N ewsletter - Fifteenth Street Monthly Meeting of the Religious
Transcription
N ewsletter - Fifteenth Street Monthly Meeting of the Religious
Quaker N e w s l e t t e r WEEKLY MEETINGS 1 pm Every Sunday 9:30 am Meeting for Worship, Meeting Room February 2015 THE NEWSLETTER OF THE FIFTEENTH STREET MONTHLY MEETING OF THE RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business, Meeting Room. All welcome. 2nd Mondays 10:30 am Social Hour, Common Room 6:00 pm Women’s Worship Sharing Group Room 3. Pot luck 6:30-7 pm and worship sharing 7:00 – 8:00 pm. 11 am Meeting for Worship, Meeting Room and First Day School See Greeting Committee for classroom location. 2nd & 4th Mondays (New in 2015) Social Hour, Common Room 7–8 pm 12 noon 7-8:30 pm Meeting for Healing Prayer, Room 1 or as shown on board. 2nd Wednesdays Every night of the year 6 pm Friends Shelter, Common Room. To volunteer or for more information, call 212 673 8316, www.friendsshelter.org One in Christ Worship Group Meeting Room.Contact Eliezer Simeon Hyman, or Brian Doherty at [email protected] 3rd Sundays 1 pm Ministry and Worship Third Sunday Program, Meeting Room. Programs under the care of Ministry and Worship MONTHLY MEETINGS Rotating Schedule 1st, 3rd & 5th Sundays 12:15 pm Outreach to Young Adult Friends. 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] COMMITTEE MEETINGS 2nd Wednesday 6:30 pm Arts Committee Committee Room. All are welcome. For info, contact Ricardo SmithHoffman ([email protected]). 3rd Sunday 9:30 am Peace and Social Justice Committee All are welcome. 4th Sunday 12:30 pm Religious Education Committee in Room 3. Childcare provided. Potluck lunch appreciated. For info, contact Ann Kjellberg ([email protected]). Page 2 February 2015 IMPORTANT DATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS Birth Announcement On December 15, 2014 Willamina Margaret Rose (Willa) Dunn was born to member Loren Dunn and Jenny Strassburg Dunn. Welcome to the world, Willa! Death Announcement Member Louise Wolf, age 90, passed away on January 4, 2015. March 22, 1:30 New Plays th The 15 Street Meeting Arts Committee is planning a series of readings of new plays by members of our community at the Meeting House, 15 Rutherford Place. If you are interested in reading, please meet us at th 1:30 after meeting so we can hear you. We will follow up with a rehearsal on March 29 . April 5, 1:30 A Performance of Four Plays th The 15 Street Meeting Arts Committee will perform four Charles Sirey plays at the Meeting House, 15 Rutherford Place at 1:30. Please come. All are welcome. Connectivity & Information The Quaker Cloud Please visit https://www.quakercloud.org/cloud/fifteenth-street-friends-meeting to access the Quaker Cloud. Quaker Religious Thought All back issues of QRT are now available online, thanks to the collaboration of QRT editor Howard R. Macy and the staff of George Fox University Libraries. They're available at http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/qrt 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 th 15 Street Young Adult Friends Google Group 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/15thstyaf or go to groups.google.com and search for 15thStYAF. Young Friends can email announcements and invitations to the group. th 15 Street Arts Committee http://quakerarts.blogspot.com/ Page 3 February 2015 HOSPITALITY Charles Sirey 1. If you have a problem with the date, call or email me ASAP and give me a different one. I would like to know quickly that the date is tentatively OK. 2. If you want to volunteer, would like to serve with your significant other or just have some questions, I'm at (212) 665-6390 or [email protected]. 3. For recent changes, check the bulletin board or check with me. February 2/1 Jackie Knoch Shitemi & Ricardo Smith Hoffman 2/8 Antonia & Ben Smith 2/15 Pat Donohue & Jonathon Staiger 2/22 Loren Dunn & Joanne Schultz March 3/01 Margery Cornwell & Ian Hansen 3/08 Margaret Lew & Glenn Josey 3/15 Michael Schlegel & Leslie Anne Weishaar 3/22 Jimmy Gowans & Carol Summar 3/29 Julie Finch & Tony Shitemi By the time you see this, changes may have been made. The bulletin board is likely to be more up to date, or check with me. Chas. Page 4 February 2015 FIFTEENTH STREET MONTHLY MEETING RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS 15 Rutherford Place, New York, NY 10003 Telephone (212) 475-0466 [email protected] http://fifteenth.quaker.org/ MEETING FOR WORSHIP WITH A CONCERN FOR BUSINESS January 11, 2015 at 1:00 pm At the Fifteenth Street Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, held in the Room One at 15 Rutherford Place, Manhattan, New York City, First Day, First Month 11, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. 2015.1.1 The Recording Clerk reads the 12th Advice and 2 nd Query from NYYM Faith & Practice. Friends consider them in waiting worship with vocal ministry. 