by WebPost | Oct 22, 2026 | Activity, Clearing, Current, Faith and Play, Friends we have lost, Ministry and Worship, Worship
We will gather in worship, tenderly holding the memories of dear Friends from Richmond Friends Meeting. Meeting for Remembrance is an opportunity to consider, with gratitude, the lives and light of those who have helped to nurture and shape our Quaker community.
Everyone is welcome! Bring your lunch and enjoy The Clearing with Friends after worship.
Religious Education will have a special Faith and Play experience at The Clearing November 1, so it’s a great opportunity for families with children to be at The Clearing.
Our usual waiting worship will be held at the Meetinghouse at 9:30 and 11 am that day.
Clearing worship: There will not be worship at The Clearing in the winter months, December through March. Worship at The Clearing will resume the first Sunday in April.
by WebPost | Oct 22, 2026 | Activity, Adult Spiritual Education, Bible Study, Current, Reading between the Lines
The Adult Spiritual Education committee will host two different Reading Between the Lines sessions: the first on Saturday, October 31 from Noon-1 pm and the second at our usual time of 9-10 am on Sunday, November 1. (We are trying to come up with a time that people who regularly attend the 9:30 Meeting for Worship can make.)
Both sessions will be through Zoom; the facilitator will send the links through the Newslist a few days before the sessions. On Oct. 31, we’ll discuss Luke 14: 1, 7-11: the words “taking a place,” “honor,” “exalt,” “abase,” “humble.” What happens after you’ve lost your preferred or perceived place in a community? How do you—if you have the choice to do so–work out what happened? On Nov. 1, we’ll discuss John 6: 37-40: to imagine living in a community where there is no “casting out.”
You are welcome to participate in both sessions if you’d like.
by WebPost | Oct 18, 2026 | Activity, Adult Spiritual Education, Announcement, Current, Indigenous Affairs
The Adult Spiritual Education Committee invites Friends to enjoy the Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Virginia Museum of History and Culture, November 18 – 22. Festival passes are $40, or $30 for members of either museum. ASE will provide scholarships for anyone who needs assistance.
We’re planning a group outing to see Powwow People at 2:15 pm on Sunday, November 22. Afterward, we’ll gather at Lee Bloxom’s house in the Museum District—an easy walk from the film—to share our impressions and discuss the films we’ve seen.
Come for the films, stay for the conversation! Please contact Bronwyn Hughes if you’d like more information or to request a scholarship. The full schedule is available at https://pocahontasreframed.com/.
by Bill Allman | Oct 18, 2026 | Activity, Announcement, Baltimore Yearly Meeting, Current, Ministry and Worship
The annual Spiritual State of the Meeting meeting – when we gather to consider the spiritual condition of our meeting community – will be held on Saturday morning, January 30, 2027.
by WebPost | Sep 23, 2026 | Activity, Current, Immigration, Proposal, Race and Racism, Racial Justice Team
A Meeting-Wide Project to Support the Legal Rights of the Immigrant Community, Approved at Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business, 18 Tenth Month, 2026
It’s become routine for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to violate rights enshrined in the Constitution as they detain and deport immigrants, not only across the country, but right here in the Richmond area.
Many among us are already responding individually to help protect and support the local immigrant community. However, it seems imperative that the Meeting as a whole respond with clear resistance to the inhumane actions of ICE. Towards that end, the Immigrant Solidarity Informal Committee is proposing that RFM commit to actively supporting the Sacred Heart Center in its mission to lift up and minister to the Latino community by raising $15,000 to support the Center’s Immigration Legal Services. This would enable the Center to hire an additional legal assistant who would be authorized by the Department of Justice to practice immigration law, so they can represent immigrants before the U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services, the Immigration Courts, and the Board of Immigration Appeals.
There are many ways that deportations can be successfully challenged legally and the Center’s legal team uses such strategies to support immigrants in our area who are facing detention and deportation. The need far exceeds the Center’s capacity—and our job, if we take it on, is to help fund another legal assistant so more vulnerable immigrants can be served. The need for outside funding is for one year only, as the position would be self-supporting after the first year.
