Sadelle Wiltshire will be hosting a peace labyrinth walk prior to the election.
“We believe that every person is loved by the Divine Spirit. There are
Quakers of all ages, religious backgrounds, races, education, sexual orientations, gender identities, 
abilities, classes and experience. You are welcome to join us as you are.”
These words were approved by the Monthly Meeting today as an update to our welcoming language to the world. Our thanks to the Committee on Nurturing Ministries of Friends General Conference in allowing us to use some of their language.
~ Reflection from the Retreat Committee
Dear folks connected to Putney Friends Meeting,
We have put up a sign saying that Black Lives Matter.
We had a film series in late spring on looking at racism and some of its evolution.
And this is your invitation to join a focused group this fall. Details are below. Please contact Gail Haines to register (or with questions).
Gail.haines.48@gmail.com
802-387-5676 or 802-258-0369.
Please register by September 10th.
Thanks and toward justice and peace, Gail
> Whites confronting our Racism – study and dialogue to action
>
> A group to meet 5 times. Regular attendance at all sessions is important for group development, so let us know if you have to miss a time. There will be readings sent out ahead of each session. We hope everyone who attends will have seen or see the films that were in the racism series in the spring. (they can be borrowed from the meeting)
>
> Tentative session titles:
> White privilege and white fragility within the context of a society that has structural racism
> Micro aggressions
> Practicing interventions
> Being black / person of the global majority in a majority white community and congregation
> How to take action
>
> Wednesdays, 6:30 – 8:30 pm
>
> Sept 21, Oct 5, Oct 19, Nov 2, Nov 16
>
> At Mareka’s house, 126 Main St. Putney – go in front door and ring bell on right (residence)
>
> Please let Gail Haines know by September 10th if you want to participate. Gail.haines.48@gmail.com
> 258-0369.
>
> Organizers and facilitators of the series – Claire Halverson, Sandy Lynn, Mareka Ohlson, Sheila Garrett, and Gail Haines.
Two local artists are joining forces with words and music for a poetry reading with violin interludes on June 18th, Saturday at 1 pm. 
Gudrun Weeks, violinist and Lynn Martin, poet, will be reading in Marlboro at 355 Upper Dover Road in the barn of Edie Mas (second place on the left after leaving Higley Hill). Visitors are asked to bring a folding chair if they can or a cushion to sit on the floor.
Gudrun says, “We two met in the West Brattleboro Quaker Worship Group. We had fun together reading Lynn’s poetry and seeing what idea that set off in me for my choice of music and Lynn’s reaction to that. There is no close connection between the two, just enjoying the partnership. We asked a third Quaker, Edie Mas, to host the happening in her barn up in Marlboro. It feels like a supportive, complimentary relationship.”
Gudrun was formerly a Marlboro resident, having built a house on Lucier Road with Larry Gay, teacher at the college and their two children. She taught solfege there under Blanche Moyse and was part of the founding of the Brattleboro Music School. In the seventies she also played in the Vermont Symphony and its quartet, giving school concerts. In the sixties she helped to form the Eugene Symphony and was its concert mistress. Earlier she taught at Putney School and played in the Kansas City Philharmonic after a year in the National Training Orchestra in NYC. While at Sarah Lawrence College she studied under Dorothy DeLay and Robert Koff from Juilliard. Previously she spent a year in Munich at the Conservatory.
Lynn has lived in Brattleboro for many years. You can view her work on poetlynn.com <http://poetlynn.com>. She has three books of poetry: Visible Signs of Defiance, Talking to the Day and Birds of a Feather.
“Lynn comes to poetry from a working class background. Her verse contains a raw truthfulness uncontaminated by privilege. Lynn’s style compliments that of the state of Vermont: sharp lines, a tough backbone, and an aesthetic the quality of moss.” Meg Mott. Marlboro College
Can a Quaker Meeting be quiet enough? Putney Friends Meeting has been working towards sound remediation in the Worship space over the past few years. With so many wood surfaces, the sound of voices was very reverberant and it was difficult at times to hear vocal testimony.
This week Brent, Ken, Chris and Roger installed acoustic panels to control the amount of echo. Many thanks to all who contributed to this project.
All are welcome to this opportunity to watch the films together, consider the history of 
racism, particularly in the USA, consider what white privilege is for those of us who are white, and pursue conversations on race and racism with one another.
Friday, April 22nd – Race: the Power of an Illusion – The differences between us. Facilitated by Nancy Shepherd
Friday, May 6th– Race: the Power of an Illusion – the story we tell. Facilitated by Gail Haines
Friday, May 20th – Race: the Power of an Illusion – The house we live in. Facilitated by Sandy Lynn
Friday, June 3rd – Last Chance for Eden, part 1 – Conversations around race and racism. Facilitated by Mike Mrowicki
Please join us. For questions contact the Justice and Peace Committee.
MEMORIAL INFORMATION: There will be a memorial gathering at the Putney Friends Meeting House on Saturday, Feb. 20, at 1 p.m. Donations to the Putney Friends Meeting, in care of Treasurer, Putney, VT 05346.
• Katherine (Kay) R. Frazer, 92, of Saxtons River. Died Jan. 28. Wife of the late Grant Frazer. Mother of Dr. James E. Frazer and his wife, Sharon, of Mishawaka, Ind., and Susan R. Frazer-Stebbins of Saxtons River. Sister of the late Allen Webster. Also survived by five grandchildren and seven great- grand-children. Born in Hazlet, N.J., daughter of the late Angelo M. and Madeline R. (Young) Webster, after her local education, she actively pursued her higher education in medicine and divinity. She graduated from Temple University and Methodist Teaching Hospital in Philadelphia. It was while she was in Philadelphia that she met the love of her life and equal, Grant, and they were married there in 1954. His teaching career brought the family to Saxtons River in 1960, where they would make their permanent home. She would always say how lucky she was to live in the beauty of Vermont. In 1965, seeing a need in the community for seniors and shut-ins to have a social outlet, Kay formed “Club 39.” The Christmas parties she would host for the club were the talk of the town and highly anticipated. Also during the 1960s she worked at the local hospital and for a local physician. She would hear complaints that patients could not be released for the simple reason of monitoring vitals or changing dressings. She proposed to a doctor that “there was no reason a nurse couldn’t go into a home and do these things.” Hence was born the Visiting Nurse Association out of a tiny office in Charlestown, N.H. In retirement, she was instrumental in the founding of Our Place Drop In Center, and volunteered at Parks Place Community Resource. She was a very devoted and active member of Putney Friends Meeting, including herself on committees concerning her Quaker Community as well as the community at large. One of her richest late life friendships was with Hattie Reeves Forsythe. The two of them were inseparable as they traveled the globe in their 70s and 80s. Her most important love was that of her family, that they remain close and looked after each other, and that traditions were continued.