12th Advice: The attention of Friends is called to the propriety of conducting funerals and memorial meetings in a sincere spirit of worship. They are advised to avoid the display of floral decorations and the wearing of mourning and to adhere to our simple ceremony. 2nd Query: Do we make opportunity in our daily lives for communion with God and the opening of our hearts to an awareness of the Christ Within? Are we thankful for each day as an opportunity for a new adventure of life with God? 2015.1.2 The Recording Clerk informs the meeting that Ian Hansen, the Clerk, will not be present today, and asks that Emily Provance serve as Clerk for the day. The meeting approves, and Emily takes a seat at the Clerks’ table. 2015.1.3 Friends receive the request of Maureen McGovern for transfer of her membership to Brooklyn Monthly Meeting and forward the request to Pastoral Care. 2015.1.4 Pastoral Care recommends Glenn Josey for membership. Friends hear a reading of his letter requesting membership. Friends approve his membership and instruct the Clerk to notify the recorder, New York Quarterly Meeting and New York Yearly meeting. Carol Jackson, Linda Hill Brainard, Margery Cornwell, Sisi Kamal, Alice Proskauer, Pat Donohue, Steve Monroe Smith, and Janet Soderberg volunteer to organize a welcoming party for Glenn Josey and other new members. 2015.1.5 Nominating Committee presents the following second readings of nominations: Assistant Clerk: Emily Provance 1st Term (2015); Religious Education Committee: Gloria Thompson 1st Term (2017); Property Committee: Lorraine Kreahling 1st Term (2017); Historian: Steven Bhardwaj 1st Term (2015); Library Committee: Claire Litherland 1st Term (2015); Peace and Social Justice Committee: Alice Proskauer 1st Term (2015), Frederica Azania-Clare 1st Term (2015) and Glenn Josey 1st Term (2015); Care Committee for Friends Seminary: Libby Johnson 4th Term (2015) and Margaret Lew 2nd Term(2015); Greeting Committee: Suki Scott 1st Term (2015). Lorraine Kreahling’s nomination will be held over for further discernment. Otherwise, Friends approve the appointments. 2015.1.6 Friends ask Pastoral Care to discern a way to address the concerns of the meeting as they relate to the Property Committee. 2015.1.7 Pastoral Care presents a second reading of a nomination of Julie Finch for first term ending in 2017 to the Nominating Committee. Friends approve the appointment. Page 5 February 2015 2015.1.8 Nominating Committee presents the following first readings of nominations: Retreat Committee: Jackie Knoch Shitemi 6th term (2015), Roxanne Wolanczyk 1st term (2015) and Keith Westerfield 1st term (2015); Care Committee for Friends Seminary: Gloria Thompson 4th Term (2015). Friends with thoughts or concerns about these nominations should speak to the committee. 2015.1.9 Friends hear the second draft of the State of the Meeting report, which is attached. Friends approve the State of the Meeting with a few small changes. Arthur Berk stands aside. Friends ask the Clerk to forward the State of the Meeting to the Clerk of Ministry Coordinating Committee of NYYM. 2015.1.10 Friends hear the introduction to a Friend’s Sounding Epistle and letter. The Epistle and letter are attached. Friends are encouraged to read the letter and epistle and to continue discernment as it seems appropriate. 2015.1.11 Friends hear an update on Friends Seminary’s proposed construction and a minute from the Trustees. More information will be presented at the next Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business. 12-14-07 (2) Trustees would value Fifteenth Street Monthly Meeting's Discernment on the visual impact of the physical expansion of Friends Seminary. If there are any questions or concerns Friends may email [email protected]. 2015.1.12 Friends hear a minute from Friends in Unity with Nature: If we are to be at peace with our earth--with the land, the air, the water, the people, the plants, and in this case the animals, we are opposed to the raising of animals on factory farms, where they are treated most cruelly. In our daily lives, we aspire to eat with compassion and therefore, our food choices need to be thoughtfully considered. Friends approve the minute with Arthur Berk and John Edminster standing aside. Additional information from Friends in Unity with Nature How food choices affect starvation around the world: UNESCO reported that each day about 40,000 children die because of hunger or lack of nutrition. Meanwhile, corn and wheat are largely grown to feed livestock (cows, pigs, chickens, etc.) or to produce alcohol. Over 80 percent of corn and over 95 percent of oats produced in the United States are for feeding livestock. The world’s cattle alone consume a quantity of food equivalent to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people, more than the entire human population on earth. How food choices affect climate change: 40% of the world’s landmass is used for the raising of animals for meat, and 18% of the world’s greenhouse gases comes from the raising of animals, which is higher than what comes from driving cars. 2015.1.13 Then, at 3:58 