May 2011 Newsletter
Printer-friendly versionCONTENTS:
Minutes: April 2011 Meeting for Worship With a Concern for Business
Attachments to Minutes:
Spiritual State of the Meeting
Personal Aid Committee Annual Report
FMW NEWSLETTER
FRIENDS MEETING OF WASHINGTON
ORDER OF WORSHIP
MONTHLY MEETING FOR WORSHIP WITH A CONCERN FOR BUSINESS
April 10, 2011
4/11- 1 Opening The Meeting opened at noon with a period of silent worship. David Etheridge served as Clerk, and Debby Churchman served as Recording Clerk. The clerks read Advices, Queries and Voices concerning Community which have been proposed by the Faith and Practice Revision Committee of Baltimore Yearly Meeting.
Advices
Meetings can consciously cultivate fellowship and community. The Meeting is enriched when all members and attenders participate actively. The working of the Spirit in our lives is expressed through ministry, pastoral caring for each other, and the example provided by lives lived in the Light. As we worship, work, and laugh together, we forge bonds of trust, understanding, and communication.
When need arises to address contentious issues, they then may be addressed openly and honestly. Conflict thus experienced can also build trust and intimacy. When resolution is not immediate, the Meeting can make room for different expressions of continuing revelation, while persisting in earnest search for unity. The larger Quaker community has many resources that can help meetings address internal conflict. Convictions that might divide or disrupt a Meeting can, through God’s grace, help to make it creative and strong.
Queries
What helps our Meeting build trust of one another?
How do we get to know one another in community?
How do we make time in our lives for our faith community?
How do our conflicts have the potential to enrich the life of our community?
Voices
The community thrives and is nourishing to its members not because its members are special people – on the contrary, they are very ordinary human beings – but because God is active in their lives, helping them rise above their personal standards and ideals to live together in a special way that blesses each other and the larger community in which they live. The ability of Friends to be in community with one another is a testimony to the continuing and redeeming presence of the Holy Spirit in their individual lives and in the community’s midst, giving the grace and love to enable them to live with and love one another in the midst of all the problems, trials, and misunderstandings that humans create for one another when they try to be a community.
- Lloyd Lee Wilson, 1993
We may let God work when we yield to the reknitting of the worshiping community itself as the members are drawn nearer to the center and to each other. The community that has no such common experience to gather it into an inward fellowship as children of a single loving Father, has not yet experienced the deepest fellowship of all.
- Douglas Steere, 1940
How can I participate in a fairer distribution of resources unless I live in a community which makes it possible to consume less? How can I learn accountability unless I live in a community where my acts and their consequences are visible to all? How can I learn to share power unless I live in a community where hierarchy is unnatural? How can I take the risks which right action demands unless I belong to a community which gives support? How can I learn the sanctity of each life unless I live in a community where we can be persons, not roles, to one another?
- Parker Palmer, 1977
Friends who restrict their experience of the Society to their local Meeting are missing rich experiences of fellowship in the wider community. Quarterly, Half-yearly and Yearly Meetings as well as larger gatherings provide opportunities for Friends of all ages to broaden their experience of the Society and the circle of their spiritually-based friendships.
- Baltimore Yearly Meeting Faith & Practice, 1988
4-2 Welcome of Visitors Approximately 37 Friends were present. Friends welcomed Betsy Bramon, an attender since 2007, who is attending Meeting for Business (MfB) for the first time. Friends also welcomed Tom Chiles, a recent attender, to his first MfB and Mike Gilbert from Arch Street Friends Meeting.
