March 2012 Newsletter
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Meeting for Business - Order of Worship
Attachments
Proposal for Capital Spending Addendum/Update
Report on Measures to Facilitate Hearing During Meetings for Worship
FMW Newsletter
FRIENDS MEETING OF WASHINGTON
MONTHLY MEETING FOR WORSHIP WITH A CONCERN FOR BUSINESS
February 12, 2012
2/12-1 Opening TheMeeting opened at 12:10 pm with a period of silent worship. David Etheridge served as Clerk and Susan Lepper and Meg Greene as Recording Clerks. The clerks read Advices, Queries and Voices concerning Equality, which have been proposed by the Faith and Practice Revision Committee of Baltimore Yearly Meeting.
Advices
From the beginning of Quakerism Friends have been aware that every person is equal in God’s eyes. Women played a very important role right from the start. Refusing to doff one’s hat to a person of superior rank was another way early Friends expressed the testimony of social equality. The servants at Swarthmore Hall in England were invited to attend the meetings for worship. In England during this period, “you” and “your” were used only when speaking to a person of higher rank, and peers or persons of lower rank were addressed as “thee” and “thou.” Quakers adopted “plain speech,” using “thee” and “thou” to all persons.
John Woolman (1720-1772) spent years convincing Friends and others that slavery was wrong and that people should be paid for their work. Schools were set up by Friends to educate the slave children so that they also might have the opportunity to develop their gifts.
In our meetings for worship, God’s message may be delivered through any person attending that meeting. In our meetings for worship with a concern for business, each person present may shed Light on a matter under consideration. We also need to recognize that the young among us need to be listened to as any adult. Equality does not mean sameness. Cultural and other differences among us weave a tapestry that is immeasurably enriched by our diversity. It is the right of every person to be treated with dignity and respect. Adults have a specific responsibility to model Friendly values to children, who do not see other children as different until they are taught that others may be different and in some way may not be as “good” as they are. Speaking in a negative way about a person or group of people may be a form of violence.
Queries
In what ways do we respond to prejudice and injustice?How do we benefit from inequity and exploitation? How are we victims of inequity and exploitation? In what ways can we address these problems?
Do we teach our children, and show through our way of living, that love of God includes affirming the equality of all people, treating them with dignity and respect, and seeking to address that of God within every person?
Voices
There is no such thing as Jew and Greek, slave and freeman, male and female, for you are all one person in Christ Jesus. –Galatians 3 v.28 The Oxford Study Bible.
To consider mankind otherwise than brethren, to think favors are peculiar to one nation and exclude others, plainly supposes a darkness in the understanding. –John Woolman, Journal
In the days ahead we must not consider it unpatriotic to raise certain basic questions about our national character. We must begin to ask, “Why are there forty million poor people in a nation overflowing with such unbelievable affluence? Why has our nation placed itself in the position of being God’s military agent on earth…? Why have we substituted the arrogant undertaking of policing the whole world for the high task of putting our own house in order?” –Martin Luther King, jr.
And oh, how sweet and pleasant it is to the truly spiritual eye to see several sorts of believers, everyone learning their own lesson, performing their own peculiar service, and knowing, owning and loving one another in several places…For this is the true ground of love and unity, not that such a man walks and does just as I do, but because I feel the same Spirit and life in him…and this is far more pleasing than if he walked in just that track wherein I walk. –Isaac Penington, 1660
It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength. We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter their color; equal in importance no matter their texture. Our young must be taught that racial peculiarities do exist, but that beneath the skin, beyond the differing feature and into the true heart of being, fundamentally, we are more alike, my friend, than we are unalike. –Maya Angelou, 1993
At the centre of Friends’ religious experience is the repeatedly and consistently expressed belief in the fundamental equality of all members of the human race. Friends have worked individually and corporately to give expression to this belief. We aspire not to say or do anything or condone any statements or actions which imply lack of respect for the humanity of any person. We try to free ourselves from assumptions of superiority and from racial prejudice….To liberate ourselves from pervasive attitudes and practices of our time and social environment requires new perceptions and hard work. –Meeting for Sufferings, 1988
Welcome of Visitors About 55 Friends attended. The Clerk welcomed five visitors. Andrews Sinnes was attending to learn about the process. Carrie Mitchell, Kathy Brandt and Anita Drever Orvis have each been attending the Meeting for some time, but were attending our Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business for the first time. Jean Harman was attending her first Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business in twelve years.
