November 2012 Newsletter
Printer-friendly versionMinutes, October Meeting for Business
FRIENDS MEETING OF WASHINGTON
MONTHLY MEETING FOR WORSHIP WITH A CONCERN FOR BUSINESS
October 14, 2012
10/12.1 Opening The Meeting opened at 12:09 pm with a period of silent worship. David Etheridge served as Clerk and Debby Churchman as Recording Clerk. The clerks read Advices, Queries and Voices concerning Membership which have been proposed by the Faith and Practice Revision Committee of Baltimore Yearly Meeting.
Advices
Just as Friends have “affirmed the priesthood of all believers,” so we also affirm that each Friend, not just the Clerk, has a direct responsibility for the Meeting. As we are all ministers of the Word, so are we all are ministers to each other and to the community as a whole. As members of a community we look not to our rights, liberties, and privileges, but to our obligations, responsibilities, and duties.
Membership in the Religious Society of Friends is a spiritual commitment. To become a member, we expect an applicant to have come experientially into general agreement with the Society’s principles of belief and testimonies as expressed in our Faith & Practice.
Membership carries with it spiritual obligations. Each of us, as members, are called to participate in the Meeting’s spiritual life and to attend worship regularly. Members need to nurture each other’s God-given gifts and talents. As members, we seek guidance from one another and the Meeting in discerning God’s will for ourselves. We pray for one another.
The basic spiritual commitment of membership creates practical obligations. The vitality of each Monthly Meeting depends on its members’ investments of time, energy, and financial support. As Friends, we put practical meaning into our spiritual commitment through regular participation in Meetings for Business, service on committees or as officers, regular financial giving, taking part in service projects under the care of the Meeting, assisting in maintenance of Meeting property, and representing the Meeting in community and wider Friends’ organizations.
Queries
How can I actively support the meeting community?
How can I support the Clerk of Meeting and clerks of committees?
How am I maturing into the fullness of membership in this spiritual community?
How does the meeting community nurture my spiritual growth and transformation?
In what ways does the Meeting make its needs clear to each of us?
Voices
As Quakers, we have no creed to recite, no confession to confess, no rituals to undergo that will reliably bring us into the fullness of membership. But we do have a rich and inspiring tradition; we have each other; and we have the Spirit of God which, we are promised, will “lead us into all things.” Thomas Gates, 2004
When early Friends affirmed the priesthood of all believers it was seen as an abolition of the clergy; in fact it is an abolition of the laity. All members are part of the clergy and have the clergy’s responsibility for the maintenance of the meeting as a community. This means helping to contribute, in whatever ways are most suitable, to the maintenance of an atmosphere in which spiritual growth and exploration are possible for all. –Britain Yearly Meeting, 1999
Membership is costly … It is not just about belonging, feeling accepted, feeling at home. It has also to do with being stretched, being challenged, being discomforted … We can never be entirely sure of where the venture will lead us … [but] the one thing we can be sure of is that the process, taken seriously, will call us to change. –Helen Rowlands, 1952
Membership in a Quaker meeting is a spirit-led journey of coming to know ourselves as individual-in-community, a journey on which we experience meeting as a place of acceptance, a place of shared values, a place of transformation, and a place of obedience. –Thomas Gates, 2004
Worthiness has nothing to do with membership. God has already accepted us in our imperfection and is loving us forward toward a more perfect image of God’s self. The real issue in membership is commitment on the part of both the meeting and the applicant to remain faithful to the development and requirements of the process within Quaker tradition. –Patricia Loring, 1997
10.12-2 - Welcome of Visitors Approximately 32 friends were present. The Meeting welcomed Blair Forlaw, who is transferring her membership to FMW from Saint Louis (MO) Monthly Meeting, and Rebekah Enns.
10.12 -3 Clerks’ Report – David Etheridge, Clerk, asked Friends to hold in the Light Michael and Ellen Cronin as they mourn the death this past week of Emily, Michael’s niece. Also please hold in the Light Mark Meinke and Frank Taylor as their lives have been radically changed as they care for Frank’s sister due to the sudden and critical illness that nearly took her life and led to the loss of her right leg. Additionally, please hold in the Light Jean and Cavan Capps as Cavan recovers from his recent stroke at National Rehabilitation Hospital, Room 207 in Unit 2 East. Evenings and Sundays are the best times to visit.