4/11-3 Clerks’ Report David Etheridge, Clerk, reported that FMW Attender Evan North died on April 4, 2011. Young Adult Friends hosted a memorial meeting for this Friend on April 7. There will also be an interfaith memorial service at Georgetown University on April 16. The Clerk announced that the father of Martha Solt and the mother of Steve Coleman have recently died. Next First Day, Baltimore Yearly Meeting will meet with interested Friends to conduct a Meeting for Visioning . They will discuss many topics including nurturing worship, clarifying ministry, supporting our meeting and supporting the greater Quaker fellowship. The meeting will be in the Meeting Room at rise of worship. Laura Johnston Kohl will speak on Saturday, April 30, from 10:00 to Noon about her book, Jonestown Survivor. Friend Kohl joined the Peoples' Temple in 1970 and experienced the tragic death of her community at Jonestown. Her book reflects on this experience.
4/11-4 Spiritual State of the Meeting Report Gray Handley, on behalf of Ministry & Worship, presented the committee's Spiritual State of the Meeting Report (see attached). This year's report was informed by the Meeting's first-ever electronic survey; more than 145 Friends contributed. The response itself represents a deep commitment from Meeting members and attenders to the Meeting. A number of Action Items were mentioned in the survey; these will be gathered, reviewed and distributed by M&W. The report lies over for a month, as is our custom. Friends are welcome to provide feedback to the committee over the next month.
The Clerk led us in worship sharing concerning this report.
- A Friend expressed surprise that we felt as if we were doing service to the community. She urged us to do more on behalf of our own Meeting, and do more to advocate for statehood for DC.
- A Friend asked a clarifying question about what might make it difficult for people to attend. Gray reported that many people responded to this question by naming distance from FMW, physical access issues, and alienation from the Meeting. Gray said that many responses to this and other questions mentioned a longing for the Meeting to connect with them as individuals and to be more welcoming. The committee acknowledges this need and longing, and also acknowledges that part of the connection needs to come from the individuals themselves.
- A Friend asked about the issue of seeking racial diversity. Gray affirmed that this is a concern, which is spoken to in the report.
- A Young Adult would like to see more about the community contributions of Young Adult Friends. Gray found two places in the report to add this information.
- A Friend asked about how the committee gathered feedback for those who don't have access to the Internet. Gray reported that the committee gathered about 25-30 written responses prior to doing the survey.
- The Friend also mentioned his concern about the Quaker House Meeting for Worship, which he feels is quieter than it has been in the past and may need more nurturing from M&W. This concern will be added to M&W's list of “Action Items.”
- A Friend spoke to her concern about a lack of community between the two 10:30 meetings. She would like the Meeting to consider how to pull the two groups together. This concern arose in the survey, Gray said. However, survey responses also included a deep appreciation for the availability of several different meetings for worship, each with its own characteristics. A Friend said how much she valued having a smaller group for worship. She does not feel as if the Quaker House worshipers are a separate community, but that the group makes it possible for them to belong to a community this large.
- A Friend mentions that we laid down Friendship Preparative Meeting this year, and would like to see this loss reflected in the report.
- Martha Willcox, a member of Ministry & Worship, commented on the dichotomy of responses. On nearly every point, she said, there were positives and negatives. For each of us, the very thing we hold most dear in the Meeting is, in fact, a problem for some other Friend. We need to be patient and respectful with each other to negotiate these differences and deeply listen to one another.
- A Friend spoke about how this Meeting nurtures individuals and how that nurturing is carried out into the wider community. He feels that what he learns here is crucial to his ability to carry out his work in the world. Friends would like to see this deeply felt comment reflected in the report.
- A Friend urged us to seek and listen to the perspective of children and young people in this Meeting.
- Kevin Camp, member of Ministry & Worship, spoke to the written responses to the survey as reflecting the kinds of tensions you find in a family.
- A Friend thanked the committee for exploring this new technology to evoke a fuller understanding of the Meetings. She noted that we are a “peculiar” Meeting, with an extremely diverse membership. She is especially delighted that survey responders spoke positively about their individual experience of committee work.
4/11-5 Membership Committee
Harry Massey, Clerk of the Membership Committee, presented the Committee's recommendations for Membership
1. Ray Allard Friend Massey read part of a letter written by Ray Allard which spoke to his leading to join FMW after attending for many years. The recommendation lies over for a month, as if our custom.