There are many reasons to take this project on. It’s an opportunity to do something big with and for a community in jeopardy and an opportunity to live our Quaker values. Also, a project like this provides unity and builds community for us. It could be a way to get newcomers involved and would help establish a Quaker presence in the larger community.
To carry out this project, an ad hoc committee under the care of the Race and Racial Justice Team will be appointed by Levi Goren, Clerk. Members of the current informal committee have already expressed interest in seeing the project through. We see many ways to fund raise that would involve the community inside and outside the Meeting, as well as the Sacred Heart community.
The Ad Hoc committee will develop a concrete fundraising plan utilizing a variety of fundraising strategies. Financial Stewardship will arrange for a fund for accepting donations and expenses. Please understand that this needs to be an additional gift, not a substitute for your regular donation to RFM.
Please contact members of the informal committee (Plum Cluverius, Diana Maxwell, Mary Moore, Rhonda Ligon, Lynda Perry, Ellen Arginteanu, Verna Boos, Barb Pedrotty, Margaret Edds) with questions about this project, which was approved at MWB on October 18, 2026. It is our desire to begin to raise the money soon with the completion by the end of 2027. The need to assist our neighbors legally fight ICE is NOW.
by WebPost | Sep 23, 2026 | Activity, Announcement, Current, Food Insecurity, Fundraiser, Peace and Social Concerns
On November 8, Peace and Social Concerns Committee will have an art sale for the benefit of Food Not Bombs and Richmond Fridge at rise of meeting. We will offer light refreshments. Those of you who make art and wish to offer a piece as donation, please contact Brett Hoag. She needs to receive all art by November 1. Friends, please come to our sale at the rise of Meeting to purchase and bid for the pieces you wish to own.
by WebPost | Sep 21, 2026 | Activity, Children and Religious Education, Clearing, Current, Faith and Play, RE, Young Friends
UPCOMING DATES
- October 25th – Costume Day!
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November 1st – Faith & Play at the Clearing
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November 8th – Second Sunday Age-Grouped Classes
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November 15th – All-Ages Class “Diwali with Kathryn”
Costume Sunday!
Children are invited to wear their Halloween Costumes on October 25th. They will collect money for the Sacred Heart Center at the rise of Meeting. The children enjoy counting the money collected, so the coins you bring not only support a wonderful community resource, but also provide a challenging teachable moment!
RE at The Clearing
Save the date! November 1st, RE will have a Faith & Play in nature experience at The Clearing. Children will join adults for the first 15 minutes of worship at The Clearing before going to their own worship experience. We will also have an all-ages Faith & Play-based class here at RFM on that day during the 11 AM meeting.
Children and Worship
Children are part of our community and join adults for the first 15 minutes of silent worship. The activities in the calming corner may help settle active hands and minds during this time. The shelves are located in the mailroom. Adults are also encouraged to explore and model the available activities. You may find breathing and mindfulness exercises helpful for settling a mind weighed down by responsibilities, plus stress balls and putty to work out tension, and drawing tools for self-expression.
Child Safety at RFM
In compliance with our child safety policy, we strive for adult-to-adult transfer of our children between classrooms and the meeting room. RE volunteers return children to their caregivers at the rise of the meeting. RE does not supervise the playground. Caregivers are responsible for the supervision of their children during non-program times.
Registration Forms
Parents & Caregivers: As a reminder, RE requires a registration form for each child yearly. You may find forms in the mailroom at the calming corner shelves. Return them to a committee member, classroom teacher, or the RE mailbox.
by WebPost | Sep 21, 2026 | Activity, Adult Spiritual Education, Announcement, Clearing, Current, FCNL
The Adult Spiritual Education committee is excited to welcome Lauren Brownlee, member of Bethesda Friends Meeting, as our speaker for the RFM Fall Retreat to be held at The Clearing on Saturday October 24. Lauren is co-author of the Pendle Hill Pamphlet #495, “Patterns of Racial Wounding and Racial Justice in Quaker Communities.” Lauren, a Black Quaker, works at FCNL where she serves as Deputy General Secretary and leader of FCNL’s Community & Culture team. She is an inspiring and engaging speaker and educator, and is excited to share important aspects of her anti-racism work with us.
