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Quaker
N e w s l e t t e r
WEEKLY MEETINGS
2nd Mondays
Every Sunday
6:00 pm
9:30 am
Meeting for Worship, Meeting Room
10:30 am
Social Hour, Common Room
11 am
Meeting for Worship, Meeting Room
and First Day School
See Greeting Committee for classroom
location.
12 noon
Social Hour, Common Room
Friends Shelter, Common Room. To
volunteer or for more information,
call 212 673 8316,
www.friendsshelter.org
MONTHLY MEETINGS
1st, 3rd & 5th Sundays
9:30 am
Manhattan Monthly Meeting, Room 1
Programmed Meeting for Worship
1st Sundays
1-2 pm
Silent Vigil for Peace, Washington
Square Arch at Fifth Avenue
2nd Sundays
9:30 am
Manhattan Monthly Meeting Bible
Study, Room 1
11 am
Bible Discussion Group, Upstairs
Lounge
Everyone welcome; no preparation
needed.
For more information:
[email protected]
There will not be a Meeting for Worship
with a Concern for Business in August.
1 pm
Meeting for Worship with a Concern
for Business, Meeting Room. All
welcome. Does not meet in August.
THE NEWSLETTER OF THE FIFTEENTH STREET MONTHLY MEETING OF THE RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS
Women’s Worship Sharing Group
Room 3. Pot luck 6:30-7 pm and worship
sharing 7:00 – 8:00 pm.
2nd Wednesdays One in Christ Worship Group,
7:00 – 8:00 pm Meeting Room.Contact Eliezer
Simeon Hyman, or Brian Doherty at
[email protected]
3rd Sundays
1 pm
Every night of the year
6 pm
Aug/Sept 2014
The Ministry and Worship Third
Sunday Program, Meeting Room.
Programs under the care of Ministry and
Worship
3rd Mondays
7:00 – 8:00 pm Meeting for Healing Prayer,
Room 1
Rotating Schedule
12:15 pm
Outreach to Young Adult Friends.
Those between the ages of 18 and 40 (or
thereabouts) are encouraged to join the 15thStYAF
google group. Apply to join the group at
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/15thstya
f or go to groups.google.com and search for
15thStYAF. After joining, Young Friends can email
announcements and invitations to the group.
COMMITTEE MEETINGS
2nd Wednesday 6:30 pm
Arts Committee meeting in the Committee Room.
All are welcome. For info, contact Ricardo SmithHoffman ([email protected]). Does not meet in
August.
3rd Sunday 9:30 am
Peace and Social Justice Committee meeting. All
are welcome. Does not meet in August.
4th Sunday 12:30 pm
Religious Education Committee meetings are in
Room 3. Childcare provided. Potluck lunch
appreciated. For info, contact Ann Kjellberg
([email protected]).
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August/September 2014
IMPORTANT DATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Young Adult Mini Retreats
There are Young Adult Mini Retreats coming up this summer. These are designed to be a short
time commitment, one day, low cost, $15-20 suggested donation, and provide childcare if
requested. The mini retreats will focus on a topic, and will provide opportunities for fellowship,
food, worship, discernment, worship sharing and getting to know other YAF. We have held one so
far, and it was wonderful. Are you interested in having your Meeting host a mini retreat? Let
me know!
Gabi, Young Adult Field Secretary for NYYM: [email protected]
See dates:
August 30 at Saratoga Monthly Meeting
This is a great way to end the summer, catch up with old friends, get some spiritual renewal
heading into fall. There will be camping available the night before and after, for those who are
interested. Please join us! Spread the word!!
Link to registration for Saratoga MM mini retreat:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1vINQKFW-QZt6UJOsXJ6R4CWMzGtrwsJhElLRQ9mmNQ/viewform?usp=send_form
September 6 at Brooklyn Monthly Meeting
This is an easy one to get to via mass transit! We are really excited about it!
