H.M.M. Newsletter December 1999

Clerk: Roberta McGregor

Sunday mornings 9.30 Discussion group 11.00 Meeting for Worship

COMING EVENTS Dec 17 Non violence group meets at Hanna Newcombe's house Dec 19 Christmas Event Dec. 31 Gala Millennium New Years' Eve Party Jan. 6 Sustainability lunch at the Meetinghouse. contact person: Helen Brink Jan. 15 Camp Neekaunis Committee meets here. Jan. 21 Potluck Supper. 6 p.m. Speaker: Colin Rice, Director, Wesley Urban Ministries. Feb. 24 Potluck Supper, 6 p.m. Focus: the Nature Value of Membership

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Follow up note concerning the possible visit on January 23rd from two volunteers who have been working on CFSC's Post Hurricane Reconstruction Project in Nicaragua: It now seems possible that the visit will take place in early February. Further details will be made known to Friends as they become available. (submitted by Mona Callin)

Quaker Benediction

When the song of the angel is stilled, When the star in the sky is gone, When the kings and princes are home, When the shepherds are back with their flocks, The work of Christmas begins.

To find the lost, To heal the broken, To feed the hungry, To release the prisoner, To rebuild the nations, To bring peace among people, To make music in the heart.

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COME VISIT FIRST DAY SCHOOL!

We would like to invite adults in meeting to visit the First Day School and see what is a happening. We have a terrific group of young Friends which enhance the life of the Meeting. Seasoned Friends and attenders would be welcomed to share their insights, experiences, games, songs and activities. Come get to know us, and consider being a First Day School teacher.

Betty Preston

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Wise Words for the Christmas Season:

Perhaps the most neglected of all the advices is that we should live adventurously. If there is one wish I would pray the Spirit to put into our Christmas Stockings, it is warmth, openness, passion, a bit of emotion that doesn't mind making a fool of itself occasionally. (Gerald Priestland, 1977, from Christian Faith and Practice, 21.25, Britain Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), 1995) (submitted by Mona Callin)

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Ministry and Counsel (sometimes called "Overseers") is a group of seasoned Friends chosen by Monthly Meeting to take special concern for - to oversee - the spiritual life and health of the Meeting. They meet regularly to consider the quality of our worship and vocal ministry, the nurture of our young people, the needs of individual members and attenders, and other matters which result from or influence the spiritual state of Hamilton Meeting. They are available to discuss any concerns Hamilton Friends may have about Meeting or their personal lives. At this time, members of Ministry and Counsel - Overseers - are Beverly Shepard, Grace Inglis, Don Woodside, and, by virtue of office, our Clerk Robbie McGregor. Please feel free to contact any of them if you feel the need or wish to do so.

Mindful Use of Our Time

At a recent meeting, Ministry and Counsel considered a number of issues which have an impact on the spiritual life and well-being of our community. Among these was one which seems to be a widespread and persistent concern in Quaker Meetings; certainly it has exercised the members of the Hamilton Meeting Community numerous times over the years. This is the nature of the time we spend together immediately following Meeting for Worship on First Days. Sharing our personal thoughts and feelings, notifying each other of our concerns and activities, and staying up-to-date on Meeting's own events are all important uses of that time, but together they can consume a great deal of it - perhaps, if we are not mindful, more than we really wish to spend before coffee and tea time, which is another significant aspect of our community life. Certainly a long after-worship, seated, talking time can seem tedious and extreme to our youngest!

Ministry and Counsel asks that we all use care and consideration in the after-worship time, so that together we can make it both valuable and efficient. Specifically, we suggest:

* "Afterword" should consist, as it was originally conceived, of the expression of thoughts and feelings which are significant to the one who shares them but were deemed "not quite ready or not quite right for ministry". We should take heed that we don't use this period for announcements.

* Announcements should, whenever possible, be written on the white board or posted on the bulletin board. Verbal announcements of these matters can then simply draw Friends' attention to the written material, which will provide details. Other announcements, which may not have had enough lead time to be in written form or which may be particularly important or urgent, should be made as concisely as possible.

* Occasionally there is a need to conduct some business following Meeting for Worship. The Clerk will only ask this of Friends when it is truly necessary, and no doubt we will all be understanding when this is the case.

Another way we could end earlier after Meeting is to start worship earlier. This would be a significant change for us. Ministry and Counsel asks Friends how they feel about the starting time of First Day Worship.

* Is 11:00 a.m. the most desirable starting time?

* A number of Meetings, like many churches, have chosen to begin worship at 10:30. Would this be a good idea for Hamilton Meeting or not? We'd be interested to hear your comments. We are Beverly Shepard, Don Woodside, Grace Inglis, and Robbie McGregor. Please let us know how you feel.

Friends and E-Mail

Ministry and Counsel recently discussed the use of E-Mail in our Meeting. The discussion made us feel that this is in area which would benefit from some thoughtful consideration by Friends. To stimulate this thinking, we offer these queries and advice.

