West Falmouth Meeting Were Treated to His Demonstrations of These Curious and Wonderful Instruments at an Annual Gathering at the Douglas Home
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T H E G A Z E T T E “a news-sheet, a periodical publication giving an account of current events” West Falmouth Religious Society of Friends Frances Lightsom, Clerk (508-548-9186; [email protected]) Upcoming Events Quaker Birthdays New England Yearly Meeting NOVEMBER NEYM Ministry and Counsel Retreat, Saturday, November 10, Kim Allsup, 13 Woolman Hill. Martin Fido, 18 Louise Luckenbill, 19 Sandwich Monthly Meeting Rebecca Edwards, 30 Monthly Meeting for Business, Sunday, December 2 in Yarmouth. DECEMBER Events in the Quarter Steve Gates, 4 Quarterly Meeting for Business, Saturday, November 3 in West Falmouth. Alta Mae Stevens, 10 Meeting begins at 9:00 a.m. with arrival and greeting over coffee, tea and small Ruth Zwirner, 15 snacks. See attached flyer for full schedule. Contributions for morning coffee and snacks and noon lunch are welcome. MfB agenda will include three Regular Events memorial minutes from West Falmouth: Paul Mangelsdorf, Amelie Scheltema, and Alan Douglas. (Memorial minutes appear later in this issue.) Afternoon Adult Discussion Group, programs at West Falmouth Public Library from 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. include a Sundays at 9AM (November 4, 11, presentation/exhibit on Quaker history led by Abigail Young and hands-on 18, 25; December 2, 9, 16, 23, 30) training on carbon footprint calculation and reduction goals led by Steve Gates Peace and Social Order, (please bring utility bills). 2nd Sunday at 12 (November 11; December 9) <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Larry Jordan, Clerk (508-420-1738) Adult Education, 3rd Sunday at West Falmouth 12:00 (November 18: Quakers in The Adult Discussion Group gathers at the Early Falmouth with Thomas meetinghouse Sundays at 9:00 a.m. barring Sbarra; December 16 TBD). schedule conflicts. In November we will finish a pamphlet by Thomas Gates, Reclaiming the Ministry and Counsel, Transcendent. We will then turn to two draft 7:00pm (No November meeting; chapters of the revised Faith and Practice, one December 5 at the Jordan’s) Deborah Bradley, convener, on pastoral care and the other on dying, death, (508-564-4744) and bereavement. We plan to use the Marilyn Brice discussion questions provided by the revision Martin Fido committee and send our thoughts to the committee. A single pdf file of Carolyne Jordan NEYM Interim Faith and Practice 2014, including a Study Guide, can be Jonathan Joyal downloaded free of charge at neym.org/fandp/interim. New discussion group Louise Luckenbill members are always welcome! Empathy Practice (NVC) Usually 1st Sat. 9:30-11:45) Quaker Women Potluck and discussion Wednesday, November 14. We are (November 3, December 1) at 24 experimenting this month with a luncheon meeting. We will gather at Quaker Althea Rd. N. Falmouth, Brenda House at 11:30 a.m. and share a potluck lunch at 12:00 noon. The discussion Nolan, convener (508-274-2701) topic is “A Powerful Woman.” Semi-Simulated Restorative Grocery Gift Cards for Wampanoag Food Pantry Circle Practice, In this season, Sandwich Monthly Meeting donates to the Mashpee Usually 1st Saturday 12:45-2:45 pm Wampanoag Tribe's food pantry. This year the pantry would like $100 grocery (November 3, December 1) at 24 store gift cards for distribution to needy elders. Len Kreidermacher will be Althea Rd., North Falmouth, collecting our donations Sundays in November (4, 11, 18 and 25). Friends Brenda Nolan, convener (508-274- 2701) may give any amount in cash or by check made out to the Dennis-Yarmouth Ecumenical Council (for the Prevention of Homelessness) or DYECH. West Falmouth <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Business Meeting Other Events at the Meetinghouse 4th Sunday (Note Holiday Monday evenings, 7 pm, Zen Meditation. Contact Fran Lightsom Schedule: next MfB on December 9; then on January 6) Friday evenings, 7 pm, Narcotics Anonymous. Contact Sally Fritz Clerk – Frances Lightsom <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> (508-548-9186) Climate Change Forum, Sunday, November 4, 2 - 4 p.m. at St. John's Recording Clerk Molly Cornell Episcopal Church in Sandwich, 159 Main Street, Sandwich, MA 02563. The Treasurer Stephen Gates event is entitled "Tackling the Climate Crisis NOW: Faith and Science in a Auditor Nancy Holland Call to Action.” For further information see climate section later in this issue. