NEWSLETTER March 2004

Hamilton Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)

7 Butty Place
Hamilton, Ontario L8S 2R5
www.quaker.ca/hamilton
quakers@hwcn.org
Telephone: 905.523.8383

Point to Ponder

From Advices and Queries, UK Yearly Meeting 1994:

19. Rejoice in the presence of children and young people in your meeting and recognize the gifts they bring. Remember that the meeting as a whole shares a responsibility for every child in its care. Seek for them as for yourself a full development of God's gifts and the abundant life Jesus tells us can be ours. How do you share your deepest beliefs with them, while leaving them free to develop as the spirit of God may lead them? Do you invite them to share their insights with you? Are you ready both to learn from them and to accept your responsibilities towards them?

Dates to Remember

Wednesday, March 17: Desserts and Faith and Practice, 8 pm: discuss most recent draft of Faith and Practice 'The Meeting Community' - bring a 'green' dessert!

Sunday, March 21: State of the Society Report deadline for additions or corrections

Sunday April 4: Meeting for Worship for Business, 1:30 pm

Thursday April 15: Potluck Supper, 6 pm: review the Federal Government document, The Responsibility to Protect

Coffee List

21 March Ray
28 March Ian
04 April Betty F
11 April Tamara
18 April Darlene
25 April Jean
02 May Ruth
09 May Dawn
16 May Dick
23 May Janis
30 May John
06 June Don
13 June Robbie M
20 June Helen P
27 June Christina
04 July Betty P
11 July Louise
18 July Andy

Meeting for Worship for Business

Thursday, March 4, 2004

Minutes can be found here or from the Reading Room page.

Continuing Meeting of Ministry and Counsel - Correction to Last Month's Description

Submitted by Carol Leigh Wehking

Dear Friends,

There is need for a correction to the February newsletter, regarding the paragraph on Continuing Meeting of Ministry and Counsel, under Yearly Meeting bodies. To begin with, it is not a body with representatives from each Meeting; therefore, Carol Leigh Wehking is not Hamilton's representative, but appointed to this Meeting through another channel.

In Canadian Yearly Meeting in session, Yearly Meeting of Ministry and Counsel is composed of the members of Monthly Meetings' Ministry and Counsel who are present at yearly meeting. This body officially has oversight of the worship at Yearly Meeting, the worship which underlies the business meetings, and of the gathering as a whole, offering nurture and support to all in attendance. In reality, these functions are devolved to Continuing Meeting of Ministry and Counsel, which performs these functions throughout the year as well as at Yearly Meeting in session.

Yearly Meeting of Ministry and Counsel appoints a nominating committee to bring forth names of Friends to serve on Continuing Meeting of Ministry and Counsel. Names for Continuing Meeting of Ministry and Counsel may be forwarded to Nominating Committee of Yearly Meeting of Ministry and Counsel by a Monthly Meeting, or may be sought directly by that Nominating Committee, and checked through the Monthly Meeting. There are six members of Continuing Meeting of Ministry and Counsel, the aim being to have regional representation and gender balance.

Continuing Meeting of Ministry and Counsel receives and considers concerns arising from Meetings or individuals in matters relating to worship or the living out of our faith and testimonies as Friends. We take on such issues as the concern around same-sex marriages, and it was Continuing Meeting of Ministry and Counsel which proposed to Yearly Meeting the minute which was approved on this topic at Yearly Meeting 2003. Many other concerns, corporate and individual, keep Continuing Meeting of Ministry and Counsel well occupied between the Yearly Meeting sessions and the fall and spring meetings of this body.

New Additions to the Hamilton Quaker Library in February/March 2004

Submitted by Ian Graham

It's Not Fair: A Handbook on World Development for Youth: a winning blend of role plays, simulation games, quizzes, ideas of working for change... best selling resource for youth leaders, on issues of global injustice and Third World development.

