Document 6563789
Transcription
Document 6563789
Quaker N e w s l e t t e r WEEKLY MEETINGS 2nd Mondays Every Sunday 6:00 pm 9:30 am Meeting for Worship, Meeting Room 10:30 am Social Hour, Common Room 11 am Meeting for Worship, Meeting Room and First Day School See Greeting Committee for classroom location. 12 noon Social Hour, Common Room Friends Shelter, Common Room. To volunteer or for more information, call 212 673 8316, www.friendsshelter.org MONTHLY MEETINGS 1st, 3rd & 5th Sundays 9:30 am Manhattan Monthly Meeting, Room 1 Programmed Meeting for Worship 1st Sundays 1-2 pm Silent Vigil for Peace, Washington Square Arch at Fifth Avenue 2nd Sundays 9:30 am Manhattan Monthly Meeting Bible Study, Room 1 11 am Bible Discussion Group, Upstairs Lounge Everyone welcome; no preparation needed. For more information: [email protected] There will not be a Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business in August. 1 pm Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business, Meeting Room. All welcome. Does not meet in August. THE NEWSLETTER OF THE FIFTEENTH STREET MONTHLY MEETING OF THE RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS Women’s Worship Sharing Group Room 3. Pot luck 6:30-7 pm and worship sharing 7:00 – 8:00 pm. 2nd Wednesdays One in Christ Worship Group, 7:00 – 8:00 pm Meeting Room.Contact Eliezer Simeon Hyman, or Brian Doherty at [email protected] 3rd Sundays 1 pm Every night of the year 6 pm Aug/Sept 2014 The Ministry and Worship Third Sunday Program, Meeting Room. Programs under the care of Ministry and Worship 3rd Mondays 7:00 – 8:00 pm Meeting for Healing Prayer, Room 1 Rotating Schedule 12:15 pm Outreach to Young Adult Friends. Those between the ages of 18 and 40 (or thereabouts) are encouraged to join the 15thStYAF google group. Apply to join the group at https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/15thstya f or go to groups.google.com and search for 15thStYAF. After joining, Young Friends can email announcements and invitations to the group. COMMITTEE MEETINGS 2nd Wednesday 6:30 pm Arts Committee meeting in the Committee Room. All are welcome. For info, contact Ricardo SmithHoffman ([email protected]). Does not meet in August. 3rd Sunday 9:30 am Peace and Social Justice Committee meeting. All are welcome. Does not meet in August. 4th Sunday 12:30 pm Religious Education Committee meetings are in Room 3. Childcare provided. Potluck lunch appreciated. For info, contact Ann Kjellberg ([email protected]). Page 2 August/September 2014 IMPORTANT DATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS Young Adult Mini Retreats There are Young Adult Mini Retreats coming up this summer. These are designed to be a short time commitment, one day, low cost, $15-20 suggested donation, and provide childcare if requested. The mini retreats will focus on a topic, and will provide opportunities for fellowship, food, worship, discernment, worship sharing and getting to know other YAF. We have held one so far, and it was wonderful. Are you interested in having your Meeting host a mini retreat? Let me know! Gabi, Young Adult Field Secretary for NYYM: [email protected] See dates: August 30 at Saratoga Monthly Meeting This is a great way to end the summer, catch up with old friends, get some spiritual renewal heading into fall. There will be camping available the night before and after, for those who are interested. Please join us! Spread the word!! Link to registration for Saratoga MM mini retreat: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1vINQKFW-QZt6UJOsXJ6R4CWMzGtrwsJhElLRQ9mmNQ/viewform?usp=send_form September 6 at Brooklyn Monthly Meeting This is an easy one to get to via mass transit! We are really excited about it! Link to registration for the Brooklyn MM mini retreat: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Dh01L9LALvoj1loTpZl1hqtlgBRp_u7Pj189fV3Iw78/viewf orm?usp=send_form Mass Incarceration & Solitary Confinement Panel Discussion and Action Friends Meeting House at 15 Rutherford Place, NY NY Sunday 1-2:20 October 20, 2014 th This event is sponsored by 15 St MM’s Ministry & Worship Committee and organized by th the Death Penalty Abolition and Prison Reform Committee of 15 St MM. For more information, contact Chris Japely at [email protected] Confirmed Speakers: Jean Casella, journalist, co-author with James Ridgeway of 2012 cover piece in The Nation on solitary confinement. She