Announcements dated January 29, 2012:
Meetings for Worship:
Please turn cellphones off during meeting for worship.
| January 29 | February 1 |
| February 5 | February 8 |
| February 12 | February 15 |
News of Friends, or friends of Friends:
- Please hold Susan, Emma and Atticus Leibman as well as Susan's family in the light. Darryl Hersemann, Susan's father, died January 7 in Nebraska. Sharon Hersemann, Susan's mother, has attended Third Haven Meeting several times while visiting. Cards may be sent to Susan's new address.
Events/Activities:
Be sure to check out the Calendar for more events!
- February 11 (Saturday) 9 am – 1 pm Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Called Session at Arch Street Meeting House. Clerk Thomas Swain has announced a Called Session of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting to consider our yearly meeting programs and concerns. Our current financial situation and efforts to better align our expenses with our income in support of Quaker faith and work will be presented and considered. Discernment and consideration by members is important to this work. Gathering begins at 9:00 am; the Meeting begins at 9:30 am. Junior Interim Meeting will be held concurrently and childcare will be available. This Called Session replaces the previously scheduled February Interim Meeting. Parking is available at Arch Street Meeting House (enter from 4th Street).
- February 26, 5PM to 7PM: The fourth annual Empty Bowls community meal to benefit Talbot County food pantries will be held on Sunday, February 26, 2012 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Easton (located on the westbound lane of Rt. 50, west of the Maryland State Police barrack). In the event of inclement weather, the event will be held on Sunday, March 4.
Tickets for the Empty Bowls meal are $20. In exchange for the cost of a ticket, diners will receive a meal of home-cooked soup and the handmade bowl in which it is served. Advance reservations are required. Purchase tickets by mailing a check for $20 per person to the Mid-Shore Community Foundation, 102 E. Dover Street, Easton, MD 21601. Make checks payable to Mid-Shore/Empty Bowls. Please include your phone number. You can also order tickets and make a donation online at www.mscf.org. For more information, contact Anna Harding, 410-822-6452.
Make a Bowl to Benefit Talbot County Food Pantries: The Clay Bakers in Easton is supporting the Empty Bowls fundraiser by sponsoring a special bowl decorating event through February 17. For a donation (amount based on the type of bowl you choose), Clay Bakers' customers can choose from a selection of bowls, which they paint in their own style. All bowls will be donated for the Empty Bowls dinner. - March 17, 10-12PM: Informal Reunion for Spiritual Formation Participants:
There will be a get together for people who were involved in the Spiritual Formation program in 2011. We plan to touch base and re-connect. Our purpose will be to share and discuss:
•Where am I on my Spiritual Journey since completing Spiritual Formation program?
•How is my small Friendship/Accountability group? Are we still meeting? Am I interested in being a part of formation of another group?
Details:- Date: March 17, 2012
- Time: 10-12 noon
- Place: Mark Beck's house (directions to follow)
- Bring: a light brunch snack (if you'd like)
- Provided: comfortable spot to discuss in a group how things are going with coffee and tea
Other Announcements:
- Please remember to greet visitors to meeting—answer what questions they have about Friends, our buildings, our programs and activities. We are all emissaries of Third Haven.
- Talbot Interfaith Shelter:
The shelter has opened at the common room. The evening supervisor will be on site from 5:30-11:00 p.m. (or, if requested, from 7:00-11:00), and the overnight supervisor will be onsite from 11:00 p.m.-7:30 a.m. Thanks to the many who have volunteered for duty. The meeting’s mail boxes are now located in the small room off the foyer of the brick meeting house. They will stay there while the shelter is active.
Contacts: Lorraine Claggett, Pete Howell, or Frank Ryan. - Budget and Finance Committee:
In the all too near future our committee will begin working on a budget for the fiscal year beginning on 7th month first. Each Committee Clerk and anyone else who wishes to suggest items not within a Committee's responsibility, should have his/her request into my hands no later than 3rd month 15th.
—Sumner Parker, Clerk, Budget and Finance Committee - News from Library Committee:
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Celebrate Black History Month with Our Library!
