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7 Butty Place
Hamilton, Ontario L8S 2R5
www.quaker.ca/hamilton
quakers@hwcn.org
Telephone: 905.523.8383
Dec 12 Betty P
Dec 19 Louise
Dec 26 Andy
Jan 2 Helen B
Jan 9 Christina
Jan 16 Nicole
Jan 23 Bev
Jan 30 Harriet
Feb 6 Jean
Feb 13
Feb 20 Dawn
Feb 27 Carol Leigh
If you are doing refreshments, please come at 10:30 and open the Meetinghouse. If you do not have a key, speak to Betty who has spares, or borrow one from another person.
April 1-3, with Margaret Slavin, who is travelling in the Ministry.
A residential weekend retreat has been organized by Ministry and Counsel, for Friday, April 1 through Sunday April 3, at Crieff Hills Retreat Centre which is about half an hour's drive from West Hamilton. St. Mark's Lodge has been reserved.
The cost will be $58 per person for the two nights of accommodation. Meals are extra: breakfast is $7.45, lunch is $8.50, and supper is $13.40 per person.
Meals are served in a century schoolhouse which has been converted to a dining hall. It would also be possible to make breakfast in the kitchen of our lodge. The lodge can house up to 16 people, mostly in double rooms, with one room accommodating 3-4 persons. The lodge provides a meeting room which can house a few extra people who might come as day attenders. The retreat will begin after supper on Friday, and continue through lunch on Sunday.
In order to secure our booking, $580 (accommodation costs for a minimum of ten people) must be paid by Dec. 29th.
Please consider registering right away if you know you are interested in this retreat. We will proceed in faith that there will be sufficient registrants and send the deposit, but would very much like to know if you are interested.
The theme for the retreat has not yet been decided but we will be continuing to discern for a topic which has particular meaning for our group. Margaret has many ideas and should prove to be an excellent resource. Among her interests are the connections between Creativity, Spirituality, and Effective Social Change.
For more information contact Beverly or Jean.
Meeting for Worship for Business was on 2 December, and the next will be 9 January. As usual, Minutes are in the Reading Room.
June-Etta Chouinard, the editior of the Canadian Friend, is looking for someone from Hamilton who would be willing to send her short items of news about individuals in Hamilton Meeting. She needs these items five times yearly. Many Friends are interested in knowing more about how other Friends are faring, what they are doing, etc. If you wish to undertake this service, please let Don W know.
A message from Nominating Committee: Harriet, Robbie M and John
Hamilton Monthly Meeting (HMM) wishes to encourage the involvement of all members and attenders, old and new, in the work of the Meeting through its committees, Meeting for Worship for Business (M4W4B), and activities. Nominating Committee is asked to ascertain the interests, abilities and willingness of attenders and members to serve in the work of the Meeting. We welcome expressions of interest in the work and positions of HMM, Canadian Yearly Meeting, and other Quaker bodies.
Please take some time to read through the brief descriptions of HMM committees which follow. The work of most committees is open to all friends and attenders although there are some crucial committees which are normally comprised of "seasoned^Ô friends. In January, more detailed information will be posted in the Meeting House. Nominating Committee will be contacting you early in the new year to discuss committees in which you may have an interest. From this information, Nominating Committee will compile a list of names to be put forward for 2005-2006 positions and will present this list to M4W4B.
Please let a member of Nominating Committee know if you feel any of the information below should be revised.
The Clerk normally opens and closes Meeting for Worship, presides at M4W4B, and sees that a faithful record of the proceedings is kept in a minute book. The Clerk has extensive duties and responsibilities as outlined in the full terms of reference. These are available from the Nominating Committee. Clerks should be chosen with special reference to their sound judgment and gift of discernment and their ability to determine what is the sense of the Meeting. (adapted from Organization and Procedure)
Duties and responsibilities are to assist the Clerk when necessary (e.g., when the clerk is overloaded with work); usually to clerk M4W4B if the Clerk is unable to do so; and to be the Meeting's contact with The Canadian Friend and forward relevant items of news to that publication.
Duties and responsibilities are to receive and to examine the accounts of money in the hands of the Treasurer; to verify these accounts of money by reference to invoices, receipts, and the records of income and expenditure; and to make recommendations to M4W4B regarding the Meeting's finances. The Auditor receives the complete records after May 31 for the previous calendar year from the Treasurer. When satisfied that the accounts are in order, the Auditor provides the Treasurer with a signed statement that s/he has examined the accounts and finds no reason for objection or disallowment.
