First Day School meets on alternate weeks and is divided into two classes. Numbers are small but steady. On two or three occasions during the year, the children have been invited to stay in Meeting for the full hour, playing with soft toys, reading or using art materials, joined sometimes by adults participating in their activities. This is called "Meeting of the Whole" and occurs on the fifth Sunday of months in which there are five Sundays. We are continuing with this practice because we find its inclusivity rewarding. Meetings for Worship for Business have been held regularly. We have begun alternating between a Sunday afternoon after a potluck lunch, and a weekday evening. They have been consistently long, no matter what the agenda. We attempt to discipline ourselves to avoid unnecessarily extending discussion but with limited success. Contentious issues have been faced and resolved without alienating Friends. In our struggle with long agendas, we have sometimes needed called meetings, but now refer many issues to committees or individuals for deliberation, thus avoiding having any called meetings this year. Donations to Meeting this year have been below expectations. We have laboured over a plan for a loan fund for members/attenders in need.
Although our meeting family is aging, we have welcomed several new attenders, of different ages. The Outreach Committee has helped to bring this about with a web site and by publicizing our existence at the university. Our membership has increased by two, one who grew up in Meeting and wished to join as an adult, and one new to our meeting. Age, nonetheless, has deprived us of the presence in meeting of a number of valued Friends. We try to keep in touch through visiting and especially through a Christmastime gift of cookies delivered by a group of carolling Friends. Several Committees of Care and Clearness have been established or have been ongoing during the year. We all need to be aware of our own and of others' needs and to develop our abilities to give and receive counsel graciously. Our precious home has been well utilized this year. Hamilton has hosted a number of Quaker and other activities in the Meeting House, as is customary: we hosted Home Mission and Advancement committee in October, and such groups as the Hamilton Interfaith Group, the Self-Realization Fellowship, and Blue Heron Buddhist meditation group, as well as the Consort of Friends, (a renaissance singing group), the Spiritskins Drumming circle, and evenings of sacred chant have enjoyed our space. Although our interests are diverse, and many Friends are very busy with their deeply felt concerns, we have tried to maintain our spirit of belonging together by a painting bee, a retreat in April overseen by Ministry and Counsel, monthly potluck suppers, a swap fest, our shared Thanksgiving feast, and an intergenerational New Year's Eve gathering. Throughout the year groups have met for study and discussion, some specifically designed for new attenders, others as part of a series with a broader focus. Peace and Social Action committee also held a series of discussions on the origins of violence in child abuse. There has been a concern that the resources of our library are not utilized to the fullest extent and a major renewal is under way. An 'ecology corner' with current journals has been added to the library. The fabric of our Meeting House and its garden have been lovingly cared for by a small but dedicated group of Friends. Late in the year we were delighted that a long-term intention of insulating the Meeting House to make it more energy efficient will now be possible due to a generous grant from the Rogers Trust. There has been an ongoing concern that our Meeting should try to influence Canada's foreign policy to reduce the tensions that lead to violence. A second meeting of a delegation of three Hamilton Monthly Meeting Friends with representatives of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has been in the planning phase throughout the year. Peace and Social Action committee has been concerned with how violence arises, with how tensions can be reduced in our community and with how peace research and peace education can be fostered. Individual Friends have taken active parts in various efforts to build peace at both local and wider levels, and, for two months, the Meeting held a peace vigil downtown after the war in Iraq.