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7 Butty Place
Hamilton, Ontario L8S 2R5
www.quaker.ca/hamilton
quakers@hwcn.org
Telephone: 905.523.8383
Feb 6: Jean
Feb 13: Susan
Feb 20: Dawn
Feb 27: Caroleigh
March 6: Ray
March 13: Glenna
March 20: Andy
March 27: Louise
April 3: Ruth
April 10: Don
April 17: Darlene
April 24: Betty
In the December newsletter, those needing a key to open meeting house at 10:30 on the day they are doing refreshments, were directed to ask Betty P for one. However, it is Helen B who has them!
In consideration of people who may already be sitting in the meeting room attempting to make the transition from the morning busyness to a state of mind more suited to worship, we ask the following: if you arrive at the Meeting House a few minutes before Meeting for Worship starts, please do so quietly, bearing in mind there will be opportunity for greetings and visiting after meeting.
In friendship,
Ministry & Counsel
Fair Trade Coffee is available at the Meetinghouse. It is sold on a wholesale cost plus delivery basis. I am still working at discovering Friends' coffee needs and desires: any help in this area is appreciated, and Friends can let me know in person at Meeting, or can leave a note in the coffee box.
A couple of bags of coffee have gone missing: if Friends have taken a bag of coffee and not paid for it, please leave the money in the envelopes provided in the coffee box, or give it to Glenna directly. Thanks.
Ministry and Counsel reminds Hamilton Friends that the first weekend in April will be a residential retreat at beautiful Crieff Hills retreat centre with Margaret Slavin, Quaker writer traveling in the ministry.
Here are a few quotes from her letter about the retreat:
The approach which has been most welcomed is worship-sharing around connections we experience among our creativity, our spirituality and our passions for effective social change... We invite all Friends, including the ones who say "I'm not creative at all!!" to bring something they have made --poem, pie, birdhouse, painting, a dance, a lamp-- one man brought the syllabus for a course he teaches on economics! "What do you make?" "What are your passions?" "Where do your creative energies flow?" People often speak of their gardens, or their grandkids... The other approach is experiential, involving meditative writing, storytelling, some creative problem-solving and roleplaying.
I am thinking that we could do the storytelling (which is fun) on the Friday evening, and then after breakfast on Saturday could do meditative writing, moving into the creative bit--both these involve quiet time by oneself. Probably this would take us to lunchtime. In the afternoon, perhaps a free-time break, and then, gather again about 2 p.m. to share from the morning's writing or other creative work... This leaves Saturday night and Sunday free for ad hoc conversations, quiet time and on Sunday, Meeting for Worship...
Sounds great, doesn't it? We have 6 or 7 registered so far; we need 10 to meet the minimum deposit on the lodge at Crieff; and we canaccommodate 16. The registration form accompanied the last newsletter. We certainly hope to fill up this wonderful retreat, so think about it and, we hope, register to attend. You can send a paper application to Beverly. You can also speak to Jean.
The Friends across Canadian Yearly Meeting, and their activities, feel to me like the members of a huge clan, an extended family that has spread across the continent and is involved in all sorts of things that nevertheless have a consistency of values which makes them seem much closer to home.
Each fall and spring, Representative Meeting gathers Friends from every Monthly Meeting and standing committee in CYM, to meet, worship, and consider together the various issues which come before Yearly Meeting between the sessions in August, as well as items of continuing business and all matters of finance. The work is important and sizeable and the meeting is long, usually, but the rewards are great. To meet Quakers from all over the country, to worship together, to conduct business in the mindful and prayerful manner of Friends, and to gain a greater understanding of all our national body - which is all of us - does for us and in the world: all this is a joy.
In November, several matters came forward which representatives were asked to take back to their Monthly Meetings for information and/or discussion; in addition, we discussed other things which Hamilton Friends might like to know about. Bert Horwood of Thousand Islands MM, clerk of Home Missions and Advancement Committee (fondly known as HMAC, or "Haymac"), wants Friends to be aware that there are funds to provide scholarships to Pendle Hill and to other Quaker Education opportunities each year. If you have an interest in either of these, contact Bert or (better) Marilyn Church, grants and loans officer, right away to get instructions on applying. The deadlines are March 31 and April 7 respectively for 2005.
Our treasurer, Dan Poisson of Yonge St. MM, gave us the "good news, bad news" routine. For 2003, an expected deficit was avoided; in fact there was a small surplus; however, the two bits of income which caused this reversal were one-time events, and a deficit of over $20,000 is projected for 2004. We do have some reserve funds in CYM, but they're limited: 2005 would be the last year YM could reasonably sustain a deficit. This means one of two things (or a combination of both): Friends and Meetings must give more to Yearly Meeting, or some of the things YM does will have to be stopped. Where would we like the cuts? In the programme of Yearly Meeting each August? Maybe not to meet each year? Cut The Canadian Friend? Stop working on our own Faith and Practice? Sever ties with wider Quaker bodies and ecumenical bodies? Stop maintaining our records as a Society? All of these things are possible - and one or more of them will have to happen if we don't increase our income, and our only real source of income is Canadian Quakers.
