FMW Newsletter, January 2015
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Friends Meeting of Washington
Order of Worship
Monthly Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business
December 2014
Are you concerned for responsible use of natural resources and their nurture for future generations? Do you try to avoid wasteful consumption and pollution? Do you seek to preserve the beauty and balance of God's world?
Advices
Population growth and technological abuses are threatening the planet. Millions of people are malnourished or starving, unable to obtain food, homeless. Our faith that there is that of God in every person calls us to concern over this tragic situation. Friends are advised to set the example in living simply so that others may have the wherewithal to live. We are called also to work for public policy aimed toward conserving the world's resources on one hand and sharing them fairly among all God's children on the other. – Faith and Practice
Voices
Sustainability as a concept has recently acquired new spiritual depth of meaning to include a resolve to live in harmony with biological and physical systems, and to work to create social systems that can enable us to do that. It includes a sense of connectedness and an understanding of the utter dependence of human society within the intricate web of life; a passion for environmental justice and ecological ethics; an understanding of dynamic natural balances and processes; and a recognition of the limits to growth due to finite resources. Our concern for Sustainability recognizes our responsibility to future generations, to care for the Earth as our own home and the home of all that dwell herein. We seek a relationship between human beings and the Earth that is mutually enhancing. - Quaker Earthcare Witness, 1998
As a Religious Society of Friends we see the stewardship of God’s creation as a major concern. The environmental crisis is at root a spiritual and religious crisis; we are called to look again at the real purpose of being on this earth, which is to till it and keep it so as to reveal the glory of God for generations to come. - London Yearly Meeting, 1988
Meeting for Business opened with 23 present. Friends welcomed Joshua Wilson as first time attender at Meeting for Business.
2014/12-2 Appointment of Temporary Recording Clerk
Friends APPROVED J.E. McNeil to serve as our recording clerk for twelfth month 2014 meeting for worship with a concern for business.
2014/12-3 Clerk’s Report
There is a change in order of worship to include a second reading of the membership application of Jay Harris.
The Christmas Eve gathering was announced. It starts at 6:00 and all are welcome. Please bring enough food to share for 10 people. Gathering includes singing, meal, and meeting for worship.
Thanks was given to Bob Meehan and a number of generous Friends for obtaining for the Meeting a new electronic keyboard. Someone to volunteer to play the holiday music on Christmas Eve is needed to the heartfelt thanks of the Meeting.
On January 1st, Ministry and Worship is holding a workshop on Spiritual Accountability Groups—a method of spiritual discipline to help individuals seeking a deeper connection with the Inner Light. It is from 10 am to 3 pm with a potluck lunch; all are welcome.
Personality conflicts on Property Committee have constrained that committee’s function. The Ministry and Worship Committee has appointed a clearness committee to work with them to resolve their differences as is recommended in the Meeting Handbook. Clerks have requested that a subcommittee of Trustees including Martha Solt and Mary Campbell work with the Property Manager so that there is a process for decision making for property issues during this time of increased activity due to the construction.
Safety and Welcoming Guidelines continue to be seasoned and will be brought to the meeting for business at a future date.
The Trustees Annual report due which was due November has been postponed until February.
Major items
2014/12-4 Update from Finance & Stewardship about Friends Wilderness Center.
James Bell, a prospective member of Finance & Stewardship, reported it has considered the request to add the Friends Wilderness Center in the Meeting budget as the Meeting for Business requested. Currently we support FCNL, AFSC, BYM camps and William Penn House.
The committee has not come to any conclusion at this point but welcomes input from the Meeting for Business and Meeting members. Bell noted we received a written request last year and a visit from the Clerk of the Board last month asking for continued support. A Friend asked how they are currently supported. The Clerks will obtain additional information about Friends Wilderness Center.
2014/12-5 Membership Committee
Janet Dinsmore, member of the Membership, gave the second reading for membership of Jay Harris.
Friends approved membership of Jay Harris.
2014/12-4 Nominating Committee
Beth Cogswell, Clerk of Nominating Committee thanked the members of the committee. She first brought forward the resignations noted below.
The resignations were accepted with regret and with thanks to those who have served on Meeting committees.
She then brought the nominations to committees for the upcoming year.
It was noted that Zoe Plaugher, nominated to Healing and Reconciliation, was in the process of becoming a member.
The nominations listed below were approved.
