News from Western Quaker Newsletters

Mid-August 2009

News of Friends Meetings and Churches

Agate Passage Meeting (Poulsbo, WA) is considering Peace and Social Concerns options for the coming year. Friends might work with immigrants detained at the Tacoma Detention Center. Friends are considering more direct and personal contacts with detainees by working with an interfaith effort based in Tacoma. Peace and Social Concerns Committee is also considering sponsoring an Alternatives to Violence workshop.
Appleseed Meeting (Sebastopol, CA) is considering a proposed minute on Meeting attendance which suggests that Friends arriving on time sit along the side (away from the doors), leaving seating available for latecomers at the back of the room. Friends were encouraged to come to Meeting for Worship prepared and on time.
The treasurer of Berkeley Meeting (CA) noted that while the Peace and Social Order Committee has the authority to host events without seeking approval from the Meeting, if an event requires insurance, such as the recent Helen Caldicott event, then it should be sponsored by the Meeting and not just by the Committee.
Bridge City Meeting (Portland, OR) is considering whether or not to continue its experiment with Intergenerational Worship. The Meeting held Intergenerational Worship once a month for three months. Friends were given a query for responses. The children gathered in the center of the circle of adults and did art projects.
Opportunities to get together with Friends at Canyon Hills Friends Church (Yorba Linda, CA) include: Women's Tuesday Morning Bible Study on chapter 11 of Hebrews "Hall of Faith;" "Women's Serve Day where women will assemble "no sew" blankets for abused and abandoned children; and KidQuest Wednesday Night Bible Study -- Crocodile Dock.
Citrus Heights Friends Church (CA) is beginning a new Sunday night worship service called "Ignite," with the hope that Ignite will become the happening gathering place for people of all ages in their area.
Claremont Friends (CA) are invited by Discussion Committee to a fun and thought-provoking video regarding gay, lesbian, and queer issues. The Committee predicts a lively discussion will follow.
Friends from Davis Meeting (CA) are participating in a Prayer Meeting for World Peace. Queries used will include: What am I doing to contribute to world peace? What am I doing to be at peace within myself?
Children's Meeting of Eastside Meeting (Bellevue, WA) discussed the suggestion that children need to know it is OK for them to stay in Meeting for Worship -- and that it is OK for them to leave when they need to do so. This is especially important for older children and teens who may want to try being in Meeting for a while longer than the first 15 minutes that younger children attend.
Eugene Friends (OR) have the opportunity to participate in a Labor Day Apple Squeeze. Friends are to bring clean jars and boxes of apples or pears.
Honolulu Friends Meeting (HI) is hosting its annual streetwide gathering, "For the Love of Gardens," September 11-13 on the Meeting House grounds. Members and attenders from Honolulu and neighbor islands will be there.
Midtown Friends (Sacramento, CA) held a peace fair at a midtown park in July. Their hope was to raise awareness and have good conversations about peace -- not necessarily national peace but on the deeper nature of peace.
Friends of Multnomah Meeting (Portland, OR) are making plans to train interested Friends in methods of Helping Others in Times of Economic Stress. Topics to be covered include housing, mental health, referrals to agencies, and helping the helpers.
Newberg Friends Women (OR) are invited to the Margaret Fell Friends Women's Fall Kick-off Potluck Picnic at Jaquith Park. Ron and Carolyn Stansell will share on "Where in the World is God Working?"
A six-week Vecina, Vecino small group is being offered in the Fall at Newberg Friends Church (OR) to those interested in reaching out to the immigrant community.
North Seattle Friends Church (WA) went kayaking. Those interested met at a rowing club for a guided tour around Lake Union. Experience was not required.
Orange Grove Meeting (Pasadena, CA) is committed to cooking a dinner meal for the homeless every fifth Sunday of the month. In August they cooked at the Union Station homeless shelter. Friends have a good time cooking and chatting.
At Palo Alto Meeting (CA) every Wednesday following Meeting for Worship, worship sharing or worship discussion is held on topics announced each month in the Newsletter. This is an open opportunity for individuals to discuss or explore spiritual matters, theological ideas, social witness related to Quaker Meeting, and other Quaker and Meeting-related topics. Anyone in the Meeting may propose a topic and lead the session.
Redwood Forest Meeting (Santa Rosa, CA) plans a Fun Night to welcome home the Meeting Resident with a potluck and a movie. Friends will watch Monty Python & the Holy Grail, a silly romp through the legend of King Arthur. Friends are to come as their favorite moose.
The Fall sessions of the Center for Christian Studies, Reedwood Friends Church (Portland, OR) will be led by four historians who will teach on different topics on the history of Christianity. Each lesson will provide insight and application for the church today.
The 7 and Up First Day School of Reno Meeting (NV) invites adults in the Meeting to share with them their experiences and knowledge of other religions besides Quakerism. Friends are invited to get to know younger Quakers and to delve into their own and others understanding of many religions from all over the globe.
Rose Drive Friends (Yorba Linda, CA) took part in a summer funn food event the weekend of August 15-16. They ate pancakes (buttermilk, blueberry, and chocolate chip) and connected with old and new friends for dinner on Saturday or brunch on Sunday.
Rose Drive Friends Church (Yorba Linda, CA) scheduled a baptism class in the Fireside Room. The class is a prerequisite to water baptism at the church.
Salt Lake Meeting (UT) adopted the following minute: The recording clerk is charged to inform Friends in their service capacity with SLMM of any action or decision of the Business Meeting that affects the Friend's activities or assignments if that Friend is not in attendance at thre Meeting in which the action or decision was adopted.
San Francisco Friends (CA) are invited to participate in a new approach to Quakerism - Quaker Jeopardy. They are invited to bring friends, family, and thinking caps to a new way to learn about Quaker faith and practice. Round one is on Quakerism: Beginnings to 1800. Are Friends ready with their "final answer?"
Santa Fe Friends (NM) formed a local group called Friends in the Arts which meets monthly and is affiliated with the Fellowship of Quakers in the Arts, an international group.
The members of the Board of Directors of the Western Friend joined South Seattle Preparative Meeting (WA) for worship and a potluck lunch.
Sky Valley Worship Group (Sultan, WA) hosted Eastside Meeting (Bellevue, WA) on August 30th.
University Meeting (Seattle, WA) sent a letter to the president of the University of Washington regretting the University's decision to not host Tent City (housing for homeless people).
In September, Adult Religious Education sessions of University Meeting (Seattle, WA) will focus on the role of women in the Religious Society of Friends, beginning an occasional series of investigations into how we live the Testimony of Equality. Topics will include Women in the Society of Friends Today, women's meetings, mothers of Quakerism, and Quaker Women and Social Change 1800-1950.

