Chesapeake
Quarterly Meeting
Sandy Spring Monthly
Meeting
September 10, 2006
Chesapeake Quarterly Meeting settled into worship at 1:35pm
in the meetinghouse at Sandy Spring Monthly Meeting.
Ken Stockbridge (Patapsco), clerk, welcomed Friends and
introduced Jim Rose (Patapsco), the acting recording clerk for this session.
II. Roll Call of meetings and representatives.
All meetings with the exception of Patuxent Meeting were
present. The representatives from each
meeting were Silvia Oliva (Annapolis), Michael Boardman (Stony Run), Ann Heaton
(Gunpowder), Bobby Stevens (Little Falls), Ken Stockbridge (Patapsco), Rosalind
Zuses (Sandy Spring) and Tom Shapiro (Seneca Valley). While members of Baltimore Homewood were present, no
representative from that meeting was identified.
III. The agenda was reviewed and accepted.
IV. The record of the Sixth Month 2006 meeting of the
Chesapeake Quarterly Meeting at Sheppard Pratt was read in silence. With
spelling corrections and minor improvements this record was approved.
V. The calendar of upcoming meetings of Chesapeake Quarterly
Meeting was reviewed. It was noted that meetings during 2007 were confirmed by
the hosting Monthly Meetings, however we have not yet received confirmation of
meeting dates for 2008.
2007 Confirmed –
Seneca Valley (3rd), Gunpowder (6th), Patapsco (9th)
2008 Proposed –
Annapolis (3rd), Patuxent (6th), Baltimore-Homewood (9th)
VI. The clerk read an email (attached) from Kathy Sawyer of
Friends United Meeting (FUM) which announced her availability to come to
Quarterly Meeting next year and present information about the many projects and
programs which FUM has been involved with. The clerk asked if Friends were
interested in having her address the Quarter at some point.
Ann Heaton (Gunpowder) suggested that they might be
interested in hosting such a program in June. Ann would bring this idea back to
Gunpowder Meeting to discern if there is wider interest in this program. Ken Stockbridge agreed to forward the email
from Kathy Sawyer to Gunpowder Meeting, encouraging them to correspond directly
with Kathy as way opened. Ken also will let Kathy know of Gunpowder Meeting’s
potential interest for the June 2007 Quarterly meeting.
VII. Lowell Christy
(Seneca Valley) and Annette Breiling (Seneca Valley) reported on the Friends
Meeting School (FMS) in Ijamsville, Maryland. They presented a proposal
(attached) to Chesapeake Quarterly Meeting to establish a committee to “explore
establishing a relationship between Chesapeake Quarter and FMS.”
A good deal of discussion ensued. Questions were raised
about what “taking Friends Meeting School under its care” meant? Quakers
desired more familiarity with the policies of the school, admission, costs and
the extent to which students and staff were Quaker. Were ADD children accepted?
What were the current fiducial arrangements between FMS and Seneca Valley or
any other Quaker organization?
Annette Breiling referred Friends to the Draft Report of the
Seneca Valley – Friends Meeting School Exploratory Committee of April 2000
(attached).
Bill Harlan (Little Falls) noted that there are other Quaker
schools in the Quarter including Sandy Spring Quaker School and the new Harford
Friends School. Would these other
schools benefit from a more formal arrangement with Quarterly Meeting?
Friends felt that initially the proposed committee should
address the FMS concern now while leaving it open to the committee to suggest
further directions.
The Meeting APPROVED a minute to appoint a committee to
explore developing a relation between Chesapeake Quarterly Meeting and Friends
Meeting School. Representatives with
experience in Quaker school governance from monthly meetings in the Quarter
would be sought.
Bob Heaton (Gunpowder) and Lowell Christy (Seneca Valley)
both volunteered to serve on such a committee, and Lowell Christy volunteered
as convener. Ken Stockbridge will send a letter to Monthly Meetings inviting
further membership on this committee. The committee will report back to the
Chesapeake Quarterly Meeting in June.
VIII Reports from individual Meetings.
Edith Ballard (Homewood) reported on the BRIDGE (Baltimore
Regional Initiative Developing Genuine Equality) Inreach interviews with which
she had been involved. The project is
interested in contacting Conscientious Objectors to be interviewed. Further
information will appear in the next Interchange.
Elizabeth DuVerlie (Stony Run) reported that they have
gained permission to hang banners exclaiming Quaker concerns across certain
streets in downtown Baltimore. Members of Stony Run are engaged in lobbying
Congress regarding the Peace Tax Fund and invited Friends either to join them
of contact their congressional representatives independently. She also reported on a recent meeting she,
Stan Becker (Stony Run) and Ramona Buck (Patapsco) held with an aide of Barbara
Mikulski. They focused on the policies of our government and alternatives to
violence, attempting to get further endorsements for the Senate Concurrent
Resolution 93 (q.v.)