We're asked to discuss a report and minute from Halifax Monthly Meeting to a change in the form of our Discipline. Presently CYM's discipline consists of Christian Faith and Practice of London (now Britain) Yearly Meeting, Advices and Queries, and our own Organization and Procedure. The first of these will be replaced, in about six years, by our own Faith and Practice, which is being developed by a special committee. (The latest draft chapter in our F&P, "Stages of Life", is to be discussed at a potluck on February 25th.) Halifax MM proposed a third section, a Manual of Procedures. This would include lengthy procedural documents, such as the process for chaplaincy and the protocol on sexual harassment and abuse; practical forms such as transfer of membership, applications for HMAC scholarship funds, and traveling letters; legal documents; information on other bodies such as Friends General Conference or KAIROS; calendar information such as budget or nomination deadlines. The Manual would be updated frequently, and practical details, of the sort that change often, could be omitted from O&P so that it would require less frequent revision. What do Hamilton Friends think of this idea? We need to bring our opinions to the next Representative Meeting in May.
The year 2005 represents both the 50th anniversary of the formation of a united Canadian Yearly Meeting and the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Friend! It's a time to celebrate, and there will be events to do so. Yearly Meeting sessions will take place August 13th-20th at Augustana College in Camrose, Alberta - a beautiful site which our programme committee considers one of the nicest we've ever had. Also at Representative Meeting our Friend Ian Graham was confirmed as a Quaker chaplain, only the second person in our history to have completed the process required for this recognition.
Much more was announced, considered, and decided at Representative Meeting. HMM's representative, Dick Preston, was unable to attend, so if Friends have questions about any of the items I've already mentioned or any others, or would like to see a copy of the minutes, please speak to me. I will be delighted to share my experience at our Quaker family reunion.
As usual, Minutes are on the Reading Room page.
We have moved the computer to the nook in the library. This will make it quite easy to keep track of books on loan and returns as well as search the catalogue. Please continue to browse the library and ask the librarian for help, or make suggestions for new additions. The cataloguing project has slowed right down to a stop, but will continue so that all our holdings are available for searching by title, author, and subject. You will be able to do this online from your own home. Watch for new collection of books on meditation and meditative practices. A donated used printer now adds more communication capabilities, should the need arise. We can now fax, copy, scan and print (B&W, color).
Please consider contributing one of these titles to the library. We give tax receipts for books donated, if requested.
The first book on this list is that rarity - a new, meaty and inviting introduction to Quaker thought and spiritual life. Silence and Witness by Michael Birkel is a real find; the detailed examination of discernment about when to speak in meeting and other leadings is worth the cover price. His chapter entitled "The Facing Bench" lifts up well selected quotations of prominent Friends on topics such as 'The Immediate Presence of God,' 'The Universal Light of Christ,' and 'The Spiritual Basis of Peace.' His chapter on the inward experience of worship is both an excellent introduction and a seasoned examination of centering techniques.
Whenever Parker Palmer publishes a new book, it's worth a careful look. His latest work, A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life -- Welcoming the Soul and Weaving Community in a Wounded World is an examination of how one can maintain integrity and follow a life based on inner truth in a world of fragmentation. Palmer provides vivid portraits of integrity, describes the consequences of sublimating our true self, offers a map for creating 'circles of trust' which would support our soul self, and explores how the principles and practices of the book can help the reader walk the path of nonviolence every day. This book is a lovely, spiritually nourishing and ultimately hopeful exploration.
British children's author Ann Turnbull has written a new young adult novel of young love in the 17th century called No Shame, No Fear: A Novel of Love and Persecution. The romance is between a Quaker servant, Susanna, and a merchant's son, Will, and the book is written in chapters alternating between Will's and Susanna's perspective, so the reader gets a sense of how each sees the other and of how the families view each of them as well. Turnbull has researched the book well and presents a detailed and fascinating account of 17th century London. The prose is beautifully and sparely written and it's hard to put down. Lucy Duncan of FGC Quakerbooks recommends this for any Friend from 14 and up.
Novels, like the narratives in oral traditions, offer us a sense of immediacy, a vicarious presence in events. In doing this, the story creates a moral milieu and invites us to share in the thoughts and actions, and to witness their meaningful consequences. At its best the novel enables us even to imagine a spiritual aspect to the intertwined lives of people. Novels and old stories are cousins of ethno-history, but serve different goals with different means.
