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Workshop on Ending Racism
A workshop named "Living the Richmond Pledge to End Racism" is being held at the Unitarian Church, 1000 Blanton Ave. on Sat., July 9, 2016 from 9 to 4 and Sat., July 23, 2016 from 1 to 4. The organizers of this event are Annette Marquis and Anita Lee; they are also...
Quaker House Publishes Book on Moral Injury
Quaker House recently published a book of healing strategies for moral injury, Help for Moral Injury: Strategies and Interventions. Cecilia Yocum, PhD, volunteered to write this after attending one of their presentations in Tampa, FL. It is available through Amazon or...
New Spiritual Journey Group for Care Partners
Care Partners are people supporting family members with chronic illness. Being a Care Partner is stressful, so Partners also need care. The group focus will be on the Care Partner’s spiritual journey as it has been impacted by living with the person with the illness;...
Registration Open for the 2016 Spring Retreat
Hello Friends! Spring Retreat is coming soon, on the weekend of May 27 - May 29, and this year we have an online registration form that you can access at this address. Our theme is Telling Our Stories, and we'll have opportunities for you to tell stories or listen to...
Young Friends’ Letters of Conscience
In March, the Meeting minuted support of six youth (Emma Blake, Max Thoburn, Dorsey Crocker, Justin Sykes, Jordan Keller and Olivia Duncan) who had shared their written personal statements of conscience. As follow-up to this moving testimony, members and attenders...
Request for Feedback from the Adult Spiritual Education Committee
Friends: The Adult Spiritual Education Committee is seeking your feedback on the series “Living the Quaker Life." If you attended one or more sessions, please let us know how you experienced it and your ideas for the future. Reprints of the form below will be...
American Friends Service Committee Seeking Support to End Mass Incarceration
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...
Richmond Peace Education Center Opportunity for Children and Teens
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...
2016 BYM Annual Session
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...
Sixth Session of Living the Quaker Life
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...
Bible Workbench
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...
Spring Retreat of BYM Spiritual Formation Program
Registration is now open for the Baltimore Yearly Meeting Spiritual Formation Program Spring Retreat. For more information, go to: https://bym-rsf1-org.presencehost.net/events/spiritform/
Fifth Session of Living the Quaker Life
The fifth session of “Living the Quaker Life” will be held this coming First Day, April 10th, in the Community Room and will begin at 9:00 am. Coffee and tea will be available prior to the start. Please note the assigned readings in Faith and Practice 2013 for the...
2016 FGC Gathering Advance Programs
The Advance Programs Are Here! What is the Gathering? The purpose of the Gathering is: "to help Friends know and deepen their relationship with the Spirit and with each other, to strengthen their identification as Friends among other Friends, and to testify to the...
Bible Workbench
The Adult Spiritual Education committee will hold a one-hour Bible Workbench on Sunday, April 3, at 9:30 a.m. in the Community Room. We will discuss John 20:19-3-- the desire to be believed, the ability to express doubt, the difficulty in trusting that something can...
Spring Workday
The Building and Grounds committee will hold the annual spring workday at the Meetinghouse on Saturday, April 23, from 9 AM to 3 PM. Please join us as we beautify the grounds and do building cleaning and maintenance. Lunch is provided. Come anytime that is convenient.
Fourth Session of Living the Quaker Life
The fourth session of “Living the Quaker Life” will be held this coming First Day, March 27th, in the Community Room and will begin at 9:00 am. Coffee and tea will be available prior to the start. Please note the assigned readings in Faith and Practice 2013 for...
Bible Workbench
The Adult Spiritual Education committee will hold a one-hour Bible Workbench on Sunday, April 3, at 9:30 a.m. in the Community Room. We will discuss John 20:19-3 -- the desire to be believed, the ability to express doubt, the difficulty in trusting that something can...
ASE Program: Director of Ramallah Friends School
Joyce Ajlouny, Director, Ramallah Friends School, Ramallah, Palestine, will speak at event titled "Education Under Occupation: Friends Preserving Hope and Dignity" on May 1, 12:30 pm. The event will be held in the Community Room at the Meetinghouse at 4500 Kensington...
2016 Directory Available
The PDF file of the Richmond Friends Meeting (Virginia) 2016 Directory is now available in the Meeting Files folder (password-protected).