The day will begin with morning refreshments at 9 am, with worship and the program starting at 9:30. We will share a simple lunch starting at 11:30, and our afternoon session will begin at 1 pm. We hope to see you there!
by WebPost | Sep 21, 2026 | Activity, Adult Spiritual Education, Announcement, Bible Study, Reading between the Lines
The Adult Education Committee will host a one-hour Reading Between the Lines (Bible Workbench) on Sunday, October 4, from 9-10 am through Zoom. We will see (facilitator will screen-share) three different readings about: 1) being given everything you need to create and to live in community, but misusing what you’re given; 2) failing to recognize that you are part of the problem; 3) being commended for small acts of generosity and courage and acknowledgment—actions that do lead to expressing affection and joy (and using resources wisely, justly, and humanely). Isaiah 5: 1-7; Matthew 21: 33-43; Philippians 4: 6-9. Facilitator will send the zoom link through the Newslist several days before the discussion.
by WebPost | Sep 7, 2026 | Activity, Building and Grounds, Kensington, Meeting House, Workday
Join Friends on Saturday, October 3, from 9 am to Noon as we spruce up the meetinghouse and ready the garden for fall.
by WebPost | Sep 7, 2026 | Activity, AFSC, Peace and Social Concerns, Worship
There’s no such thing as too much peace!
Join Friends for a gentle half hour of unity with others worldwide marking the 45th UN International Day of Peace on September 21, from 5:30 to 6 pm. Sing some peace songs before worship, then be comforted by the soft late afternoon light in the silence of the worship room.
The room is reserved for others beginning at 6:30 so we will offer refreshments and time to chat downstairs in the community room.
Sponsored by AFSC Love (Peace) as Action and Peace & Social Concerns Committee. Contact Diane Bowden with questions.
by WebPost | Sep 7, 2026 | Activity, Clearing, Workday
Join Friends for work days at The Clearing on Saturday, September 5, 9:30 am – 2:00 pm and Saturday, October 3, 9:30 am – 2:00 pm.
by WebPost | Aug 29, 2026 | Activity, Current, Race and Racism, Racial Justice Team
The Race and Racial Justice Team is presenting a program, “Four Asian Quakers Share Their Stories.” It will take place in the community room at the meetinghouse on Saturday, November 7, 9 am to Noon (8:30 am for bagels).
Monti Datta, Eunkyung Ahn, Danette Kong, and Allen Lee will take turns sharing their stories about being Asian, being a Quaker, and how being each of these contributes to the other.
Please direct questions to Allen Lee.
by WebPost | Aug 23, 2026 | Activity, Adult Spiritual Education, Baltimore Yearly Meeting, Spiritual Formation
2026-27 Spiritual Formation Program
We are all pilgrims on a journey, taking different routes to the same destination. We are all seekers on a quest, searching for that which is greater, and our relationship to it, hoping to arrive at the Ground of Our Being. Along the way, we encounter other pilgrims and share the experience in moments of sacred intersection that feed our spirit, deepen our experience, strengthen our resolve, and build community. This is the BYM Spiritual Formation Program, personalized for individual monthly meetings. We invite you to journey with us.
Richmond Friend Meeting’s Spiritual Formation program runs October through May with monthly small group opportunities to build spiritual friendships offering mutual support and encouragement. The deadline to submit an interest form to join the 26-27 Spiritual Formation program is September 27, 2026.
There will be an information / interest table at the September 27 potluck. You can also contact ASE members Margaret Porter-Daniel or Lee Bloxom for additional information.
by WebPost | Aug 23, 2026 | Activity, Redd Elementary School
Imagine being greeted with a wide smile and sense of anticipation from your student when arriving at your classroom. This has been true for me – a wonderful experience of being a volunteer mentor — spending time with and getting to know my sweet kindergartener this past year. I’m grateful for the opportunity and I look forward to participating again in the fall. It’s an experience you don’t want to miss!
If you have one or two hours a week to spare and would like a chance to make a meaningful contribution in the community, consider joining our team of volunteer mentors at Elizabeth D. Redd Elementary School. Most of the students at Redd come from low-income families, primarily Latino or African-American. Many are immigrants. All could benefit from a consistent friendly presence in their lives.