MILESTONES
10.12 – 4 Membership Committee – Joan Gildemeister of the Membership Committee presented a request for Associate Membership for Noura Connor, the daughter of FMW Member Justin Connor and Attender Mohamad Olabi. Friends APPROVED
OTHER BUSINESS
10.12 – 5 Nominations to the Search Committee – David Etheridge presented these nominations to the Search Committee, which is tasked with finding Friends who are willing to serve on the Nominating Committee.
Steve Coleman and Judy Hubbard
Friends APPROVED
10.12 – 6 Nominating Committee – Beth Cogswell, Clerk of Nominating, presented the resignation of Tracy Hart from the Child Safety Committee and from the Trustees. Friends ACCEPTED, with regret.
A Friend noted the incredible contributions that Tracy has made to the Meeting. He has received emails from her from every hemisphere of the globe—she has given wonderful attention to the work of the Meeting, and he is grateful. Friends agreed with this sentiment.
REPORTS
10.12– 7 Hospitality Committee - Tom Libbert of the Hospitality Committee presented the Annual Report for the Hospitality Committee (see attached). They are running low on members, and invite others to join them in their work.
10.12– 8 Young Adult Friends – Zoe Plaugher, Co-Convener of Young Adult Friends, presented the Annual Report for the Young Adult Friends Group (see attached). The group is a very vibrant and healthy community. Each month they hold two worship opportunities, as well as social and volunteer activities. They have been a source of help to each other. They are grateful for the financial support of the Meeting which allowed them to go on a camping trip earlier this year.
A Friend expressed her gratitude for all of the co-conveners for YAF, who have led the group.
Another Friend expressed her gratitude for the many years that YAF has provided support for the Shoebox Project.
UPDATES
10.12 – 9 Healing and Reconciliation Committee - Merry Pearlstein, Co-Clerk of H&R, discussed the committee’s recent report about actions that have occurred since the beginning of 2012 around Safety and Inclusivity. The process has been very hard one, bringing up a number of emotions and reactions. A number of people have asked what has been done or is being done to foster both safety and inclusivity. This report is an attempt to list the actions that have been taken to date. The list is extensive but probably not all-inclusive—it represents the memories of individuals consulted, and may have inadvertently left some things out. She also notes that the Committee has completed its survey on the relationship between FMW and Children, Youth and Families. They are reviewing the results, and expect to publish them soon on the Meeting’s email lists. The committee welcomes opportunities to speak directly with anyone who would like to speak more about this issue as we seek a way forward.
A Friend asks if members of the committee have benefited from this process. Merry says the process has made her more aware of young families and how isolated they have become within the wider FMW community, and of the need to create more cross-Meeting inter-action.
A Friend points out that more than 20 years ago, we had a ministry that went to jail. Now we have people who have left jail. Dealing with the incarcerated is a long-time tradition of Quakers.
A Friend on Healing & Reconciliation says, in answer to the question about how this has affected her, that in listening to Friends across the Meeting she has drawn closer to them and, through that experience, closer to God. She has also learned that FMW will not allow itself to give a shallow answer to a deep question—that we insist on laboring with it and going deep. She is convinced that the only way we are going to get through this issue is to go deeper, and welcomes that opportunity.
A Friend asks if this committee is in our Handbook. The answer is yes.
10.12– 10 Ministry & Worship – Debby Churchman, Clerk of M&W, made two points. First, we are about halfway through our three-month experiment with a new order of worship attendance, undertaken to provide greater safety and support for the children of the Meeting. Children are now starting at 10:30 in First Day and coming to meeting for worship at 11:15. The door to the Meeting room is being kept open until 10:35, after which latecomers are encouraged to worship in the parlor. We are also starting to get feedback on how this new order is settling with Friends. She asks that Friends let M&W know how this experience is settling with you. M&W will come to the December 2012 Meeting for Business with feedback and its recommendation regarding continuing/changing the present arrangement.
She also reports that M&W will be hosting an inter-generational party next Sunday, October 21, at rise of Meeting. Lunch, ice cream sundaes, art, games, and a moon bounce will be provided. We are hoping to create a space in which people of different ages can have fun together. All are invited.
