Announcements last updated September 20th, 2021:
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New Announcements | News of Friends | Events at Third Haven | Committee Announcements | Announcements about Local Non-Profits | Announcements from Quaker Organizations | Regular Announcements
New Announcements:
- OCTOBER 23 [Saturday]
There will be a memorial service for Jane Escher in the Old Meeting House at 11 AM. More details will be announced. - Inaugural Native (and edibles) Plant Swap at Third Haven Friends Meeting. Saturday September 25 from 8:30 to 11:30 am, and hopefully semi-annually each spring and fall thereafter. Bring what you have, and take away what you need.
- September 26 [Sunday], Tuckahoe Neck Quaker Meeting House Commemoration:
Commemoration On September 26th, from 2-4 PM, the Friends of the Tuckahoe Neck Quaker Meeting House will host a Commemoration and tours of this recently restored, 219 year old Quaker Meeting House, located on the grounds of the old Choptank Electric building—24820 Meeting House Road, Denton, MD. More information on the building and the event can be found on the attached flyer. - September 24 [Friday], Zoom Happier Hour 7 PM:
Hospitality would also like to remind the community that the zoom happier hour conversation is still happening on Fridays at 7:00 pm. Typically, about 7-10 people use the hour to reconnect, share news and again, offer fellowship. Please contact John Turner for more information. - First Day School Updates:
- First Day School welcomes the children back: We will have an in- person children's program on Sunday September 26, at 10 am. We meet outside mostly while the weather is so delightful. Families gather in the large meeting house from 10-10:15 then depart with the teachers for their own program. Please dress your child accordingly. We have a snack break and fellowship for parents and kids at rise of Meeting in the Common room. Hope to see you all next Sunday! Here are the dates for September/October children's program:
- September 26: Listening in Nature w Kristin
- September 26: Giant Children's Meeting with PYM via zoom
- October 3: Holy Troublemakers, Susan
- October 17: Earthcare witness w Kristin
- October 24: Giant Children's Meeting w PYM via zoom
- First Day School welcomes the children back: We will have an in- person children's program on Sunday September 26, at 10 am. We meet outside mostly while the weather is so delightful. Families gather in the large meeting house from 10-10:15 then depart with the teachers for their own program. Please dress your child accordingly. We have a snack break and fellowship for parents and kids at rise of Meeting in the Common room. Hope to see you all next Sunday! Here are the dates for September/October children's program:
- Experiment with Light:
A group using guided meditations based on Rex Ambler's Experiment with Light meets on Zoom the first and third Tuesdays of the month at 7 p.m. The recordings direct participants to focus on personal issues or global issues and are mostly silent to allow for contemplation. For more information contact Jonathan Slocum. - Help Needed to Reopen Asbury:
Work at the Asbury United Methodist Church in Easton is nearing completion. Friends helped last year with major fundraising which enabled complete safety renovations for stable floors and improved indoor air quality. During renovations in 2021, town inspectors identified and required certain design changes which have delayed reopening and increased construction costs by $50,000. More than half of that burden has been raised. A funding gap of just over $20,000 remains. The contractor believes that temporary access for congregants can be granted for use of the sanctuary in September, with completion of the first floor fellowship hall and kitchen some time in October. If Friends are moved to help reopen the doors for Asbury’s food mission, contributions should be sent to:
Historic Easton Inc., P.O. Box 1071, Easton, MD 21601, marked "Asbury Building Fund".
Alternately, a GoFundMe fundraiser for Historic Easton's Help Reopen the Church that Feeds Our Neighbors Campaign can be accessed by clicking here. - From Friends Committee on National Legislation:
Support The Bill: At the PYM ecojustice conference this past week, information was given on the Clean Energy Protection Program (CEPP). This will be debated in the US Congress in the next few weeks. If you want to support the bill, here is an easy link for you to send an email to our Congress people: https://fcnl.quorum.us/campaign/34603/?utm_source=fcnlaction. The instructions are simple, however it's a good idea to make the email your own by writing at least a personal statement at the start and the finish. The bill would help us move towards clean energy by 2030. For extra punch, mention the Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator (Called a National Climate Bank in the Senate), as this bill would help low income communities with a series of environmentally friendly loans.