Link to registration for the Brooklyn MM mini retreat:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Dh01L9LALvoj1loTpZl1hqtlgBRp_u7Pj189fV3Iw78/viewf
orm?usp=send_form
Mass Incarceration & Solitary Confinement
Panel Discussion and Action
Friends Meeting House at 15 Rutherford Place, NY NY
Sunday 1-2:20
October 20, 2014
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This event is sponsored by 15 St MM’s Ministry & Worship Committee and organized by
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the Death Penalty Abolition and Prison Reform Committee of 15 St MM. For more
information, contact Chris Japely at [email protected]
Confirmed Speakers:
Jean Casella, journalist, co-author with James Ridgeway of 2012 cover piece in The
Nation on solitary confinement. She is the creator of www.solitarynation.com
Five Mualimm-ak, a formerly incarcerated New Yorker who is now with CAIC and Ending
the New Jim Crow as a full-time organizer.
Bonnie Kerness, American Friends Service Committee regional director and long-time
activist on solitary confinement.
Ojore Lutalo, a man who was in solitary confinement in New Jersey for over 20 years and
now works as an activist artist, educating about solitary confinement and other racist
prison abuses.
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August/September 2014
Larry White, Alternatives to Violence trainer, member of Morningside Monthly Meeting,
and formerly incarcerated person.
The panel will be followed by Q&A, and we will end with a postcard action involving NYS
and NYC prison issues. (Please bring a pen and a dollar or two to defray postage costs).
15th St Monthly Meeting Google Group E-mail
If you are not getting e-mail via the 15th St MM Google Group and you would like to,
please do the following:
To post to the group, send a request to [email protected]
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/15thstreetfriends
Page 4
August/September 2014
CALLED MEETING FOR WORSHIP WITH A CONCERN FOR BUSINESS TO REFLECT
ON NYYM STATEMENT OF LEADINGS AND PRIORITIES
June 29, 2014 at 1:00 pm
At the Fifteenth Street Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, held in the
room 1 at 15 Rutherford Place, Manhattan, New York City, First Day, Sixth Month 29, 2014
at 1:00 p.m.
2014.06.16. After a period of waiting worship, Friends appoint Ben Smith as clerk of the
day for the called meeting, and Steven Bhardwaj as recording clerk.
2014.06.17. The clerk reads the final paragraph of the Preface of the Statement of
Leadings and Priorities inviting friends to sit with the proposed Statement of Leadings and
Priorities, test them for truthfulness and reflect back the ways in which the Statement
succeeds and falls short in expressing our hopes and dreams for a beloved community.
And a Friend reads 15thStMM Minute 2014.5.11, which calls for this Called Meeting.
2014.06.18. Friends approve an agenda for this meeting, to discuss each of the six
priorities in order, and to discuss any additional priorities that Friends feel are missing.
2014.06.19. Friends express appreciation that our proposed NYYM priority #1 is being
grounded in the practice of our faith. Faith and Practice notes "The Yearly Meeting exists
primarily to worship together." Friends encourage the NYYM to have more communal
worship in our Yearly Meeting gatherings and activities. This might help us avoid a feeling
of nonchalance about God and the spirit when we are together. Friends note a concern
with the wording of "spiritual skills" in the first priority, because grounded in faith means
emptying self of ego, of the flesh, and letting Christ reign. Friends wish to emphasize the
importance of simplicity, love and forgiveness, as well as the importance of faithfulness in
our daily lives.
2014.06.20. Friends note that the strength and vitality of monthly meetings is a central
concern, and importantly depends on effective service of its members and attenders, as
well as coordination of information at the ym and other broader levels, as well as graceful
and efficient procurement and use of meeting finances. In this vein, Friends suggest that
Priority #2 might rather read, "...programs to help efficiently sustain our monthly meetings
through sharing nonfinancial as well as financial resources and increase membership."
2014.06.21. The clerk reads the third priority and friends express appreciation and
approve.
2014.06.22. Friends agree that a gathered NYYM body is an important priority, as was
mentioned in minute 2014.06.19 about communal NYYM worship. Friends express
appreciation for new inter-visitational programs, and existing programs like Powell House.
Friends also find great importance in taking full advantage of novel methods of
communication. Friends pointed to the example of the recent EWG conference calls as
effectively bringing distant parts of the NYYM together. Conference calls might also be
helpful for bringing us together for worship.