Recently I have read aloud to Betty the novel Voyageurs, by Margaret Elphinstone, a well-published novelist and a professor of English Studies, living and teaching in Glasgow. Her novel is set mainly in the northern reaches of Lake Michigan, but includes an interlude with Quakers of Yonge Street, north of York, and voyaging with the North West Company from Montreal as far as Mackinac. There is also an explanation of the South West Company based in Mackinac, and some evocative descriptions of rural Scotland. Like Francis Anne Hopkins' 1869 painting on the dust jacket, and John Cary's 1805 map on the covers, this novel works creatively and romantically with its themes and gives some fur trade history a wide compass.
Elphinstone's protagonist is a young farm-country Quaker who leaves his home in lowland Scotland to search for his sister, gone missing while accompanying an older Quaker woman on a Mission to the Indians of North America. The time period is the years from 1809 - 1814. The author understands the Quakers of the time well enough to accurately portray not only their typical truths and interpersonal style, but also their variations and their struggle with the tensions that had developed between the conservative and the more worldly factions. She has represented the Quakers in remarkably accurate detail. I am persuaded that she has done her research with care, and so had the basis for characterizing the voyageurs and North Westers quite well, and the Ottawa Indians adroitly. Of course there must be errors of fact and interpretation, but I did not stumble on the need to find fault, and found the book enjoyable and enlightening.
The core of the story is the developing friendship of the young Quaker, his North Wester counterpart, and their Ottawa guide, as they search in Ottawa territory for the woman who is missing to them but found to herself and others. Each of the three has their story well represented. The story also traces the education of an ordinary Quaker regarding the meaning of being a lost person. In the course of the narrative we see the process of his letting go of the vague notion of savage in favour of discerning some of the culture of the Ottawa, adapting briefly within the society of the Mackinac trading community, and appreciating the character of the fur-trade competition and conflict precipitating the War of 1812, as it occurred in that region. Throughout the narrative he weighs his Quaker principles against the unexpected lessons of life-transforming experience. The final resolution is pleasing and plausible.
On balance, I found this a very enjoyable novel, and I invite you to find a copy and a comfortable place, and enjoy it.
Margaret Elphinstone, Voyageurs. Toronto, McArthur and Company, 2003. Paperbound, $24.95
At first I thought this book was tangential to my focus on Christian-Buddhist dialogue. Now I can see that it is a natural segue to Living Buddha, Living Christ, by Thich Nhat Hanh, which I reviewed last month. Thich Nhat Hanh said that following Jesus was more important than believing in him. Borg would agree, but provides a Christian view on what 'following Jesus' means.
He starts with his own story, moving from a religious Lutheran childhood, to an agnostic and then 'closet atheist' view even as he was in the seminary. After years of being a Jesus scholar he had some mystical experiences, and came to see that 'God' didn't refer to a supernatural being 'out there', but to the sacred at the centre of existence, the holy mystery all around us and within us. Jesus didn't believe in God, he experienced God. Being a Christian means following Jesus into a relationship with God. He talks about Jesus as a Spirit Person, similar in depth and power of spiritual experience to Buddha and Lao Tsu. Spirit people have vivid and frequent experiences of the sacred. He makes the point (which I found memorable) that the fact that Jesus was not unique, but one of many, makes Christianity more not less credible. He points out that Jesus did not talk about belief in himself but belief in God.
There is an illuminating chapter on the difference between a culture of purity and a culture of compassion. Purity draws boundaries and makes distinctions, while compassion is inclusive. The Good Samaritan story challenged purity laws. Jesus spent a lot of time challenging purity, for example by eating with the impure. Purity is not just an issue for Jews historically, but also for Christians in the present, leading to the opposition to homosexuality. I would add, that it is an issue within Buddhism. There is a lot of energy expended by the Sangha, or ordained orders, on maintaining rules: for example, not eating after 12 noon, not cooking, not carrying money. I recall a long discussion with an elderly Burmese monk who held that one got the best karma by generosity to monks rather than to poor lay people. Jesus was a teacher of compassion rather than purity, and would have chosen the poor.
Borg talks about Jesus as a teacher of subversive wisdom. Conventional wisdom is about a system of rewards and punishments, and enlists our grasping nature. In the Prodigal Son story, Jesus teaches about exile and return, not of duty and observance. Jesus attacked family values, wealth, purity, religiosity. His path involves letting go, dying to self, letting go of the grasping which is at the heart of conventional identity. I think that Borg has integrated the Buddhist teachings about the causes of suffering, which are grasping, aversion, and a fixed sense of identity into Christianity.
Borg talks about language in scripture which describe Jesus as both the Son of God and the Sophia of God. Sophia was Greek for wisdom, and Borg sees both Son and Wisdom as metaphors for Jesus identity, not absolutes or doctrinal positions.
One of the distinctive features of Buddhism is the 'Dharma', which means both truth, and path or way. It is fascinating to learn that early Christianity was also known as 'The Way'. Borg says that the way for Christians is journeying with Jesus toward God and also with God ( he equates 'God' with 'Living Christ' and 'Spirit'); a journey from conventional wisdom to the wisdom of life in the Spirit.
Last updated: 21 January 2005
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