When one thinks of Quakers and African Americans, our involvement in the Underground Railroad is often the first thing to come to mind. This version of history, however, is challenged in a recently-published book, "Fit for Freedom, Not for Friendship: Quakers, African Americans, and the Myth of Racial Justice" by Donna McDaniel and Vanessa Julye, which is available in our Meeting library.
But many of us are unaware of our involvement in and how instrumental Quakerism was to the Civil Rights movement. We know of Martin Luther King, Jr., and his dedication to the Christian principles of love and non-violence. But how many of us know that one of his closest friends and colleagues was an African American Quaker named Bayard Rustin?
In fact, Bayard Rustin was the chief organizer of the 1963 "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom" and a leading strategist of the Civil Rights Movement. He taught Martin Luther King, Jr. strategies of non-violence. His Quaker faith was essential to his dedication to the ideals of nonviolence, equality, and peace.
To learn more about Bayard Rustin, Library Committee invites you to check out "Time on Two Crosses: The Collected Writings of Bayard Rustin", which is available in our library. - Two new books have been added to our Meeting's library:
- "The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith" by Marcus J. Borg
For the millions of people who have turned away from many traditional beliefs about God, Jesus, and the Bible, but still long for a relevant, nourishing faith, Borg shows why the Christian life can remain a transforming relationship with God. Emphasizing the critical role of daily practice in living the Christian life, he explores how prayer, worship, Sabbath, pilgrimage, and more can be experienced as authentically life-giving practices. - "Sacred Compass: The Way of Spiritual Discernment", by J. Brent Bill
Sacred Compass offers a fresh and deeper way of living a God-directed life. J. Brent Bill draws on the quiet beauty of the Quaker path to show how spiritual discernment is more about sensing God's gracious presence than it is about making the right decisions.
- "The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith" by Marcus J. Borg
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Celebrate Black History Month with Our Library!
The Basic Food Pantry: The NSC's food pantry provides essentials for many. How many remember the Four Basic Foods? The 1916 U.S. Dept. Agriculture list included high amounts of fat, cholesterol, and protein. In 1992, the USDA issued a Food Guide Pyramid, which lists fruits, vegetables, and grains at its broad base, with meat and dairy products at the upper end. An alternative health/nutrition advocacy committee suggested The New Four Food Groups which are: whole grains, vegetables, fruits and legumes with little tolerance for cholesterol. One could discuss nutritional theory all night but, in the interest of helping our neighbors, please bring a little something next first day to be passed along to the Food Pantry.
Each month the Neighborhood Service Center's (NSC) food pantry keeps many families from hunger. Last year they served about 3,000 families. NSC funds are limited and in all likelihood will become even more so in the future. The Eastern Shore branch of the Maryland Food Bank acknowledges that it covers only half of the need. The NSC has been short on canned goods now for some time. They have to spend some of their budget every month filling in the empty food pantry shelves for canned goods. Some of your faith communities already contribute non-perishables to the NSC while others run their own food pantry. Each Sunday, the Unitarian Universalists and the Third Haven Friends promote donations of non-perishable food for the NSC. The current effort is a simple one: A tub or box is placed by the entrance to their places of worship for persons to place their donations as they enter for worship. A designated person then takes the donations to the NSC the following week. Please notice the gray tubs at the entrances to the meetinghouse and add something to them. Each week Winslow Womack collects non-perishable items which we bring in and takes them to the Center. We don't want him to go empty handed! Your gifts are truly appreciated by the Neighborhood Service Center.
It came to my attention recently that many of us at THFM were unaware of the existence of Ridgeway House. Ridgeway House is the only full-time transitional housing available in Talbot County. It is run by the Neighborhood Service Center with money from Talbot County and other grant sources. There is room for 6 guests, 3 male and 3 female. The shelter is open 7 days a week from 4pm to 8am and fully staffed during those times. It is located on 121 S Aurora St. Thanks to Ralph Young, our Meeting helps deliver lunches to the residents once weekly as part of our task force work with the Hunger Coalition. Currently Ralph Young, Paige Bethke, Helen Womack and myself prepare and deliver lunches on a regular schedule. We welcome anyone who would like to join us in this effort. During the holiday season, it is good to remember those less fortunate. Since this is a simple, loving project, consider lending a hand by calling one of us to volunteer. It is a good way to introduce the idea of homelessness and shelter work to your children as well. Thanks, Molly Burgoyne
Talbot Interfaith Shelter Winter 2011-2012:
Our vision is that no one in Talbot County will ever have to spend a night on the streets, in a car or in the woods because he or she cannot find housing. The Talbot Interfaith Shelter is a voluntary interfaith-based service ministry in Talbot County, Maryland. We are dedicated both to providing safe, temporary shelter to men, women and children who lack adequate housing, and to raising awareness of the issues of homelessness in our community.
