Hartford Monthly Meeting
February, 2006

Meeting for worship is the heart of every Friends Meeting. This worship is based on the knowledge that we can know God through our personal and corporate willingness to open ourselves to God's presence. It is through waiting for and yielding to divine guidance that all other aspects of the meeting's life develop. - Draft from chapter on Worship, NEYM Faith and Practice

Calendar

January 28 HOLIDAY PARTY Dan Butterworth and Marionettes,
Sat, 2pm followed by ice cream; ALL AGES WELCOME!
Jan 29 FAMILY MEETING
11th Hour-discussion on revision of Faith and Practice
Feb 5 Quarterly Meeting, Fellowship Lunch, Program (see below)
Feb 12 NO FELLOWSHIP LUNCH
Feb 17-19 Hartford Meeting Young Friends Retreat
Feb 19 Meeting for Business

Meeting for Worship is held every First Day at 10 am. First Day School for children begins at 9:50 am. On Fifth Sundays, we have Family Meeting when all children and adults worship together.

Mid-week Worship--every Thursday at 7 pm in the Williams Room.

January 29 Eleventh Hour Worship and Ministry will facilitate a discussion of the draft chapter on Worship prepared by the Faith and Practice (F&P) Revision Committee of New England Yearly Meeting. Our book of F&P is being revised for the first time in 20 years, with new sections being put forward by the Committee each year. Our discussion will provide feedback to the Committee which they will consider as they prepare a second draft of this chapter for presentation at Yearly Meeting sessions in August. Copies of the draft chapter are available at the back of the Meeting Room. Also available http://www.neym.org/faithandpracticerevision/worship_chapter_draft_july_05.pdf.

Connecticut Valley Quarterly Meeting Will Convene Sunday February 5, 2006
Hartford Monthly Meeting
10:00 AM : Meeting for Worship
11:20 AM : Presentation for Adults and Young Friends (Lunch will be served to the children)
"Hartford Opt-Out Campaign: It's more than just counter-recruitment"
Join us for a discussion of this program involving a diverse group of urban and suburban high school students, initiated by Hartford Friends and AFSC.
Noon: Pot Luck Lunch
12:45 PM : Quarterly Meeting for Business

Storytelling Time with Emily Chasse
Emily Chasse and her storytelling buddy, Ellie Toy, will perform folktales for children 4-12 on Sunday, March 5th after Meeting. The purpose (besides fun & merriment!) is to allow Emily to produce a DVD to send to a publisher with book chapters for possible publication. Because there's a chance that children may be captured on film, parents need to sign a Release form, in case the DVD is produced for publication. Emily will have the forms available for parents' signatures.

Supporting our Monthly Meeting
The meeting relies on contributions from members and attenders of Hartford Monthly Meeting to operate our meeting. You can make a donation by placing a check in the treasurer's mailbox or mailing your contribution to the Assistant Treasurer, Ruth Alexander, 22 Carpenter Lane, Bloomfield, CT 06002.

From the Clerk--I am happy to oblige if Friends want a letter from me as clerk acknowledging gifts in kind - for tax purposes. It does not have to specify $$ amounts, only that goods were received. (And folks should have their receipts on hand…) I think Friends should do this, both to be clear about what they are giving, and to reduce if only minimally what we contribute to Bush's war effort.

From the Buildings and Grounds Committee:
Some of the younger children in the Meeting have signed a contract with the Buildings and Grounds Committee to work as a "Super Spy." We are also recruiting older Friends as well. If you have special observer skills, such as noticing something that is broken and in need of repair, please write your note in one of two notebooks that are kept by each refrigerator, upstairs and downstairs. It is best if you write in plain English rather than special code as the property manager may have trouble cracking the code! Thanks.

Meeting for Worship for Business 1/15/2006

At 11:40 a.m. 22 Friends gathered in silence to begin the Meeting for Business
Committees:
Worship and Ministry: Diane Weinholtz announced that the committee had scheduled 11th Hours on January 29th and February 26th on the Revision of the New England Yearly Meeting Faith and Practice.

Pastoral Care: Otis Brown announced that the committee is coordinating rides, looking after care of the ill, and has scheduled a children's carnival and marionette show for January 28th.

First Day School: Diane Randall reported that there is still a need for teachers, both on-going and temporary. See her if you are moved to volunteer. A Retreat of Hartford Young Friends at the Weinholtz cabin is coming up soon.

