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"After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Hebrew called Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. In these lay a multitude of invalids, blind, lame, paralyzed. One man was there, who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew that he had been lying there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be healed?" The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is troubled, and while I am going another steps down before me." Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your pallet, and walk." And at once the man was healed, and he took up his pallet and walked. John 5:1-8.

What is Quaker faith? It is not a tidy package of words which you can capture at any given time and then repeat weekly at a worship service. It is an experience of discovery on a journey which is life-long. The discovery in itself is not unique; it is a property of Quakerism. It is as old as Christianity and considerably older if you share the belief that many have known Christ who have not known His name. What is unique to the Religious Society of Friends is its insistence that the discovery must be made by each man or women for themselves. No one is allowed to get it second -hand by accepting a ready -made creed. Furthermore, the discovery points a path and demands a journey, and gives you the power to make the journey. Elise Boulding 1954

From Faith and Practice, p. 207, Query 2.

Do I regularly attend meeting for business and in a spirit of love and unity? If unable to attend, how do I attend to my responsibility? Do I consider prayerfully the many concerns that are lifted up on any

issue, acknowledging that the search for truth in unity involves what God requires, being open to personal transformation as the community arrives at the sense of the meeting?

Maria Alvarado will be leaving for an extended stay in Guatamala beginning in November. Maria and her daughter, Iris, along with Katie Marshall, currently provide childcare for the children of Meeting members and attenders during the Meeting for Worship on Sundays. With Maria's departure, we will need to supplement our childcare staff with two, possibly three, additional childcare providers. If you know of anyone who would be interested in and qualified for these positions, please call Catherine King. Thank you.

Special covered dish. Covered dish will celebrate the lives of some very special people in our meeting. We may have guests. Lots of tasty food would be much appreciated.

Fall Festival, at the School.

Jayne Stokes

Childrenís FDS:

Childrenís classes will begin at 11:15 with a childrenís singalong in the auditorium. Classes begin at 11:30 and end at 12:30. There will be no childrenís FDS on the third Sunday of the month: they will have supervised activities.

Adult FDS is open to high school students as well as adults.

October 1: Introduction to Quakerism. A brief look at Quaker beliefs and testimonies.

October 8: The meaning of Membership. What does it mean to be a member of the Society of Friends?

Faith & Practice will meet in the library.

October 15: Family Sunday. If the weather is good, adults and children will help clean up around the Meetinghouse. In case of rain, children will have supervised activities, while adults may join in a discussion of Quaker process.

October 22: Bill Farr will fill us in on the history of Haddonfield and Newton Meetings.

Faith & Practice will meet in the library.

October 29: This is the rain date for clean up day (see Oct. 15).

The planning group for PYMís 2001 annual sessions in residence, which will be held July 17-22, is going to meet on October 24, 2000. This group has asked for topics or ideas from Monthly Meetings for discussion concerning the Challenge of Quakerism Today. Haddonfield Meeting Members are asked to consider this issue and bring any topics that they wish to suggest to business meeting in October. If you cannot attend business meeting, please share your ideas with Pam Perry, Clerk, before October 13.

submitted by Flo Tatum

Samaritan Hospice, of Marlton, will lead a discussion on the PBS program, "On Our Own Terms: Moyers on Dying in America", Wednesday, October 16, from 6:00-8:00 PM; and on Tuesday, October 24, from 10:00 AM to noon. The seminar will include highlights of the Moyers program, which has already aired, to serve as a catalyst for discussion.

Friends of High School age were invited to a Pizza Party on Sept 10; nine came, enjoyed getting acquainted and made plans for their group to hold classes on the Second and Fourth First Days. They chose as a beginning to study Other Faiths and compare them to Quaker beliefs. Classes will start on Oct. 8^th at 11:30. They will meet in the Library of Friends School building. All High School young persons are welcome. Coordinators will be Drew Humphries and Lisa Morad.

Priscilla Adams

Peace & Social Concerns Committee is hoping to start a new project in November -- a peace group for young people. We are bringing our plans to business meeting in October for discussion. The Young People's Peace Group will have two sections, one section for 1st through 3rd graders and one section for 4th through 6th graders. This newsletter article is to invite all Meeting children in 1st through 6th grade to join, and an invitation to all families with 1st through 6th graders at Haddonfield Friends School will be sent through the school.

The purpose of the group is to provide our children with another forum to develop peace making skills and to empower them to make a difference in the world. Our goals include:

- learning skills to improve our world (conflict resolution, facilitation skills, etc.)

