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| A Publication of Baltimore Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends | March 2001 |
Good humor, well placed, sometimes gives us the pause that allows us to look more carefully at a situation. I well remember this interjection during sessions at Yearly Meeting; "Friend, it would never have occurred to me to put those two thoughts together in the same sentence." Friends chuckled and it was exactly what we needed to bring us back to a better place.
From the minutes of a Meeting within Baltimore Yearly Meeting we read that on a warm July first day morning in 1784, "E… P… appeared at Meeting, naked as the day he was born. He was prevailed upon however, not to sit Meeting." When I first scanned this minute I laughed heartily, and probably Friends who have just read this extract also find it a bit humorous. Humorous to us perhaps, but most certainly not to Friends of two-hundred years earlier who found it a "no joking matter."
Laughter aside, I gave some serious consideration to this anecdote. After I formulated a few comical queries I was left with a few questions that could have application today when Meetings are confronted with delicate matters. What was the initial reaction of Friends to the situation? Did they ignore it and hoped that it would go away? Did Friends attempt to cover things up? Was the unadorned Friend speaking to a testimony; in this instance, plainness of dress? Was there time for a committee to be drawn up to treat with the Friend? How long did Friends "prevail" before coming to clearness? Was this Friend and situation held in the Light? I could only conclude that in this situation Friends had to be more expedient than right. It's funny how a short, and what I found to be, amusing insert in an ancient text could precipitate so much thought.
In Baltimore Yearly Meeting's Faith and Practice, Query 6 asks, "Can you keep a sense of humor and avoid taking yourself too seriously?" It occurs to me that Friends have always had a penchant for doing just that.
Keeping it Light.
Love and Peace, Lamar Matthew
Camp Scholarship Information
Each year I receive numerous questions from parents and monthly meetings wondering about the process of applying for scholarship to camp. I hope this article can clarify these questions. There are really two tiers of possible scholarships that I would encourage parents to seek. First, there is often financial assistance available through Monthly Meetings. This money might be dispersed by the religious education committee, advancement and outreach, or similar committee. Some Meetings set aside a portion of their budget for financial aid and then allocate it in equal portions to each child requesting aid. Other Monthly Meetings commit enough money to cover one week of camp for any child who wishes to attend camp. However it is handled, this is the first step in seeking financial assistance for camp: go to your Monthly Meeting and make a request.
Parents should initiate this process at the same time that they are applying to camp and should try to know how much they will receive from the Meeting by the beginning of April when the acceptances are mailed.
At the same time, applicants may request scholarship assistance from the Barry Morley Camper Financial Aid Endowment. Parents seeking this aid should check the appropriate space at the bottom of their camp applications. When acceptances are mailed in April, anyone who has requested scholarship information receives a form. This form asks parents to consider how much is needed in addition to what the parent will pay and what the Monthly Meeting will pay. The parent must complete this form and send it to the director of the camp to which the child has been accepted. The deadline for sending this form to directors is May 15. All camperships will be awarded by June 1. Directors will notify parents directly of their awards.
In addition to scholarship, parents or others may work for a week at camp to defray some of the cost. This year the value of the work grant is $313.
Please feel free to contact Josh Riley, Camp Administrative Secretary in the BYM office if you have any questions.
Camp Properties
The Camp Property Management Committee met on 27 January. The committee works to set goals for property maintenance, improvements and additions at Catoctin, Shiloh and Opequon. The committee creates a budget and works with the Stewardship and Finance committee to secure funding for projects. Site subcommittees of the Camp Property Management committee work at each of the camps to organize volunteer work days, manage projects and set priorities for the camps. We are always looking for camp lovers to serve on the committee, subcommittees or to participate in volunteer work days. Look for the box listing the work days that have been scheduled for this season. Contact Josh Riley for more information at 301/774-7663 or bymcamps@igc.org
Grant Writer
Are you an experienced grant writer? Want to give a lesson to BYM staff and possibly help hunt down some grant money for the Camping Program (both properties and programs). Call Josh!
Teen Adventure
Alison Downey and Whitney Thompson have been hired as co-directors of the Teen Adventure programs beginning this summer. We welcome them and look forward to camp!
Adult Quaker Wilderness Adventure
Over the Hill and Through the Woods (sorry, we couldn't resist) reprinted from the Camping Program Brochure. Deadline for application: April 5.
Ever wanted one of the amazing summer adventures your children (or other youth in the Yearly Meeting) always talk about? We finally have a trip for you! Join Mariana Garrettson and Matt Gordon, long time Catoctin and Teen Adventure counselors, as they lead a ten-day trip for adults.
