• Manual of Procedure
• Advance Report - 2008
• Advance Report - 2007
• Advance Report - 2006
• Advance Report - 2005
• Interchange, Summer 2005
   
• Interchange, September 2004
• Annual Report 2004
• Interchange, March 2004

The Unity with Nature Committee consists of 12 persons nominated by the Nominating Committee and appointed by the Yearly Meeting. Monthly Meetings not represented on the Committee are invited to select representatives to the Committee.

It encourages Friends and others to educate themselves and to engage in actions concerning the care and restoration of the natural environment locally, regionally, nationally, and globally.

It serves as a resource for Unity with Nature concerns and activities of individuals and of Monthly Meetings.

The Unity with Nature Committee suggests names each year to the Nominating Committee for appointment by the Yearly Meeting of a representative and an alternate representative to the General Committee of Quaker Earthcare Witness.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Manual of Procedure, August 2005

-------------------------------------------------------------

Annual Session. The Unity with Nature Committee (UWN) met during Annual Session and had a dinner meeting with Joe Volk, General Secretary of FCNL.

Friends Wilderness Center. Juliet Guroff (Goose Creek) represents the FWC on the UWN Committee. After serving several years as representative from BYM to FWC, Sarah K. Brabson (Little Briton) ask to be replaced. The committee was not able to find a representative to FWC and has asked the Nominating Committee for assistance.

Committee Membership. New members on the committee are Jeanne Houghton (Langley Hill), Rick Knaub (York), and Susan Warner (Baltimore, Homewood)

Activities. The committee is identifying representatives from all Monthly Meetings in order to create a YM communications system on environmental information. The committee is also working on a project that will be presented at the 2008 annual meeting.

Budget. The UWN budget is used to pay travel expenses (approximately $300) for the BYM representative to QEW to attend the two Steering Committees meetings each year. Registration and lodging fees are paid by the representative (approximately $600). At the end of the fiscal year, a contribution is made to QEW to help pay for materials provided to the committee during the year. Also a contribution is made to a non-profit that provides carbon offsets. This pays, in part, for the CO₂ that is generated by BYM for travel for attendance at interim meetings and annual meeting. In the past the money for carbon offsets has been given to Native American Energy Project and the Kenyan Tree Replacement Project.

Barbara Williamson, clerk

Annual Session. The Unity with Nature Committee (UWN) led a number of activities during the 2006 Baltimore Yearly Meeting (BYM) Annual Session with the theme, “Living in Harmony” including a display on the work of Quaker Earthcare Witness, workshops and interest groups, movie showings, outdoor worship sharing, and the Wilson Lecture by Marshall Massey. Marshall also led a morning Bible study meeting on Creation. In addition, the committee was responsible for collection of a donation for Right Sharing of World Resources.

New Clerks. After serving as co-clerks for three years, Mark Brabson and Sarah Kuzmanoff Brabson, Co-clerks, asked for new clerks to be named. The committee expressed their appreciation for their hard work and dedication to creation. Barbara Williamson agreed to be the co-clerk responsible for clerking meetings but there was no one willing to take on the second co-clerk position. At the October interim meeting, Sue deVeer agreed to be the co-clerk responsible for recording minutes.

Friends Wilderness Center. The UWN presented a minute making the Friends Wilderness Center an affiliated organization with BYM. The minute was adopted at the fall Interim Meeting. A member of UWN will continue to be a representative on the Friends Wilderness Center Board. Sarah Brabson is currently serving as the representative.

Committee Membership. New members on the committee are Janet Frieswyk (Washington), John Hudson (Sandy Spring) and Kathy Sanders (Annapolis).

Activities. A contribution was made to the Green Belt Movement in Kenya for reforestation and Quaker Earthcare Witness. The travel expenses to attend Steering Committee meetings for the BYM representative to Quaker Earthcare Witness were also paid for by the committee. The committee is working to establish relationships with monthly meetings to facilitate communication between UWN and monthly meetings.

Barbara Williamson

Annual Sessions:

The Unity with Nature Committee planned and carried out a number of activities for the 2004 Annual Session. In addition to our business meetings, we sponsored a variety of activities: a daily outdoor Worship Sharing Meeting, interest groups on Interfaith Power and Light and global warming and a Quaker Earthcare Witness display in the bookstore. In each Daily Minute, we included information about Right Sharing of World Resources (RSWR) along with a reminder that we would be asking for donations at Friday lunch and dinner. We collected $450.

A detailed proposal for the 2006 Annual Session’s theme, “Living in Right Relationship with All Creation” was presented to the Program Committee. Much discussion between the two committees ensued, and the final theme developed by the Program Committee was “Living in Harmony with Friends and with All Creation”. Marshall Massey, a Quaker environmentalist writer and speaker, was invited to speak (further planning took place in 2006).

