News from Western Quaker Newsletters
October-November 2009

News of Friends Meetings and Churches
Wyoming Friends Meeting will gather in Lander, WY November 20-22nd.
Wyoming Friends Meeting has developed a Mission Statement that begins with the following paragraph: “The Wyoming Friends Meeting is unique in its geographic and demographic characteristics. Our meeting is made up of various small Quaker communities that are isolated by vast distances and often severe weather. We recognize that these unique characteristics place special stresses and strains on our worship communities and the meeting as a whole. We accept as our primary mission the creation of an environment within our meeting that energizes and
strengthens the spiritual growth and physical well being of each member/attender. Furthermore, this primary mission will direct the management of the meeting’s human, spiritual, and financial resources.”
Becky Memmelaar from North Carolina has accepted the call from First Friends, Whittier (CA) to be their pastor. She will assume the ministry on January 1, 2010.
The Friends Choir of First Friends, Whittier (CA) will present The Creation (A Rock Cantata) by David Bobrowitz and Stephen Porter. This piece is a musical expression of the seven days of creation.
University Meeting (Seattle, WA) is seeking vendors and shoppers for its Crafts Fair. This simple yet fun and well loved annual event will be held Sunday Nov. 29 from 10:30am until 1 pm.
The Ukiah Friends Worship Group (CA) held a session on “Lest We Forget Iraq.” Friends heard poems and a short film and then discussed what they could do.
Tacoma Meeting (WA) was visited by Vashon Friends. All joined in a potluck meal.
Tacoma Meeting (WA) brainstormed a number of ideas for short, midrange and long-term goals for improving the Meeting House. Subsequently the list was organized into categories. Meeting for Business was to consider prioritization, further seasoning opportunities, immediate action, delegation etc.
Worship & Ministry Committee of Strawberry Creek Meeting (Berkeley, CA) developed a brochure on Vocal Ministry Practices; the brochure has now been added to those brochures now available on the Meeting’s Materials Table.
The Sunday School class of Friends Community Church, Spring Valley (CA) has been looking at nursery rhymes like “Jack and Jill, “Humpty Dumpty,” and “Old King Cole.” Each nursery rhyme has a story about a situation in the Bible.
Santa Fe Friends (NM) were invited to join a Threshing-Session type discussion on a Sunday during pot luck to share their opinions about how the Meeting should proceed with distribution of funds toward organizations which do good work in their community.
The Quaker Study Group of San Jose Meeting (CA) meets the first Sunday of the month at 5:30 pm for potluck, with discussion of the month's readings from 6:00 to 7:30. They are now reading Light to Live by Rex Ambler.
San Francisco Meeting (CA) considered the topic of service in a World Café format. For about an hour, Friends considered a series of queries in four rotating groups of 4-6 people each. Queries included: “What is my experience of service? And how have I been served? Have I experienced service as a form of worship? Or worship as a form of service? In what ways have I experienced service as transformational? What issues or activities would I like to get involved in? Or see the Meeting get involved in? What could I personally contribute to such activity?”
Salt Lake Meeting (UT) has revived its newsletter. Also, the Meeting website includes a section for Friends' writings with a introduction explaining that Quakers have no creed and no one person speaks for all of us.
Ministry and Counsel of Salt Lake Meeting (UT) developed plans to facilitate discussions on the Quaker testimonies of Community and Equality in the near future. The session on Community will be November 15, 2009 with the session on Equality, January 17, 2010, to round out the series on Friends' testimonies of Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, and Equality ('SPICE').
Salem Meeting (OR) hosted an Alternatives to Violence Project Basic Community Workship on November 6-8 at the Salem Meeting House.
A one-day, Sunday afternoon Pastor's Class was offered at Rose Drive Friends Church (Yorba Linda, CA) on November 8th. This class, a prerequisite for membership, is open to anyone who is interested in knowing what Rose Drive Friends believe and why.
The Prayer Book Potluck Group of Reno Meeting (NV) will meet on Friday December 4th to discuss the book “Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace… One School at a Time” by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.
Reedwood Friends Church (Portland, OR) is having a clothing, books, CDs, infant supplies, and toy exchange on Saturday, November 14. This is a great opportunity to reuse and recycle and a greater opportunity for fellowship.
Reedwood Friends Church (Portland, OR) is co-sponsoring the visit of Os Guinness, Christian writer, lecturer, and social scientist, to Portland on November 20th. He will speak on “Impossible People –facing up to the challenges of faith in the advanced modern era.”
At Redwood Forest Meeting (Santa Rosa, CA), action on a clearness committee report recommending a Friend’s membership was delayed to allow exploration of a member’s concern about faithfulness to the Peace Testimony. The Meeting approved the Friend’s membership, with one Friend standing aside.
Palo Alto Meeting (CA) Visiting and Caring Committee, has asked to revert to its original name – the Visiting Committee – because its current charge is very broad .The two members want their committee to have a charge limited enough that it can be faithfully carried out. The Meeting was asked how it wants to assure care for one another, given that the Meeting’s needs for caring exceed the capability of a small committee, and yet these needs may not be well met unless they are accepted by specific people.
Pima Meeting (Tucson, AZ) asks Friends to not be offended if someone prefers to not shake hands or hug. They may have found a different way to show they care.