A Friend from the Nominating Committee said how much the committee enjoys having the children come in at the end of worship—it’s fun. She does, however, find it difficult to keep latecomers from coming into the Meeting before the 45 minute period. She encourages us to return to the old method, which is to open the door after 20 minutes. Two expected interruptions might be okay.
A Friend asks that we separate the two issues—one when young Friends come in, and another when other Friends come in. Before 1982, Friends were allowed to come into Meeting when they came to Meeting. People mistakenly believe that we are not allowed to come to Meeting for Worship after 10:30. She finds the signs at the doors unwelcoming. She does not appreciate being told not to be tardy. For the record, she is almost never tardy.
A Friend asks that we mark off rows for those who come to Meeting late, to make it easy for them to find a seat.
A Friend asks for skills-building about this, with an ongoing discussion. If you have a culture of peace-building, interruptions can be folded into it. She asks, what is the Quaker way?
A Friend agrees that closing doors is punitive. Not of all us are in control of our transportation to Meeting. She asks that all Meeting email lists, including YAF, be part of M&W’s survey.
A Friend points out that there is a lot of exterior noise, which is why the doors are closed. He suggests someone stand outside of the door to let everyone in throughout the hour.
A Friend speaks on behalf of the sinner. She would rather have everyone come in rather than be kept out.
A Friend points out that there is only one handicapped door, so it’s not practical to confine the latecomers to one side.
A Friend asks that we just consider keeping the door open for a few weeks to see what happens. About 15 years ago, she was blocked from the door and told to go to the parlor. There is no blockage at the 9:00 meeting or the meeting in Quaker House Living Room.
A Friend spoke in favor of keeping the two end doors open.
A Friend agreed that the goal should not be punitive. However, if you find yourself regularly arriving late, perhaps you could ask yourself why? People coming in late can be disruptive to the Meeting. We have a responsibility to be respectful to each other and to worship.
A Friend says he is late more often than not, which is a personal failing. BYM has a query asking people to ask themselves if they are being discourteous to the Meeting by being late. He enjoys worshiping in the parlor. We should be asking ourselves, what is our level of acceptance? What can we live with?
A Friend says he has been listening to this exact same conversation for at least 50 years; it’s probably been going on for at least 200. Perhaps the conversation is a Quaker tradition.
A Friend who was on M&W when the parlor worship was instituted says it was done as a reaction to people objecting to lots of disruptions. We aren’t used to the new rule. She thinks we should go back to the 20 minute rule.
A Friend who has been late many times says that it doesn’t bother her if anyone comes in late. If we look at what is happening in this community and the number of people we have lost in the last year, she feels the need to shift our focus toward being as welcoming as possible. She asks that those who are uncomfortable with latecomers try to grow into this.
A Friend speaks for the second time. He worshipped recently with the Charlotte meeting, and the kids came in at the end, which he enjoyed. He feels the 20 minute rule is disruptive and turns that period into wasted time. Today at worship, he felt like he got a longer period to center and was able to go deeper.
A Friend is grateful for all of the doors that are opening in this Meeting. Having the kids come at the end has been good for the children, who now have an opportunity to share with the Meeting about the things they are learning in First Day. He worshipped recently in Westfield and the doors stayed open, which he liked. They have carpeting. Perhaps we can think about carpeting the stairs.
A Friend asks that we just try this as an experiment, leaving the doors open, and try to make it clear that Friends shouldn’t congregate at the bottom of the stairs and talk.
A Friend spoke for the second time about allowing the doors to be open. Can we challenge ourselves to seek the deeper silence amidst the world’s noise? The world will not stop for us; we are responsible for the silence in this room.
A Friend says it becomes more disruptive when there is a hard and fast rule to be here on time, as it sets the punctualists against the tardyites He often chooses not to come into the Meeting Room because he doesn’t want to disrupt the meeting.
A Friend speaks of her concern for vocal ministry. Isn’t vocal ministry affected by these changes?
A Friend asks that we reset the worship time to 11:00 a.m.
A Friend asks, can we put a Friend at the bottom of the stairs to serve as a welcomer rather than outside the door?
