June 2011 Newsletter
Printer-friendly versionCONTENTS
Minutes for May Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business
Attachments to Minutes:
Budget (available on this website - click "Committees"; then click "Finance"; then click "2012 Budget")
Memorial Minute for Elizabeth (Betty) Morris
Spiritual State of the Meeting Report 2010
FRIENDS MEETING OF WASHINGTON NEWSLETTER
Personal Aid Emergency Contact Form
FRIENDS MEETING OF WASHINGTON
MONTHLY MEETING FOR WORSHIP WITH A CONCERN FOR BUSINESS
May 8, 2011
5/11- 1 Opening The Meeting opened at noon with a period of silent worship. David Etheridge served as Clerk, Meg Greene as Alternate Clerk, and Debby Churchman as Recording Clerk. The clerks read Advices, Queries and Voices concerning Listening which have been proposed by the Faith and Practice Revision Committee of Baltimore Yearly Meeting.
Advices
Speak with your own, authentic voice, using the terms true to your experience. Encourage and welcome others to do the same. Hearing truth as others understand it is a way of deepening your own faith.
Just as compassionate listening can be a healing experience, inattentive conversation can be unkind and hurtful. Undivided attention is a precious gift.
Read between the lines. Listen between the words.
Queries
When is it hardest for me to be ready to listen?
To what extent do I open myself to the risks of listening? How have I been changed by deeply listening to another?
What gets in the way when I seek to translate the ideas, perceptions, thoughts, and feelings of another into familiar terms? When is this most likely to happen?
Voices
Listening is a rare happening among human beings. You cannot listen to the word another is speaking if you are preoccupied with your appearance, or with impressing the other, or are trying to decide what you are going to say when the other stops talking, or are debating about whether what is being said is true or relevant or agreeable. Such matters have their place, but only after listening to the word as the word is being uttered. Listening is a primitive act of love in which a person gives himself to another’s word, making himself accessible and vulnerable to that word.
–William Stringfellow, Friend’s Journal
With the gift of listening comes the gift of healing, because listening to your brothers and sisters until they have said the last words in their hearts is healing and consoling.
–Catherine de Hueck Doherty
As we learn from each other, we may initially need to translate the words other Friends use to describe their faith, much as we would a foreign language. With practice this becomes easier, and although we may never adopt their language as our own, we are enriched and brought closer to each other by the ongoing practice of being able to listen outside the comfort of our own religious vocabulary. We rejoice in the Grace of a God who speaks to each of us in a voice we can understand, but who also provides others to help us understand those things which are outside our own experience.
Faith and Practice Revision, 2006 New England Yearly Meeting , Second Draft: “Introduction.”
It is a powerful discipline for the "listener" to try to listen without agenda, without the compulsion to help, abandoning the need or desire to appear knowledgeable, wise or comforting. There may be no more tellingly difficult spiritual practice than the effort to receive what is being said by someone else hospitably, without editing, without correction, without unsolicited advice. Yet it is this open listening that makes room for the Spirit of God to be present in the midst of the interaction, illuminating and guiding what is taking place… As we listen in this way, particularly in the beginning, we often learn more about ourselves than we do about the person we are trying to hear. We learn the limitations of our hospitality, where our resistances to the reality of the other person lie, how we require others to conform to our ideological structures and ways of expression before we will receive truth as they see it, how unprepared we are to trust in the capacity of others to work out their own solutions with divine assistance. –Patricia Loring, Listening Spirituality
5/11 – 2 Welcome of Visitors Approximately 33 Friends were present. Friends welcomed Glenn Parkinson, Mary Melchior, and Jorge Sanchez, all from Washington, D.C., and Margaret Edwards from Virginia.
5/11 – 3 Clerks’ Report David Etheridge, Clerk, announced the upcoming wedding of Justin Connor and Mohamad Olabi on June 4, 2011 at noon. All Friends are invited. A Memorial meeting for Raoul Kuhlberg will be held on Saturday, June 25, 2011 at 10 am..
