by WebPost | Apr 27, 2016 | Peace and Social Concerns
The following is an excerpt from letter from Shan Cretin, General Secretary, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC).
No other country imprisons more people than the United States. In 2014 over 1.5 million people were incarcerated in the U.S. at a cost of $80 billion—approximately $51,250 per person imprisoned. The U.S. has just 5% of the world’s population, but the number of people behind bars in our country makes up 25% of the entire world’s prison population.
This incarceration epidemic is a moral crisis that hits hard on communities of color and the poor. Imagine if just a fraction of the billions being spent on mass incarceration was directed towards public schools, substance abuse treatment, mental health services, job training, and other services to keep people out of prison.
For information about AFSC’s efforts to end mass incarceration and how you can make a donation, visit the AFSC website.
by WebPost | Apr 27, 2016 | Children and Religious Education, Peace and Social Concerns
For Grade 6 and above: Richmond Youth Peace Summit Saturday, April 30, 2016
The Richmond Peace Education Center will hold its 2016 Youth Peace Summit on Saturday April 30, 2016, at St. Paul’s Baptist Church–Southside Campus, 700 E Belt Blvd., Richmond, VA 23223. The summit will feature a morning large group session, as well as 90-minute small group workshops for groups of about 12-15 teen participants.
Participants will also be served lunch; after lunch there will also be a program of music, dance and spoken word poetry. The event is FUN and FREE for teens grade 6 and above. Advance registration is required. To pre-register online, go to the registration page or send an email to [email protected].
The summit emphasizes cooperation and collaboration among Metro Richmond’s diverse populations of young people. Small group workshop choices include conflict resolution, anger management, healthy relationships, understanding Islam, hip-hop dance and culture, drumming, know your rights, Sudanese cooking and more! All workshops are active and participatory.
For more information: email [email protected] or call 232-1002
by WebPost | Apr 27, 2016 | Baltimore Yearly Meeting
Theme: Discernment and Action in Spiritual Community
Spend Some Time With Friends This Summer! Retreat and plenary speakers will offer their various insights into the theme. Workshops and interest groups will educate and challenge us. Business sessions will carry on the work of the Yearly Meeting. Our children will learn and grow and have fun together, and adults will share a week of sharing and getting to know one another in spiritual community. Registration opens soon here. August 1—August 7, 2016, Hood College, Frederick, MD
by WebPost | Apr 21, 2016 | Adult Spiritual Education
The sixth session of “Living the Quaker Life” will be held this coming First Day, April 24th, in the Community Room and will begin at 9:00 am. Coffee and tea will be available prior to the start. Also, be assured that all are welcome to participate even if you have not attended any of the previous sessions. This week we will study “How We Act in the World.” The assigned readings in the BYM Faith and Practice 2013 are pages 118-123 and 183-185.
by WebPost | Apr 14, 2016 | Adult Spiritual Education, Bible Study
The Adult Spiritual Education committee will hold a one-hour Bible Workbench on Sunday, May 1, at 9:30 a.m. in one of the upstairs classrooms. We will discuss John 14: 23-29: a “farewell discourse,” the Advocate, the link between love and behavior. You don’t need to read the scripture in advance, or be Christian or knowledgeable about the Bible in order to participate. We follow the guidelines/contexts/questions shaped by The Educational Center’s “Reading Between the Lines” series (edited by D. Andrew Kille): What is happening in this story? Where is the story alive and happening in the world around us? How is this story my own internal story? Where does it live in my life?