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Volume 31
Number 3
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SPARK
15 Rutherford Place
New York, NY 10003
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May 2000
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SPARK (ISSN 00240591)
New York Yearly Meeting News
Published five times a year: January,
March, May, September, November
By New York Yearly Meeting,
Religious Society of Friends,
15 Rutherford Place
New York, NY 10003
212-673-5750
newyorkym@earthlink.net
Editorial Board: Publications Committee
Editor: Helen Garay Toppins
SPARK deadlines are the first of the month preceding the publication month.
Permission is granted
to reprint any article, provided Spark is acknowledged as the source.
New York
Yearly Meeting Staff
Paul Busby
paul@nyym.org
Barbara Heizman
Helen Garay Toppins
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STEPPING INTO JUBILEE
Silver Bay, New York, July 30-August 5, 2000
At Representative Meeting in Purchase, New York, last December
we heard a call: "Linda Chidsey, clerk of Ministry and Counsel Coordinating
Committee, spoke out of the silence about a leading that arose at its October
retreat and business meeting. Certain issues which have come to the committee's
attention represent larger and deeper ongoing concerns more appropriate for
worship and prayer than for immediate action. Recognizing that the Yearly
Meeting needs a balance of business, worship, plain speaking, and deep
listening, the committee proposes that NYYM declare the year 2000 a year of
Sabbath. This next year can be one of resting in God, a year of Jubilee.
"The committee envisions July Yearly Meeting
sessions being
devoted to celebrating our gifts and being present to what is going on in a
Blessed Presence. The only business to be conducted would be that which must
have action of the Yearly Meeting. Reports and ongoing concerns will be handled
in different ways. The week will give us a time for fellowship, for welcoming
each person we see, and for holding the Meeting in the Light. A contemplative
Sabbath rest is not an opposition to work, but a manner of doing business, an
acknowledging of a 'sane and holy relation' to life. Such a year may free us to
recognize our birthright in the image of God and to resist the temptation to
succumb to any lesser image."
The responses to this call have been deeply
searching, mostly
affirming, sometimes enthusiastic. The schedule that appears on page 3 was
approved by the Sessions Committee members and a number of other concerned
Friends. The decision to "do something different" has been the fruit of prayer
and discernment over the past months.
In the course of planning, Sessions and Liaison
Committees came
to several insights:
-
Friends are concerned for relationships: with God, with self,
with other Quakers, with a wide world of others beyond New York Yearly Meeting.
-
Our plan for Silver Bay is a matrix that provides spaces for
openings of and to the spirit.
-
There are many, many right answers to questions that have come
up. They cannot all fit in one plan for one year. We hope our fellowship can
retain them, to seed our future.
The approved schedule for Silver Bay 2000
sessions represents
choices intended to reinforce one another and have cumulative effects. Some
fundamentals of the NYYM-Silver Bay experience--JYM activities, worship
sharing, programmed worship with choir music, afternoon time for friends and
family--are built in. You will also notice changes!
Morning is for what is most important, without
"busyness." An
hour is allowed for worship sharing, and the second half of the morning offers
significant choices and opportunity to engage people and Jubilee challenges. We
have not called these times "workshops" or "interest groups," because we believe
they will be different, anchored in worship and conscious of the relationships
involved. JYM will offer invitations for adults to join them for certain of
their sessions, and older JYMers will be welcome at some of the study groups.
Early afternoon is time for us to choose our own
activities,
with one another or alone. Friends, families, water, naps, meditation, and
prayer. We have spoken with Silver Bay staff about giving us opportunities for a
variety of work projects, some physically active, some sedentary. We may find an
opportunity for service projects from AFSC as well.
Later in the afternoon those whose concerns lead
them to
committee meetings will have time on Tuesday and Thursday. Monday, Wednesday,
and Friday there will be meetings for worship with a concern for leadings (these
replace our usual business meetings). All ages are welcome. PM childcare,
provided by JYM, should permit attendance by parents and guardians.
Evenings include Bible study and plenary sessions
for
reflection, learning, and celebration focused on the restoration of
relationships as individuals and as a Religious Society.
I pray that our time at Silver Bay flowers into a
renewed sense
of grace and ministry in each of us and in our Yearly Meeting.
In loving Friendship,
Dawn DiGiovanni, Clerk
NYYM Sessions Committee
Back to contents
This year at New York Yearly Meeting we invite you to accept
the call to Sabbath rest and Jubilee. These are terms Friends do not usually
use. Don't we say that we observe every day as holy? Imagine a whole week at
Silver Bay when we cease our busyness to allow God's presence in our midst. With
our minds and our bodies present in a different quality of time, we can renew
our relationship with God, and seek inspiration for the work of Jubilee.
What is the biblical meaning of Sabbath rest and
Jubilee? As
prescribed in chapter 25 of the Old Testament book of Leviticus, the Hebrews
were to let the land rest every seven years. After seven cycles, there was to be
a year of Jubilee, when justice was done by forgiving debts, freeing slaves, and
giving land back to the original owner. Again, the land was to lie fallow and
the people were to rest from their ordinary work of tilling it. This was a
reminder that the land belonged to God, and that God--not the people--was in
charge.
How does Jubilee 2000 pertain to us? The Witness
Coordinating
Committee has chosen to emphasize three aspects of Jubilee: Economic Justice,
Environmental Justice, and Restorative Justice. These new terms--Sabbath
and Jubilee--remind us of the rhythm of our search for spiritual guidance
for the service we are called to. Come to YM and bathe in the atmosphere of
Sabbath as we renew our friendships, pray and sing together, play with each
other and our children. Come with a worshipful spirit and leave with a spirit of
renewal.
Miriam O. Swartz
for the Liaison Committee
Back to contents
We want Yearly Meeting to be a place of safety, trust,
loving care, and renewal, all of which include children and teens as an integral
part. To attain this goal fully requires the positive participation of everyone.
Friends of all ages are asked to care for each other, to look out for each
other's safety and well-being, to help each other when they can, and to respect
each other's needs for quiet and privacy. If you see a problem developing,
please try to help. Direct and loving intervention may be the most appropriate
step.
Friends in need of help may turn to the JYM
Committee or
Ministry and Counsel members Linda Chidsey or Caroline Pierce.
If you have questions
about Yearly Meeting Sessions at Silver
Bay,
these Friends can help you.
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For
general scheduling
questions ask
Dawn DiGiovanni,
clerk of Sessions.
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Matters that relate directly to Silver Bay
arrangements
ask
Kate Lawson,
Silver Bay liaison.
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Junior Yearly Meeting
questions should be directed to
Liseli Haines
or
Rose
Lynn,
Junior Yearly Meeting coordinators.
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Financial assistance
questions ask
Jens Braun,
clerk of the Advancement Committee.
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Special needs, Barbara Roe,
clerk of Disability Concerns.
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For
off-campus issues
contact
Dan Schlitt.
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Questions about
display arrangements
ask
Dawn.
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Agenda items for the
business sessions,
contact
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Linda Chidsey
for Ministry and Counsel
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Margery Rubin
for General Services
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Margallen Fichter
for Nurture
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Karen Reixach
for Witness or
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Victoria Cooley,
NYYM Clerk.
All these Friends are listed in the
Yearbook
and are also on Joe Condon's NYYM e-mail list. You may
also contact them via the Yearly Meeting office.
For
registration
questions contact
Helen Garay
Toppins,
NYYM Administrative Secretary, at the NYYM office, 15 Rutherford
Place, New York NY 10003; 212-673-5750, or
newyorkym@earthlink.net.
Back to contents
This year at Silver Bay the morning will be devoted to worship
from 9:00-10:00
A.M.
, followed by small study groups of roughly 20 people each
from 10:30 to noon Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. A limited number of
intergenerational study groups will be offered by JYM and through the adult
program.
The study groups will continue all three days and
offer a
chance for resting into topics at a depth that has not been as readily available
in years past. The focus of each study group may include different aspects of a
topic each day or delve into a single aspect over three days.
A study group can be organized by an individual,
a committee,
or an organization.
May 26:
Deadline for proposals for study groups. A
written proposal of no more than one page should be submitted to the Yearly
Meeting office.
E-mail (newyorkym@earthlink.net) or regular mail may be used. The proposal should
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Outline the content and process for the study group (is it an
in-depth discussion? an extended presentation with opportunities for questions
and reflection? a meditation? a chance to dance, walk, or sing?).
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Describe how worship will be incorporated into the sessions.
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Include needs for space, special arrangements, or materials.
Funding is not available except through committees.
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Indicate whether the study group will incorporate youth as
participants or leaders. Indicate what ages would be able to attend.
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Identify the leader(s), briefly discuss their qualifications,
and give contact information (name, age, address, phone, fax, and e-mail). If
Silver Bay expenses are to be covered by a committee, this should be indicated.
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Identify a logistics person for the group.
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Indicate whether there is oversight by a NYYM or another
group.
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Indicate who should be notified about the decision about the
study group, if that person is different from the leader.
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Include a 30- to 50-word description for the registration
catalog for study groups.
June 7:
Roster of study groups will be completed and
contacts notified.
June 15:
The catalog of study groups will be ready. The
catalog will be mailed out as registrations for YM arrive.
July 10:
Adult registrations for study groups, indicating
1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices, are due. Adults who register after this date will not
receive a catalogue until they arrive at Silver Bay. They will be able to
register at the NYYM conference desk, but will have to choose from among the
study groups with slots still open.
August 1:
JYMers may register for study groups Monday
morning at Silver Bay. Parents or guardians may wish to review the catalogue
with youth before Silver Bay, and make sure that they know that they may not get
their first choice and that they are asked to participate for three days.
Study groups will be posted with their locations.
People who
arrive on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday will be accommodated in open study
groups.
Back to contents
Friends ages 18-35 will gather at Silver Bay for community building, worship
sharing, and fun and games. Come join us! High school seniors welcome. Details
will be in the Silver Bay program.
Back to contents
This issue of
Spark
covers explanations about various
aspects of attending Yearly Meeting at Silver Bay, gives
fee schedules
,
and provides
registration forms
. Note that financial aid is available!
Who needs to register?
Everyone, infants through
adults.
A separate form must be
filled out for each individual attending Yearly Meeting.
Feel free to
make photocopies of the registration forms,
or get more copies from your
meeting clerk. Preregistration is expected of all who will be coming even for a
single meeting, including off-campus attenders and daily commuters. Registration
consists of:
a.a completed Registration Form.
b.a registration fee check made out to New York
Yearly Meeting
in the appropriate amount.
Note:
there is no registration fee for
children under the age of 3, but they must preregister.
c.if you are registering children/youth,
completed parental
permission forms and medical treatment forms are required.
How much does registration cost?
See
table
.
Note that the costs increase the later registration is
received by the New
York Yearly Meeting Office.
Where do I/we stay at Silver Bay?
You decide among
the following options:
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At Silver Bay.
Silver Bay offers rooms at four different price ranges. Please refer to
Room Descriptions and Rates
for details
about the rooms and the cost of each option. For this option please note your
preferences on the registration form.
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At nearby campgrounds or motels.
There is no camping at Silver Bay, but there are four campgrounds
and numerous motels nearby.
Those choosing this option must make their own
arrangements.
See the section on
Campsites
and
Motels
, which contains
addresses and phone numbers.
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Commuting or other off-campus options.
Again, you make your own arrangements.
Note: All off-campus and day registrants must pay a
Day Use Fee
to Silver Bay, which allows use of the facilities, including the swimming
areas, gym,
art center, and boathouse. See
Room Descriptions and Rates
for a chart of the fee rates.
What about meals?
Meals are included in the room fees
for those staying at Silver Bay.
All others must purchase meal tickets.