2/12-3 Clerk’s Report
The Clerk announced that FMW members and attenders may pick up paper copies of the February 2012 minutes of the Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business in the office. He also announced that, in order to prepare the Spiritual State of the Meeting report, the Ministry and Worship Committee has developed a survey that they are asking Friends to answer. A link to the survey has been posted on the two email lists and paper copies are available in the office.
MAJOR ITEMS
2/12-4 Report of the Support Group The Support Group reported, heard comments and responded to questions on the steps it had taken to support an attender who recently approached the Meeting.
2/12-5 Capital Improvements Task Force Request for funds to pay for consultation with architects
Neil Froemming, a member of the Capital Improvements Task Force (CITF) reported that the discussion on increasing the Meetings accessibility with architect Quinn Evans is moving slowly forward. What we do not have is a feasibility and detailed design study that could fit with the Historical Preservation Review Board and gives us a sense of the cost. This will cost $24,000, of which $5000 has already been approved. The CITF asks the Meeting’s approval for authority to expend up to an additional $19,000 for this work. The CITF had met with the Meeting’s Trustees who agreed to make the funds available from bequest funds if the Meeting approves. Friends approved the request.
In the last week, the CITF has become aware of a local Quaker Meetinghouse architect with substantial experience and many recommendations from various Meetings. The Committee would like the choice of conferring with this architect. Friends APPROVED authorizing the CITF to consult with the other architect.
A Friend asked whether we own the prior work by Quinn Evans. The response was that we probably do since we paid for it. Another Friend asked about the impact of renovation plans on current playground space. The response was that updated playground will have its place, but there is also interest in having an area where it would be possible to put up a wedding tent.
A Friend inquired why we had chosen Quinn Evans given that the Quaker architect being considered now has been practically in our midst. It was explained that one of the partners at Quinn Evans was a Quaker and had worked well with us, but has since died.
A CITF member noted that the Meeting’s commitment to keeping the parlor has been a frustration for the architects. In response to questions about other proposed improvements, such as heating and cooling updates, security and a sprinkler system, Neil said that the Meeting cannot commit to taking this on until it understands how much things cost.
A Friend suggested that when we begin fundraising for the renovation we ask Friends in Annapolis for money since we contributed to the building of their Meeting House some years back.
2/12-6 Appeal of decision of the DC Office of Tax and Revenue that the Meeting owes property taxes
Steve Coleman, Co-clerk of the Property Committee reported that although the Meeting’s property has been exempt from DC’s property tax since it was purchased, this past September the DC Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) concluded that the presence of national and international (non-DC-focused) non-profits on our campus meant our property tax status would change. The organizations currently occupy about seven percent of our property. Since the District’s current assessment of the value of our property is over $12 million and the tax bill, if the property were fully taxable, would be about $100,000, paying property tax on the portion of the property used by those non-profits (plus penalties and interest for late payment) could be substantial. The Meeting has recently filled up more space with space-sharing partners, which would increase even more the amount of property tax the Meeting owes.
The Property and Finance and Stewardship Committees have taken this up. The Trustees have decided that there are sufficient reasons to question the decision of the OTR and recommended that the Meeting pursue an appeal of the decision in DC Superior Court before March 7th. FMW attender Karen Grisez, who works at the Fried Frank law firm, helped arrange for pro bono counsel. The decision would be questioned on these grounds:
§ The assessment of $12 million is excessive, since the Meeting would be unable to realize that value given the legal restrictions on the use of the property.
§ Our space-sharing partners are helping the Meeting fulfill its mission and should be considered as performing “missionary work” on behalf of the Meeting.
A friend suggested that Peace and Social Concerns should make contact with our space-sharing partners and reach out to them in order to knit them more closely to our community and mission.
A Friend suggested that we should also hire a lawyer with a particular specialty in this field.
A Friend asked if we could set aside an account to accumulate money in escrow without admitting wrongdoing. A Friend said the Meeting should assume we are going to have to pay it and set the money aside.