For those who are interested in helping those in our area who may experience food insecurity this winter, our area Rotary Clubs are asking for volunteers to help them pack Meals for Hope on Saturday, October 16th at Chesapeake College. Meals for Hope is a national program that provides the ingredients for individual, nutritious, shelf stable meals that can be cooked in one pot. Our District Area Rotary Clubs have raised the money to purchase ingredients for 100,000 meals as their District Day of Service project. They need volunteers for 2 shifts; from 9 am - Noon OR from 1 pm - 3 pm to help them package the ingredients in individual meals that will be distributed to our Mid Shore Region to food pantries, shelters and BackPack programs. If you are interested in volunteering on Saturday, October 16th at Chesapeake College, please follow the link below and sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4EAEA92EA4F5C43-rotary.
News of Friends, or friends of Friends:
- Tom McCall's mother, Joan Cox, age 92, died peacefully in the comfort of her home Thursday night, August 19th, and to ask members to hold him and his family in the light.
- Stephen Gerni unexpectedly passed away on August 10th, 2021. Please hold him in the light, as well as his wife, Susan Dabney, and their families. Peace be with them.
- Please Hold In The Light: Our beloved member, Sally Vermilye, who passed away quietly on April 4, 2021.
- Please Hold In The Light: Our faithful attender, Jane Escher, who passed away quietly on March 20, 2021.
- In The Light: Kenneth Lane Carroll passed away quietly on February 25, 2021. The memorial service for Kenneth Lane Carroll will be held here on May 8th, 2021. Please click here for more information.
Events at Third Haven:
Be sure to check out the Calendar for more events not listed here!
- Saturday, September 25th, 8:30-11:30am: Native (and Edibles) Plant Swap
Native (and edibles) Plant Swap at Third Haven Friends Meeting. Saturdays September 18 and 25 from 8:30 to 11:30 am, and hopefully semi-annually each spring and fall thereafter. Bring what you have, and take away what you need.
Announcements from Third Haven's Committees:
- From our Treasurer:
- Here is a recap of the Treasurer's financials for the year-end of our 2020/2021 fiscal year, July 2020 – June, 2021:
Member Contributions = $48,073 = 91% of annual budget
Total Income = $68,641 = 99.6 % of annual budget
Total Expenses = $63,061 = 91.5 % of annual budget
Net Income = $5,580 - The following are now available: Approved Budget FY 2020-2021, Balance Sheet 6/30/21, Income & Expenses Budget vs. Actual Year-to-Date 6/30/21, Income & Expenses Budget, Prior Year Comparison 6/30/21.
- How to Support Our Quaker Meeting:
Since its incorporation in 1948, the Trustees of Third Haven Monthly Meeting have been able to grow an endowment fund for the support of the Meeting through gifts, bequests and thoughtful investing. Thanks to these financial reserves, the Trustees are able to pay the annual insurance bill and assist each year with capital expenses that are beyond the budget of the Property and Grounds Committee. Projects have ranged in size from recent improvements to the Common Room to the 1990's major restoration of the Old Meeting House, at a cost of $435,000.
The majority of the funds held by the Trustees are invested in three accounts at Friends Fiduciary Corporation, a Quaker non-profit organization that provides socially responsible investment services to Friends meetings, schools and organizations. Third Haven Friends Meeting also has been judicious in its expenditures and managed investments, some of which are held at Friends Fiduciary as well.
Friends Fiduciary offers help with Planned Giving for individual Friends. The Trustees of Third Haven Meeting's mission of preservation of our historic property and Third Haven Friends Meeting, our active Quaker meeting, are certainly two worthy recipients of our donations.
Gifts to the Trustees are vital for maintaining and improving our buildings and grounds. Donors may consult this pamphlet for help "letting their lives speak" during their estate and contemporary donation planning. Please consider an outright gift or a planned gift to the Trustees of Third Haven Meeting, c/o Diana Rein, Treasurer, 9249 High Banks Drive, Easton, Md. 21601
Gifts to Third Haven are essential to sustaining our operating budget. Donations are encouraged annually and through estate planning to Third Haven Friends Meeting, Cynthia Quast, Treasurer, P.O. Box 2379, Easton, Md. 21601.
- Here is a recap of the Treasurer's financials for the year-end of our 2020/2021 fiscal year, July 2020 – June, 2021:
- From Worship & Ministry:
- Thoughts on a more Settled Meeting: Quakers have come up with practices that are most conducive to a settled meeting. Please review the following link.