2014.06.23 Friends agree that nurturing children, youth, and young adults is an important
priority. Friends express particular interest in including children and young adults directly in
the work, activity, and worship of the meeting, rather than placing them in parallel separate
environments. For example, our Greeting Committee includes two members who are 6 and
8 years old. Currently there are no items in the 1-year and 5-year plans that mention
"young adults," and we ask that plans addressing their needs be included. Friends express
continued appreciation of the work of the Powell House youth program and the Young
Adult Field Secretary.
2014.06.24 We have some concern with the wording of priority area five (witness) and we
offer these two minutes to NYYM: 2014.06.24 (1) We wish for the body of members of
NYYM, as well as its committees and appointed officers, to not merely engage in us vs.
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August/September 2014
them advocacy, but to convey a message of God's love for all people including those with
whom we disagree; 2014.06.24 (2) We wish for all parts of the NYYM to speak strongly
for a message of care and love for the entire earth and the interconnected ecology of all
living creatures.
2014.06.25 Friends instruct the clerks of this called meeting to convey minutes 16 through
25 to appropriate contacts at the PWG and NYYM, including the clerk of the PWG, the
clerk and assistant clerk of NYYM, and the general secretary of NYYM.
Then at 4:10 pm, with twelve Friends present, Friends adjourn with a period of waiting
worship. Friends note that this called meeting has included members and attenders of
both Fifteenth Street and Manhattan Monthly Meetings.
In attendance are:
Margery Cornwell, John Edminster, Patty Frascatore, Maureen Healy, Carol Jackson,
Emily Provance, Janet Soderberg (7),
And,
Beverly Archibald (Manhattan Monthly Meeting), Catesby Bernstein, Glenn Josey (3)
Total Attendance: 12 (including clerks)
Clerk: Benjamin Smith
Recording Clerk: Steven Bhardwaj
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August/September 2014
MEETING FOR WORSHIP WITH A CONCERN FOR BUSINESS
July 13, 2014 at 1:00 pm
At the Fifteenth Street Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, held in the
meeting room at 221 East Fifteenth Street, Manhattan, New York City, First Day, Seventh
Month 13, 2014 at 1:00 p.m.
2014.7.1 During a period of waiting worship, the Clerk reads the 7th Advice and 13th
Query from NYYM Faith & Practice. Friends consider them in waiting worship with vocal
ministry.
Seventh Advice: Friends are advised to work toward removing the causes of
misery and suffering. They are urged to support efforts to overcome racial, social,
economic, and educational discrimination; to bear testimony against all forms of
oppression; to exert influence for such treatment of prisoners as may help
reconstruct their lives; and to work for the abolition of the death penalty.
Thirteenth Query: Do we maintain Friends’ testimony against war? Do we “live in
the virtue of that life and power which takes away the occasion of all wars”? Are we
exerting our influence in favor of settlement of all differences by truly nonviolent
methods? Do we strive to transmit to everyone an understanding of the basis of our
peace testimony?
2014.7.2 The Clerk informs the Meeting that our appointed Recording Clerk, Benjamin
Smith, is absent today. Steven Bhardwaj offers to serve as Recording Clerk, with the
Meeting's permission. The Meeting approves.
2014.7.3 The Clerk presents a request from Yonge Street Monthly Meeting in Canadian
Yearly Meeting for transfer of membership for Tom Walsh. That meeting has written a
signed letter detailing his request to transfer his membership to Fifteenth Street Monthly
Meeting. The Clerk reports having forwarded the request to Pastoral Care.
2014.7.4 The Clerk presents a request for membership from Michael Cooper, who has
written a signed letter detailing his request. The Clerk forwards the request to Pastoral
Care.
2014.7.5 Nominating Committee presents the following second reading: for Directory
Committee, Steven Bhardwaj. Friends approve this appointment.
2014.7.6 Arts Committee presents its 2013 annual report which is appended to these
minutes. The meeting receives the report.
2014.7.8 The Ad Hoc Committee for Occupy Union Square presents an oral report and
makes a final request for a continuation of funding from the Charitable Fund to assist with
storage for another three months for $489. The committee reports that it expects this
amount should decrease moving forward, and may be designated for uses other than
storage. The committee plans discussions with the Occupy Union Square groups
accordingly. Friends approve.