A Friend points out that when we shifted from 11:00 to 10:30 start time, it increased the number of people who attended Meeting for Business.
A Friend points out that the people who come late to Meeting for Worship and then stay are the ones who are active in Meeting for Business
David encouraged all Friends to share their thoughts with Ministry & Worship.
10.12– 11 Capital Improvements Task Force – Neil Froemming, Clerk of CITF, provided this update (see attached) We have completed the Design Concept Phase, and are beginning the Schematic Design. These designs will be posted downstairs in the Assembly Room as they become available. The committee welcomes feedback.
A Friend said she is very excited about this progress. She wants to know if the fundraising efforts are keeping apace. Neil says that the Capital Campaign Committee has started work, and should be contacting everyone in the next month.
A Friend reminds us that our Meeting has relied on dead people for the last 30 years, and now is using the Trust in the way it was intended to be used. However, we are $7000 in the hole this year already just for regular expenses. We need to keep up on our operating costs before we start on a capital budget donation.
Neil says he recently visited the Madison Monthly Meeting in Wisconsin, which has about the same number of members as we do. Their annual donation income is $60,000. We give about $200,000, on a budget of about $400,000. “We done good, and we’re trying to do something large.”
10.12– 12 Property Committee – Steve Coleman, Co-Clerk of Property, provided this update. We have renovated most of the spaces in Quaker House and Carriage House; recently we welcomed in Dupont Circle Village, which helps people to age in place. Bob and Susan Meehan are members. We are putting in a kitchenette in Quaker House, and updating the boiler system. The vast majority of the deferred maintenance has now been done. We’re turning more attention into programmatic needs, especially youth programming and other weekly program needs. We are trying to make our spaces safer for children, and have better sightlines. We plan to take down the wall bordering the children’s library and explore ways of using that hallway as part of the program space. The committee welcomes feedback. We are aware that First Day School is only 45 minutes a week; we want the space to be usable to a number of programs throughout the week.
The committee is also working on the play structure outside. Steve invites adults to come outside and be with the kids. The current play structure is not safe and is coming down this week. The Meeting has appropriated funds to update the play area. We are getting something for the West Side until the renovation begins, and then will shift the structure over to the East Garden. During the renovations, we may be gathering for social hour in the Terrace Room instead of the Assembly Room. The committee is working with the Garden Committee about where we might put a play structure in the East Garden.
A Friend longs to make the East Garden an outside room. We have lost about 50% of that area to the slope. He asks Friends to consider leveling the space.
A Friend reminds us that School for Friends was looking at green play equipment, and asks that we do as well. Steve says that play should be more than just structure. We have a lot of edible plants, for example. We are hoping for multiple uses in the West Garden.
Steve also says that the Meeting has had an informal inquiry from a Montessori school that is interested in using space during the week in the Meetinghouse. We are exploring whether or not this would be symbiotic with the Meeting. Discussions are in a preliminary stage.
A Friend asks that we not speak so much at Meeting for Business but take our concerns instead directly to the committees.
Steve asks that Friends consider joining the Property Committee. He points out that many members will be rotating off at the end of this year.
A Friend speaks of the playground equipment, which is beloved by generations of children and others. She’d heard that there was a possibility of fixing up the equipment. We keep renting the place out to different groups and it’s causing trouble with taxes, but at the same time we don’t have enough places to have First Day School. What is being planned is not in her heart.
Steve spoke about the space vacated by School for Friends. The place was unusable, unsafe, and in a disgusting condition. So far, the Decatur Place Room has worked out for child care. He wishes the playground structure could have been saved, but it just wasn’t financially or physical feasible. They are choosing instead of get something that can be moved around during the renovation, which doesn’t have footings. He says that the Property Committee is not focused on revenue but on providing program space.
A Friend says she thinks this has been one of the best Meetings for Business she’s been to in many years. The reports have been helpful, and the responses have been constructive, helpful, and in the Light. She is grateful.
Steve Brooks, co-clerk of Property, spoke about the renovation of the former Friends School classroom in Carriage House. It was done in a way that makes it possible to reclaim the area as a classroom space, as way opens.
10.12 – 13 Adjournment With approximately 23 Friends present, the meeting adjourned at 1:52 p.m. to reconvene as way opens on Sunday, November 11, 2012 at 11:45 a.m.