p.m., Friends adjourned to meet on First Day (Sunday), Second Month (February) 8, 2015 at 1:00 PM. Page 6 February 2015 Attendees Richard Accetta-Evans, Robert Baldridge, Arthur Berk, Steven Bhardwaj, Charles R Brainard, Linda Hill Brainard, Scott Carlson, Margery Cornwell, Loren Dunn, Elizabeth Edminster, John Edminster, Elizabeth Enloe, Julie M. Finch, David Garrity, Jimmy Gowens, Nancy Hadley-Jaffe, Maureen Healy, Carol Jackson, Glenn Josey, Ann Kjellberg, Margaret Lew, Emily Provance, Amy Scarola, Steve Monroe Smith, Diana Smith-Barker, Ricardo Smith-Hoffman, Janet Soderberg, Jonathan Staiger, Diana Timmons, Carol Warner (30) And, Clara Diaz, Pat Donohue, Sisi Kamal, Lorraine Kreahling, Barbara Kuesell, Kevin Lovelady, Alice Proskauer (7) Total Attendance (including clerks): 37 Emily Provance, Clerk Glenn Josey, Recording Clerk Appendices State of the Meeting Sounding Epistle and Letter Page 7 February 2015 Fifteenth Street Meeting State of the Meeting Report 2014 Approved at Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business, 1/10/15 Fifteenth Street meeting has been gaining vitality in recent years, and in 2014, with God’s guidance and help, we find ourselves bearing new and more abundant fruit. Several major events and activities have played important roles in this growth in the Spirit: A freshly designed six-part Exploring Quakerism series this past spring has attracted new attenders and stimulated discussions about fundamental aspects of Quakerism among both longtime members and curious newcomers. A long-overdue Fifteenth Street weekend retreat at Powell House offered varied opportunities for Friends of all ages from both Fifteenth Street and Manhattan Meetings to spend time working, playing, talking, and worshiping together. We came away from it a stronger community with a renewed sense of ourselves individually and collectively. Fifteenth Street and Manhattan Friends have also attended more regular Powell House workshops than in the recent past, and one of our newer members has facilitated workshops there. Our Men’s and Women’s Meetings continue to flourish; a substantial number of Fifteenth Street men have been gathering for a meal and fellowship in one another’s homes monthly for many years. Our monthly Women’s Meeting, held at Fifteenth Street, has been reborn in the last couple of years after a hiatus. Our annual rummage sale to fund participation in New York Yearly Meeting Summer Sessions at Silver Bay, conducted jointly with Manhattan Meeting, is always a highlight of the year, combining fundraising, cooking and eating, closet- and bookshelf-clearing, fellowship, and fun. As always, the children of both meetings contributed a great deal to the event, including a fresh lemonade booth. We raised enough money to help a number of Friends attend Silver Bay. Fifteenth Street and Manhattan Meetings are increasingly working together both formally and informally. We established the practice of quarterly intervisitation, when Fifteenth Street is particularly invited to attend Manhattan’s 9:30 meeting and Manhattan Fifteenth Street’s 11:00 meeting. Members of the two communities visit informally as well. The two meetings’ children work jointly on projects including fundraising, creating gift bags for our homeless shelter, and learning about both Quakerism and global concerns. Both Fifteenth Street and Manhattan Meetings are represented in the monthly meetings for healing prayer, which also draws interested non-Quakers. Our Ministry and Worship-sponsored Third Sundays have comprised both spiritually centered programs, such as two focused on Friends and the Bible, and those addressing social action issues. The latter included three focusing on prison concerns, including overcrowding, racial disparities in sentencing, and the abusive practice of solitary confinement. We struggle to deal with the systemic racism of which mass incarceration is one part, and our meeting’s experience of and attitudes toward racial issues continue to evolve. Members of our meeting work with Huntington House, a homeless shelter run by the Women’s Prison Association (WPA) for formerly incarcerated women and their children. For Halloween, we donated treats to make gift bags for the children of Huntington House residents. One Friend has completed the clearance process and visits Sing Sing Prison; there is also interest in visiting people detained on Rikers Island, but it would require authorization, which is difficult to obtain. Page 8 February 2015 Our meetinghouse hosted Friends from around the state and the country for two large gatherings this fall: the People’s Climate March on September 21 and NYYM Fall Sessions in November. Our cohabitants of the Fifteenth Street building complex, Friends Seminary and New York Quarterly and Yearly Meetings, generously shared space and expertise with us on both occasions. We are grateful to Friends Seminary for providing food and kitchen space that made the logistics much smoother, and we joyfully welcomed the