Mentors commit to weekly visits with assigned students in kindergarten through 5th grade. You can choose the day and time to volunteer and which grade level you’d prefer to work with. We often meet during the students’ lunch break. Some of us meet with more than one student at a time, or meet individually with multiple students.
Whether playing games together, making art, reading or making conversation, we are helping students to build social and emotional skills that support their academic development. And we are having fun doing it!
We plan to hold an in-person orientation for new volunteers sometime in September. If you are interested in learning more about our experiences, please contact Lynda Perry, Kathryn Newland, or any of our other volunteers: Marjorie Bertolino, Mike Cluverius, Danni Kong, Mary Beth Martin, and Janet Thoroman. We will be welcoming at least two new volunteers this fall, and we hope to welcome you also.
This volunteer mentor opportunity is truly a valuable experience. Please join us!
by WebPost | Aug 19, 2026 | Activity, AFSC, Earthcare, Quaker Earthcare Witness
Join Quaker Earthcare Witness Day of Action, AFSC Love as Action, and Sierra Club Falls of the James Group to clean up Ancarrow’s Landing on Saturday, September 19, 9 – 11 am.
Ancarrow’s Landing, part of the James River Park System, is on the south bank of the river across from
Rockett’s Landing.
After breakfast snacks and a short meeting for worship, we will start picking up trash at 9:30. Following the hour-long trash pickup, with provided trash reachers and bags, Ralph White, former director of the James River Park System, will give a 20-30 minute talk about the history of Ancarrow’s Landing, This spot was a major port in the massive Slave Trade that made Richmond the largest source of enslaved Africans on the east coast of America from 1830 to 1860.
For decades, a chemical plant operated here, but successful remediation and restoration have made it a prime fishing spot, and it is where anglers compete during the annual run of native shad.
Bring a hat, gloves, water, long pants to deal with tall grass in places, sturdy shoes, and bug spray. The event will be canceled in the event of heavy rain.
Questions? Please contact Diane Bowden or Barb Adams.
Quaker Earthcare Witness (QEW) is a network of Friends (Quakers) in North America working on Earthcare concerns. We work to inspire Spirit-led action toward ecological sustainability and environmental justice and a spiritual transformation in our relationships with each other and the natural world. As all our communities are being impacted more and more by the climate crisis, we feel an urgent leading to share our witness.
by WebPost | Aug 18, 2026 | Activity, Adult Spiritual Education, Bible Study, Reading between the Lines
The Adult Spiritual Education committee will host a one-hour Reading Between the Lines (Bible Workbench) on First Day, September 6, from 9-10 am, through Zoom. We’ll discuss both Romans 12: 19-21 (“When you are wronged, do not seek revenge. Instead, leave room for the judgement of God…”) and Matthew 18, 15-20: What is a respectful way to handle conflict between two people in a community? How do we resist the temptation of making false assumptions? The facilitator will send the zoom link through the Newslist several days before our meeting.
by WebPost | Aug 17, 2026 | Activity, Peace and Social Concerns, Richmond Peace Education Center
Ready for some Peace Raising? Ready to wage some peace? Ready to focus on Nurturing Our Community: Body Mind and Spirit? Or would you like to just picnic in the park with a few hundred like-minded folk?
Come to PeaceFest, Sunday, September 20 between 1 and 5 at the Byrd Park Roundhouse. Richmond Friends Peace and Social Concerns is inviting all F/friends to participate!
AFSC Love as Action will have worship/witness at PeaceFest around 2:30 in the Quiet Area. We hope that our presence will give hope to all who see us – to show that we can choose peace – and remind everyone of our moral obligations to one another. We gather in communities across the country, showing love in action as a public witness of our Quaker values in a time of rising fascism. Bring a chair and signs showing positive messages of peace, love, and support for communities that are suffering.
Set up, table, make art, dance, sing, tell about how Peace Is Lived and Love Is Action. Committees, especially Religious Education and Race and Racism are invited to participate.
For close to 50 years, Richmond Peace Education Center (RPEC) has brought Richmond nonprofits and artists together in a positive, supportive, educational festival to promote peace and cooperation. For 15 years (with a hiatus for the pandemonium) RPEC has hosted, with the support of our Meeting and other groups, a Peace Festival to celebrate the International Day of Peace.
