4PM. She said the committee's goal is to include participants on both sides of this issue, so that meaningful dialog will occur. Friends agreed that that the meeting as a whole will serve as a co-sponsor of the forum and also approved of placing a sign in front of the meetinghouse to announce the event to passers-by. 2003-4 Nominating Committee Report For Nominating Committee, Diane O'Hara reported the following recommendations for committee and other duty assignments, which are in addition to those approved at the last meeting for worship with attention to business (NOTE: Committee list will appear in next month's newsletter - ed.). Friends approved of these assignments, thanking the committee for its work 2003-5 Donation of electronic piano; disposition of old meetinghouse organ Friends acknowledged the Keene family's generous gift of an electronic piano to the meeting and agreed that we no longer need the old meetinghouse organ. Recognizing that the organ needs some repairs, Friends asked the Building and Grounds committee to attempt to find an individual or group to donate it to. 2003-6 Meeting "Joy of Expression" event Ron Belliveau expressed his wish for the meeting to sponsor an event in which we can share our gifts with one another - a "Joy of Expression" event, if you will. Friends enthusiastically agreed that we should do this. Friends said they would like to hold the event on Saturday, March 22, 2003 at 4PM. Ron offered to coordinate the event. 2003-7 Seating during Meeting for Worship Friends expressed a concern that, during worship on First Days, people sit far apart from each other and that a different seating arrangement might serve us better. Different solutions were discussed and Friends agreed to refer the concern to Ministry and Counsel Committee, asking that committee to report back to us at the next meeting for worship with attention to business. 2003-8 Closing Minute No further business arising, Friends closed with a period of waiting worship, intending to meet again for business on March 2, 2003, God willing. Respectfully Submitted, Constance Bair-Thompson Recording Clerk Lester R. Taber 1909 - 2002 L ester Taber was born July 19, 1909 in Albion, Iowa, the son of the late Roscoe and Perlina (Kent) Taber. At an early age he and his mother moved to Rhode Island, following the death of his father, and lived with Lester's uncle, who was pastor of the meeting at that time. Lester married Margaret Louise Ewen in 1933 under the care of Smithfield Meeting and had two children: Lester R. Taber Jr. and Beverly Taber. They were active members of Smithfield Monthly Meeting. For many years Lester was Superintendent of the Sunday School, and served on several other committees: Finance, Maintenance, among others. After the death of his first wife, Lester married Meredith Follett in 1982, again under the care of Smithfield Meeting. Even into their later years, Lester and Meredith were active participants in meeting for worship. Lester often spoke in meeting for worship, sharing his understanding of our good deeds as well as points we could improve upon, challenging us to deeper faith and witness to Christ's call. Lester was a poet and published a book of poems, some spirit-led and some just plain fun. His poetry is cherished by his F/friends, and served to inspire the lyrics of two moving hymns, written to honor him and his deep faith. Like his poetry, Lester himself was spirited and many times just plain fun. In his last years, he was almost blind and had difficulty walking, and hearing; yet his mind belied his age. At age 92, Lester could recite poems and stories that he heard in school or had written as a young man. His spirit was unstoppable; the thoughts he shared carried a zest for life and a never-ending search for wisdom. His handshake carried both strength and friendship to his last days. In September 2001, seven months before Lester death, he and Meredith moved to Arkansas to live next to Meredith's daughter. His body gave out soon thereafter, and he died on April 16, 2002 at age ninety-two. We miss him dearly at Smithfield Monthly Meeting. Lester himself gave us the words with which to console each other: What can I say? I can but sense the grief Who in your great despair Seek solace and relief Since death took one you loved How may I fill the void? Though with silvered tongue I all the words employed. What words might ease your grief? What searching phrase can mend a broken heart Or bring back happier days? So, failing as I must, I can but clasp your hand, In sad silence greet you, Hoping you'll understand. Public Forum on Iraq: War or Peace? photo: AFSC Saturday, February 15th, 2 - 4 pm. Smithfield Friends Meeting House Smithfield Rd, Woonsocket With the seemingly inexorable countdown to war, there is an urgent need for the church communities