2. Michael North David made the second presentation of this recommendation. The Meeting APPROVED this membership.
Transfer of Membership
- Peter Guerrerofrom Friends Meeting of Washington to Port Townsend (Washington) Friends Meeting. Friends APPROVED this transfer.
- Kevin Campfrom Birmingham (Alabama) Friends Meeting to Friends Meeting of Washington. David made the second presentation of this recommendation. Friends APPROVED.
4/11 – 6 Marriage and Family Relations Committee
Susan Griffin, Clerk of Marriage and Family Relations, gave the second presentation of the committee's request for Marriage under Care of the Meeting of Justin Connor and Mohamad Olabi. Friends APPROVED. The marriage will be Saturday, June 4. The Oversight Committee will be Susan Griffin, Mary Campbell, Joe Izzo, Tom Libbert, John Meyer, Laura Nell Obaugh, Shelley Karliner, Debby Churchman, and Gerri Williams.
Susan Griffin also reported that Mark Meinke and Frank Taylor were married in good order under the care of the Meeting on March 26, 2011.
4/11 – 7 Nominating Committee
Marcia Reecer, Interim Clerk of the Nominating Committee, presented the committee's nomination of Hayden Wetzel as Co-clerk of the Membership Committee for a term ending in December 2011. Friends APPROVED.
4/11 – 8 Personal Aid Committee
Janet Dinsmore, Clerk of Personal Aid, presented that committee's annual report (see attached). The Committee has a Confidential Emergency Form available for Friends to complete so that FMW will know how best to assist them and their loved ones in the case of incapacitation or death. The forms will be maintained in a special file, available only if there is such a crisis. The committee would like to hold an end-of-life workshop this Fall. The committee spends part of each of its meetings holding individuals in the Light. Please let them know names of individuals you would like to them to include in this practice. They would also like volunteers to drive, cook meals, and provide other needed services to members in need. The committee is giving a certificate of appreciation to Bob Meehan, whose treasure bread has provided funds for the committee for many years.
Friends recommended that the form include a return address and be available electronically. A Friend also asked that the End of Life workshop include information about extended care services that might be available for Friends and their loved ones.
4/11 – 9 Updates
Interim Meeting– Interim Meeting of Baltimore Yearly Meeting was held March 26 at Langley Hill Friends Meeting. Ann Riggs spoke from Friends Theological Seminary in Kaimosi, Kenya. Friends enjoyed being in the renovated Meetinghouse.
Capital Improvements Taskforce– Ken Forsberg reported on behalf of the Taskforce. The taskforce meets every two weeks; the issues are very multi-dimensional, and the discussion is taking some time. The group has toured the building and made extensive notes.
Ministry & Worship– Gray Handley, on behalf of M&W, gave an update about hearing concerns in the Meeting Room. The committee concurs that having a microphone would be spiritually rewarding in the case of special speakers and workshops. Having such a microphone and passing it around would not be spiritually rewarding during Meetings for Worship, however, as it would be too intrusive and interfere with centering practice. The committee looks forward to hearing the Property Committee's recommendations about this concern. The committee urges them to test these solutions with specific individuals who have expressed hearing concerns.
Re: latecomers—the committee will create a sign to put on the doors asking late-comers to wait until 10:50 before entering the Meeting room.
Re: The Guest book—the committee has discovered that nothing happens with this book. We are redesigning it, and will create a system to respond to those who sign it.
A Friend urged Friends to learn techniques that will help us be more audible at Meetings. Another Friend points out that our physical configuration during MfB is helping us with hearing concerns. If you have a hearing issue, he recommends that you sit in the front row, and move toward the center. A Friend asked that someone check the hearing devices to be sure that the batteries work, and to add a note on the announcements saying that such devices exist.
Finance and Stewardship Committee– Loie Clark, Clerk of F&S, gave an update. Contributions are on track for the fiscal year. Building revenue is under budget, but is still more than previous years. It is projected to surpass our investment income next year. Total expenses are significantly under budget because we are missing an office person and the bookkeeper is voluntarily reducing her hours. We may break even at the end of the fiscal year.
