The Legacy Gift Committee of New England Yearly Meeting announces the fall round of grants from the NEYM Witness and Ministry Fund. We are inspired by the faithful work of New England Friends here at home and around the world, and honored to support and nurture it.
- Belfast Area Monthly Meeting: In responding to the call to communities of faith in Belfast Maine, to offer material support in the form of cooked meals and supervision for the new Family Harbor House (offering transitional housing for homeless families in Waldo County), a small number of Friends in Belfast are able and willing to partner with the Sandy Point Congregational Church volunteers to provide a week of meals (six weeks annually) for up to 20 people. Grant $1000
- Wade Boswell, under the care of Putney Monthly Meeting: Supporting the public ministry of Wade Boswell as a trans spiritual leader in the Quaker community and beyond for a year (12 month period). This ministry has two interconnected parts. The first is to develop and support trans spiritual leadership networks both in Western MA/ Southern VT and in the broader Quaker Community. The second is to support trans spirituality in ways that emerge out of collaboration across the networks as well as by offering free/reduced fee for individual and group spiritual direction for trans folks. Grant: $10,000
- Puente de Amigos Committee NEYM: a one-time grant for Cuba Yearly Meeting to replace its worn-out vehicle. Vehicles knit together meetings in Cuba and carry NEYM visitors bringing ministry and aid. The need to replace worn-out vehicles is fully documented. Acquisition details are fluid, because the availability fluctuates. Puente will convey to Cuba YM funds from Legacy Gift, Obadiah Brown and individuals so that Cubans can act quickly when an appropriate vehicle is found. Grant: $10,000.
- Jackie Stillwell, Monadnock Monthly Meeting: to release Jackie to support others living into their gifts. She will be partnering with Mayan Guatemalan students who are learning English so they can further their professional education and improve their communities. Grant: $2,136
- Worcester Monthly Meeting: Worcester Friends Meeting plan to invite Cristina Rathbone, author of Asylum Seekers: A Chronicle of Life, Death, and Community at the Border, to speak to the community about her experience of accompaniment with immigrants at risk. In addition to WINIS, Worcester Interfaith Network for Immigrant Support, we will invite politicians, members of Worcester Indivisible, and any connections that those entities have with the larger community. First Parish Unitarian has offered a large space for the talk and for a reception following where Cristina can follow up in conversation. Our goal is to expand the network of resources, to inspire the larger community to become involved and deepen their commitment, and encourage politicians to support the needs of constituents in the immigrant community. Grant $2,800.