We are looking for 12 enthusiastic adults (ages 25 and upwith special welcome to parents of past, present and future campers and Inward Bound participants). We will hike, canoe, and rock climb. We will face the usual challenges of a wilderness trip (dirt, bugs, sweat, pooping in the woods etc...), but also know the trip will be tailored to the needs and abilities of the participants. And of course, there will be as many opportunities for spiritual and emotional growth as there will be for physical challenge. Contact Camp Administrator, Josh Riley for more information: 301/774-7663 or bymcamps@igc.org
You may come for the entire weekend or just a day. Feel free to arrive on Friday and spend the night if you like. Bring a dish to share for dinner Saturday and we'll feed you the rest of the time. Volunteer days are a great way to get involved at camp, visit with old friends and make camp a better place. Call Josh Riley if you have any questions and to RSVP. |
The Friends in Education Committee sponsors the fourth annual gathering of Friends and Friends Schools on the theme "Nurturing Our Spiritual Core in a Changing World." This increasingly popular event brings together BYM Friends with Friends school administrators, faculty, board members, parents and students, representing the nine Friends schools in our region. Registration begins at 9:00 a.m. and the day will include meeting for worship, discussion groups, lunch and a keynote address by Tom Farquhar, Head of Westtown School. Discussion topics range from Board/School relations, teaching the peace and environment testimonies, teaching "special needs" students, student sexuality in Quaker schools, and home-schooling for Quaker families. The registration fee is $10 in advance, $15 at the door. For a registration form contact the Baltimore Yearly Meeting office or Susan Kaul at susankaul@hotmail.com
First North East Regional Gathering of Friends of Native Americans
Five members of Baltimore Yearly Meeting attended the first NE Regional Gathering of Friends of Native Americans. The gathering was held January 5-6, 2001 at the Burlington Conference Center in Burlington, NJ.
Julie Kiene, the Clerk of Indian Affairs Committee of Philadelphia, Ed Nakawatase, Native American National Representative staff of the AFSC, and Melissa Elliott, publications editor for AFSC organized the gathering. The conference grew out of concerns and interest expressed after Julie did a workshop at the 2000 Friends General Conference.
The purpose of the gathering was to bring Friends together to be more effective in their work. Friends are often overwhelmed by the awareness of the needs of Native Americans and the complexities of helping.
The depth and concern of Native American issues and Quaker possibilities hold potential to break through barriers and bring results. It is necessary to create collaborative efforts with a spiritual perspective that respects the timeless quality of Native American beliefs and worship. There is also a concern about how to draw in the Young Friends and create an awareness of the needs of Native Americans within that age group. The clerks of the three Yearly Meeting groups present -- Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York — presented information on the Native American work in their Yearly Meetings. They told the history of the committees and work and the current activities of their committees.
The similarities and differences of each Yearly Meeting group were very enlightening. The work of each group varies somewhat by the concerns of the group as membership changes.
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Indian Affairs Committee meets monthly to disperse funds. It has a history of working with Native Americans in New York state over concerns of treaty rights. This includes land sites affected by Kunzu Dam and the Akwaskie Reservation. They have tried without much success to work with local Lene Lenape tribes. We noted that the committee was established to support concerned individuals working with Native Americans.
New York Yearly Meeting Indian Affairs Committee meets four times a year. It has strong ties supporting the work of Friends with Native Americans in Oklahoma. The purpose of the committee is to aid Native American youth with scholarship programs at Cornell University, to share information about pending legislation on Native American groups throughout the Yearly Meeting, and to support a museum for native crafts in New York City. There is an active group of Friends in Ithaca that meets to work on Native American concerns in the settlement of land claims.
Baltimore Yearly Meeting Indian Affairs Committee meets four times a year to update members on their work. Committee members are active through their work with the American Indian Society of DC, HONOR, and needs of Native Americans in Petersburg Virginia prison. In addition, Baltimore Indian Affairs Committee is involved in oversight of two subcommittees relating to the work and relationship between the yearly meeting and Torreon/Starlake chapter of the Navajo Nation in Cuba, New Mexico. Part of the history includes a trip to Sandusky Ohio in 1799 by several Friends from Baltimore to meet with the Chief of the Wyandot nation.
After the reports, the group divided for worship sharing in small groups, reflecting on connections between Indian issues, past and present, our spiritual lives, and actions we would like to take.
We had an enlightening presentation from Susan Shown Harjo, Executive Director of the Morning Star Institute in Washington, DC, a national nonprofit Indian rights advocacy organization. She served as Assistant to Secretary of Interior in the Carter administration, and as executive director of National Congress of American Indians. She spoke about her experiences and views of advocating for Native Americans in her roles with the government and Native American groups. The most difficult area of her work has been concerning the sacred sites and religious freedom act. Currently she is working on the issue of native sovereignty.
As the gathering concluded, we divided into three groups to arrange the continuation of the work we had begun. The groups were concerned with communications, future meetings, and networking. To get more firmly established, there will be another meeting at Burlington in May 2001. A meeting in the Baltimore Yearly Meeting area will follow in September 2001, and one in New York Yearly Meeting in 2002.