is the creator of www.solitarynation.com Five Mualimm-ak, a formerly incarcerated New Yorker who is now with CAIC and Ending the New Jim Crow as a full-time organizer. Bonnie Kerness, American Friends Service Committee regional director and long-time activist on solitary confinement. Ojore Lutalo, a man who was in solitary confinement in New Jersey for over 20 years and now works as an activist artist, educating about solitary confinement and other racist prison abuses. Page 3 August/September 2014 Larry White, Alternatives to Violence trainer, member of Morningside Monthly Meeting, and formerly incarcerated person. The panel will be followed by Q&A, and we will end with a postcard action involving NYS and NYC prison issues. (Please bring a pen and a dollar or two to defray postage costs). 15th St Monthly Meeting Google Group E-mail If you are not getting e-mail via the 15th St MM Google Group and you would like to, please do the following: To post to the group, send a request to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/15thstreetfriends Page 4 August/September 2014 CALLED MEETING FOR WORSHIP WITH A CONCERN FOR BUSINESS TO REFLECT ON NYYM STATEMENT OF LEADINGS AND PRIORITIES June 29, 2014 at 1:00 pm At the Fifteenth Street Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, held in the room 1 at 15 Rutherford Place, Manhattan, New York City, First Day, Sixth Month 29, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. 2014.06.16. After a period of waiting worship, Friends appoint Ben Smith as clerk of the day for the called meeting, and Steven Bhardwaj as recording clerk. 2014.06.17. The clerk reads the final paragraph of the Preface of the Statement of Leadings and Priorities inviting friends to sit with the proposed Statement of Leadings and Priorities, test them for truthfulness and reflect back the ways in which the Statement succeeds and falls short in expressing our hopes and dreams for a beloved community. And a Friend reads 15thStMM Minute 2014.5.11, which calls for this Called Meeting. 2014.06.18. Friends approve an agenda for this meeting, to discuss each of the six priorities in order, and to discuss any additional priorities that Friends feel are missing. 2014.06.19. Friends express appreciation that our proposed NYYM priority #1 is being grounded in the practice of our faith. Faith and Practice notes "The Yearly Meeting exists primarily to worship together." Friends encourage the NYYM to have more communal worship in our Yearly Meeting gatherings and activities. This might help us avoid a feeling of nonchalance about God and the spirit when we are together. Friends note a concern with the wording of "spiritual skills" in the first priority, because grounded in faith means emptying self of ego, of the flesh, and letting Christ reign. Friends wish to emphasize the importance of simplicity, love and forgiveness, as well as the importance of faithfulness in our daily lives. 2014.06.20. Friends note that the strength and vitality of monthly meetings is a central concern, and importantly depends on effective service of its members and attenders, as well as coordination of information at the ym and other broader levels, as well as graceful and efficient procurement and use of meeting finances. In this vein, Friends suggest that Priority #2 might rather read, "...programs to help efficiently sustain our monthly meetings through sharing nonfinancial as well as financial resources and increase membership." 2014.06.21. The clerk reads the third priority and friends express appreciation and approve. 2014.06.22. Friends agree that a gathered NYYM body is an important priority, as was mentioned in minute 2014.06.19 about communal NYYM worship. Friends express appreciation for new inter-visitational programs, and existing programs like Powell House. Friends also find great importance in taking full advantage of novel methods of communication. Friends pointed to the example of the recent EWG conference calls as effectively bringing distant parts of the NYYM together. Conference calls might also be helpful for bringing us together for worship. 