Win-win Games for all Ages: cooperative games for building social skills: for use with adults or children, ways to learn values, demonstrate skills, and express oneself in safety. Three sections: 40 cooperative games; Initiatives: group problem solving; Holistic Learning Adventures: trust building in week long experiences.

Doing Good Better! How to be an effective board member of a nonprofit organization. Stoesz, Edgar. Subjects -- nonprofit organizations - management -- directors of corporations. Well meaning individuals become board members but few are given adequate instructions... two veterans address the ideal relationship between a nonprofit organization and its board... many stories, guidelines, suggestions.

Dancing with God Through the Storm: mysticism and mental illness / art and text by Jennifer Elam. Edition: 1st ed., c2002. 189 p. Jennifier invites us to join her in 'dancing with God through the storm'. To move beyond fear and crippling labels so that we might say yes to Love in all its manifestations. ... be challenged to acknowledge a wide diversity of mystical experience.

On Retiring to Kendal (And Beyond), A literary journey (PHP 368). Retiring to (Kendal) is obviously one's final move before the "and beyond"... wonder whether death is an unmitigated calamity; guided by passages from Homer and Shakespeare to Kazantzakis and Cavafy, this meditation concludes that death is actually life-enhancing...

Quaker in Vietnam: Rick Thompson (PHP 367) A personal history of Rick T. who worked for the AFSC at their hospital in Vietnam during the war. He died there. This is based on letters, journals, interviews, covering his journey of conscience into the heart of the Vietnam war.

Voyageurs: A Novel by Margaret Elphinstone On the brink of the war of 1812, fought across the US border with Canada, Rachel Greenhow, a Quaker missionary from England, disappears in the uncharted wilderness beyond the settled territories.

Abridged 13 Workbook : for small libraries using Dewey decimal classification abridged edition 13. Dewey decimal classification; 200 religion class : reprinted from Edition 21 of the Dewey decimal classification: with a revised and expanded index, and Manual notes from Edition 21

The Church Librarian's Handbook : a complete guide for the library and resource center in Christian education / Betty McMichael. Subjects: Church libraries -- United States -- Handbooks, manuals, etc. Church libraries -- Canada -- Handbooks, manuals

Children's Books

Good omens / Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Subjects: End of the world -- Fiction. Prophecies -- Fiction. Witches -- Fiction. Humorous fiction. Fantasy fiction.

Does God have a big toe? : stories about stories in the Bible by Marc Gellman. A collection of humorous stories derived from the Old Testament. Reflecting Gellman's lifelong love for his subject, this witty collection of stories provides a wonderful way to learn about and to share the stories of the Hebrew Bible. Gelllman is a rabbi in NYC.

Welcome Additions to our Library

Submitted by Ian Graham

This list of books includes titles that the Cadbury Quaker Library in Philadelphia considers to be important for any core collection. Your Hamilton Quaker library has many on the list, and these have not been acquired. Please consider checking your personal libraries for a title you would like to donate. Tax receipts will be given.

For Adults

General Reading

Allen, Richard, YOURS IN FRIENDSHIP: AN OPEN LETTER TO ENQUIRERS

Gillman, Harvey, A LIGHT THAT IS SHINING: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE QUAKERS

Kenworthy, Leonard, QUAKERISM: A STUDY GUIDE

Trueblood, D Elton, THE PEOPLE CALLED QUAKERS

Bownas, Samuel, A DESCRIPTION OF THE QUALIFICATIONS NECESSARY TO BE A GOSPEL MINISTER

Curtis, John, A BRIEF STUDY GUIDE TO THE JOURNAL OF GEORGE FOX; WITH REFERENCES TO THE REVISED EDITION BY JOHN NICKALLS

HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT: QUAKER WOMEN'S WRITINGS 1650-1700

Sharman, Cecil W ed. Quaker Home Service, NO MORE BUT MY LOVE: LETTERS, 1624-1691

Penington, Isaac, THE LIGHT WITHIN AND SELECTED WRITINGS

Penn, William Selleck, R. ed, NO CROSS, NO CROWN

Mather, Eleanore Price, QUAKER CLASSICS IN BRIEF

Trevett, Christine, ed, WOMENS SPEAKING JUSTIFIED

Bacon, Margaret Hope ed., WILT THOU GO ON MY ERRAND?

