The Winston-Salem Friend

Transcription

1 The Winston-Salem Friend a peace church A publication of Winston-Salem Friends Meeting November Reynolda Road Winston-Salem, NC Being Peacemakers. Being peacemakers is essentially an affair of the heart, rather than of the mind. For whether a person decides to use the energies of his/her body and mind for building weapons and thinking the unthinkable, or for peace, is probably ultimately determined by a quality of the heart for which the mind is but a servant. It is unlikely, therefore that we shall debate each other, or fellow citizens, into the ways of love. For we touch people s hearts not by what we debate with them about, but rather by the quality of our being --- by who we are, and by how we live, Individual Highlights: and by what we do. Thus, all of our merely verbal efforts in education or politics have meaning only insofar as they spring out of Dad s our News own very Page 2 direct experience of joyfully seeing what love can do in practice Mom s News Page 3 Kids News Page 4 Indeed, there is a profound sense in which the higher capacity of human nature is beyond the power of manipulation. We cannot devise legislative programs, military campaigns, or rational debates to awaken in people these higher capacities; there is absolutely no way we can force others, whether or contemporaries or those in future generations, to be better human beings. No revolutionary campaign we can devise will assure that the people of the future will be more awake, more virtuous, than we are. The past is but a memory; the future a dream. The present moment is every person s equal possession. Each moment Queries of the Month: continued on page 2 How can I nurture the seeds of peace within myself, my community, and the larger world? How can I increase my understanding of nonviolence and use it in all my interactions, especially with other Friends? Pastor: Philip Raines Clerk: Jane Bullin Facing Bench: November 2 John Fallen November 9 Carolyn McPherson November 16 Mary Simmons November 23 Sandra Winters November 30 Bethany Collins Greeters: November 2 Zana Cranfill November 9 Grace Downs November 16 Doris Cain November 23 Steve Beese November 30 Sue Ann Raring Coffee Makers: November 2 John Fallen November 9 Sue Ann Raring November 16 Sue Ann Raring November 23 Sandra Winters November 30 Sue Ann Raring Sundays 8:30 Unprogrammed Worship 9:30 First Day School 10:30 Fellowship 11:00 Meeting for Worship Monthly Meeting: 1:00 on the fourth Sunday of the month

2 PAGE 2 OF 8 Continued from page 1 affords a choice between life and death, between good and evil. All to which we aspire can find expression in time present. Indeed, there is no time but this present. Daniel A. Seeger, 1986 In November: 11/1 NCYM Rep. Body at Forsyth Friends 10:00 11/2 Carry-in lunch with Salem Creek Friends Meeting 11/2 Library Comm. Book Discussion (rescheduled from October) following the meal 11/7 Men s Breakfast 10:00 11/18 Friendly Women 11/21 Book Club 6:30 11/23 Carry-in Thanksgiving Dinner Let s Eat! Let s Eat! We have two opportunities to gather together and break bread in the coming month. We will have a carry-in lunch following Meeting for Worship on November 2 nd and we will gather with Salem Creek Friends. On November 23 rd, we will have our annual Thanksgiving dinner following Meeting for Worship, and that will be a carry-in as well. So get cooking and enjoy the company and the food to come!

3 PAGE 3 OF 8 Did You Know This is from the Winston-Salem Friend in October, 1959: With the Small Fry Johnny s mother had the habit of telling his faults to other people. It always embarrassed Johnny and the ones who had to listen, especially Johnny s father. In man-to-man talks afterwards, he would often say, Well, maybe it helps Mother to relieve her mind. After Meeting one Sunday, the family was discussing an especially scorching sermon and a closing prayer in which the Lord was told about the sins of His children! When it came to ten-year-old Johnny s turn to comment, he pondered for a moment and the he remarked: Well, maybe it relieved the preacher s mind --- but I bet God was embarrassed! Monthly Meeting Approval Items Monthly Meeting for worship, business and concerns met on October 26th and approved the following items: The September Minutes, with corrections. Asking Salem Creek Meeting to share the cost of the Community House at $210 per month. The 2015 Proposed Budget presented by the Finance Committee. The Nominating Committee report for The use of the Fellowship House on December 20 and 21 by the Koinonia- Renewal Sunday School class for the Meeting Christmas party, followed by the Candlelight service. Responses sent to North Carolina Yearly Meeting s New Committee from WSFM regarding the questions they sent to us following the discussion of unity at Yearly Meeting Sessions. (See these responses on Page 4 of this newsletter.) The Circle has paid the green sheet items for the last three months of They contributed $160 to African missions and travel service; $100 to the Jamaica Leadership Training Project, Belize Friends School Scholarship Fund, and Kenya s FTC Principal, Ann Riggs. Their December contribution of $75 went to MOWA Choctaw and Friends Disaster Service. The Book Club will meet on Friday, November 21st at 6:30 pm in the parlor. We are reading the book The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. Come and learn about new books you might like to read, or just enjoy the fellowship and conversation!