4/11 – 10 Adjournment
With approximately 36 Friends present, the meeting adjourned at 2:00 p.m. to reconvene as way opens on Sunday, May 8 at 11:45 a.m.
Attachments: Spiritual State of the Meeting
Personal Aid Committee Annual Report
Confidential Emergency Form-How to Assist Me and others in Case of Incapacitation or Death
Friends Meeting of Washington SpiritualStateof the Meeting (SSoM) – 2010
This year about 145 members, attenders, sojourners and others (about 50% were members) provided extensive, thoughtful comments on the spiritual state of our Meeting. With faith that they reflect caring and the Light within, these comments collectively reveal a deep appreciation for the spiritual home FMW provides nearly all of us and a sincere yearning to make our community even more welcoming, nurturing and spirit-centered. These responses also provide many observations our community may use as we strengthen our fellowship, assist each in their spiritual journey, make our physical space more accessible, address social concerns, and build caring relationships among ourselves and in the world.
“I love knowing that Meeting is alive.”
FMW remains large, diverse, transitory, and a magnet for seekers at all stages of their spiritual journey, which often includes individuals in need of an accepting, nurturing community. Some long for more cohesion and a deeper acquaintance with Quaker practice among FMW members and attenders; others find the flow and diversity of new Friends and seekers increases the Meeting’s vitality. Many hope for a more compassionate community where we collectively and as individuals embrace each other with respect, patience, attentive listening and an open appreciation of our differences – recognizing that all are seekers of the Light within.
“Meeting provides a space for focused worship and inspires bringing the Light into all actions. Silent worship helps me know what it feels like to be centered and still. Meeting keeps me grounded, focused and humble. At my best, I can carry this centeredness forward in the rest of my life.”
By far, our primary interest in FMW is Quaker worship. Over 96% of our survey respondents see the presence of the Spirit manifest in our Meetings for Worship. Social concerns, direct service, companionship and personal study and growth are seen as important but secondary priorities. Nearly a third of us also find the Spirit manifest in our Meetings for Worship with a Concern for Business, our committee work or our social and learning interactions. While most of us attend the 10:30 a.m. Meeting for Worship, many appreciate the variety of worship opportunities FMW offers, each with its own character and varying amounts of vocal ministry. Many still feel that our community would benefit from a deeper individual understanding of spirit-led vocal ministry and of when and where political messages are appropriate. Over half of our community attends Meeting for Worship at least twice a month but many are unable to attend due to family issues or because they live outside the Washington area. Some feel alienated by messages that seem self-generated rather than Spirit led.
“[FMW] is the center from which I can stand. Learning from other friends, watching as we all struggle and stumble and experiment and reconnect with the Holy Spirit”
During this year many have sensed a trend toward spiritual revitalization, highlighted by the growing number of young friends and children, volunteer efforts that have refreshed our buildings and gardens, committee activities devoted to welcoming newcomers and healing and reconciliation, and a more inclusive approach to our ongoing enhanced access and renovation project. Many also continued to find spiritual inspiration in Friendly 8s, inquirers class, the Shoebox Project, peace and social concern programs and other learning and service activities. Some, however, still feel less integrated into FMW and hope that our meeting will continue to equally nurture families with and without children and individuals, while also more actively seeking racial diversity. Adequately communicating with and integrating Members and attenders who are at a distance or who feel alienated remains a challenge, as it does for many Quaker Meetings that do not rely on a “clergy” to provide individualized contact and attention. There is a deep concern that FMW depends heavily on a relatively small group of individuals to meet a large, complex set of Meeting and worldly needs. Serious concerns about honoring our fiscal obligations also continue. Many hope that more members and attenders will be reached by the Meeting and moved by the Spirit to take up activities that further build our spiritual community.
