News

Hartford Monthly Meeting

Religious Society of Friends

June, 2005

"Every situation may be turned into an occasion for winning a nearer view of God." - Rufus Jones

Calendar

May 29 Family Meeting

June 2 Worship & Ministry, Pastoral Care Potluck for incoming and outgoing 6 pm Home of Roger Catlin and Diane Randall

June 5 11th hour Chris and Micah Doucot of Hartford Catholic Worker will talk about their recent trip to Darfur, Sudan

June 12 First Day School Picnic, Elizabeth Park, Hartford

June 19 Meeting for Business

July 2-9 Weaving the Blessed Tapestry, Friends General Conference 2005 Gathering, Blacksburg, VA.

Aug 6-11 New England Yearly Meeting Sessions at Bryant College, Smithfield, RI

Sep 16-18 Hartford Monthly Meeting Retreat, Litchfield, CT

Meeting for Worship is held every First Day at 10 am.

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

When there is a Fifth Sunday in a month, our 10 am worship is Family Sunday, where children are with us the entire hour of worship. These Sundays usually have programmed aspects for children and differ slightly from our traditional unprogrammed worship.

FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HARTFORD MEETING ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED

PLEASE MAILTO ASSISTANT TREASURER:

RUTH ALEXANDER, 22 CARPENTER LANE, BLOOMFIELD, CT 06002.

Milestones (and other news)

Elsa Cullen has moved within Seabury to Her address is 100 Seabury Drive, Room C 107, Bloomfield, CT 06002.

Joan Gallagher and David McKinley will wed May 30, 2005.

Esther Benoit, daughter of Daphne Bye, is graduating this month from Dawson College, a CEGEP in Montreal. She will begin a Bachelor of Medical Science program at McGill University in the fall. Although exhausted from trying to balance studies with student politics, she seems happy and as well as one can be at exam time.

Alex Mustonen, Diane Randall and Roger Catlin’s son, graduates this month from Cooper Union with a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture. He will continue living New York City.

Philip Weinholtz will spend six weeks in Finca la Bella, Costa Rica this summer, a community close to Monteverde. While there, he will paint murals and earn college credit under the supervision of Carol Padburg, professor of Art at University of Hartford.

Shawn Lang leaves for three weeks in Lesotho, Africa on June 9 to visit her partner, Lisa Brennan and make contact with AIDS organizations.

If you have milestones to share—life events that you want to share with the meeting community, please send information to newsletter editor: randalldiane@sbcglobal.net. Deadline for June newsletter is May16.

First Day School Picnic—June 12, 2005 Elizabeth Park

We hope everyone in the Meeting will join in the First Day School Picnic on Sunday, June 12, beginning at noon at Elizabeth Park. We will meet near the playscape off Elizabeth Street in Hartford. If it rains, the picnic will be held in the meetinghouse. Please bring potluck picnic items—drinks and paper plates will be provided.

The last “official” day of First Day School will be June 12; on that day—just before the picnic, the Meeting will present Bibles to the 10 year olds and a gift to Amika Gair-MacMichael who graduates from Watkinson High School this year.

Summer and Children at Hartford Monthly Meeting

From June 19 through Labor Day, the children enjoy fellowship and playtime with one another and teachers have a break from teaching classes. Adults are needed who will volunteer to “hang out” with children from 9:50-10:40 (when they go to worship). Lynne Johnson and CarolAnn Boucher will be recruiting 2-3 volunteers per week—this is a great opportunity to get to know and to be known by the children in our meeting.

Hartford Monthly Meeting 5/15/05 Meeting for Business

At 11:35 a.m. twenty-one Friends gathered in silence to begin the Meeting for Worship for Business.

Worship and Ministry: Lynn Johnson reported that May 29 will be Family Meeting where our youngest Friends join us for worship. There will by hymn singing after the rise of Family Meeting. There will be a Seekers Session for those new to Friends after the rise of Meeting on June 26 in the Williams Room.

Worship and Ministry recommends that we make next year (Fall 2005 to Spring 2006) a "Year of Reflection," based on the inspiration of other Meetings who have had "Sabbath years." The Retreat Committee is considering how this theme can be initiated as part of the retreat on September 16-18. Does the Meeting approve of this idea? How do friends Discussion of this recommendation followed. It was stated that this proposal does not mean laying down committees, but rather focusing on how we can work together better. Other comments were that we need to give something up if we take this up, or come at things in a different way to make our Meeting more efficient. Yearly Meeting is attempting the same sort of process focusing on their structures and the need for clarity. It was decided that Worship and Ministry will come to the June Meeting for Business with copies of articles from Friends Journal to be scanned and transmitted electronically or copied. We are talking about "getting our act together" and understanding how population changes, schedule conflicts and other factors are changing the Meeting.