Please refer to the section on
Food Service at Silver Bay
for more information.
How do I register children or teens?
First read the
JYM section, beginning with
Junior Yearly Meeting: Jubilee
. Use one registration form for each child, but also
include:
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parent or guardian's signature
stating that both Junior Yearly Meeting attender and
parent/guardian have read the JYM Rules and Agreements
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name of sponsor at Yearly Meeting if other than parent/guardian
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Back to contents
New York Yearly Meeting registration fees (not to be
confused with the room deposit for Silver Bay) must be included with the
completed registration form for everyone (age three and older) attending any
portion of the Yearly Meeting sessions.
This includes guests, visitors,
people commuting from home, and those who plan to be there only a short time. If
the registration fee is to be paid by a committee, the authorization form should
accompany the registration form. Make checks payable to New York Yearly Meeting.
Children age two and under must be listed on their own registration form but are
exempt from registration fees.
Early registration is critical,
especially for planning
Junior Yearly Meeting programs. Childcare staff ratio must be planned carefully
in advance to avoid problems.
Silver Bay produces our name badges; which are
also our meal
tickets. Early registration will facilitate this process.
See
table
for registration fees;
After July 15;
registration fees increase and the family unit upper limit no longer applies. A
"family group" is one or two adults and the dependents for whom they are
responsible at Silver Bay and throughout the entire year. All members of a
family group must send their registrations in at the same time in the same
envelope and must stay in rooms close together (clustering).
Registration forms include requests for Silver
Bay housing
accommodations. The Yearly Meeting office will forward the reservation requests
to Silver Bay in the order in which they are received until July 17. After that
date; room reservations must be arranged directly with Silver Bay Association
(518-543-8833) and it may not be possible to get a room at Silver Bay. All room
assignments are made by Silver Bay.
Back to contents
The Advancement Committee encourages Friends to attend Yearly
Meeting. Part of this program includes providing modest financial support to as
large a number of people as possible. Funds are available from the Operating
Budget and the Leach Fund.
Friends are encouraged to seek financial
assistance from their Monthly Meeting first.
Friends are asked to apply for amounts based upon
the
least
expensive accommodations.
Friends who need to stay in more expensive
rooms because of physical disabilities have also received aid.
Grants are usually limited to 1/3 of your expenses. Priority will be given to
first-time attenders, those people with regular contact with monthly meetings,
and those with special circumstances.
The total amount of funds is quite limited: all
funds will be
distributed by July 17 and are not transferable.
To apply for aid,
fill out the financial aid section on the
Yearly Meeting Registration Form. There must be a separate Yearly Meeting
Registration Form for each person (including children)
who requests aid. A
confirmation slip will be mailed to you by July 21 indicating the level of aid
you will receive. This confirmation slip must be presented to the Silver Bay
desk as part payment of your bill.
Please read
Spark
carefully before you fill out your
Registration Form
Back to contents
Experience has shown that rules are necessary
to ensure smooth
functioning and avoid harm. Rules for Yearly Meeting and Junior Yearly Meeting
have been established by the YM Sessions Committee, the JYM Committee, and the
Silver Bay administration.
Guests are required:
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To wear a badge on campus.
You will be responsible for infractions by someone else wearing your badge.
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To observe safety precautions,
such as:
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Swimming only at stated times and places
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Smoking only outdoors where permitted
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Wearing shoes where food is being served
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Refraining from use of alcohol and illegal drugs on campus
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Using only those sleeping rooms reserved for your use. Any changes after
check-in MUST be cleared with Silver Bay.
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Observing quiet time after 11
P.M.
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Not using sleeping bags or otherwise camping on the grounds or in the public
facilities.
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To observe regulations against:
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Using cars as sleeping accommodations
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Bringing pets onto the Silver Bay campus
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Removing linens or furnishings from the rooms
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Parking in undesignated areas
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Bringing alcohol or illegal drugs on campus
Back to contents
Attenders are required:
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To observe safety precautions such as: maintaining contact
between children and parent(s), guardians, or sponsors at regular, daily
intervals;
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If under 18 years old:
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to register with Junior Yearly Meeting in the company of the parent, legal
guardian, or sponsor
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to cluster (sleep in a room near) the parent(s), guardian, or sponsor
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to have a valid medical consent form signed by a parent or guardian (see
Medical Forms
)
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to attend the activities of the JYM to which assigned
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If parent(s), guardians, or sponsor for a child under 18 years old, to assume
responsibility for the safety and well-being of that person
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If responsible for a child or to an adult, to agree and commit to a specific
bedtime and a daily check-in, and to specify these agreements on the signed
agreement form to be submitted to the JYM registrar at the time of egistration.
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If 18 years or older, to register with Yearly Meeting.
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To be in own room by 1
A.M.
Back to contents
Adirondack Friends Meeting extends an invitation to all Friends
who wish to visit on Sunday, July 30, on their way to Silver Bay. Programmed
Meeting for Worship will be held at 10:30
A.M.
Adirondack is the meeting closest to Silver Bay,
making this a
convenient place to break your journey. If they plan to attend, Friends can
write or call David Herendeen, pastor.
Back to contents
Meals for the conference period begin with dinner on Sunday
evening and conclude with lunch on Saturday.
If you plan to arrive at Silver
Bay early enough to have lunch Sunday, you must make arrangements in advance to
purchase this meal, which is not part of the conference package.
Silver Bay
has often run out of food because many people arrive who have not made
arrangements in advance.
Silver Bay will provide standard and vegetarian
menu choices
for each meal. Vegetarian meals will include eggs, milk, and cheese but no red
meat or fish. Silver Bay cannot accommodate "specialty" diets. A full salad bar
will be provided at both lunch and dinner.
If you are a vegetarian, please
indicate this on your registration form, so that Silver Bay can be prepared.
For those who have other special dietary needs,
it is
recommended that you bring your own food. Silver Bay will provide refrigeration.
A refrigerator will be made available for baby food, etc. Cooking facilities for
those with special dietary needs (though not for campers) will be available in
Paine Hall--1st floor off rotunda.
The Silver Bay cooks will not add salt to either
the regular
food or the vegetarian food. Salt will be available on the tables.
Silver Bay is pleased to announce that it has a
new food
service provider; Prestige Services of Ballston, New York. Feedback has been
positive for their service, food quality, and new menu options.
Back to contents
87 Silver Bay Road
Silver Bay, NY 12874
518-543-8833
www.silverbay.org
The Silver Bay Association is a YMCA Christian conference
center serving individuals, families, and groups. Through its programs and
activities, the association seeks to strengthen the application of Christian
principles, develop human potential, foster a concern for others and for the
world in which we live, encourage a commitment for service, and offer
opportunities for self-renewal, and for spiritual, mental, and physical growth.
Back to contents
Bus service:
Adirondack Trailways (800-225-6815) from
New York to Silver Bay is expected to be available once a day. The bus stops in
front of the Inn. Check schedules for specific information. Be sure to specify
the Silver Bay stop. Bus service is available also to Lake George Village. The
Silver Bay van will pick up passengers who are unable to make the route
connection to Silver Bay. Arrangements must be made with the Silver Bay
Association 48 hours in advance. A donation of $15 per van load is encouraged to
cover the costs of being met.
By train:
Take Amtrak's Adirondack to Ticonderoga
(800-523-8720 or 800-USA RAIL; in NYC: 212-582-6875). Make arrangements for
pickup by the Silver Bay van at least 48 hours in advance. A donation of $15 per
van load is encouraged to cover the costs of being met.
By air:
The Silver Bay van will meet passengers who have
made arrangements at least 48 hours in advance at either the Albany, NY, or
Burlington, VT, airports. A donation of $50 per van load is encouraged to cover
the costs of being met.
To make arrangements for being met by the Silver
Bay van, write
directly to the Silver Bay Association, giving means of travel, time of arrival,
flight number, and number of persons.
Back to contents
Silver Bay is on the west side of Lake George about 90 miles
north of Albany. Leave the Northway (Highway I-87) at exit 22, 23 or 24.
At exit 22:
Take a left off exit onto Rt. 9. Go thru
village of Lake George. At the north end of Lake George village take a right
onto Rt. 9N. Go through Bolton Landing. From Bolton Landing go approximately 14
miles. At the Silver Bay Association Road, go 1/2 mile to the Inn.
At exit 23:
Take a right off exit onto Bolton Road all
the way to the end of road. Turn left onto Rt. 9N, through Bolton Landing and 13
miles to Hague. At Silver Bay Association Road, go 1/2 mile to the Inn.
At exit 24:
Take a right off exit. Go 4 miles east to
Rt. 9N, then left (north) on 9N for 13 miles. At the Silver Bay Association
Road, go 1/2 mile to the Inn.
If pulling a trailer take exit 25 and go toward
Hague through
Brant Lake. Then turn south on 9N in Hague Village. There are steep hills when
using exits 22, 23 and 24 and going north on 9N
Driving time is estimated at 1 1/2 to 2 hours
from Albany; 4-5
hours from New York City; 6-7 hours from Buffalo. Those needing more explicit or
alternate directions may contact the Silver Bay Association.
Back to contents
There are three mobility-accessible sleeping rooms, with
bathrooms, on the first sleeping floor of the Inn that are reserved for those
using wheelchairs (and their roommates). One-tenth of the rooms in the Inn will
be reserved for people who, for any reason, find it physically difficult to room
elsewhere. These rooms will be held ONLY UNTIL JULY 1, and then will be released
for general availability.
Two shower/tub transfer benches have been donated
to Silver
Bay. This will make some less expensive rooms in the Inn available to those
whose limitations fall in this category.
If you have a disability or illness that makes it
hard for you
to climb hills or steps, please make sure that you sign up early, and request
one of the reserved rooms. Financial assistance is available from the
Advancement Committee to help with additional expenses.
The people who set up the Worship Sharing groups
need to know
if you have hearing or physical problems so that note takers can be provided, or
accessible locations allocated.
Please indicate on your registration form if
you will require such assistance.
If a meeting or an event you would like to attend
is being held
in a location that is inaccessible to you, please notify the Yearly Meeting
office immediately so the meeting can be scheduled for an accessible location,
if possible.
Friends who are unable to transfer themselves to and from
wheelchair/bed, etc. and require special assistance with dressing, bathing, or
other personal needs must arrange this personal assistance on their own and must
have the person assisting stay in their room. The caregiver must be in
attendance for the length of the stay of the person requiring this type of
specialized help.
Silver Bay will offer a special reduced rate for the
person assisting.
Back to contents
Room Reservations
Send all registration forms and YM registration fees to the
NYYM office. NYYM will send your reservation forms to Silver Bay, which will
acknowledge your room reservation and request a nonrefundable room deposit of
$50 per person, which will be applied to your final bill.
Do not send room
deposits to the NYYM office.
The balance of the Silver Bay charges should be
paid at the SBA Desk before you leave. Silver Bay cannot guarantee housing or
food for those who don't preregister.
Preference for rooms is given to those who stay
for the entire
week. Rooms are assigned in the order in which requests are received. It is
advisable to register early.
All rooms have double occupancy. Beds for
children may be added
to the larger rooms. If you require a single room we suggest you find
accommodations off campus.
If no rooms are available at your price, you may
be assigned to
a room at a higher price. You will receive prior notice if this is necessary.
A few double beds are available in the
highest-priced rooms in
the Inn. If you would like one, please indicate that on your registration form.
Room reservations will not be held after 6:00
P.M.
unless the room is completely
prepaid or you call Silver Bay to notify them of your late arrival. If you need
to cancel, call Silver Bay (518-543-8833) directly, so your room can be assigned
to someone else.
Silver Bay room check-in begins at 3
P.M.
on Sunday, July 30.
