Dear Friends. July, Seventh Month, 2013

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1 Dear Friends Wilton Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, Quakers 317 New Canaan Road (Route 106), Wilton, CT Meeting for Worship 10:00 a.m. each First Day (Sunday) Children attend for the first 15 minutes, followed by First Day School July, Seventh Month, 2013 Query: Are we conscientious in fulfilling all obligations of state and society that are not contrary to the leading of God? Do we do all in our power to secure civil rights for all? Do we emphasize the single standard of truth, and are we free from the use of oaths? Advice: It is recommended that Friends take the opportunity, on occasions when special statements or oaths are required, to advance the cause of truth by simple affirmation, thus emphasizing that their statement is only a part of their usual integrity of speech. New York Yearly Meeting s Faith and Practice Integrity: Integrity is one of the Quaker SPICES, the I in the testimonies we hold dear. It is often thought of as a synonym of honesty, and in fact in my Webster s Collegiate Dictionary (which I actually used in college, that s how old it is) honesty is listed as a synonym. From the beginning, Friends have taken seriously the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. In other words, always tell the truth! Quakers became known for their honesty in the commercial world, as their prices reflected the true worth of their goods. In the legal world, Quakers believed that since they always told the truth they should not have to take an oath to tell the truth. And that feeling still exists today. Instead of swearing, Friends affirm when asked in court to swear an oath. In our social life we temper truth with love, and love with truth. I think of integrity as more than just telling the truth. Integrity has a further meaning of wholeness, and completeness. When one acts honestly out of one s whole ethical being, one is exhibiting integrity. There should be no inconsistencies in one s value system, for example to tell the truth some of the time, but not in others. Of course, we do learn that the truth can hurt (a toddler telling a chubby friend, You re fat! ), so at times we are kind and don t say anything. But we tell the cashier when she has made a mistake in giving us change, whether it is to our benefit or not. As NYYM Faith and Practice (p. 31) puts it, Friends have been concerned to communicate with integrity to make our words and action fit the truth of our lives. We endeavor to speak the truth as we know it, honestly and forthrightly, speaking plainly from our own lives. Sometimes this practice has been difficult; sometimes the results surprise and delight us. Inside this issue: Renda McCaughan, editor Page Query and Advice: 1 Integrity, op ed 1 Announcements: 2,3 Minutes: Meeting for Worship wcfb, 6 th Mo. 4 Budget for Gabi Savory Bailey Forum 6 Powell House, Calendar of Events: 7

2 Announcements Ice Cream Social Marked End of First Day School Year, June 16 Wilton Meeting folks enjoyed the traditional Ice Cream Social as the First Day School, under the guidance of Sean Higgins and Woody Schempp, marked the end of the school year with a scrumptious spread: vanilla and chocolate ice cream, pineapple, mango and raspberry sherbet, and all kinds of toppings, including strawberries, peaches, M&Ms, and, of course, whipped cream! NYYM Summer Session, July New York Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends will hold its annual gathering at Silver Bay, New York, from July The theme is Keeping Faith: Answering That of God in All Creation, which reflects NYYM s reaching out to the Haudenosaunee people (the Six Nations of the Iroquois League). There will be Worship Sharing, Bible Study, Story Telling, Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business, Committee Meetings, Rest and Renewal, Healing Work, Interest Groups, 12-Step Meetings, Junior Yearly Meeting programs, a Tagless Tag Sale, Golf Carts for those who need transportation help, food and lodging. Information is available in the back pages of the May issue of Spark. Some copies may be available on the foyer table. Or log onto the NYYM website Registration continues until July 14. One person s choice of ice cream--vanilla and chocolate-- with strawberries yummy! Gabi Savory Bailey Forum, June 23 Wilton Friends Meeting had a lively discussion with Gabi, New York Yearly Meeting s Young Adult Field Secretary, on July 23, after a potluck lunch. You can read a partial synopsis on page 6. Gillespie House Sign-ups Needed for August and Following Months Wilton Meeting needs someone to make and serve the August 4th dinner for Gillespie Center. We need signups for August 4, September 1, October 6, November 3 and December 1. Volunteers can contact Madeleine at mjwilken AT juno.com, and are reminded to please put their names on the signup sheet in the kitchen to avoid mix-ups. Volunteers can get information sheets about how to make and serve a Gillespie House dinner, as well as lots of easy recipes, from Madeleine. CFS Graduation, June 6 Six proud eighth graders said good-bye to Connecticut Friends School. Last day of school everyone gets a little giddy Page 2 July 2013 Wilton Monthly Meeting