Spirituality, Beliefs, Worship

Abbott, Margery Post, A CERTAIN KIND OF PERFECTION: AN ANTHOLOGY

Brinton, Howard H., QUAKER JOURNALS

Fager, Chuck, A RESPONDANT SPARK: THE BASICS OF BIBLE STUDY

Freiday, Dean, SPEAKING AS A FRIEND

Brinton Howard (compiler), A GUIDE TO TRUE PEACE, OR THE EXCELLENCY OF INWARD AND SPIRITUAL PRAYER compiled by Quakers from writings of Catholic mystics Gwyn, Douglas, APOCALYPSE OF THE WORD; THE LIFE AND MESSAGE OF GEORGE FOX

Farnham, Susan et al, LISTENING HEARTS: DISCERNING CALL IN COMMUNITY

Loring, Patricia, LISTENING SPIRITUALITY: VOLUME 1, PERSONAL SPIRITUAL PRACTICES AMONG FRIENDS

Punshon, John, TESTIMONY AND TRADITION; SOME ASPECTS OF QUAKER SPIRITUALITY

Steere, Douglas, QUAKER SPIRITUALITY: SELECTED WRITINGS

Quaker Universalist Fellowship, QUAKER UNIVERSALIST NUMBER I: A COLLECTION OF ESSAYS

Wilson, Lloyd Lee, ESSAYS ON THE QUAKER VISION OF GOSPEL ORDER

Testimonies and Concerns

Bodner, Joan, TAKING CHARGE OF OUR LIVES: LIVING RESPONSIBLY IN THE WORLD

Bishop, Elaine, CELEBRATION: FRIENDS AND SOME ASPECTS OF A STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE

Brock, Peter, THE QUAKER PEACE TESTIMONY, 1660-1914

Brown, E. P, and Stuard, S.M., WITNESSES FOR CHANGE: QUAKER WOMEN OVER THREE CENTURIES

Dale, Jonathan, BEYOND THE SPIRIT OF THE AGE: QUAKER SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Kenworthy, L., FRIENDS FACE THE WORLD: SOME CONTINUING AND CURRENT QUAKER CONCERNS

Cox, Gray, BEARING WITNESS: QUAKER PROCESS AND A CULTURE OF PEACE

Cronk, Sondra, PEACE BE WITH YOU; A STUDY OF THE SPIRITUAL BASIS OF THE FRIENDS PEACE TESTIMONY

Curle, Adam, TRUE JUSTICE: QUAKER PEACE MAKERS AND PEACE MAKING

Massey, Marshall, THE DEFENSE OF THE PEACEABLE KINGDOM

Mendl, Wolf, PROPHETS AND RECONCILERS: REFLECTIONS ON THE QUAKER PEACE TESTIMONY

Nicholson, F. J., QUAKERS AND THE ARTS: A SURVEY OF THE ATTITUDES OF BRITISH FRIENDS TO THE CREATIVE ARTS FROM THE SEVENTEENTH TO THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

Snyder, E. F., WITNESS IN WASHINGTON: FIFTY YEARS OF FRIENDLY PERSUASION

Swayne, Kingdon, STEWARDSHIP OF WEALTH Pendle Hill pamphlet 259

History

Barbour, Hugh Frost, W. J., THE QUAKERS

Dunn, Mary Maples, WILLIAM PENN: POLITICS AND CONSCIENCE

Bacon M., et al, FOR EMANCIPATION AND EDUCATION FRIENDS IN CIVILIAN PUBLIC SERVICE: QUAKER CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS IN WORLD WAR II LOOK BACK AND LOOK AHEAD