- Facilities Use Committee Zoom Meeting Scheduling:
This document was prepared by Third Haven Friends Meeting Facilities Use Committee is attached here to guide us through the process of setting up and running our meetings. - First Day School:
- First Day School is planning to resume in-person programs starting September 12. Families will gather promptly at 10 am to worship with the Meeting in the Old Meeting House with windows and doors wide open (currently masks are optional for vaccinated individuals.) At @1015 the children will leave and head to the common room or to an outdoors location to begin their own program (masks encouraged.). The children will be reunited with their parents shortly after 11 am. There will be refreshments and fellowship outside and in the common room following. Here are the dates for September/October children's program:
- September 12: Welcome back, Susan
- September 26: Listening in Nature w Kristin
- September 26: Giant Children's Meeting with PYM via zoom
- October 3: Holy Troublemakers, Susan
- October 17: Earthcare witness w Kristin
- October 24: Giant Children's Meeting w PYM via zoom
- 2021 Third Haven Summer Camp: After the long year of isolation, First Day School was thrilled to offer again two sessions of Third Haven's summer camp the last week of July! Our time away reinforced our desire for connection to one another—and what better way to connect than through play outside! The theme for the week was watershed community: we explored together the special creatures and qualities of the Chesapeake Bay through water play, art and games. Our teachers, Cherie Baron and Kristen Hanlon, were assisted by two of Third Haven's own, Serena Claggett and Liam Ewing, as junior counselors. Twenty children joined in the fun, divided into a morning session and an afternoon session, and included many familiar faces and couple new ones. As a meaningful remembrance of our learning together, the children created a beautiful art installation for the children's grove area on the grounds—it is a birch branch covered lovingly by all those little hands with fabric, illustrations, and beaded wire—designed as their representation of the Quaker testimonies (SPICES). They spent much of the week designing their work, and it will be put in place soon for us all to enjoy. Special thanks to all the many Meeting members so lovingly who made these camp sessions possible—including our First Day School families for participating and supporting; Clay and Priscilla who thoughtfully prepared the grounds; Larissa and the groups who rearranged their schedule to allow space in the Common Room; Molly and Susan for visiting and helping; and Cynthia for processing all the financials. Please take a look at the pictures attached to see the fun in action!
- First Day School is planning to resume in-person programs starting September 12. Families will gather promptly at 10 am to worship with the Meeting in the Old Meeting House with windows and doors wide open (currently masks are optional for vaccinated individuals.) At @1015 the children will leave and head to the common room or to an outdoors location to begin their own program (masks encouraged.). The children will be reunited with their parents shortly after 11 am. There will be refreshments and fellowship outside and in the common room following. Here are the dates for September/October children's program:
- From Testionies & Concerns:
- The Guide for Giving:
Testimonies and Concerns Committee has prepared The Guide for Giving, an annotated list of non-profit, charitable organizations who sustain values and priorities in keeping with our Queries. Please click here to view the guide. - Minutes for Testimonies and Concerns Meeting, 9/06/20.
- The Guide for Giving:
Announcements about Local Non-profits or Faith Organizations:
- Help Needed to Reopen Asbury:
Work at the Asbury United Methodist Church in Easton is nearing completion. Friends helped last year with major fundraising which enabled complete safety renovations for stable floors and improved indoor air quality. During renovations in 2021, town inspectors identified and required certain design changes which have delayed reopening and increased construction costs by $50,000. More than half of that burden has been raised. A funding gap of just over $20,000 remains. The contractor believes that temporary access for congregants can be granted for use of the sanctuary in September, with completion of the first floor fellowship hall and kitchen some time in October. If Friends are moved to help reopen the doors for Asbury’s food mission, contributions should be sent to:
Historic Easton Inc., P.O. Box 1071, Easton, MD 21601, marked "Asbury Building Fund".
Alternately, a GoFundMe fundraiser for Historic Easton's Help Reopen the Church that Feeds Our Neighbors Campaign can be accessed by clicking here. - Meals for Hope:
For those who are interested in helping those in our area who may experience food insecurity this winter, our area Rotary Clubs are asking for volunteers to help them pack Meals for Hope on Saturday, October 16th at Chesapeake College. Meals for Hope is a national program that provides the ingredients for individual, nutritious, shelf stable meals that can be cooked in one pot. Our District Area Rotary Clubs have raised the money to purchase ingredients for 100,000 meals as their District Day of Service project. They need volunteers for 2 shifts; from 9 am - Noon OR from 1 pm - 3 pm to help them package the ingredients in individual meals that will be distributed to our Mid Shore Region to food pantries, shelters and BackPack programs. If you are interested in volunteering on Saturday, October 16th at Chesapeake College, please follow the link below and sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4EAEA92EA4F5C43-rotary. - Quaker Voice of Maryland:
- The working group is seeking input from Meeting Members about Quaker Voice during the 2021 General Assembly. Please complete our 5-10 minute survey to help shape the future of Quaker Voice > https://forms.gle/CACYF5Ckx7K2Qued6 // For more information on our work check out the 2021 Legislative Summary now available on the Quaker Voice website: https://www.quakervoicemd.org/resources.