Checkout time is 11:00
A.M.
daily. Luggage can be left in designated areas after
checking out. Those not out of their rooms by 11:00
A.M.
will
be
charged for an extra day. No refunds are issued for early departures, unless
arrangements are made prior to checkout.
All rates are per person and include a modest
gratuity. There
is a box at the SBA desk for those who wish to show further appreciation to the
employees.
Suites in Bayview and the Inn have a surcharge of
$25 per day,
in addition to all other charges, if occupied by fewer than three persons. Inn
suites are 116, 128, 130, 216, 228, and 230; Bayview suites are 1, 2, and 3.
People age 13 and older pay the adult rates and
can room with
another of the same age or older.
The Half-Conference rate is for those attending
from Sunday
7/30 to Wednesday 8/2
or
Wednesday 8/2 to Saturday 8/5. The Extra Day
rates are for those who wish to arrive on Saturday 7/29. Silver Bay does not
guarantee that you will be assigned to the same room on the extra day.
Clustering (staying in rooms that are close together) is
required of all parents/guardians/sponsors and the children they are
supervising.
Voluntary clustering is available for family groups or others
who wish to be housed together.
Send your registrations together in the same
envelope.
No one should go to Silver Bay without an advance
registration with New York Yearly Meeting and assurance from Silver Bay that
there is room for you.
Back to contents
ALL OFF-CAMPUS AND DAY REGISTRANTS MUST PAY A DAY USE FEE
TO SILVER BAY UPON FIRST ARRIVAL
Off-Campus and Day Registrants
Friends camping, commuting, or taking rooms off campus are
asked to give their addresses for the week on the registration form. Otherwise,
please supply this information when picking up the badges. Badges are required
for all attenders. Replacement charge for lost badges is $2.50.
People staying on campus pay for the use of
facilities through
their lodging costs;
those living off campus and daily commuters
pay for
the use of the facilities through an off-campus fee, paid when checking in at
Silver Bay.
The fees for the use of facilities are as follows:
|
|
Individual
|
|
$10 for one day*
|
|
|
Individual
|
|
$48 for the week*
|
|
|
Family
|
|
$114 for the week*
|
*Please add
$2
/person for name badge
Meal tickets for the Silver Bay dining room
can be
purchased at the Inn front desk in advance of desired meals. The cost per meal
is:
Breakfast $6.00
Lunch $8.00
Dinner $12.00
A special rate
may be obtained if meals are bought as a
"package," though
this can be done only on July 30, upon arrival.
These
package rates are:
Six breakfasts for $28.50
Six lunches for
$42.00
Six dinners for
$66.00
If you intend to buy meal tickets when you arrive
at Silver
Bay, please indicate this on your registration form.
A name badge must be worn and a meal ticket
purchased by anyone
staying off campus who wants to eat in the dining room.
REMINDER:
All Off-Campus Registrants Must Report to the Yearly Meeting Desk
AND the Silver Bay Registration Desk upon Arrival.
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There is no camping space available on-site at Silver Bay.
Campsites Friends have used in the past are listed here:
Wintergreen Lake Campsite,
Hague, NY 12836; 518-543-6571
or 518-543-7773. Four miles west of Hague, off Route 8, about 8 miles from
Silver Bay campus.
Green Acres Campsite,
Hague, NY 12836; 518-543-6645. 1/2
mile west of Hague on Route 8, about 4 1/2 miles from Silver Bay.
Brookwood Park,
Hague Road, 9N, Ticonderoga, NY 12883;
518-585-7113.
Rogers Rock Forest Preserve State Campground,
Ticonderoga, NY (for reservations, call 800-456-2267). Eight miles north of
Silver Bay on Route 9N.
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Silver Bay vicinity
(address: Hague, NY 12836):
Northern Lake George Resort
(518-543-6577)
Trout House Resort (518-543-6088)
Hague Motel (518-543-6631)
Ticonderoga vicinity (14 miles north)
(address: Ticonderoga, NY 12883):
Lord Howe Valley Motel (518-585-7454)
Green Acres Motel (518-585-2274)
Latchstring Motel (518-585-2875)
Circle Court Motel (518-585-7660)
Belfred Court Motel (518-585-7000)
Super 8 Motel (518-585-2617)
American International (518-585-7353)
Stone Wells Farm B&B (518-585-6324)
Early reservations are advised. You may wish to notify the
manager that you are attending the Yearly Meeting at Silver Bay so that you can
be near other Friends.
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Welcome young Friends and your parents/guardians to Junior
Yearly Meeting. Here are some basic things for everyone to remember:
When you arrive at Silver Bay
you must register first
with the Yearly Meeting, check in at Silver Bay, then register with JYM in the
JYM office in the basement of Morse Hall.
What do I do at JYM registration?
For each of the
children you are bringing to Yearly Meeting, you need to have your medical
information ready, including your child's relevant medical history and a record
of any allergies. You will receive a copy of the schedule for the week for each
group and will have to sign permission forms for each trip out of your child's
JYM space and for official group activities. The young person will have to sign
a rules agreement with a bedtime agreed to by both the parent and the young
Friend.
Where does my child go?
JYM goes by grade, not by age.
Each of our groups is based on the grade the young Friend will be attending in
the fall. The groups are: grades K-1 (preschool), grades 2-3, grades 4-5,
grades 6-7, grades 8-9, and senior high. Each of the groups meets in the same
location throughout the week. For the 0-4-years set, Silver Bay offers wonderful
childcare supplemented by the JYM staff and Friendly volunteers.
When does JYM meet?
The JYM program meets Monday through
Friday from 8:45
A.M.
to 12:15
P.M.
, with occasional trips throughout the week.
There will be an opportunity for JYMers to participate in intergenerational
group activities during late morning. Sign up will be at the JYM registration
desk. The Fun(d) Fair is considered a part of JYM and young Friends should count
on attending.
Are there other JYM-sponsored activities besides the group
meetings in the morning?
Sometimes official JYM group activities will take
place after our morning hours. The parent or guardian will have to sign a
permission slip for each event that takes place outside of the regular group
meeting time and location. In the afternoon, there is cooperative childcare with
JYM parents and JYM staff from 2:00 to 5:30 P.M. and from 7:00 to 10:00 P.M.
There are also informal activities such as swimming, movies, and shuffleboard.
How do I know where my child is during the day?
During
official JYM sessions they should be with their JYM group. Parents/guardians are
responsible for JYMers during non-JYM hours. We suggest that you have a regular
check-in time and location for the young Friend and the parent or guardian.
What about bedtimes?
The young Friend and the parent or
guardian should work out a reasonable bedtime so that the JYM participant can
actively take part in JYM activities in the morning. The young Friend will be
asked to sign a sheet of rules of conduct for JYM and NYYM, with a bedtime on
that sheet.
It is up to the parent or guardian to make sure that the young
Friend is in bed at the agreed upon time.
Who do I talk to if I want to volunteer or have
questions?
The Coordinators, Liseli Haines and Rose Lynn, are available
during the morning in the JYM office. You can also go to the clerk of the Junior
Yearly Meeting Committee, Deborah Dickinson, or the NYYM conference office in
the Inn. If you cannot find us and want to leave us a note, there is the message
board in the Inn for that purpose.
We love volunteer parents!
Liseli Haines and Rose Lynn
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One of the ways we've learned to care for one another in our
week with approximately 700 Quakers of all ages is to "cluster" in room
assignments. Clustering allows parents and children, sponsors or guardians, and
youth to room in proximity and be better able to check in and communicate
responsibly without trekking all over
campus.
It is vital that all registrations in one cluster
be sent in
the same envelope. Silver Bay staff is not able, with our large numbers, to
reshuffle for clustering accommodations, adding folks here and there.
Youth registrations (under 18 years) must be sent
in by the
parent or sponsor--together and as early as possible. Any youth
registrations sent independent of their
responsible adults will
be returned. Please read additional information on clustering on this page. If
you have any further questions call Helen Garay Toppins at 212-673-5750.
We look forward to seeing you at Silver Bay.
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A child under 18 years of age who wishes to attend Yearly
Meeting Sessions, but will have no parent or legal guardian present, is
required to have a sponsor. The Yearly Meeting sponsor is a
responsible adult who agrees to act in the role of parent during the child's
stay at Yearly Meeting. The sponsor should be designated by the parent or legal
guardian, must be at least 10 years older than the child, and must remain at
Yearly Meeting during the time the child is there.
The sponsor and the child should know each other
reasonably
well, and must request clustering near each other at the time of registration.
The sponsor must name on his/her registration form the child for whom s/he is
responsible. Parents, guardians, or sponsors are responsible for their junior
and senior high schoolers, as well as younger children.
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In response to concerns expressed by parents of preschool children, JYM has
established a morning program At Silver Bay. To supplement the Silver Bay staff
and program offered at the Woozle House, a JYM staff person will organize and
oversee volunteers from the NYYM community. Volunteers will be given resources
and support and will work to provide a Friendly presence and activities for the
youngest of our children. The only qualifications are love for young children,
a friendly lap, and helping hands. the rewards will come in the form of small
hugs, laughter, and song. The program will run Monday through Friday mornings
from 9:00
A.M.
to 12:15
P.M.
Friends are asked to consider giving half a
morning, during worship sharing or NYYM meeting for business, on as many days
as they wish. A full morning of service would also be appreciated.
Anyone who would like to give time or to have
more information is asked to contact the NYYM office at 212-673-5750.
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If you register early, staff members working with your group
will send you a letter explaining what you will be doing in your group and
listing certain things they think you may want to bring with you. We suggest
that everybody bring along:
-
a beach towel or blanket
-
a favorite book or two for quiet time
-
something warm to wear in the evening
-
a flashlight; rain gear; fan; alarm clock
-
a sense of humor
Also, Silver Bay has a little store where you can
buy drinks
and snacks. You might want to set aside some money to spend there.
In an effort to keep within our budget, we are
asking each
family to bring a
can/jar of juice or a healthy snack.
As a
community-outreach project, we also ask that each family bring
a
nonperishable food item for a local food pantry.
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Each child who registers will receive in the mail, along with a
welcoming letter from their group, a medical and agreement form. Please fill it
out completely and bring it (or send it with your child if [s]he is to be
sponsored by someone else) to JYM registration at Silver Bay.
Do not mail.
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How to Register:
-
Carefully fill out the registration form in this issue of
Spark
. Be sure to
-
provide the name of your parent(s), guardian, or sponsor
-
ask to be assigned to a room close to your parent(s),
guardian, or sponsor (this is called clustering)
-
mail your registration and that of your parent(s), guardian,
or sponsor together in the same envelope; don't forget to include a medical form
with the information requested under Medical Forms
-
When you arrive at Silver Bay, register with JYM. At that
time, you will have the opportunity to meet staff who will be working with your
age group.
The NYYM office sends copies of JYM registrations
(for all
youth from infants through high school)
to the JYM registrar as well as to
the Silver Bay registrar. For JYM and Silver Bay to have activities ready and
staffed, early registration is critical!
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Preserve the Spirit & Build for Tomorrow
Where can you go for one week each year, see old friends, and
feel like no time has passed since the last visit? Where can you go to have a
conversation with a stranger and somehow feel connected to that person? Where
can you go and know your children are safe even when you can't see them? Where
can a community be spiritually bonded when together or reflecting alone? The
answer is Silver Bay.
For 52 years, Silver Bay has been the home of the
New York
Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. Many lives have been touched
by their experience at Silver Bay. It is a special place.
Let's take a look at some of the other
communities Silver Bay
serves. Through its many outreach programs children and adults alike benefit.