The creation of a web site and a newsletter will assist communications. For Friends wanting to know more about this group and how to get involved, please go to the web site: www.homestead.com/deeproots2001/index.html
Flossie Fullerton
Middle East
In December Mary Ellen McNish, General Secretary of American Friends Service Committee, and Jim Matlack, Director of the AFSC Washington Office, took part in a US Christian Ecumenical Delegation that visited Palestine and Israel. The Delegation consisted of many of the mainline Protestant denominations, as well as several Catholic organizations. The delegation report said "that the peace that must come for all, Israeli and Palestinian alike, can only be achieved on a firm foundation of justice" and expressed concern to the Jewish community that their "government's disproportionate use of violence further deteriorates hopes for their aspirations for peace with security. The report may be found on the web site of Churches for Middle East Peace, www.cmep.org
Also in December Jean Zaru, Presiding Clerk of Ramallah Friends Meeting, West Bank, wrote an open letter to Friends stating that Palestinians are living as a Bantustans similar to the apartheid regime of South Africa, and that the country is becoming "one gigantic prison and one vast cemetery." She stated that "we must work hard to find nonviolent ways of overcoming political, social, economic, ecological and religious violence and to join hands with all those who are committed to not give into the forces of darkness." For the full text of her letter you may email John Salzberg of Friends Meeting of Washington at johnsalz@aol.com The Peace and Social Concerns Committee of BYM will consider the Middle East conflict at its March 24th meeting. Any suggestions for BYM initiatives are welcome and may be emailed to John Salzberg at the above address.
Write letters to the President and members of Congress asking that they stop the sale and transfer of helicopters to Israel!
Nuclear Weapons
Ten or more years since the end of the Cold War, the US and Russia still maintain nuclear weapons on alert to be launched within three minutes of perceiving an attack. We are constantly in danger of nuclear accidents. Write President George W. Bush, The White House, Washington DC 20500 and ask that he take the nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert as he pledged. Also write Senators and Representatives.
Witness for Peace
Witness for Peace is sending a delegation of 100 to Columbia in March as a message to the US government to stop support for the war in Columbia. That country has endured nearly four decades of armed conflict among the national army, leftist guerrillas, and right wing paramilitary forces. Under the "guise" of fighting the war on drugs the US government has voted one billion dollars in mostly military aid. To stop drugs the US must work on demand and addiction in our country. We need more treatment facilities and education rather than military action.
American Friends Service Committee
The AFSC has established a fund for the victims of the devastating earthquake in El Salvador. Contributions can be made to AFSC indicating relief for El Salvador and mailing it to 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102-1499. Hygiene kits have already been sent. At this point money is needed rather than in kind goods.
Betty Hutchinson and John Salzberg
Earth Day 2001
Unity with Nature Committee's Earth Day '01 gathering is planned for Sandy Spring Friends School on April 21st. Recommended reading for the gathering is: The Great Work by Thomas Berry. The general theme for the gathering is "Global Climate Change," with the following sub-titles (or themes): "Humankind's Ecological Challenge: Establishing a Sustainable Niche; and What are the hinge points? What can Friends contribute?" We will also learn about Sandy Spring and Greater Sandy Spring Green Space. Ed Dreby, Mt. Holly Meeting, is a plenary speaker. Ed is formerly a teacher and administrator in Friends' schools, project leader of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Environmental Working Group, and coordinator of the PA Council of Churches Interfaith Climate Campaign.
Proposed schedule: 9:30 - Registration: 10:15 - Opening silent time and introductions; 10:30 - Conference panel: "Energy and Climate" - Ed Dreby, "Population and Consumption" - Stan Becker, Baltimore, Homewood Meeting, (Stan is Clerk of the Steering Committee for Friends Committee on Unity with Nature). "Bio-ethics and Genetic Engineering" - Tracy McCowen, Younge Street Meeting (Ont. Canada). (Tracy is a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Bio-ethics, focusing on sustainable agriculture and the impacts and consequences of a genetically engineered food supply.) "Natural Capital and Economics" - Keith Helmuth, New Brunswick Meeting (Canada). (Keith taught ecology at Friends World College and was an organic farmer in New Brunswick, Canada.) Each of the panelists will offer a workshop on their topic (early afternoon). 12:00-1:00 Lunch 1:00-2:30 Workshops: Four on above topics; #5 "Stream Monitoring and Water Quality" with Derek Jackson and Nick Singer. (Derek is very active with Greater Sandy Spring Green Space, while Nick is a science teacher at Sandy Spring Friends School.); #6 Learn more about Greater Sandy Spring Green Space from their President: John Chirtea. Workshops: 2:30 - 4:30 #1 Visit straw-bale house with Robert and Deborah Boggs True; #2 Walk over to Woodlawn Manor on Historic Legacy Trail, then proceed to Sandy Spring Museum with Aleen Starkweather and Winifred Walker-Jones. 4:30: Gather for closing at library.
Folks are invited to spend the night in the (greater) Sandy Spring area. Flossie Fullerton has agreed to arrange hospitality, with the help of folks in Sandy Spring Friends Meeting. One can contact Flossie directly (202/244-2662) or via Janney Wilson (540-338-4412). Suggested First Day activities: (Sunday April 22nd) Attend Quaker Meeting at Sandy Spring Meeting; Visit the Sandy Spring Slavery Museum (prior arrangements); Visit some of the 28 places on the map of Sandy Spring Historic Sites. (copies of the map; "Walking Tour of Historic Sandy Spring, MD" available at the Museum or from Aleen Starkweather). Hope to see you April 21st at Sandy Spring. Please register by April 12th; check your Monthly Meeting for a registration form if you did not receive a mailing.
