Sign-up sheets for Friend Eights groups will be posted beginning on September 11 and remain up until October 9. Friendly Eights are small groups that meet for a meal or other activity. Groups can be formed around any topic and are not limited to eight people. Sponsored by Care and Counsel.
The Baltimore Yearly Meeting Spiritual Formation Program invites its participants into a deeper spiritual experience through retreats, spiritual community, reading spiritual classics, and individual spiritual practices.
You are invited to participate in the Spiritual Formation program at Richmond Friends Meeting for 2016-17. Registration is open through September 18th.
The Spiritual Formation Program at the local level includes a monthly large-group meeting that includes everyone. In addition to the large group meeting, most people join a small group of 6 to 8 members who meet once a month to share spiritual journeys and daily spiritual practices.
Our first large group meeting will be held on Sunday, October 2 from 5-7 PM.
We will focus this year’s program around ‘Quaker Speaks’ videos which explore the core questions of our faith. Integrating the video with readings, books, articles and worship sharing.
From October through May, the monthly large group Spiritual Formation meetings will be on the 1st Sunday of the month from 5-7 PM beginning with a shared potluck.
If you would like to learn more about the Spiritual Formation Program visit the BYM site:
http://quakerspiritualformation.org/
If you wish to explore the possibility of joining Spiritual Formation at Richmond Friends Meeting, you are encouraged to contact Mary Fran Hughes-McIntyre (655-8572) or Janett Forte (227-3053)
Online registration will be available on the RFM website and a link for online registration will be sent on the listserv.
Please complete the form and submit electronically or print out your form and return to meeting by September 18, 2016. In addition, paper copies will be available at the meetinghouse.
The link to the online registration form is here.
The following events will be held in the Community Room and will conclude at 10:45 in time for Meeting for Worship. For more information, click the corresponding event on the Calendar page of this website.
Sunday, August 28 at 9:30 am
Topic: The Radical Christianity of Early Quakers
Presenter: Rita Willett
Sunday, September 25 at 9:30 am
Topic: Clearness Committees: An Amazing Quaker Process
Presenters: Barbara Myers and Monica Shaw
Sunday, October 23 at 9:30 am
Topic: Lobbying for Peace: People Power to Help Extinguish the Middle East Fire.
Presenter: Kate Gould, Legislative Representative for Middle East Policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation.
Co-sponsored by the Committee for Peace and Social Concerns.
July 10th Spiritual Book Sharing. This coming Sunday you have the opportunity to share a spiritual book that has affected your life. Those who choose to share will have three minutes to give a summary of the meaning their book has for them. You are encouraged to come and listen and ask questions even if you do not have a book to share. Coffee and cookies served prior to our beginning at 9:30 in the Community Room.
(From the Baltimore Yearly Meeting Working Group on Racism)
“For far too long, society has treated minority groups from a deficit analysis, focusing on what they lack rather than what they add. Institutions have reacted to racial tensions instead of proactively creating inclusive spaces. We have taught people how to adjust to an unacceptable status quo instead of sharing the legitimate means to challenge injustice. By not taking the time to listen to people, we have let efficiency trump listening and allowed limited diversity to supplant real equity at the table, at the lectern, and in the boardroom….
“We all have good will, but we must move beyond good will. Universities can help improve a sense of belonging by setting clear goals, fostering inclusive environments, and challenging negative stereotypes about certain groups. We have to create structures that ensure participation of minority groups in decisions. We need to model and teach the competencies of deep listening and respectful dialogue across differences. We must also determine how to work cooperatively to transform deeply embedded practices that have created barriers to belonging.”
Excerpts from an article by Julio Frenk, “Why We Need a ‘Scholarship of Belonging’,” published in the May 20, 2016, Chronicle of Higher Education. Julio Frank is president of the University of Miami and former dean of Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
This column is prepared by the BYM Working Group on Racism (WGR) and sent to the designated liaisons at each Monthly and Preparative Meeting for publication in their newsletter or other means of dissemination. The WGR meets most months on the third Saturday from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. Locations vary to allow access to more Friends. If you would like to attend, on a regular or a drop-in basis, contact clerk David Etheridge, [email protected].