Frost, W. J., THE QUAKER FAMILY IN COLONIAL AMERICA

Gwyn, Douglas, THE COVENANT CRUCIFIED: QUAKERS AND THE RISE OF CAPITALISM

Hadley, H. M., QUAKERS WORLDWIDE; A HISTORY OF FRIENDS WORLD COMMITTEE FOR CONSULTATION

Hamm, Thomas D., THE TRANSFORMATION OF AMERICAN QUAKERISM: ORTHODOX FRIENDS, 1800-1907

Hill, Christopher, THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN: RADICAL IDEAS DURING ENGLISH REVOLUTION

Newman, Daisy, A PROCESSION OF FRIENDS: QUAKERS IN AMERICA

Tolles, F. B., MEETING HOUSE AND COUNTING HOUSE: THE QUAKER MERCHANTS OF COLONIAL PHILADELPHIA, 1682-1763

Tolles, F. B., QUAKER REFLECTIONS TO LIGHT THE FUTURE; A COLLECTION OF

Memoirs and Biographies

Bacon, Margaret H., LET THIS LIFE SPEAK: legacy of Henry J Cadbury

Damrosch, Leo, THE SORROWS OF THE QUAKER JESUS: JAMES NAYLER AND THE PURITAN CRACKDOWN ON THE FREE SPIRIT

Ives, Kenneth, ed, BLACK QUAKERS: BRIEF BIOGRAPHIES

Kolp, Alan, FRESH WINDS OF THE SPIRIT

McGowan, James A., STATION MASTER ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD: THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF THOMAS GARRETT

Newman, Daisy, A GOLDEN STRING

Newby, James R., ELTON TRUEBLOOD: BELIEVER, TEACHER AND FRIEND

Olmstead, Sterling, MOTIONS OF LOVE: WOOLMAN AS MYSTIC AND ACTIVIST

Pullinger, Edna, A DREAM OF PEACE: EDWARD HICKS OF NEWTOWN

Sharman, Cecil, GEORGE FOX AND THE QUAKERS

Fiction

Donne-Smith, Basil, MUCH MADDER: THE CHRONICLES OF A QUAKER MEETING

Ellin, Stanley, STRONGHOLD

Morse, David, THE IRON BRIDGE

Newman, Daisy, DILIGENCE IN LOVE

Newman, Daisy, THE AUTUMN'S BRIGHTNESS

West, Jessamyn, EXCEPT FOR THEE AND ME

For Children

Non-fiction

Elgin, Kathleen, THE QUAKERS: THE RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS

Cobblestone, 1995, QUAKERS

Biographies

Bryant, J. F., LUCRETIA MOTT: A GUIDING LIGHT

Dowers, Jeffrey S., LEVI COFFIN: A FRIEND TO THE SLAVES

Holden, Joyce, MY BOOK OF FRIENDS (2 vol)

Sawyer, Kem K., LUCRETIA MOTT: FRIEND OF JUSTICE

Snow, Dorothea J., BENJAMIN WEST: GIFTED YOUNG PAINTER

Vernon, Louise, A KEY TO THE PRISON

Fiction

Batten, Juliet, ZOE GOES TO MEETING

Beatty, Patricia, WHO COMES WITH CANNONS?,

Cromer, Mary Leonhard, STORIES FOR JASON: TALES OF THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

Foulds, Elfrida Vipont, BLOW THE MAN DOWN

Janoe, Barbara, DANIEL GOES TO MEETING

Speare, Elizabeth George, THE WITCH OF BLACKBIRD POND

Turkle, Brinton, THE ADVENTURES OF OBADIAH

Turkle, Brinton, RACHEL AND OBADIAH

Underwood, Betty, THE TAMARACK TREE

Christian Peacemaker Teams Announces Delegations to Asubpeeschoseewagong (Grassy Narrows, ON)

Submitted by Jennifer Preston Howe, CFSC

May 28-June 6 and Sept. 3-11, 2004.