Report to the Friends Meeting of Washington
Welcoming and Nurturing our Community
As many FMW members and attenders are aware, our community has been grappling with challenging issues over the last 10 months, including how we can assure all (particularly families with young children and individuals with troubled pasts) feel safe, welcomed, and spiritually nurtured by our community. In this effort, many committees and individuals have held FMW in the Light and sought greater unity through: attentive listening, learning from other Friends’ experience, facilitated interactions, training sessions, attention to physical spaces and program support, information gathering, and the development of new child safety policies and procedures. To some, these efforts have seemed unnecessarily slow. For some others, the situation has revived long-held concerns about FMW’s relationship with families that include younger children.
This note is intended to update our community about some efforts that have been undertaken or currently are underway; and to invite any who feel so led to come forward with ideas that may help foster greater unity. To be specific, FMW is grappling with how it can be an “as safe as possible” spiritual home for all, particularly our children and those affected by childhood abuse, while also welcoming worshipers with troubling pasts – including those with a history of perpetrating child sexual abuse.
The committees and groups that have been most engaged include Capital Improvement Task Force, Child Safety, Finance, Healing and Reconciliation, Ministry and Worship, Personal Aid, Property, and Religious Education. All have made concerted efforts to work together and engage the wider community. All would welcome further communications to help our community as it seeks greater clarity and unity.
Actions Taken or Underway
Efforts to better understand and value each other’s concerns:
Beginning in February, six “open-to-all” meetings have been convened for members and attenders to share their concerns and views about welcoming convicted child sexual offenders. Two meetings were facilitated by a former FMW Clerk.
Survivors of sexual abuse met to discuss their reactions and concerns.
Members of Healing and Reconciliation have met with more than 40 individual members and attenders, some multiple times, to “listen attentively” to their specific concerns and feelings.
Monthly Meetings for Worship and “potluck” suppers are being held to provide members and attenders additional opportunities to know each other and new attenders better.
Explanatory timelines were developed and shared to help the community understand the overall FMW response to this challenging situation.
An all-Meeting survey has been conducted to allow everyone to share their thoughts and concerns and to help identify opportunities to seek a way opening toward greater unity.
Efforts to strengthen our community’s understanding of child sexual abuse and measures we can take to prevent it:
A called meeting focused on other Meetings’ experiences welcoming the incarcerated and child sexual offenders was convened by William Penn House. Two educational sessions have been convened and another has been scheduled to provide expert advice and information on specific community and parenting strategies to protect children from sexual abuse. The FMW Library has obtained and made available books that describe how Friends in the UK have responded to the presence of sex offenders.
Efforts to enhance FMW policies and procedures to ensure that children are protected from child sexual abuse within our spiritual community:
The Child Safety Committee was revitalized and membership enhanced (additional parents and professional experts joined – although some subsequently resigned) to develop revised policies and procedures to protect children to the greatest degree possible. An open meeting was convened to garner input on child safety policies and to review insurance requirements.
Other Quaker Meetings were canvassed for information and policies to inform FMW’s policy development effort. Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business approved a recommendation that police record checks be obtained for volunteers intending to work with children (in addition to the previous policy which required police record checks for employees).
The Child Safety Committee has met regularly since February to develop draft policies.
A draft “Escort Policy” has been completed by Child Safety and reviewed by Religious Education and Personal Aid, as initial steps taken in preparation for eventual presentation at Meeting for Business. The “Child Safety Policy” is nearing final draft stage and will be submitted to Religious Education, Property, and possibly others in preparation for eventual presentation at Meeting for Business.
Efforts to make space more accommodating for children and to expand the FMW welcome for children:
Meetings with parents have been convened to discern ways to increase child safety, enhance spaces for First Day School, and improve safe play spaces. North Room, Corridor, Children’s Library, and Decatur Place have been cleaned and altered to improve “line of sight” and remove potential hazards to children. Dangerous playground equipment has been cordoned off and funds have been approved by Finance to support a new, safe play area.
Additional First Day School staff are being recruited and hired; the Religious Education Committee is working to provide enhanced children’s programming.