2014.06.23 Friends agree that nurturing children, youth, and young adults is an important priority. Friends express particular interest in including children and young adults directly in the work, activity, and worship of the meeting, rather than placing them in parallel separate environments. For example, our Greeting Committee includes two members who are 6 and 8 years old. Currently there are no items in the 1-year and 5-year plans that mention "young adults," and we ask that plans addressing their needs be included. Friends express continued appreciation of the work of the Powell House youth program and the Young Adult Field Secretary. 2014.06.24 We have some concern with the wording of priority area five (witness) and we offer these two minutes to NYYM: 2014.06.24 (1) We wish for the body of members of NYYM, as well as its committees and appointed officers, to not merely engage in us vs. Page 5 August/September 2014 them advocacy, but to convey a message of God's love for all people including those with whom we disagree; 2014.06.24 (2) We wish for all parts of the NYYM to speak strongly for a message of care and love for the entire earth and the interconnected ecology of all living creatures. 2014.06.25 Friends instruct the clerks of this called meeting to convey minutes 16 through 25 to appropriate contacts at the PWG and NYYM, including the clerk of the PWG, the clerk and assistant clerk of NYYM, and the general secretary of NYYM. Then at 4:10 pm, with twelve Friends present, Friends adjourn with a period of waiting worship. Friends note that this called meeting has included members and attenders of both Fifteenth Street and Manhattan Monthly Meetings. In attendance are: Margery Cornwell, John Edminster, Patty Frascatore, Maureen Healy, Carol Jackson, Emily Provance, Janet Soderberg (7), And, Beverly Archibald (Manhattan Monthly Meeting), Catesby Bernstein, Glenn Josey (3) Total Attendance: 12 (including clerks) Clerk: Benjamin Smith Recording Clerk: Steven Bhardwaj Page 6 August/September 2014 MEETING FOR WORSHIP WITH A CONCERN FOR BUSINESS July 13, 2014 at 1:00 pm At the Fifteenth Street Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, held in the meeting room at 221 East Fifteenth Street, Manhattan, New York City, First Day, Seventh Month 13, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. 2014.7.1 During a period of waiting worship, the Clerk reads the 7th Advice and 13th Query from NYYM Faith & Practice. Friends consider them in waiting worship with vocal ministry. Seventh Advice: Friends are advised to work toward removing the causes of misery and suffering. They are urged to support efforts to overcome racial, social, economic, and educational discrimination; to bear testimony against all forms of oppression; to exert influence for such treatment of prisoners as may help reconstruct their lives; and to work for the abolition of the death penalty. Thirteenth Query: Do we maintain Friends’ testimony against war? Do we “live in the virtue of that life and power which takes away the occasion of all wars”? Are we exerting our influence in favor of settlement of all differences by truly nonviolent methods? Do we strive to transmit to everyone an understanding of the basis of our peace testimony? 2014.7.2 The Clerk informs the Meeting that our appointed Recording Clerk, Benjamin Smith, is absent today. Steven Bhardwaj offers to serve as Recording Clerk, with the Meeting's permission. The Meeting approves. 2014.7.3 The Clerk presents a request from Yonge Street Monthly Meeting in Canadian Yearly Meeting for transfer of membership for Tom Walsh. That meeting has written a signed letter detailing his request to transfer his membership to Fifteenth Street Monthly Meeting. The Clerk reports having forwarded the request to Pastoral Care. 2014.7.4 The Clerk presents a request for membership from Michael Cooper, who has written a signed letter detailing his request. The Clerk forwards the request to Pastoral Care. 2014.7.5 Nominating Committee presents the following second reading: for Directory Committee, Steven Bhardwaj. Friends approve this appointment. 2014.7.6 Arts Committee presents its 2013 annual report which is appended to these minutes. The meeting receives the report. 2014.7.8 The Ad Hoc Committee for Occupy Union Square presents an oral report and makes a final request for a continuation of funding from the Charitable Fund to assist with storage for another three months for $489. The committee reports that it expects this amount should decrease moving forward, and may be designated for uses other than storage. The committee plans discussions with the Occupy Union Square groups accordingly. Friends approve. 