2/12-7 Nominating Committee
a. Reconstitution of the Peace and social Concerns Committee
Beth Cogswell, Interim Clerk of the Nominating Committee, reported that the Nominating Committee had held three meetings for Friends to discuss whether the Peace and Social Concerns Committee should be reconstituted. Those present came to agreement that it should be. They decided upon three goals (with a focus in the first year on the first two goals):
1. To support the leadings of members and attenders in the area of Peace and Social Concerns. The committee will guide the member/attender in their pursuit of goals compatible with the FMW mission;
2. To offer educational opportunities for the membership at large on the Peace Testimony;
3. To communicate to the membership at large about the work of other organizations with regard to Peace and Social concerns
A Friend recommended that an additional goal (possibly the first priority) should be working closely with the organizations that share our campus with us and that are working to carry through on our faith and practice. The Meeting APPROVED reconstituting the Peace and Social Concerns Committee with these four goals.
b. Nominations to the Peace and Social Concerns Committee
Beth Cogswell presented the following nominations to the Peace and Social Concerns Committee:
· Roger Burns
· Steve Sawmelle
· Beth Cogswell – Beth is serving as interim clerk until a permanent clerk is selected
· Eddy Ameen
· Julian Forth
· Mike Duvall
· Debby Churchman
· Mark Cannon
A Friend noted that Debby Churchman already serves on two standing committees and that the Handbook provides that Friends are to serve on no more than two standing committees at a time. Because Debby has already been important to re-energizing the Peace and Social Concerns Committee and in light of her special interest in the educational education role of the new committee, Friends APPROVED waiving the two-committee limitation with respect to Debby. Friends APPROVED all the nominations.
c. Resignation of Judy Hubbard from the Capital Improvements Task Force
Friends accepted her resignation with thanks for her service on the Task Force.
d. Nomination of Jane Connor to the Religious Education Committee
Friends approved this nomination.
MILESTONES
2/12-8 Marriage and Family Relations Committee
Susan Griffin, Clerk of the Marriage and Family Relations Committee,reported that the wedding of Elizabeth Kendall and Sasan Sabet took place at Sidwell Friends Upper School in good order on January 15, 2012 and was a joyful and inspiring occasion.
Susan recommended the creation of an Oversight Committee for the wedding of Brett McBride and Victor Malychev composed of Jane Edgerton, Justine Kalas Reeves, Justin Connor, Dan Dozier, Martha Solt, Mohamad Olabi and Susan Griffin. Friends approved. The date for the wedding is April 21, 2012.
2/12-9 Membership Committee
1. Presiding Clerk David Etheridge made the second presentation for membership in the Meeting of Erica Hurvitz, John Hurvitz and Kate Gould. Friends APPROVED membership for Erica Hurvitz, John Hurvitz and Kate Gould.
2. Friends accepted the decision Russell Ricks and Masai McDougall, who have been until now Associate Members, not to apply to be Full Members at this time.
3. Membership Committee Co-clerk Jean Meyer Capps reported the resignation of Kimberly Crichton from the Meeting. Jean informed the Meeting that Kimberly’s letter stated she was resigning because the Meeting House has not been made accessible to all members of our community. Friends ACCEPTED Kimberly Crichton’s resignation.
4. The Meeting needs help need in establishing communication with these Associate Members:
· Kathrin Gilbert
· Hanna McDade
· Jesse McDade
· Robert Mays
· Melissa Jones
A Friend said she thought Hanna McDade and Jesse McDade are grandchildren of Anne Rouse, who is known by FMW member Judy Saul. The Membership Committee was asked to follow up with Meeting contacts where possible.
2/12-10 Ministry and Worship Committee
Gray Handley, a member of the Ministry and Worship Committee, pointed out that the attached report describes recent measures and proposals to facilitate hearing during Meetings for Worship. Friends are asked to move to the center of the room so as to hear and be heard well. The committee continues to accept suggestions--especially any which might increase our commitment to inclusivity. A Friend noted that inclusivity is a topic that has run throughout many of our conversations over the past year.
Gray requested that Friends please respond to the Spiritual State of the Meeting survey within two weeks as the process is running a bit late.
2/12-11 The Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business closed at 3:10 PM to reconvene as way opens on March 11, 2012.
Attachments:
Proposal for Capital Spending
Proposal for Capital Spending Addendum/Update
Nominating Committee Report
Report on Measures to Facilitate Hearing during Meetings for Worship
Capital Improvement Task Force
Proposal for Capital Spending
January 2012
Request: That Trustees authorize and Meeting approve $19,000 in capital spending (in addition to the $5,000 previously approved) for architectural and engineering services to develop a simple and economical design for an elevator addition to provide ADA accessibility to the ground and second floor levels of the Meeting House, Carriage House, and Quaker House.