The Order of Sunday’s Meeting Room Meeting for Worship has been changed provisionally to be more welcoming for children and their parents, i.e. to allow parents to deliver their children to First Day School before Meeting for Worship and to incorporate children’s participation into rise of Meeting sharing and announcements.
Members who do not currently have young children have offered to serve as volunteer safety monitors and “restroom attendants” during periods when children are present at FMW.
Efforts to support the FMW community, and members and attenders with troubling pasts who seek to worship with us:
A letter was sent to FMW members and attenders to inform them that an individual convicted of child sexual abuse who had completed his prison sentence had asked to attend the FMW community for worship.
Two Standing Committees formed a special committee to support the community and the individual as he entered the FMW community.
Information about the individual and his crime and punishment, drawn from the public record, was shared with some concerned members and attenders.
Regular escorts are being provided to accompany willing individuals who self-identify as having a history of child sexual abuse whenever they are on FMW property. Some Friends have provided multiple counseling meetings and various forms of personal assistance to the new attender and some have engaged him to work on various home improvement projects.
An opportunity for temporary employment at FMW for the new attender is under consideration, pending consultation among the concerned Committees. Members of the support committee have met with a probation officer and supervisor to be fully informed about conditions affecting the new attender and factors that may be important to the FMW community. Members and attenders who self-identified as having a history of child sexual abuse were “heard attentively” as they expressed their concerns.
Please let us know if you have any suggestions about what more might be done, understanding that many of the activities described above are on-going. We are eager to find additional ways we can work together to be open to the leadings of the Spirit and find greater unity that strengthens our community. You may send your thoughts to: Healing and Reconciliation Committee (hrgroup@googlegroups.com)
Young Adult Friends of Friends Meeting of Washington Annual Report, October 2012
Over the past year Young Adult Friends have grown and strengthened as a spiritual and social community.
We hold twice monthly meetings – a monthly Meeting for Worship and a monthly Worship Sharing. Our Worship Sharing queries have often revolved around themes: creativity, nature, use of Christ-centered language, centering practices, etc., to help us gain insight into each other’s spiritual practices.
Betsy Bramon has continued to coordinate the once-a-month SOME (So Others May Eat) breakfast, where attendance is strong. Zephyr (Michelle) Williams has coordinated several volunteering events including a Farmers Market gleaning with Bread for the City last winter. We have had impromptu post-meeting brunches and we took advantage of several free DC summertime events (Jazz in the Park, Screen on the Green) which has grown our community on a social level.
Perhaps the highlight of our year was a camping trip to Shenandoah National Park. Thanks to the generous financial and material support of Meeting, 12 YAFs and 1 spouse were able to attend. We pitched tents under the stars and hiked to a 93 foot waterfall. Members of our group led us in a walking meditation and Worship Sharing. We also sang together, cooked together, and enjoyed each other’s company around the campfire.
While YAFs have busy and sometimes conflicting schedules, the option to attend either of our worship groups has allowed more people to be regularly active. At our last meeting for worship we had 15 attendees, including several YAFs from the William Penn house. It was exciting to everyone to see how our little group has grown!
While ebbs and flows are inherent to the YAF group at FMW, members of the current group have become an active indispensable part of each other’s lives. Several YAFs have commented how the group allows for people to come and go and always be welcomed back. In the past year we have supported each other through moves, job searches, performances, and publications; that we have strengthened and developed friendships outside of the group activities; and are a healthy and vibrant community. Faithfully submitted by Zoe Plaugher
Hospitality Committee Report, October 2012
The Hospitality Committee thanks the Meeting members and attenders for their generousness in providing tasty food contributions which we all enjoy at the rise of meeting and which enhance the fellowship of the coffee hour. Absent the donations of dips, vegetables, breads, pies, coffee cake, nuts, fruit, and all sorts of other wholesome morsels, the after meeting gathering would not be as inviting. A special thanks is in order to Bob Meehan for his faithful delivery of Quaker Chest Fruit Bread every week.
The Committee members are a hardworking team who enjoy preparing libations and setting out the food. Typically, we serve 40 to 70 Friends each Sunday. We take turns rotating our duties. Ideally, each of us would work once per month with two members working on any given Sunday but our membership numbers are lower than necessary for that so we have shifts more frequently.