She then brought the nominations of clerks of committees for the following year.
The nominations listed below were approved.
A Friend noted that Janet Dinsmore was left off the list as a member of Healing and Reconciliation committee.
The nomination was approved.
Beth noted that there were many new committee members as well as many who were returning on the committees and felt that was a very positive thing. A Friend commended the nominating committee for doing this work gracefully.
Other business
2014/12-5 James Bell, a member of Marriage and Family Relations, presented its annual report. The committee held a clearness committee for a couple not connected to the Meeting and with no intent being married under the care of the meeting. The committee oversaw one wedding and would happily have overseen more. The committee created a welcome brochure explaining Friends marriages for the weddings. They have also updated the committee webpage. The committee will be holding a singles night “More than just Friends” on Feb 7, 2015 to encourage community.
Friends accepted this report.
2014/12-6 Queries on vocal ministry and Friendly communication were read by Gene Throwe, a member of Ministry and Worship. These queries are meant to help Friends and visitors to a deeper and more meaningful Meeting for Worship through a clearer of understanding of vocal ministry. These queries will be shared at the beginning of meeting for worship, one each week, for the immediate future. A copy of the queries is attached to these minutes.
A Friend was concerned about the meaning of the second query and that the use of the term “confidentiality” appears to prohibit sharing messages, which she felt would be a loss. Another Friend felt it was unrealistic that messages in a large public gather can provide confidentiality. A member of Ministry and Worship noted that this query arose from a member who is blogging about personal messages in a less than respectful manner. This query is to remind us that messages are not confidential but as Friends we need to speak about such messages in a respectful manner. Another Friend asked the Committee to season that query. This Friend was also concerned about the admonition about brevity since that would keep someone who has a heartfelt story that takes time to unfold from speaking. The committee notes that “clearness and brevity” are something to strive for..
A Friend asked how the committee would share these queries. They will be shared one at a time on the weekly announcements.
Gray Handley a member of the committee noted that this was a yearlong process that arose out the spiritual state of the meeting process. These queries were in response to concerns raised about vocal and Internet written discussion. These are queries and not guidelines. This is an offering of the committee to the meeting as queries only that will help to remind us that as we speak or write that we should be mindful of the Spirit in every case. So if someone shares something heartfelt and personal be careful and respectful in our sharing of it especially where it is available to others outside the meeting in social media.
A Friend raised a concern about those people who have a lot to share and do not. He felt we should encourage deep sharing as well as deep listening. He asked that we consider wording on this as the queries are updated.
A Friend suggested that vocal ministry in meeting for worship came from a more direct leading of the Spirit than written ministry in social media.
Ministry and Worship was asked to take these comments for further seasoning. They will bring back a revised set of queries, viewing them as an organic document arising from the Spirit. These are part of their responsibility as caretakers of meetings for worship.
Friends thanked the committee for the work they have done so far on these queries.
2014/12-7
School for Friends annual report was given by Dan Dozier as a former board member. School for Friends, a Quaker school, continues to thrive with 50 students ranging from two to four approximately 50% are self-identified as people of color and 20% receive financial aid. Many teachers have been with School for Friends for many years creating a strong community. Jim Clay has been the Director of School for Friends for more than 30 years.
A Friend inquired if the School for Friends moving to the Church of the Pilgrims in the entirety had an impact there. The School has actually had a campus there for more than 30 years.
Friends accepted this report.
Joshua Wilson, the Meeting’s liaison to AFSC gave his annual report. Representatives from AFSC came to BYM annual sessions and spoke as individuals as to their leadings and a desire to connect more with Quaker bodies. They have a program teaching human rights in DC Schools, actively involved in minimum wage actions. Prospectively they will be organizing on January 15 to do educational programming, protests and a panel speaking about police violence on African-Americans and the militarization of the police. This event will include members of other faith communities.
Friends accepted this report.
Gene Throwe gave a Report on 10th Month Interim Meeting of Baltimore Yearly Meeting in Richmond, VA on his and Debby Churchman’s behalf as liaison to Interim Meeting. The most important discussion was the camp program and trying to increase diversity. The camps are 40% Quaker and 60% non-Quaker. Unity with Nature met as well as the Faith and Practice committee. As usual, good fellowship and food was shared.
Friends accepted this report.
2014/11-8 Minutes, Friends approved the minutes.