2014.7.9 Friends review the history of the Perpetual Fund and its income, which is called the Witness Fund, and feel the need to clarify the process for handling requests for disbursements. Friends affirm that subsequent requests for disbursements from the Witness Fund should be coordinated by the Budget and Collections Committee, in Page 7 August/September 2014 consultation with the committees performing witness work, including but not limited to Peace and Social Justice, Death Penalty Abolition and Prison Reform, and Friends in Unity with Nature. The meeting advises Friends interested in making requests for disbursements to work with the related committees of the monthly meeting. 2014.7.10 Carol Jackson reports that she, Margery Cornwell, and Margaret Mulindi (Manhattan Monthly Meeting) request the meeting to make a contribution to the Davanga schools in Kenya from the Witness Fund. The NY Quarterly Meeting partners with the Davanga schools through its Great Lakes African Education Committee. The contribution will cover text books and class materials. The Friends request $4,827 for this purpose. The meeting approves making this contribution from the income of the Perpetual Fund. 2014.7.10 Margaret Lew reads a letter from Leitzel Schoen, Dean of Co-Curricular th Programs of Friends Seminary, inviting the 15 St Monthly Meeting to join with Friends Seminary to participate with them in the “People’s Climate Change March” of September 21, 2014. The letter is appended to these minutes. th 2014.7.11 Friends affirm that 15 Street Monthly Meeting will participate in this Climate Change march. The clerk will coordinate with Maureen Healy to register the Meeting as a participant cosponsor. Friends request to form an ad hoc task group including Ian Hansen Maureen Healy, Margaret Lew, Elizabeth Edminster, Margery Cornwell, John Edminster, Julie Finch, and Linda Hill Brainard. Friends approve the task group. 2014.7.12 Friends instruct the clerk to coordinate with the task group to reserve meetinghouse-complex spaces for the night of Saturday September 20, and possibly Sunday night September 21 with NY Quarterly Meeting Staff. The task group is instructed to reserve spaces for food and bathroom uses, and other needs as appropriate as available. The meeting asks the task group to consult building codes, including occupancy counts, suggesting Glenn Josey as a reference for this. As “Youth Service Opportunities Project” organizes routine group sleepovers in the meetinghouse, the task group is encouraged to consult with YSOP. They should also consult with Friends Seminary, including on the availability of showers. Ian Hansen, John Edminster, and Elizabeth Edminster volunteer to be a Quaker presence for hospitality on the night-of. The meeting advises the task group to register guests and coordinate hospitality, and suggest a proposed donation to cover security, registration, food, and other costs. Donations should th be made payable to 15 St Monthly Meeting. Any additional details of the coordination are delegated to the task group. 2014.7.12 Friends read and consider a letter composed by the Friends in Unity with Nature Committee, addressed to a number of political office holders, concerning the proposed Liquefied Natural Gas port of Port Ambrose. Friends approve the letter and instruct the Clerk to send it the NYS governor Andrew Cuomo, with carbon copy to a list of offices included in the letter. The letter is appended to these minutes. The meeting also instructs the Clerk to send a copy of the letter to NYYM representatives to the NYS Council of Churches, and to Diane Randall at FCNL or other FCNL offices. 2014.7.11 Members of the Peace and Social Justice Committee report about ongoing work on the Friends of Hopper Gibbons Underground Railroad site & Lamartine Pl. Historic District. They request $1000 from the Witness Fund for legal fees in this effort. The meeting approves this funding request. Then, at 3:45 PM, Friends adjourned to meet on First Day (Sunday), Ninth Month (September) 14, 2014 at 1:00 PM. Page 8 August/September 2014 In attendance are: Richard Accetta-Evans, Arthur Berk, Steven Bhardwaj, Linda Hill Brainard, FredricaAzania Clare, Margery Cornwell, Elizabeth Edminster, John Edminster, Julie M. Finch, David Garrity, Ian Hansen, Carol Jackson, Glenn Josey, Margaret Lew, Emily Provance, Amy Scarola, Diana Smith-Barker, Ricardo Smith-Hoffman, Carol