This event is VERY family friendly! … and it will be bigger this year, with a compelling theme and truly diverse presentations bolstering “Nurturing Our Community: Body Mind and Spirit. ”
Our Meeting will have a table/booth, and we need a few folks to help set up, staff, and break it down that day. Even a couple hours would be very helpful.
Our rep to RPEC, Patricia Stansbury, can provide more information and help you find your niche in this celebration.
by WebPost | Aug 17, 2026 | Activity, Clearing, Ministry and Worship, Retreat
Imagine spending a few quiet hours in a beautiful setting with Friends. Ministry and Worship is hosting a half-day silent retreat at The Clearing on Saturday, September 26 from 9:30 to 1:30. This is an opportunity for the community to experience and experiment with extended silence for more than an hour!
We will have a loose agenda for the day, mainly focused on quiet personal contemplation:
- Arrive in silence (The lodge will be open by 9:00 am)
- Brief opening circle (9:30 am)
- Group silent contemplation
- Silent nature walk
- Open time for journaling, contemplative reading, prayer, art, etc.
- Silent shared meal
- End with worship sharing
Plan to bring your lunch, and supplies for contemplative practices like journaling. Please reach out to Mason Mairead for any questions.
by WebPost | Aug 17, 2026 | Activity, Current, Election, Race and Racism, VICPP Working Group
Tuesday, November 3, 2026, is Election Day, the final date to vote in person.
Here are other DEADLINES:
- Register to vote/Update registration: 10/22/2026
- Early in-person voting: 9/18/2026 through 10/31/2026
- Apply for mail-in ballot through 10/23/2026
All of the above plus finding your polling place is at:
https://vote.elections.virginia.gov/VoterInformation
On The Ballot:
Three Virginia Constitutional Amendments:
- Will provide a constitutional right to reproductive freedom, often called the right-to-abortion amendment.
- Will repeal the provision defining marriage as between one man and one woman and prohibits the state from denying a marriage license to two adult persons based on sex, gender or race.
- Will provide that persons convicted of felonies have their voting rights restored upon release from incarceration.
Vote for your U.S. Senator from Virginia:
Mark Warner (D, Incumbent) vs. Bert Mizusawa (R)
Vote for your U.S. House Representative:
Find your district https://www.vpap.org/localpolitics/
District 1: Shannon Taylor (D) vs. Rob Wittman (R, Incumbent)
District 4: Jason Brown II (I), vs. Andre Odell Kersey (I), vs. Jennifer McClellan (D, Incumbent)
District 5: Cooke Costa Harvey (I) vs. John McGuire (R, Incumbent) vs. Tom Perriello (D) vs. Chris Register (I)
Want To Work at the Polls or Have a Concern?
Prepared by Monica Shaw, clerk of the VICPP Working Group.
by WebPost | Aug 17, 2026 | Activity, Aging, Care and Counsel, Ministry and Worship, Trustees
The trustees will be facilitating a workshop on end-of-life planning on October 11 at rise of Meeting. (Food will be provided). The trustees as well as members of the Financial Stewardship, Care & Counsel, and Ministry & Worship Committees will be providing information and answering your questions about end-of-life planning.
Examples of topics will be reserving Hollywood Cemetery plots, leaving assets to Meeting, memorial worship services, memorial receptions, memorial minutes, etc. Contact Trustee Roni Kingsley with questions.
by WebPost | Jul 26, 2026 | Activity, Baltimore Yearly Meeting, Faith & Practice, Ministry and Worship
On Sunday August 30, at 12:30 PM (rise of meeting), there will be a Listening Circle to consider the topic of “prejudice and discrimination” as it is discussed in Baltimore Yearly Meeting’s Faith and Practice. Sections of Faith and Practice covering that topic will be revised soon. Each meeting has been asked to offer suggestions about the revision. While our specific purpose is to help shape the revision, we anticipate a rich time of sharing among Richmond Friends.