“I experience the FMW as a touchstone and I am encouraged that it endures.””[It] refreshes my spirit; reminds me that I am part of a corporate body seeking the Spirit in how I approach everything I do.”
As we move forward in the next year, the spiritual state of our meeting and our community is strong; however, there are also many who long for more connectivity and inclusiveness. Many feel that the Meeting does not respond meaningfully to their personal needs and hope that it will grow in its ability to supply spiritual nurture to members and attenders. As our survey respondents said, there is wonder and blessing in the spirituality FMW offers us now and there is promise in what it can become as we consider our shared concerns, move forward to meet our Meeting community’s needs, and turn to the Light for spiritual discernment and God’s guidance.
“In countless ways I carry the values and practices of Friends into daily life.” “I have Friends who are friends who support my spiritual journey. That keeps me coming back…It has been a great joy”
“The Meeting makes it too hard for people to come into it. From our peep-holed doors…to our answering machine message…a visitor could have a sense that [it] is only for those in the know.”
“Being a Member of FMW… I think about being a Quaker a lot in my life.” “It grounds me in what is important.” ”For me [it] is like returning to ‘the well’ or an oasis for nourishing.””[It] provides a spiritual space in my life...and for my family.”
“The Meeting’s light has been under a bushel for too long…the losses of the AIDS Coffeehouse, Senior Center, bazaar, and other programs need to be countered with new ways to reach out, engage, and bear witness; at the same time we must ‘in-reach’ to nourish all in our beloved community.”
‘I cannot get through the week happily if I have not been to meeting for worship”.
“Once upon a time it served as the foundation of my life – it helped me raise my kids and gave me a way to see the world in a positive and loving way. The last couple of years I attended, I would leave feeling angry every Sunday.”
“The Meeting provides a strong spiritual anchor in my life. It helps me turn to silence and sustenance, witness and wonder, love and Light.” “I am reminded to see the Light within others, to withhold absolute judgment, to reach out, to live simply, to be a good steward for the environment, to pray and to take time for silent meditation.”
Personal Aid Committee
Friends Meeting of Washington
Annual Report, April 2011
We must be concerned about the welfare of every member of the Meeting community. While Friends need to guard against prying or invasion of privacy, it is nevertheless essential that Meetings be aware of the spiritual and material needs of members of the community and express caring concern in appropriate ways. –Faith and Practice, BYM
Committee Members: Pam Callard, Jim Steen, Patty Murphy, Sara Satterthwaite, Zoe Plaugher, Elisabeth Johnson, Steve Williams, Janet Dinsmore, clerk
The Personal Aid Committee meets monthly to review new or ongoing needs of FMW community members who have sought the Committee’s help or been referred by others, explore unmet needs in the Meeting that we might work on, plan special assistance/public awareness projects, and address concerns that have brought to our attention. Its deliberations are confidential, and we strive to maintain the privacy of Friends while responding to their needs. The Committee was diligently clerked by Merry Pearlstein and Mary Campbell in the past year prior to 2011, and we are grateful to have two longstanding members of the Committee still with us: Pam Callard and Jim Steen. We also depend heavily on numerous individuals outside the Committee who serve as additional resources for responding to special needs.
The Committee attempts to meet its responsibility for “caring concern” by providing practical assistance designed primarily to meet short-term needs such as shopping assistance, meal deliveries, transportation, cleaning/moving help, compassionate support, or limited financial assistance in the wake of an illness or other kind of incapacitating crisis. We listen, identify expert resources, visit, make telephone calls, track down absent friends and family, and take people out for friendly meals. We also send cards and sometimes flowers, and struggle to find ways to best meet the needs of individuals suffering chronic, long-term infirmities or substantial material needs.
One of the most challenging situations for the Personal Aid Committee occurs when an individual connected with the Meeting appears to be deeply troubled, lacking, at least temporarily, the emotional or physical resources to cope, yet refuses assistance. Sometimes, we find, to our relief, another Meeting member or attender has forged a relationship with the person and been allowed to step in. However, aside from considering discreet ways the Committee might be of assistance, sometimes all we can do is to hold such individuals in the Light and wait for way to open.