Silver Bay provides below-cost daycare from two sites, serving the economically
challenged counties of Warren, Washington, and Essex in upstate New York. The
Silver Bay school bus (funded by a grant from the Early Childhood Investment
Fund) provides transportation for children who may not otherwise be able to
attend school. In 1998, Silver Camp was established to provide summer daycare
for the children enrolled in the Child Care Center and others who expressed an
interest. The program was so successful, it more than doubled last year.
The international program at Silver Bay hosts
15-25 students
from nearly a dozen countries each year, providing them a cultural experience in
a work and social environment during the summer months. Throughout the year,
Silver Bay provides scholarship assistance to international students pursuing
advanced academic studies.
These are just two illustrations of how Silver
Bay serves the
community, both locally and globally. Neither of these programs would be
available without the generous support of our donors.
The Marjory Hilliard Hodges Children's Pavilion
was built and
endowed completely (over $400,000) with funds contributed by those who believed
in its cause. And, the international scholarship is fully funded through private
donations. In fact, Silver Bay exists today because of the generosity of
individuals who believe in its mission. Silver Bay is not self-supporting. Its
entire operating budget and all capital expenses are covered through
tax-deductible donations
from its members and guests.
On August 3, 1998, Silver Bay launched the
largest capital
campaign in its history--the Silver Bay Centennial Campaign. The goal of
the campaign is to raise $7.5 million to make major improvements to the campus.
Some of the improvements are needed because the campus and its buildings are 100
years old (a new roof on the Inn, upgraded electrical systems, restored Paine
Hall, upgraded rooms in the Inn, etc.). Other improvements are state mandates
(water filtration system, new sewer system, handicapped accessibility, etc.).
And others are to help us better serve our guests and members (heated assembly
hall, improved athletic facilities, staff/community housing).
We have especially enjoyed our partnership with
the Friends in
addressing accessibility concerns. Committed to improving access to all aspects
of the Silver Bay experience for all who come and especially those
differentially abled for whom conventional facilities and services are a barrier
to the use and enjoyment of Silver Bay and its program. Virtually all the
improvements to the campus include accessibility components.
We are grateful for the opportunity to invite
you, as a member
of the NYYM and friend of Silver Bay, to participate in this campaign through a
generous gift of your own. Commitments in the form of a gift or pledge (payable
over the next five years), made by September 31, 2000, will count toward a
$600,000 challenge grant from the Kresge Foundation.
Thank you and enjoy your interest in this very
special place
called Silver Bay.
Mark Johnson, Executive Director
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Representative Meeting was held April 1-2, 2000, at the
Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua, New York, with Farmington-Scipio Regional
Meeting as host. A total of 164 Friends were in attendance. It was reported that
the Yearly Meeting Transition Fund provided financial assistance for 11 young
people and 2 adult advisers to attend.
Witness
Friends approved the following update of the description of the
work of the Prisons Committee for the Yearly Meeting
Handbook
as
presented by Marge Schlitt. Minute #16 regarding NYYM recognition of spiritual
advisors from April Representative Meeting appears below.
Victoria Cooley addressed the concerns of the
Prison Committee
to work within the guidelines of the Department of Correctional Services of the
State of New York in order to permit volunteers to continue to obtain access to
prisoners who desire our participation in their worship. Pursuant to her
discussion with officials of the department, she presented a proposal for
guidelines to be followed by local meetings in appointing prison spiritual
advisers. The meeting approved the proposed minute as follows:
|
New York Yearly Meeting asks monthly, quarterly, and regional
meetings to use the guidelines offered by the Yearly Meeting Prisons Committee
in seeking clearness to recognize prison spiritual advisors for the purpose of
visitation, pastoral support, and communication in the service of religious
fellowship.
|
|
A decision to recognize a Friend as a prison
spiritual advisor
for a three-year period (renewable) is to be made in a meeting for business of
the monthly, quarterly, or regional meeting. The
Friend should receive written confirmation of recognition, with a copy to the
YM. Recognition should be renewed only by decision of a business meeting of the
monthly, quarterly, or regional meeting.
|
The meeting approved that the Yearly Meeting Task
Group on the
Death Penalty be listed as a sponsor of the New York State Conference on the
Death penalty to be held in Binghamton in April.
Karen Reixach (Rochester) reported on Rosa
Packard's tax
witness. Rosa's petition for certiorari, as well as the Yearly Meeting's amicus
brief have been submitted to the United State Supreme Court. (See
related
article
in this issue.)
Nurture
A report of the current use of NYYM's Web site was presented by
Jens Braun (Old Chatham). He also presented a recommendation to expand the
current postings under the care of an oversight group. The oversight group would
be composed of the clerks or designated representatives of Witness Coordinating
Committee, Nurture Coordinating Committee, Advancement Committee, Personnel
Committee, Coordinating Committee for Ministry and Counsel and Publications
Committee; the oversight group would be part of the General Services Section.
Its responsibilities would be:
-
To evaluate and to decide on content appropriate for Web site
posting.
-
To create and to set guidelines for updating and keeping the
Web site current and to monitor implementation of these guidelines.
-
To provide Yearly Meeting staff with parameters for Web site
use and guidance on inclusion/exclusion of materials.
-
To work with the Web programmer on design of the Web site to
best serve target audiences.
Friends approved.
Karen Reixach reported that Witness Coordinating
Committee has
developed a Support of Leadings reference list to be a part of the Yearly
Meeting Web site. Friends approved posting this material on the Web site
immediately.
Background concerning the Yearly Meeting's
relationship with
Friends World Program was given by Margallen Fichter (Albany). Minute 30 of the
December 1997 Representative Meeting records that a one-time appointment of 5
representatives was made to the Board of Overseers. It was indicated that
further appointments would require a new decision. After consideration of
whether or not to reappoint representatives for another 3-year term, the
following approach was approved:
Some Friends wish to support and strengthen the
Quaker
character of Friends World Program at Long Island University; some are not
comfortable with the current form of the relationship between New York Yearly
Meeting and Long Island University. The Friends named in minute 30 of December
6-7, 1997, are therefore asked to consult with Friends World Program, Long
Island University, and other appropriate persons (including members of NYYM), so
as to bring forward a proposal for an arrangement that might serve more
effectively to enhance and maintain Quaker characteristics of Friends World
Program, and to report to Nurture Coordinating Committee as way opens.
General Services
Mary Williams (Bulls Head-Oswego), Yearly Meeting Treasurer,
reported that during 1999, 96% of budgeted income was received as against 97% of
budgeted expenditures being made.
Clerk of the Sessions Committee, Dawn DiGiovanni
(Rochester),
gave a preview of events and changes in program for the 2000 Yearly Meeting
sessions. The major part of this issue of
Spark
will more fully explore
what can be July 30-August 5 at Silver Bay.
Joseph Vlaskamp
Brooklyn Meeting
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When we become Friends, we don't just join a Meeting, we join a
Quarter or Region, a Yearly Meeting, FGC/FUM, FWCC, AFSC, FCNL, FCUN, AVP, and
so on. We load our schedules with committee meetings, we fill our summers with
Quaker gatherings (this summer it will be easy to go to
at least
three), we fill our evenings and weekends with Friends' events. Many of us are
caught in the Quaker push to do something, be active, be a voice. And often, we
begin to drag. We ask why more people aren't doing their part: "If everyone just
did a little bit... This is so important, why don't others see it?"
So now this talk of Jubilee in our Yearly
Meeting. Stop
working, let go, forgive, come home, set free, build relationships: These are
the injunctions we hear. And as we listen, our dilemma in pursuing our
testimonies of integrity and peace while simultaneously pursuing our testimony
of simplicity is highlighted. There is a seeming disconnect between the
activeness of trying to make the world a better place, which flows from the
testimonies on integrity and peace, and the letting go and single-mindedness of
focus called for by the testimony of simplicity. To promote the Truth, to work
for peace, we fill our plates with issues and injustices, we recognize the
complexity of the world and speak of the need to approach it simply. Too often,
unfortunately, simplicity is left behind as there seems to be no responsible yet
uncomplicated way to accomplish those valiant tasks we have undertaken. What
happens? We do good work but we frazzle, we burn out. Our physical health is
sometimes affected.
One value of Jubilee is that it allows us to ask
again the
questions of why are we here and why are we doing what we do. Does our busyness
deepen our relationship to the Divine, to our families, and to f/Friends? Thomas
Merton wrote:
|
The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the
most common form, of its innate violence. To allow oneself to be carried away by
a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender oneself to too many demands,
to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything
is to succumb to violence. More than that it is cooperation in violence. The
frenzy of the activist neutralizes her work for peace. It destroys his own inner
capacity for peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of her/his own work, because it
kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.
|
If we are feeling singed around the edges,
perhaps we simply
are not on the right path. Let us indeed set aside time for Jubilee. May we
relearn that Spirit-led lives are not a source of burnout but rather a source
of energy, invigoration, power, and nurturing of those
relationships which truly (and again simply) are most important. For it is while
engaging in relationships that fundamental changes most often occur.
Jens Braun
Old Chatham Meeting
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|
Look, my dear Friends, to divine providence, and follow in
simplicity that exercise of body, that plainness and frugality, which true
wisdom leads to; so may you be preserved from those dangers which attend such
who are aiming at outward ease and greatness.
John Woolman
|
Back to contents
On Monday afternoon at Silver Bay, Margaret Hope Bacon will be
available to sign her latest book,
Abby Hopper Gibbons: Prison Reformer and
Social Activist.
Abigail lived from 1801 to 1893. During the Civil War, she
served as a nurse and protected escaping slaves. She was born a Quaker but
resigned from NYYM after her father, Isaac Hopper, was disowned by the Meeting
for advocating the abolition of slavery. It would be very interesting to know
more about that, wouldn't it?
Dawn DiGiovanni, Rochester Monthly Meeting
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The
Annual Meeting at the Historic Oblong Meeting House
will take place on July 9, 2000, at 3:00 P.M.. The Meeting House is located on
Meeting House Road, Quaker Hill, Pawling, NY. For directions and further
information please contact Housatonic Monthly Meeting at 860-354-1346, or Ann
Schillinger at 860-672-6862.
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Artquake,
the New York City Friends art festival, will
take place on June 4 from noon to 4:00 P.M. at Fifteenth Street Meetinghouse.
Contact Louise Wolf if you wish to
exhibit; Josh
Ehrlich if you wish to perform; and Stefan
Killen, clerk, for general information.
All Friends, NYC or not, are invited to attend
and to
participate.
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Fifteenth Street Friends
will hold a
Vigil for Peace and
Nonviolence
on Sundays May l4 and May 28 from 1 to 2 P.M. at Washington
Square Arch. I consider it a Meeting for Worship with a concern for peace. The
Ministry and Worship committee has volunteered to take it under its care. All
Friends are welcome. If anyone wants to invite other interested persons, they
are also welcome, of course. For further information, contact Margery Cornwell
c/o the New York Yearly Meeting office.
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The
13th Annual Biennial Conference of Quaker Historians and
Archivists
will take place June 23-25, 2000, at Earlham College, Richmond,
IN. Presentations will include a wide range of Quaker biography and history
topics based on archives of the Religious Society of Friends since the 1660s.
Quakers have played significant roles in women's and Native American rights, the
antislavery movement, education, world pacifism, and economic development.
Information and registration materials are
available from
Joelle Bertolet, Friends Historical Association, Haverford College, 370
Lancaster Avenue, Haverford PA 19041; fha@haverford.edu, or visit our Web site
at
www.haverford.edu/library/fha/fha.html
. The Conference of Quaker Historians
and Archivists is a chapter of Friends Historical Association.
The Friends Association for Higher Education and
the Friends
Council on Education will be holding meetings at the same time.
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The
Annual Open House at The McCutchen,
the Yearly
Meeting Friends Home, is to occur on Sunday, June 4, 2000, in the afternoon.