This document has relevant text from both the 1988 BYM Faith and Practice (2025 version) and the 2013 BYM Resource on Faith and Practice. You may want to review these texts, or bring this topic to your committee or working group in advance of the August 30 Listening Circle. Ministry and Worship welcomes input from individuals and committees in addition to our Listening Circle.
by WebPost | Jul 24, 2026 | Activity, Care and Counsel, Coffee
Care and Counsel Committee will host the annual New Baby / New Member Welcome coffee on September 13, 2026 at rise of Meeting. We will welcome Elliot Tuggle who was born to Anna Best and Brad Tuggle on March 24,2026. Come and greet Elliot and parents. Although a special time to welcome our new members, this is also an opportunity to get to know those who have joined us as attenders.
by WebPost | Jul 23, 2026 | Activity, Children and Religious Education, RE, Young Friends
Summer Committee-Led Lessons
The RE Committee would like to extend a very sincere “Thank you!” to the RFM committees taking over RE classes this summer. Each week, the children are learning from a different committee or working group. Not only do children have the opportunity to learn about the life of the Meeting, but they are also building intergenerational connections. Thank you, committees!
Community Submissions Requested by the WWG
The Willow Working Group (ages 9-17) and RE Committees are working on two special projects, and we need your help! Each person’s contribution will make these projects richer.
First, we want you to share your favorite memories of The Clearing with us. Did a special connection with humans or nature impact your life in some way? These are the treasures we are seeking! We are also accepting a limited number of special photos.
Second, Zoe Garrett will be attending Westtown High School in West Chester, PA this fall. We are asking everyone, maybe even if you don’t know her very well, to write a letter to Zoe and place it in a sealed envelope. We welcome you to share anything that may bring joy, comfort, or encouragement to a young person living far away from family and friends for a season.
The deadline for both projects is August 9.
How can you turn in your submissions? You have options!
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Drop them in the Religious Education mailbox at RFM.
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Give your paper(s) directly to Elizabeth Price.
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Call, Text, Mail or Email Elizabeth Price
Wayne Taylor Reflection, Coffee Day & Global Forgiveness Day
After learning about Sadako & her 1000 cranes, some of our children have continued to fold paper cranes. We would like to extend this experience to all of RFM. In honor of Global Forgiveness Day and the Wayne Taylor Reflection, Danni Kong & the RE Committee invite anyone interested to fold origami peace cranes. Bring your cranes on August 2nd to exchange with or pass out to those in attendance.
Link to How-To Video: https://youtu.be/RdMNeee3Re8?si=5-WlGuSEOH19ld2H
Introduction to Neurodiversity, a presentation by the Autism Society of Central Virginia will be held in the community room on Saturday, August 29th from 10 am to Noon. This is RE’s annual workshop and Teacher Planning Day. Register by adding your name to one of the sign-up sheets on the bulletin board or letting Elizabeth Price know you plan to attend.
The morning session, Introduction to Neurodiversity, will be a presentation by the Autism Society of Central Virginia beginning at 10AM. It is for anyone who is interested in learning more about neurodivergence and how to better interact with children who see the world differently than we.
The session will include:
- Understand neurodiversity and ASD and how it impacts children.
- Learn how to set up classrooms that support all learners.
- Explore the functions of behavior and the ABC model.
- Practice proactive and de-escalation strategies.
- Apply skills through real-life scenarios.
The afternoon will be a time for teachers to prepare for fall classes. If you plan to teach or assist in an age-related classroom, please plan to meet with your co-volunteers to begin planning for classes beginning September 13!
by WebPost | Jul 23, 2026 | Activity, Coffee, Social justice, Wayne Taylor Ad Hoc Committee
MARK YOUR CALENDAR: August 2, 12:30-1:30 pm
Coffee Hour, Community Room
Hosted by the Wayne Taylor Bequest ad hoc committee
Were you there–on Zoom December 20, 2020–when our community was in unity to accept a bequest from the late Carl Wayne Taylor, someone no one among us knew personally? Mr. Taylor’s direction in his last will and testament was complex in its simplicity: RFM agreed to distribute his residual estate “for the direct benefit of needy people residing in the Richmond metropolitan area.”
Now that our task has been completed, with nearly $500,000 distributed by RFM over the past two years to 11 Richmond organizations, it’s time to reflect on and celebrate the Wayne Taylor bequest and the impact of Mr. Taylor’s philanthropy.
