News from Western Quaker Newsletters
June 27- July 20, 2009


News of Friends Meetings and Churches

Several Friends from Agate Passage Meeting (Poulsbo, WA) will volunteer as a group at the Native American annual Canoe Journey days. They hope to become more familiar with tribal ways as well as to make themselves useful in ways that fit their energy.
After consideration of the various options presented by the ad hoc committee on building options, Albuquerque Meeting (NM) is led to remain in the building Friends now occupy, to give priority to addressing accessibility issues, to improve the space for children and to address environmental concerns.
From the Apple Seed Meeting (Sebastopol, CA) Newsletter: Our meeting could be deeper and more meaningful for all if we would devote a full hour to Meeting. Please consider how you might organize your time so you can arrive at 10 or earlier. Let’s strive together for a “gathered meeting” by gathering on time.
Canyon Hills Friends Church (Yorba Linda, CA) held its Celebration Weekend July 11-12 with water baptisms after every service, a courtyard dedication, and the church’s annual picnic in the park. They celebrated the 19th Birthday of the church and dedicated their new Gathering Area to the Lord. The celebration included hearing how the church family is "being the church" and "bringing real change" into people's lives.
Claremont Meeting (CA) approved that the Meeting not post Meeting for Business minutes on its website.
Corvallis Meeting (OR) Nominating Committee noted that “This meeting appears to have moved away from committees that take responsibility to (individuals taking on) short-term tasks that are done once or infrequently.”
Friends from Delta Meeting (Stockton, CA) organized newsletters and periodicals that had been collecting in the Meeting Room. There is now a file cabinet with labeled folders so items can easily be found.
Adam Bradbury will be full-time associate pastor at Greenleaf Friends Church (ID). He has been a member at Rose Valley Friends.
Ministry and Oversight Committee of Humboldt Meeting (Arcata, CA), in planning for the Meeting Retreat, noted that as Friends were not responsive generally to request to register ahead, the best practice for next year will be for them to call regular attenders.
Chris Tiner is the new high school youth coordinator at Meridian Friends Church (ID).
Mountain View Meeting (Denver, CO) has approved moving forward with bringing Quaker Quest to the Meeting.
William Alsup of Mountain View Meeting (Denver, CO) will be traveling (by bicycle) with a leading to visit distant meetings for the purpose of listening and to get better acquainted with Friends outside of Intermountain Yearly Meeting.
Multnomah Meeting (Portland, OR) has deliberated how to help persons not from within the Meeting Community who come to the Meeting for help. Oversight Committee recommends that a few Friends be trained to direct these people to other resources that might be available.

Bonnie Tinker, a member of Multnomah Meeting (Portland, OR) and Love Makes a Family, was killed in an accident while attending Friends General Conference. Bonnie will be missed.
Peace and Social Concerns and Property Committees of Multnomah Meeting (Portland, OR) invited Friends to discuss what signage they feel led to have on their building. Under consideration are guidelines for what banners or signs should be on display and what should be permanent and what may have a particular time frame.
Newberg Friends (OR) are reminded to bike/walk/carpool to church on July 26 as that date will be Newberg’s Old Fashioned Festival as well as Northwest Yearly Meeting.
Newberg Friends (OR) are planning an All Comers Choir to lead worship on July 26 to kick off Yearly Meeting week.
The Computer Committee of Orange County Meeting (Santa Ana, CA) was asked to evaluate the needs of the Meeting for computerized/on-line tools, and has developed a set of principles for the Meeting to consider, including that materials that should be available to all of the community must be readable on all of the main computer operating systems and/or browsers.
Orange Grove Friends (Pasadena, CA) are invited to the meeting house on a Wednesday evening for Poetry evening. All are asked to bring a poem or a song to share--either one of their own or a favorite by another author or songwriter.
Finance Committee of Orange Grove Friends (Pasadena, CA) recommends that Meeting discontinue acting as fiscal sponsor for any foreign-based organization that is unable to comply with a set of guidelines that it developed based on IRS fiscal sponsorship requirements. The sense of the Meeting is that the Meeting has a moral responsibility to understand how money that it collects is spent, that it is desirable that the Meeting be intimately involved in the workings of the foreign-based organizations to which it offers fiscal sponsorship, and that the suggested guidelines are simple and transparent.
Palo Alto Meeting (CA) approved that, in order to best support Friends lobbying groups nationally and locally, this year the proceeds from the Harvest Festival to be held on September 26, 2009 will be evenly divided between Friends Committee on Legislation of California and Friends Committee on National Legislation. Traditionally the proceeds have gone to FCL.
Robert Broz, Field Director for the El Salvador Projects (oversight by Palo Alto Meeting), will speak at Redwood Forest Meeting (Santa Rosa, CA) on Sunday, July 26th. The mission of the El Salvador Projects is to raise the level of education for the young people of the poorest communities in El Salvador.
Rose Drive Friends Church (Yorba Linda, CA) will offer a special summer schedule that features a sermon series in the book of Hebrews titled, “Better than Anything.” Friends will be inspired as they see why Jesus is better than anything and that nothing can compare to following him.
San Jose Meeting (CA) and the San Jose Buddhist Meditation Group are sponsoring a Women's Interfaith Dialogue. The theme for this dialogue is "What place does silence, meditation, and contemplation hold in our spiritual practices."
Santa Fe Meeting (NM) is attempting to spread the word regarding the existence of the Meeting’s Guest Apartment. Friends have updated the Meeting web page and placed advertisements in Western Friend and Friends Journal.