We shall have an array of refreshments, including
some homemade
cake and cookies, tea, coffee, and fruit punch.
If you have been at The McCutchen before, you
know how
beautiful it is with magnificent gardens. If you haven't been here, then it's
high time you made the trip so you can see for yourself how delightful it is. We
invite you to come, meet with our residents, and visit with other Friends who
have also come.
We hope for a clear, balmy day, but if it should
rain our roof
is secure and you would have a great time indoors with all of the beautiful
rooms and delightful company. Please do come and help us make this annual event
a great joy.
Charles Varian, Rahway-Plainfield Monthly Meeting
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Peter F. Baily, currently Interim Head of School at The Quaker
School at Horsham, will become the new
Head of School at Oakwood Friends
on July 1, 2000. He succeeds Lila Gordon, who is retiring on June 30 after eight
years of dedicated service.
In addition to his experience at Horsham, Baily
served seven
years as Head of School at Oak Lane Day School in Blue Bell, PA. He is familiar
with Friends process and values, having attended Germantown Friends School and
Earlham College, and having served as Head of Horsham. He has also been an
English teacher, a department head, and an administrator with a solid record of
increasing enrollment and philanthropic support. He is a man of great energy, a
team builder, a good communicator, and a wise decisionmaker.
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In January
Spark
(p. 6) we wrote an article about
Peter Stuyvesant,
referring to the governor's efforts to suppress early
Quakers in New Netherlands. Joy Weaver of Conscience Bay Meeting has informed us
that some statements concerning John Bowne in the introductory paragraph
are not correct. We take this opportunity to thank her and to publish a more
accurate report of John Bowne's encounter with the governor.
John Bowne did not sign the Remonstrance written
by other
inhabitants of Flushing in 1657, a document considered by historians to be the
first defense of religious freedom in America. However, Bowne permitted Friends
to hold meetings for worship at his home in Flushing, an act considered
seditious by Governor Stuyvesant.
In 1662 he was arrested, fined, and jailed for refusal to pay the fine.
Subsequently, Bowne was released on condition that he leave New Netherlands. He
traveled to old Netherlands where he appealed his conviction to the States
General, a higher governmental authority, which did not uphold the governor's
action and Bowne was free to return to his home.
Interested Friends are referred to the further
account of these
matters written by Arthur Worrall and Hugh Barbour in the Yearly Meeting
history
Quaker Crosscurrents
, Syracuse University Press, 1995, pp.9-10.
John Brush and Caroline Vlaskamp, Coclerks, Records
Committee
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The Youth Service Opportunities Project (YSOP) is an
independent Friends organization that engages 1,700 youth volunteers a year to
help hungry and homeless people. YSOP has been organizing "days of service,"
along with overnight and weeklong workcamps, since 1983. Each year, many Friends
schools and local meeting youth groups participate in YSOP service
opportunities.
On June 3, 2000, YSOP will sponsor an
International Quaker
Service Day for students on a weeklong educational program in New York City, run
by the Quaker UN Office. On the service day participants will serve in soup
kitchens and clothing banks throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn.
For more information about YSOP programs or a
copy of its
recent newsletter, write to 15 Rutherford Place, New York NY 10003;
212-598-0973;
ysopnyc@aol.com
.
Sara Solomon, Americorps* VISTA
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The 2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial
Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance will be held in South Africa.
Preparatory meetings for the conference begin this May in Geneva. Staff of the
Quaker UN office in New York will be attending the proceedings, along with staff
from AFSC and partner organizations from Latin America. A concise report of the
proceedings will be available at the end of May, and a follow-up article to this
one will be submitted to
Spark
.
A QUNO briefing paper describing the historical
and
contemporary work of the UN on Racism will be available in print and on the Web
in May.
The African-American Community Empowerment
Program of the Great
Lakes Region of AFSC has begun a series of five "Listening Projects," dialogues
with people experiencing racism in the midwestern US. This information will be
compiled into a report, and then disseminated to the US government and to the UN
for the 2001 conference.
For those in the United States who would like to
support the
conference, a call can be made to the White House Comment line at (202)
456-1111.
For more information, contact the Quaker United
Nations Office
at (212) 682-2745;
www.quno.org
.
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People from around the world are visiting the NYYM Web site.
April's Representative Meeting approved a management proposal for the site. A
committee or oversight group is being set up, under General Services, to oversee
the Web site. The group is to be composed of the clerks or designated
representatives of Witness, Nurture, and Advancement Coordinating Committees and
the Personnel, Ministry and Counsel, and Publications Committees. The group is
responsible for evaluating and deciding on appropriate content; creating and
setting guidelines for updating; monitoring the implementation of the
guidelines; providing YM staff with parameters; and working with the Web
programmer on design concerns to best serve target audiences.
Everyone concerned with the site is committed to
ensuring that
people without Web access will not be left out. Everything on the site must also
be available in printed form. The design is set up to make the Web site readable
by a wide variety of computers and browsers, including out-of-date hardware and
software.
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We have a message the world wants to hear. We have an approach
that heals. We have a powerful and widespread witness. We have a tradition to
back us up. Then why is the Religious Society of Friends struggling to maintain
its membership? These topics will be discussed at the
Powell House weekend
Why Can't They Find Us? September 22-24, 2000.
This weekend is for Friends who are overt about
letting our
lights shine, meeting and quarterly/regional advancement and outreach
committees, and any other Friends-on-fire who want to look at how we Quakers can
better share our message with people in all walks of life.
Advancement Committee
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Zack Nelson, of Poplar Ridge Meeting, has recently finished two
years of Peace Corps service in Janakpur, Nepal. Zack's original assignment was
in the area of occupational training for youth, but when this project showed
signs of slow progress, he investigated other needs and possibilities in
Janakpur, a small city of about 30,000 in the southeast part of the country.
This led to teaching fifth- and sixth-grade classes at a local school--both
grades shared one overcrowded room. There was, however, already a slab laid at
the end of the building and rebar protruding from the wall: when the school
was built money had run short and construction was never completed. Zack
requested financial help from Poplar Ridge Meeting, which was approved.
Additional donations came from others in the community. The Janakpur school
itself contributed as well.
Construction began in fall 1999 on the additional
room. The
work was done by a local contractor and labor. The funding also covered new
desks, handmade. Zack described the room as follows: "It is 20 by 13 feet with a
7-foot veranda on the front. The room is totally constructed from brick. The
roof is reinforced concrete with a beam running across the middle of the room.
There is no pitch to the roof. The windows have horizontal bars and no glass.
Shutters and doors are put in at the end of construction. There is no
electricity at the school, but we put a tube through in the cement so in the
future it can be easily wired." Zack served as coordinator for the project, from
finances to arranging to borrow the municipality's one tractor to haul the
brick. A finishing touch was a world map Zack painted on the wall of the
classroom.
On February 4, 2000, a dedication ceremony took
place, attended
by local Nepali officials, the director of the Peace Corps in Nepal, and the
U.S. ambassador. In a letter, Zack described the ceremony: "After their
speeches, the ambassador, the PC director, and I cut the ribbon at the door and
inspected the room. It looked nice with the map on the back wall and new desks.
For some reason we put the ribbon cutting in the middle of the program. Next was
the children doing a Nepali dance and the Hokey Pokey (to represent American
culture); both were fun. Then I gave my speech. I thanked everyone who helped
and made special note of the headmistress, the municipality, school board, and
the contractor. Then I told the
kids how much I enjoyed working with them. Then I quoted JFK about doing what
you can for your country and told them to act on it. Then I thanked everyone for
two good years." There is a plaque on the new room that reads, A
PEACE CORPS PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM FUNDED BY POPLAR RIDGE FRIENDS MEETING.
Back to contents
Powell House is still in need of a full-time person or couple
to act as youth director. For information contact Ann Davidson, Powell House,
524 Pitt Hall Rd., Old Chatham NY 12136; 518-794-331;
powellhse@aol.com
.
Back to contents
On April 17, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the
war-tax-resistance case of Rosa Packard, a member of Purchase Monthly Meeting.
who has challenged the authority of the Internal Revenue Service to penalize her
for her religiously based nonpayment of federal income taxes. For the last 18
years, when Packard has filed her income tax return, she has notified the
Internal Revenue Service that her core religious beliefs prevent her from paying
a tax if any part of the money collected from her is used to fund war or
preparation for war. Every year she has placed the full amount of her taxes in
trust for the government in an escrow account maintained by Purchase Quarterly
Meeting.
In 1998 Packard requested that the federal
government waive the
discretionary penalties imposed by the IRS for late payment and failure to pay
estimated taxes. Packard appealed the lower courts' dismissal of this request to
the Supreme Court for two reasons: First, contrary to the findings of the lower
courts, the government--not the taxpayer--bears the burden of proof in a case
involving an infringement of free exercise of religion. Second, the lower courts
should have required the IRS to prove that the tax system could not accommodate
her religious practice when it accommodates other people's individual,
nonreligious reasons for failure to pay taxes.
At various stages of this witness, Packard asked
Purchase
Monthly Meeting for a clearness committee to help her test her conscience.
Purchase Monthly Meeting has formally recorded its support on several occasions,
as has the Quarterly Meeting and NYYM.
The Yearly Meeting approved filing an amicus
curiae
(friend-of-the-cour) brief when the case was dismissed in the district court
and appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. After the Second Circuit
dismissed the case, the Yearly Meeting authorized a second amicus brief in
support of the petition for the case to be considered by the Supreme Court.
Packard v. United States of America
is the third case brought
by Quaker plaintiffs under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and the
Free Exercise Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Cases dismissed by the Supreme
Court earlier this year included another Second Circuit case brought by Edith
and Gordon Browne, Quakers from New Hampshire, and a Third Circuit case brought
by Priscilla Lippincott Adams of Willingboro, New Jersey. In all three cases the
government argued that were these cases to succeed, they would open the
floodgates for tax resisters. But as Henry Elkins, clerk of Purchase Quarter,
points out, "The government allows a host of exemptions, exceptions, and
write-offs for all sorts of purposes. The government could waive the penalties
for people like Rosa Packard. Refusal to do so places the Internal Revenue
Service in the position of being exempt from RFRA and the First Amendment."
With the avenue of the courts closed by these
cases, the
efforts turn to Congress. Last year Representative John Lewis, D-GA, introduced
the Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund Bill in the House of Representatives with
23 cosponsors. John Randall, the NYYM representative to the National Campaign
for a Peace Tax Fund, said, "Rosa Packard and other conscientious objectors
cannot voluntarily pay taxes unless they can be assured that their monies do not
go for war. The Peace Tax Fund is a simple solution that would respect the free
exercise of religion by these people, as it would direct that their taxes be
used for nonmilitary purposes." NYYM has endorsed the Peace Tax Fund.
Back to contents
Representative Meeting at Chautauqua was an opportunity to
renew old friendships, make some new ones, and get a glimpse of the YM
committees girding themselves for Silver Bay in the summer. The welcome from
young Friends who offered help in getting bags to our rooms, and took part in
committee meetings, was especially appreciated. The 8-hour drive from New
Brunswick, NJ, underlined Newton Garver's comment on Friday evening that one
definition of a Yearly Meeting is a geographic collection of monthly meetings.
Although the Big Apple may be home to central office, it is certainly not the
geographic center. Clearly everything we can do to minimize the effect of the
geographic distances between us will help us meet our common objectives. The Ad
Hoc Committee on the Function of NYYM has much work left to do, but we hope that
it will make sure that its planning looks far enough ahead that we can work
steadily over time to implement the changes that are surely necessary. The
annual meeting in Silver Bay is certainly unique among Friends, but we must ask
how well it serves the needs of those of us who rarely if ever go. Our own
Shrewsbury-Plainfield Half-Yearly Meeting, held the following weekend, reminded
us that our local concerns are vital and must be nurtured.