Janney Wilson
The Worship Group for Friends of Color meets on the third First-day of every month at Sidwell Friends School's meetingroom (in the Art Building) at 9:15 a.m.
Our hope is to provide a comfortable place for silent worship and fellowship for those who share a common experience. People of color who are members/attenders of local meetings, those who attended or who are sending their children to Friends schools, and those who work for Quaker organizations are all invited, as are their families. For information, contact Claudia Wair at cwhere@email.com.
"Dwelling Together in Harmony" (Psalm 133:1) is the theme for the March 15-18, 2001 Annual Meeting of FWCC, Section of the Americas. North Carolina Yearly Meetings (Conservative and Friends United Meeting) will host the meeting at the Radisson Hotel, Greensboro Airport in Greensboro, NC. Representatives from around the Section will gather for worship. Through fellowship and business, Friends will work to discern together the work of FWCC.
The keynote address will be given by Eden Grace from New England Yearly Meeting, who is active in the World Council of Churches. The meeting will be conducted in both Spanish and English.
Engaging children, youth and adults in First Day School requires a thoughtful, prayerful, playful approach to curriculum and activities. Marsha Holliday, member of Langley Hill Monthly Meeting, will share how to evaluate, write, administer, and use curricula while Robin Wells, of Asheville Monthly Meeting, will show how to create games that support FDS curricula.
Come and experience the joy of preparing the way for First Day School, reflecting on the philosophy and theology behind Quaker curricula through presentations, small and large group activities, games and game creation, journaling, worship and sharing.
Marsha, sojouring with Friends in Paris, France, has served as a religious education professional for Baltimore Yearly Meeting and Friends General Conference. A former teacher in public and Friends schools, she has also pursued seminary studies in curriculum development. She has published a high school/adult curriculum, Silent Worship and Quaker Values: An Introduction.
Robin mixes fun, games, and multigenerational activities in her approach to Quaker education and spiritual exploration. She works and plays on the FGC Religious Education Committee as well as being Monthly Meeting First Day School Coordinator.
For information about the program, contact Michael Gibson at FGC, 215/561-1700; or e-mail michaelg@fgcquaker.org. Or contact Pendle Hill, 800/742-3150 ext. 0 for information; ext. 142 for Registrar; e-mail: mailto:Bobbi@pendlehill.org for conference information.
Each spring the Friends Historical Association arranges a bus trip from Philadelphia to a Quaker community. Two years ago the trip was to Winchester and Hopewell Meeting House.
On May 5, 2001, this year's trip will be to State College, PA. The group will see the Bellefonte Meeting House (Orthodox), two Centre Monthly Meeting Houses and the State College Friends Meeting House. All of these Meetings are laid down except State College. An evening covered dish meal will be served in the Meeting House after which Don Yoder, a member of the Haverford Friends Meeting and a Professor of Folk Culture at the University of Pennsylvania, will be the evening speaker. On Sunday, May 6, 2001 the group will attend meeting for worship at the Pennsdale Meeting House near Muncy PA. That Meeting House was built in the late 1700's or early 1800's.
For more information and reservations contact Joelle Bertolet at the Friends Historical Association. Phone 610/896-1161 or e-mail: FHA@Haverford.edu
If you would like to attend and are not using the bus and motel, contact Elwood Way 814/692-8176 after April 4, 2001 or by letter anytime to 2455 Halfmoon Road, Port Matilda, PA 16870. You may attend the potluck and evening program without a reservation. All are welcome. You do not need to be a member of FHA..
The mission of William Penn House is to provide a Quaker presence on Capitol Hill. It is a center for dialogue and education for Friends and others to build a better world through seminars, hospitality, and other activities. Our mission is based on the development and expression of spiritual values and their importance for addressing domestic and international concerns. Spiritual development and expression based on the recognition of "that of God in everyone" lead to creative responses to conflict, inequity, and injustice. William Penn House: 1) provides a community of learning and exploration; 2) offers a place of rest and nurture; 3) creates an opportunity to envision and work toward peace and social justice.
Additional information about programs and hospitality can be obtained from William Penn House, 515 East Capitol Street SE, Washington DC 20003; (202) 543-3814; e-mail: dirpennhouse@pennsnet.o rg.
We sat in the small conference room at Earlham College where Elton Trueblood had written many of his wonderful books about Quakerism. With the late November sun shining through the windows, Elton Trueblood's portrait almost seemed to smile. The members of the Quaker Volunteer Service and Witness Network (QVSWN) steering committee, representing diverse branches of American Quakerism and different types of volunteer service organizations, were meeting with Patrick Nugent, the head of Earlham's newly developing Institute for Quaker Studies, to forge a partnership between the College and QVSWN. We all knew it was an historic meeting and wished someone had been smart enough to bring a camera.
