by WebPost | Apr 9, 2015 | Adult Spiritual Education
2015 FGC Gathering
The FGC Gathering is a week of Quaker worship, workshops, and community for all ages.
Quakers will gather from throughout North America and across the world to live for a week immersed in Quaker experience. In 2015, we begin our week on July 5 in a beautiful mountain setting at the University of Western Carolina, just west of Asheville, NC.
Here are some of the many possibilities when 1200 people of faith come together at the Gathering:
- Mornings spent in weeklong workshops given by knowledgeable leaders
- Evening plenary sessions to inspire, entertain and challenge us
- Early morning opportunities for movement, worship, or Bible
- Afternoons and late evenings free to choose from a sparkling variety of intergenerational fun activities, spontaneous groups around assorted interests, singing, worship, presentations, field trips, dancing, films, and so many other things!
- Youth programming for small children through high school age
- Dedicated events offered for LGBTQ Friends, non-theist Friends, Friends of Color and their families, Quakers in business and Adult Young Friends, and more!
- The delight of re-connecting with old Friends and making new ones
- Stretching our sense of self, deepening our faith, supporting one another in our growth, exploring new ways of being in the world
All of this is available to us in a welcoming, affirming, and accessible community.
Early registration runs April 1 through April 12. Early registrants have equal access to workshops and priority consideration for FGC financial assistance. Standard registration begins on April 18.
Richmond Friends Meeting offers scholarship assistance up to $400, based on need. Please contact monicashaw@dmshaw for more information.
Copies of the FGC Gathering Advance Program are available at the Meeting House.
Michelle Bellows 3/25/15
by WebPost | Mar 17, 2015 | Minutes of Business Meeting
Richmond Friends Meeting
Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business
Third Month 15, 2015
Meeting began with silence at 11:00 am. Forty-four (44) members and attenders were present. Mary Graham-Landau was greeter. Michael Pierce from Ministry and Worship sat on the facing bench to hold Meeting in the Light. Kyle Ginraick and Cheron Constance were welcomed as first time attenders to MWB. Randee Humphrey read the Baltimore Yearly Meeting (BYM) proposed Queries and Voices on Listening.
Peace and Social Concerns: Clerk Denna Joy announced: (1) The committee is a joint sponsor with Richmonders for Peace in Israel and Palestine and the Richmond Peace Education Center of a discussion of the book “The Lemon Tree” at the downtown Richmond Public Library on Tuesday, March 24, 2015, from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm. Snacks will be provided. The discussion will be meaningful even if you haven’t yet read the book. (2) On March 15 and 22, 2015, “gently used” items will be collected for donation to The Thrifty Quaker to benefit Quaker House. (3) March is the food drive month for the Fan Free Clinic. Food items will be accepted each Sunday. Friends are encouraged to donate.
Nominating Committee: Brooke Davis announced the nomination of Bob Alexander to the Care and Counsel committee. Friends approved. Bob explained that he was led to join the committee after a discussion at a Men’s Retreat when it was noted that some committees have few or no men as members.
Recorder’s Report: Recorder Mary Julia Street recently submitted the annual Recorder’s Report to BYM. She presented some of the key information. In 2014, we added three new members and lost one member. Twenty letters were sent to junior associate members who were turning 25 years of age to see if they wanted to become members. Two requested membership; the others were dropped from the members list. Currently, the Meeting has 168 adult members and 25 junior associate members.
Adult Spiritual Education: Howard Garner announced the following: (1) On March 22, 2015, Bible Workbench will be held from 9:30 am to 10:45 am. It will focus on Jeremiah 31: 31-34. (2) On April 12, 2015, from 9:30 am to 10:45 am, as part of the series Spirit and the Environment, Buddhist scholar Joanna Macy will present and lead a discussion of an essay “The Greening of the Self.” Copies will be made available before the event. All are encouraged to attend. (3) The committee is in the process of rescheduling the programs on the James River and conscientious objection as soon as possible.
Elizabeth Smith spoke on a topic related to conscientious objection. For a number of years, a notebook with statements by Meeting members in opposition to war and military service was kept in the library. She wondered whether having the notebook available again, with the opportunity for additional statements, might be helpful. The Clerk asked Elizabeth and representatives from Adult Spiritual Education, Peace and Social Concerns, and Religious Education to meet and discuss this.
Dan Shaw announced that registration for the 2015 Friends General Conference sessions opens on April 1, 2015.