- Talbot Boys:
- Please click here for the recording of "Lost Cause of the Confederacy Comes to Maryland". Videos from previous rallies can also be found throuh this facebook page.
- "Move Talbot's Confederate Monument" signs have been appearing along Easton's streets. A new order is being set up. If you would like a yard sign, poster and/or stickers for display in your home or business, please email movethemonumentTC@gmail.com giving your name, address and email/phone number for each sign. The sign will be delivered to you.
- Tom Corl writes, "Very good piece in the New Yorker, about the 'Boys of Talbot', by a well - known local author. Here is the link to My Local Confederate Monument."
- Confederate Monuments, You Tube presentation:
A learned discussion about community values from St. Thomas University in Minnesota. Please click here to watch.
- Talbot Interfaith Shelter:
- Letter in Support of Talbot Interfaith Shelter
- Good News from the Talbot Interfaith Shelter: "We had a hearing with the Town of Easton Board of Zoning Appeals (BOZA) to determine whether we would receive a special exception permit to operate a second shelter facility at 109 Goldsborough Street, directly next door to Easton's Promise. We are thrilled to announce that the Board of Zoning Appeals voted unanimously to award us our permit, and that we will be moving forward with the purchase of 109 Goldsborough!" For more details, click here.
- PEARLS:
Stacy Ewing, of the Talbot County Health Department writes to our meeting, "I wanted to let you know about a home visiting program called PEARLS (Programs the one who should be able to get for Encouraging Active, Rewarding Lives)." Please click here for a brochure with more information. - Maryland Citizens's Health Initiative (MCHI) Request:
Third Haven has received a request from Nikki Richards of Homewood Friends Meeting in Baltimore asking us to endorse a resolution brought forward by their Maryland Citizens's Health Initiative (MCHI). If our Meeting supports the concept of equal access to quality, affordable healthcare for Marylanders we can help on this new Initiative to improve health equity. Health inequities based on race, ethnicity, and place of residence persist throughout the state, and have been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Maryland Citizens's Health Initiative requests that community organizations, faith groups, small businesses, and others around the state sign on by September 16 in support of this life saving initiative. If it is the sense of our Meeting that we endorse this, our response can be forwarded to them. The Initiative's Resolution can be reached by clicking on this link. - Feed The Front is organized to connect donors, restaurants and volunteers to feed essential workers in Talbot County.
- Acts of Kindness: A Task Force volunteer provides interpretation services between Mid Shore ProBono attorneys and immigrants. Another volunteer has been reaching out to immigrant children through the arts, as part of an after school program sponsored by the Chesapeake Multi Cultural Resource Center. Another, expert in immigration law, filed objections to proposed regulations that would raise barriers to documented immigrants becoming citizens. 2 volunteers from the task force have reached out to the many other congregations throughout the county to expand the network of congregations associating with the task force. There are 6 local congregations that are already associated with the task force and include Temple B'nai Israel, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship At Easton, Third Haven Friends Meeting, Easton Church of the Brethren, Scott's United Methodist Church and Grace Lutheran Church.Reach out to: Helpingimmigrantstc@gmail.com.
- Opportunity: If you are interested in helping to start a worship service at Eastern Shore Correctional Institute, please call Molly Brian. No set schedule is yet formed on this, but we are trying to see if there is genuine interest in a project there.
- If you would like to make a public statement of your commitment to our Peace Testimony, the opportunity to do so exists eachThursday afternoon. Peace Vigils are held each Thursday from 5 to 6 p.m. The Thursday vigil is held in Easton in front of the Talbot County Court House. On June 25, we will meet at 5PM in front of the courthouse. Starting July 2, we will meet at the park at Washington and Idlewild. All are welcome.