Friends, like everyone else in North America, are confronted with the incredibly rapid expansion of technology and the enormous changes it has made in our modes of communication. Sometimes the quantum leap style of "progress" leaves us a little breathless and not quite ready for the next level. In the tradition of Quaker thoughtfulness, Ministry and Counsel asks Friends to consider how the values of Quaker process can be preserved in this age of high-speed and frequently one-way communications.

As we read an e-mail letter on our computer monitor, we know we can respond in kind: immediately and without direct personal contact - we don't have to find paper or pen, take the effort to write by hand, put paper in envelope, find and affix a stamp, look up the address, seal and address the envelope, get to a postbox. All these time-consuming activities, however, have the virtue of giving us time, as well as using it. We can think through what we say as we write it by hand, rather than being able to put down the first thing in our minds almost as fast as we think it. Each step gives us another opportunity to consider what we're responding to and how we've responded; we can change our minds about anything in that response anytime from the moment we pick up a pen until just before we slip the envelope into a mail slot. How different from pressing "Send"!

Let us take back some of our Friendly mindfulness even as we embrace the convenience of e-mail. Let's ask ourselves some questions as we hurry through the electronic processes.

* Am I remembering that I can't see the face or hear the voice of the person who sent this message, and that those are both important in communication and understanding?

* Am I remembering that when I respond, the recipient won't be able to see or hear me either?

* Have I considered that there may be a good deal of discussion or contemplation behind the message I've received, and that my response perhaps should have the same?

* Have I given enough time to thinking about the message I've read?

* Have I given enough time to thinking about my response?

* Am I taking care with my words and phrases, so that they show respect for the one who will read them, and that they say what I want to say in as loving a manner as I can use?

* Would it be better for me to call the person or people to whom I'm about to write, or even to wait until we have a chance to talk in person?

If we take the time to ask and answer questions such as these, we can still communicate with each other in the manner of Friends, even if George Fox wouldn't recognize our correspondence!

One more matter to be considered in relation to e-mail is the fact that not all our members and attenders are on-line. We ask e-mail communicators not to disenfranchise those Friends who do not have e-mail capability.

READING TOGETHER IN FAITH FOR CHILDREN

On November 7th about 100 children and adults enjoyed music, stories and a thoughtful talk during an afternoon devoted to the importance of reading to children.

Hamilton Monthly Meeting was WELL represented. First Day Schoolers and their families had a wonderful time as did several others from our Meeting.

The West Hamilton Interfaith Committee on Child Poverty planned the event to highlight awareness of child poverty by focusing on the importance of reading to young children.

Not that the afternoon was entirely serious! The St. Cuthbert's Youth Band shook the rafters of the First Unitarian Church. Three storytellers met with the large number of children during the keynote speech. Four local clergy each read their favorite children's story as the youngsters gathered around them. Liam and Alexander charmed the organizers with their rapt attention as they snuggled close to Pastor Schmidt from Grace Lutheran Church. You could have heard a pin drop!

Dr. Robin Williams, a pediatrician, Niagara County Medical Officer of Health, and reference group member of The Early Year Study, talked about a key finding of this provincial study. She reminded us of what is now an established fact: the brain development that takes place in the first years of a child's life is enhanced by such activities as reading. For poor children, reading can help overcome some of the barriers created by a lack of money in their home. Dr. Williams urged each of us to read to children and to find ways to support reading programs for young children in poor families.

Boxes and boxes of books were collected and donated to St. Martin's Manor and Grace Haven. We know by the thank you notes we received that the books are already being used by young mothers in these programs.

As we enter the next century, we need to remember that 22,000 children in Hamilton live below the poverty line. There are ways we can reduce this figure. We hope you will consider how you can help.

Harriet Woodside, West Hamilton Interfaith Committee on Child Poverty

From Nominating Committee

Now is the time to start thinking about nominations for Quaker Committees - the nominations for CYM committees must be approved at February M4W4B, and the nominations for HMM committees at March M4W4B. Appointments begin at the rise of Yearly Meeting 2000. HMM is well represented on CYM committees: -

Representative Meeting: Bev. Shepard, confirm nomination Project Ploughshares: Hanna Newcombe CFSC: Peter Cross, Emily Shepard, ? second terms Mona Callin, Corresponding member- Clerk, Personnel Committee) Ecumenical Committee: Mona Callin, Clerk War Tax Concerns: Don Woodside, ? second term Friends in Unity with Nature: Helen Brink Friends General Conference: Ian Graham Camp Neekaunis: Bev Shepard - completing second term ? Replacement. Jennifer Howe - completing first term - renomination. Also John Milton, 2001, Dick Preston, 2001, Diana Shepard, 2001, Ian Graham, 2002, Caroleigh Wehking, 2002, Kris Wilson-Yang, 2002

Information and a call for nominations for HMM committees will be included in the January Newsletter.