The Phoenix Friends (AZ) Peace and Social Concerns committee invites Tempe Friends (AZ) to join in a potluck on November 22 following meeting for worship. Friends will be sharing food, watching a documentary, and discussing the AFSC recommendation for immigration reform number 1: Create Justice with Humane Economic Policies, from their list of seven recommendations for immigration reform.
Peace and Social Concerns Committee of Orange Grove Meeting (Pasadena, CA) plans to host a discussion on race based upon President Obama’s “A More Perfect Union” speech.
Newberg Friends (OR) Church Retreat will be November 13-15 with the theme, “Celebrate God Together.”
Newberg Friends (OR) are being invited to focus on God through prayer. Friends are invited to give “just one week” to pray for one another, to have this be a wide-based opportunity to experience prayer and the value of supporting one another in this way.
Worship and Ministry Committee of Multnomah Meeting (Portland, OR), hoping to encourage visits to its Worship Groups, has posted information sheets which Friends may sign to indicate their wish to visit Worship Groups and whether they will need transportation or be able to provide it.
Before taking more steps to cut its energy consumption, Multnomah Meeting (Portland, OR), wants Friends to calculate their usage for the year. They will find sheets labeled “Carbon Footprint Data” will be in the 1-2-3 box outside the meeting room door.
Honolulu Meeting (HI) has decided to revert to the former Meeting parking arrangement of "theater parking" on the lawn, one behind the other in rows pointing mauka, leaving enough clearance along the hedge so that cars can turn along the fence toward the road, then exit into the road nose first.
The Florence Worship Group (OR) will meet on the 2nd and 4th Sundays in Florence; on the 3rd Sunday at the Senior Center in Coos Bay; and the 5th Sunday in Deadwood. For more info, skdwr@oregonfast.net
Eugene Meeting (OR) will hold a Creative Quaker Arts and Crafts Sale on Saturday November 14th from 10 to 2 at the Meeting¬house. Once more there will be glorious scarves, raku ceramics, jewelry, art cards, toys, books, beads and bath balms. Bonus this year—live music!
Friends from Eugene Meeting (OR) hold a meeting for worship at the time of the full moon each month. This is a special time for Friends who experience the Sacred through Nature, the Earth, the Divine Feminine, the Gods, etc.
Eastside Meeting (Bellevue, WA) has an offer of a $100,000 loan from a Friend with terms of 4% for 15 year –interest-only for the first several years (during the time the Meeting is paying off the Friends Meetinghouse Fund loan, which is at 7%). It will require a note acknowledging the property as collateral, and therefore constitutes a lien on the property.
Davis Meeting (CA) invited Friends to bring a dish to share and come to a Fall Brunch at the rise of Meeting. This event was to be a time to just socialize with no business, no decisions, just friendly visiting over good food.
Davis Meeting (CA) invites Friends to put Saturday March 13 in their datebook for the Meeting's all-day Quaker Quest workshop. Steve Chase, a gifted member of the Friends General Conference Quaker Quest Travel Team, will be leading the workshop, which is intended to help Friends develop "inreach and outreach".
The Peace, Justice and Environment Committee of Corvallis Meeting (OR) recommends that the Support group called Friends and Family of the Homeless, for people who work with the homeless, be allowed to meet at the Meetinghouse, twice a month for a six-month trial period, to have training and to have access to counselors. Confidentiality would be stressed. Concerns were expressed but Meeting united with the idea of the support group. Friends will determine what will be needed.
The Discussion Committee of Claremont Meeting (CA) chose the topic, “Testimonies and Money Matters,” for discussion. Queries to be used included: How has this economic down-turn affected Friends’ actions on Simplicity? How does the integrity testimony shape our response to economic challenges? Which testimonies guide us in making household monetary choices and how?
Canyon Hills Friends Church (Yorba Linda, CA) invited Friends to an informational meeting for anyone interested in finding out more about the Christmas Musical.
The Reach team of Canyon Hills Friends Church (Yorba Linda, CA) heads to Long Beach Friends Church on the 2nd Sunday of every other month to feed homeless and under-resourced people.
Taking its cue from the popularity of the “Reader’s Share” program held last year, Palo Alto Meeting (CA) again asks Friends to bring books, pamphlets, articles or poems that have inspired or informed them and that may speak to others as well. Friends are invited to read aloud a paragraph or poem or just talk about what the reading has meant to them.
The managing editor of PeaceWays, the newsletter of Friends Peace Teams, is Ann Dusseau, Boise Valley Meeting (ID).
On Saturday November 14 Berkeley Meeting (CA) will hold an art and crafts sale to benefit the building fund. There will be an array of paintings (work by Margret Bowman, Biliana Stremska, Mary Lou Goertzen and others), collages (by Elanie Amoruso), tote bags by Birgit Gehr, woven and knitted items, pottery, jewelry, and many other items by various artists and craftspeople.
After 4 years and 3 months, the Bible reading group of Berkeley Meeting (CA) has
completed that endeavor, with a slight detour to read some of the Apocrypha and the Gospel of Thomas!
Berkeley Meeting (CA) is considering the creation of a “genealogical chart” showing who brought members to the Meeting and, if members came on their own, who was their most important initial contact within the Meeting.
Appleseed Meeting (Sebastopol, CA) is exploring the possibility of having a mid-week Meeting for Worship via conference call for distant Friends. What defines membership may be the central question. Friends need more information on the cost and how these technologically assisted Meetings for Worship would work. Ministry and Oversight Committee will investigate further.
Agate Passage Meeting (Poulsbo, WA) has scheduled Sunday morning programs for the year: First Sunday: Poetry; Second Sunday: Quaker Sojourns; and Fourth Sunday: Singing.