Scope of Work: Quinn Evans Architects (QEA) estimates $24,000 as the cost of working with us to accomplish the following:
“Develop a refined ‘design’ scheme for the connector: Using the preliminary design prepared by the CITF, we will review building code and constructability issues. In addition, we will consider the initial comments by the DC Historic Preservation Office about the connector. We will suggest alternative design options where appropriate. We and the CITF will develop and adopt a revised ground floor and first floor design for the three-building complex. This design will also consider the accessibility issues of the connector corridors, any other space modifications, and the drainage/ flooding issues to the Meeting House.”
QEA’s scope of work includes preliminary costing of this new design and related engineering work. The design will include a “minimum project” (elevator addition and connections, resolution of flooding/ drainage issues) plus additional, separately costed options, such as security and fire safety systems and other improvements.
QEA will work with us to minimize the costs keeping in mind the concerns previously expressed by the Meeting and the fundraising amount cited in the funding feasibility study conducted by Henry Freeman.
Background: In May 2008, the Meeting directed the Property Committee and newly created Planning Committee to select a design firm to provide preliminary drawings and estimates for a Meeting House addition to provide an elevator and new main entrance. QEA was selected and more than $100,000 was spent on this effort in 2008-2010.
In March 2010, the Planning Committee provided the Meeting with recommendations for a comprehensive renovation project, including an elevator addition, with an estimated project price of $3.76 million. Reactions to the proposal were mixed, and included concerns about the cost of the project and the size and design of the addition. For various reasons, the recommendations were not brought to Meeting for Business for approval.
The Capital Improvement Task Force (CITF) was formed in December 2010 to carry the work forward.
In June 2011, CITF presented a new draft concept for an elevator addition and connection to all three buildings with a main entrance on Decatur Place. We proposed that the front of the addition would be fairly close to the existing front building line and that the Parlor and Meeting Room would be preserved in their present state.
The Meeting and the Trustees approved $5,000 for CITF to work with QEA to determine the feasibility and cost.
Project Update: CITF members have talked and corresponded with QEA and also met with an architect of the HPRB. QEA has not charged the Meeting for these consultations.
Our draft concept will need much change and refinement to produce a final design and clear cost estimates. For example, it appears unlikely that HPRB will approve a design that is not set well back from the existing building line. The HPRB architect and QEA were also skeptical of our chances of getting approval of any design that provides access to the third floor of the Meeting House (although QEA is willing to try).
As QEA design work proceeds, additional information should emerge quickly and we will report it to the Meeting. We hope to have design and cost information sufficient to support fundraising activities in 3 to 5 months.
Capital Improvement Task Force
Proposal for Capital Spending
Addendum/Update
February 2012
The attached funding request was approved by FMW Trustees January 29th, for submission to the Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business. It refers to funding for architectural and engineering services for design, feasibility study, and costing of an elevator addition to provide ADA accessibility to the FMW buildings.
The request refers to work with Quinn Evans Architects. However, we want to advise Trustees and the Meeting of a new development:
We have recently become aware of the existence of a local architect who seems, in some respects, ideally suited to help us carry this project forward. He is a Friend who went to Westtown and Haverford, and specializes in residential scale architecture, with a sub-specialty in Quaker meetinghouses. He was the architect for construction of meetinghouses in Annapolis and Damariscotta, Maine, and also for the recent major renovation at Langley Hill. He is familiar with the issues posed by Quaker process, and our brief conversation with him suggests that he may be uniquely compatible with our work.
On the other hand, our current architect is a very good one, though less familiar with Quakers, and we have obvious concerns about the transitional costs — in both time and money — of changing architects at this point. We understand that the work (surveys, CAD files, etc.) of the previous architect could be made available to a new architect, but we need to examine this issue with some care.
We still wish to move forward with our request for additional funding for the next step of design, feasibility review, and costing, but with the understanding that we may use the funds to employ either Quinn Evans Architects or another architect in the work.
February 12, 2012
The Nominating Committee held three general member meetings in the fall and early winter of 2011/12 to determine the reinstatement of the Peace and Social Concerns Committee. As a result of these meetings three goals were established. They are:
- To support the leadings of members and attenders in the area of Peace and Social Concerns. The committee will guide the member/attender in their pursuit of goals compatible with FMW mission.