Experience and anecdotes have also confirmed that some members and attenders fear an outreach to the Committee will result in public knowledge of their personal situation. All we can do is to state and demonstrate that the Committee’s work is held in confidence. We take the commitment to privacy very seriously.
Four Requests
- Several instances recently have highlighted the urgency for members of the FMW community to renew or fill out for the first time a confidential emergency form providing contact information in the case of an incapacitating event or death. The forms will be maintained in a special file, available only if there is such a crisis. The form is attached to this report, and copies will be available in the Information Rack in the Meeting House hall, in Quaker House, on the website, and in newsletters. Please complete this new form as soon as possible, regardless of whether you did ten years ago. We will try to remind people periodically to update the form if necessary.
- The Committee plans to hold an “End-of-Life Workshop” this October at which a legal expert will present information on preparing wills, financial/health power of attorney documents, living will requests, and possibly other key information that individuals should maintain. Some years ago, there was a similar session, but we believe it’s time to do it again. Our request: Send your comments and recommendations to Committee members; let fellow FMWers know about it, and come if at all possible, once it is scheduled.
- We are setting aside time in each Personal Aid Committee meeting to hold individuals in the Light. Please, please let us know (by email or phone to a member) whom you would like us to remember when we meet. Most churches schedule a time in their worship to pray for individuals in need of special support; some list them in weekly church programs. While Quakers lack such formal acknowledgment, we can focus loving kindness in other ways.
- The Committee’s effectiveness relies on the availability of others to assist when specific needs arise. We call on those whom we know, which often means that a few generous and hard-working individuals bear too heavy a burden. We need more people to call: for transporting members to Meeting, making and delivering an occasional meal, taking someone to the hospital, or making a telephone call to an isolated Friend.
THANK YOU, BOB MEEHAN!
For the past ten years at least, the sales of Bob Meehan’s Treasure Bread have enriched the budget of the Personal Aid Committee. This resource has enabled gifts to individuals in critical need of emergency funds, help with travel to Quaker gatherings, emergency loans, food purchases, and a myriad of other expenditures on behalf of individuals seeking help. We have a Certificate of Appreciation for Bob—a tiny token of our gratitude.
Janet Dinsmore, clerk
Please Note: After receiving feedback these forms may be revised. For or a blank form- or to submit a form, contact the FMW Office.
Friends Meeting of Washington
Confidential Emergency Form
How to Assist Me and Others in Case of My Incapacitation or Death
Date: _________________
Name: _________________________________________________________
Street: _________________________________________________________
City: _______________________________ State: ___________ Zip: ____________________
Home Phone: (______) __________ - _____________(Work): (______) __________ - ________________
Cell: (______) __________ - ________________
Email: _____________________________________@_______________________________________
Birth date: _________________________
Place of Birth and Citizenship: __________________________________
Children, other dependents, pets, and plants to be cared for:
(Explain especially what would be needed in the first 48 hours of your absence)
Immediate Persons to be notified:
Person(s) with whom I live: _______________________________________________
Work: (______) __________ - ________________ Cell: (______) __________ - ________________
Email: ______________________________________________________________________________
Neighbor/friend: ____________________________________________________________
Home: (______) __________ - ________________
Work: (______) __________ - ________________ Cell: (______) __________ - ________________
Email: _____________________________________________________________________________________
Next of Kin and Relationship: ____________________________________________________________
Home: (______) __________ - ________________
Work: (______) __________ - ________________ Cell: (______) __________ - ________________
Email: _____________________________________________________________________________________
Street: _________________________________________________________
City: _______________________________ State: ___________ Zip: ____________________
Other Close Relatives:________________________________________________________________
Home:____________________________________________Work:_______________________________
Email:_________________________________________________________________________________________
Personal physician: ____________________________________________________________
Work: (______) __________ - ________________ Cell: (______) __________ - ________________
Email: _____________________________________________________________________________________
Attorney: ____________________________________________________________
Work): (______) __________ - ________________ (Cell): (______) __________ - ________________
Email: _____________________________________________________________________________________
Employer: ____________________________________________________________
Primary Number: (______) __________ - ________________
Office/Extension: (______) __________ - ________________
Personnel/Human Resource Office: (______) __________ - ________________
FMW NEWSLETTER
May 2010
SUMMER EVENTS
William Penn House
William Penn House, a Quaker Center on Capitol Hill, hosts monthly potluck dinners the first Sunday of the month at 6:30 p.m. There is a topic, speaker and open discussion afterwards. 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 centered programs and seminars. On Sunday, May 1, at 6:30 p.m. the potluck and discussion will be the finale of the weekend workshop presented by Byron Sandford, a member of FMW, and Brad Ogilvie, a member of Downers Grove Friends Meeting, Illinois Yearly Meeting. The weekend workshop is: An Open Dialogue: Challenges and Quakerism. This workshop will explore: What does it mean to be a Quaker? What challenges do you see among Quakers? Are we open to each other and can we share what we have in common and accept others paths?