The Hospitality Committee's responsibility is primarily setting up and cleaning up for the weekly coffee hour. We have also volunteered, on an individual basis, for other functions such as memorial services and weddings.
We are in touch with the Nominating Committee about finding Friends who would like to join our committee as we are understaffed.
Submitted respectfully,
Alex Mathews and Frank Weiss, Co-Clerks
Here end the Minutes for Meeting for Business, October 2012
FMW Newsletter
November 2012
Fall Events
Thinking about Race (Nov. 2012)-“Tribe or ethnicity-what’s the difference?” This question arose in a recent conversation about the appropriateness of talking about ‘tribes’ v ‘ethnic groups.’ Some Friends were adamant that ‘tribes’ was the proper word to use, and others said that this could be seen as condescending. Just as fish don’t know what water is because it’s just the ways things are, so, too are we strongly influenced by our culture to think that the works and images we choose describe reality. But, when we are able to see that a word implies that some people are more important than others, this insight brings us closer to the truth expressed by our Testimony on Equality. David Zarembka (Coordinator of the African Great Lakes Initiative of the Friends Peace Teams) gives this perspective in his book, A Peace of Africa (p. 125):
“While the word ‘tribe’ is used in East Africa rather than ‘ethnicity’, the word ‘tribe’ to most Westerners has negative, ‘primitive’ connotations. Why are Native Americans considered tribes, but Italians or Poles are not considered a tribe? What is the difference between the Scottish ‘clan’ and ‘tribe’? Since language is often what separates one tribe from another, why are not the Welsh considered a tribe as they have their own language? When did the Angles, Saxon and Norman tribes that conquered England stop becoming ‘tribes’ and become English?”
prepared by Elizabeth Du Verlie of Stony Run Friends Meetingand Pat Schenck of Annapolis Friends Meeting.
The Baltimore Yearly Meeting Working Group on Racism meets most months on the third Saturday from 10.00am to 1:00pm, at Bethesda Friends Meeting or Friends Meeting of Washington. For more information you may contact David Etheridge at 301-320-3470.
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Second Tuesday Evening Worship Reminder
In our ongoing desire to further community fellowship and healing, there is a Second Tuesday evening Worship in the Meeting Room and 6:30pm, followed by a Potluck Dinner in the Assembly Room. The next is Tuesday, November 13th. Please join us!
A Benefit Concert for Dorothy Day CW House
FMW Peace and Social Concerns committee invites you to a concert to benefit the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker House in Washington, DC. Charlie King and Karen Brandow will perform folk music with peace and social justice themes here in our Meetinghouse on November 2, 2012 starting at 7:30pm. The Dorothy Day Catholic Worker House is one of our many neighbors who distribute our Christmas Shoeboxes.
Refresh and Nurture Your Spirit!
All who are interested in nurturing spirit-led servant leadership will enjoy “A Day for Spiritual Refreshment and to Share our Collective Wisdom” which is scheduled for Saturday, November 3 at Sandy Spring friends Meeting, from 10:00 to 3:30. This retreat will cover ‘Inviting the Spirit into Business Meeting’ and ‘Divisive issues and difficult behavior’.
For more information, contact Mary Satterfield at mary.satterfield@mac.com.
Also on November 3, from 9:30am on into the evening for a concert, Friends are invited to Come Sing with Friends, at Langley Hill Meeting. Please bring a dish to share with others for lunch, and consider an overnight stay (ie: Meeting for Sleeping…) (including bedtime stories at the Meeting House) and a 9:15am Pre-Meeting for Worship Sing on First Day! Instruments to share and jam, and copies of Rise Up Singing are welcomed. For details, contact Steve Elkinton at sdsvelk@gmail.com, or 703-609-2189.
On November 4, Mary Campbell will speak in the North Room here at FMW from noon to 1:30pm about “Strategies for keeping our children safe”. All adults are welcome, and child care will be provided.
Revised Faith and Practice
Printed copies of the newly revised Faith and Practice (as well as electronic versions suitable for Kindle, Nook, and other e-readers) are available for purchase from the Baltimore Yearly Meeting website. You will also find a downloadable PDF file of the new text, for free. A few copies are available in our Meeting House office.