MAJOR ITEMS
5/11 – 4 Fiscal Year 2012 budget Loie Clark, Clerk of Finance & Stewardship, gave the first presentation of the Fiscal Year 2012 budget (see attached). For the first time in a long while, the committee is projecting that FMW will be on budget at the end of the fiscal year, and may even have a surplus. This is largely due to not filling the second staff position, and to gaining revenue from rentals in Quaker House. Loie emphasized that we still need a vibrant flow of contributions to maintain income. Income from investment will decrease slightly from 5% to 4.5%, but our earned income from rentals is expected to surpass investment income. Donations and grants will rise to $8,000, split equally among 4 Quaker organizations—AFSC, FCNL, William Penn House, and the Baltimore Yearly meeting Camping Program. Our apportionment to Baltimore Yearly Meeting has decreased, partially because we were overcharged in previous years. The committee recommends that half of any surplus be kept in general reserves, and the other half used for capital improvements.
Friends asked several clarifying questions, wanting more specific details about the capital reserve fund, the funding of each committee, the donations to Friends' organizations, and personnel and consultant expenses. The full budget document, which will be posted on Tuesday, will include these details, and Friends are welcome to send the committee specific questions. Questions and answers will be posted on the FMW listserv as well.
A Friend asked that the full budget be printed out and left in the office so that those who don't have access to it via the Internet may view it.
A Friend thanked the committee for its hard work.
A Friend expressed her dis-ease over the budget's shift to hiring more people and relying on tenants for increased income. Loie agreed that this was a troubling trend.
The budget is held over for one month, as is our custom. Some Friends asked that we consider passing a provisional budget in June, if necessary.
5/11 – 5 Spiritual State of the Meeting Report Gray Handley of Ministry & Worship gave the second presentation of the Spiritual State of the Meeting report (see attached), which incorporates suggested changes from last month.
A Friend emphasized the lines from the report having to do with messages in Meeting that are too political or perhaps not Spirit-led. The committee agrees that this is a troubling problem, and is focused on leading meetings for worship in a way that emphasizes the need for each attender to practice spirit-led listening, supporting both the silence and the spoken word.
A Friend is disturbed that the report does not reflect a sense of individual responsibility to the Meeting and its community. It is a list of individual needs and the ways the Meeting has succeeded or failed in meeting those needs. Debby Churchman of the Ministry & Worship Committee agreed that this sense was present in the survey. It may just be an artifact of the way the survey was written, or it may be capturing an artifact of our individualistic society, or it may very well be present at FMW.
Another Friend longed for more of an overall view in the report which would synthesize survey results. Gray says that the survey results showed the many, many different streams of spiritual seeking present at FMW, rather than showing one large, homogenized organization. We are more like a rope twisted together from many parts than formed of one single strand. (This line will be added to the report.)
Faith Williams, Clerk of Ministry & Worship, says that in addition to this report, the committee will be compiling a list of specific prescriptive suggestions that were generated by the survey and sharing them with the appropriate committees.
Friends APPROVED this report with the addition of the one line. The committee will forward this report to Baltimore Yearly Meeting.
MILESTONES
5/11 – 6 Memorial Minute for Betty Morris Meg Greene read the memorial minute for Friend Betty Morris (see attached). Friends expressed deep appreciation for this good Friend. Friends APPROVED this minute, with one slight change.
5/11 – 7 Marriage & Family Justine Kalas-Reeves presented the committee's recommendation that FMW take the marriage of Jorge Obando Lobo Guerrero Sanchez-Norman and Margaret Anne Edwards under its care. Jorge grew up in this Meeting. This request will lie over for one month, as is our custom.
5/11 – 8 Membership Committee
Recommendations for Membership
1. Susan Griffin Jean Capps from the Membership committee presented the committee's recommendation for membership of Susan Griffin. This recommendation lies over for one month, as is our custom.
2. Ray Allard David Etheridge gave the second presentation for membership of Ray Allard. Friends APPROVED this recommendation.
REPORTS AND OTHER BUSINESS
5/11 – 9 Nominating Committee Marcia Reecer, Interim Clerk of the Nominating Committee, gave a report on how waivers are used at FMW to allow non-members to serve on committees and as clerks (see attached). The committee intends to hold two sessions to discern the role that membership should play in committee work in the Meeting. She asks that Friends reflect on the seven questions asked by the Nominating Committee at these sessions, which will be held on May 31 at 7:00 pm and June 5 at rise of Meeting. The questions and dates will be posted on the listserv, and the sessions will be listed in the announcements. The committee will report back to the next Meeting for Business about the discussion, and will at that time present the Nominating Committee's recommendations.
A Friend said that she thinks this topic reveals the disconnect between the different committees and activities, and asks that FMW consider ways to create better links.