3 Two of our earliest graduates, Brianna Higgins and Masha Nikitin came to the graduation celebration. Masha's brother, Dimitri, is in the Pines class at CFS. Fred Dettmer, Clerk of the CFS Committee, handed out diplomas. Our graduates with their diplomas. The leis are handmade by students and bestowed on each graduate by our youngest students (Maples). CFS Website Has a New Look The new website for our own Connecticut Friends School went live recently. Take a look at and marvel at how much more colorful and attractive the website is. After very successful summer schools for pre-school and middle school kids, CFS is accepting applications for the school year in the fall. Tell all your friends, especially if they have children or know of someone looking for a very special school based on the Quaker testimonies! Information about admission is on the website. Witness for Hiroshima & Nagasaki. August 6, Tuesday Mayors for Peace wants to remind us of our nation's promise after the nuclear bombings of cities at the end of WWII to abolish nuclear weapons. We can point out the idolatry of putting our faith in these horrible weapons and the desecration they would cause to God's Creation, our one beautiful Earth. At least $31 billion per year is spent on our own nuclear arsenal, so cutting this would give a good example to other nations. The international group, Mayors for Peace, is pushing for a bottom-up movement to abolish nuclear weapons. Call/ Missy Conrad for updates to and ideas for this event: ; jgmconrad AT gmail.com. Submitted by Missy Conrad Scarsdale Monthly Meeting Approves Minute on Gun Violence In its June Meeting for Business, Scarsdale (NY) Meeting for Business approved a Minute on gun violence and asked that it be forwarded to the action group working on this issue at the Quarterly Meeting level, and to the Witness Coordinating Committee of New York Yearly Meeting. It is much longer than ours, although it covers much the same ground, plus calling for the federal government to treat the epidemic of gun violence as a public health issue and to act accordingly. Log onto their website and then under the heading Meeting Life, choose Meeting Minutes. Read the June 2013, Peace and Social Concerns report on page 2. Bravo, Scarsdale Meeting! Wilton Friends Meeting July 2013 Page 3

4 Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business 6 th Month 9, 2013 Attending: Jerry Leaphart, Becky Bunnell, Marilyn Atkin, Sean Higgins, John B. Lee, Tim Connelly, Doris Munger, Gina Smith, Albert Hsu, Rip Munger, Ty Griese, Leslie Chapman, Virginia Auster, Woody Schempp, Laura Higgins (Clerking), Nancy Sarno (Recording) (16 people) Meeting opened after giving a brief review of the subjects to be brought before meeting for business and asking if there were any more that needed to be considered. Nominating Committee: Woody Schempp presented the slate for nominees. Positions are open for the Nominating Committee and First Day School. A Friend discussed the openings for Nominating Committee, and after a brief discussion, it was decided that three positions are open for Nominating : Friends approved the slate as it was presented to Meeting for Business. Clerk thanked the Nominating Committee for all of its hard work. Overseers Committee : Wilton Monthly Meeting approves the release from membership of Linley Taylor, who has written a letter of resignation. She now lives in Nelson, New Zealand where she moved in May 1998, and has no expectation of returning to the U.S. Meeting approved the minute. Treasurer s Report: Albert Hsu presented the proposed budget for next year. This year Wilton Monthly Meeting will be forgiving the amount owed for the revenue share by the Nursery School to WMM, but we will be budgeting $7,500 for next year. WMM will be holding a meeting with the Nursery School to discuss next year s amount of revenue share, so the $7,500 amount listed may change. No numbers have changed significantly since the last meeting for business. Our net income is listed over $9,000 so we hope to have a very good year. The bottom line does include the $7,500 the Nursery School will share with WMM, so again, that number may change. Friends discussed changing some of the terminology in the budget report, to reflect the purpose of the Meeting, which is a religious and not a commercial enterprise. After a brief discussion, Friends decided to leave the terminology as it is. Friends discussed the pros and cons of using budgeted moneys for purposes under the main designation, but other than their specific line item. In particular, some Friends were in favor of Peace and Service deciding how to use an overage in funds listed for Gillespie House, and others thought that the money should just revert to the WMM surplus at end of the year. A Friend suggested that any overage in dollars at the end of the year could be donated to a food bank. A Friend suggested that the line item change from just Gillespie House to Gillespie House/Food Bank. Clerk suggested that the Gillespie House sub-committee through Peace and Service Committee come back to the next meeting for business with a minute about how they would like to disperse the leftover money at the end of the year. Albert clarified that funds can be rolled over year to year by creating a designated fund. Finally, Friends decided to approve the budget as presented : Friends approved the budget as presented. After a brief silence, the present Clerk gave blessings and good wishes to the new Clerk. The new Clerk returned the blessings and thankfulness to the outgoing Clerk. Page 4 July 2013 Wilton Monthly Meeting