Committee description: We had developed a short mission statement based on Quaker Earthcare Witness’s mission statement and presented it to the Committee on Manual of Procedure. It was determined that a committee description was more appropriate for inclusion in the Manual, and that committee reframed our text accordingly. The Unity with Nature Committee approved the wording and the plan. The Committee on Manual of Procedure was to present the statement at a 2006 Meeting for Business.

Relationship with Friends Wilderness Center (FWC): Sarah Brabson, co-clerk, continued to serve on the board of the Friends Wilderness Center (FWC) and Julie Guroff, the board’s recording clerk, continued with the Unity with Nature Committee. The committee and FWC collaborated on a request for FWC to become affiliated with BYM, so that it might be more widely known as a natural history and retreat resource.

Monthly Meeting contacts: We continued to sponsor eight Monthly Meetings’ membership in QEW, and to share a variety of information from both our committee and Sandy Spring’s with our overall list of 21 Monthly Meeting contacts.

Membership: We welcomed new members Paul Luckenbaugh, Bethesda Monthly Meeting, Sue DeVeer, Frederick Monthly Meeting, and Tim Cline, Friends Meeting of Washington (Tim had to temporarily withdraw from participation). Peggy Dyson Cobb, of Maury Creek, rotated off the committee but continues to join in listserv discussions.

Support to related organizations and relevant activities: We sent $100 to the Greenbelt Program to support Kenyan women in reforestation, $100 to FWC, $150 to QEW ($50 for renewal of BeFriending Creation for two monthly meeting contacts and $100 as a general donation), and $400 was given to support Barbara Williamson’s travel expenses in her role as BYM representative to QEW.

Barbara Deming

Annual Session:

We planned and carried out a number of activities for the 2004 Annual Session. In addition to our Business Meetings, we sponsored a variety of activities: 1) daily outdoor Worship Sharing ; 2) three interest groups (two viewings and discussions of videos: "The Next Industrial Revolution" and Fighting Global Warming One House at a Time, and a discussion of "Quakers and the Environment - Where are We ?"); 3) collection of $887 for Right Sharing of World Resources at lunch and dinner on Friday and 4) the combined Quaker Earthcare Witness (QEW, fka Friends Community on Unity with Nature) and BYM Unity with Nature bookstore display, which included: lists we had developed of "Ten Things to Do" (environmental action), one for individuals and one for Monthly Meetings, and "Equal Exchange" coffee mugs, to promote the purchase of fair trade/organic/shade-grown coffee. We also worked with the BYM and university staffs to make sure that recycling receptacles were available, although repeated attempts to have them emptied of trash were unsuccessful.

A detailed proposal for the 2006 Annual Session's theme was developed for January 2005 submission to the Program Committee. Development of the proposal involved much discussion of the overall message and how best to reach our audience. We are also drafting a mission statement as part of this effort.

Outdoor/direct conservation focus: Sarah Kuzmanoff, Co-Clerk, continued to serve on the board of the Friends Wilderness Center (FWC) and Julie Guroff, the board's Recording Clerk, is now a member of the Unity with Nature Committee. At a June FWC workday, several Committee members joined other community members in virtually completing the re-roofing of the tree house. At a small October retreat at the Brabson farm, we renewed our spirits with outdoor nature conservation and meditation.

Monthly Meeting contacts: We continued to sponsor eight Monthly Meetings' membership in QEW, and to share a variety of information from both our Committee and Sandy Spring's with our overall list of 21 Monthly Meeting contacts.

National affiliation: Member Barbara Williamson became the Clerk of QEW.

Membership: In addition to Julie Guroff (FWC, Bethesda Monthly Meeting), we welcomed new members Mimi Westervelt and Rod Pelton, Goose Creek Monthly Meeting.

Be mindful of the Creation and its gifts at every meal and avoid needless waste. Rather than throwing away paper napkins, bring and use your own washable cloth napkins or inexpensive cotton bandannas. Check box on the registration form.

Quaker Earthcare Witness

Lynne Heritage of State College Meeting and Barbara Williamson of Richmond Meeting attended the spring meeting of QEW in Chicago, IL this past May. QEW adopted plans to place greater emphasis on visitation and quality presentations to Yearly and Monthly Meetings. Emphasis will be placed on the development of educational materials, including a short video on QEW. Lynne is on the Quaker Eco-Witness for National Legislation (QNL) Committee and is one of the two QEW representatives to FCNL. QNL focuses on concerns about public policy on the environment, works with Friends to strengthen FCNL’s witness for an “Earth Restored,” and is developing a training model on economy and ecological sustainability. Barbara is a member of the Steering Committee and is on the Sustainability–Actions and Support Interest Group and Finance Committee. If you would like more information on Quaker Earthcare Witness, Lynne and Barbara would be glad to talk to you. They will be attending the Annual Meeting and Conference at Burlington (NJ) Meeting House on October 7–11, 2004. If interested in attending the conference, see www.qew.org.