- leaning about nonviolent action- doing service and peace projects

- having fun while developing a community of young peacemakers

Meetings will be once a month for each section on Monday afternoons from 3:15 until 4:45 at Haddonfield Meeting House. During the first meeting in November, we will do some fun participatory activities, set priorities for the group based on the interests of the participants, start developing a sense of community, and have refreshments.

Coordinators for the 1st - 3rd grade group are Ann Miller & Priscilla Adams. Coordinators for the 4th - 6th grade group are Kitty Taylor Mizuno & Priscilla Adams.

Please call any of us if you have questions. Pre-registration is required.

GREENLEAF TEA THANK YOU

August 23rd the Meeting had a tea for residents of the Greenleaf (at the Greenleaf in Moorestown.) We recently received a "Thank You" note mentioning the ladies especially enjoyed the homemade cookies. Kudos to Mary Pharo, Louise Heritage, Pam Moench, Marietta Donovan, Mary Reiter, Pam Perry, Deedy Roberts and Judy Owens for making cookies, providing flowers, setting up, and serving. In lieu of typical entertainment, Mary Pharo introduced herself and shared a little about her life. She then asked all in attendance to share. One of the residents told us she had been a figure skater! This was news to all! The residents enjoyed talking about their backgrounds. It was a lovely afternoon.

"Unforeseen Joy": Serving a Friends Meeting as Recording Clerk by Damon Hickey (289.6/Hic):

Excellent and delightful guide for recording clerks. Practical advice with a spiritual basis.

Before Business Begins: Notes for Recording Clerks by Will Watson (289.6/Wat):

A small book full of tips and sample minutes on topics faced repeatedly by Friends.

Before the Meeting by Keith Redfern (289.6/Red):

Advice for the clerk (British).

Come Aside and Rest Awhile by Frances Irene Taber (Pendle Hill Pamphlet #335):

This speaks to the value of times of retirement, responds to probing questions about the use of silence, and shares experiences of voluntary and involuntary, short and long retreats.

Journey to Bosnia, Return to Self by Suzanne Hubbard O'Hatnick (Pendle Hill Pamphlet #348):

Author tells stories of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. She also tells her story of growing faith as she served on a Christian Peacemaker Team.

Miracles: How God Intervenes in Nature and Human Affairs by C.S. Lewis (231/Lew):

The author terms this a philosophical study preliminary to historical inquiry on the question of whether miracles occur.

The Radiance and Risks of Mythmaking by Gilbert H. Kilpack (Pendle Hill Pamphlet #349

Religions, Values, and Peak-experiences by A.H. Maslow (158/Mas):

This spokesman of humanistic psychology explores the ecstatic "peak-experiences" of prophets and seers, from which the essential meanings of religion were originally conceived, and reveals how they can--and why they should--be experienced by virtually anyone.

Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism by John Shelby Spong (220.6/Spo):

Spong holds the Bible before his readers seeking boldly to free it from the clutches of a mindless literalism and, at the same time, presenting it as a dramatic and exciting document whose relevance for our day is both mighty and real.

From the New Moon Girls Editorial Board, which includes our own member, Elizabeth Larsson, come the following 2 books especially aimed at 8 to 14 year old girls: Money: How to Get It, Spend It, and Save It (J/322.24/New) Girls discuss the importance and usefulness of money in their lives and some ways to earn money now and in the future.

Writing: How to Express Yourself with Passion and Practice (J/808/New) Explores the various outlets for expressing yourself through writing, including plays, poetry, and personal essays. Includes suggestions for improving writing and places to get published.

Tr. Linda and Tr. Marietta

The First Grade students have been "beary" busy since the first day of school! We have been learning about bears, bears, bears. Each first grader has brought a bear "friend" to the classrooms, and together we have created lots of different bears, listened to bear stories and written some of our own, baked bear claw treats (yum!), and followed bear claw-prints throughout the school to find our missing bear friends. When we located them, they had set up a lovely Teddy Bear Tea Party in our classroom! It was a very exciting day. Now we are talking about the 2000 Olympics, and soon we will be studying about Johnny Appleseed. We are also looking forward to our first field trip of the school year. We will be visiting Powell's Greenhouse (Tr. Linda's Dad's) to begin our study of plants.

The Religious Education Annual Report was presented. First-day school last year centered on Quakerism and its many aspects.

The Annual School Report informed us that in 1999-2000 there were 204 students in pre-k to 6th grade. Our diversity was at 20%, and there were 17 Quaker children enrolled.

Both reports were received with interest and appreciation.

Pat Williams presented an interim report of the work of the Ad Hoc School Committee, which is summarized in an attachment.

Nominating committee reported Marietta Donovan is willing to serve on the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Interim Committee. This nomination was approved.