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6 Quaker Quest Forum by Gabi Savory Bailey, NYYM Young Adult Field Secretary June 23, 2013 Present: Pete McCaughan, John Lee, Ty Griese, Laura Higgins, Jeff Menoher, Eva Menoher, Judy Meikle, Joy Meikle, Virginia Auster, Sean Higgins, Albert Hsu, Diane Keefe, Michel Loth, Renda McCaughan (notetaker). Alana Elger functioned as Elder. Who are Young Adults? New York Yearly Meeting defined them as year-olds; Gabi has included young families (she has a 2-year-old herself). Her duties include visiting each of the Monthly Meetings in NYYM. In many, she has been asked to fix Quakerism, and answer the question How do we attract young adults? There is no one answer to fit all Meetings. Instead, she asks questions in the form of queries. At our forum, we went around the room and introduced ourselves to her, including a significant event in our faith journey. What a variety emerged! Gabi pointed out that this was a way to find out how much we knew about each other in a multigenerational way. The first query was: When is the Meeting alive? Many responded: During Meeting for Worship, where God is alive; we find a welcoming presence; there is no creed; but compassion, respect, and trust Meeting is alive at Connecticut Friends School. Several of us are active in the School, especially Sean, whose life has been changed with his connection with it. Others are on the Board or have children who attend. There are ex-students who come back to the school saying, You changed my life. Ministry and Oversight puts on Friendly Forums on Third Sundays when Friends can participate in lively discussions. Quakerism 101 has been popular in the past. The next query was: What are my hopes for the Meeting? and How is God moving in my Meeting? A specific hope was to double or triple in size. We need to come up with a dream so we can draw in people; or is it that we need people and thus get energy and come up with a dream? Joy Meikle, speaking of when she was growing up in the Meeting, told of feeling energy and joy in our meeting. Another Friend said that the strength of the Meeting is our shared seeking. Young people feel the injustice in the world, and he would hope to see WMM lead the way to struggle against that injustice. Someone else felt a hope that when we encounter God it would mean that we encounter each other, and that this happens more than just on Sunday. She hoped that we could have more interaction between Connecticut Friends School and Meeting. One other commented that we could walk a thin line between proselytizing and advertizing, but he hoped that we could expand our appearance in the outside world. So many people think that Quakers have disappeared like the Shakers. He hopes that we can make a push, through social media and other means to make ourselves known. But how? Gabi then encouraged us that there is life here! We are not the only meeting to have problems with keeping youth membership, as she has found in her travels. The third query posed: What are the assumptions or expectations that keep me from getting to those hopes? Gabi introduced some assumptions we make: Kids can t sit for an hour. Kids have to entertained, otherwise they won t learn. Are kids welcomed in meeting? Do families want First Day School? This report will continue next month Renda McCaughan Page 6 July 2013 Wilton Monthly Meeting

7 Powell House Laundry is running! Thanks to the support of many, the former garage next to Pitt Hall has been transformed into a laundry that will serve the needs of Powell House. It has been a long time coming - conceiving of the idea, deliberate and careful planning, breaking ground in the midst of the frozen winter, making fundamental changes to an existing building to accept the laundry, and installing new equipment. We borrowed a wonderful idea from a Friend - "Nothing says Laundry Like Quarters. Powell House needs 172,000 quarters to create its own on-site laundry facility." We sent s, made phone calls, and set out containers to collect quarters. We have collected many quarters!!! The housekeeping staff has begun using the new laundry and they couldn't be happier. This project has stream-lined their work, is lowering our impact on the environment in many ways, and helps to sustain Powell House for the benefit of its participants now and in the future. Qualities of the Spiritually Alive, with Philip Gulley., Aug What do the spiritually alive have in common? What traits and qualities transcend religions and cultures? What makes someone spiritually alive and healthy? Join Phil Gulley for a weekend at Powell House, and explore together the characteristics of spiritual "aliveness." More and more people are moving away from organized religion, but identify themselves as spiritual people. What does it mean to be spiritual, but not religious? How can our Quaker meetings attract those who are spiritually curious or hungry? Beloved Indiana author and Quaker pastor Philip Gulley has become the voice of small town American life. Gulley is the author of 16 books including the acclaimed Harmony series of novels chronicling life in the eccentric Quaker community of Harmony, Indiana and the best-selling Porch Talk series of inspirational and humorous stories. He is also the author of the recently released theological book, If the Church were Christian, and is co-author of the books If Grace is True and If God is Love, written with James Mulholland. Phil regularly gives speeches, sermons, and readings, and also conducts workshops throughout the country. This special weekend is limited to the first 50 confirmed registrations. Register by August 2nd: $240 adults; $120 ages and commuters; $60 infants-12. After August 2nd: $260/$130/$65. Calendar July 2 7:00 pm Meeting for Healing July 7 10:00 am Meeting for Worship 5:00 pm Gillespie House July14 10:00 am Meeting for Worship Bring food, clothes 11:45 am Meeting for Business July 21 10:00 am Meeting for Worship July NYYM Summer Session at Silver Bay July 28 10:00 am Meeting for Worship M&O meetings are held at 9 am First Sundays Finance meetings are held at 9 am First Sundays Clerk Recording Clerk Treasurer Finance Committee Clerk Ministry & Oversight Clerk Physical Stewardship Clerk Peace & Service Clerk Newsletter Editor Jerry Leaphart Nancy Sarno Pete McCaughan Albert Hsu Woody Schempp Michel Loth Diane Keefe Renda McCaughan Submissions to the newsletter are due before July 26 midnight Wilton Friends Meeting July 2013 Page 7

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