When we welcome people into our lives and we act as hosts, providing safe places for many truths to be spoken and heard with love, unexpected and wonderful things can happen and lives can truly be transformed. It seems so much of our culture and our movements are divisive - often to the point that righteousness drives like minded people apart from each other. Too often, people feel that their truth is The Truth or their way is The Way. It is hospitality that allows us to come together and share in the many truths and many ways.
The goal of the workshop is simply to provide a warm place where those gathered can share their hopes, dreams and vision. We ask that people recognize that we do not seek to persuade people in any way. It is an exercise in hospitality - for us to be together, learn together and grow together. We will not agree on all things, and even where we might agree, we will not agree on how we got there. We do ask that we agree to just listen, feel free to speak our truth while allowing others to do the same.
Given the small numbers of people worldwide who identify as Quakers and the deep divide we feel, there is a unique role for Radical Hospitality among Friends. It will challenge Quakers every day to strive to improve - recognizing that we are always in the process of growing. We have found that when we learn as much about ourselves as we do about others we seek to bridge the differences in our beliefs, between our rhetoric and our actions. We ask ourselves, how can we be instruments of peace if we emphasize the “otherness”, the differences, and imply that we hear and speak the truth - and that those with other paths do not? To open ourselves to that of God in all people, we must shed the view that there is only one path.
Join this workshop and/or the Sunday evening potluck and join in this open dialogue while we share our Universal, non-theistic, Christ centered, Buddhist inspired journeys of the spirit.
On Wednesday, May 25, 7:00 p.m. to 9 p.m. the William Penn House will present an evening titled “Quaker Artist and Public Witness”.Quaker performance artist Peterson Toscano returns to William Penn House and performs feats of activism from the stage while artist and author Glen Retrief reveals, through his writing, injustice in the world and within himself. Peterson will be “pulling” from his stage performances; Glen will read from his recently published “The Jack Bank: Memoirs of a South African Childhood”.
Join the weekly Yoga class at the William Penn House on Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. All ages and skill levels are welcome. There is a charge of $15 per class.
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 May 8, at 9:15 a.m. in the Assembly Room. John Scales will discuss Herbert Hoover. The Adult study group will discuss Quaker leaders when meeting on May 22, June 5, and June 19, 2011. The group will meet in the Assembly Room at 9:15 a.m. It is not mandatory to attend every group meeting if a F/friend is interested in participating. For questions or more information, contact John Scales.
FMW’s Senior Center
Programs of slides or talks are held on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month in the Decatur Place Room at 1:30 p.m. On Wednesday, May 11, Carol Coffee will present a slide how on Italy II. On Wednesday, May 25, Clem Swisher will present a slideshow on “Backpacking in the Grand Teton”.