SUMMARY REPORTS
5/11 – 10 Senior Center David Etheridge summarized the written report about the Senior Center The Senior Center group meets twice monthly with about four people.
5/11 – 11 Mary Walcott-Lucy Foster Scholarship Fund David Etheridge summarized the written report about the scholarship fund. This Fund supports D.C. Area Quaker children to attend Quaker schools. Last year, it supported two students through funds raised at a holly sale and an Afghan dinner.
5/11 – 12 Garden Committee David Etheridge summarized the committee's report. The committee believes that the garden has never looked better. The committee welcomes newcomers.
5/11 – 13 Adjournment With approximately 27 Friends present, the meeting adjourned at 2:00 p.m. to reconvene as way opens on Sunday, June 12, 2011 at 11:45 a.m.
Attachments: Budget (available online at quakersdc.org; click committees then Finance; then 2012 budget
Spiritual Stateof the Meeting 2010
Memorial Minute for Betty Morris
Nominating Committee queries RE: waivers and membership
Friends Meeting of Washington Spiritual State of the Meeting (SSoM) – 2010
Spiritual State of the Meeting 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.”
Like an entwined rope of many fibers rather than a single strand, FMW remains large, diverse, transitory, and a magnet for seekers at all stages of their spiritual journey, which 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; Meeting keeps me grounded, focused and humble.” ”What I learn in Meeting is crucial to [my] ability to work passionately in the world.”
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 secondary priorities. Nearly a third of us find the Spirit manifest in our Meetings for Worship with a Concern for Business, committee work or social and learning interactions like Young Adult Friends. While most of us attend the 10:30 a.m. Meetings 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 engagement of Young Adult 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 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 FMW will continue to equally nurture families with and without children and individuals, while also much 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 moved by the Meeting and the Spirit to shoulder personal responsibility and take up activities that 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.”
Elizabeth“Betty” Cole Morris
(17 May 1915 – 9 October 2010)
Our Friend Betty Morris (as she was always known) lived a life of vigorous witness for the cause of peace and social justice. She also is remembered by us for innumerable small acts of kindness given with love and humility. She was a woman of strong beliefs and a willingness to work to see her goals met.
Elizabeth Cole was born into a family of social and political activists in Elma, Washington in 1915. She was a convinced pacifist by the time she attended college, when she joined the activities of Friends House in Seattle and when she married Robert Stevens, also a peace activist. During her years as a wife and mother – often moving to accommodate her husband's career – she taught drama in public schools and colleges and served as a speech therapist. In 1966 she married John Morris, her second husband, who died after ten happy years together. She had two children and several grandchildren.
Friend Betty's social views initially led her into the Unitarian-Universalist church, but regular attendance at Friends' worship in William Penn House (near her Capitol Hill home) and at Friends Meeting of Washington led her to a differnt spiritual path. As she wrote in her 1985 letter of application for membership: “The journey ahead through . . . silent communion . . . is one I shall undertake in humility and prayer that I can learn.” She formally joined our meeting in 1988.
During her attendance at our Meeting, Betty was most visible for her commitment to monthly letter-writing on behalf of Amnesty International (she reported 204 letters sent from one session as the record) and for stepping forward to organize pot-luck lunches when that fellowship has nearly died out. (She called this “fellowship-via-the-culinary-arts”.) She maintained her enthusiasm for the work of William Penn House, frequently hosting visitors when the house was full. Letters in her Personal File testify to her deep concern for the private concerns of Friends. (“Your mother's needs have been on my mind since we talked on Sunday” is typical.)
In her retirement she picked up her early love of writing, publishing a volume of poetry (Waiting forClimbers) and a novel (Falling, I Find Wings). During her last, housebound years she continued to display her gentle, warm concern for Friends and their world, not complaining of her gradual loss of mobility but rather sending the Meeting regular notes of thanks for small kindnesses and of encouragement of our activities, often with useful insights. “I'd like to be remembered some day at my memorial service,” she wrote with some papers she had sent for inclusion in her file, and Friends of this Meeting continue to remember her fondly.
Nominating Committee Queries
The Nominating Committee asks the FMW community to reflect on the following question and discussion points. The issue of committee membership will be brought up at the June 2011 Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business. In the meantime the committee will schedule two Meetings for Discernment (dates to be announced) to give us a chance to hear one another as we seek our answer to this question.
Should membership on specified FMW committees and committee clerkships be limited to FMW members?