John Calvi in Baltimore
Stony Run Monthly Meeting House, 5116 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21210
The Baltimore Quaker Peace and Justice Committee of Homewood and Stony Run Friends Meetings invite you to two events featuring John Calvi. John is a noted Quaker healer and Certified Massage Therapist with a gift for releasing physical and emotional pain following torture and trauma. He is the founder of the Quaker Initiative to End Torture (QUIT). Harnessing America’s Compassion to End Torture: Friday November 9 at 7:30 pm
(free admission, donations accepted) This lecture and group exploration will focus on different ways that we as individuals and as a group can shift the dynamic in American life so that there is widespread acknowledgement and opposition to the use of torture.
The Goodness Workshop: Saturday November 10 from 8:30 am to 4 pm
($35 before Nov. 2, $40 after) Beyond self--‐image and self--‐esteem is that sense of goodness in the core of our being. Feeling the stresses and wounds of life? Need a respite from draining work? Seeking to lessen the pain and find peace and healing deep within yourself? This workshop will focus on ways of getting in touch with this inner goodness in our core. Life stories, energy work and time to consider our best, this workshop will keep a tender, restful and gentle tone. A light breakfast (available from 8 am) and vegetarian lunch are included.
For more information or to register, call 443-703-2590, ext. 3 or go to www.johncalvi.com.
Adult Religious Education invites you to attend our Meeting for Learning, Sunday, November 11 at 9:15am in the North Room. We are continuing our study of Friends’ experiences of the Underground Railroad. For more information, see John Scales.
William Penn House invites you to attend a potluck and Quaker dialogue at 6:30pm on the Second Sunday, November 11, 2012. Brad Ogilvie, Program Director will present
“Is This a Step to End HIV/AIDS?” Advancements in HIV treatment and testing have led many to state that we can now envision an end to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Given the history of fear, judgment and stigma, technology alone won’t bring us to that end. Education and community conversations that change hearts and minds are also necessary. Now, with the introduction of self-testing into the landscape, people have more options and opportunities to know their status. In the lead-up to World AIDS Day (12/1/12) Brad will give a talk about how self-testing works, What the ethical and legal issues are, as well as the opportunities these tests create for innovative engagement in effective dialogue about HIV. For people in the helping professions (education, counseling, healthcare) this is a great time to get the information you may need, as well as fellowship among Quakers, attenders and fellow seekers. Bring a dish to share; family members, neighbors and friends are always welcome.
Friends are reminded of a wonderful opportunity on November 17, 7:00-9:00pm to attend a benefit ‘Concert’ by The Voices in the Glen Storytellers, at Langley Hill Friends Meeting, 6410 Georgetown Pike, McLean, VA. Suggested donation is $10-$25 for adults, $5-$10 for children. Refreshments will be available for sale during intermission. Please contact Sheila Bach at snbach@earthlink.net or 304-728-4820 if you plan to attend.
A Special Potluck Simple Meal is being offered at FMW on November 18 in our Assembly Room at the Rise of Meeting for Worship: NOON: Bring a dish and help to raise funds for our Shoebox Project for the Homeless, our fun-filled all community project for many years!
Also, on November 18 at Noon in the North Room, Susan Sachs-Goldman will speak on the topic of Quaker Social Reform.
Thanksgiving Day, November 22
Meeting for Divine Worshipwill be held Thanksgiving Day, November 22 at noon in the Decatur Place Room.
A Potluck Thanksgiving Dinner will be held on the afternoon (about 2:15pm) of November 22 in the Assembly Room. This is an invitation to all of our family and friends at FMW to gather. We’ll share a fire in the fireplace, good food, fellowship and some ideas of what we are thankful for. If anyone plays guitar or piano and would help us sing Thanksgiving songs from our hymnals, that would be most welcome. (Olivia James is thinking of composing an alternative version of Paul Stookey’s, “The Wedding Song” that is an Ode to the Divine Feminine!!) Please inform Olivia if you plan to attend, or if you can help with this effort.
Consider alternative gift giving….
Holidaygift giving season is approaching. What do you buy for someone who pretty much has all they need? Some Friends are checking out Quaker Bolivia Link (QBL) an international non-sectarian development organization that is working in partnership with Alternative Gifts International. QBL is dedicated to reducing poverty among the indigenous peoples of Bolivia.