TIS Contact Info:
- Website
- Address: Talbot Interfaith Shelter, P.O. Box 2004, Easton, MD 21601
- Telephone: 410-310-2316; E-mail: tisboard@talbotinterfaithshelter.org
2011-2012 Shelter Sites:
- Dec 4 - Jan 1: Temple B'Nai Israel in Easton
- Jan 1 - Jan 15: St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, 12095 Blades Road, Cordova, MD
- Jan 15 - Jan 29: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at Easton
- Jan 29 - Feb 12: Third Haven Friends Meeting
- Feb 26: Shore Harvest Presbyterian Church
- Feb 26 - Mar 11: Christ Church in Easton
- Mar 11 - Mar 25: St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Easton
- Mar 25 - Apr 1: Trinity Cathedral in Easton
Upcoming Talbot Interfaith Shelter (TIS) Events:
- Nov. 19, 2011 (Saturday) 10 am to noon: Host Site Coordinator Orientation At the Easton Church of the Brethren
- December 4, 2011 SHELTER OPENS! Temple B'Nai Israel
Other Information:
November is National Homeless Youth Awareness Month The National Center on Family Homelessness estimates that over 1.5 million children in the U.S. will experience homelessness this year. That's about one in 50 kids nationwide. Last year in Talbot County's public schools, 83 children qualified as not having a permanent home. Eleven were younger than five. Last year's needs assessment survey showed 110 homeless people on the Mid-Shore, with at least 15 of those people in Easton. That's likely a conservative estimate as the homeless are often hard to find.
The National Law Center for Homelessness and Poverty reports that the life expectancy of the average homeless person is 30 years less than other Americans,. As the Talbot Interfaith Shelter gears up for the upcoming season, it's a good time to reflect on what we, as a community, can do better to end homelessness here on the Mid-Shore.
TIS Set for Fourth Winter Season: For many people, the loss of a job, the death of a spouse, the onset of medical disabilities, or a series of wrong choices can often lead to homelessness. Struck by personal tragedies, the guests of the Talbot Interfaith Shelter (TIS) are like the homeless in thousands of other shelters across America who need our helping hands. In 2008 a group of concerned citizens organized the TIS. Since 2009 the shelter has been open to men, women, and children who lack adequate housing during the coldest months of the year. TIS has been a rotating shelter, moving from the campus of one faith community to another every 2 weeks or so. The moving is stressful and disruptive to both guests and volunteers and, more importantly, it is not a good model for families with children. In 2010–2011, over 500 volunteers from 18 different congregations and the broader community worked together to operate the shelter from Dec. 5 to Apr. 10. During that time, 17 different guests were served. This number may seem low until you consider that only five guests can stay each night because of strict fire code regulations. A fire suppression sprinkler system is required in order to accommodate more guests. Undoubtedly, this has been the biggest obstacle for the TIS. Fire suppression sprinkler systems are expensive to install, and only one of the newer parish halls in Talbot County has one. Since the shelter closed in April, over 35 more calls for shelter have been received, some from singles and some from families. Regardless of the season, homeless persons are out there in our community. Some you may recognize from their daily presence on the streets of Easton, whereas others are hidden couch surfers, staying with family or friends until their welcome wears out and they must move on to another couch. Still others seek refuge in their automobiles if they are fortunate enough to own them. Many others live in the woods along Easton's Rails to Trails or in abandoned sheds. It is our hope that each of you will keep the homeless in mind. Consider them when you read an article in the Star Democrat and help support TIS through fundraisers and personal contributions. We would love to have you volunteer with TIS this coming year. Most of all, we hope that you will be on the lookout for a building that can accommodate the shelter and enable us to expand our services, especially to families.