In 1999, the Ontario Government approved a 20-year plan allowing a corporate logging company to continue clear-cutting forest on the traditional land-use area of the Asubpeeschoseewagong First Nations community. A blockade since November, 2002 challenges the violators of the community's traditional lands.

Delegation members will learn about Aboriginal rights and environmental concerns, monitor human rights, and serve as a nonviolent presence at the camp. Participants should be prepared to camp under rustic conditions. Cost is $400. Delegates arrange their own transportation to Winnipeg MB or Kenora ON.

CPT is a faith-based group that seeks participants for all delegations who are interested in human rights work, committed to nonviolence, and willing to participate in team worship and reflection. The delegation experience culminates in a nonviolent public witness that challenges violence.

Delegates should have plans to share about the trip upon return to their home communities and congregations.

Cost covers on-ground travel from Winnipeg and on-site, two meals a day, simple accommodations, and all honorariums and delegation fees. For more information or to apply, contact CPT at the address below or see CPT's website at: http://www.cpt.org.(Click on "Delegations" on the left. Go to the bottom of that page for instructions on downloading the form. Please include a summary of your experience as requested, as well as the 2-page form. )

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Christian Peacemaker Teams Canada - Equipes Chrétiennes d'Action pour la Paix Canada
Tel 416-423-5525
Mobile 647-297-7079
Fax 416-423-9213
I will appoint Peace as your overseer and Righteousness as your taskmaster. Violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders. Isaiah 60:17-18

John Calvi Donations

Submitted by Don Woodside

Meeting received a letter from John Calvi, a well known and respected Quaker healer, who works via massage and touch to heal especially from sexual abuse, but other trauma also. He gave the Sunderland Gardener lecture at Yearly meeting gathering about ten years ago, which I heard. He was a panelist at the Friends' Peace Consultation in Greensboro, NC last January, along with a raft of other presentations last year. He has lived on donations for years, and his appeal is supported by Elizabeth Watson and John Punshon among others. If you would like to contribute to his work, send donations to PO Box 301, Putney, VT 05346. Speak to Don Woodside for more information.

From the Quaker Aboriginal Affairs Committee of Canadian Friends Service Committee

Submitted by Jennifer Preston Howe, CFSC

The Quaker Aboriginal Affairs Committee of Canadian Friends Service Committee has just completed an educational kit: Aboriginal Rights Peace and Justice. I have sent a copy for HMM. If individuals would like to purchase one they can do so by contacting me, qaac (at) quaker.ca, or at the CFSC office 416-920-5213.

Thanks, Jenn

Call for Helpers: National Lutheran Youth Conference

Submitted by Harriet Woodside

An acquaintance of mine made the following request:

"I am involved in a national youth conference being held in Hamilton next August. It is for my church, Lutheran, and every two years about 2000 youth get together for four days (watch out downtown Hamilton!). One of the activities we organize is focus groups. We would like to do one on eating disorders and another on a general topic of "teens in crisis" (this obviously allows for leeway for the speaker). There are usually about 20 kids in each discussion and they last for about 1 1/2 hours. They will be scheduled for either Friday, August 13, or Saturday, August 14, in the afternoon. Do you have suggestions of people in your area who might be interested in participating?"

When I inquired further, Vicky wrote that she is looking for speakers who could lead a focus group. I interpret this to mean that you don't have to be an expert but would bring some thoughts about how to get the conversation started about the topic and keep in going.

If you would like to help out, please contact Vicky Huehn at vhuehn (at) fcmhs.ca. Mention that you heard about this through me.

Our Public Health Department has a public education mandate and probably some programs targeting youth.

Try the following:

Healthy Lifestyle and Youth program: 905-540-5018
Sexual Help Awareness Centre of Planned Parenthood: 905-546-3274
Substance Abuse/Violence and Injury prevention: 905-528-3009
Van Needle Exchange Program: 905-317-9966

Quaker Personals

From Mona: "if anyone could use a twin bed sized broderie anglais bed frill, please speak to me."