opportunity to march together with many Friends Seminary students and faculty. The NYYM and NYQM offices offered details on, and keys to, various parts of the complex and advice on space use and security. For the Climate March, we coordinated registration of hosts and guests in private homes and local meetinghouses through the NYYM website. Fifteenth Street, Brooklyn, Flushing, and RahwayPlainfield opened our meetinghouses to sleepers, while many Friends in these and other meetings offered space in their homes. Fifteenth Streeters met with NYQM and Friends Seminary staff to arrange logistics and security; wrote and processed an online questionnaire for hosts and guests; matched them; kept track of where and when to join the march; rounded up Quaker banners; bought, inflated, and decorated balloons to help Quakers find each other; slept in the meetinghouse from one to three nights; brought, prepared and served food; and locked and opened a plethora of doors. That weekend we also offered hospitality and support to Friends from Philadelphia YM for a protest action at PNC Bank and to New England YM for a gathering to worship and to hear from Jay O’Hara, who had blocked delivery of a shipment of coal to a Massachusetts power plant for six hours in a lobster boat. Many Fifteenth Streeters also joined the March itself. While Fall Sessions involved many more people in many more parts of the building, we were blessed with the help of experienced administrators and old hands in NYYM and NYQM. We enjoyed inventing the wheel for the Climate March, but were grateful not to have to do so again for Sessions. To us, this is much more than a “laundry list” or “My Summer Vacation” report. God has led us. Valued new members of our community joined us via the Exploring Quakerism sessions and have already served on several major committees. The workshops, discussions, hikes, conversations, games, and chores at our Powell House retreat mixed us up into varied groupings of old and new F/friends, each with its own aim and purpose. The rummage sale and other interactions with Manhattan Meeting Friends have enriched our faith. The overuse and abuse of prisons have engaged Friends’ conscience and compassion as we struggle to find answers and ways to help. The People’s Climate March drew out a wide variety of gifts, knowledge, and open-heartedness from so many of us. Along with Fall Sessions, it introduced us to new F/friends and them to us in a community of all ages. We have been enlarged and leavened by these experiences. Day-to-day, week-to-week service by committees and individuals, in combination with regular waiting worship, continues to undergird our community life. Friends have visited one another in the hospital; helped find housing and services for people with special needs; maintained our longstanding monthly peace vigil in Washington Square Park and our ongoing witness for Earthcare, prison reform, and other concerns; and volunteered to keep our homeless shelter open every night. The regular monthly Bible study continues to attract new participants as well as old hands. The monthly Meeting for Healing Prayer has become more regular, includes people both inside and outside our meeting, and is now expanding to twice a month. Our Meetings for Worship have welcomed many visitors from around the world and around our own city. We rejoice in the variety of art exhibits, performances, blog posts, articles, and publications of many community members. Our Pastoral Care Committee and ARCH (Aging Resources, Consultation, and Help) volunteers are assisting members with medical and other needs. We are becoming a more hospitable community for all who come to us. Social hour conversations seem more open and welcoming and Friends seem less likely to vanish into huddles with their best Page 9 February 2015 friends and favorite committees. Much credit goes to the social hour hospitality system pioneered last year, in which Friends take responsibility for hospitality on assigned dates. This has resulted in more plentiful food than before with a higher proportion of home-cooked or carefully selected items. Friends are more apt to linger, eat, start conversations, and get to know one another. Our children often participate in social hour preparation and are more closely integrated into the life of the meeting. Two elementary school children are members of our Greeting Committee. The Climate March and NYYM Fall Sessions offered new opportunities for children to meet, work, play, and lead with their Quaker peers. We are both challenged and blessed as a large urban meeting that attracts people with diverse gifts and needs, including those with psychological or neurological diagnoses. Not all are strangers: while some draw on our patience, others bless us with gentle and loving souls; still others have come to terms with and live gracefully with our condition, fully integrated into meeting life. Some people, both inside and outside our meeting, have concluded from their observations