2014/11-9The Meeting closed with approximately 17 members in attendance.
REPORT TO MEETING FOR BUSINESS
December 21, 2014
RESIGNATIONS
Recording Clerk Shannon Zimmerman
Board of Trustees Susan Lepper
Healing & Reconciliation Shannon Zimmerman
Library Thomas Goodhue
Patrick Marchman
Personal Aid Montague Kern
Adam Hixson
Rachel Kidanne
Records & Handbook Marcia Reecer
Mary Jane Simpson Scholarship
Fund Adam Hixson
Capital Campaign Judy Hubbard
School for Friends Anita Drever
NOMINATIONS
Child Safety Ken Forsberg
Finance & Stewardship Bill Strein
Jim Bell, 2nd committee
Letty Coffin
Healing & Reconciliation Ylene Larsen, 2nd com.
Zoe Plaugher, waiver
Hospitality Kate Steger
Library Abby Thomsen
Sammi Gaines
Gene Throwe, 2nd com.
Tom Yonker
Patrick Lynam
Librarian Michael North
Marriage & Family Jim Bell, clerk
Membership Rob Farr
Ministry & Worship Marcia Reecer, 2nd com
Hayden Wetzel
Greg Robb, waiver
Marsha Holliday
Bertie Rossert, waiver
Michael Huffington, waiver
Peace & Social Concerns Beth Cogswell, 2nd com
Scott Breeze
Personal Aid Alex Mathews
Personnel Allan Kellum
Records & Handbook Harry Massey, 2nd com.
Mary Jane Simpson Scholarship
Fund Abby Thomsen
M. Walcott-L. Foster Scholarship
Fund Bruce Kellogg
American Friends Service
Committee Josh Wilson
BYM Ministry &
Pastoral Care Michael Cronin
Friends United Meeting J.E. McNeil
Right Sharing of
World Resources Karen Grisez
School for Friends Neil Levine
Advisory Neighborhood
Commission Michael North
DC Council of Churches Susan Meehan
COMMITTEE CLERKS
Finance & Stewardship Byron Sandford
Healing & Reconciliation Diane McDougall, co-clerk
Gray Handley, co-clerk
Hospitality Susan Griffin
Library Faith Williams
Marriage & Family Jim Bell
Membership Janet Dinsmore, co-clerk
Marcia Reecer, co-clerk
Ministry & Worship Blair Forlaw
Nominating Harry Massey
Personal Aid Emilie Schmeidler, Interim, waiver
Personnel Michael Cronin
Records & Handbook Todd Harvey
Religious Education Kim Acquaviva
Garden Mark Haskell
Mary Jane Simpson scholarship Anne Kendall
M. Walcott-L. Foster Bruce Kellogg
Marriage and Family Relations Committee
Annual Report, December 2014
The Committee is concerned with the well-being of marriage and family relationships in the Meeting. It provides for and oversees marriages under the care of the Meeting. “The Friends' procedure for marriage is designed to extend to the couple the loving concern of the Meeting in this important venture, to determine, so far as possible, that there is nothing to interfere with the permanence and happiness of the union, and to enable the couple then to have a Meeting for marriage with dignity and simplicity.”
----From FMW’s M & F R webpage: Unions of Marriage or Commitment, a Brief Overview
The Marriage and Family Relations Committee is comprised of the following members: Liz Pomerleau (Clerk), Jane Edgerton, Mohammed Olabi, Ann Herzog, F T Clark, and Jim Bell. Presently, the city of Washington, DC Marriage Bureau recognizes Liz Pomerleau, Jim Bell, Hayden Wetzel, Jane Edgerton, and Susan Griffin to serve as legal witnesses for marriages under the care of the Meeting in the District of Columbia.
Jane Edgerton and FT Clark met with Christine Ullman and Rob Hertzfeld in January concerning their upcoming marriage in North Carolina. Jane reported that the couple did not ask to be married under the care of the meeting, but did request a clearance committee meeting which was accomplished by Jane and FT in January. It is understood that Christine and Rob were satisfied with their meeting with the clearness committee and did not anticipate further need for meeting.
In January, the committee also received a request from Scott Cunningham and Jenny Moore to be married under the care of the meeting. A clearness committee was formed to meet privately with the couple on two occasions in a spirit of loving concern:
- To learn whether both are clear of any other commitment inconsistent with the intended marriage and to determine how seriously they have considered the union of marriage and their future life together.
