Middletown Friends Meeting
Newsletter - May/June 2008
453 West Maple Avenue
Langhorne, PA 19047
215-757-5500
Co-clerks: Jim and Claudia Haviland
Meeting for Worship 11:00 AM
(10:00 am in July & August)
Adult First Day School 9:45 AM
Children attend Meeting for Worship
for ~15 minutes, then go to FDS
Meeting News – May and June Calendars on pages 7 and 8
The Spring Clean-up took place over two Saturdays in April and the help of many hands made our
work easy and enjoyable. The first of the two Saturdays began with an amazing breakfast that Jim
and Claudia provided…if this is typical of the Second Saturday breakfast, no one should miss this
opportunity to come together for feasting and fellowship!
Speaking of feasting and fellowship... twelve Friends enjoyed both at the first Pizza Night on April
25 Don’t miss it next time around, on Friday, May 30 and Friday, June 27 at 6:30 PM.
Friendly Shared Meal
Are you concerned about those living on the financial edge in Lower Bucks County? Does a Friendly
shared meal program for those in need speak to your condition? For eight years, Andre Salz of
Richland Meeting, has been coordinating Food For Friends. Andre will meet with us on Monday,
May 12, 7:00 PM at Middletown to discuss his project, and we’ll test whether a meal program is a
Rightly ordered, long-term project for Bucks Quarter Friends.
Zoo Friends at Friends Village
On Saturday, June 7 (rain date June 8) from 11:00 AM to 2:30 PM, Friends Village is inviting you to its
third annual early summer fun(d)raiser, “Zoo Friends!” The Peaceable Kingdom Petting Zoo will be
there as well as exotic animals, face painting, a scavenger hunt, arts and crafts, animal games, and
more. The cost is $25 for families (two adults with children) and $10 per individual. A lunch and
snack court will be available. For more information contact: Lydia Lewis at 215-968-3278 or
misspid2@aol.com or Holly Olson at 215-453-7326 or hollybqc@verizon.net All proceeds benefit the
Friends Home and Friends Village of Bucks Quarterly Meeting.
First Day School Picnic – All are welcome!
The annual end of year Middletown picnic will be held on Sunday, June 22 at the rise of worship.
Plan to attend as we fade off into summertime. There will be so many things to celebrate, such as
welcoming Sally and Alan home, the Gessner’s new home, our new co-clerks, our new members,
pizza night, second Saturday breakfasts, ourselves and the special bond we all share, and all the
other blessings in our lives.
Life’s Journey
If you, a family member or other loved ones are in time of special need for which the Meeting
may provide support … or have special joys to share, please contact the Oversight/Worship &
Ministry Committee. We are striving to assure the needs of our Meeting community are met with
both spiritual and earthly support.
Please remember your donations to the Food Pantry!
Member News
Sally and Alan Farneth will be returning to Bucks County in June!! We are all so very thrilled to
have them back “home.”
Gregory Alan Farneth and Nina Sienna Castro
were married at Pima County Courthouse in
Tucson, Arizona on March 21, 2008. The newlyweds
are relocating to Hamilton, Montana, where both
will be working for the National Institute of Allergy
& Infectious Diseases, a division of the National
Institutes of Health, Greg in bioinformatics and
Nina in genomics. Their new address is: 117 N. 4th
Street, Suite C, Hamilton, MT 59840.
More Farneth/Hankins news… Proud parents
Lindy and Luke Hankins, along with big sister
Sabrina, welcomed Nathanial Oliver Hankins,
born on April 24th at 9:40 AM, weighing in at a
whopping (or is that walloping), 10 pounds and 7.7
ounces! Wow Lindy, we have a renewed sense of
awe when we think of you!!!
For details and pictures: http://blog.ethersmith.com/
and http://www.flickr.com/photos/lukehankins
The Gessner family has a new home! Hannah, Dwayne, Hayley, Abigail, Alana, Chris, Justin
and Milo moved into their new home in Newtown on Saturday, May 3. We wish them all the
good things that their new life has to offer and we send them off with gratitude and love. We
will deeply miss Hayley’s incredible energy and we hope to see them all very soon! The
Gessner’s new address is 406 Washington Crossing Road, Newtown, PA 18940.
Bev Smalley, Jim Haviland, author/poet Ray McGinnis,
Claudia Haviland, Tom Olson, and Mark Pryzby were
among Friends participating in the “Writing the Sacred”
workshop held at the Meeting on April 11.
Thanks to all the Friends who pitched in to help cook,
eat, and clean up at the meeting breakfast on April 6.
