Bennington Friends Meeting

Meeting for Worship on the Occasion of Business
Held at the Senior Citizens’ Service Center,
Bennington, VT
October 16, 2016

Present were Timmy Bullock, clerk, Priscilla Tracy, Lucy McKee, Auberta Galusha, Arnold Ricks, Dorothea Izzo, Eliza Navias-Bell and Juliet Wright

The recording clerk read the minutes for meeting for business for September 18, 2016. They were approved.

2016-34 – Meeting for business reflected on retreat and where we might go from here. One concrete action is that Dorothea will work with the Unitarian Church on the second Sunday meal at the Second Congregational Church, and she will report back.

2016-35 – Meeting for business approves playing the Quaker game, “Unwilling, Unable” on the first Sunday in January, New Years Day.

2016-36 – Meeting for business approves holding a springtime celebration, posing the question: “My journey with Quakerism; where have my shoes taken me and where are they headed?” This be held at the Hiland Hall Garden on Sunday, May 21, 2016 instead of meeting for business.

2016-37 – Meeting for business approves holding the Christmas party on Sunday, December 18, 2016 at Marge and Bain’s house. Theme? Reflection? How do you hold and enact the phrase “He’s got the whole world in His Hands?” What is our place in this? How can we be His hands?

How do we discover the unity of the divine in one another?

How do we give a voice to the universality of the spirit? What is my individual responsibility to the well-being of the unity of the global community?

2016-38 Meeting for business approves experimenting with chanting at the end of singing before meeting on the fourth Sundays of October and November. This will begin next Sunday, October 23. We will do this for one month and then we will evaluate our response. We recommend starting with the chant Ubi Caritas. We will do the evaluation after potluck in December.

2016-39 Meeting for business approves making copies of the New England Yearly Meeting Faith and Practice Revision Committee’s Working Paper on Membership for the meeting for the readers. Ministry and Counsel will set up the details of an initial discussion.

After a period of silent worship, the meeting adjourned.

Timmy Bullock, clerk
Juliet Wright, recording clerk

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Minutes for Ministry and Counsel

October 9, 2016

Present were Priscilla Tracy, Timmy Bullock clerk, ex-officio, Auberta Galusha and Juliet Wright

Pastoral concerns discussed.

16-16 Ministry and Counsel recommends playing the Quaker game, “Unwilling, Unable” on the first Sunday in January, New Years Day.

16-17 Ministry and Counsel recommends that we have a springtime or early summer celebration, posing the question: “My journey with Quakerism; where have my shoes taken me and where are they headed?”

16-18 Ministry and Counsel recommends holding the Christmas party on Sunday, December 18, 2016 at Auberta’s house. Theme? Reflection?

16-19 Ministry and Counsel recommends that we experiment with chanting at the end of singing before meeting on the second and fourth Sunday. We recommend doing this for one month and then we will evaluate our response. We recommend starting with the chant Ubi Caritas. We will do the evaluation after potluck in December.

Ministry and counsel asks us to consider a post potluck discussion on the working NEYM’s Faith and Practice Revision’s Committee paper on membership.