Pastoral Care: Debbie Humphries reported that the Committee is collecting birth dates as a way of caring for people in the Meeting. They and the Religious Education Committee are preparing for Bible presentations on June 12th.

Religious Education: Lynn Johnson reported that the annual picnic will be on June 12 after Meeting. There was discussion of a location, and Elizabeth Park emerged as the best option. The focus in First Day School on Earthcare Witness has been ongoing thanks to the teachers: Carolyn Flint, Paul Bartoo, Jeff Russell, David Holdt, Diane Randall, Lynn Johnson, Bill Taylor and Carol Ann Boucher.

Peace and Social Concerns: LouAnn MacDonald reported that three of the Interfaith Coalition for Equity and Justice House Parties have been held, with the fourth scheduled for and full.

Communications: No report.

Library: No report.

Finance and Treasurer: Jim Reik reported that the Committee recommends the allocation of $25,000 for Meetinghouse repairs, and $30,000 for Maplewood Properties renovations-the Maplewood money to be counted as a loan from the Meeting to the Maplewood account. This was approved. Tim Allen reported that the Meeting has signed up for Clean Energy for the Meeting House. The Treasurer's Report from Tim Allen follows: As of 5/15/05, our current checking balance is $80,258 Both of our CD's, totaling about $150,000 were rolled over this month for another 90 days. The Meeting's electricity generation source has been switched to 100% NewWind Energy (50% wind, 50% Landfill Gas), for an additional 1.10 cents per kWh.

As of May 15, we are 37% through the year, but we have received only 25 % of the individual contributions to the General Fund that we have budgeted. This is better than last year, when we did not meet our budget, but behind 2003, when we did.

2003: $22,109 (33% of $67,200 for year)

2004: $11,966 (20% of $59,800 for year)

2005: $16,288 (25% of budget: $66,000)

Friends may be interested in the spending so far this year on major repairs. Major repair expenses for the Meeting House have a separate category in our budget and record-keeping, but all of the expenses for each Maplewood property are lumped together.

All expenses, year-to-date:

143 Maplewood $11,384

151 Maplewood $1,507

Meeting House, major repairs: $2,730

Retreat Committee: No report.

Nominating Committee (see attached page)

Joan Gallagher, Ginny Allen, Eleanor Godway (ex officio), and one position to be appointed

It was noted that the Nominating Committee has laid down the Earthcare Witness Committee and the Gay and Lesbian Concerns Committee, as both seem to deal with concerns widely shared in the Meeting, and their areas may not best respond to meetings of a committee. John Stamm raised the question as to whether this was also true of Peace and Social Concerns. It was decided that committees should meet and decide if they need to meet regularly as committees. Nominating Committee will convene a meeting of outgoing and incoming Clerks to help ensure effective communication. The Nominating Committee also pointed out that they had nominated a Maplewood Tenant-Relations Committee, and asked for Meeting approval of their usurpation of that duty from the Meeting as a whole. This was approved, and Ginny Allen will inform Kiki Eglinton to change the handbook. Thanks were extended to the Nominating Committee for all their work.

The Nominating Committee does not nominate itself-that is the task of the whole meeting. The Assistant Clerk will bring names to consider to the June meeting for Business. There is one opening for a three-year term. Announcements will be made at the rise of the next meetings. Delegates to Yearly Meeting Committees will also be announced later.

Buildings and Grounds: Ginny Allen had no formal report, but noted that work is being done-go look at the masonry around the Meeting House porch and at 143 Maplewood. Deconstruction crews have been eviscerating 143 Maplewood enthusiastically.

New Business:

Bill Upholt reported that the Quarterly Meeting approved the Minute from Hartford Meeting endorsing the Earth Charter. The Minute on Same Gender Marriages was approved as rewritten to emphasize equity in legal rights. This will be forwarded to Yearly Meeting. A Travel Minute for Debbie Humphries was approved enthusiastically by the Quarterly Meeting and by the Permanent Board. A Travel Minute for Jan Hoffman to the Friends United Meeting triennial was also approved. Our own Caroline Webster is also a delegate. The Next Quarterly Meeting, hosted by New London and Storrs Meetings will be held at Woolman Hill October 7-9. The theme will be "Reasons for Hope."

Craig Zevin was commended for his work with young Friends.
John Breasted sent a letter informing the Meeting that he is now attending the Congregational Church in Great Barrington, where he was led by the Music program there.
John and Cynthia Lord have transferred to Providence meeting.
Bill Upholt reported a request from Jesse Stratton for support of legislation for deposits on water bottles. The Meeting approved.

