by WebPost | Apr 15, 2022 | Announcement, Care and Counsel
A Celebration of Life for Martha Leland Walker Owings (Lee Owings) will be held at Westminster Canterbury Retirement Community on May 6 at 2 p.m. in the sanctuary. Those wishing to attend should inquire about parking with the guard at the front gate. Lee Owings was raised as a Quaker and attended Richmond Friends Meeting periodically after relocating to the area about twelve years ago. She is survived by her husband, also a resident of Westminster Canterbury, and three daughters.
by WebPost | Apr 13, 2022 | Announcement, Ministry and Worship
In December 2021 Business Meeting, we decided to look to the Virginia Department of Health framework when considering our own COVID precautions. In recent weeks, VDH has changed the way they talk about COVID risk and precautions in ways that my allow loosening our own considerations a bit.
As hospitalizations have dropped significantly, VDH has replaced their own “community transmission” reports and considerations with the Centers for Disease Control "risk ranking" model. The CDC model takes into account infection levels, but more heavily weighs the burden on local hospitals.
Under this, Richmond and environs are in the "Low" risk category, which for us suggests that we can:
-- request that friends use their own judgment on whether to mask or not. Some will want to continue masking, particularly those most vulnerable to COVID and anyone who may feel sick and thus want to protect others.
-- continue to attend to ventilation in any indoor space where people gather.
-- consider providing an area in the worship room where people can distance well. Some will want to continue social distancing, particularly those most vulnerable.
-- open the meetinghouse to eating, though still maximizing ventilation and encouraging people to distance, or better yet meet on the patio.
VDH notes that keeping gatherings in “well ventilated” areas is always important. Masking and distancing are still worthwhile precautions. And, as noted while Richmond is currently "Low" risk, we should quickly return to universal masking and consider other precautions if/when we to go to "Medium" risk.
Please contact me or other Working Group members with questions.
Thanks
Dan Shaw, clerk, COVID Working Group
by WebPost | Apr 12, 2022 | Announcement, Care and Counsel
With sadness, we record the death of Martha Leland Walker Owings on Friday, April 8, at Westminster Canterbury in Richmond. Lee Owings was raised in the Quaker faith and attended Richmond Friends Meeting after she and her husband relocated to the area a dozen or so years ago.
Lee was born in Indiana to Dr. John Walker and Helen Bacon Walker and was raised in Bucks County Pennsylvania. She graduated from Council Rock High School where she was on drill team, played basketball, and was a member of the student council. She graduated from Longwood College and taught in Virginia Beach before marrying and settling down to raise her family.
She and her husband, Irvin Owings III, had been residents of Westminster Canterbury for the past 12 years. She is survived by her husband and her three daughters, Elizabeth Bryant (John), Rebecca Zuck (David), Catherine Greco (Jeffrey) and five grandchildren.
A Celebration of Life will be scheduled at a later date. Bliley Funeral Home in Richmond is attending to details. Cards may be sent to Irvin Owings, 1500 Westbrook Court, Apt. 1132, Richmond, 23227.
by WebPost | Apr 10, 2022 | Announcement
Thank you for joining us to celebrate the life of Karen Kain, whose time was tragically cut short in a fatal road accident on 4th March, 2022.
Karen lived an eclectic life - filled with art and music and friendship. She lived her life mindfully and selflessly with compassion and kindness. Above all, she loved community and sought to build it wherever she went. So it is fitting that her community now stretches across the world. Thank you for being a part of it. Karen was bought up Quaker, and we are so pleased to be celebrating her life with the Richmond Friends.
Please join us on 23rd April at 2pm for a memorial Meeting for Worship at which you may share your remembrances of Karen. Afterward, there will be an exhibition of Karen's art.
Richmond Friends may remember Karen from her time among us several years ago. She visited with us in the fall. For those who would like to know more about Karen's life, below is a link to a memorial held in Portland OR earlier in March.
Karen Kain Memorial Service Portland OR - YouTube
by WebPost | Mar 24, 2022 | Announcement
Friends Association for Children is celebrating their 150th anniversary with a number of events this year. Because Richmond Quakers had a role in their founding just after the Civil War, they hope we can join in celebrating with them.
Information about upcoming 150th celebration events can be found at this website: https://friendsrva.org/150-2/
The first celebration will be held on Thursday, March 31, at 7:00 pm via livestream. This will be an evening of history, storytelling and music, including recognition of some founding partners. There is a $15 charge to gain access, and they are offering a $5.00 discount for Richmond Friends. You may purchase a ticket at the website above and, if you like, order food and/or beverage from the organization’s partners to enjoy while watching the show. To receive the
discount, please use this code, Society5, when registering.
Rising clerk Lynda Perry will be there in person; our historian Scott Selby has also been invited. We have recorded a congratulatory message from RFM that may aired on March 31, or later in the year. Lynda and Scott met with the executive director of Friends Association for Children, J. David Young, last month and shared what we know of the early history. Friends Janet Scagnelli and Elizabeth Smith helped in creating the message; Ada Hammer and Rita Willett helped with research.