Early Saturday morning a glimpse of the massed
tufted ducks,
scaup, and a solitary harlequin duck on Lake Chautauqua were part rewards of a
walk along the shore before breakfast. Sessions committee, including many
visiting Friends, struggled hard to craft a revised YM program that would
satisfy most Friends and would require much committee meeting business to be
done ahead of time rather than at Silver Bay. The first meeting for business on
Saturday afternoon revealed, in a discussion of the YM Web site, that nearly all
of those present had access to the Internet. Those who did not were reassured
that they will still get letters and paper copies of notices from the YM office.
At this meeting, as at the meeting on Friday evening, Friends were at times
asked to sit in silence and to speak their concerns from the silence. The
Coordinating Committee on Ministry and Counsel considered the state of meeting
reports and a synthesis that will be presented to YM in due course. We wish they
could have spent more time in discussing how to reach those meetings that do not
respond. On Saturday evening we heard a most thoughtful and stimulating
discussion of violence by Barry Gann, a philosopher from Saint Bonaventure
University. The mental violence we cause, often without thought, leaves scars
that can be far more crippling than those caused by physical violence.
On Sunday morning we had to leave after breakfast
before the
meeting ended. We felt refreshed and renewed. Chautauqua was a rewarding
experience.
Sue and Peter Day, New Brunswick Monthly Meeting
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Rochester Meetinghouse, January 28-29, 2000
Minute 33: Amid the joyous sounds of Rochester's young Friends
gathering, we met at 5:30 to share supper. We began preliminary discussions at
6:30
P.M.
as we waited for the final arrivals from the train, which was late.
Minute 34: Friends agreed to append to the
committee's minutes
as "working papers" documents that committee members have prepared and brought
to committee meetings.
Minute 35: Minute 10, item 4 should be corrected
by substituting
"appointments" for "contracts." The full sentence now reads, "The field
secretary appointments will not be renewed in the year 2000."
Minute 36: The committee convened at 8:00 P.M.
with seven
members present: Newton Garver, Maurice Coleman, Ann Davidson, Margellan
Fichter, Spee Braun, Nadine Hoover, and Mary Williams. Regrets were received
from Jim Oltman.
Minute 37: The committee reviewed and agreed to
the agenda and
the schedule. We went around and shared good things that have happened to us
recently.
Minute 38: We closed at 9:30
P.M.
and reconvened at 8:00
A.M.
on
1/29/00. We shared in small groups and as a whole on the mission and function of
yearly meeting and brainstormed ways to achieve the mission (although we did not
settle on any one mission statement at this time). We then discussed the renewal
committee recommendations, our sense of the implementation of the
recommendations, and reflections on the Ad Hoc Committee on Staff Structure.
Notes of this session are appended as a working
paper.
Minute 39: We discussed who would be available to
visit
quarterly, regional, and monthly meetings. The clerk will contact the quarterly
and regional meetings about our plans and help to coordinate who will go where.
Committee members will arrange their own monthly meeting visits but keep the
clerk informed about their plans.
Minute 40: Newton Garver, clerk, reported on his
conversations
with the clerk of New York Yearly Meeting, Vicki Cooley, regarding Minute 28:
"The Committee will continue to respond to monthly meeting requests for
visitation. We believe, however, that it might be useful to give up our
intention of visiting every monthly meeting in order to present a more timely
plan to the Yearly Meeting. The clerk will seek the advise of the Clerk of
Yearly Meeting on this revised plan."
Vicki Cooley encouraged us not to overly focus
our visits on
quarterly, regional, or Yearly Meeting gatherings. Bearing in mind that a
significant part of the Yearly Meeting consists of Friends who do not attend
these larger gatherings, the Committee should visit a good number of monthly
meetings. It was probably never entirely realistic to visit all monthly
meetings. Special attention should be given to visiting monthly meetings in New
Jersey and those meetings whose members participate little or not at all in
larger gatherings.
Minute 41: The committee will meet again at 9:00
A.M.
on 3/31/00
at Representative Meeting prior to the evening session from 7:30 - 9:30
P.M.
dedicated to concerns of our Committee.
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Shirley Way, a member of Morningside Monthly Meeting and a
resident student at Pendle Hill, is feeling called to peacework in Chiapas, the
southernmost state of Mexico. Chiapas borders Guatemala, and its history is very
similar to that of Guatemala. The indigenous people's struggle for autonomy is
met with oppression in the form of imprisonment, torture, and rape by Mexican
army personnel and massacres by paramilitary groups that work closely with the
army.
In August of 1997, Shirley was one of four who
were led to
Chiapas by Elaine Chamberlain of Buffalo Monthly Meeting. The group went under
the care of New York Yearly Meeting. On July 13, 2000, she will return for two
weeks, this time as part of a Christian Peacemaker Teams delegation. In late
July, she will travel by bus to Xelaju (Quetzaltenango), Guatemala, to study
Spanish and learn more of the various indigenous cultures. She also hopes to
volunteer with the school's reforestation project. In early October, she plans
to return to Chiapas to work with CPT until the end of the year.
Christian Peacemaker Teams
are supported by Friends United
Meeting, the Mennonites, and the Church of the Brethren. In Chiapas, the peace
team accompanies indigenous groups who are working for peace and are therefore
threatened. The peace team also organizes and participates in nonviolent direct
action such as prayer vigils in public spaces and pilgrimages to military
installation sites.
Shirley is spiritually supported in this work by
her extended
family, by Morningside Monthly Meeting as a whole and her support group in
particular, by individuals at Friends Peace Teams Project as well as the
organization as a whole, and by individuals of NYYM as well as entire
committees. At this writing, she has received
financial support for this work from the Elise Boulding Fund for Peace Team Work
of Friends Peace Teams Project, from the Latin American Concerns Committee of
NYYM, and from individuals. Those who wish to offer support of any type can
contact her.
Rosa Packard, NYYM Friends Peace Teams Project
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What do Quaker House and the UN have in common? They are both
places where the seeds are sown; at Quaker House, we sow "seeds of peace" during
our meetings with diplomats and NGOs, and we sow actual seeds outside in the
garden, where they produce flowers and plants to provide an atmosphere of peace.
We would like to undertake a project in the
garden at Quaker
House--the creation of a mosaic tile wall. QUNO would like this wall to be
a collaborative project with Quakers all over the world; to that end, we are
requesting that meetings and/or individuals send a small tile or shard to QUNO,
where they will be arranged in a pattern that would then represent the worldwide
body of Friends. A guide will be created so that future generations will know
where each of the tiles has come from. Please send your tile to Lori Heninger,
Quaker United Nations Office, 777 UN Plaza, New York NY 10017.
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|
The Nurture Section includes six committees, three
separately incorporated Yearly Meeting institutions, and representatives to
wider Quaker bodies, all of which are concerned with advancement of Friends'
principles, with education, and with the provision of nurturing services within
the Yearly Meeting. (NYYM
Handbook
)
|
We are blessed with strong support from NYYM Friends. Powell
House continues to add Friends who have found Powell House a good place to get
away to for quiet, for nurturing their spiritual lives, or celebrating community
with their meetings.
We continue to offer weekends that reach the
needs of Friends.
Our recent conferences dealing with intentional community, parents talking to
their children about God, care giving and receiving were all enthusiastically
received. These programs are in keeping with the strategic goals that were
approved by the Powell House Committee last year:
-
to make the Powell House experience available to more people
each year
-
to reach out and offer pathways for Friends entering new stages of life
-
to increase Friends' understanding and awareness of Quakerism, both
intellectually and experientially
-
to develop and offer resources for Friends in interpersonal relations,
decisionmaking, and conflict resolution
-
to expand the financial resources to provide for greater numbers of people and
for new programs
These five goals have given us a firm direction
to move in, and
we look forward to offering weekends and week-long experiences. This June, small
meetings and worship groups are invited to participate in Growing the Blessed
Community. The first weekend of June will focus on Healing as Quaker Faith and
Practice. We continue to welcome monthly meetings and committees who wish to use
Powell House for their meetings. Bill's bread is gaining in popularity and is a
good perk for those who come here.
Ann Davidson, Executive Director, Powell House
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During the last year the Women's Concerns Committee has been
struggling to define its role. An attempt to recruit new and younger committee
members has been largely unsuccessful. The committee has had little business,
other than the women's weekend and worship sharing at Silver Bay. The committee
members are conflicted. Certainly the problems of domestic violence and sexual
harassment still exist and aren't being addressed with consistency in other
areas of NYYM. The need for some structure to address women's concerns seems
apparent as does some formal body to plan the women's weekend and women's
worship sharing. However, we are unsure whether some other type of structure
might not be more appropriate. At Representative Meeting, the committee decided
to join in the spirit of the Jubilee Year and suspend all activities except the
women's weekend and the worship sharing and ice cream social at Silver Bay.
Interest groups and activities will be spontaneous and planned by individuals.
We hope that out of prayer and meditation the way will open. We will meet
formally at the women's weekend April 28-30. Feedback and suggestions are
welcome.
Elinor Yahm, Clerk, Women's Concerns Committee
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One of the charges of our Task Group on Friends and Creation
(ref.
Faith and Practice
, p. 43) for this year has been to encourage
other monthly meetings to follow Morningside's lead and develop a minute on
living in unity with nature. With sensitivity to their particular bioregion, but
mostly incorporating globally applicable considerations, Stamford-Greenwich
Meeting has responded tenderly and magnificently. Here is the minute on living
in unity with nature that came of the worship and work of those Friends in
Connecticut:
As members of the Religious Society of Friends living in
suburban Connecticut, we understand that our well-being depends on the
well-being of the Earth as a living community. We are privileged to live in a
suburban area built by human hands, but still largely including expanses of land
unspoiled by human endeavors. Although we are frequently caught up in the drama
of human struggles and joys throughout the world, it is important that we try to
remain connected to our roots in the natural world. Nature speaks to us through
beautiful beaches, rivers, trees, winds, sun, snow and rain.
Yet we know that without our care for the gifts
of nature, they
will one day be lost to us. We recognize the importance of a consciousness of
our interdependence with the natural world. Starting with ourselves as aspects
of nature in our suburban environment, we express our wonderment, love and
respect in ways that include:
-
finding joy and fulfillment in love and work instead of
unnecessary consumption of goods and resources
-
joining with other religious faiths to honor and promote our
interdependence with the earth
-
supporting the work of individuals nurturing the trees and
plants growing in public places
-
encouraging eco-awareness in our own first-day school,
business and educational institutions
-
becoming aware of how ecology and social justice are related
and seeing the connections between Friends in Unity with Nature and our Peace
Committee
-
recognizing that population growth has a significant impact on
our environment
-
supporting current programs that protect the ecosystem of the
Sound and evaluate carefully any changes that are proposed along its shoreline
-
becoming conscious of our diets and how they affect the planet
-
reusing/recycling materials whenever appropriate; using
resources such as gas, water, electricity and paper sparingly
-
supporting our local government when environmental solutions
are proposed
Taking actions such as these brings us into unity
with nature
and enriches the lives of all on the planet. To show our love for nature
wherever we may live is to deepen our connection with God and the cosmos.
|
Friends and Creation congratulates
Stamford-Greenwich Friends
and welcomes other meetings to create their own minutes in a worshipful way,
reflective of their homes. What canst thou say? If you would like assistance in
this good work, feel free to call upon Jaime Contois, Ty Griese, Irma
Guthrie, or any other member of the task group. We would love to
hear of your progress in this timely expression of our faith.