Please see notice board for further information.

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Sustainability Group

The first meeting of the Sustainability Group took place on Thursday, 2.12.99 from 12 noon to 1.30 p.m. Present were: Helen Brink, convenor, Larry Pogue, Dick Preston, Rex Barger, Ray Cunnington, Helen Paulin, Bushra Mansour, and Mona Callin. Regrets from Denise Barron.

Several books and pamphlets were recommended including Elizabeth Watson's "Healing Ourselves and Our Earth" "Earthcare for Children, a First Day School Curriculum" "Consumers Guide to Effective Environmental Choices" and "The Ecology of Hope". We hope to prepare an annotated bibliography of resources. Some Friends mentioned feeling overwhelmed with the amount of literature available, but also noted that the volume of material suggested there was unity on the importance of the concern.

Friends agreed that we as a Meeting should focus our activity on small practical actions that had potential for success and which all people, young and old, associated with our Meeting could carry out. We stressed the need to be optimistic and to believe we could make a difference. As Margaret Mead said "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has."

We ask Friends to submit suggestions in the form of Tips for Sustainability to Helen Brink or Mona Callin. For example, to use paper, bags, toilet tissue, that contain recycled material. The collection of tips will be published in some form or other.

The Sustainability Group plans to meet regularly at the Meetinghouse on the first Thursday in each month from 12 noon to 1.30 p.m. The next meeting will be on Thursday, January 6th, 2000. submitted by Mona Callin.

Query 19: Are you concerned that man's increasing power over nature should not be used irresponsibly but with reverence for life and with a sense of the splendour of God's continuing creation.

(Canadian Yearly Meeting Organization and Procedure.)

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Quaker Books for Friends (http://QuakerBooks.listbot.com) =============================================== ISSN 1524-7201 * December 1999 * Vol. 1, No. 12 =============================================== Quaker Books for Friends is distributed free of charge as an independent monthly newsletter featuring eclectic reviews of books of interest to Christian Friends. My mailing list is unpublished and carefully supervised. If you prefer not to receive any future mailings, please reply to this post with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line. ===============================================

Quakerism and Science By Calvin W. Schwabe 40 pages | PHP 343 | $4.00 | Pendle Hill Publications, 1999 | US ISSN 0031-4250 [http://www.pendlehill.org]

There is much to like about this provocative pamphlet. As both a Friend and a research scientist in overlapping fields of biomedical science, Schwabe brings to this little study not merely excellent credentials, but also many years of thoughtful reflection on the methodologies of Quaker worship and scientific discovery. The interesting result is an aggressive argument for the pragmatic benefits of a Quaker-like meditative approach to problem-solving in science.

Alas, there is also in this pamphlet much that will be abhorrent to Quaker Christians. I have never liked any treatment of Quaker worship and faith that would turn us into a religious sect, but that is precisely what happens when the Quaker approach becomes another "ism."

It actually turns the Quaker into a little bastard--we know his lineage through one parent, but still we keep probing him for traits of another. If Schwabe means by "Quakerism" the special gathered worship form we enjoy in unprogrammed worship and sometimes as a part of programmed church worship, we can forgive him the urge to make our heritage another "ism." But this is not all that he means by it. He wants to go further and locate the source of revelation during the gathered worship firmly in the human unconscious.

As a result, he deconstructs our tradition's primitive beginnings and turns George Fox's challenge--"what canst thou say?"--from a defiant question about Christ's spiritual, pedagogical role into a simple question about human testimony. Out of silent worship then comes not prophecy but insight, mere revelations about the human condition, something ever more secular than divine. This is what Quakerism, as an "ism," is to Schwabe. Quakerism is both a rebellion against Scripture ("preformed creeds," a "static body of secondhand testimonies," or "ancient books") and another journey along a never-ending road to subjective, experiential insights.

Schwabe is most successful when proposing a positive program for fixing scientists' frequent impasses in discovery through use of the gathered meeting. His reflective, autobiographical style allows his readers to delight in his many scientific findings (including his exciting discovery of the anatomical origin for the Egyptian religious symbol and hieroglyph "ankh"), and also to share his joy as a long-time Friend. It is only when he starts speaking the language of theology that he ends up remaking all Quakers into pagans and their worship into an eager form of humanism. - MCH

(Submitted by Ian Graham)

GALA MILLENNIUM PARTY

Come as you are OR as you used to be OR as you want to be! 9 - 12:30 December 31, 1999 at the Meeting House

Friends of Friends invited. Bring some cold finger food to share and a very small donation to cover expenses.

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Suggestion for A New Year's Resolution:

To try to attend Canadian Yearly Meeting, August 12-18, at Sedbergh School, near Montebello, Quebec. This is about one hour's drive SE from Ottawa.

If you have never been to our Yearly Gathering, you are in for a treat. Speak to Ian Graham for example, if you want a really enthusiastic report!

Plan your vacation time now!