Beyond the Monthly Meetings/Churches

Arizona Half-Yearly Meeting will take place September 25-27 at Emmanuel Pines Christian Camp and Retreat Center in Prescott, AZ with the theme, "Strengthening Our Ties in Nature." Suggested readings include Earthcare for Friends by Louis Cox and Be Ye Perfect: The Quaker Call to Wholeness by Lisa Lofland-Gould.
Ben Lomond Quaker Center in California is considering offering a program for smaller meetings and worship groups in Pacific Yearly Meeting. Smaller meetings and worship groups are being asked whether Ben Lomand should offer the program and how it might be planned to meet their needs.
The Quarterly Meeting of the Christian Friends Conference will take place on Saturday, September 19th at Berkeley Friends Church with brown bag lunch and beverages and bagels provided in the morning.
Colorado Regional Meeting will be held November 6th-8th at the YMCA of the Rockies Conference Center in Estes Park bordering Rocky Mountain National Park. This year's theme is "Deepening Our Spiritual Life in Community" and will be led by Nancy Bieber, a member of Lancaster (PA) Monthly Meeting and a psychotherapist, spiritual director and retreat leader.
Evangelical Friends Church Southwest is forming a Medical Short Term missions trip to Cambodia in January.
Evangelical Friends Church Southwest is reducing its staff, thus Larry Kinser's position as Director of Church Growth and Health has been cut.
Northern California Teens (Pacific Yearly Meeting) -- 8th-12th grades -- in and near the Silicon Valley were invited to gather at the Palo Alto Meetinghouse for an exploratory meeting to consider who the group is and what it might do in the coming year. There was to be a time for sharing, games, considering ideas, and food (pizza and ice cream).
Colin Saxton's keynote address to Northwest Yearly Meeting, delivered on July 27th, is now available at the NWYM website. http://www.newfriends.org/ His challenge, as superintendent of NWYM, was for Friends to go "deeper" as a people of God, corporately and individually.
The Peace Education Subcommittee of Northwest Yearly Meeting is focusing on two items for the immediate future - needs assessment and a NWYM Peace Month. This year the Peace Month will be January with the theme "What is Peace?" The subcommittee hopes to facilitate a discussion in the local meetings and provide teaching tools on Quaker history and why Friends have a peace testimony.
Northwest Yearly Meeting has ministry openings among its churches. Sherwood Friends is looking for a half-time youth pastor; Newberg Friends is looking for a full-time youth pastor; 2nd Street Community Church, a ministry of Friends in Newberg, is looking for a Middle School Intern and Director of Equipping and Serving; Olympic View Friends are looking for a pastor; Twin Rocks Friends Camp needs an Assistant Food Director; and Barclay Press has a 30-hour office position open.
The Friends Women Retreat, a combined retreat of Friends both east and west of the Cascades, of Northwest Yearly Meeting, will be held at Twin Rocks Friends Camp, October 1-4.
The Religious Education Committee of Pacific Yearly Meeting circulates an e-Newsletter. The latest issue focuses on outreach to families with the concern that most smaller meetings feel a need for more families and children.
Pacific Northwest Quarterly Meeting will meet September 25-27 at Lazy F Ranch near Ellensburg, WA. Port Townsend Meeting will lead the program with the theme, "Wild Earth, Wild Mind, Wild Heart." Friends are invited to "Engage minds and creativity; express grief over our planet in peril; find hope for our future as an interdependent earth community; and gain courage to live out the Quaker testimony of care for the natural world.