- To give them detailed information concerning the procedures of a Quaker wedding.
Upon the successful completion of the work of the clearness committee with the couple, an oversight committee was formed to help the couple plan the union of marriage. The clearness and oversight committees both reviewed existing FMW procedures and researched Baltimore Yearly Meeting, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, and Sandy Springs Meeting documents on clearness and marriage procedures.
The marriage took place on April 12, 2014. M & F R arranged a potluck dinner for Scott and Jenny 6 months after the marriage as an opportunity to provide the couple with continued support in their marriage.
Committee members also agreed that there is the need to update the 2007 draft of FMW’s wedding procedures that requires revisions and completion which is presently being done. The committee also prepared a welcome brochure to explain the wedding ceremony process for attenders and invitees at marriages under the care of the Meeting.
Queries on the Sharing of Vocal Ministry
and Friendly Communication
Can I enter Meeting for Worship with an open heart and listen quietly and attentively for the voice of Spirit, whether spoken or unspoken? If someone chooses to speak, can I listen with empathy? Can I accept that all messages are not meant for me but that every message may speak to someone’s condition?
Since deeply personal messages sometimes are shared with trust and in confidence, within the context of a caring and supportive Worship Community, can I diligently respect this expectation of confidentiality by not citing or interpreting personally sensitive messages in other forums?
When moved by the Spirit to provide vocal ministry during any Meeting for Worship (including those with a concern for business), can I strive for clarity and brevity? Can I avoid words that could disrespect or hurt others in our Loving Community? Can I always speak, even if loudly, with a voice that conveys I am among caring Friends? Can I thoughtfully reflect on each message with an adequate period of silence to allow for the time it needs to be heard and contemplated by all, even if it means a longer pause before I share a message?
Despite the passionate feelings I may have about important social, political, and economic issues, can I use careful discernment and introspection to avoid using Meeting for Worship as a platform for political debate or calls-to-action which would be more appropriately shared in other gatherings of Friends?
When participating in a Friends Meeting of Washington e-mail forum where Friends, Seekers and Others may share written reflections and messages, can I strive always to be thoughtfully Spirit-led in my postings and to exercise the same brevity, courtesy, caring and respect that I use when providing vocal ministry?
School for Friends Highlights – 2013 - 2014
school for friends[SfF] sustains its excellence as a nationally accredited preschool offering full day educational programs for 50 two-to-four-year-olds, Monday - Friday from 8 am to 6 pm year-round.
SfF is a Quaker school and is a member of the Friends Council on Education [FCE]. “The School for Friends educational curriculum reflects the Quaker values of cooperation, equality, and nonviolence.” [See http://schoolforfriends.org/]
staff and teacher development
Jim Clay, Director of the School, continues to serve on committees of two national educational committees, at FCE and at the Bank Street College of Education Alumni Association. In 2014, Jim and two teachers were among the 10,000 attending NAEYC’s annual conference held November 2014 in Dallas. NAEYC has 70,000 members world-wide.
One teacher returned from a sabbatical at a Friends’ school in North Carolina. Others have participated in programs at Pendle Hill and in regional programs offered by FCE.
fce certification
During 2013 we engaged in a new program, “FCE Self-Study.” It empowered the school to undertake a renewal of its spiritual life. Based on its initiatives, FCE awarded membership certification to SfF in January 2014. A Quaker Life Committee is now examining ways to communicate its Quaker identity to its teachers, students, and parents, and to strengthen its relations with FMW.
executive leadership
Jim Clay and Board members continue to attend “webinars,” sessions of “Trustees U,” on governance of Boards, sponsored and made available by FCE.
History, operations, philosophy, and affiliations of School for Friends
The School for Friends was co-founded in 1981 by members of FMW and neighbors who supported Quaker teaching and education.
SfF has four classrooms for up to fifty 2 to 4 year-olds, located at the Church of the Pilgrims, 2201 P St NW, two blocks from FMW. The SfF rents approximately 3400 ft2 of space for classrooms, offices, indoor activities, meeting rooms, and storage.
Approximately 50% of the families with children in the School identify themselves a people of color (African American, Latino, Asian American, American Indian). Approximately 20% of students receive financial aid. The School enjoys strong parental involvement and close teacher-parent relationships.
