HADDONFIELD MONTHLY MEETING of the RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS NEWSLETTER Volume 56, No. 8 ~ April, 2010 Meeting for worship

10 am Sunday ~ 9:15 am Wednesday

HADDONFIELD MONTHLY



“Sense of the meeting is a gift. It came to the Quakers through their commitment to continuing revelation. They discovered that the Light which had come to teach the people could lead them to revealed corporate decisions. The Quakers cherished the gift. They handed it down as a spiritual heirloom from generation to generation, even as the Jews hand down their covenant with God. Barry Morley, 1993

(See First Day School – April 25, below)



From Worship and Ministry:

“Friends are lovingly reminded to enter our sacred worship space on Sunday mornings on time and prepared for an experience of expectant waiting.”


First Day School:

On April 25, Bob Brooks will facilitate a discussion based on Barry Morley’s pamphlet, “Beyond Consensus.” We will be exploring a deeper understanding of this important aspect of Quaker practice. Please come prepared by reading the pamphlet – they are in the library and will be available on Sundays, or call Maria Shivers or Judy Owens. You are encouraged to attend even if you have not read the pamphlet


First Day School Program: “Poetry By (and For) Friends!”

In honor of National Poetry Month, on Sunday, April 18th, the First Day School program will be a special event: our first-ever open microphone poetry reading. Friends of all ages are invited to bring a special poem or two to share with the Meeting. ALL are invited to participate, regardless of writing experience.

Here are some guidelines:

We’re hoping for lots of participation (and maybe some surprises!), so please consider joining us.

Further questions can be addressed to Linda Lotz or Dave Austin.



Lilacs and Roses for Walt, Abe and My Father

An original work by Camden poet and Walt Whitman interpreter, Rocky Wilson, will be presented in the meeting house on Saturday, May 1st at 8:00pm. The play premiered in the Philly Fringe Festival and features the dynamic artistry of Wilson, a poet-dancer, who lets his body and words sing their own tribute to Walt Whitman, as well as honor his love for President Lincoln. Closer to home, Wilson explores the life of a man he has found much harder to appreciate than either poet or president—his own father.


Wilson’s stories and poetry give Lilacs and Roses a personal strength that is deeply

rooted in the premise that one’s own life is the best source of one’s art. A parallel is drawn between the loss of a friend of Wilson’s father in World War II and the loss Wilson himself experiences when one of his childhood friends, Lanny Rossell, is killed in Vietnam. The play is dedicated to Wilson’s father and to Rossell, who is a graduate of Haddonfield High School.

The soulful, lyrical music of folksinger Tony DeSantis is woven throughout “Lilacs and Roses…” DeSantis is joined by singer Mary Benson Cavanaugh, who has performed with Wilson for over 25 years.


General Admission to Lilacs and Roses is $15 with tickets purchased only at the door.

Discounts are available for students and seniors. One-half of the proceeds from the performance are donated to the Haddonfield Friends Education Fund.


For more information please contact Rocky at 856.964.4214 or by e-mail at rockyandbongo@Yahoo.com.


Poems Old & New:


You’re song,

A wished-for song.


Go through the ear to the center,

Where sky is, where wind, where silent knowing.


Put seeds and cover them.

Blades will sprout

Where you do your work.


Poem #2196 by Rumi




Haddonfield Meeting - Leadings and Poetry to be focus of Adult First Day Programming

May 23: Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself”. A presentation and discussion of the Pendle Hill pamphlet, “Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself” by Michael Robertson. A member of Haddonfield MM will introduce this celebrated poem which is considered by some to be the greatest poem in American literature. Published in 1855, the poem presents some of the progressive religious ideals then prevalent in Quaker and other circles.

PYM Tuition Aid for Fall 2010: News and Reminders:New for 2010: All families seeking PYM tuition aid must apply for tuition aid from their school. This is in addition to submitting PYM tuition aid applications, signed by your Meeting's Clerk, to your Friends school by February 15. (PYM applications, timelines, and guidelines can be found at www.friendseducationfund.org).

We have asked schools to tell us whether each applicant family is eligible for financial aid from the school in a scenario where that family’s effective income was reduced by 20%. If the school reports ‘yes’ then the family has met the need standard for PYM. As a final reminder, in order to apply for PYM aid, families must first apply for tuition assistance from both their Monthly Meeting and their school. If Friends have questions about this, the PYM Education office will be happy to speak with you: Elkem@pym.org or 215-241-7224.

Meeting on Worship & Ministry:

The next gathering of PYM Meeting on Worship and Ministry will take place on April 17, 2010, at Central Philadelphia MM, from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm.

If you are called to nurture the quality of worship, ministry, and spiritual life among us, you are part of the Meeting on Worship and Ministry. Please join us at this April meeting. Let us gather in worship and consider our business under the guidance of the Spirit. Encourage other members of your monthly meeting’s Worship & Ministry committee to come, as well as all Friends God is inspiring to deepen and nourish worship and ministry in our midst.


Please bring your own lunch. If needing child care, try to let us know by March 31st. To request child care, or for any questions you may have, please contact: Jorge Aráuz, convener, at WM@PYM.org, 215 421 5811.