On First Day/Sunday August 2 from 12:30 to 1:30 pm the entire RFM community is invited to come together for coffee hour with Wayne’s circle of friends and representatives of the eleven organizations that have benefitted from his generosity.
Enjoy this time to visit with our guests from outside organizations and Wayne’s friends. The updated PowerPoint presentation about Wayne Taylor’s estate distribution process will be on view and special coffee hour refreshments will be available.
by WebPost | Jul 23, 2026 | Activity, AFSC, Immigration, Social justice
Diane Bowden, RFM’s liaison to the American Friends Service Committee, will inform the community on recent actions of the AFSC during a program at 9:30 am on August 16 in the community room. Among the questions to be addressed: What is AFSC doing regarding the immigration crisis? How might we as a community be helpful? All are welcome to attend. The Race and Racial Justice Team, sponsors of the event, will provide coffee and muffins.
by WebPost | Jul 23, 2026 | Activity, Food Insecurity, Immigration, VICPP Working Group
Care is Resistance
Food Boxes for Our Neighbors: Health Brigade is collecting culturally appropriate food boxes for Latine and Afghan immigrant patients and families. Many families are experiencing a new level of food insecurity as they are avoiding grocery stores and public spaces out of concern for increased ICE presence. These boxes can offer relief and a reminder that people care.
Lists of items requested for each culture are on each box. Please bring any thing you can to Meeting and place it in the boxes outside the Meeting room. Name brands or generic products are welcome. Rhonda Ligon will collect your donations and develop the boxes for each family to be delivered to Health Brigade.
Items may be purchased in many grocery stores. It is extremely helpful to the immigrant community to support a local business, such as Arco Iris Latino Market or Mis Pais Mart for Latin items, or Mantu Market and Watan Market for Afghan products. There are Latin and Afghan wishlists to be found on Amazon and Walmart online sites.
by WebPost | Jul 23, 2026 | Activity, Adult Spiritual Education, Bible Study, Reading between the Lines
The Adult Spiritual Education committee will host a one hour Reading Between the Lines (formerly Bible Workbench) on First Day, August 2, from 9-10 am on Zoom. We’ll discuss the endings of two stories—Matthew 14:1-12 (the murder of Jesus’s cousin John the Baptist: “His disciples came and took the body and buried it; then they went and told Jesus”) and Matthew 14: 13-21: potential scarcity ending in overflow: “And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full”). The facilitator will send the zoom link through the Newslist a few days before the session.
by WebPost | Jun 23, 2026 | Activity, AFSC, Gaza, Israel, Peace and Social Concerns, Social justice
With thanks to Steve Chase for his May 3 presentation on AFSC’s position on apartheid in Israel/Palestine, the Peace & Social Concerns Committee recommends that Meeting consider endorsing the Apartheid-Free Pledge below.
However, since this merits more explanation, and we anticipate some discussion within our meeting, before asking for approval and acceptance of the Pledge, we encourage Friends to attend the following:
- Information Session on the Pledge, Community Room, Saturday June 27, 10:30-11:30am
- Threshing Session on the Pledge, blended, in-person and via Zoom, Saturday July 25, 4-5:30
The Pledge:
WE AFFIRM our commitment to freedom, justice, and equality for the Palestinian people and all people;
WE OPPOSE all forms of racism, bigotry, discrimination, and oppression; and
WE DECLARE ourselves an apartheid-free community and to that end,
WE PLEDGE to join others in working to end all support to Israel’s apartheid regime, settler colonialism, and military occupation.
After due consideration by Meeting, the Committee anticipates bringing this to Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business in September.
by WebPost | Jun 23, 2026 | Activity, Fundraiser, Immigration, Peace and Social Concerns
Join Peace & Social Concerns Committee for lunch and fundraising for the Sacred Heart Center on July 12 at rise of meeting.
“Since 1990, the Sacred Heart Center has stood as a vibrant hub of hope and opportunity for Latino families in Richmond. Our mission is simple yet powerful—-to connect families with the tools, education, and support they need to thrive. Through empowerment, learning, and community connection, we create pathways to success and belonging for all.
“In Fiscal Year 2025, the Sacred Heart Center proudly served 9,558 community members through our core programs and initiatives—-a reflection of the trust and generosity of our donors, volunteers, and partners like you.”