- To offer educational opportunities for the membership at large on the Peace Testimony
- To communicate to the membership at large about the work of other organizations with regard to Peace and Social Concerns.
It was decided that the new Peace and Social Concerns Committee will initially focus on the first two goals.
FMW Committee on Ministry & Worship
Report on Measures to Facilitate Hearing during Meetings for Worship
As part of its on-going effort to have FMW Meetings for Worship ever more inclusive and welcoming, the Committee on Ministry and Worship (M&W) has worked with the Property Committee to explore ways to make the Meeting Room more acoustically friendly for those with less than perfect hearing. The Property Committee has given attention to the current microphone system to ensure it is functioning optimally. It has also consulted with an acoustics expert and is in the process of considering other technical interventions.
In an effort to achieve improvements without delay and additional cost, M&W has experimented with bench arrangements to see if any rearrangements would facilitate hearing. These bench arrangement experiments have stirred up many reactions, which have been shared directly with M&W and solicited through a survey. From this feed-back, the Committee has discerned:
- All of the bench rearrangements created significant improvement in hearing-challenged Friends' ability to hear vocal ministry. The arrangement that concentrated benches at one end of the room seemed to result in the most improvement.
- The arrangement of the benches at one end of the room raised heartfelt concerns for a significant portion of those who communicated with M&W.
- Many Friends hope the Property Committee will further investigate technological means to improve the Meeting Room acoustics so that any sense of “directed seating” can be avoided.
- Most Friends found acceptable the arrangement of benches clustered in the center of the room. This arrangement improved the ability to hear, allowed full use of our historic space, and reduced a disconcerting sense of imposed direction.
As a result of these discernments, M&W plans to continue with the “centrally clustered” arrangement of benches, at least on a three to six month trial basis.
The Committee also asks that members and attenders continue to be encouraged to sit as close to the central part of the Meeting Room as they feel comfortable. The Committee plans to further consider the optimal use of the raised Facing Bench and it may make some additional minor changes in the centralized arrangement, seeking even more inclusivity.
Specific advice provided to the Committee about physical or technical remediation that might be explored have been shared with the Property Committee. The Capital Improvements Task Force is asked to consider hearing improvement measures within the larger FMW renovation and accessibility-improvement project.
Holding FMW in the Light, M&W encourages everyone to help ensure Friends and Seekers with hearing limitations feel fully included in both silent and vocal ministry. Regardless of how we physically arrange our gatherings, M&W trusts that Friends Meeting of Washington will continue to demonstrate that it is a vital, compassionate Meeting, especially concerned about Quaker Testimonies on equality, inclusivity and community.
FMW NEWSLETTER
March 2012
William Penn House
The William Penn House, a Quaker Center on Capitol Hill, hosts monthly potluck dinners on a scheduled Sunday evening at 6:30 p.m. There is a topic, speaker, and open discussion afterwards. The potluck starts at 6:30 p.m. and the presentation will begin at 7:30 p.m. All are welcome to the potlucks- bring a dish to share! In addition to monthly potlucks, the William Penn House provides low cost accommodations and Quaker center programs and seminars. Join the weekly Yoga class at the William Penn House on Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. All ages and all skill levels are welcome. There is a $15 charge per class. Daily at 7:30 a.m. to 8 a.m. a Meeting for Worship is held. On Sundays, with the exception of the first Sunday of the month, Capitol Hill Friends meet from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
On Sunday, March 4, 2012 the potluck dinner speaker will be Tom Farquhar, Head of School at Sidwell Friends School, talking about “The Stewardship of Quaker Education.” The Quaker belief that there is "that of God" in each of us shapes everything we do at Sidwell Friends School. It inspires us to show kindness and respect toward one another. It motivates us to recognize and nurture each person's unique gifts. It teaches us to apply our talents in service to others and to work courageously for peace. We draw strength from silence—and from the power of individual and collective reflection. We cultivate in all members of our community high personal expectations and integrity, respect for consensus, and an understanding of how diversity enriches us, why stewardship of the natural world matters and why service to others enhances life. Above all, we seek to be a school that nurtures a genuine love of learning and teaches students "to let their lives speak."
Tom Farquhar is an active member of Sandy Springs Friends Meeting. During his career as an educator among Friends, he has taught at Sandy Springs Friends School and prior to his accepting the position of Head of School at Sidwell Friends, he was head of school of Westtown Friends School.