Jim Rose (Patapsco) reported that Patapsco Friends was
hosting a Day of Silent Meditation, Prayer and Fasting for Peace and Social
Justice at the Bon Secours Spiritual Center on Saturday, September 23. Flyers were distributed about this event and
Friends were encouraged to join for all or part of the day.
Ann Heaton (Gunpowder) reminded Friends that their Meeting
hosted a silent retreat on the second Saturday of each month between
9-2:30. Lunch will be provided if
Friends notify Gunpowder Meeting in advance.
Ann also announced their annual Book Sale and White Elephant on November
11th between 9-2pm.
Ken Stockbridge (Patapsco) announced the Meeting’s tenth
birthday party on November 12th. Any and all Friends who helped in
establishing this meeting, who attended and supported the meeting in the past,
or who have silly recollections of the struggles this meeting has faced are
strongly urged to attend.
Silvia Oliva (Annapolis) reported that members of the
meeting are traveling on September 17th to New York with a concern
to end the genocide in Darfur. Silvia also reported that the celebration of 350
years of Quakerism in Maryland was great fun although the march was rained out.
Lowell Christy (Seneca Valley) reported that one attender
has been involved in getting the Montgomery County Historical Society Tours of
the Underground Railway started. In addition Lowell has been successful, after
four years, in arranging a meeting between the ex-President of Iran and Jimmy
Carter. This is a key element of his
leading to initiate a “Dialog amongst Civilizations”. Lowell offered that ‘the life of a meeting is reflected in how it
supports the leadings of its members and attenders.’
IX Announcements
Mary Phillips (Sandy Spring) appealed to Friends for help in
finding a copy of the Journal of Charles Smedley, ca 1865.
Ken Stockbridge (Patapsco) offered congratulations to Pat
Schenk (Annapolis) on the publication of her Pendle Hill Pamphlet #383, Answering
the Call to Heal the World.
Howard Fullerton (Sandy Spring) noted that Rosalind Zuses (Sandy
Spring) will be traveling with Ann Davidson of New York Yearly Meeting to
Africa. Chesapeake Quarterly Meeting
APPROVED authorizing the clerk to endorse Rosalind’s future travel minute.
Ken Stockbridge (Patapsco) noted his appreciation of Little
Falls Meeting arranged at Sheppard Pratt in June. He will present a more formal
appreciation to be minuted at our next Quarterly meeting.
X. Adjournment
Lowell Christy (Seneca Valley) invited Friends to attend the
next Chesapeake Quarterly Meeting at Seneca Valley on 11th Third
month, 2007. The theme at that meeting
will be “Quaker Life”, giving local Friends an opportunity to reflect on their
leadings, their successes and possibly their failures.
After a period of silent worship, Chesapeake Quarterly Meeting
closed, to meet again at Seneca Valley or the Friends Meeting School on 11th
Third month, 2007.
Minute of Appreciation for our Friends at Sandy Spring Monthly Meeting
Yum. We all enjoy the special corn pudding, fresh tomatoes,
and luscious desserts served so generously by Sandy Spring Friends. But we appreciate even more the friendship,
the loving care and concern we find in the meetinghouse, in the community
house, and wherever we find Sandy Springers.
Betsy Meyer presented a wonderful program that she entitled
“What can the Psalms do for you?” Betsy has not only memorized all the Psalms,
but she is able to speak eloquently on their meaning and their effect on her
own life. Having given a lecture to the
Bible Association of Friends in America on The Transforming Power of the
Psalms, she made copies of this talk available to Friends.
Betsy touched on four ways the Psalter speaks to her
life. First, in praying the Psalms, she
feels in community with 2000 years of fellow worshipers; to her it is like
“entering a meeting for worship with all who have prayed the Psalms over two
millennia.” Second, whether you agree with or even understand the sentiments in
those prayers, one can feel the faith of the authors drawing you into a deeper
faith of your own.
Thirdly Betsy reminded us that the Psalter provides people
of faith with a rich vocabulary. It is here that we find ‘Be still and know
that I am God…’ (46), ‘Seek peace and pursue it…’ (34), ‘the meek will inherit
the earth…’ (37), and many other examples. Finally the words and the images
manage to bring her to a deep place where the words meet the spirit behind the
words. While it may be necessary to
suspend judgment, to suspend intellectual reasoning and feel the power of the
faith, you can be, and most likely will be surprised at the outcome.
Thank you Betsy Meyer for your stirring presentation, and
thank you Sandy Spring for your generous support.