Care and Counsel: Margaret Edds made two announcements: (1) The committee is still accepting applications to Quaker camps. Since the available funds exceed what is likely to be used by members of the Meeting community, she asked Friends to think about other young people who might be interested in attending with a scholarship. A Friend suggested that scholarships be made available through the Friends Association for Children. (2) There will be a New Member and New Baby welcome on Sunday, May 3, 2015, at rise of Meeting.
Ministry and Worship: Tracey Cain distributed copies and read the first draft of the 2014 Spiritual State of the Meeting report. Several Friends expressed their appreciation of both the content and the writing of the report. The committee invites Friends to submit comments and suggestions to clerk Tracey Cain, who will share them with the committee as they consider revisions. Several Friends commented that having an opportunity to talk about the Spiritual State of the Meeting on a Sunday would be helpful and might engage more people. The Clerk suggested that Ministry and Worship consider additional ways for Friends to meet to give input to the committee in the future.
Second Month 2015 MWB Minutes: Approved. A suggestion was made about usage and capitalization of the names of days of the week in minutes (e.g. Sunday vs. First Day). The Clerk and Recording Clerk will consider the suggestion.
Clerk’s Business: (1) The Clerk read the travel minute for Rita Willett. Friends approved. The letter will be attached to the minutes. (2) The Clerk described several recent activities related to the zoning complaint and building usage. Recently, two hostile phone messages were left on the answering machine, which were reported to the police. Having heard the messages, it was the judgment of the police that the individual who left the messages is not dangerous. (A Friend noted that while the situation was being evaluated, the BYM Junior Young Friends conference scheduled to be held at RFM was moved to Midlothian Meeting.) The Clerk has formed an ad hoc Building Use Committee including the Trustees, the Building Coordinator, the Clerk, Margaret Edds, Randee Humphrey, Steve Humphrey, and Rita Willett. The committee’s charge is to address our building use policies and to find ways to engage the neighborhood to ensure that we are being respectful of our neighbors and remaining true to our values. The committee is hoping to resolve the complaint before a formal letter of zoning violation is issued.
A question was raised about the FCNL “War Is Not the Answer” sign, which was taken down after a zoning officer who came to the building said that it had to be removed. While informal legal advice has said that RFM has the right to replace the sign, there was not unity among the Trustees, the Building Coordinator and the Clerk as to whether it was appropriate to replace it.
Representatives from the ad hoc committee will be meeting with City Councilman Jonathan Baliles to explore ways to engage the community. The Clerk encouraged Friends to consider our responsibilities in the neighborhood and discern what we should be doing, not simply react to what we can do. The Clerk asked Friends with concerns and suggestions to contact her, the Trustees, or members of the ad hoc committee. In response to several suggestions and comments, she stated that they were examples of the kinds of questioning and consideration we need to do as a Meeting community. Friends were clear that they supported the work of the ad hoc committee and also that they were eager to be engaged at the level of deep and spiritual dialogue. A desire for sharing about our values and our spiritual response to the issues being raised, in addition to whatever legal concerns need to be addressed, was made clear. (3) The next potluck lunch will be March 22, 2015, at rise of Meeting. Please bring food to share.
All business being concluded we settled into silence until the rise of meeting was signaled from the facing bench.
Barbara Hulburt, Clerk
James Thoroman, Recording Clerk
by WebPost | Mar 17, 2015 | Adult Spiritual Education
On Sunday, April 12, at 9:30 in the Community Room, Adult Spiritual Education and Peace and Social Concerns will hold a Worship Sharing Circle on “Spirit and the Environment” using Joanna Macy’s essay “The Greening of the Self” (found in the anthology Spiritual Ecology, edited by Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee) as a focus. We’ve been given permission to print 50 copies, which will be available on the table below the bulletin board in the foyer.
by WebPost | Mar 17, 2015 | Adult Spiritual Education
The Adult Spiritual Education committee will hold a one-hour Spring Equinox Bible Workbench, on Sunday, March 22, at 9:30 in the Community Room. We will discuss Jeremiah 31: 31-34. 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 Bible Workbench 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?
by WebPost | Feb 22, 2015 | Peace and Social Concerns
March is the month that Thrifty Quaker will donate sale proceeds to Quaker House. You can drop off items yourself at Thrifty Quaker in early March. Or you can bring them to meeting on Sunday, March 1 and Sunday, March 8 and we will deliver them to the store for you.
Obviously, the more gently used items we have donated, the better the inventory. And shoppers at the store will find great bargains while reusing our earth’s resources.
Thank you for encouraging Friends to support the store, and support Quaker House at the same time. For more info about Thrifty Quaker and the good work that they do, visit their website at www.ThriftyQuaker.com.