On Sunday, April 1 the program for the potluck will be “Buddha’s Brain,” presented by Joe Izzo, a member of the Friends Meeting of Washington. Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and other great teachers were all born with a brain built essentially like anyone else’s. Then they used their minds
to change their brains in ways that changed history. With the new breakthroughs in neuroscience, combined with insights from thousands of years of contemplative practice, you, too, can shape your own brain for greater happiness, love, and wisdom.
Written with neurologist Richard Mendius, M.D., and with a Foreword by Daniel Siegel, M.D. and a Preface by Jack Kornfield, Ph.D., Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom joins modern science with ancient teachings to show you how to have greater emotional balance in turbulent times, as well as healthier relationships, more effective actions, and greater peace of mind.
Joe Izzo is a member of the Friends Meeting of Washington and a therapist at Whitman-Walker Health Center. Joe brings his religious and psychological training to guide us in the discussion of this Universalist study of our religious founders. Using examples in the book, Joe will present a guided meditation.
For more information contact The William Penn House. It is located at 515 East Capitol St. SE Washington, DC 20003, (202) 543-5560.
FMW Adult Study Group
The Adult Study Group will meet on Sunday, March 11 andMarch 25, at 9:15 a.m. in the North Room. The topic will be William Penn. The Study Group will continue on Sunday, April 8 and April 22 with a discussion of Quakers and the Civil War.It is not mandatory to attend every group session if a F/friend is interested in participating in the Adult Study Group. For more information contact John Scales.
Baltimore Yearly Meeting Interim Meeting
Third Month Interim Meeting of Baltimore Yearly Meeting will be held on Saturday, March 17 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Charlottesville, Virginia. Committees will meet in the morning and over lunch at Tandem Friends School, followed by Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business and dinner at Charlottesville Friends Meeting. Registration forms are available at www.bymrsf.org, and overnight hospitality is available to Friends traveling from a distance if requested on the registration form.
Friends Wilderness Center Poetry by the Fire
Join Friends Wilderness Poet Ron Weber plus other area poets and poetry lovers for a winter day of reading and discussing poetry around the wood stove at the Niles Cabin on Saturday, March 17. The general theme will be nature poetry and the human spirit new signs of life, changing seasons, or any other topic! Bring your own or other poetry to read, if you like.
We will gather by 10:00 a.m. in the Niles Cabin at the Friends Wilderness Center. Poetry listeners are valued as much as poetry readers and writers! Call Sheila Bach at 304-728-4820 to RSVP and get directions. Come early for a self-guided hike in the woods, and bring a bag lunch, if you wish.
Please help us continue to bring you these programs for your enjoyment. There is a suggested donation of $10 for this program and anything added to that amount will be deeply appreciated.
School for Friends Simple Meal
Friends are invited to a simple lunch on Sunday, March 25 at noon in the Assembly Room. Parents and others connected to the School for Friends, a Quaker preschool school nearby, will be hosting the lunch as a thank you for the role the Meeting has played in the life of the school and to give Friends a chance to hear more about the School for Friends. Donations for the school will also be accepted.
Baltimore Yearly Meeting Young Friends Conference
The Young Friends of Baltimore Yearly Meeting will be having a conference at the FMW Meetinghouse from the evening of Friday, March 30 through the morning of Sunday, April 1. The group will be doing service in the DC area, likely with food banks and similar organizations. Young Friends interested in participating should contact Sarah Rose.
Wedding of Brett McBride and Victor Malychev
The wedding of Brett McBride and Victor Malychev will be held on Saturday, April 21 at 10 a.m. in the Meeting Room. There will be a cake and cookie reception after meeting for worship the following day, Sunday, April 22.
Baltimore Yearly Meeting Camping Program
Registration is now open for Baltimore Yearly Meeting’s summer camps for children and teens. The deadline for the first round of scholarship applications is March 15. Brochures are available on the meeting bulletin board and more information is available at www.bymcamps.org.
Baltimore Yearly Meeting Women’s Retreat
Under the care of Baltimore Yearly Meeting, an annual women’s retreat has been held for nearly 20 years, usually the last weekend in January. Organization of the gathering is rotated among monthly meetings. FMW women attending last month’s retreat volunteered to manage the program for 2013. Are there any women who might like to join us in planning the event? Should that be you, contact Robinne Gray, Mary Campbell, Debby Churchman, Martha Solt, Jean Capps, Tara Tappert, Susan Griffin, or Jean Harmon. We will meet sometime-yet-to-be-determined in April.