Announcements from Quaker Organizations:
- Updates from Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM):
- Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM) Giant Children's Meeting on 4th Sundays at 9am:
Youth-led Meeting for Worship on the last Sunday of the month at 8pm
An Invitation to Be in the Circle Together — "Building the Quaker Community We Want to Be" will show up in different ways in the Youth Programs this year. Staff are excited about plans for the coming year, which include resuming the monthly online programs in September. Both of these programs are opportunities for children and families, and older youth to gather at less traditional times (that we think may work better for them!) with the bigger community of young people in PYM. Please click here for more information. - Quakerism and Constructive Conflict Addressed by Dr. Sa'ed Atshan
Dr. Sa'ed Atshan offered the closing keynote to 106 Friends at Philadelphia Yearly Meeting's 341st Annual Sessions with a talk on managing conflict within the Religious Society of Friends. He spoke of the powerful healing force of a humble, empathetic approach to difficult conversations. - SPIRITUAL FORMATION WEEKEND RETREAT OCTOBER 15-17, 2021:
Spiritual Refreshment: Reaching for the Divine
Nurture your spirit with a weekend retreat designed to create sanctuary for our souls, to renew and deepen our lives in spiritual community. Please join us as we enjoy Pendle Hill's beautiful 24 acre grounds, comfortable accommodations, and delicious homemade meals made with local, organic ingredients. Our gathering will have opportunity for conversations and activities with fellow travelers on the Spiritual Journey. We will be:- Retreating and creating sanctuary for our souls
- Deepening, nurturing, and learning
- Networking and connecting
- Sharing our stories and be wholly/holy listened to
- Sharing a commitment to move forward together with joy
Due to Covid: shared rooms may be occupied by adults in same household, participants who are in a shared bubble, and/or by Friends who are vaccinated.
Register online before August 31, 2021. www.pym.org/spiritual-formation-weekend-retreat. Please click here for a flyer. - Introducing Annual Sessions 2021 Keynote Speakers:
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting's 341st Annual Sessions will be held virtually this year from July 27 through August 1, 2021. This year we have five keynote speakers, one for each day of Sessions week. We will be offering five and a half days of programming—including a retreat, All-Ages worship, business, youth programs, affinity groups, worship sharing, and bible study. - Part 2: Where are we going? Supporting Families and Religious Education in Meetings
This is the second of a two-part story focused on local meetings and the people who support children and youth programs and families in their community. Part two looks ahead to what's next in building all-ages spiritual community, with ideas and tools for meetings to use as they think about continuing or resuming RE programs in the fall. How can we balance new possibilities, health and safety, and support for adults who care for young people? - Help Us Address Racism
A sprint (a goal-oriented short-term team that tackles a project and does the work quickly) has formed under the care of PYM's Administrative Council to propose ways for our yearly meeting community to intentionally hold the work of anti-racism and anti-oppression. Learn more on how you can help. - Pathways to Ending Gun Violence: Legislative Solutions
On Saturday, April 10, the Legislative Policy Collaborative of PYM sponsored a virtual workshop on Pathways to Ending Gun Violence: Legislative Solutions. Nearly 120 people registered for this event—clearly, this is a topic of great concern to F/friends, as representatives from more than 30 meetings tuned in to get informed and to get involved. - Epistles And Minutes:
Before the first reading of the PYM epistle on Saturday night, PYM rising clerk, Melissa Rycroft, described an epistle as a letter that is "not written for those of us in PYM. It is our outgoing letter to others in the world". Epistles are not meant to be a recitation of everything that happened, instead minutes capture those details. Nor are epistles a travel-log or documentary. Melissa emphasized that an epistle actually tracks how the spirit has moved among us.
- Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM) Giant Children's Meeting on 4th Sundays at 9am:
- From Pendle Hill:
- Live Streaming links
- Online Meeting for Worship at Pendle Hill: In these challenging times, with social distancing particularly important for the safety of all our community members, Pendle Hill will now be offering online Meeting for Worship via Zoom each morning at 8:30am from the comfort of your home.
- From Friends Committee on National Legislation:
Support The Bill: At the PYM ecojustice conference this past week, information was given on the Clean Energy Protection Program (CEPP). This will be debated in the US Congress in the next few weeks. If you want to support the bill, here is an easy link for you to send an email to our Congress people: https://fcnl.quorum.us/campaign/34603/?utm_source=fcnlaction. The instructions are simple, however it's a good idea to make the email your own by writing at least a personal statement at the start and the finish. The bill would help us move towards clean energy by 2030. For extra punch, mention the Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator (Called a National Climate Bank in the Senate), as this bill would help low income communities with a series of environmentally friendly loans.
Regular 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.
- Contributions to the meeting can be made by way of the contributions box in the Brick Meetinghouse entranceway. Checks can also be sent to THMM, P.O. Box 2379, Easton, MD 21601; or by clicking on the button below:
- Are your names, addresses, telephone numbers, and e-mail listings all correct in the Third Haven Directory? Please review your information at Directory. The online directory remains protected: please e-mail taniahharrison@gmail.com or hawkjm@goeaston.net if you need the password. If you have corrections for the Directory, please send them to 3rdhaven@gmail.com.
- Faith and Practice can be read and portions extracted from the PYM website at this link.
- If you have material for the newsletter, additional announcements, or added information about any of these posted events, please send it to 3rdhaven@gmail.com.