Friends Campus Open House
Dear Friends and Neighbors:
We invite you to join us for a campus open house after worship on May 15, 2011. The teams at Tostan and Promundo, Sara Ramey from the American Friends Service Committee and your very own Meg Green invite you to visit our working spaces, learn about our work, meet the people behind the organizations, and share light refreshments. What's more, we're all very eager to thank you for hosting us in your beautiful space and for helping us to build a community of individuals committed to social justice worldwide.
We look forward to meeting you on the 15th!
Living Our Queries
Please join Friends as we discover how the monthly queries, advices and voices connect with our daily spiritual experiences. The group meets the fourth Sunday of each month at 9:15 a.m. in the Quaker House Living Room. Participating in this monthly discussion can lead both long time Friends to a “deeper understanding” of the queries, and help newcomers better understand Quakers, our practices, our beliefs and our spiritual lives. The next session of Living Our Queries, is on Sunday May 22, and the queries to be discussed are “Listening”. For further information
contact Tracy Hart.
Meeting for Worship for Marriage
Justin Connor and Mohamad Olabi will be married under the care of Friends Meeting of Washington on Saturday June 4, 2011. The Meeting for Worship will begin at 12:00 noon at the Meeting House. All are welcome. For more information or to RSVP your attendance, please call 202-709-7560 or email Justin Connor.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
FriendsWilderness Center
On Saturday May 14, at 10:00 a.m. Friends Wilderness Center offers a program on Poetry as a Pathway to Peace. In this program, Hayden Mathews, regional eco-historian, lecturer and writer will use poetry and prose passages to explore the different dimensions of “place”: how we are connected to places; how they nourish and sustain us; what makes a given location a “place”; what sets “places”’ apart from “non-places” in our hearts and minds; and how we come to know places. Hayden will give participants time to reflect on those places that have special connections for them and thus each participant should bring a pen and a small journal or writing paper in/on which to collect thoughts and impressions of these places. Weather permitting the program will be held in the tree house where, held in the arms of a leafy elder, we can celebrate the joys, sorrows, and blessings of “places” and share (if we wish) memories of places that figure large in our lives.
On Saturday, May 21 at 10:00 a.m.Friends Wilderness Center ishosting an Open House. Come and tour the Center or go on a hike. Everyone is welcome. Friends Wilderness Center is located at 305 Friends Way, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia 25425. For more information contact Sheila Bach at 304-728-4820.
From the Vault
A monthly series of edited extracts from the historical material of the Friends Meeting of Washington.
Friends Service Committee of Westchester County
12 Jan 1931
Dear Friend,
It was my exquisite privilege to be present at the first religious service held in the new Meeting House In Washington. President and Mrs. Hoover were there and both are intensely interested in the new project.
No publicity had been given in advance of the opening and, in fact, the normal Sunday morning crowd was standing outside the old Meeting House [on Irving St NW] in anticipation of seeing the President enter. All but a half dozen of the 350 seats were occupied and very few other than Friends were present, there being a large number of visiting Friends from Philadelphia, Baltimore and other Meetings.
The Meeting House is beautiful in its simplicity and a perfect type of the conventional of 200 years ago. It was a typical Friends Meeting and a beautiful spirit prevailed which was appreciated by all. The room allocated to Westchester Friends to furnish is the one in which the ceiling is composed of the old beams taken out of the White House. Most of the furniture has already arrived and it is very attractive. The cost is $350, payment of which I guaranteed upon behalf of the Friends of Westchester County.
Very sincerely,
Clement M. Biddle
[The Westchester Room is our current office. A plaque giving the name was on the door until a paint job a few years and we might put it back some time, but the furniture has clearly been dispersed.]
File: BUILDINGS: Historical -- Fundraising 1930s
Hayden Wetzel
FMW Historian
News of Friends
FMW member Dave Wetzel will marry Annie Nguyen on May 15, 2011 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dave’s “Best Man” is his old friend from FMW- Jorge Sanchez. Jorge plans on getting married in July 2011 and Dave will be his “Best Man”.