The mission of QVSWN is to serve the existing small volunteer service organizations that have grown up around North America, encourage and stimulate the development of more service opportunities, and share the spiritual base of our service and witness. The three-year old volunteer steering committee had gone as far as it could existing only in cyberspace. Our program of a newsletter, directories of service opportunities, and conferences, was useful but too small and irregular to make a real impact. The partnership with Earlham will provide the administrative support and an institutional home that enables the network to grow. A continuing relationship with Illinois Yearly Meeting, which has had oversight for the embryonic QVSWN Steering Committee, will provide spiritual care and nurture.
For the College and its Institute for Quaker Studies, the partnership with QVSWN is an exciting and substantive way to reach out and assist the Religious Society of Friends, and at the same time enrich the service opportunities available to the Earlham community. Earlham's President, Doug Bennett, has personally championed this partnership. A grant from the Lilly Endowment to Earlham's Institute for Quaker Studies enables the College to provide QVSWN a home for the next five years.
For the Society of Friends in the United States, this partnership can also signify the possibility of fruitful collaboration between Yearly Meetings and Quaker educators to build a set of Quaker service opportunities.
For me, the November meeting that formalized this new partnership was the culmination of my service as national clerk of the QVSWN Steering Committee. Since November, I have been working with Earlham on the details of the Memorandum of Understanding that will codify the relationship and give us a clear structural framework for our collaboration. I have completed my term as clerk and stepped down, while continuing to serve on the steering committee. My next task for QVSWN will be planning and organizing a national consultation on internships in Quaker organizations.
My thanks to all in Baltimore Yearly Meeting, and especially Adelphi Meeting, who make this work possible.
Mary Lord
Understanding Patterns of Denial: Michael Conforti
Denial. It's all around us, from institutions to individuals, but you and I don't do it, do we? Or do we?
The emperor's new clothes look just as regal today as ever. We see denial at the highest levels of government, industry, religion and community. But how does it start? Who let this happen?
It's time to consider how denial obscures the light of truth to create an ocean of darkness. We all have experience in this area. Can we share it? What will happen if we don't?
Michael Conforti Ph.D. is a psychotherapist, author, and director of the Assisi Conferences in Italy and Vermont. His work with individuals and his study of how natural patterns affect us has led him to articulate how prevalent and how harmful the presence of denial can be. Failing to face the important truths in our own lives not only causes us to avoid our own real needs but also affects how we interact with everyone around us. Consciously or not, we become involved in systems of denial. We need to work in meaningful ways with ourselves and each other to reclaim our freedom and help others be free.
In four plenary sessions, Michael will explore the formation of denial, its symptoms, its systems, and effective responses to it. Conference attenders choose from a wide range of topics to join a small Interest Group which also meets four times. Additionally, we gather for daily Meetings for Worship, informal discussions, and personal interaction to strengthen our spiritual life.
To receive a Conference brochure send name and address to: Dick Bellin, FCRP Registrar, 7927 Orchid St NW, Washington, DC 20012-1133; E-mail: fcrp@quaker.org. After April 1 register at: www.quaker.org/fcrp
Freeze tag, meditation, building statues and quiet worship are just some of the activities nearly 400 children will participate in while exploring the theme of stillness at the Gathering in Blacksburg, VA. Infants through Junior High age children will make friends and grow in the Spirit. All children are welcome, including those whose needs may require special attention.
There are plenty of opportunities for adults to join the Junior Gathering community as well. This year we will require the support and talents of nearly 150 gifted and loving Friends to serve as staff members. If you feel called to nurture and support children in this way, please contact Christie Duncan-Tessmer, Junior Gathering Coordinator at the FGC office (christied@fgcquaker.org 215/561-1700). Some reductions in Gathering fees are available.
Wilmington Yearly Meeting USFW and QM host the 40th Triennial Session at the Holiday Inn - Eastgate.
"This Sacred Moment" is the theme for the women's meetings, while the men's theme is "Ministering to a Hurting World." Speakers include: Mary Glenn Hadley, formerly with Friends United Meeting; Retha McCutchen, FUM General Secretary; Leunita Mugofwa from Lugari, Africa; and Anne Thomas.
The Clintonaires from Clinton County, OH; Wilmington Friends Meeting's Handbell Choir, and Jamaican and African Friends will provide special music.
Major costs include adult registration fee ($55); nightly hotel room ($86 for up to 4/room), and $142 for meals including the closing banquet on Sunday night, July 8. Deadline for registering is May 14, 2001
On 7th day First Month the Adelphi friends Meeting was standing room only for a 3 part musical drama entitled "Convinced of What" by Tom Wolfe. "Convinced" described the arrest and imprisonment of William Penn at the age of 24 from December 1667 until his release nine months later. Songs included old favorites such as "Some Enchanted Meeting," "If You Knew the Light Like I Knew the Light," "Trinity" (a.k.a. Yesterday), "I Left My Love in the Tower of London," "Throw Him in Jail" (The George Fox Song), "Send in the Guards," and "All Creeds False & Blunderful." Many considered the highlight of "Convinced" to be three suitors on their knees begging Guilema (Mary Lord) for a date while Penn was in the Tower of London.