After being held over for one month the Meeting approved releasing several folks from membership for lack of participation in the meeting for an extended period of time, with the understanding that they will always be welcome back. (Their names are withheld pending notification to them by Overseers).

The new treasurer after six months in his position feels it is perhaps a job for more than one person. After discussion the Meeting will continue to evaluate the work involved.

Flora McKinney

Kitty Mizuno

Let me tell you about "Miguel Manso". (This Spanish name means, I think, Michael the Meek.) He was one of the co-facilitators of the 3 day Alternatives to Violence workshop held in the Federal Prison at Fort Dix that I was privileged to be a part of this past August. He is just one of the 24 inmates there who now have a special place in my heart. The other facilitators were "Cintron Calmado" (calm), "Hernan Humilde", (humble) and "Toby Triunfal" (triumphant). Throughout the workshop we participants all called each other by either our first or last name, and an adjective which we chose beginning with the same sound as the name. I was "Kitty Querida" (beloved), a name that the group suggested to me because I couldnít think of a Spanish adjective beginning with K. "Toby Triunfal" is Toby Reilly, a Quaker Alternatives to Violence Coordinator who has been facilitating AVP workshops for a number of years.

He and I were the only non-inmates there. When I called him to inquire about AVP, he said he would be co-facilitating the August workshop with three other trainers who are inmates, and that they would be doing it in Spanish. He kindly invited me to participate, even though my Spanish is not very good. I decided to take on the challenge, if theyíd have me, to get myself back in the frame of mind to teach Spanish Speaking children in Camden, after my long summer vacation. I even thought I might encounter there in the prison some of the fathers of the Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Mexican kids that I teach, but I didnít, to my knowledge. I was surprised to find men there from not only these countries, but Cuba, Columbia, Ecuador and other places as well.

But, back to Miguel Manso. To tell the truth, he seemed annoyingly male chauvinist to me during the three days of the workshop, because he would call me, the only woman there, to the front of the chow line and specially serve me himself. I just wanted to be treated like everyone else. On the last day we had a little farewell ceremony in which the facilitators said a few words to each participant as they presented giant "cards" with a participantís name on each one, which had been signed by all the other participants. "Yuck", I thought, secretly, when Miguel presented me mine and said a few words about me (which I didnít understand). When I asked him later to explain what he had said, he was embarrassed, and suggested that I ask Hernan. Hernan told me that Miguel had said he was really moved that I had come into the prison and joined in with them in the workshop for three days. I am moved that he was moved, and look back with fondness at the rich experience I shared with Toby and all of the 24 inmates. Wouldnít you like to try it too? The workshops are also given in English! Call Gary Smith, or me for more information.

(Kitty is making up for lost time with two pieces in the newsletter this month!)

by George Fox, submitted by Gary Smith

Concerning silent meetings; the intent of all speaking is to bring into the life, and to walk in, and to possess the same, and to live in and enjoy it, and to feel God's presence, and that is in the silence, (not the wandering whirling tempestuous part of man or woman) for there is the flock lying down at noon-day, and the feeding of the bread of life, and drinking of the springs of life, when they do not speak words; for words declared are to bring people to it, and confessing God's goodness and love, as they are moved by the eternal God and his spirit, and so all the ravenous spirits that are from the witness of God in themselves, cannot be still, cannot be silent, it is a burthen to them; so cannot keep at home in their own houses, but are the hunters before the Lord like Nimrod, the first builder of Bable; but God confounded them, for they went out of the stillness and quietness, as did the Jews that went from the law of God, then they gadded abroad, and changed their ways, and so did not see their salvation; as do the apostate christians, who inwardly rove from the spirit of God; so are gone from the silence, and stillness, and from waiting upon God to have their strength renewed, and so are dropped into sects, among one another, and so have the words of Christ and the apostles, but inwardly are ravened from the still life, in which the fellowship is attained to in the spirit of God, in the power of God, which is the gospel; in which is the fellowship, when there are no words spoken. Fox, George. The Works of George Fox, Vol. IV. Philadelphia: Marcus T.C. Gould; New York: Isaac T. Hopper, 1831, p. 174.

Emily Dickinson

Thoí I get home how late - how late -

So I get home - ëtwill compensate -

Better will be the Ecstasy

That they have done expecting me -

When Night - descending - dumb - and dark -

They hear my unexpected knock -

Transporting must the moment be -

Brewed from decades of Agony!

To think just how the fire will burn -

Just how long-cheated eyes will turn -

To wonder what myself will say,

And what itself, will say to me -

Beguiles the Centuries of way!