A Quaker school promoting Quaker values, SfF “provides a loving, caring, and supportive educational environment for children.” The curriculum reflects the Quaker values of cooperation, equality, and nonviolence.
All children have a moment of silence at circle time, and the pre-kindergarten classroom at Quaker House does so in the FMW Meeting room twice a month. The SfF curriculum for three- and four-year olds includes the Quaker pillar of “service” by having children in all classes complete a community service project.
school for friends accreditation and affiliation
SfF is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and has met the naeyc Academy’s criteria for high quality early childhood programs. In 2012, School for Friends was awarded accreditation through 2017.
SfF is a member of the Friends Council on Education [founded 1931]. The Council celebrates three hundred and twenty-five years of Friends education and promotes the theory and practice of Quaker education.
“The Council has 81 member schools in 21 states with 20,600 students, 4,560 faculty and staff and 1,190 trustees/board members. It includes 14 nursery schools, 37 elementary schools, 19 preschools, 10 secondary schools [7-12 and 9-12] and eight boarding schools. Five new schools have applied for membership. ” [http://www.friendscouncil.org/]
School for Friends is also a founding member of Mid-Atlantic Friends Schools located in Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia.
Report back, BYM Interim Meeting, October 2014
Debby Churchman and Gene Throwe attended this meeting, held at Richmond Friends Meeting, mostly to listen and observe the Ministry & Pastoral Care committee, which was very ably clerked by Deborah Haines.
The Meeting for Business largely centered on the camping program and their desire to concentrate on increasing its racial diversity. They planned to apply for a grant to work on this, and some portion of the meeting was taken up with BYM wanting to establish a grant policy, e.g. who applies for the grant (a committee or the Development Director or who?), what considerations need to go into deciding to apply for a grant, and what kinds of things does BYM feel comfortable using grant monies to fund. That was discussed and the recommendations accepted, and we understand that BYM has now applied for the grant and are waiting to hear the results.
The camps are now about 40% Quaker and 60% non-Quaker. Five young people from FMW participated last year.
The Unity with Nature committee is consulting with the various meetings within BYM to discover what steps we are each taking to put ourselves in right relationship with the creation. They hope to use this information to develop a common vision, and perhaps a list of resources for the Meetings to use as they green their space and their practices.
The Faith & Practice revision committee is underway. They plan to start with the 2013 version (rather than the 1988 version) and work forward. They will be hold a series of face-to-face meetings with the various local Meetings to discuss particular sections that were troubling to participants at Annual Meeting.
Lunch was delicious, and it was fun to catch up with Friends around BYM. This was Ken Stockbridge’s first meeting as BYM clerk, and he held up nicely, with great humor and patience.
(this ends the Minutes and Reports for Meeting for Business)
On Thursday, January 1, begin the new year by learning Spiritual Accountability. Ministry & Worship is holding an all-day workshop on this topic—a kind of “clearness committee on steroids” in which we mutually listen to, nurture, support and hold one another accountable for our task of listening to and following the Inner Guide. Curious? Come try it out and see if it’s for you. The workshop is from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm, with a potluck break midday. For more information, contact Debby at admin@quakersdc.org
Come to So Others Might Eat on Saturday, Jan 3 from 6:15 to 8:15 and help make breakfast for our vulnerable neighbors. For more information, contact Betsy Bramon at betsy.bramon@gmail.com
There will be a Meeting for Singing on Sunday, Jan. 4 at 10:00 am in the Meeting Room. All voices are welcome.
The Grate Patrol will prepare sandwiches and soup to take out to the city’s vulnerable people on Wednesday, Jan. 7 starting at 5:30. For more information, contact Steve Brooks at sbrooks@uab.edu
Friends are invited to participate in a new discussion group discussing Debby Irving's new book, Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race at [9:15 am Sunday, January 11 in the Terrace Room.]
Debby Irving explains the background of her book:
I’m a white woman, raised in Winchester, Massachusetts during the socially turbulent 1960s and ‘70s. After a blissfully sheltered, upper-middle-class suburban childhood, I found myself simultaneously intrigued and horrified by the racial divide I observed in Boston. From 1984 to 2009 my work in urban neighborhoods and schools left me feeling helpless. Why did people live so differently along racial lines? Why were student outcomes so divergent? Why did I get so jumpy when talking to a person of color? Where did the fear of saying something stupid or offensive come from, and why couldn’t I make it go away? The more I tried to understand racial dynamics, the more confused I became. I knew there was an elephant in the room, I just didn’t know it was me!