to look closely at these critical issues and decide where they stand. This is the second in a series of events sponsored by the Blackstone Valley Interfaith Community. Smithfield Friends Meeting's Peace and Social Concerns Committee is responsible for arranging the panel discussion with a question and answer period after the 10 - 15 minute presentations. The panelists include: Prof. Tom Nichols, Chairman of the Dept. of Strategy at the Naval War College; Prof. Simeon Giannakos, Director of the Graduate Program in International Relations, Salve Regina College, Newport Rev. T. Michael Rock, Minister, Central Congregational Church; Rev. Marsue Harris, Episcopalian cleric and member of the RI Episcopalian Peace Fellowship. Moderator: Mr Richard Frechette, Clerk of Meeting, Smithfield Friends. These panelists bring a broadly diverse perspective to the issues of U.S. policy toward Iraq. We chose this format because we wanted to encourage those with a variety of viewpoints to come and participate in this learning opportunity. We recognize that there is a great amount of uncertainty in our community and that people need more knowledge in order to take a reasoned position. Thank you for helping to get the word out about this activity. -Robert Sumner-Mack, MD for Peace and Social Concerns Committee Smithfield Monthly Meeting of Friends AFSC Appeal - Please Donate Health Kits! For more than a decade the American Friends Service Committee has been involved in educational campaigns in the US as well as relief and peacemaking efforts in Iraq. The people of Iraq have suffered extreme hardship caused by the sanctions imposed on their country after the Gulf War. The present situation threatens to make their living conditions even more unbearable and as a result we can expect to see large numbers of internally displaced persons in Iraq as well as hundreds of thousands of refugees in neighboring countries. Recently, a Quaker/AFSC delegation visited Iraq. AFSC Iraq Program Associate, Peter Lems, who led the delegation, reports, "Iraqis have lost everything. The middle class has been depleted. There are many children who are unable to go to school. In many communities people cannot get clean water. People are dependant on the government's monthly food rations. There is a collective sense of fatigue from 12 years of sanctions. The impending war will make Iraqis' lives even more difficult." Since June 2002, AFSC, in cooperation with other international aid agencies has been working on a contingency plan for Iraq. This resulted in the shipment of three 40-foot containers to Jordan. The containers are filled with health kits, school kits and blankets that will be distributed by the AFSC regional staff in cooperation with other international and local organizations. Moreover, AFSC's Emergency and Material Assistance Program (EMAP) has already released an initial grant from the Crisis Fund for the purpose of purchasing supplies locally for those in need. Additional funds and material donations are needed urgently! In order to provide the same comfort to all the recipients and to meet the exacting licensing standards for shipments, please include ALL of the items listed and ONLY those items: * 4 bars of soap * 1 plastic bottle of shampoo (13-24 oz size or 450-830 ml). Place in plastic bag: * 1 tube of toothpaste (min 8 ounces or 100 milliliters) * 4 adult-size toothbrushes (leave in packaging) * 1 hairbrush * 1 wide-tooth comb * 1 finger nail clipper * 1 box of adhesive bandages (min 40, assorted, preferred) If possible, donors are encouraged to include $5.00 for each kit to help pay shipping costs. Do not send cash or personal notes in these kits. Kits can be dropped off in "EMERGENCY KITS" box at the Smithfield Friends meetinghouse for delivery to AFSC. Checks can be written to Smithfield Friends Meeting with memo "emergency kits." The potency of myth is that it allows us to make sense of mayhem and violent death. It gives a justification to what is often nothing more than gross human cruelty and stupidity. It allows us to believe we have achieved our place in human society because of a long chain of heroic endeavors, rather than accept the sad reality that we stumble along a dimly lit corridor of disasters. It disguises our powerlessness. It hides from view our own impotence and the ordinariness of our own leaders. By turning history into myth we transform random events into a chain of events directed by a will greater than our own, one that is determined and preordained. We are elevated above the multitude. We march toward nobility. And no society is immune. -Chris Hedges, "War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning", 2002 "Yankee Swap" at Smithfield Friends' Christmas Party Dec. 02 Smithfield Monthly Meeting of Friends 108 Smithfield Road Woonsocket, RI 02905