Currently, some standing committees are open only to FMW members. As well, clerks of all standing committees are required to be members. These requirements can be waived by the Meeting for Business. (The committees that require membership are Marriage and Family Relations, Membership, Ministry and Worship, Personnel, and Records and Handbook.
The Nominating Committee is charged with identifying suitable candidates to fill vacancies in the Meeting’s standing committees, and with proposing those candidates for approval to the Monthly Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business. We always consider a nominee’s appropriateness for the committee and, in the case of committee members, we get approval from the clerk of the committee in question. Because it can be difficult to find FMW members to fill all the clerkships and other positions in committees requiring FMW membership, we sometimes request waivers of the membership requirement.
However, the practice of using waivers to appoint nonmembers to positions that call for FMW membership has recently been called into question. Briefly, it is suggested that waivers dilute the importance of FMW membership and put deliberations that should be reserved for members into the hands of nonmembers. We invite the FMW community to look with open minds at the current system and at the desirability of various possible changes to it. We offer the following questions to guide (but not restrict) your reflections.
1. What do you think are the positive and/or negative effects, for the Meeting, of the requirement that certain committees be open only to FMW members?
2. What about the requirement that clerks of standing committees be members? Consider its positive and/or negative effects for the Meeting.
3. In thinking about the work of particular committees, what might be the positive/and or negative effects of the requirement that clerks be members?
4. Does this requirement have an impact on members and/or nonmembers and their relationship to the Meeting? Do you think it likely that the membership requirement encourages nonmembers to become members? Or might it dissuade them from becoming more active and make it less likely that they will join FMW?
5. Are there circumstances in which a particular nonmember might be preferred over an FMW member? What weight should we give to the commitment that a member of the Meeting has made in joining FMW? If joining FMW is a sign of commitment to the meeting, how do we expect those who are already members to demonstrate their commitment?
6. In the event that no qualified FMW member is willing to serve, would it better to leave a clerkship unfilled than to nominate a qualified nonmember? In the case of committees requiring membership, would it be better to ask the committee to operate with fewer members than to nominate a qualified nonmember?
7. What changes, if any, would you like to see to the present system? Should current restrictions be tightened? Should they be relaxed?
FMW Nominating Committee: Arne Paulson, Diane McDougall, Beth Cogswell, Margaret Greene, Merry Pearlstein, Marcia Reecer (interim clerk) May 2011
FMW NEWSLETTER
June 2011
Summer Events
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.
Adelphi Friends Meeting Annual Strawberry Festival
On Saturday June 4 from 10:00 a.m. to 4 p.m. come to the Annual Strawberry Festival where you can eat healthy and have fun. Adelphi Friends meting is located at 2303 Metzerott Road, Adelphi, Maryland. Besides being able to purchase fresh strawberries, used merchandise and gently used clothing is for sale. There will be fun activities for all ages. For more information, visit Adelphi Friends Meeting website, or call Kate Prager, (240) 447-0445.
William Penn House
William Penn House, a Quaker Center on Capitol Hill, hosts monthly potluck dinners the first Sunday of each month at 6:30 p.m. There is a topic, speaker and open discussion afterwards. All are welcome to come to the potlucks- bring a dish to share! In addition to the monthly potlucks, the William Penn House provides low cost accommodations and Quaker centered programs and seminars. On Sunday, June 5, at 6:30 p.m. the potluck and discussion will be about the Biennial International Aids Conference and will be presented by Brad Ogilvie, William Penn House Program Director, Daniel O’Neil, a local HIV advocacy organizer and Carl Schmid, Deputy Executive Director of the AIDS Institute.
In July, 2010 the global AIDS community will converge on Washington, DC for the Bienneal Global Conference. June 27 is also national HIV Testing Day. This month’s potluck will be a discussion about the state if HIV/AIDS nationally – the funding challenges, the statistics, the technology and the politics. We will also brainstorm ideas and actions that all people can take between June 27, 2011 and July, 2012 so that the Washington, DC community can welcome the world with compassion, knowledge and examples of progress. To do this will take a little effort from a lot of people (as opposed to a great effort from a few). We invite all people to be a part of this lively discussion and to hear what we can all do to make a difference.
Join the weekly Yoga class at William Penn House on Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. Certified Anusara instructor Elizabeth Goodman welcomes all skill levels and all ages. There is a $15 fee for each class.