Annual Report 2004

“To those of us who have grown up in the Industrial Growth Society, the view of reality that breaks upon us now is breathtakingly new. It comes from contemporary science and finds support in ancient spiritual traditions. It helps us understand our relationship to the world and awaken the powers within us for its healing. Liberating us from constricted notions of who we are and what we need, it brings us home to our true nature – in league with the stars and trees of our thrumming universe.” Joanna Macy and Molly Young Brown, Coming Back to Life, 1998.

The Unity with Nature Committee was active throughout the 2003 Annual Meeting. In addition to our business meetings, we sponsored a variety of activities: a daily outdoor Worship Sharing Meeting, a well-received workshop “Called to be Earth Keepers and Tenders – Through Spiritual Renewal and Stewardship”, and two interest groups: viewing and a discussion of the film “Escape from Affluenza” and a discussion group on the Free Trade Area on the Americas (FTAA). We also worked with the BYM staff to make sure that recycling receptacles were available during BYM. Finally, we collected $735 for Right Sharing of World Resources at lunch and dinner on Friday, having developed handouts and a poster with basic information about RSWR and a reading list of related materials. These documents were e-mailed, as requested, to the Right Sharing coordinator and BYM’s RSWR liaison). People seemed to appreciate having a “complicated” meal, and donating money directly!

During Annual Meeting, we began to plan several initiatives related to outreach to and inclusion of Monthly Meetings in “unity with nature” activities:

1. Developing a list of Monthly Meeting contacts, offering them a subscription to Quaker Earthcare Witness’s (aka FCUN) Befriending Creation, and sharing significant committee information with them through a list-serve (there are now 24 Monthly Meeting contacts, eight of whom are receiving Befriending Creation);
2. Collecting information, resources, suggestions, etc. from BYM Monthly Meetings and other Friends organizations on their experiences with Green Building and Sustainability. This information will be available on the internet to Monthly Meetings and other Friends organizations when they begin renovation or building projects);
3. Encouraging Monthly Meetings to study and adopt the Earth Charter, using documents developed by Goose Creek Meeting (several committee members’ Monthly Meetings are at different stages of this process);
4. Offering a Unity with Nature workshop at the Annual Women’s Retreat (we had a small group for a walk in the snow, followed by a Council of All Beings exercise developed by Joanna Macy: role-playing of animals and elements);
5. Developing a Unity with Nature testimony/minute based on Friend’s stated earth and creation-related values (this is nearing completion);
6. Planning a work day at the Friends Wilderness Center (FWC);
7. Additional activities for next year’s Annual Meeting.

We found new co-Clerks (Sarah Kuzmanoff and Mark Brabson) and a Recording Clerk (Montague Kern), scheduled our second annual Retreat at Mark Brabson’s farm for Columbus Day Weekend, and decided that a committee member (or a member of one of our Monthly Meetings) would join the Friends Wilderness Center Board to represent Unity with Nature.

At our October retreat, we continued to plan and work on the initiatives begun at Annual Meeting, decided on two workshops/interest groups for next Annual Meeting (one on the Earth Charter and one on the status of Quakers’ unity with nature), and began to develop two lists to share with BYM and its Monthly Meetings: Ten Ideas on How Meetings Can Deepen Their Witness for Care of Earth, and a similar list for individuals. These lists were published in the Interchange, and in some members’ Monthly Meeting newsletters, as well as being shared with our Monthly Meeting Contacts. Sarah Kuzmanoff became the FWC board representative, and began to attend board meetings and share the minutes with the committee. We did not attend Fall Interim Meeting, as our Retreat accomplished the same purpose for us, and was held one week before the Interim Meeting date. We have since decided to hold our retreat in September, and make it more process- and nature–oriented, and conduct our business at the Fall Interim Meeting.

At the Spring Interim Meeting, we continued planning for the Annual Meeting, discussed the promotion and sale of reusable mugs and cloth napkins at the Annual Meeting and shared progress on other activities. We agreed to send $100 each to Quaker Earthcare Witness and to the North Carolina School of the Arts Foundation for support of the pending “Simple Living with Wanda Urbanska” series developed for PBS. Some of us have since sent letters to our PBS affiliates, advocating the airing of this eight-week series. We were joined by Julie Guroff, the Friends Wilderness Center secretary, and its representative to our committee. We discussed a second work day at FWC (since scheduled for Saturday, June 12).

This past year, our meetings have been rather intense, both in the nature of our discussions and in the number of ideas we are trying to develop and implement. Much of our work has been conducted by small subcommittees through e-mail, and shared through the list-serve we began last year. It has been a busy and stimulating twelve months!