Adelphians continue to be active in facilitating Alternatives to Violence Project at the Jessup prisons. They also meet and coordinate with the statewide program.
A concert and fund raising event was held First Month to benefit both Quaker Workcamps International and Resident Rachel Harrison's AVP training in Ghana. A musician from Ghana named Nana alternated with Rachel for an educational evening of traditional Ghanaian music and learning about Rachel's experience in Ghana teaching 19 facilitator's conflict resolution techniques and peacemaking skills. About 50 people came and contributed $250. Young Friends joined Nana after the formal concert to drum the night away.
New clerks of committees held their first meetings in January with much enthusiasm evident. Our Meeting Clerk provided the new committee clerks with thoughtful guidelines and is planning a February gathering to talk about process, clerking skills, and communication.
In first day school, one member, who had taken a trip through Israel, treated our children to a "journey through the Holy Land," complete with slides, food, clothing, and maps. She integrated present sights and senses with biblical stories. The series was so popular that the adults lobbied successfully for a session of their own.
We have learned much as individuals and as a community from four adult education sessions on "Spirituality and Personality Type." Starting with one introductory session, interest and demand extended the sessions to four with 25-30 people exploring questions on personal soul work and communication in our Meeting through the lens of the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator and the loving guidance of a trainer/facilitator from our meeting.
The Peace Committee continues to "Share Peace" with those who gather on the third Friday evening of each month. In March, a session is planned on military tax resistance with two invitees who are actively pursuing this leading.
Homewood Friends had a happy and busy year. Renovations to our building were completed, adding an elevator, which made the entire building accessible to everyone. Painting was completed and everyone is anxious to have others see the changes we have made.
On March 4th Homewood will host its Annual Homecoming and we hope many old Friends will come for a visit and to see the changes. Meeting for Worship will be held at 11:00 followed by a special dinner for all.
During the extended time of construction and renovation Homewood's Meeting House was not available for worship or meetings and Baltimore, Stony Run Friends graciously welcomed our members and attenders into their community. Homewood officially expressed its gratitude in a minute to Stony Run Friends.
As an outreach to the community, Homewood participates in the CARES Project, an emergency food pantry and financial assistance service, and through its close association and support of GEDCO, strongly supports the construction of Stadium Place, an affordable retirement community planned for the city on the site of the Memorial Stadium.
Births: Oona Augusta Schreur and Isabel Arlyn Schreur, 3/29/2000 to Laura Colesun-Schreur and Robert Schreur
Deaths: Jane East Karkalits (Bonny)
The Annual Baltimore Quaker History Series began with a presentation by Ron Mattson speaking on "Benjamin Lundy," January 28th. The February 25th's topic was "Civilian Public Service and the Starvation Experiment" with Sam Legg. Cynthia Kerman will present "The Lives of Jean Toomer: Poet, Writer, Afro-American Quaker" on March 25th. The final presenter is Lamar Matthew on April 22nd on "Quaker Industrialists in York, PA and Their Links to Baltimore."
Stony Run hosts Chesapeake Quarterly Meeting on March 14th with Bob Eaton providing the program.
A new K-5 curriculum has been prepared, and the curriculum for the Jr. HiQ's is being studied for possible changes. A forum series, "Quakers and the Arts," will be presented this spring.
The Meeting House is in daily use by Friends School of Baltimore.
Deaths: Eleanor Rath Mann, 1/30/2001
Some 44 people -- a mix of seasoned "old-timers" and those new to the Meeting -- are taking part in Readings in Quaker Experience, a series of classes. Topics include: "Seekers and Finders: The Experience of Early Friends"; "The Light Within"; "Quaker Universalism"; "Worship and Ministry"; "Living in the Light: Quaker Witness"; "Getting Down to Business."
Our First Day School has 51 enrolled through high school. Once a month the classes gather for singing.
The Peace and Social Justice Committee led a discussion within the Meeting on an initiative to ensure affordable health care coverage for all Marylanders. The initiative is being spearheaded by a grassroots group led by the Baltimore City health commissioner to get legislation restructuring health care financing within the state. The Meeting is considering whether to endorse it.
The Peace Committee continues to coordinate action around death penalty issues. Business meeting sent a letter to Richmond in support of the repeal of the 21-day rule. A series of letters have appeared in our local paper protesting the death penalty. Vigils have been held with speakers in front of court houses and in worship at the Meeting House. We are encouraged by the move of our legislators toward a moratorium.
The children's curriculum is focusing on social justice issues. They are studying these issues from historical and biblical perspectives and through direct action.
The teens meet several Sundays a month in people's homes. So far this school year, they have collected over 600 cards and stamps for the women's prison in Fluvanna, written a letter to the paper protesting the death penalty, collected canned goods and prepared lunch for a Habitat for Humanity work project.
Recent service projects have included a Christmas mitten tree, clothing gift certificates and canned goods for a local family, and personal care kits for distribution through American Friends Service Committee.