William Penn House is located at 515 East Capitol Street SE, Washington, DC 20003. William Penn House is an alcohol and tobacco free facility.
FMW’s Senior Center
Programs of slides or talks are held the on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month in the Decatur Place Room at 1:30 p.m. On Wednesday, June 8, the program is to be determined. On Wednesday, June 22, Maurice Boyd will present a talk on Jule Styne, who wrote several Broadway shows, including Gypsy, and Funny Girl.
BYM Interim Meeting
On Saturday, June 18 Baltimore Yearly Meeting is meeting at York, Pennsylvania, for the Sixth Month Interim Meeting. Come and get to know Yearly Meeting Committees and Friends from other Meetings. Join Friends for morning committee meetings and the afternoon’s Interim Business Meeting. Friends will begin gathering at 10:00 a.m. at the Meeting House on 135 West Philadelphia St, York, Pennsylvania. For more information go to the BYM website.
Kulberg Memorial Meeting
The family of Raoul Kulberg invites the FMW community to two different Memorial Meetings for FMW member Raoul Kulberg, who died this past winter. On Friday, June 24, at the Avalon Theater at 5612 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20015 from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. the family will hold an informal “reception” to honor Raoul. They are holding this special event in honor of Raoul’s love of classic and old films. On Saturday, June 25, at 10:00 a.m. a Memorial Meeting will be held at Friends Meeting of Washington. A simple reception in the Assembly Room will be held following the Memorial Meeting.
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 June 26, and the queries to be discussed are “Integrity”. For further information contact Tracy Hart.
Please join the community in signing before Meeting for Worship on the third Sunday of the month. For the summer that is June 19 and July 17. Singing will be led by Chris Benz and start at 10:00 a.m. in the Meeting Room and continue until worship starts at 10:30 a.m. Song choice comes from either Rise Up Singing or the Quaker Hymnal.
Join the Records and Handbook Committee for a Brush with Our Past June 19
On First Day, June 19, join the Records and Handbook Committee for coffee in the Assembly Room. We will have available pictures of members of Friends Meeting of Washington from years past unearthed by our Meeting historian. Some still need to be identified. Maybe you can help!
Many of the photos may be a part of the Meeting’s new LIVES project.
The current phase involves the loose leaf binder presentation in days to come of Memorial Minutes approved by the FMW Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business between 1972-1992. This is the period covered in our 2010 publication: SEEKING THE SENSE OF THE MEETING: A History of Friends Meeting of Washington 1972-1992. A draft of the Memorial Minutes will be available at our table on June 19.
If you Friendly photographs of these members of our community, please bring them. We are hoping to include photographs of our members with the Memorial Minutes. Montague Kern, Clerk, Records and Handbook
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 June 26, and the queries to be discussed are “Integrity”. For further information contact Tracy Hart.
Announcements
BYM Annual Session
Baltimore Yearly Meeting Annual Session 2011 will be held at Frostburg State University, in Frostburg, Maryland, from August 1 to August 7. The theme for this year is Moving Forward in Community: Welcoming the Devine, Welcoming Every Person. You can refresh yourself at Monday’s retreat, take in the exciting plenary sessions and engage in a range of activities for the whole family. The spring edition of the BYM Interchange contains all the information regarding registration, including forms and rates. There are many ways to reduce the costs if attendance, including first-time attender certificates, work grants, assistance for younger adult Friends and scholarships from Religious Education and Ministry and Pastoral Care Committees. Register by Monday, June 27 for lower rates. New workshops have been added. For more information, go to the BYM website or call BYM at (301) 774-7663.
First Time Attender Certificates for Baltimore Yearly Meeting
Is there someone in the Meeting who would like to enrich their Quaker experience? Baltimore Yearly Meeting would like to help you. The more people who come to our summertime Annual Session, the more it enriches the gathering. We also know that Annual Session attenders carry their experiences back to their Meetings, benefiting the broader Quaker community. Yet we know that the cost of attendance is substantial and may be preventing some Friends – particularly those who have never been – from attending.
That’s why we are offering each Meeting the opportunity to send three of its members or attenders for two days at no cost. We are excited about gathering from August 1 through August 7 at Frostburg State University in Frostburg, Maryland. We hope three people can be identified within FMW who would benefit from attending the session but could not attend without this offer..