Duties and responsibilities are to listen to the expression of friends in M4W4B and to represent in writing the sense of the meeting; to type the written minutes, read them at the next M4W4B and make corrections; to provide copies of the minutes as required; and to ensure that final drafts of the minutes are deposited in the Meeting Archives at Pickering College.
"The Treasurer, and Assistant Treasurer, if there is one, shall receive and disburse funds as directed by the Meeting; keep an accurate account of the money so received and paid out; and make an annual financial report to the Meeting or at shorter intervals as required by the Meeting." (adapted from Organization and Procedure)
Duties and responsibilities are to preserve all documents, official and unofficial, pertaining to the Meeting; to record interviews with members of Meeting, as well as other Canadian Friends whose experiences may be of particular interest to Hamilton Friends; to, from time to time, request Friends' assistance with the preservation of archival material; to explore computer-based preservation of records; to transcribe audiotapes; and to add materials to the Meeting website.
Duties and responsibilities are to make up the coffee list and remind individuals when they will serve coffee; to keep the kitchen in good order; to replenish supplies; and to liaise with the paid cleaner(s).
The Finance Committee meets at the request of Meeting for Worship for Business or the Treasurer. Duties and responsibilities may be to review and clarify the annual budget; to assist in decisions regarding investment planning; to review the auditor's report; to clarify an item of financial business; and to recommend spending outside of everyday operations.
Duties and responsibilities are to ensure the smooth running of First Day School; to find and orient First Day School teachers; to review and plan First Day School activities; and to liaise with other Meetings and the CYM Religious Education Committee as appropriate. Attenders and members who are interested in the young people at meeting and in their spiritual education are encouraged to consider this committee.
Duties and responsibilities are to maintain the HMM garden; to check the progress of the garden; to find proper organic solutions to garden problems; and to take on special projects related to the garden.
Duties and responsibilities are to be aware of, and order, new library materials; to pay for new acquisitions; to maintain a cataloguing system for library materials; to publicize the Meeting library; to maintain a system for borrowing and returning books; and other duties, as they arise, that relate to the Meeting library.
Duties and responsibilities are to maintain the general upkeep and improvement of the Meeting House both inside and out. The time commitment for members depends upon the projects that are undertaken. Attenders or members of The Society of Friends are welcome.
Ministry and Counsel is a small committee made up of seasoned friends responsible for the oversight of the spiritual life of the Meeting, and of its members and attenders.
Duties and responsibilities are to oversee the publication of the Meeting newsletter; to ensure that the newsletter is circulated; and to retain and submit receipts for expenses to the treasurer.
Duties and responsibilities are to nominate friends and attenders to serve on Meeting committees. Members of Nominating Committee are nominated by a special committee, the Naming Committee, which is established by Meeting for Worship for Business.
Duties and responsibilities are to be aware of the projects of the Meeting so that news can be made available and questions answered; to maintain the website and provide content to the webmaster through a sub-committee of Outreach Committee; to ensure the accuracy of Meeting contact information in public sources such as the Yellow Pages; to prepare a budget and plan for each year by the November M4W4B; to encourage new attenders to feel welcome and participate to the degree they wish; to seek ways that the resources of the Meeting can be helpful in the community; and to maintain ongoing contact with CYM Home Mission and Advancement Committee and be aware of their programs and priorities that may be relevant for Meeting.
Duties and responsibilities are to sound members and attenders out on their social concerns; to give form to those concerns; and to assist the Meeting in taking appropriate action as the way opens. Generally there is one meeting per month; members may be asked to read materials. Attenders and members of The Religious Society of Friends are welcomed.
Duties and responsibilities are to keep records, and add, delete, or modify the records as each person's statistical status changes. The Committee prepares a statistical report once a year. Generally members are also members of The Society of Friends.
Members of the Telephone Tree call F/friends without email to let them know about rapidly scheduled meetings and special announcements. The telephone tree is activated only on rare occasions.
Trustees are directly appointed by Meeting for Worship for Business. They are responsible for the long term care of all property owned by the Meeting including the Meeting House, grounds and reserve funds.
Duties and responsibilities are to visit friends and attenders who are not able to get to Meeting on a regular basis.
