Monteverde Monthly Meeting 5655 Monteverde, Puntarenas

Costa Rica

To Friends Everywhere, June 11, 2002

We send you warm greetings from Monteverde, Costa Rica!

In this year of war and change, we feel a heightened sense of gratitude for the gift of life, for the joy of love, and for the privilege of living in a safe community and in a country that works to live peacefully.

The events of September 11 brought home to us our interconnectedness with the world, on a national as well as a very personal level. We felt a new commitment to strengthen our relationships with our neighbours of different cultures and religions. We shared in the ecumenical service for peace at the local Catholic Church and received the local priest in our meeting. For several months we were blessed by the presence of a Jewish family headed by two rabbis. They shared the richness of their traditions by including us in their worship and celebrations, they learned about Quaker practice by engaging fully in the life of our meeting.

Throughout the year our older children have learned about other religions, from Native American beliefs to Islam, and have shared their lessons with us. We have appreciated the communications that we have had with the Ramallah Friends School, hearing their firsthand accounts of the recent conflicts there. We struggle to find meaningful ways to help create peace beyond our secure mountaintop.

The new addition to our school is now completed and well used. Our well loved meeting house, the site of many school and community events as well as worship, often feels too small, and so we continue the process of discovering and planning what physical spaces we need. Meanwhile, the children in the school have joined in the spirit and are raising funds to build a new basketball/ volleyball court. In the process of planning and building each of these projects, we are becoming more aware of what is truly important, and feel our community strengthened. The patience, cooperation and hard work involved in the planning and building process contrast sharply with the sudden collapse of skyscrapers, office buildings, and homes around the globe.

The world, our community, and our meeting change; this year we were saddened by the death of our dear friend Ovidio Leiton. As new friends join us and others move on, as buildings rise and fall, we seek joy and comfort in the timelessness of the Spirit.

In peace, ~

Jean Ann Stuckey, Recording Clerk