2014.7.9 Friends review the history of the Perpetual Fund and its income, which is called
the Witness Fund, and feel the need to clarify the process for handling requests for
disbursements. Friends affirm that subsequent requests for disbursements from the
Witness Fund should be coordinated by the Budget and Collections Committee, in
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August/September 2014
consultation with the committees performing witness work, including but not limited to
Peace and Social Justice, Death Penalty Abolition and Prison Reform, and Friends in Unity
with Nature. The meeting advises Friends interested in making requests for disbursements
to work with the related committees of the monthly meeting.
2014.7.10 Carol Jackson reports that she, Margery Cornwell, and Margaret Mulindi
(Manhattan Monthly Meeting) request the meeting to make a contribution to the Davanga
schools in Kenya from the Witness Fund. The NY Quarterly Meeting partners with the
Davanga schools through its Great Lakes African Education Committee. The contribution
will cover text books and class materials. The Friends request $4,827 for this purpose.
The meeting approves making this contribution from the income of the Perpetual Fund.
2014.7.10 Margaret Lew reads a letter from Leitzel Schoen, Dean of Co-Curricular
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Programs of Friends Seminary, inviting the 15 St Monthly Meeting to join with Friends
Seminary to participate with them in the “People’s Climate Change March” of September
21, 2014. The letter is appended to these minutes.
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2014.7.11 Friends affirm that 15 Street Monthly Meeting will participate in this Climate
Change march. The clerk will coordinate with Maureen Healy to register the Meeting as a
participant cosponsor. Friends request to form an ad hoc task group including Ian Hansen
Maureen Healy, Margaret Lew, Elizabeth Edminster, Margery Cornwell, John Edminster,
Julie Finch, and Linda Hill Brainard. Friends approve the task group.
2014.7.12 Friends instruct the clerk to coordinate with the task group to reserve
meetinghouse-complex spaces for the night of Saturday September 20, and possibly
Sunday night September 21 with NY Quarterly Meeting Staff. The task group is instructed
to reserve spaces for food and bathroom uses, and other needs as appropriate as
available. The meeting asks the task group to consult building codes, including occupancy
counts, suggesting Glenn Josey as a reference for this. As “Youth Service Opportunities
Project” organizes routine group sleepovers in the meetinghouse, the task group is
encouraged to consult with YSOP. They should also consult with Friends Seminary,
including on the availability of showers. Ian Hansen, John Edminster, and Elizabeth
Edminster volunteer to be a Quaker presence for hospitality on the night-of. The meeting
advises the task group to register guests and coordinate hospitality, and suggest a
proposed donation to cover security, registration, food, and other costs. Donations should
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be made payable to 15 St Monthly Meeting. Any additional details of the coordination are
delegated to the task group.
2014.7.12 Friends read and consider a letter composed by the Friends in Unity with Nature
Committee, addressed to a number of political office holders, concerning the proposed
Liquefied Natural Gas port of Port Ambrose. Friends approve the letter and instruct the
Clerk to send it the NYS governor Andrew Cuomo, with carbon copy to a list of offices
included in the letter. The letter is appended to these minutes. The meeting also instructs
the Clerk to send a copy of the letter to NYYM representatives to the NYS Council of
Churches, and to Diane Randall at FCNL or other FCNL offices.
2014.7.11 Members of the Peace and Social Justice Committee report about ongoing work
on the Friends of Hopper Gibbons Underground Railroad site & Lamartine Pl. Historic
District. They request $1000 from the Witness Fund for legal fees in this effort. The
meeting approves this funding request.
Then, at 3:45 PM, Friends adjourned to meet on First Day (Sunday), Ninth Month
(September) 14, 2014 at 1:00 PM.