Thich Nhat Hanh (TNH) is a famous Vietnamese Buddhist monk, a best selling author of many books, and friend of Martin Luther King and Thomas Merton. One of his most significant contributions is his concept of "interbeing". In a piece of paper , he says, you can see the rain, and the cloud, and the tree, and the logger. It is the same for all of us; every self is made up of non-self elements. An old Zen saying goes: "to study the self is to forget the self; to forget the self is to become 10,000 things." He has made that vision relevant and approachable This book was a great comfort to me when it first appeared. I had felt myself to be both Buddhist and Christian, and had identified myself that way in various settings. I often visualized Jesus at one end of the Meeting House, Buddha at the other, facing each other. But there seemed little support for such a possibility. This book gave it validation.
He describes his own struggle with Christianity, which had seemed a hostile force in Vietnam. It was identified with the colonizing power. In the early 60s, President instituted oppressive laws against Buddhists. However, when TNH met Merton and King and others, he saw a different face of Christianity, and now has a picture of Christ in his shrine at home.
He says "When you are a truly happy Christian, you are also a Buddhist, and vice versa." He sees Christianity and Buddhism as equally valid paths for spiritual growth. He equates mindfulness, the Buddhist practice of staying in the present and touching the reality of things beyond concepts, with the Holy Spirit. He says the Holy Spirit is the best access to the Trinity. Both mindfulness and the Holy Spirit are doors to ultimate reality. When we are appreciating a blue sky or a flower, we are in touch with ultimate reality. That is why Jesus said that we have to become as little children to enter the kingdom of heaven. Resurrection occurs with every breath, with the arising and passing of each perception. He says that both Jesus and Buddha need us to be their body in the present. It is not by faith but by works that they are both honoured. Practicing their teachings is the highest form of prayer. For him, discussions about God are much less important than living with the Holy Spirit, in the present moment.
Jesus, he says, is both a historical door to God and an ultimate door. Through studying and touching deeply the life and teaching of Jesus, we can penetrate the nature of God. The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus; and it descends on all of us. All of us are sons and daughters of God. "When we are in touch with the highest spirit in ourselves, we too are a Buddha, filled with Holy Spirit, and we become very tolerant, very open, very deep, and very understanding." Jesus and Buddha are both doors to understanding, but there are many other doors too.
Both Buddha and God are described as the ground of being. Buddha said that after his death, the body of his teaching would be with his followers; Jesus said "where two or three are gathered in my name I am there". Both are still living in us and our world. When Jesus said "I am the way", he didn't mean his historical self, he meant "life itself, His life".
We all need to be rooted in our own traditions, and in our own physical and spiritual ancestors. He urges his western students to return to their own faith and reinvigorate it.There are some aspects in which Buddhism is particularly close to Quaker faith. He talks about Buddha's admonition not to believe what he has said, but to "be a light unto yourself"; believe only what is true for you. This brings to mind George Fox's statement, "the bible says this, but what do you say?". TNH's guiding principles are similar to our testimonies. He has been a strong advocate for peace, in Vietnam, from which he was exiled for his witness to peace during the war, and elsewhere in the world. He is also a strong environmental advocate. He has drawn up 5 precepts for modern living, and the first is dedication to respect for all life. TNH would doubtless agree with William Penn, who said, "the humble, meek, merciful, devout are everywhere of one religion; and when death has taken off the mask they will know one another, though the divers liveries they wear here makes them strangers".
Brother David Steindl-Rast, in his foreword, says Christians have no monopoly on the Holy Spirit. "All those who are led by the Spirit of God are [daughters and] sons of God" (Romans 8:14). He agrees with TNH when he says, "if we touch the Holy Spirit, we touch God not as a concept but as a living reality".
Dear Friends,
Please register right away if you wish to attend this event, and pay $58 accommodation fee now, if possible.
We do not have to provide numbers for meals until March 20th, but it would be good to get an idea of the numbers sooner than that.
We expect to arrive after suppertime on Friday and stay through lunch on Sunday. (Note: there is a 12% tax added to these rates.)
In peace, Jean, Carol Leigh, Helen B., Rex, and Beverly - Ministry and Counsel
Name: ____________________________________________________________
Address (ground or e-mail): __________________________________________________________
Telephone number(s): ________________________________________________
Would you prefer breakfast in the dining hall? ___________ or preparing our own? _____________
Do you have dietary restrictions, and if so, what are they? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Any other special needs? ____________________________________________________________
Amount enclosed: $______________________
Last updated: 24 December
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