Readings and Presenters for Living the Quaker Life Series
The readings and presenters for the Living the Quaker Life Series are listed in the following document: ASE 2016 Series Note: the 2013 BYM Faith and Practice is available online, including as a PDF file with page numbers (in the box with link "2013 draft edition")...
Suggested Readings for February 28 Session of Living the Quaker Life: Living Our Testimonies
From: Faith and Practice P. 1 - 11 A Brief History P. 80 - 84 Equality P. 89 - 93 Integrity P 124 - 131 Simplicity, Social Concerns Note: All are welcome to attend the session, whether they do reading in advance or not.
Suggested Readings for February 14 Session of Living the Quaker Life: How We Worship
From: Faith and Practice Queries, Advices and Voices P. 103-108 Meeting for Worship P. 137-143 Vocal Ministry If you want more, check out the sections on Meeting for Worship, Worship Sharing and Vocal Ministry in Chapters 2 & 3 of Faith and Practice. Note: All are...
Chili Luncheon to Support the Disaster Relief Trip
The Disaster Relief Group going to South Carolina in March will hold a chili luncheon on March 6. It will be an opportunity for you to eat a tasty lunch, contribute financially, and meet the people going. If you cannot attend and would like to support the trip, you...
Adult Spiritual Education Series – Living the Quaker Life
This six-session series will be held on the 2nd and 4th First Days (Sundays) in February, March, and April from 9 am to 10:45 am. The series is designed for newcomers, long-time members and attenders, and those who are considering membership. One or more of our...
Meeting to Share About the Spiritual State of Our Meeting
Each year the Ministry and Worship Committee prepares a Spiritual State of the Meeting report. The committee writes the report using information from two sources: the year-end reports submitted by each committee of the Meeting and, equally or more importantly, sharing...
RFM Library Book Reviews
Spirit Rising: Young Quaker Voices [QuakerPress of FGC 2010 356p.] celebrates, critiques, questions, and reflects on the Quaker faith experience. Writing and visual art by teenage and young adult Quakers from around the world and across the theological and cultural...
Women and the Draft
Submitted by Betsy Brinson & Curt Torrell The decision to allow women to serve in all combat roles by Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on December3, 2015 should be enough to reverse Rostker v. Goldberg, the Supreme Court decision upholding women...
Minutes of December 2015 Business Meeting
Richmond Friends Meeting Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business Twelfth Month 20, 2015 Meeting began with silence at 11:00 am. Forty (40) members and attenders were present. Laura Cribbs was greeter. Mary Julia Street from Ministry and Worship sat on the...
MWB Minutes for November 2015
MWB Minutes Draft November 2015 Richmond Friends Meeting Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business Eleventh Month 15, 2015 Meeting began with silence at 11:00 am. Fifty-six (56) members and attenders were present. Clarisse Harton was greeter. Jan Hampton...
Aging In Community Support Group
We sometimes call ourselves the “Agers.” We are a group of retirement age members and attenders of Richmond Friends Meeting who have formed a self-help support group. We welcome new members. There are minimal requirements to join. Annually one pays $25 a year and...
Minutes for Tenth Month 2015 Business Meeting
Meeting began with silence at 11:00 am. Fifty-five (55) members and attenders were present. Bob Alexander was greeter. Jan Hampton from Ministry and Worship sat on the facing bench to hold Meeting in the Light. Donna Shields was welcomed as a first-time attender to...
Tz for Pz Sale Raised Over $300
The RE Committee’s sale of unique peace-themed t-shirts for the International Day of Peace in September raised over $300 for Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). Thank you so much for your generous support of this organization. Should you wish to...
October Blood Drive
Last year Peace and Social Concerns conducted a blood drive at the Meetinghouse during June. Twenty three donations were collected. However, a close evaluation of the donor list suggested RFM may not be large enough to sustain such in-house collections. Twenty five...
The Goodness Workshop: Fall Retreat with John Calvi at the Clearing
All are invited to Richmond Friends Meetings’ Fall Retreat with John Calvi at the Clearing, Saturday November 14 from 9am to 3pm. John has been working as a Quaker healer and retreat leader since 1982. The Goodness Workshop is a slow, quiet time where any sharing...