We are seeking participation by those who have not yet attended Annual Session. Attenders at Annual Session over the years have found it to be an enriching experience. Friends gain insight into the Quaker business process, become a part of a broader family of Friends, and come home refreshed and rejuvenated. Many people have taken us up on this certificate offer in the past and liked Annual Session so much that they come have back the next year on their own.
The FMW Personal Aid Committee has two certificates left that entitle each bearer to two free days (and nights) at the adult double occupancy rate. Please contact Patty Murphy (301-270-1105) if you are eligible as a first-time attender and would like a certificate. Please remember that, in order to be honored, the certificate must accompany a registration that is postmarked on or before June 27. Of course, we encourage people using the certificates to stay more than two days, but the costs for additional days must be paid for. Supplemental funds to cover additional days may be available by applying to the FMW Personal Aid Committee.
Annual Session Registration forms are in the Spring 2011 issue of Interchange newsletter. They are also available at the BYM website. If you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact Wayne W. Finegar II at the Yearly Meeting office: (301) 774-7663.
From the Vault
A monthly series of edited extracts from the historical material of the Friends Meeting of Washington:
14 February 1972
Dear Friends,
Altho I am a member of both the Washington and Bethesda meetings, my attendance at both meetings has been rather lax for some time, due to the fact that for the past 2 years I have been a heroin addict. At the present time I am in jail on various charges and I expect to receive a sentence of around 15 years, which will drastically curtail any active participation in meeting on my part. However, I still hope you will consider accepting my application in spite of the circumstances.
Sincerely,
XX
[This touching letter was received in response to an inquiry whether the Friend wished to move from associate to full member status. The Friend was approved as a full member but by 1977 the Meeting had lost touch with him and his membership was dropped about twenty years later.]
File: PERSONAL: XX
With best regards, Hayden Wetzel
FMW Historian
Thinking About Race
Building an Anti-Racist Identity
Many religious organizations have begun building “an anti-racist identity.” Are Friends ready to take this on in earnest? Here is one story – it is from Pax Christi USA (PCUSA). In 1992 PCUSA surveyed its membership and found that it was 97% white. This did not reflect the membership of the Catholic Church in the U.S., and certainly not U.S. demographics. Around the same time, one of PCUSA’s leaders had a conversation with a person of color that had a profound effect on him. This person asked, “How come you White peace people will go all the way to South America to work on peace, ignoring violent neighborhoods in your own communities?” The survey and this comment moved the PCUSA leader to question why anti-racism was not a part of the peace and justice agenda. By 1998, Pax Christi USA had created Brothers and Sisters All, a 20-year initiative “to transform itself into an anti-racist, multicultural peace and justice movement.” Their vision statement concludes: “We have chosen this identity in order to confront the persistent, destructive personal and systemic racism that perpetuate violence in our communities and result in deep spiritual and social brokenness. We are confident that a spirituality of nonviolent anti-racism makes our transformative vision a reality.”
The Baltimore Yearly Meeting Working Group on Racism meets most months on the third Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., at Bethesda Friends Meeting or Friends Meeting of Washington. If you would like to attend, on a regular or a drop-in basis, contact clerk Elizabeth DuVerlie at BYM Office.
NOTE: Friends who wish to comment on this or any other “Thinking About Race” items, may do so at the Baltimore Yearly Meeting website. To leave comments, register first by the web master at BYM. To find email addresses feel free to contact BYM’s Office at (301) 774-7663.
NEWS OF FRIENDS
Wetzel-Nguyen Wedding
FMW member, Dave Wetzel married Annie Nguyen in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 15, 2011. Several Friends from FMW attended, including (of course) the groom’s father, Hayden. Dave’s “best man” was his old FMW buddy Jorge Sanchez.
NOTE FROM THE PERSONAL AID COMMITTEE
RE: Confidential Emergency Form
Attached is “tear off” page for easy use, or to print only one page. For all members of the FMW community, please fill out and return the attached form to the FMW Office. This will update any previous form you may have filed with the Meeting years ago. This information will be invaluable in case of emergency. Additional forms are available in the information rack at FMW. Feel free to contact the FMW Office to have a copy sent to youeither by snail mail or email. Many thanks, The Personal Aid Committee.
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: _____________________________________@_______________________________________
Birthdate: _________________________
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: (______) __________ - ________________
Please send this form by email to: the FMW Office or mail to: Friends Meeting of Washington, 2111 Florida Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20008-1912. It will be maintained in a confidential file for use if necessary by Meeting staff.