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Meet Our Newest Members
Gretchen and John Richards
The strength of spirituality often goes unnoticed.
However, for two of our members, it was because
of this strength that their worlds united. John and
Gretchen Richards were on their own spiritual
quests when they met in September of 2003. They
were married on January 19, 2008 at Middletown
Meeting. John and Gretchen have no human
children, but consider themselves parents of the
furry variety of children, 3 cats, all a handful
since they are all long-haired cats.
Presently, John is working on his Bachelor's degree in Sociology at Holy Family University. His
goal is to obtain a Master's Degree in Social Work. John’s summer hobby is his deck
beautification project using many flowers and plants. John is a voracious reader. His favorite
topics are philosophy and religion. Gretchen is an alumna of Holy Family University with a
degree in Accounting, and is an Accountant with a firm in Southampton. They enjoy drives
along the Delaware River, visits to Afton Lake in Yardley to sit with the ducks and geese, trips
to Lancaster and York where Gretchen has family and to Clarks Summit to visit with John's
father and friends.
John and Gretchen are very similar and very different all at the same time. Gretchen was born
on September 13th and is intelligent, analytical and orderly. John was born on December 1st, and
is friendly, free spirited, and philosophical. Gretchen likes to give the financial report, while all
John wants to hear is that there's enough money to pay the bills or that there's a surplus and
she's afraid to tell him because he'd go out and buy more books.
For John and Gretchen, finding each other was something neither was really looking for, but
they seem to complement each other very well. Their spiritual quest has taken them both
through a variety of religious study from the Western Religions through the Eastern
Philosophies. They have taken many ideas from all that they have learned and believe to create
their own views and ideals. For them, applying those ideals daily is what is important.
Becoming Quakers in September 2007 and being married in the Care of the Meeting in 2008
seems to have completed their spiritual and personal journeys, since they both feel that they
have arrived "home."
Peace Camp is Back!
What’s the best thing for kids to do this summer? Peace Camp!! Peace Camp will be held
July 21 through August 15 at Newtown Meeting and it’s for children in grades 1-6. Please let
your friends and family members know about this fabulous resource. Children experience a
new way of being peaceful together. Children will participate in Peace Education activities,
develop leadership skills, practice conflict resolution skills, enhance communication skills,
participate in team building activities, promote non-violence and develop character. For
more information go to www.thepeacecenter.org or call The Peace Center at 215-750-7220.
Quarterly Meeting Weekend Scheduled for May 16th and 18th
Remember that this is a wonderful time to gather with Friends from throughout the Quarter.
You do not have to attend for the entire day. Join Friends for the program with Arthur
Larrabee and stay for lunch. It’s a good idea for a few Friends from our Meeting to stay for
business as the Quarter’s budget will be on the agenda for approval. We will hear of the life
of other Meetings in our Quarter. Plumstead Meeting is the Quarter’s greenest Meeting as it
does not rely on fossil fuel for its energy. Plumstead has never been on the grid!!
Worship and Ministry Program at Wrightstown Meeting
The Worship and Ministry gathering on Friday evening is open to all and is always a deep
and rich spiritual experience.
6:00 PM Brown Bag Dinner Wrightstown Friends will provide coffee and dessert.
7:00 PM Program: Readings from Emerson's essay, "Self-Reliance." Though Emerson was a
Transcendentalist, this reading speaks to Friends.
Quarterly Meeting at Plumstead
9:00–9:30 Registration, coffee, bagels and fruit
9:30–10:30 Meeting for Worship
9:45–10:00 Children under 12 leave for program of music and games with Nancy
Brown... until noon.
10:30–11:00 Break, coffee, bagels, fruit
11:00–12:00 Arthur Larrabee, General Secretary of PYM, will speak on the topic of:
QUAKER DECISION-MAKING: Consensus, Discernment and Clearness.
Friends over 12 years old are invited to attend worship and the program
12:00-1:00 Brown Bag Lunch; Plumstead will provide beverage and dessert.
1:00-3:00 Business Session (PLEASE CALL BETH AT 215-822-2299 IF YOU NEED CHILD
CARE DURING THIS TIME)
Have you made your contribution to the PYM Annual Fund?
As your designated PYM Annual Fund representative, I’m pleased to tell you that the annual fund
has raised $302,000! However the other side of that is that we still need to raise another $173,000!!