Nominating Committee of Santa Monica Meeting (CA) notes: “As we have no nominee for treasurer nominating committee has requested a call to all members and prospective members to consider taking up the office of treasurer.”
Jim Pike began service at South Salem Friends Church (OR) on July 1.
Bob Adams, long-time pastor of Sprague River Friends (OR), has retired. Bob continues to serve a Methodist congregation in Southern Oregon. Tim Henry, who has been co-pastor at Sprague River, now assumes the role of solo pastor.
Strawberry Creek Meeting (Berkley, CA) will hold a series of Listening Meetings to consider the development of a written Quaker testimony on Friends' concerns for Earth.
Strawberry Creek Meeting (Berkley, CA) notes regarding Meeting for Business that attendance is expected for members and encouraged for attenders
At the request of Young Friends (YFs), and after seasoning within both the Children’s Religious Education Committee and the Worship and Ministry Committee, Tempe Meeting (AZ) spent eight weeks experimenting with the practice of asking Young Friends to join Meeting for Worship at the beginning of Worship rather than at the end. Young Friends reported that they would like to resume their prior practice of YFs joining Meeting for Worship at the end of Worship. They found they had a lack of clarity on what they were looking for from the change in practice, and noticed that they felt more centered when joining Worship at the end rather than at the beginning.
University Meeting (Seattle, WA) held a Meeting for grieving and healing that included all kinds of losses, not just losses of loved persons. Friends gathered around a central table that held candles to be lit, paper cranes, sheets to write on, and a bowl to put the writing in.
University Meeting (Seattle, WA) is planning to hold its first ever outdoor movie in the UFM parking lot. Friends are to bring chairs, blankets and snacks.

If the vigor of a Meeting lives in its young people and the wisdom of the Meeting lives in its elders, then the strength of the Meeting lies in interaction between the two.
Todd Swanson, 2005, from IMYM Faith and Practice, as found in the Mountain View Friends Meeting 2009 Newsletter.

More than one:
Many Friends Churches and Meetings are including some sort of “classified advertisements” in their newsletters to help Friends find work or sell unneeded items.

Beyond the Monthly Meeting/Churches
The 2009 Annual Session of Alaska Friends Conference will be held Thursday, July 23 through Sunday, July 26 at Dickerson Friends Center in Wasilla, Alaska with the theme, “Vitality and Diversity in our Meetings.”
This summer, Alaska Friends Conference is hosting a youth exchange/Spirit Camp with Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting. The group of 14 teenagers from AFC and OVYM will gather at the Dickerson Friends Center in Wasilla, AK, go to Eklutna Lake for a week of camping in the wilderness, join younger friends at Nancy Lake, and return to Wasilla for AFC Annual Sessions.
Barclay Press in Newberg, Oregon is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Ray Carter, Jack Willcutts, Harlow Ankeny, Dick Eichenberger, and Dan McCracken have provided primary editorial and managerial leadership over the years. The current Barclay Press publisher, Dan McCracken, was first hired to do Linotype typesetting.
North Pacific Yearly Meeting gathered July 15-19 in Missoula, MT with John Calvi as Friend in Residence. John Calvi, a Quaker healer and teacher specializing in trauma and caregiver burnout, spoke on the theme: "Experiencing Light in Hard Times - How Do We Stay Faithful in Times of Trouble?"
Kim Felton (from North Valley Friends Church, Newberg, OR) is being added to the Northwest Yearly Meeting Office staff in the newly redesigned half-time Administrative Assistant position. Bruce Bishop’s position as Communications Director becomes full-time. This reorganization is partly related to the retirement of Terri Bowen who is irreplaceable. Rachelle Staley moves from an "interim" role to full-time Associate Superintendent of Youth and Young Adults.
Northwest Yearly Meeting will hold Yearly Meeting Sessions at George Fox University, Newberg, OR, Sunday July 26-Thursday July 30 with the theme, “We are Witnesses.” The Outreach Rally will take place Sunday evening, following the Men’s and Women’s Missionary Banquets. Colin Saxton will give the keynote address Monday evening and Bob Adhikary, missionary to Nepal, will speak Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.
The next gathering of the Pacific Northwest Quarterly Meeting will be September 25-27, 2009, at the Lazy F Ranch near Ellensburg. Port Townsend Monthly Meeting will lead the program with the theme, “Wild Earth, Wild Mind, Wild Heart.”
Pacific Yearly Meeting will meet July 27-August 1, 2009 at Walker Creek Ranch, Petaluma, CA.
Joe Franko, clerk of Pacific Yearly Meeting, reminds Friends “that we gather in faith and hope that the Spirit will guide us to make Spirit-led decisions. The process is as it has always been. . . The Youth Proposal has been especially seasoned by Meetings and by Representative Committee . . .Remember that in our Plenaries we come together to Worship on the Occasion of Business. In worship, we assume that it is not the Friend who speaks, but the Spirit who speaks through that Friend.”
Members of the Unity with Nature Committee of Pacific Yearly Meeting are concerned about ways of greening their yearly gathering and urge Friends to try being at least part-time vegetarians. They’ve worked with both the Arrangements Committee and the Walker Ranch cooks to make tasty vegetarian food more available to everyone, not confined to the kitchen. Also they plan one "simple meal," e.g. rice and beans, to be in greater solidarity with poor people everywhere.