Nominations: Ginny Allen is the Clerk. Chris Robinson has agreed to fill the slot of Joan Gallagher. The Committee is working to replace the Treasurer and the Clerk of Maplewood Properties.

Finance: Jim Reik announced that the Committee would solicit thoughts on dispensation of the Virginia Hicks bequest. On learning that the Development Committee is sending out a questionnaire on a number of related subjects, the Finance Committee agreed to let that serve as their vehicle for gathering ideas about the Hicks bequest. The fund-raising total for 2005 was in the neighborhood of $53,000, short of the budget goal of $66,000.

Development: Mary Lee Morrison reported that the committee will be sending out a questionnaire on various aspects of the meeting's financial needs and procedures. The Committee has had two productive meetings which were devoted to gathering information and educating each other about the Meeting's finances and needs. Phil Will has joined the Development Committee.

Library: Emily Chasse reports that the new drawers are working well and being put to good use. The library is gratefully overwhelmed with new acquisitions, and is looking to enlarge the Library Committee.

Travel Minute Renewal: For a year Debbie Humphries has been using the Travel Minute on spiritual growth in Friends Meetings to visit several meetings in the region. She has received endorsements from Connecticut Valley Quarterly meeting and New England Yearly Meeting, as well as South Berkshire, New Haven, and Smithfield Meetings. Debbie spoke of her experiences and said that this is important work, not for herself, but because of what happens when a Meeting gathers about worship. "It is a gift of the spirit." The Meeting approved renewal of the Travel Minute.

Peace and Social Concerns had no report.
Maplewood Properties had no report.

Buildings and Grounds: Ginny Allen Reported that among other things the Fire Marshall wants us to "Mind the Gaps" between the benches in the Meeting room leading to the outside rear doors. They must be kept at 36" when the room is occupied. Checking this will be added to the Greeter's list of things to look after. There is a new door at the bottom of the center stairway-paint will follow-and new doors will soon appear in the nursery and kitchen. Quaker lane Nursery has allocated up to $11,000 for their share of renovations in response to fire-code citations. The $20,000 allocated from the Hicks bequest will come close to covering the meeting's share.
Stefan Schwing has a check list regarding the physical side of maintaining the Meetinghouse, and he works two hours per week and notes his repairs there. There are also notebooks for the notation of repairs needed, and for certain Maplewood problems. Our monitoring of the condition of the Meetinghouse is essential to stay on top of the condition of this building. Procedures for this will be noted in the Handbook, which is nearing publication.
The Meeting expressed thanks to Ginny for taking on this task and moving us toward a more manageable situation regarding building maintenance.

Quarterly Meeting Clerk: It is the responsibility of this Meeting to nominate the Clerk for Quarterly Meeting this year. Debbie Humphries and Bill Upholt will facilitate this nomination.

Memorial Minutes: The Minute for Elsa Cullen is in process. Kiki Eglinton suggested that the Minute for Dick Boulton be taken largely from the fine obituary in the Courant, and be augmented by Friends from the Meeting who knew him. Kiki also asked for some relief from this responsibility, and Donn Weinholtz volunteered to pick up Clerking of this Ad Hoc task.

Milestones:

Membership: Arleen Barlow requested membership transfer to Middletown Meeting. This was approved. John and Thia Lord (formerly Wrubel) requested transfer to Providence Meeting. This was approved.

Deaths: Mary Hess, attender, died in December, 2005.
Steve Ackley died on December 9, 2005.

Births: Jolie Anaar Salem was born on December 15, 2005, the daughter of Navyn and Paul Salem (Ginny Allen's new granddaughter).

The Meeting adjourned at one p.m. after silent worship.

Eleanor Godway, Clerk David Holdt, Recording Clerk

Additional Milestones

Steve Ackley, husband of Maureen McCarthy, who attended our meeting for several years before going to study at the Earlham School of Religion (with support from members of our Meeting to do so), died on Monday, January 9th, in Richmond, IN.

From Linda Smith; My mother-in-law passed away on January 19after a long struggle with failing health. I want to thank all of you for your prayers and kind thoughts of concern.

From Carol Savery-Frederick. My father passed away on December 18 at Crosslands in Kennett Square, PA. There will be a memorial service at Middletown, PA, Meeting on Jan. 28th.