As part of the Christmas program, the children helped portray the Christmas story as written by Mary Snyder. Mary Snyder has made wooden figures to accompany the educational material.
Friends are grateful for the progress on the addition to our Meeting House. Construction was started in December with completion expected in the near future.
Seventy-four Friends and friends filled the historic Dunnings Creek Meeting House to overflowing during our Christmas Eve candlelight Meeting. John Treber, aged 7, read the Christmas story and Gloria Stearns-Bruner's mother sang a beautiful carol which she had composed. Amazingly, we had plenty to eat at our traditional Pot Luck afterwards.
We have not yet sealed our Time Capsule because we continue to receive items for inclusion. Especially precious are the memories of some older members from afar. We have received both photographs and stories. We hope to close the Capsule in February - to be opened on the 150th anniversary of our Meeting House in 2037.
Deaths: Ann Barefoot, 1/11/2001
This holiday season, the First Day School of the Gettysburg Monthly Meeting completed two community service projects: (1) collecting/purchasing items for the local battered women's shelter; and (2) creating and assembling gift boxes to be given to children at the local hospital. For the gift boxes, each child in the First Day School was given the gender/age of a child for whom to purchase, and the First Day School took a field trip to local dollar-type stores to purchase appropriate items. The children also brought in used children's books in good condition which we donated to the emergency room waiting area. Adults in the meeting contributed to the service projects by bringing in materials to be donated to the battered women's shelter. The shelter provides a "wish list" and the children helped out in finding wish-list items at home that could be donated.
As part of an ongoing effort to understand who we are as a Quaker worship community, Goose Creek Meeting has been holding a monthly series on Quaker approaches to the Bible. The first of two sessions examined the writings of George Fox and William Penn and while we all agreed that the language of that time does not always speak to our condition, the spirit in which the words were written certainly do.
Both Fox in his Journal and No Cross, No Crown clearly advocated the need for an inward, firsthand experience of God before any understanding of the Scriptures could be achieved. As Fox expressed it, "...the Holy Scriptures were given forth by the Spirit of God, and all people must first come to the Spirit of God in themselves, by which they might know God and Christ."
As Friends explore these writings, we found ourselves asking how we can know whether we are in the Spirit which the early Quakers advocated. Clearly, our worship community is one place we can test our leadings, but both Fox and Penn also point to study of the Scriptures as part of this process.
Deaths: R. Whitney Tucker, 11/11/2000; Elizabeth Thomas Potts, 12/01/2000 at the age of 100; Margaret Cockerill Brown, 01/02/2001; Ruth Kemp Brown 01/28/2001
Quakerism 101, meeting one Sunday a month, read Wilmer Cooper's A Living Faith and has moved on to Heaven on Earth: Quakers and the Second Coming by Dandelion, Gwyn and Peat. The Bible study group, meeting one Sunday a month, is engaged in a comparative study of the gospels using the Spears' method.
Death: Nancy Taylor Grant on 9/10/00
On November 12, 2000, Mary Harman spoke to the Meeting on the restoration of the West Liberty United Methodist Church. The Church dates to 1865. A former rural store, it was pulled by oxen to its present site in Fallston. Michael Erickson, Eagle Scout, did some restoration and created a meditation garden as a project.
On December 16th Little Falls enjoyed our annual "Carols in the Barn" at the William Harlan Farm, followed by cookies and hot chocolate at the schoolhouse.
Joseph Hoopes has been named one of Harford County's "Living Treasures." We have always known that Joseph is a treasure, and now we are pleased that he has received official recognition.
A very worthwhile program was presented by Mark Young and Darcy Hunt on their visit to a Navajo tribe this summer. They displayed beautiful native American artifacts. Friends contributed fabric so that they could make clothing.
Laura Kissinger has beautifully framed the group photograph of the Meeting taken at the dedication of our millennium quilt. The photograph joins many pictures and artifacts on the schoolhouse walls.
Births: Terry Scott, 1/2/2001 to Melinda and Theodore Scott
The Brick Meeting House will celebrate its tercentenary on September 29-30, 2001 at the Meeting House. Interested parties may contact Ron Stroud of Oxford Meeting and Sue Lamborn of Eastland Meeting who are on the publicity committee.
There will be a ceremony of commitment for Debbie Fetzer (M) and Janice Johnson on March 31, 2001 at the Oxford Friends Meeting House. We offer prayers of concern for the health of Forrest Preston who is now at Rest Haven Nursing Home. Three of our women members attended the annual women's retreat in Maryland. The women of the Meeting have an ongoing discussion group on the last Tuesday of the month. The Meeting House is host to a folk music group. We also have had the building used for concerts given by Oxford Mainstreet Inc. The concerts have been of high quality and we hope to reach out to the community as they become aware of our existence. We have been gifted by visiting artists from the Philadelphia orchestra and some intense jazz groups. There are more planned for the year.