After approving Morningside's minute on Living in
Unity with
Nature, Housatonic Monthly Meeting sent a note encouraging the Nurture
Coordinating Committee to develop another minute on this topic that would speak
to a broader audience, so that it could be brought to and embraced by our entire
New York Yearly Meeting. Hear, hear!
Ty Griese and Jaime Contois, Coclerks, Task Group on Friends
and Creation
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The New York State Community of Churches is the successor to the New York State
Council of Churches, the association of "mainline" protestant
denominations. Its structure is explained in a report by Carol Holmes on page 64
of the 1999
Yearbook
of New York Yearly Meeting. In July of 1999 NYYM
asked the clerk to attend meetings of the Collegium for this year (minute 68).
The Collegium is the managing governance body of the Community of Churches,
composed of the bishops or executives of the judicatories (dioceses). The active
members are men from the Presbyterian, Lutheran, Episcopal, and Reform Church of
America denominations and one woman who is a Methodist bishop.
Rather more than the usual eight persons turned
out for a
meeting with the governor and his staff in February. The Collegium has been
preoccupied with internal business affairs, but for this meeting several hours
were devoted to staff briefings on prison chaplaincy and program issues, as well
as campaign finance reform. The meeting at the governor's office included a
dozen of his staff; I was able to have an informal exchange with Commissioner
Glenn Goord about Friends worship groups in New York State prisons.
The Community of Churches has not succeeded in
implementing its
new structure, and it has yet to hold one of the statewide gatherings of the
"household of Christians" anticipated as bringing life and openness to the body.
Quaker participation in the Collegium seems worth continuing at this time,
especially in light of strong involvement in prison issues. The Nurture
Coordinating Committee plans to propose that the Nominating Committee bring
forward a name for a Collegium representative from among the former clerks of
the Yearly Meeting, to serve for a term of three years, renewable for maximum
service of six years.
Vicki Cooley, Clerk, New York Yearly Meeting
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NYYM is a constituent yearly meeting of
Friends United Meeting
(FUM) just as we are a member of
Friends General Conference
(FGC). Historically,
FUM was composed of USA yearly meetings who considered themselves "orthodox" or
"gurneyite" in their theology. Today FUM is an international body with yearly
meetings in East Africa, Palestine, Cuba, Jamaica, Canada, and USA. The majority
of the monthly meetings within FUM are programmed. East African Friends far
outnumber those of us in North America.
At the February 2000 General Board session held
in Richmond,
IN, we agreed on three major areas of focus for FUM. These are: World Missions,
Yearly Meeting Relations, and Communication/Publication. One of the things that
I appreciate about Friends in FUM is the balancing between the inward and
outward journey of faith; between worship and ministry, witness and service.
You'll find FUM-supported field staff working as
doctors in a
hospital at Lugulu or starting a health clinic in Samburu, Kenya. There are
Friends led to teach at the Friends Schools in Ramallah, Palestine, or to direct
the Friends Boys School in Belize. There are staff helping to prepare men and
women for the ministry at Friends Theological College in the western providence
of Kenya. Highgate, Jamaica, is the location of the Lyndale Girls Home and the
Swift Purscell Boys Home. Faith into action.
Quaker Life
magazine and FUM Press are instruments of
communication for Friends. Articles and books on a variety of topics help to
nurture and challenge our spiritual growth as well as inform us about service
opportunities.
A consultant and non-Friend identified what FUM
stands for as
far as she is concerned, encouraging those of us at General Boards to get the
word out that Friends have a message to be shared and a Light to be seen. She
said it in four words: Simple Faith--Radical Witness.
May it be so.
Ann Davidson, FUM rep
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The representatives to the Friends World Program at Long Island
University have attended and participated in the meetings of the Council of
Overseers this year. Friends World Program has had no operating deficit in
academic 1999-2000. The fall enrollment was 242 students; the spring enrollment
is 229 students. A search is being carried out for a location for a new Africa
center, looking at the entire continent and not limiting the consideration to
East Africa. A location is sought where students will need to learn an African
language rather than French or Portuguese. A traveling program similar to
Comparative Religion is being developed that will consider business ethics in a
global context. The FWP deserves the attention of more Quaker students.
Alice Gilbert, Convener, NYYM Representatives
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Members of the Advancement Committee have been taking the time
to step back and consider our role in the Yearly Meeting. As part of this
process the clerk began with some thoughts for the committee to use as a
springboard for their own comments. At Representative Meeting in Chautauqua, the
committee felt it would be good to share these thoughts with the others in the
Yearly Meeting:
1.
Why are we here/why are we doing this?
I would suggest
that good answers to these questions should be readily available in all our
work, and these answers should point toward the Divine. Can we examine all our
present activities under the spotlight of these questions and arrange our
priorities accordingly? Do we allow our committee meetings and fellow committee
members to enter a process of corporate discernment?
2.
Action from leadings:
There are specific
administrative duties that are part of every committee's work. Too often we
spend much time on these and little time on anything else that could be
considered "larger picture" issues. Could we organize ourselves to allow just
two or three of us to do the administrative roles (perhaps with simple reports
to the larger committee), while the rest of us listen for leadings and ensure
that our activities are an organic growth emanating out of our worship? I think
the best way for us to work, as a far- flung organization of Quakers, is through
encouraging individual initiatives and leadings and supporting these after a
process of group discernment. When leadings and initiative subside, it is time
to release the activity.
3.
One thing:
What if we encouraged, as part of our
testimony on simplicity, that Friends let go of all Quaker work except one
(okay, maybe two) thing(s)? Would we be strengthened if we were asked to decide
what, for the coming period, would we find an appropriate use of our gifts, and
then we encouraged each other (or worked together) to do that thing fully,
without distraction?
4.
The role of Advancement Committee:
I wonder if our
structure is at odds with the role within Yearly Meeting that we are given.
Though I sense enthusiasm and energy among committee members, our geographical
distance and infrequent meeting times (three official meetings per year) mean
that we are challenged to complete the administrative functions for which we are
responsible, and even more so to address the larger-picture items such as
visitation, publicity, and support of new worship groups with which we are
charged. When we have scheduled extra meeting times, attendance has been poor.
My sense is that most previous clerks of Advancement have been called upon with
some regularity to assist with many tasks related to YM workings, and none of us
has really figured out how to have other committee members be more involved.
Could we think about alternative structures that would more effectively approach
the work we would all like to see happen?
-
Local devolution:
One alternative structure would be
to focus locally, with the YM Advancement Committee serving only as a
clearinghouse. A number of meetings and some quarters have Advancement
Committees. Is it possible to ask these to think at a yearly meeting level
whenever possible? For example, if some speaker is sponsored, if some
publication or pamphlet is issued, if some new idea is conceived, could the
information on these be sent to the YM Advancement Committee for distribution to
other monthly meetings or quarter/regions?
-
Powell House weekends:
Perhaps a main function of the
Advancement Committee could become yearly Powell House weekends where
advancement issues, plans, connections, and proposals are dealt with. Any Friend
with an interest would be invited, though most quarters/regions might wish to
delegate specific representatives. The weekend would include presentations by
FGC and FUM on the outreach materials they have available, a speaker, and much
sharing of techniques, strategies, and experiences.
-
Radical outreach:
In an ideal world, advancement
activity would be an integral part of everything we do, from Ministry and
Counsel to prison work or Latin American concerns. We would be so filled with
the Spirit in the biblical sense that we would be unable to avoid sharing our
light with everyone we meet, in any context. I sense this was how it was with
early Friends. If this were the case, Advancement might merely be a publicity
arm of Witness committees and the Yearly Meeting in general, if that. When our
lives speak, no committee is necessary.
5.
Taking on some field secretary duties:
In some ways
the field secretary job descriptions and Advancement Committee mandates
overlapped. We could do much more in the nurture of and assistance to new
worship groups and small meetings. Part of Advancement work might simply be
intra-Yearly Meeting communication: Can we establish means by which Friends
share with each other? When that sharing results in recognition of need, can we
undertake to help with that need?
6.
Discussion on dynamic Quakerism:
For many committee
members (pick any committee in the Yearly Meeting), being active brings
overload, if not burnout. There is so much to do! However, if our faith is
alive, our Quakerism can (and should) be a source of blessing, energy, strength,
and power. We want to build connections between daily life and our spiritual
source. Can we take the time to worship, discuss, and implement that which
excites and stimulates us as well as uplifts those around us? Can Advancement
Committee help provide time for the reflection and discussion that contributes
to all this? Imagine coming to committee meetings for refreshment, invigoration,
and a boost that sends us back out into the turmoil of the world with clarity of
purpose and greater knowledge of the source of our support.
Jens Braun, Clerk, Advancement Committee
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YouthQuake is a national conference for Quaker youth ages
14-20, which will be held December 27, 2000, through January 1, 2001, in the
Pacific Northwest at
Camp Berachah
(
Berachah
is a Hebrew word for
blessings) in the foothills of Mount Rainier, near Seattle, Washington. Speakers
and worship leaders at this YouthQuake include Pat Springle, Tracy Peterson,
Rich Swingle, Paul Bock, and Misty Davis.
Each day of the conference, youth will experience
a variety of
settings and groups. All attenders will come together throughout the day for
music, speakers, and worship. Youth will have a chance for more interaction in
discussion groups and opportunities for reflection, processing, and getting to
know others in "family groups"--small groups of people from several
different yearly meetings. There will also be plenty of free time each day to
play, hike, swim (in an indoor pool), and make new friends. There will also be
an off-site day to explore the wonders of the Great Pacific Northwest.
We will work to build a spiritual community based
on love,
respect, truth, and understanding across the breadth of Friends, investigating
these queries: What does it mean to be a Quaker follower of Jesus Christ? What
is your response to the biblical witness and message? How did early Friends live
the message of Jesus Christ? How do we practice the presence of the Living
Spirit of Christ in our lives?
The YouthQuake Planning committee seeks to
clarify its purpose
through the following statements: Quakers who follow the Christian gospel will
be led to radically change their lives. We will learn about the Jesus Christ of
scripture--his life, teachings, death, resurrection, and continuing
presence. A firsthand experience with the Living Christ is available to
everyone. We will present Jesus Christ as the way to God. We find Truth through
the agreement of Scripture, continuing revelation, and the corporate faith
community. If you are interested in exploring these things with us, pack your
bags for YouthQuake 2000-2001.
Adults as well as youth are encouraged to come.
All attending
adults will serve as staff and be part of the family groups.
Early registration for YouthQuake is $360; if
postmarked after
September 5, 2000 the cost is $395. No registrations will be accepted after
October 1, 2000.
Included in the conference cost is five nights' lodging, meals from dinner
December 27, 2000 to breakfast January 1, 2001, except for the off-site day
lunch, transfers
to and from the Sea-Tac Airport and Camp Berachah, and all programs and events
(additional charge if one chooses skiing as the off-site day option).
Registration packets should be at your monthly
meeting now, so
don't hesitate to register early. We will be able to coordinate air
transportation for attenders who register by the deadline. If you have any
questions, please contact Jan Greene. Adults must contact Jan Greene before registering.
Judith Straub, NYYM YouthQuake Representative
Back to contents
Powell House offers Ministry of Mediation Week-Long Training
with Richard Blackburn, of the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center, August 20-25,
2000. This training is helpful to Yearly Meeting clerks and staff, monthly
meeting clerks, Ministry and Counsel people, AVP facilitators, and other
interested Friends.
This institute, held in a worshipful context, is
designed to
increase our skills and understanding of the processes involved in conflict
resolution, and when and how to intervene in conflict. The 32-hour course
progresses from an analysis of our personal approach to conflict resolution, to
practice with negotiation, and then to a focus upon mediation skills. It also
includes methods for consultations involving complex group conflict over a
period of months. The approach is biblically grounded and spiritually aware and
includes attention to processes for healing and reconciliation.