Summar (19) And, Lee Blumenschine, Christopher K. Feltham, Dan Fogel, R. Barbara Kuesell, Christopher Sammond (Poplar Ridge Monthly Meeting), Dale C. Sims, Ian Turner, Tom Walsh (Yonge Street Monthly Meeting) (8) Total Attendance (including clerks): 27 Ian Hansen, Clerk Steven Bhardwaj, Recording Clerk for the day Included as minuted: Appendix 1: Arts Committee - 2013 Yearly Report Appendix 2: Letter on Climate Change March from Leitzel Schoen Appendix 3: Letter on Port Ambrose LNG Port Appendix 1: Arts Committee - 2013 Yearly Report th 15 Street Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends ARTS COMMITTEE- 2013 Yearly report th Presented in Monthly Meeting for Business, July 13 , 2014 2013 was marked by continuing membership inconsistencies, cancelled meetings, and lack of clarity—both of purpose and process. Three projects were mounted in 2013, with the Arts Committee co-opting attenders to accomplish its tasks: Stand by Me, Thursday April 17th, 2013 Quiet New York, Quiet Amsterdam Quiet Paris, Sunday May 5th, 2013 Poetry for Peace, Wednesday June 26th, 2013 Michael Smith, Clerk of the committee, was released from service. Moving forward into 2014, the Arts Committee is focused on administrative process. Report made by Ricardo Smith-Hoffman Interim Clerk Page 9 August/September 2014 Appendix 2: Letter on Climate Change March from Leitzel Schoen Jul 3, 2014 Opportunity for a Joint Initiative with Friends Seminary & 15th Street Care Committee Members and Members of the School Committee's Spiritual Life Subcommittee I have registered the school for an event in September for which I would like to invite 15th Street Meeting to participate. The People's Climate Change March is set for Sunday, September 21. The march (2-3 miles) is slated to be the largest in history and will begin in Union Square. The march is set to coincide with the United Nation's Climate Summit on 9/23. I am serving as a local organizer and will mobilize the Friends Seminary community. I was hoping 15th Street meeting would like to join us in the March. I was thinking the group could meet in the Outer Courtyard after the 11 o'clock Meeting on Sunday. Once we are gathered we could proceed to Union Square and join the other marchers. Right now the March is slated to begin in the early afternoon. Specific times have not yet been announced. During the week, students will make banners and signs. We would be happy to share these art supplies with First Day School, as well as educational materials we have gathered in a resource packet. At the March there will be some prominent speakers staged throughout different stops along the route. Should be an exciting and informative experience. I also think this event has wonderful connections to Quaker United Nations Office. I have reached out to them about a visit to QUNO the week before the Climate Change March. I was hoping to bring a delegation comprised of students and teachers from FS, a few School Committee members and, if you are interested, a few members from 15th Street Meeting. I had two objectives in mind: • to make our students more aware of this Quaker organization and more specifically, • to hear about their ongoing work on: • human impacts of climate change • natural resources, conflict and cooperation. QUNO recently produced a paper detailing examples of international cooperation over shared water resources and presented the findings at the UN Human Rights Council. I very much much want our students to better understand the kind of worldwide work Quakers are doing. Members of the CARE and Spiritual Life Committees who are also 15th Street Meeting members, could you please let me know if the Meeting would be interested in joining the School on the March and if the Meeting would be interested in having a small delegation of Meeting members join the School on the QUNO visit.? If so, please send me a contact name and email/phone number. I will share information and coordinate through this 15th Street Meeting member. Sincerely, Leitzel Schoen Dean of Co-Curricular Programs Friends Seminary Page 10 August/September 2014 Appendix 3: Letter on Port Ambrose LNG Port Dear ___________: This letter outlines the reasons for opposing the Port Ambrose LNG port. Liberty Natural Gas, LLC is proposing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) deepwater port facility called Port Ambrose, to be sited about 17 