that we are stuck, have always been stuck, and probably always will be stuck. It is time to take a new look at this view. Fresh water is stirring the pond. Fresh breezes are blowing. Page 10 February 2015 Presentation Note for A Letter of Sounding to the Fifteenth Street Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)-First Day, 01.11.2015: Not that Quakers take oaths, but I had to solemnly affirm to the Clerks I would keep my presentation under four Minutes. I cannot read the letter in that length of time so let me provide a prologue. There are copies of the text here and I have send a digital copy to the Recording Clerk. Also I can post it at the 15th Street Google Group and email to any one who asks me. From the opening: “Two Months ago I informed the Fifteenth Street Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) that I was embarking among Friends, Attenders and Committees to sound the depths of issues and hopes in conversation and inquiry among us pertaining to matters of temporal property, the Spirit and the Life of our Meeting… To date I have spoken to over 40 Friends in conversations which have ranged in tenor from quiet prayer, gentle reflection and humor to anger, recrimination and blame. Some amends have been made, forgiveness and mercy extended.” The chief surprise to me is there appears to be complete confusion at 15th Street as to what a Monthly Meeting of The Religious Society of Friends IS. Like most things spiritual, it is difficult to pin that “IS” down. I believe that's why scripture alludes to the small units of the First Century Church as "The Body of Christ." Weird to modern ears, but it feels true. Early Friends referred to the movement as "Primitive Christianity Revived." But, with my 40-plus years of Silent Quaker Worship in community, I can take a fleeting stab at the “IS:” in my experience the Monthly Meeting is a mystical Union. And in my heart, head and emotions, this Union most resembles Marriage. And like most things spiritual, it is much easier to describe what a Meeting for Worship it is not. Such as a a student council, a college debating society or a democracy. To continue the reference to 1 Corinthians 12:27, is if the members (just like the feet, head and spleen) of our Quaker Meeting understood what they signed up for, perhaps there would be less rancor. And maybe more hearts and hands. All too rarely, we will hear a reference among us to "submission to the discipline of the Meeting." It is a witness in which we seem to be sorely lacking. Sometimes we have to lay aside our individual will and plans to be part of the community. Taking part in the life of the Meeting rather than letting it drift by is uncomfortable. Every body naturally wants to get along with each other. That keeps things easy. I fully take my responsibility in the current state of affairs personally and with humility. I have veered from the Path as much as any Friend present during my long association. Perhaps more so. And my part of error will not be easy to repair. But when a Friend perceives Truth and does not speak it, it is time to hand in the Quaker Card. Steven Monroe Smith Manhattan <[email protected]> 646.409.8899 Page 11 February 2015 A Letter of Sounding to the Fifteenth Street Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)-First Day, 01.11.2015 Two Months ago I informed the Fifteenth Street Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) that I was embarking among Friends, Attenders and Committees to sound the depths of issues and hopes in conversation and inquiry among us pertaining to matters of temporal property, the Spirit and the Life of our Meeting. The concept of Sounding is based on the ancient practice of testing the depth of navigable water on a river by means of a lead weight and rope knotted to indicate fathoms. The “leadsman” reads the depth and calls it to the hearing of all on- and off-board to assist the Pilot in safe passage. In practice it involves deep listening, consideration and reflection with individuals participating during a challenging change of direction. And to truly know who is “on what page.” To date I have spoken to over 40 Friends in conversations which have ranged in tenor from quiet prayer, gentle reflection and humor to anger, recrimination and blame. Some amends have been made, forgiveness and mercy extended. Due to emerging commitments, 2015 will be the last year for a while I will be able to dedicate as fully as I have to the local Religious Society of Friends. In a sence this is my one years notice I won’t be around here much. Having attended Fifteenth Street Monthly Meeting for 28 years and being 19 years a Member, this oncoming separation had led me to some personal despair and concern regarding the spiritual and emotional health of our Meeting. Just in time, to my relief on November 1st I attended a New York Yearly Meeting Workshop on Conflict Transformation in Monthly Meetings at the Matinicock Monthly Meeting (Long Island Quarter). The day gave me new