In 2009, a course at Wheelock College, Racial and Cultural Identity, shook me awake with the realization that I’d missed step #1: examining the way being a member of the “normal” race had interfered with my attempts to understand racism. What began as a professional endeavor became a personal journey as I shifted from trying to figure out people whom I’d been taught to see as “other” to making sense of my own socialization.
My book Waking Up White is the story of my two-steps-forward-one-step back journey away from racial ignorance.
Her book is explicitly designed for use by discussion groups. She has even offered participate in one session of our group. See http://debbyirving.com/for-book-groups/. At the end of each chapter readers are asked to think about their own life experiences and how they are similar or different from what she tells us about herself. Her experiences—like those of each of us—are unique. The questions are designed to help us consider how our unique experiences have shaped and are shaping our experience of race in the U.S. The discussion group is NOT limited to people who think of themselves as white.
I am tentatively planning to convene the group at 9:15 a.m. on each second Sunday, because there appears to be so much competition for space and our time in the early afternoon. If you are interested in participating, please let me know so we can together work out logistics. For considerably more information about the book, please check out the author’s website, www.debbyirving.com/the-book. – David Etheridge
The January Potluck at William Penn House will be on Sunday, January 11, 2015 at 6:30 PM. 6:30 to 7:30 is the potluck, 7:30 to 9:00 PM is the talk. The speaker will be Diane Randall, Executive Secretary of Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL).
BYM Camp Returneesmay register for Summer 2015 starting on January 15th, starting at 7:00 pm. New campers may register starting on February 1. For more information, go to www.bymcamps.org
#BlackLivesMatter– The American Friends Service Committee is organizing a day of action on January 15 to demand an end to police violence in our communities. D.C. events on that day will be co-sponsored by FMW’s Peace & Social Concerns Committee and by AFSC/DC. The action will culminate in a panel discussion in our Meeting Room, starting at 6:30 pm. For more information, contact Mike Duvall at moduvall@gmail.com
The BYM Women's Retreat is an opportunity to rest, reflect, and connect with other women. In fact, this year's theme is Connection: to ourselves, to one another, and to Spirit. Join us January 23-25 for singing, worship sharing, workshops, and more. This year, we extend a special welcome to women who may not have felt called to attend in the past. We’d like to help make arrangements if money, transportation, or childcare pose an obstacle. Go to www.bymwomensretreat.orgto register or learn more, or contact Lelac at lalmagor@gmail.comor 202-596-7323.
School for Friends, a Quaker pre-school at 2201 P St , has openings for older 2-year-olds and younger 3-year-olds. The teachers are engaged, attentive, and committed to the kids; teacher turnover is low. The families make it a welcoming and supportive community. The phenomenal Director has been there for decades, stays on top of everything, and is very responsive. The school is great. If you're interested, call the director, Jim Clay, at the School: 202-328-1789.
Here are a few publications that turned up in a recent random search. They’re available for you to check out!
· Quaker Meeting: a Risky Business
· A Quaker Home (pub. 1891)
· Margaret Fell and the End of Time
· Let Your Words Be Few
· The Police Threat to Political Liberty (pub. 1979)
· Call It Zest: The Vital Ingredient after 70
THINKING ABOUT RACE(January 2015) – James Baldwin in 1963
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James Baldwin published this 51 years ago. The context for this quote is limited, due to space constraints, but Baldwin’s take on “a limit to the number of people any government can put in prison” is a message for today, given the extent of mass incarceration.
“How can the American Negro past be used? It is entirely possible that this dishonored past will rise up soon to smite all of us. There are some wars, for example… that the American Negro will not support, however many of his people may be coerced – and there is a limit to the number of people any government can put in prison, and a rigid limit indeed to the practicality of such a course. A bill is coming in, that I fear America is not prepared to pay.”
- From Fire the Next Time, the section entitled “Down at the Cross. Letters from a Region in My Mind,” 1963.
These monthly items are prepared by the BYM Working Group on Racism (WGR) and sent to the designated liaisons at each Monthly and Preparative Meeting for publication in their newsletter or other means of dissemination. The WGR meets most months on the third Saturday from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, usually 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 David Etheridge, david.etheridge@verizon.net.