Cynthia Reik, Clerk David Holdt, Recording Clerk

Memorial Minute for Patricia Kingsley Ritter

Patricia Ritter, a member of Hartford Monthly Meeting, died in Hartford, Connecticut on December 10, 2004 of acute leukemia. She had a long productive life devoted to education and human rights. Born in Freeport, Illinois to Norman Sleezer and Mabel Kingsley Sleezer on September 26, 1920, she graduated from the University of Iowa and attended Yale Divinity School, receiving a degree from Yale School of Education where she studied the significance of racial identity in the lives of children.

She married George Ritter whom she had met at a Quaker work camp. Together they traveled to Europe for the first Salzburg Conference sponsored by Harvard to bring together intellectuals from both sides of WWII. She earned her way as an assistant to the anthropologist, Margaret Mead.

After George’s graduation from Yale Law School George and Pat moved to Hartford and George established a law firm. They became active in Hartford Meeting together with their growing family which included Martha, Scott, Tom, Penn Joseph and John.

Following a long concern with integration, Pat and George formed the Connecticut Housing Investment Fund to buy houses in changing neighborhoods and sell them to diverse families in order to enforce the country’s fair housing code. Because of this work Pat was appointed to Civil Rights Commission by Governor Chester Bowles.

Patricia’s teaching career ranged from China where she taught English to West Virginia, Hillyer College, Hartford College for Women and Loomis-Chaffee. Her China experience followed the encouragement of our meeting’s Graham Leonard, who was already in Beijing giving classes in English following the Cultural Revolution. Many of her students wanted to come to our country to do advanced work so she set up a non-profit foundation, China in Connecticut, to assist them both in finding a college or graduate school and supporting them during their stay. For this she received an honorary doctor of humane letters from Heilongjiang University in Harbin, China and the same from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin.

One of her long term interests was in her Quaker book club which continues today. She was a voracious reader often reading the night through. In the June meetings when we brought books to suggest the Club’s reading for the following year, Pat would bring ten to twelve which she had enjoyed. Recently she recommended history books which she had read aloud to George who is now disabled by diabetes.

In addition to her five children she leaves daughters-in-law Robin Kipnis, Christine Keller and Anne Dowling, grandchildren Jessica, Matthew, Gillian, Samuel, Eric and Caleb. Patricia was a warm, loving compassionate wife, mother, grandmother who served her many communities well.

Committees of Hartford Monthly Meeting

June 1, 2005 – May 31, 2006

Clerk: Eleanor Godway Treasurer: Tim Allen

Assistant Clerk: Donn Weinholtz Assistant Treasurer: Ruth Alexander

Recording Clerk: David Holdt Auditor: Dick Stratton

Recorder: Dianne Warner

Worship and Ministry:

’06 Roger Catlin (co-clerk) ’08 Jamie Taylor

’06 Martin Wheeler (to June ’05) ’08 Rich Sivel

’07 Diane Weinholtz (co-clerk) ’08 Caroline Webster

’07 John Stamm

Pastoral Care:

’06 Otis Brown, co-clerk ’07 Peterson Toscano

‘06 Linda Smith ’08 Beth Morrill

’06 Lucy Townsend ’08 Tia Thornton

’07 Eric Stamm, co-clerk

Correspondence: Dianne Warner (clerk), Joan Gallagher, Priscilla Doyle

Buildings and Grounds

Ginny Allen, clerk John Humphries

Chris Robinson Stephen Haynes,Carolyn Flint, Brigid Kennedy, Donn Weinholtz, Shawn Lang, Chris Watts, Bruce Baldwin, Wayne Boulton, Amy Boulton, David Brown, QLNS Liaison: Carol Shilliday

Finance

Jim Reik, Clerk

Phil Will, John Flint, Mary LaPorte, ,Tim Allen, ,Robert Batson, ,Ruth Alexander, Carol Savery-Frederick, David Thompson, Buildings and Grounds Liaison: Ginny Allen

Religious Ed

Diane Randall, co-clerk

Lynn Johnson, co-clerk

Chris Baldwin, Janelle Mantie, Kathy Zager, Anna Moberly, Jay Zevin, Paul Bartoo, Beverly Stamm,Sue Chipman

Childcare: Carolann Boucher, Lara O’Neil

Young Friends: David Zevin
Peace and Social Concerns

John Stamm, clerk

Gary Chipman, LouAnne McDonald, Mary Lee Morrison, Chris Blossom, Valentine Doyle

AVP

Marla Ludwig, clerk

Jamie Taylor, Valentine Doyle, Eleanor Godway, Emily Chasse, Ray Boucher, Carolann Boucher