hope and energy in that Quakers have invested significant time and effort in developing tools and techniques to identify and heal conflicts among us which can lead to a more vibrant and vital witness at 15th Street. My leading from Matinicock was to Sound our Meeting during what has been yet another trying season. The constant in discussion I have so far found among Friends is a great hunger for understanding, tolerance and forgiveness. There is a gnawing feeling that there is more of substance that is not being tapped in our journey together. There exists a deep yearning to have the rifts between us healed. Among these are the intense focus on the temporal relations with Friends Seminary, the astounding amount of committee and personal time spent on marginal and worldly concerns, the condition and lack of outreach, the wholesale indifference to the changing nature of our neighborhood, the lack of coherent spiritual support to individuals and the perceived aridness of our spiritual atmosphere. What has becomes radically apparent to many is 15th Street Monthly Meeting is not a thriving spiritual community. Those who do not see this are in denial. The financial resources exist to make the physical structure a striking and attractive space. An attender told me the scariest walk in his spiritual journey so far was from Rutherford Place through the Courtyard to the Meetinghouse doors. The place looks creepy. The facilities and the money are in place to make the initial experience of walking through the door less like entering a mausoleum. I repeat, to the eye of the seeker, the place looks creepy. The issue that our local and Quarterly Meetings are “poor” is not true. Look at the balance sheets and ask about the reserves. We have, what I will technically refer to a “oodles of cash.” The hording of money cannot serve as an excuse of spiritual and temporal inertia. What is missing in our ministry are the people, the energy, the will and the Spirit. We must deeply ask ourselves why are we squandering this opportunity to spiritual witness? If you shall know a tree by its fruits, what does that say about us? (Matthew 7:16-17). The fruit is not good, Friends. Page 12 February 2015 Quaker practice may aspire to make our Meeting a reflection of the Light and “be not conformed to this world.” (Romans 12:2) However it is in the World that we live, love and work. It is to this world we are commanded to be a Light. (Matthew 5:14) That our obsession with the temporal world commands our attention and diverts us from any primary spiritual purpose is an issue of great concern before our Meeting. We are not exempt from the institutional measure of organizational dynamics and that measure gives grave reason for concern. To realize effectiveness in the real world demands focused attention and a realistic path toward resolution in a timely fashion. Endless contemplation does not equal discernment. Among many there is an overarching feeling that our Meeting spends inordinate amounts of time and effort to reach decisions due to discernment that seems calculated to produce specific results. In the process, pointless, seemingly endless effort and discussion results in exhaustion of members and attendees as they drift away. By attrition, only those Friends particularly invested are left to coast toward unity with those calculated results. This is false discernment. There is a widespread opinion that the “governance” of the 15th Street has been manipulated to where some Committees strive to exert authority over the Meeting rather than Servants of the Meeting. Is there a primary spiritual purpose of the 15th Street Monthly Meeting? As a Body are we letting our lives speak meaningfully? Are we members of a faith that believe we stand naked in front of a Living G-d? Are we afraid or ashamed to Quake? The case can be made the purpose of Quaker worship and testimony is to follow the one Inward Teacher, Guide or Spirit, that speaks to all people in all times and places. From that we attend to that Inward Guide and follow it. In obedience we can aspire to create and maintain a safe, nurturing, caring atmosphere of Worship. In love we should welcome and comfort those who seek the Spirit. These goals are achievable. In the framework of Conflict Transformation we can identify and approach resolutions to the issues with which we grapple in working with each other. This is a mission we sorely need. We can resolve to settle the property and financial issues with Friends Seminary for they are our Family. We can dedicate ourselves to building a bold witness and active ministry in the place where we live and among the people we live with now. Together we can renounce the old forms and judgments that divide us. We can accomplish all of this in a few short years. If we will commit to undertaking this path together, all it will take is work, time, faith and firm reliance on G-d. Steven Monroe Smith Manhattan Page 13 February 2015 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]