Friends may be interested to learn that Philadelphia Yearly Meeting is convening a special called Meeting for Business with a Concern for Racism. For details, go to http://www.pym.org/2014/12/11/called-meeting-announced/
A Friend asked me the other day which listserv could she join that would let her know what was happening in the lives of people in Meeting. Well, I said, probably none of them—we are a reticent bunch, not given to either whining or bragging in public, so are disinclined to fill up the listservs with a lot of personal details. That said, I see her point about wanting to know the ups and downs and ins and outs of our community. To that end, I offer what gossip I know, in the hope that others may be interested. To wit:
We completed another very successful Shoebox Project in December, finishing early both days! More than 1000 boxes were assembled, filled, wrapped, stacked, and distributed to various shelters, thanks to probably hundreds of people. Special gratitude to C.J. Lewis and Steve Brooks, who headed up the project. I spoke with one staff member of Friendship Place, who picked up that group’s stack of boxes, and he told me, “I’ve been on both sides of this project—a bringer and a receiver—and I can’t tell you how much good it does. It makes a real difference. Thank you.”
Molly Tully just had her knee replacement replaced—she’s on her second generation of bionic-ism. She’s out of Sibley and back home, ready to receive calls.
Hayden Wetzeljust left for a long visit with his son and daughter-in-law to Viet Nam, where he is undoubtedly a lot warmer than we are. Various Friends are convening the 6:00 pm Sunday evening worship in his absence; please stop by.
Three of FMW’s current book groups were mentioned in a recent Friends Journal—the ones studying Karen Armstrong’s 12 Steps to a Compassionate Life, the Gospel of Mark, and the Gita Vicara Group. Meanwhile, David Etheridge is convening a new group to read Debby Irving's new book, Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race at 9:15 am Sunday, January 11 in the Terrace Room. All are welcome. See above under “Upcoming Events” for more details.
Caleb Brown and Angela Erickson just made their last payment and are now totally, 100% debt free—after a 22 month effort to pay off $138,875.60! They would be happy to talk with other Friends about how they did this, if you’re interested.
Lelac Almagor,who started exploring Quakerism at our 9:00 am worship group and is now attending Adelphi Friends Meeting, is clerking the committee that is convening the BYM Women’s Retreat this month. This Young Friend is particularly interested in getting more young women to come to the retreat. If you’d like to come but are stopped by finances, transportation, child care, or whatever, contact Lelac at lalmagor@gmail.comor 202-596-7323.
This year has seen weddings for at least two former Attenders at FMW—MacKenzie Morgan (who married Daniel Longwing--Ruth Flower’s son), and Lucy Callard (daughter of Pam and Rob), who married Neal Reimer. Congratulations to both, not to mention the grooms.
Mike Hubbard, a regular attender at 9:00 am worship and a member of the Hospitality Committee, is engaged! Congratulations, Mike!
FMW member Andrew Stevenson has moved to beautiful downtown Belfast, Maine—about an hour north of Portland. He writes that he is now volunteering with the Peace Tax Fund, and will be back to attend their meetings and visit us, hopefully soon.
Shannon Zimmerman,our much-beloved Recording Clerk, has moved to Australia to pursue a Ph.D. in peace making. Interesting timing…
The FMW banner is getting a lot of use lately. It was held up on 16th Street on a very cold Friday night for an interfaith vigil against police brutality. The vigil stretched from the White House to Silver Spring, with Friends from FMW and Langley Hill occupying the block between T & U streets. The next day, it made an appearance at the vigil and march against police brutality, starting at Freedom Plaza. It’s back in its cubby in the main office; let me know if you need it.
One place the banner could have been used (but wasn’t) was at PNC Bank on December 6. The Earth Quaker Action Team put on 31 different actions against this bank in 12 states and D.C. PNC provides substantial financing to corporations which engage in mountain-top removal. FMW co-sponsored one of these actions.
Thanks to some very generous donations, FMW is now in possession of a new, electronic keyboard for music making. Many thanks to Bob Meehan for getting this together before the Christmas Eve gathering. Gratitude to Beth Cogswell, Dan Dozier, David Etheridge, Elise Stork, Grant Thompson, Gray Handley, Ylene Larsen,andSusan and Bob Meehan for their donations.
Thank you, Friends, for your very well-used lives!
- Debby