For a map and related site information, please visit:  http://www.pym.org/pm/stf.php



The Conference of Quaker Historians and Archivists will hold its eighteenth biennial conference at Wilmington College in Wilmington, Ohio USA, Friday, June 25 –Sunday 27, 2010. Registration deadline: June 9, 2010.To register, visit: http://www.guilford.edu/assets/pdf/library/fhc/CQHA_Reg_Form2010.pdf.



Summer Peace Camp at Gwynedd Friends:

From August 9th to August 27th, 2010, children attending the Peace Camp at Gwynedd Friends will explore their own understandings of peace and imaginatively delve into the world of conflict transformation. Through a wide variety of artistic, intellectual and fun-filled recreational activities, campers will have an opportunity to build upon their own ideas collaboratively and to discover worlds of possibilities, both vibrant and diverse.  They will learn of ways to respect the world beyond their horizon, and to care for the world within their reach.   Most importantly, each child will be encouraged to realize his or her own significance and responsibility; and each will be provided with the skills and resources needed to express his or her own creative designs for a more peaceful world.   Social realities might not change themselves, but collective imaginations certainly can... and have for seven years running; just add sun, friends and some positive instruction and a handful of curious challenges.


For more information about this unique and innovative summer camp including a brochure and registration form, please visit www.gwyneddfriends.org/peacecamp.  With specific questions, please contact 215.699.3055 or send a message to gwyneddpeacecamp@yahoo.com

Young Adult Friends - Spring Lecture and Workshop Series on Quaker discernment Practices (on three consecutive Interim Meeting Saturdays):


These events will take place at Arch Street Meeting House. Each presenter will give a lecture (open to all Friends) at 2:30pm, and then a workshop on the same topic (for Young Adult Friends ages 18-35) at 4:30pm. Come for Interim Meeting and stay for the lectures!

1. Saturday, April 10 - Eileen Flanagan of Chestnut Hill Monthly Meeting in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting will speak on Individual Discernment.

2. Saturday, May 8 - Mary Lord of Adelphi Friends Meeting in Baltimore Yearly Meeting will speak on Discernment for Effective Social Witness.

3. Saturday, June 12 - Ernie Buscemi of Morningside Friends Meeting in New York Yearly meeting will speak on Corporate Discernment.

Contact: Sadie Forsythe, Young Adult Friends Coordinator

215-241-7075 or 800-220-0796, Ext. 7075; Fax: 215-241-7045

Email: sadief@pym.org

Website for Young Adult Friends: www.pym.org/education/yaf



Quaker Spirituality - Middletown Meeting in Concord Quarterly Meeting is offering a workshop on Quaker Spirituality on May 1, 2010, from 10 AM to 2 PM. The title is, "Reclaiming the Lost Priority: Quaker Religious Experience in our Monthly Meetings."


Middletown Meeting would like to move forward in our leading to work for spiritual renewal in the Society of Friends, last summer at the residential sessions of PYM we held a workshop entitled "Quaker Religious Experience in our Monthly Meeting, Reclaiming the Lost Priority." This was well attended and Friends expressed a real interest in continuing a dialog on how we can deepen our spiritual connection to God and our community in a world searching for a guiding light.


On May 1st Christopher Stern, recorded minister at Middletown, will speak on how the spiritual experiences of early Friends are still relevant today, offering a way to transform our lives. Large and small group discussions will follow with an emphasis on creating a dialog amongst ourselves on how our individual spiritual experience can be enriched in the community of our Meetings.


Childcare and light lunch provided. A small donation to offset event experiences will be requested.


Reply via email to MiddletownLimaClerk@pym.org to register. Or call 610-543-7321.



Save Energy in Your Meetinghouse: How to Get Started - As we come under the weight of climate change’s moral and ethical dimensions, through our Meetinghouses we can take action. Our Meetinghouses can raise awareness by both lowering energy use and on the behaviors of members and attenders. For example, Reading Monthly Meeting recently insulated all of the ceiling area of their building and renovated two of the three rooms of the "addition."  Prior to the renovations, the exterior walls were insulated.  (The same is planned for the third room this summer.) A more efficient heating system is in place and CFL or diode light bulbs are used exclusively. Friends, here is another suggestion, when energy efficiency projects are finished; a great community outreach opportunity can be made through an open-house invitation through the media, further spreading the reach of our efforts.  The Greening of Friends Center and its publicity have had a positive impact on the region and the world.


MEETING CALENDAR

April 4 - Easter - Extended hospitality

April 6 - Finance Committee 7pm at the Meetinghouse

April 10 - Property and Friendship Committees invite you to join in a Day of Service ~ at the Meetinghouse ~ on April 10th (rain date, April 17th).  Coffee, juice and bagels will be available at 8:30 a.m.  Our goal is to give the Meetinghouse a good cleaning and to start a spring clean-up on the property.   Save the date and look for more details in next month's newsletter.

April 11 – Business Meeting

April 13 – Care Committee

April 18 - Our Favorite Poetry - To celebrate National Poetry Month everyone's invited to share poems your have written or your favorite poems of others. Please see Dave Austin or Linda Lotz to sign up. Covered dish will follow the poetry reading.

May 2 - Meeting for Worship for Business