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting does the wider Quaker work that the Monthly or Quarterly Meetings
cannot do either for financial reasons or people power reasons. As members and attenders, we did
not merely join into a Monthly Meeting, we joined the Religious Society of Friends. There is great
work to be done by this great people who have been gathered. Please support our Yearly Meeting
and give as generously as you are able. I have worked on the phonathon for quite a few years and I
can tell you that there truly is no such thing as too small a gift. What has our Yearly Meeting done
for us lately??? Well it helped to support every one of our children in Quaker schools, it helps to
support or aged less fortunate Friends with financial support from the John Martin Trust, it
supported our Outreach mailing project last year, and let’s never forget the incredible work of our
Peace and Justice staff person and our Middle School and Young Friends staff people. Really, need I
go on ? Send your contributions to: PYM attn: Wright Horne, 1515 Cherry Street, Phila PA 19102
—Holly Olson
4
Camp Onas Open House
Are you looking for a fun-filled, friendly summer adventure? Sign up now for Camp Onas. We have
room in all sessions for boys and in fourth session for girls. Check www.camponas.org for rates,
dates and session availability and to download a brochure and registration form. Quaker rates and
financial aid are available. Interested families are invited to the Camp Onas Open House on
Sunday, May 18 from 2–4 pm. Camp Onas also has staff positions open for the 2008 summer, June
15–August 16. An experienced cook, at least 21 years of age, is needed to supervise the dinner
preparations and service for up to 200 people. Senior Counselors, at least 18 years of age, are also
needed. Experience with children and camping is required. For more information, please call Sue at
610-847-5858.
Pie Festival and Quaker Heritage Celebration at Solebury Meeting
Solebury Meeting will hold Quaker Heritage Day celebration featuring a flea market, pie festival and
Meetinghouse tours on Saturday May 17th from 10am to 2pm. The event will be held at the
Meetinghouse which is located at the intersection of Sugan and Meetinghouse roads. Go to
www.quakersbucks.org and click on the Solebury Meeting link for detailed directions. Proceeds
from the event will go to assisting the Iraqi family the Meeting is sponsoring as well as to Pedals for
Progress, a bicycle donation program that sends donated bikes overseas to assist impoverished
people with transportation needs. Bike donations will be accepted at the fest. Slices of homemade
pies of all types as well as beverages will be on sale. Children’s events will also be held. For further
information or directions, call John Mathieu at 609-577-0418.
Federal Rebates: Corporate Witness for Earth?
A Friend in my weekday worship group asked if we had considered how we might use the $600 tax
rebates being discussed in Congress. Most Friends would prefer to see our government fund
education, healthcare, and those in need, rather than give money to citizens to buy more “stuff.” But
what if we used these rebates as a witness for the Earth? PYM’s Earthcare Working Group suggests
we might use them to:
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Lower our individual ecological footprint through energy conservation measures for our home:
Purchase of an Energy Star appliance to replace an old one on its last legs,
Replacing any remaining incandescent bulbs in our homes with compact fluorescent light bulbs,
Purchasing small electric heaters to heat only the space where we are working or dressing in
order to leave our thermostats at 55 degrees all the time.
Pool some or all of our rebates to help make our Meetings more energy efficient.
Attic insulation, basement air sealing, Energy Star windows
Purchase a commercial grade dishwasher that would enable the Meeting to stop using
disposable dishes.
Purchase of reusable china, utensils, and glassware or mugs at a thrift store, or fabric to make
cloth napkins for the Meeting community.
Or is there something still bigger that we could accomplish? Send us your ideas! Tell us what you
and your Meeting decide to do!
—Hollister Knowlton, Chestnut Hill Meeting (PA),
Clerk of PYM Earthcare Working Group, h.knowlton@comcast.net
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Mother’s Day Walk for Peace
The Second Annual Mothers Day Walk and Talk for Peace will take place in Doylestown Saturday,
May 10. The public is invited to gather at the Bucks County Courthouse, North Main and Court
Streets, for a send-off by Doylestown Mayor Libby White at 1:30 PM. Walkers will be escorted by a
bagpiper through town and to the Mount Carmel Peace Garden, where Christa Tinari, Peace
Educator from Doylestown Borough, will speak on “Educating for Peace and Justice - Creating A
Better Tomorrow, Today.” Christa was recently invited to present at the International Summit on
Conflict Resolution: Youth and Conflict: Global Challenges, Local Strategies, which included
participants from every continent. She will report on the conference, give a brief overview of Peace
and Justice Educational Initiatives that are happening around the globe, and let people know how
they can get involved. Sponsored by Mothers and Others for Peace and Justice Education. For
information, call Shirley Salamon 215-822-3561.