Francis Helfrick's wife, Marge, died early Thursday morning at their apartment. She had struggled with pulmonary problems. The memorial service is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 11th, Saturday, 11 AM, at Center Congregational Church, Manchester, where Marge had been a longstanding member.

The following letter was written by Steve Ackley to friends in the weeks before he died. It is shared with us from his wife, Maureen McCarthy, through Martin Wheeler who recently attended the memorial meeting for Steve in Richmond, IN.

I hope that all is well with you. I'm writing to tell you that I've been diagnosed with late-stage (probably end-stage) kidney cancer. And I'm writing to share that though my medical prognosis is short, my spiritual prognosis seems very bright. I know this news may seem sad at first, but God is filling me with such Joy, peace, and love that I hope my consolations will minister to you as you read further.

God has been showing me His unimaginable (at times "unendurable") love. I'm learning that His divine love is a miracle so much more vast, so much more dynamic, and so much more radiant than I had ever imagined - I don't have words to describe it.

I feel I've been invited into the Passion. God is teaching me to be led forward, blindfolded, because there seems to be no knowing what will come next. Yet there also seems to be little fear in walking a path that God has walked before me. Yes, there is pain, pain like Jesus felt, but when I can dispel my temporal fears (as He did in Gethsemane) then I can receive the courage, the love, and the spiritual healing He waits faithfully to embrace us each within. And then I can allow that grace to flow through me out towards each and all who suffer in this world. Sometimes I am filled to overflowing.

God has graciously illuminated the vista of my spiritual journey and accelerated its progress to guide me forward into the heart of His love through this cancer experience. Somewhere between this living and this dying the boundary seems to fade, the difference begins to make no difference, and God is all there is, ever was, or ever will be. My choice isn't whether I live or die; my choice in each moment is whether I react with fear or respond with love to my experience. My fears try to turn my cross to face the darkness, but God bids me to hold my cross towards the Light. The Light of His love is brighter than the sun, yet it caresses the eyes and fills the heart with peace.

Because you and I traveled together for a time in this world, that will probably get me a place in the crowd who'll welcome you home. Until you see me waving to you there I remain your brother in Christ.

Praise God and thanks for listening, Steve

NEW MEETING HANDBOOK REVEALS ALL!

You'll find the newly completed Hartford Meeting Handbook a compelling read, and to encourage you to dig into the thick of the book, we've created an Information Scavenger Hunt! Take time with your children to read through the handbook together and complete your response below. You will be surprised at how much there is to learn about Hartford Monthly Meeting!

Orders are still being taken for the Email Diane Randall randalldiane@sbcglobal.net if you wish an electronic copy, or email Kiki Eglinton at kikiegl@sbcglobal.net or call her at 561-3969 if you want yours printed out in a three ring binder (cost $5).

Information Scavenger Hunt
Resource: New Hartford Monthly Meeting Handbook

1. Where is the little gray box#2 located?

2. Tell us what is stored under the stairs, in the boys' restroom on the ground floor? Are there any surprises in that space?

3. If you have a matter to be discussed at Meeting for Business, what do you do?

4. Who set up the Morning Star Fund? What does it do?

5. Do you know how to direct a person in a wheel chair to go from the Meeting Room to the Dining Room/Nursery School Room downstairs to avoid stairs? (It is a good idea to go with the person, as someone may need to help access the downstairs door.)

6. You have been asked to purchase something for the Meeting. Where do you go to get a tax exempt form?

7. Where do the donated canned goods and personal care items go in Hartford?

8. To whom do you need to speak to get the code for the keyless lock?

9. If you want your monthly Newsletter to arrive by e mail, what do you do?

10. The Meeting has a retreat every so often. Do you know how often?

11. Someone you have been extending greetings with has been missing for several Meetings. What Committee might be able to tell you if there is illness, unemployment, or family problems so you can call or write a note to your friend?

12. How old is the Quaker Lane Cooperative Nursery School?

Signed________________________/_ / individual / _/ Family entry

PLACE IN BLUE BOX MARKED SCAVENGER HUNT ANSWERS ON SHELVE
BELOW THE MAIL BOXES. DEADLINE IS SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2006
WINNER(S) WILL BE ANNOUNCED AFTER MEETING