News from Western Quaker Newsletters
Week of November 3 2008


Dear Friends,

It has been my practice since shortly after I started working for FWCC (2001!) to write out a summary of News from Friends in the Western United States, most of which I glean from Newsletters although I often find news on-line as well now.

There are a couple of “larger” FWCC-related issues that are on my mind.

The Quaker Youth Pilgrimage Committee is planning for the 2010 Pilgrimage in the Northwest. Do be thinking about whom in your Quaker community will be 16-18, July-August 2010, and would be appropriate for this experience. These young people will travel together and see Quaker and other sites in the Northwestern continental United States. Even more important is the fact that they will form a diverse Quaker community for the time that they are together.
Please don’t forget that the Annual Meeting of FWCC, Section of the Americas, will be in Canby, Oregon (near Portland), March 19-22, 2009. You will find information at http://www.fwccamericas.org/ very soon. All Friends are welcome.

In Friendship,
Nancy

Beyond the Monthly Meeting/Churches


Alaska Friends Conference Fall Quarterly Meeting will beNov, 28-30. Hosted by Chena Ridge Meeting, Fairbanks, Friends will consider Witness and Worship: Sacred Interconnections with All Beings. Inspired by the work of Joanna Macy and John Seed, the gathering is envisioned as a time to explore together what Friends can do as Friends to be faithful to Earth.
Barclay Press has published Through Flaming Sword, the life and legacy of George Fox, a spiritual biography of Fox and a closer look at Fox’s legacy, particularly his thoughts on Christian holiness and the nature of the church.
Casa de los Amigos (Mexico City) reports that the Migration Program and the Economic Justice Program are now firmly built into the fabric of the Casa. The Casa’s Volunteer Program has matured into an expression of the shared vision for the Casa. Volunteers now divide their work hours into three areas: the Hospitality Program, the other Casa Peace Programs, and Casa community life (which include cooking breakfast for guests, planning events and activities, furthering efforts to "green" the Casa, and more).
The Christian Friends Conference in Northern California will meet Saturday, Dec. 6, 9:00AM - 4:30PM at the Santa Cruz Friends Meetinghouse. The gathering will include Christ-centered worship, Bible reading in the manner of Conservative Friends, and fellowship over a brown-bag lunch, with possibly an afternoon speaker on Early Friends.
Evangelical Friends Church Southwest will hold its Annual Conference and Serve Day in three locations. In Southern California the Representative Session and Equipping Community Dinner will be January 23, and the Serve Day, January 24, 2009. In Arizona/Nevada the Equipping Community Dinner will be February 6 and the Serve Day, February 7, 2009. In Northern California the Equipping Community Dinner will be February 20 and the Serve Day, February 21, 2009.
The Midwinter Gathering of Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Concerns will take place February 14-16, 2009 at Camp Adams near Portland, Oregon with the theme “Faith Calls for Justice on the Same Terms.”
The Greenleaf Academy (ID) auction has been rescheduled for November 7-8, 2008 to help celebrate the 100 year centennial. The school opened on November 10, 1908.
Northwest Yearly Meeting is publishing Connections a printed Newsletter which is sent to Friends’ homes. Extended versions of the articles and dialogue about the subjects are available on the yearly meeting website, http://www.nwfriends.org/. The , with queries, for the November-December issue was Simplicity. Connections is also available in Spanish.
Northwest Yearly Meeting’s Midwinter High School Retreat will be held January 16-19, 2009 on the Oregon Coast at Twin Rocks Friends Camp with the emphasis on ministry through service.
The Pacific Northwest Quarterly Meeting Silent Retreat will be held January 30-February 1, 2009 at Camp Huston, Gold Bar, Washingon. This retreat offers an opportunity to reach more profound depths in the Silence of Quaker worship.
Southern California Quarterly Meeting will hold its Fall Gathering, November 8-9, 2008 at Temescal Gateway Park, Pacific Palisades, CA with the theme, The Search for our testimony on our relationship with nature: What is our Truth?
Utah Friends Fellowship will meet in Logan, UT, January 17-18, 2009.
The WalkwithEarth Pilgrimage, for the beauty of the earth down the watersheds of the Americas, started March 2nd at San Francisco Meeting. Led by Rolene Walker, this pilgrimage ends in Chile in 2.5 years.
Western Young Friends' New Year's Gathering will be held at Camp Myrtlewood, southern Oregon, December 28, 2008 - January 2, 2009. http://nyg.phoenixflight.net/nyg-flier-2008-2009.pdf