miles from the NY shore. Liberty Natural Gas is a foreign energy interest managed by an investment group in Toronto, Canada and owned by a bank account in the Cayman Islands. Port Ambrose would allow LNG vessels as long as the Empire State Building is tall to connect to the region’s natural gas system. There are many reasons why this port should not be built: • LNG is extremely volatile. LNG facilities are known to be terrorist targets. This project is sited between 2 of 3 shipping lanes approaching New York harbor. • Significant environmental impacts can be expected from the discharge of 3.5 million gallons of chemically treated seawater, underwater noise pollution, and the dredging of 20 miles of ocean floor. It is better to protect wildlife migration, two active Coast Guard training facilities, and other clean ocean uses, such as tourism, recreation, and commercial fishing. • Approval of this project would compromise the development of an offshore wind farm proposed for the same location. • Like most build-outs of natural gas infrastructure, Port Ambrose would increase our dependence on natural gas, a greenhouse gas that in the near term is 34 times more effective than CO2 at trapping heat and causing Global Warming. • While Liberty claims this port is to be used for import, it would most likely be used to export gas to lucrative European and Asian markets. Exporting gas would cause additional fracking in the US, and increase the pressure to allow fracking in NYS. • Last but not least, New York and New Jersey are still recovering from Superstorm Sandy. Port Ambrose is a risky new offshore mega-project and will be subject to serious damage from the future storms that will hit the coast. We urge you to veto this project, which could cause serious harm to New York State’s precious environmental assets and to the people who live here. Sincerely, (signature) Addressees to include: Legislators for the Port Ambrose area: Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo State Capitol Albany, NY 12224 Page 11 August/September 2014 Assemblyman David G. McDonough 404 Bedford Ave., Bellmore, NY 11710 Assemblyman Joseph S. Saladino 512 Park Blvd. Massapequa Park, NY 11762 Congressman Peter “Pete” King 1003 Park Blvd. Massapequa Park, NY 11762 Congressman Gregory Meeks 67-12 Rockaway Beach Blvd. Arverne, NY 11692 Congressmember Carolyn McCarthy 300 Garden City Plaza Suite 200 Garden City, NY 11530 Congressmember for 15th St. Meeting: Congressmember Carolyn B. Maloney 1651 Third Ave. Suite 311 New York, NY 10128-3679 Page 12 August/September 2014 FRIENDS SEMINARY NYQM members are invited to join Friends Seminary Meetings for Worship on these designated days. Guests will need to sign in at the Reception desk at the school's Main Entrance (222 East 16 Street) before proceeding to the Meetinghouse. Upon signing in, guests will receive a NYQM Visitor badge and be directed to the Meetinghouse. Please note, all visitors will need to return to Reception at the end of the Meeting for Worship to return their badge before leaving the building. These guest procedures are part of the school's security protocol which aims to keep Friends Seminary's buildings safe for its students and teachers. We appreciate NYQM members' cooperation with these procedures and look forward to worshiping together. Upper School Fridays, 9:00-9:25am Middle School Thursdays, 8:15-8:40am Lower School Wednesdays, 8:40-9:00am JOB OPENINGS AT FRIENDS SEMINARY: For more details use the website www.friendsseminary.org listed in the tab About/Employment Opportunities THE FIFTEENTH STREET MONTHLY MEETING Entrance at 15 Rutherford Place Mailing Address: 15 Rutherford Place, New York, NY 10003 Telephone: (212) 475 0466 Website: http://fifteenth.quaker.org Email: [email protected] Clerk: Ian Hansen Recording Clerk: Ben Smith Treasurer: Tony Shitemi The Quaker Newsletter is issued monthly by The Fifteenth Street Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. Contributors are responsible for ensuring that persons or organizations listed or shown within the material have granted permission to 15th Street Monthly Meeting to publish in all media forms of the newsletter. Editing or omission of articles, if necessary due to space restrictions, is done under the guidance of the Meeting’s appointed advisors. We welcome submissions. Email submissions to the editor, Krista Looper, at [email protected]