Ideas on How Meetings Can Deepen Their Witness for Care of Earth

• Information
  1. Bulletin Board_Current information regarding eco-issues
  2. Shelf_Place for relevant newsletters, books and magazines
  3. Study groups_Regular or periodic
  4. Meeting newsletter_Articles on eco-issues_eco tips, inspirational queries, information about current problems.
  5. Tell people about Quaker Earthcare Witness (formerly Friends Committee on Unity with Nature - www.fcun.org ) and BYM's Unity with Nature Committee (contact sdkuzmanoff@yahoo.com or brabson@epix.net)
  
  
• Education
  1. First Day School—Eco-curriculum_from Quaker Earthcare Witness, projects, nature appreciation
  2. Adult Religious Education_Spiritual ecology discussion, Quaker testimonies and biblical sources that speak to a concern for care of earth, activities/exercises in nature that support greater spiritual awareness, Care of Earth (Show the video, "The Great Work", by Thomas Berry, invite a guest speaker or just hear from concerned meeting members.)
  3. Earth Day celebration
  
  
• Political/social action
  1. Letter/postcard writing _ Make it easy by having materials and issues available.
  2. Encourage folks to respond to Quaker Earthcare Witness "Eco-Alerts" ( www.fcun.org )
  3. Network with other monthly meetings / yearly meetings / other faith groups
  4. Review and discuss the Earth Charter. Consider endorsing it or using it as a guide for direct action. (www.earthcharter.org)
  
  
• Activities to cultivate a sense of unity with nature:
  1. Walks after meeting, worship sharing, other ideas?
  2. Outdoor worship (periodic, regular, once/year)
  3. Sponsor/organize workshops on increasing spiritual awareness through reconnecting with Nature. (Read as a group "Awakening to Earth_Natural awareness as a spiritual practice" by Bill Cahalan from Cincinnati Monthly Meeting_www.fcun.org )
  4. Friends Wilderness Center _ sponsors nature oriented seminars, wilderness retreat opportunities (connection of nature with spirituality) (http://www.friendswilderness.org/ )
  
  
• Direct action
  1. Corporate giving _ are our investments and giving eco-friendly? (socially conscious mutual funds one alternative_ads in Friends Journal, financial support for Quaker Earthcare Witness_www.fcun.org)
  2. Meeting House Eco-inventory_As a community, are we good environmental citizens?
     1. Review the "Responsible Purchasing for Faith Communities" handbook by the Center for a New American Dream ( www.newdream.org )
        1. Equal Exchange coffee and teas served/sold at meeting.
        2. Buying club for meeting folks to encourage sustainable purchases
     2. Conduct an eco-inventory on energy use, etc. (order brochure "How Eco-Friendly is your Meeting House" at www.fcun.org or make up your own inventory)
     3. Begin recycling; stop using Styrofoam cups, etc.
  3. Form an Earthcare Witness group in your meeting to support individual group members and meeting as a whole in deepening their witness for care of Earth. Send a representative to the BYM Unity with Nature Committee.

10 Areas for Individual Environmental Action

1. Transportation: find ways to use cars less_walk, bike and use mass transit whenever possible. Buy a high mpg car, and keep it tuned up.
2. Population: support family planning programs_ both local and international_that respect women's rights and aspirations and support their education.
3. Food: move toward organic, locally grown, seasonal food with minimal processing and packaging, or grow your own. Ask in grocery stores and restaurants where the food is grown. Find local farmers doing Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).
4. Recycling: recycle everything you can (papers, metals, plastics, oil…) and purchase items made from recycled materials. Also, you can compost yard and kitchen wastes whenever possible.
5. Purchases: Always ask, "Do I need this?" Beyond reuse and repair, buy for the long term from reliable sources that produce sustainability and equitably. Know/ ask where goods come from. Consider what you might rent, borrow, share or barter for instead of buying.
6. Money: Support "green" businesses. Invest savings in socially responsible funds or live without excess income.
7. Household: Minimize use of energy, chemicals and pesticides in house and garden. Maximize efficiency in lighting (compact fluorescents), water use, heating and cooling, and appliances.
8. Community: Work with others on issues that affect the environment, including population growth, toxics, pollution, and the assumptions of a growth economy. Be active in at least one environmental organization, and support environmentally sound political candidates. Encourage formation of neighborhood groups that support developing more eco-friendly lifestyles.
9. Bioregion: Re-inhabit the place where you live by engaging in activities that root you in the cycles of nature. Get to know the native habitat around you _protect and restore it.
10. Openings: Remember you are not alone in these concerns and efforts. Share your concerns with others without blame or self-righteousness. Leave aside apathy and despair.