Marriages/Ceremony of Commitment:
Scott Jones & Ellen McLaughlin, 10/28/2000
Deaths: Horace Eaby, 10/2000
This year, as in the past, Patuxent Friends reached out to our community to help a family in need during the Christmas holiday.
We planned on providing Christmas gifts to a single mother and three children through the local homeless shelter. But plans for our Christmas gifts took an unexpected turn during the week before Christmas. The shelter manager lost contact with the mother. We were very disappointed. But nothing could be done -- the mother and children had dropped out of sight.
While waiting to hear news of this family, we learned of three Mexican families who were living together in a dismal situation. They were housed in an unheated utility building, which had been divided up into two small bedrooms and a kitchen area. There were eleven people in all: seven adults and four children. Language barriers, transportation and other challenges had made better arrangements impossible for them.
We had been looking for one family to help, but we were given three families. We provided kerosene heaters so they would have heat. They had a small space heater in one of the rooms to keep the children warm.
Next we brought the Christmas presents. The young men and women were wide-eyed, unable to believe that people were offering this kindness. When asked where they wanted the gifts, a young woman pointed to their tree - a Charlie Brown variety of pine branch stuck in a pail of sand in the corner of the hallway. It was decorated with a few Christmas balls and one strand of lights, but there were no presents. By the time the car was unpacked, it looked like a fiesta! Our gifts didn't go where we had originally expected them to go. They went where they were most needed. Way opened.
Just before leaving, one of the women opened the door to the small room with the electric space heater. When we peeked into the room, we saw a week old baby boy lying on a mattress with his beautiful Mexican mother beside him.
It seemed like a familiar story. These people had traveled to a foreign land. We came as strangers to their unheated shelter, bearing gifts for themselves and their newborn infant. It was a spirit-filled occasion. Patuxent Friends are grateful for having played a part in it.
The work of the Meeting in opposition to the death penalty continues. On January 17, The Friend Advocacy Group (Virginia Friends Against the Death Penalty) and VADPE met with the delegates in Richmond. It was to date the largest rally in Richmond against the death penalty. For the first time a delegate in the General Assembly will present a bill opposing the death penalty in Virginia.
Richmond's 32 Young Friends have established their own community this year, complete with regular business meetings, a coordinating committee comprised of Young Friends and a Friendly Adult Presence and a representative of the Religious Education Committee.
Young Friends decided their priority for First Day School is to help them answer the questions, "What does it mean to be a Quaker?" and "How do I explain Quakerism to my friends?" Richmond Young Friends will host BYM's Young Friends conference the weekend of February 16-18. It will involve 75 Young Friends from all over the Yearly Meeting region.
Births: Dorothea Grace Rugg, 10/8/2000 to Sam and Heidi Rugg
Sandy Spring Meeting now has signing for the deaf at 11 a.m. worship the second Sunday of each month. A sign language interpreter has been led to attend our meeting and to provide this service. Hospitality Committee has heard concerns that families with children often are not able to participate in post-business-meeting potluck meals. In response, Hospitality Committee is planning several all-meeting potluck meals at times more convenient for families. The first of these is scheduled for Valentine Sunday, when our young children deliver handmade valentines to residents of Stabler Hall nursing home. Overseers are seeking to better support members of our community in times of need by designating a contact person and by offering home visits to anyone who cannot attend meeting. So that we may become better acquainted, Overseers is planning to provide name tags during our after-meeting social time.
Deaths: Werner Janney, 12/19/2000; James Hunter, 12/22/2000 Marriages/Ceremonies of Commitment: Guila Adelfio and Ed Sorenson, 10/07/2000
Deaths: Robert Peck, 3/2/2000
At our Meeting, the Administrative Secretary serves as Recorder. There has been some talk about the responsibilities of secretaries lately.
The total number of Meeting members as of December 31, 2000 is 514. For the first time in recent memory, this is an exact tie with last year. We have counted electronically, and we have recounted by hand.
We have reviewed the names of all the new members. There is one Chad. I must remind Friends that at this particular point, many recent discussions have led into complete chaos, and that Chad has had a difficult year. I am therefore certifying these results immediately as complete and correct for the Florida Avenue Meeting.
Despite rumors to the contrary, Frank Massey, General Secretary of Baltimore Yearly Meeting, and his brother, Harry Massey, Co-clerk of our own Finance and Stewardship Committee, have had absolutely nothing to do with this coincidence. And I'm not responsible for anything at all. I'm just the secretary.
As in most Quaker organizations, there is absolutely no point in appealing for any further action to anyone.
Births: Margaret Scott Akins & Grace Logan Akins, 1/9/2001 to Tom & Jennifer Akins;
Deaths: Ivan Klein, 11/5/2000
The Meeting is enjoying a lively Spiritual Formation Group which meets twice a month in small and large groups. The effort is intended to deepen our knowledge and to support each other in spiritual practices. The group is important to each of us. At the end of January, several Williamsburg women attended the annual Baltimore Yearly Meeting Women's Retreat. Our hostesses this year were the women of Frederick Meeting, and we are enjoyed an exciting agenda.
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Spring Yearly Meeting Day
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Committees
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