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August/September 2014
In attendance are:
Richard Accetta-Evans, Arthur Berk, Steven Bhardwaj, Linda Hill Brainard, FredricaAzania Clare, Margery Cornwell, Elizabeth Edminster, John Edminster, Julie M. Finch,
David Garrity, Ian Hansen, Carol Jackson, Glenn Josey, Margaret Lew, Emily Provance,
Amy Scarola, Diana Smith-Barker, Ricardo Smith-Hoffman, Carol Summar (19)
And,
Lee Blumenschine, Christopher K. Feltham, Dan Fogel, R. Barbara Kuesell, Christopher
Sammond (Poplar Ridge Monthly Meeting), Dale C. Sims, Ian Turner, Tom Walsh (Yonge
Street Monthly Meeting) (8)
Total Attendance (including clerks): 27
Ian Hansen, Clerk
Steven Bhardwaj, Recording Clerk for the day
Included as minuted:
Appendix 1: Arts Committee - 2013 Yearly Report
Appendix 2: Letter on Climate Change March from Leitzel Schoen
Appendix 3: Letter on Port Ambrose LNG Port
Appendix 1: Arts Committee - 2013 Yearly Report
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15 Street Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends
ARTS COMMITTEE- 2013 Yearly report
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Presented in Monthly Meeting for Business, July 13 , 2014
2013 was marked by continuing membership inconsistencies, cancelled meetings, and
lack of clarity—both of purpose and process.
Three projects were mounted in 2013, with the Arts Committee co-opting attenders to
accomplish its tasks:
Stand by Me, Thursday April 17th, 2013
Quiet New York, Quiet Amsterdam Quiet Paris, Sunday May 5th, 2013
Poetry for Peace, Wednesday June 26th, 2013
Michael Smith, Clerk of the committee, was released from service.
Moving forward into 2014, the Arts Committee is focused on administrative process.
Report made by
Ricardo Smith-Hoffman
Interim Clerk
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August/September 2014
Appendix 2: Letter on Climate Change March from Leitzel Schoen
Jul 3, 2014
Opportunity for a Joint Initiative with Friends Seminary & 15th Street
Care Committee Members and Members of the School Committee's Spiritual Life
Subcommittee
I have registered the school for an event in September for which I would like to invite 15th
Street Meeting to participate. The People's Climate Change March is set for Sunday,
September 21. The march (2-3 miles) is slated to be the largest in history and will begin in
Union Square. The march is set to coincide with the United Nation's Climate Summit on
9/23. I am serving as a local organizer and will mobilize the Friends Seminary community. I
was hoping 15th Street meeting would like to join us in the March. I was thinking the group
could meet in the Outer Courtyard after the 11 o'clock Meeting on Sunday. Once we are
gathered we could proceed to Union Square and join the other marchers. Right now the
March is slated to begin in the early afternoon. Specific times have not yet been
announced. During the week, students will make banners and signs. We would be happy
to share these art supplies with First Day School, as well as educational materials we have
gathered in a resource packet. At the March there will be some prominent speakers staged
throughout different stops along the route. Should be an exciting and informative
experience.
I also think this event has wonderful connections to Quaker United Nations Office. I have
reached out to them about a visit to QUNO the week before the Climate Change March. I
was hoping to bring a delegation comprised of students and teachers from FS, a few
School Committee members and, if you are interested, a few members from 15th Street
Meeting. I had two objectives in mind:
• to make our students more aware of this Quaker organization and more
specifically,
• to hear about their ongoing work on:
• human impacts of climate change
• natural resources, conflict and cooperation.
QUNO recently produced a paper detailing examples of international cooperation over
shared water resources and presented the findings at the UN Human Rights Council. I very
much much want our students to better understand the kind of worldwide work Quakers
are doing.
Members of the CARE and Spiritual Life Committees who are also 15th Street Meeting
members, could you please let me know if the Meeting would be interested in joining the
School on the March and if the Meeting would be interested in having a small delegation of
Meeting members join the School on the QUNO visit.? If so, please send me a contact
name and email/phone number. I will share information and coordinate through this 15th
Street Meeting member.
Sincerely,
Leitzel Schoen
Dean of Co-Curricular Programs
Friends Seminary
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August/September 2014
Appendix 3: Letter on Port Ambrose LNG Port
Dear ___________:
This letter outlines the reasons for opposing the Port Ambrose LNG port. Liberty Natural
Gas, LLC is proposing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) deepwater port facility called Port
Ambrose, to be sited about 17 miles from the NY shore.
