Spring Retreat Registration Now Open
Online registration is now open for the Spring Retreat to be held Friday evening May 26th through Sunday morning worship on May 28th.
Click on this link.
We hope to see you there!
Spring Retreat Committee
Educational Forum on Sanctuary
The RFM Peace and Social Concerns Committee is aware that the current U.S. administration is going forward with plans to increase the number of deportations of the undocumented and expand the scope of these deportations. Our Quaker testimonies of equality, community, and integrity cause us to hold in the Light the impact on the undocumented immigrant community of an unjust immigration system that harms people’s human and civil rights and tears families apart, and children from parents.
At our March P&SC Meeting, we had a brief presentation on the topic of Sanctuary by Lana Heath de Martinez, staff member of the Virginia Interfaith Center (VICPP). Lana is supporting/facilitating efforts of congregations throughout the State of Virginia as they learn about how to provide Sanctuary to these undocumented immigrants facing deportation.
To further educate ourselves and the Meeting about the needs of the immigrant community and all the aspects of Sanctuary, the Peace & Social Concerns Committee is co-sponsoring with Adult Spiritual Education an Educational Forum about Sanctuary to be held April 30th, at the Rise of Meeting in the community room. Light finger food, snacks, and drinks will be provided. We have invited the following participants to date:
- 1) Linda Rabben, PhD., attender at Adelphi Friends Meeting , author, and anthropologist who has written several books including “Give Refuge to the Stranger: the Past, Present and Future of Sanctuary” and “Sanctuary and Asylum”. Dr. Rabben conducts presentations about Sanctuary.
- 2) Lana Heath de Martinez, (M. Div, Union Theological Seminary) and Welcoming All Coordinator from Virginia Interfaith Center (VICPP)
- 3) Immigration Attorney (name not yet confirmed).
Sanctuary – brief history:
The practice of Sanctuary has a long history as a tradition of religious communities during situations of human despair. From the ancient Hebrew communities, the Christian churches of the late Roman Empire, to the church of England in the late medieval period, churches provided refuge to those fleeing governmental punishments for a variety of reasons. In the US, the first time that a practice surfaced similar to sanctuary was the Underground Railroad that developed to help slaves flee their masters in the South and find safety in homes and congregations far away.
In the early 1970s, again church communities provided sanctuary within their churches to conscientious objectors who had been drafted to the War in Vietnam.
In the 1980s, refugees fled from Civil Wars in Central America to the US, but the US did not recognize them as political refugees seeking asylum. The Sanctuary Movement protected some of these refugees while protesting this practice with the US government; at the time, the US was directly supporting the Central American dictators and death squads. The Sanctuary Movement’s efforts at the time resulted in including Central Americans in US asylum laws in the 1986 immigration reform law.
Neighborhood raids by Immigration enforcement in the US escalated beginning in 2006 and the New Sanctuary Movement evolved from coalitions of congregations in major cities throughout the US.
The Sanctuary Movement Today
Under the Obama Administration rising rates of deportation continued and congregations recommitted themselves to Sanctuary.
Before the November 2016 presidential election there were approximately 400 congregations engaged in the work of sanctuary across the nation — since the election that number has doubled as communities of faith across the nation, due to concerns that the number and scope of deportations is being greatly expanded.
Workshop on How to Talk about Being a Quaker and Sharing Outreach Ideas
Sunday, May 7, 2017, 9:30am in the Community Room.
You are not alone! Many Quakers have trouble or lack confidence articulating about Quakerism. In this experiential workshop we will generate ideas and practice answering real questions like, “What do Quakers believe?’ and “You say you have no dogmas and creeds,so can you believe anything you like?” In the second part of the workshop, we will hear from our new RFM Visibility Coordinators. What could more outreach look like for our beloved community?
Sponsored by both the Ad Hoc Working Group on Welcoming and Growing Our Meeting and the Visibility Coordinators. Everyone is invited, newcomers and oldtimers. The more variety of viewpoints we have, the more valuable and interesting this workshop will be.
Sponsored by the Ad Hoc Working Group on Welcoming and Growing Our Meeting and the Visibility Coordinators. Contact Monica Shaw with questions.
Newsletter for Fourth Month (April) 2017
Collection of Supplies to Support Armstrong High School
From the Peace and Social Concerns Committee and Denna Joy:
Peace and Social Concerns Committee would like collect supplies in March in support of the students at Armstrong High School. I have been part of the support staff there for a number of years. Armstrong is a Richmond Public School High School located in the city’s east end. It has a proud history. It was founded in the 1870s as the Richmond Colored Normal School and became the first public school in Richmond for African American students. The school was named for Union General Armstrong, a white commander of colored troops during the Civil War who founded Hampton Institute, a historically black college. Alumni speak with pride of the strong school spirit of Armstrong students.
Today, Armstrong High School is on its fourth location. It sits on the edge of Fairfield Court, on the border of Henrico County. The Armstrong zone includes students who come from all four subsidized housing communities in the east end. Many face the trauma of living daily in dangerous, high crime neighborhoods. They struggle with poverty, stresses at home and a community in need of more resources. As a result, many of our students are often chronically late and find remaining in school and graduating on time very difficult. Included in our population are students classified as homeless; they have no permanent residence. Many are doubled up with friends or relatives or living in motels. On paper, the number of reported homeless students is close to 45. However, staff feels that number is probably much higher. Particularly hard to serve are our over eighteen homeless students who are” couch surfing”- staying where ever they can. The resilience and persistence our students demonstrate is humbling. We have a food and clothes pantry designed to serve these students. They are often in need of food when they come into school in the morning or something to take home with them for the evening. While all RPS students receive free breakfast, many of our students are just not in the building at 7:30 when breakfast is served. So we are asking folks to contribute food items to the pantry. Additional supplies such as deodorant, laundry detergent and feminine hygiene products are usually in short supply.
Also in the building is a child care center for infants and toddlers of parents attending Armstrong. This support allows young parents to have a safe space for their children to be while they attend school. Parents are asked to bring supplies such as diapers, baby swipes and Vaseline to school. But like deodorant and feminine products, these items cannot be bought with food stamps.
PSC will be collecting:
Breakfast foods– Pop tarts, soft granola bars, packets of cold cereal
Hygiene products– male and female deodorant- both solid and spray, sanitary napkins
Baby products– diapers sizes 4, 5, 6, Vaseline, diaper swipes.
Laundry supplies– boxes containing liquid pods or packs for easy transport