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!
-
November 1st – Faith & Play at the Clearing
-
November 8th – Second Sunday Age-Grouped Classes
-
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 | 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 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.