SUMMER 20037 March 2003
alem Quarter Worship & Ministry Committee met on 7 March 2003 at the home of Gloria and Bob Horvay, convening in worship at about 7:45 pm. Friends came from Mickleton, Mullica Hill, Salem, and Woodbury Meetings, plus the Quarter Coordinator.
Planning for the Salem Quarter Retreat
Chip Thomas has agreed to facilitate this year's retreat, on the theme of simplicity. The retreat will be held at the Burlington Meetinghouse Conference Center, 15-17 August 2003. Registration fees will be $45 per adult, $30 per child, to a maximum of $120 per family. Some scholarship aid is available, and meetings are encouraged to offer support to new members and those in need.
The planning committee is still looking for people to conduct the children's portion of the retreat. Some people are being considered, but anyone who is interested in working with children throughout the retreat weekend (not just care taking, but providing a program) – or people who might recommend such a person – should contact Sondra Ball (committee convener) or Phil Anthony (Salem Quarter coordinator).
The next meeting of the planning committee will be at Woodbury Meeting, 25 March, 6:30 pm. Anyone interested is welcome to attend (contact Phil in advance, if you'd like to share in the pizza).
Legislators Visitation
A sense was reported from two monthly meetings that, while some individuals would be interested in supporting a revival of the congressional visitations, no one felt sufficiently under the weight of it to carry it forward.
We spent some time in consideration of the visitation. While we do not see it moving forward at this time, we strongly felt that it was good to review the past experience, which will be valuable if and when we do take up the visits again. We hope that the Quarter will be alert and responsive when the time is right.
Military Service and Conscientious Objection
For most of the evening, we wrestled with the need, already present and likely to grow dramatically, for Monthly Meeting Friends to assist young people in our meetings and the wider community as they face questions of participation in the military.
The traditional draft counseling services and resources are available; training has been available and can be arranged for Friends to be ready to counsel about military service. Indeed, Suzanne Day of PYM has mailed a packet of materials to each monthly meeting clerk, and probably will mail other packets upon request.
In considering how the Quarter may be called, we found a few points important:
- While there is no draft at present, re-institution of the draft is quite possible.
- Whether there is an official draft or not, the faltering economy creates an economic draft, in which young people with no evident prospects turn to the military for a paycheck.
- If the draft is re-instituted, it may include only limited provision for conscientious objectors, or no provision at all.
- Regardless of whether the law defines a “CO” category, conscientious objection is a matter of individual conscience, which may entail any of a wide range of positions and actions.
- Being of service to people considering conscientious objection requires us to accept the person as is, working not unlike a clearness committee, to help that person discover and clarify his or her own leading and its implications.
In our discussion and our worship, we could not find resolution either to make plans for developing a CO program or for laying it aside. We felt the imperative that we need to not simply assemble yet another collection of information. However, the urgency to act, and what that action might be, was not clear to us. What did emerge was clarity that this should be brought to Quarterly Meeting Business Session, and that we stand ready for the way that may open.
Next Meeting
We concluded in worship at about 9:30. Worship and Ministry intends to meet again on 6 June 2003, the Friday evening before Quarterly Meeting – and earlier, if it seems appropriate. We welcome participation from all monthly meetings of Salem Quarter.
For the Committee,
Mario Cavallini, ClerkRETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS
Last modified:
Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 08:19 AM
