Below is an item from the minutes of the meeting for worship with a concern for business, 9/23/2001, reviewing possible responses to 9/11. One result was posting a list on our website which would be updated with further ideas, which follows below.
Attacks on the U.S.
The clerk said that this is a pivotal time for our Meeting, and that now, with our larger Meeting, we’re able to be a resource to the community.
The Business Meeting held a brainstorming session on how our Meeting could respond to this tragedy and the threat of military retaliation. Due to the large number of ideas and the short time available, Friends agreed to post the list of suggested actions, inviting interested Friends to join with others in those actions they felt led to. Ideas included:
- Holding a public meeting of healing and peace at Hebron House.
- Contacting the local Muslim community in order to support it. A related idea is to adopt Muslim businesses and to attend worship services.
- Organize a vigil to promote positive ways to deal with a response. All Howard County churches should be invited, and it should take place in a public place at a highly-visible time.
- Holding a workshop on waging peace with other congregations.
- A letter to the editor of local newspapers by the clerk of the Meeting.
- Helping the children of the meeting to deal with the tragedy. Ideas: Meeting with adults; poster-making or letter-writing session; or within the First-Day School format
- Provide a place to have a wall of questions, with space for answers.
- Putting into the Silent Announcements that each at 7:30 p.m. each Thursday, Sandy Spring Meeting holds a mid-week worship service that one can attend should one wish
- A committee to coach conscientious objectors
- Making a Peace Banner “Pray for Peace”
- Writing a commendation for Representative Barbara Lee, who voted against giving President Bush the approval to lead a war effort.
Actions approved included:
Bob Rhudy will write a letter to the editor, to be signed by the Clerk of the Meeting, regarding our response.
Putting into Silent Announcements a note about Sandy Spring’s Thurs.service
Susan Rose will order the publication on conscientious objection for use by the meeting or those who contact us for information. Bob Rhudy and Jerry Girbach will work on this activity.
Sherri Morgan will write a commendation for Barbara Lee and cc it to the Maryland Representatives.
It was noted that on September 11, the day of the attack, that there was a short silent worship at Hebron House, and also that the Advancement and Outreach committee has purchased an advertisement in the Columbia Flier to help the community to know about our presence.
Suggested Responses to the Events of Sep. 11 and its Aftermath
Proposed by Patapsco Friends at Meeting for Business, 9/23/01
Friends are invited to join with others who have expressed an interest in the activities below to plan concerted action. Friends are encouraged strongly to consult with other Friends, either individually or in collaboration with existing committees when developing actions that speak for the meeting as a whole. Please feel free to add additional ideas to the list below, along with your name as a contact.
- Hold called Meetings for Healing–at least some to be advertised to the wider community (Eliz. Saria–was volunteered)(in process)
- Place an announcement about the Meeting in the Columbia Flier. Proposed wording: “Silence. Simplicity. Acceptance. Action.” (A&O Committee)(in process)
- Reach out to the local Muslim community and find ways we can learn more about Islam, offer support to Muslim businesses (adopt a business?), worship together(?) (Eliz. Saria)
- Coordinate an interfaith vigil to promote positive, peaceful responses to Sep. 11 attacks (maybe at the lake side or some very visible location?)(Sherri Morgan, Ramona Buck. Resource: Emma Byrne)(beginning)
- Offer a workshop or conference on “Waging Peace.”
- Send a letter to the editor from the meeting (Bob Rhudy, Sherri Morgan, Resource: Jean Leslie)(Done)
- Teaching peace to children in the meeting (a special meeting; in First Day School; a letter writing activity to the firefighters)
- Offering mid-week meetings for worship (place announcements about Sandy Spring and Sheppard -Pratt) (Sherri Morgan)(partly done)
- Help the children of the meeting develop a better understanding of current events to allay their fears and assist them in developing a personal, age-appropriate response (one suggestion was to put up paper on the walls for children to write their questions–there was not consensus as to this specific action)
- Make/purchase/display a peace banner (Sherri Morgan)
- Provide materials about conscientious objection and decisions about enlisting in the military (Susan Rose was volunteered; Sherri Morgan, others?)
- Send a letter of commendation to Barbara Lee (the only member of congress to vote against President Bush’s request for unprecedented powers to take aggressive action against the perpetrators of Sep. 11) with copies to Maryland’s senators and our representative (in process)