4 PAGE 4 OF 8 Below are the responses Winston-Salem Friends Meeting is offering to the questions sent by the New Committee regarding the discussions of unity at Yearly Meeting sessions. These were approved in Monthly Meeting and will reach the New Committee via our Quarter s representative before Representative Body which meets November 1 st, What way do we see all Meetings remaining in North Carolina Yearly Meeting and producing effective ministry? The umbrella of Quakerism should be large enough to include all of us. Our committees and Yearly Meeting groups should represent evangelical to liberal Friends, as NCYM has done for over 300 years. Even George Fox, in his 1670 s visits to NC, encouraged the establishment of quarterly and yearly meetings so that all Friends could keep in contact with one another. 2. Should our Faith and Practice be the ultimate authority in our beliefs and practice, and should it be affirmed by all member Meetings? We place our ultimate authority in the continuing revelation of God to each of us. We try to follow the teaching and examples of Jesus Christ, recognizing there is that of God in every person. We believe there are historical statements and collective wisdom in Faith and Practice, but it should not be considered creedal. Our current relationship with God is paramount. Faith and Practice quotes a gathering of Friends in Yorkshire in 1656 which says that all books of discipline should include this statement: beloved friends, these things we do not lay upon you as a rule or form to walk by, but that all within the measure of light which is pure and holy may be guided, and so in the light walking and abiding these may be fulfilled in the spirit, not from the letter; for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 3. Why do Meetings feel compelled to participate with organizations outside of NCYM? Our history and home is with NCYM, but we all need relationship with others, including other Friends. We believe in being part of a wider group; we learn and grow that way and our lives are enriched spiritually through our relationships. 4. Financial responsibility to NCYM should be seriously reviewed. We believe our financial responsibility to Yearly Meeting should be reviewed on a periodic basis, and we do so. Yearly Meeting s responsibility to individual member meetings should be reviewed as well. We recognize WSFM s need to help, but we are doing all we can at the present time. We are no longer able to give to our present outreach as we used to do. We also believe giving should be on a voluntary basis, not as an assessed figure for each Meeting. 5. What might a restructured or even divided Yearly Meeting look like? We fear a divided Yearly Meeting will weaken the good programs that are in place and drive Friends apart. When we come together in unity, we gain understanding and appreciation for one another. Some restructuring at this point might be helpful, but any decision should be well seasoned and a great deal of time should be taken in discernment so that it can be done well and for the benefit of all.

5 PAGE 5 OF 8 Our New Food Pantry We have two new extended members of our community Jane and Larry Bullin are grandparents of Madison Rose, and Dan Ariail is the new parent of Bella, an energetic beagle puppy! Congratulations! Also congratulations to Jessica Williams, who received her Master s degree in counseling, and we hold in our travel Light Kate Putnam, who is vacationing in Peru and will visit Machu Picchu. Peace and Social Concerns Prepare for the Holidays! Peace and Social Concerns continues to collect pennies (and other change) for the Samaritan Ministries Penny Campaign, and will take that to Samaritan around the first week in December. So scrape those pennies together and get them to us in the big jar in the foyer this month!!! Also, we begin collecting for Wee Care all four weekends in December. We need new or gently used baby items. Wee Care is part of Catholic Social Services and is a shop where needy mothers with new infants can shop for free. Please bring the items unwrapped to be placed in the crib that will be in the Meeting Room. We want everyone to have opportunities to share this holiday season!

6 PAGE 6 OF 8 We call ourselves Quakers, or members of the Religious Society of Friends. What does that mean? This section provides us with writings from wellrecognized Friends as food for thought. From the first quarter of the nineteenth century well into the 1900 s, the history of Friends in America has been a history of fragmentation into various splinter groups. Each group has thought that it carried the full Quaker banner, while in actuality each has tightly clasped only a tattered shred of the rich tapestry that was the original Quaker movement. Jack Kirk November Birthdays 1 Cassie Makie 6 Rusty Bradstock 8 Wilma Cornwell 10 Stacey Putnam 21 Katherine Hubbard 27 Mary Ruth Vanhoy-Sink November Anniversaries Craig and Patricia Putnam November 28, 1987 Winston-Salem Friends Meeting 3151 Reynolda Road Winston-Salem, NC 27106