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Directory/e-mail List Brenda Nolan Alternative Gift Market, Saturday and Sunday, November 10-11, at St. Ministry & Counsel Barnabas Church in Falmouth, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Choose creative holiday gifts Deborah Bradley that help support our planet, our local community and at-risk communities around the world. http://uuffm.org/justice/upper-cape-alternative-gift-market/ Building & Grounds Jonathan Joyal <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Quaker House Trustees The annual Wampanoag/Quaker Walk to the Indian Memorial in South Molly Cornell Yarmouth has been scheduled for November 11 at Yarmouth Friends Meeting Meetinghouse Committee at the rise of Meeting for Worship. Larisa Davidson <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Cemetery Overseers Sally Fritz Saturday, November 17, “Understanding Quakers,” a panel consisting of Library Committee Molly Cornell, Eric Edwards and Larry Jordan. West Falmouth Public Library, Nan Garrett-Logan 10:30 a.m., as part of a Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners grant to Peace and Social Order the library. See attached flyer. Larry Jordan Archives Carolyne Jordan Religious Education (Adult) Sunny Davidson Religious Education (Youth) Deborah Bradley New England Yearly Meeting online Newsletter: https://neym.org/newsletters <><><><><><><><><><><> Climate Calculator Goes Live! Steve Gates Friends who are interested in exploring ways to meet the New England Yearly Meeting’s proposed 10% reduction in their carbon footprints during the coming year may wish to try out the new version of the Climate Calculator that the NEYM has suggested using. This calculator can be found at http://climatecalculator.org/ClimateCalculator.html. This calculator not only helps you estimate your existing carbon footprint, but also gives you 475 different ways to reduce that carbon footprint, many of which actually save you money. New in this version, released earlier this week, is the ability to come back at any time and see your previous results, as well as results at the yearly and individual meeting levels. And a year from now, you’ll be able to see how much you’ve reduced your footprint. Upcoming Climate Forum on Faith, Science and Action As many of you know, at October Meeting for Business, Friends minuted approval for joining the Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative, which includes the Faith Community Environmental Network of approximately 20 Cape Cod houses of worship. One of our first opportunities to see the FCEN in action is a public forum Sunday, November 4, 2 - 4 p.m. at St. John's Episcopal Church in Sandwich, 159 Main Street, Sandwich, MA 02563. The event is entitled "Tackling the Climate Crisis NOW: Faith and Science in a Call to Action.” You can click here for more details on the event, which is co-sponsored by Woods Hole Research Center, FCEN and St. John’s. Click on the green "Register" bar to register. Meeting for Worship for Marriage On October 6, a beautiful fall day, Friends gathered for Meeting for Worship for the Marriage of Meg Klepak and Jay O’Hara. These photos and many others can be seen at https://dropevent.com/gallery/megandjay Custom Cakes! <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Memorial Minutes Alan Douglas Alan Douglas, a member of Sandwich Monthly Meeting, West Falmouth Preparative Meeting, passed away peacefully at the age of 72 sometime over the weekend of the 14-15th of November, 2016 at his home in Pocasset, Massachusetts. He was discovered by a concerned neighbor, who found him in his favorite armchair, newspaper in his lap with the television still on to NPR. Alan's parents had been the mainstays of the Meeting for many years and spent much time in Quaker works, but we knew their son mostly as a quiet Friend who frequently found ingenious ways to fix things around the Meeting House. Alan graduated in engineering from Swarthmore College and had considerable skill and affinity for things electrical and mechanical. Alan worked as an engineer for a local company that made oceanographic equipment, but his Quakerism manifested itself mostly in his quiet life's work of saving things he regarded as valuable pillars of our culture from neglect and oblivion. His first interest was antique player keyboard instruments. He eventually gathered an amazing collection of player pianos, player reed organs and even a beautiful player pipe organ which he managed to salvage from a house being demolished near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He built a room in his barn in Pocasset to set it up and got it playing. He told us that only five of these were made and that he had been in touch with the owners of all the others. The group commissioned cutting more rolls for these five instruments to enhance the repertoire available. Alan enjoyed demonstrating this impressive instrument to friends. It was an awe-inspiring experience to see one whole wall of louvers open to reveal the pipes in the 9x12 adjoining room and hear their sound fill the building. Members of West Falmouth Meeting were treated to his demonstrations of these curious and wonderful instruments at an annual gathering at the Douglas home. The prize of the music collection, however, was the "reproducer piano" which encoded touch as well as timing and notes on the paper reel and which could make a recording in real time by an artist. Alan had a roll cut by George Gershwin, which he would play for a group of Friends gathered for the occasion every few years. It was amazing to sit in the circle around the piano and hear a true concert performance played by a ghost. However, it was in the world of radio that Alan quietly achieved international acclaim.