Liberty Natural Gas is a foreign energy interest managed by an investment group in
Toronto, Canada and owned by a bank account in the Cayman Islands. Port Ambrose
would allow LNG vessels as long as the Empire State Building is tall to connect to the
region’s natural gas system.
There are many reasons why this port should not be built:
• LNG is extremely volatile. LNG facilities are known to be terrorist targets. This project is
sited between 2 of 3 shipping lanes approaching New York harbor.
• Significant environmental impacts can be expected from the discharge of 3.5 million
gallons of chemically treated seawater, underwater noise pollution, and the dredging of 20
miles of ocean floor. It is better to protect wildlife migration, two active Coast Guard
training facilities, and other clean ocean uses, such as tourism, recreation, and commercial
fishing.
• Approval of this project would compromise the development of an offshore wind farm
proposed for the same location.
• Like most build-outs of natural gas infrastructure, Port Ambrose would increase our
dependence on natural gas, a greenhouse gas that in the near term is 34 times more
effective than CO2 at trapping heat and causing Global Warming.
• While Liberty claims this port is to be used for import, it would most likely be used to
export gas to lucrative European and Asian markets. Exporting gas would cause additional
fracking in the US, and increase the pressure to allow fracking in NYS.
• Last but not least, New York and New Jersey are still recovering from Superstorm Sandy.
Port Ambrose is a risky new offshore mega-project and will be subject to serious damage
from the future storms that will hit the coast.
We urge you to veto this project, which could cause serious harm to New York State’s
precious environmental assets and to the people who live here.
Sincerely,
(signature)
Addressees to include:
Legislators for the Port Ambrose area:
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo
State Capitol
Albany, NY 12224
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August/September 2014
Assemblyman David G. McDonough
404 Bedford Ave.,
Bellmore, NY 11710
Assemblyman Joseph S. Saladino
512 Park Blvd.
Massapequa Park, NY 11762
Congressman Peter “Pete” King
1003 Park Blvd.
Massapequa Park, NY 11762
Congressman Gregory Meeks
67-12 Rockaway Beach Blvd.
Arverne, NY 11692
Congressmember Carolyn McCarthy
300 Garden City Plaza Suite 200
Garden City, NY 11530
Congressmember for 15th St. Meeting:
Congressmember Carolyn B. Maloney
1651 Third Ave. Suite 311
New York, NY 10128-3679
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August/September 2014
FRIENDS SEMINARY
NYQM members are invited to join Friends Seminary Meetings for Worship on these designated days. Guests will
need to sign in at the Reception desk at the school's Main Entrance (222 East 16 Street) before proceeding to the
Meetinghouse. Upon signing in, guests will receive a NYQM Visitor badge and be directed to the Meetinghouse.
Please note, all visitors will need to return to Reception at the end of the Meeting for Worship to return their badge
before leaving the building. These guest procedures are part of the school's security protocol which aims to keep
Friends Seminary's buildings safe for its students and teachers. We appreciate NYQM members' cooperation with
these procedures and look forward to worshiping together.
Upper School Fridays, 9:00-9:25am
Middle School Thursdays, 8:15-8:40am
Lower School Wednesdays, 8:40-9:00am
JOB OPENINGS AT FRIENDS SEMINARY:
For more details use the website www.friendsseminary.org listed in the tab About/Employment Opportunities
THE FIFTEENTH STREET
MONTHLY MEETING
Entrance at 15 Rutherford Place
Mailing Address:
15 Rutherford Place, New York, NY 10003
Telephone:
(212) 475 0466
Website:
http://fifteenth.quaker.org
Email:
[email protected]
Clerk:
Ian Hansen
Recording Clerk:
Ben Smith
Treasurer:
Tony Shitemi
The Quaker Newsletter is issued monthly by The Fifteenth Street Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of
Friends.
Contributors are responsible for ensuring that persons or organizations listed or shown within the material have
granted permission to 15th Street Monthly Meeting to publish in all media forms of the newsletter. Editing or omission
of articles, if necessary due to space restrictions, is done under the guidance of the Meeting’s appointed advisors.
We welcome submissions. Email submissions to the editor, Krista Looper, at [email protected]