More than one Meeting:
Several Meetings including Berkeley Meeting (CA), Eugene Meeting (OR), Multnomah Meeting (Portland, OR), Redwood Forest Meeting (Santa Rosa, CA) San Jose Meeting, University Meeting (Seattle, WA) are inviting Friends to dinner on Thanksgiving Day. Many other churches and meetings will have Thanksgiving events surrounding the holiday.

Deaths noted in Newsletters:
Dot Leland, Eugene Meeting
Amy Mazza, Reno Meeting
Roberta Amott, Umpqua Worship Group, Eugene Meeting

Beyond the Monthly Meeting/Churches
Alaska Friends Conference will hold Fall Quarterly in Anchorage from November 27 – 29, Thanksgiving weekend.
College Park Quarterly Meeting’s one-day Winter Quarter will be on Saturday, January 16, 2010, in Berkeley.
Colorado Regional Meeting was November 6th - 8th at the YMCA of the Rockies Conference Center in Estes Park bordering Rocky Mountain National Park. This year’s theme, “Deepening Our Spiritual Life in Community,” was led by Nancy Bieber, a member of Lancaster (PA) Monthly Meeting and a psychotherapist, spiritual director and retreat leader.
The Greenleaf Friends Academy Auction was Nov 6-7. The proceeds from the auction go to the general budget The enrollment at GFA is currently down by 50 students for a total enrollment of 175. This is a considerable drop from previous years and leaves the school with a budget shortfall.
Intermountain Yearly Meeting discovered that Ghost Ranch has scheduled the 2010-2012 Annual Gatherings during the first full week of June instead of the traditional second week, which affects meetings where school is still in session. The Executive Committee agreed that the Meeting has no option for 2010, but IMYM should explore other options for the future.
Continuing Committee of Intermountain Yearly Meeting will meet January 8-10, 2010 in Tempe, Arizona, hosted by Tempe Friends.
North Pacific Yearly Meeting Coordinating Committee met for a day-long meeting, November 7th, at Multnomah Meeting House, Portland, OR.
The Northwest Yearly Meeting Youthworkers Training Conference was held November 6-8 at the Hood River Inn, Hood River OR. Dr. Doreen Dodgen-Magee of Tigard Friends Church will speak to the theme, “Plugged In: Engaging the Media Culture Surrounding Youth.”
Meeting for Business of Pacific Northwest Quarterly Meeting agreed to an increase in the Quarterly Meeting assessment, beginning in 2010. The Meeting also agreed to continue the pay-what-you-can fee policy, including for those who register late. It was understood that the Continuing Committee, at its meeting in January 2010, will decide upon the amount of increase in Quarterly Meeting assessment for 2010, subject to review by Meeting for Business in April 2010.
The Pacific Northwest Quarterly Meeting Silent Retreat will be January 29-31, 2010 at Camp Huston in Gold Bar, Washington.
The Portland Area Gathering of Northwest Yearly Meeting will be November 13 at Reedwood Friends Church with the theme, “Immigration and Spiritual Discernment.”
Southern California Quarterly Meeting was held November 7-8 at Temescal Canyon. Steve Smith, Claremont Meeting spoke to the theme: "Finding Joy In Committee Work: Knitting The Meeting Together In Community" Time was dedicated to meeting together in groups according to the committee in which Friends are called to serve, or would like to serve, in their Monthly Meetings.
Willamette Quarterly Meeting will gather for its annual business meeting on February 6, 2010 at the Corvallis Meeting House.
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From Friend to Friend, the Newsletter of
Friends Community Church, Spring Valley (CA):
The Debate
God is sitting in heaven when a scientist prays to Him. “God, we don’t need You anymore. Science has finally figured out a way to create life out of nothing – in other words, we can now do what You did in the beginning.” “Oh, is that so? Tell me,” replies God. “Well,” says the scientist. “We can take dirt and form it into the likeness of You and breathe life into it, thus creating man.” “Well, that’s very interesting. Show Me.” So, the scientist bends down to the earth and starts to mold the soil into the shape of a man. “No, no, no,” interrupts God. “Get your own dirt.”

FWCC Website
Look at www.fwccamericas.org for information about the Section of the Americas.

Nancy McLauchlan
for FWCC