Minutes for Ninth Month 2015 Business Meeting
Richmond Friends Meeting Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business Ninth Month 20, 2015 Meeting began with silence at 11:00 AM. Thirty-seven (37) members and attenders were present. Clarisse Harton was greeter. Frances Stewart from Ministry and Worship sat on the...
The Ancient Mystery of Powhatan Quakers
Few people alive today know that the Powhatan hamlet of Fine Creek was a center of Quaker life in what was once part of Goochland County; then a part of Cumberland County with its formation in 1749; and finally a part of Powhatan County with that county’s formation in...
Report from Keleti Station in Budapest
The following report was submitted by Tom Ilmensee, a member of Meeting, who now lives with his family in Budapest. It was written in the first week of September. Tonight my daughter Iris and I walked to Keleti station, the transport terminal in Budapest that is...
Thinking About Race
The Other Tennessee. “I never knew anybody who really got active because of guilt. Everybody white that I know that’s got involved in this struggle got into it because they glimpsed a different world to live in… Human beings have always been able to envision something...
Zatoun Olive Oil from Palestine & Peace and Social Concerns
In our exploration of the Israel Palestinian conflict we have learned of the destruction and theft of olive trees as part of the Israeli process of taking Palestinian land. We feel that one small way to help is to buy Extra Virgin Olive Oil that is produced by...
Adult Spiritual Education: The Spiritual Implications of Our Food Choices
Sunday, October 25th, 9:30 to 10:45 am in the Community Room. What are the spiritual implications of our food choices? How do our food choices connect us to the rest of the living world? How can we live in unity with that world? Our leader for this session will be...
Moral Injury Workshop
Saturday, October 24 from 10-12 noon. A presentation featuring Lynn and Steve Newsom, co-directors of Quaker House Military Counseling Center, Fayetteville, NC, home of Fort Bragg. MORAL INJURY, a relatively new term employed by the Veterans Administration,...
Dr. Alice Rothchild to speak on her recent and ongoing travels to Gaza
Sunday, October 18 at 1 pm. Dr. Alice Rothchild, Boston physician, human rights advocate and Jewish advocate for peace in Israel and Palestine, will present on her recent and ongoing travels to Gaza. This session is a kickoff to Dr. Rothchild's three day visit to...
Business Meeting Minutes for Seventh Month 19, 2015
Meeting began with silence at 11:00 am. Fifty-one (51) members and attenders were present. Mary Graham Landau was greeter. Kat Sharp from Ministry and Worship sat on the facing bench to hold Meeting in the Light. Diane Penfield, Tyler Plante, Charles Teixeira, and...
Business Meeting Minutes, Sixth Month 2015
Meeting began with silence at 11:00 am. Forty-six (46) members and attenders were present. Clarisse Harton was greeter. Rita Willett from Ministry and Worship sat on the facing bench to hold Meeting in the Light. Govind Narayan was welcomed as a first-time attender to...
Shoemaker Fund Grant to Baltimore Yearly Meeting (BYM)
Letter to Baltimore Yearly Meeting from the Clerks Regarding the Shoemaker Grant3rd Month, 17, 2015 Dear Friends of Baltimore Yearly Meeting, As your clerks, we are delighted to announce that the Shoemaker Fund has awarded Baltimore Yearly Meeting (BYM) a major grant...
Minute on Climate Change – May 2015
(The following minute, proposed by the Peace and Social Concerns Committee, was approved at Fifth Month Meeting for Business.) Richmond Friends Meeting is a Quaker community of spirit dedicated to peace, justice, and right relations with all creatures and life upon...
Gas Pipelines and the Weaponization of Energy
- from Peace and Social Concerns Committee Michael Klare, a professor of peace and world security studies at Hampshire College, writes in a recent essay about the Obama administration’s use of energy as a weapon in US foreign policy. In this context, the unprecedented...
Thinking About Race—Summer 2015
... from Waking Up White -- and Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving, 2014 Author Debby Irving will spend two days at Friends School of Baltimore in September. Over the summer, Trustees and faculty of Friends School, and perhaps also parents and...
FCNL: Congress’ destructive anti-Palestine agenda: The international outrage that nobody is talking about
The following article by Wardah Khalid appeared in Salon. Wardah Khalid is a Scoville Fellow in Middle East policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation Education Fund. It used to be that Israel was the only global player who refused to admit that its...