Richard Blackburn is a clear, witty, and wise
facilitator. He
will be assisted by four Friends and is revising the manual with those Friends'
help to reflect Friends'
Faith and Practice
.
Cost: Adults $775; commuters $600. Costs reflect
room and board
for five days, a certificate of completion, and a manual. For an additional
charge, the institute offers academic credit for those who wish it. Scholarships
are available.
For information contact Powell House, 524 Pitt
Hall Rd., Old
Chatham NY 12136; 518-794-8811;
powellhse@aol.com
;
www.powellhouse.org
.
Back to contents
I recently found myself writing an e-mail to the clerk of the
Nurture Coordinating Committee in which I said, in part, "God does not seem to
be calling any of us to attend the upcoming Coordinating Committees weekend at
Powell House." As I read what I had written, I was appalled. Could it be that
God really doesn't want anyone to speak to Friends about the need for a greater
focus on religious education? Is the absence of enthusiasm that I seem to see
more and more, truly God's will for Friends?
If so, I believe that by the beginning of the
next century,
there will no longer be a New York Yearly Meeting. Every year we lose more
members than we gain. We are raising young Friends who cannot articulate their
faith or state with any clarity what Friends believe. And despite joyous and
continuous participation in Powell House youth conferences and Junior Yearly
Meeting, many of our young people "disappear" as soon as they have been
graduated from high school. The inevitable conclusion to this downward spiral is
the dissolution of our Yearly Meeting.
Is this truly God's will for us? Or could it be,
instead, that
we are not listening hard enough to God's call? I do not pretend to know the
answer to these questions. But I canceled the e-mail, packed my bags, and went
to coordinating committee's weekend. Just in case God wanted me there.
Respectfully submitted,
Renee-Noelle Felice, Clerk
NYYM Committee on Religious Education
Back to contents
Awakening Minds and Hearts is the theme of a Religious
Education Conference hosted by FGC to be held August 17-20, 2000, near
Harrisonburg, VA. The conference is designed for Quaker educators and parents. A
broad range of topics includes adult education as well as ideas for guiding
children. Through workshops, interest groups, and speakers, we will explore
creative ways to deepen the spiritual connections between our meetings and our
children, between adults in our faith communities, and between parents and
children at home. Topics include: working with teens, adult FDS, reviving FDS
programs, Quaker parenting - including one on the changing role of Quaker
fathers, spiritual formation groups, nurturing teachers, the Bible in religious
education, the needs of small meetings, intergenerational programs, bias
awareness and diversity in our meetings, and the use of story, music, art, and
nature. Children 0-12 are invited to participate in a junior program focusing on
Holy Conversation, on ways to open themselves to the Spirit. Massanetta Springs
Conference Center is in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley and lends itself to the
renewal of mind and heart.
For more information contact Michael Gibson,
michaelg@fgcquaker.org
; 215-561-1700, or on the FGC Web site at
www.quaker.org/fgc
.
Becky Morehouse, clerk of planning
Back to contents
A Weekend for Worship Groups and Small Meetings
Growing the Blessed Community: in truth, in strength, in
service. The NYYM Advancement Committee is sponsoring a weekend at Powell House
especially for members of worship groups and small monthly meetings, June 9-11.
The theme comes from Jane Orion Smith of Canadian Yearly Meeting, who reminds us
that the life of our Society is rooted in our relationship with one another and
with God. According to her, outreach and inreach, which support the spiritual
growth of our meetings, provide a way of broadening and deepening our community
For meetings too small to have their own Powell
House retreat,
this is a wonderful opportunity to have that experience. Invite all within your
meeting to join in the fellowship and beauty surrounding Powell House and to
grow together as a spiritual community.
Jens Braun, clerk of the Advancement Committee,
Helen Garay
Toppins, administrative secretary of NYYM, and Ann Davidson, executive director
of Powell House, will facilitate the retreat.
There will be worship, fun, fellowship, Bill's
bread, and
intergenerational activities. Don't forget to bring bathing suits and sunscreen.
The cost is $145 for adults, $85 for teens, $65
for children,
and $20 for infants. Childcare is available with three weeks' notice. Financial
assistance is available from the Advancement Committee and from Powell House to
assist in covering the costs.
To register, call or write Powell House, 524 Pitt
Hall Rd., Old
Chatham NY 12136-3410; 518-794-8811; fax: 518-794-8815; e-mail:
powellhse@aol.com
. You may also register online at
www.powellhouse.org
.
Back to contents
"The worst flooding in living memory." That's how the United
Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) describes the devastation in Mozambique and the
surrounding area.
You have seen the pictures on TV. You have seen
the homes
destroyed, the bridges washed out. You have probably heard the heartrending
story of the woman who gave birth to a child while stranded in a tree, a few
feet above the swirling waters.
During the first flooding, at least 300,000
people were
homeless or jobless or both. Recovery efforts were barely underway when another
cyclone struck Mozambique and raised the toll to nearly 1 million. At least
800,000 people have been struck by cholera, malaria, and diarrhea in the area,
and malnutrition is rising.
About 1 million people lost their livelihoods,
their houses,
their tools, their seeds, and their livestock. A key rail link and hundreds of
miles of roads and electricity and telephone lines were destroyed or damaged.
Schools and health centers were destroyed.
Friends may contribute to relief efforts through
AFSC, UNICEF,
Oxfam America, and Doctors without Borders. These organizations are providing
such items as drugs and medical supplies, safe water, and teaching and learning
materials for schools.
AFSC
has been active in Mozambique since 1975. Their
current work is focused on efforts in partnership with the Organization of
Mozambican Women. To contribute, make out a check to AFSC, marked "Mozambique
Cyclone Assistance," and mail it to AFSC Development, 1501 Cherry St.,
Philadelphia PA 19102. You can also contribute on-line using AFSC's secure
donation page, at
www.afsc.org
, or call 888-588-2372, ext. 1, to donate via Visa
or MasterCard.
UNICEF
's efforts are focused primarily on providing
medicines and on ensuring access to safe water, health services, and sanitation
facilities. Donations may be made online at
www.supportunicef.org/forms/whichcountryz.htm
or by mail to UNICEF, 3 United
Nations Plaza, New York NY 10017.
Doctors without Borders
is, of course, providing
medicines and medical care. Online donations may be made at
www.dwb.org
. You may make donations by phone at 888-392- 0392 or mail a check to Doctors
without
Borders, 6 East 39th St., New York NY 10016.
Oxfam America
's work in Mozambique is directed toward
distribution of food, seeds, and tools. You may donate online at
www.oxfamamerica.org/help/donate.html
, by phone at 800-OXFAM-US, or by mailing a check to Oxfam America, Box 1745,
Boston MA
02105-1745.
Finally, there is an effort underway to cancel
Mozambique's
debt. For information on this, contact
www.giveforchange.com
.
Paul Busby, Fifteenth Street Meeting
Back to contents
Hang Gliding and Quaker Meeting
Quaker meeting is a place to jump off from.
How does risk taking lead to the experience of
truth among us?
Why is courage not among the fruits of the spirit
listed in
Galatians 5:22-23?
We attenders of Quaker meeting for worship risk
hearing the
unanticipated. We deliberately subject ourselves to the unknown. This is high
adventure when we pay attention to others; when we listen internally, it may be
disquieting.
A beloved member of the Rochester meeting
community once said,
"Sometimes I can't bear meeting for worship, I have to take walks instead; it is
too excruciating." He loved the work of Simone Weil, a woman whose purity of
mind and spirit, passion, and tenderness of heart toward the experience of
others led her to suffer brutal working conditions in a factory, so that she
would really know the condition of workers, and who eventually died at least
partly as a result of identifying with others: from Gjertrud Schnackenberg, "The
Heavenly Feast":
... So four years into the war,
And cut off from the ones
Whose circumstance you felt
And suffering as yours,
You carved yourself a path
Through ever-narrowing doors
Of hunger and of thirst,
And entered them day by day,
Refusing all at first
But that ration of food
Your people could obtain
Behind the lines in France,
And then refusing that,...
Imagination and courage. Discipline, consistency
in approach,
testing, containment.
Quakers push limits. We believe in limits, and
testing. A very
fine obstetrician named MacTammany, not a Quaker, said in response to the
juggernaut push for "safety" (for the baby!) in U.S. birth practices in the
1970s, "Babies have to take the risks of life like the rest of us." This same
man loved hang gliding in the mountains around Reading, PA. However, he went
hang gliding only once a month, so that the excitement of a straightforward trip
would stay fresh, to keep himself from pushing for experiences beyond the limits
of his competence. He had responsibilities, a family.
Safety is not the platform we start from: it is a
limit, a
limit we construct imaginatively, which we accept, or test.
Courage is not a fruit of the spirit: It is a
condition of
spiritual practice.
Victoria B. Cooley, Clerk, NYYM
Back to contents
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Janet Labate Angelilo
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Chappaqua
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Ethan & Gabriel Abbe
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Jericho
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Gabrielle Bailey
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Summit
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Alison, Joseph, Phillip,
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& William Bassell
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Purchase
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Anna Ningjing Cohen
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Brooklyn
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Lydia Conklin Cohen
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Brooklyn
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Molly C. Edminster
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Fifteenth Street
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Bernard Ehrhardt
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Brooklyn
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Randy Frankel
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Brooklyn
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Jonathan Green
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Fifteenth Street
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Pam Gosner
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Summit
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Ellen Hamilton
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Collins
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Lori Heninger
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Morningside
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Keith Hughes
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Fifteenth Street
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Gregory & Thomas Jaske
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Matinecock
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Marjorie Johnson
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Morningside
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Betsy & Diana LeRoi
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Housatonic
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Neal M. Keller
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Purchase
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John Mahoney
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Fifteenth Street
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Adell & Frank Markiewicz
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Collins
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Victor McGregor
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Morningside
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Dorothy Richards
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Albany
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Caroline & Curtis Roberts
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Cornwall
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Thomas Rothschild
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Brooklyn
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Joyce, Nathaniel,
& Maxwell Schroeder
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Purchase
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Jean Scully
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Summit
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Jean Gusaffson Smokens
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Manhasset
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Marion Walsh
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Chappaqua
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Joan J. Aldrich
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Farmington
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March 13, 2000
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Robert L. Badgley
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Poughkeepsie
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March 5, 2000
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Alicia Lebrato
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Purchase
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February 24, 2000
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Elizabeth Lee
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Summit
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December 14, 1999
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Mary E. MacLaggan
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Chappaqua
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January 10, 2000
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Ruth E. Oliver
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Summit
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February 13, 2000
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Carolyn Mason Seaman
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Manhasset
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November 15, 1999
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Marjorie I. Sexton
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Adirondack
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March 1, 2000
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Name
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To
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From
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Elizabeth Enloe
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Fifteenth Street
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Atlanta (SAYM)
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Nadine Hoover
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Alfred
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Tallahassee (SYM)
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Paul Kelcourse
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First Friends, IN
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Catskill
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Richard Lethem
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Dover, NH (NEYM)
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Brooklyn
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Gloria Molenge
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Bethesda, MD (BYM)
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Fifteenth Street
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Marcia & Gregory Moschetti
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New Haven (NEYM)
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Chappaqua
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Maryann Percy
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La Jolla CA (PYM
|
Westbury
|
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Jean & George Seiler
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Saratoga
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Montclair
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Chandra Woolson
|
Collins
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Fredonia
|
George Fisher,
at Fifteenth Street, from Conscience Bay
Serena Jeanne Blackburn
on March 24, 2000, to Suzanne Hawkins Blackburn, member of Alfred, and Keith
Blackburn.
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