From the Vault
A monthly series of editted extracts from the historical material of the Friends Meeting of Washington.
These are just some Tantalizing Tidbits from an 8-page transcription of a talk given in 1980:
"Remarks on the early days of FMW by Margaret Jones, March 23, 1980" [Secretary of I Street and Florida Avenue Meetings, 1929 to the 1930s]
Trying to recall 50 years ago is certainly very difficult for me . . . How many of you remember the I Street Meeting? Did you ever see it? There was a large table there and nice, lovely old-fashioned furniture and a large davenport and what have you. . . . There were always stalwart members in the Meeting, perfectly delightful people, and I wish you all could have known all of them: Albert and Lena Stabler, Farman Mulford and Edith, Daniel Shoemaker . . . We got together and had a forum committee. Ralph Bunche was one of our speakers -- the place was filled, just filled. . . . I would go home for the summer and be there from October to May. And I might say, not a very large salary -- I started at $100 a month, and my car and I were at the serivce of the people. . . . I would hear rumors of Mary Vaux Walcott and her great interest in building the Florida Avenue Meeting. She was a Philadelphia Quaker, married to the director of the Smithsonian Institution, and she lived directly back of Florida Avenue Meeting. . . . I had taken groups of girls to the Canadian Rockies on camping trips. Mary saw some of these girls smoking. . . . It had been hoped that Irving Street Friends and Alexandria Monthly Meeting would unite in this new Meeting but that didn't happen. There was a sewing group at Irving Street, one at I Street, and a sewing group at Florida Avenue. However, it wasn't long before we had a joint Peace Committee. . . . Augustus Murray sat head of meeting, and always opened with a prayer, a very beautiful prayer. I myself can remember no unpleasant incidents so far as an outsider who didn't know very much about a Friends Meeting and wanted to harangue the President. The Secret Service would come a half hour before the meeting and go through the Sunday School, the heater room, the downstairs rooms and so forth. Friends sat in the row ahead of the President and in the row back. It wasn't obvious that he was quite surrounded, but anybody could turn and see him and Mrs. Hoover. He didn't come very often -- he really would rather have been fishing every Sunday. . . . In the early '30s there was quite a bit of interracial work going on. We had one black student from Howard who came to the Meeting regularly -- Lenward Jacobs from Jamaica. He is now a very prominent physician in Jamaica . . . . I want to tell you about two or three stirring things that I do remember. One was the Bonus March . . . . [and so forth]
A complete copy of Jones' interesting if rather rambling talk is in the library for all to read. We have fifteen or so tapes (now being digitalized by Friend Todd Harvey) and if anyone has some extra time and would like to listen to them and summarize the information please talk with me. We really shouldn't send them to Swarthmore without some indication of what is on each one.
Yours in peace,
Hayden Wetzel
FMW Historian
Thinking About Race
The following is excerpted from Sojourners’ SOJOMAIL, a weekly email-zine of spirituality, politics and culture, 1/26/12. This is one question from a quiz, “Racial Jeopardy,” in a Guest Commentary by Lisa Sharon Harper:
10) Has the United States ever sought to repair the damage done by more than two hundred years of institutionalized racialized slavery and one hundred years of racialized Jim Crow law?
Answer: What is “no”?
As a result,
- the median wealth of white U.S. households in 2009 was $113,149, compared with $5,677 for blacks and $6,325 for Latinos, according to July 2011 data from the Pew Research Center.
- at the height of the economic downturn, the poverty rate in the black community was 27 percent, compared with 9.9 percent for whites.
- if you were to lay down a map of the nation's most toxic or polluted land and lay on top of that a map of all the most black, Latino, and Native American communities in the country, you would find a nearly one-to-one correlation.
- the U.S. incarcerates black men at a rate 6.6-times higher than that of white men.
So, my answer to the question of whether America has become a post-racial society is this: African-Americans have been completely free for just 47 years. Our nation still has work to do. Race will continue to matter in the United States until we take active, structural steps to counter the more than 300 years of racialized politics and policies ….
The Baltimore Yearly Meeting Working Group on Racism meets most months on the third Saturday from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, at Bethesda Friends Meeting or Friends Meeting of Washington. If you would like to attend, on a regular or a drop-in basis, please contact David Etheridge.