A Brief History of Mother's Day
Julia Ward Howe saw some of the worst effects of the war -- not only the death and disease
which killed and maimed the soldiers. She worked with the widows and orphans of soldiers on
both sides of the war, and realized that the effects of the war go beyond the killing of soldiers in
battle. She also saw the economic devastation of the Civil War, the economic crises that followed
the war, the restructuring of the economies of both North and South.
In 1870, Julia Ward Howe took on a new issue and a new cause. Distressed by her experience
of the realities of war, determined that peace was one of the two most important causes of the
world (the other being equality in its many forms) and seeing war arise again in the world in the
Franco-Prussian War, she called in 1870 for women to rise up and oppose war in all its forms. She
wanted women to come together across national lines, to recognize what we hold in common
above what divides us, and commit to finding peaceful resolutions to conflicts. She issued a
Declaration, hoping to gather together women in a congress of action.
She failed in her attempt to get formal recognition of a Mother's Day for Peace. Her idea was
influenced by Anna Jarvis, a young Appalachian homemaker who had attempted starting in 1858
to improve sanitation through what she called Mothers' Work Days. She organized women
throughout the Civil War to work for better sanitary conditions for both sides, and in 1868 she
began work to reconcile Union and Confederate neighbors. Anna Jarvis' daughter, also named
Anna Jarvis, would of course have known of her mother's work, and the work of Julia Ward
Howe. Much later, when her mother died, this second Anna Jarvis started her own crusade to
found a memorial day for women. The first such Mother's Day was celebrated in West Virginia in
1907 in the church where the elder Anna Jarvis had taught Sunday School. The custom caught on,
spreading eventually to 45 states. Finally the holiday was declared officially by states beginning
in 1912, and in 1914 the President, Woodrow Wilson, declared the first national Mother's Day.
May 10, 2008 Conference: Thinking Outside the Bomb –
Action on Nuclear Weapons, the Environment, and Health
The Project for Nuclear Awareness presents a one-day, multidisciplinary conference to "connect the
dots" on the environment, nuclear weapons, and global action on health. The conference brings
together experts, activists, advocates, and interested citizens, for a critically-important discussion for
Earth's future. Cosponsored by FCNL.
When? Saturday May 10, 2008
Where? Sheraton University City, Hotel Ballroom, 36th and Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia, PA
For complete agenda and tickets http://www.projectfornuclearawareness.org/news.aspx/pub/4/id/45
Middletown Friends Meeting Calendar
May 2008
Sunday
4
Monday
5
11:00 AM –
Meeting for
Worship
11
12
Tuesday
19
9
10
9:00 AM Breakfast &
Puttering
Around with
the Clerks
17
7:00 PM
Meeting for
Business
(Dessert @
6:30)
7:00 PM –
Midweek
Meeting
7:00 PM Yoga
13
14
15
16
7:00 PM –
Midweek
Meeting
7:00 PM Yoga
6:00 PM
Quarterly
Worship &
Ministry @
Wrightstown
21
7:00 PM –
22
23
24
31
20
Quarterly
Meeting @
Plumstead
11:00 AM –
Meeting for
Worship
Saturday
3
8
Worship
Sharing at
Midweek
Meeting
26
Friday
2
7
11:00 AM –
Meeting for
Worship
25
Thursday
1
6
11:00 AM –
Meeting for
Worship
18
Wednesday
27
7:00 PM Yoga
28
29
30
7:00 PM –
Midweek
Meeting
7:00 PM Yoga
6:30 pm
Pizza Night
7
Middletown Friends Meeting Calendar
June 2008
Sunday
1
Monday
2
Tuesday
3
9:30 am –
Meeting for
Business
Wednesday Thursday
4
5
7:00 PM –
Midweek
Meeting
7:00 PM Yoga
11
12
7:00 PM –
Midweek
Meeting
7:00 PM Yoga
18
7:00 PM –
19
Friday
7
11—2:30
Zoo Friends
at Friends
Village
(Rain Date
June 8th)
13
14
11:00 AM –
Meeting for
Worship
8
9
10
11:00 AM –
Meeting for
Worship
15
16
17
11:00 AM –
Meeting for
Worship
22
Worship
Sharing at
Midweek
Meeting
23
11:00 AM –
Meeting for
Worship
24
29
9:00 AM Breakfast &
Puttering
Around with
the Clerks
20
21
28
7:00 PM Yoga
25
26
27
7:00 PM –
Midweek
Meeting
7:00 PM Yoga
6:30 PM
Pizza Night
Noon FDS Picnic
30
11:00 AM –
Meeting for
Worship
8
Saturday
6