News of Friends Meetings and Churches

Wyoming Meeting approve the following proposed Minute to be sent to the Clerk of IMYM to be presented at Ghost Ranch in June 2010: Wyoming Friends Meeting requests continuation of the welcoming relationship with Intermountain Yearly Meeting that was initially established in 2007, with the same terms and conditions agreed upon at that year's session. Except, we wish to request this relationship be reviewed in five (5) years rather than the original three (3).

Gil and Louise George, former pastors at Boise Friends Church, have accepted a call to pastor the congregation at Woodland Friends (ID). They hope to begin immediately, arriving for Easter Sunday.

First Friends, Whittier (CA) will hold a celebration to introduce their new pastor, Becky Rees Memmelaar, on Sunday, March 14.

The youth of First Friends, Whittier (CA) led the worship service on Valentine’s Day.

First Friends, Whittier (CA) has added a hand-bell choir to its worship service. A group of five bell ringers performed Douglas Wagner’s “Prayer” for their first performance.

Walla Walla Preparative Meeting (WA) is offering Friends “A Short Course on Quakerism, a 4-part series which includes Quaker History, Quakers and Mysticism, Quakers & Social Action, and Friendly Structure.

Victoria Friends (BC) will hold an End of Life workshop on March 14^th at the Fern Street Meeting House with a finger-food potluck lunch beforehand. The first hour will cover the range of issues to consider in arranging one‘s End of Life affairs, followed by an hour of information on wills and related concerns.

Vancouver Island Monthly Meeting (BC) will hold an Island Gathering, April 10^th with the theme, “Weaving new and old threads into the fabric of our Friendly island community” at the Cowichan Lake Education Centre. Duncan Worship Group Friends will provide hospitality for those who need over-night accommodations.

The Public Sessions of Quaker Quest will be held in April and May at the Vancouver (BC) Meeting House. A Quaker Quest public session is a varied and lively program that includes short presentations from three Quakers, a time of listening to seekers in small groups, a question period, a 30-minute meeting for worship, and hospitality. The topics for the presentations are: Worship and the Inner Journey; Peace and Social Action; and Are Quakers Christian?

At University Meeting (Seattle, WA) Adult Religious Education will focus on the Peace Testimony with sessions on Conflict and The Peace Testimony, Conflict and Nonviolence at home, and Nonviolence actions. The final session will be a Group Response where Friends find norms for safety at UFM.

Tempe Meeting (AZ) investigated the requirements for accepting credit/debit card payments for donations, and determined that the costs outweigh the convenience. Friends are gathering information on the “bill pay” service offered by some banks to their checking-account holders, and will bring details to a forthcoming meeting for business.

Adult Religious Education Committee of Strawberry Creek Meeting (Berkeley, CA) recommends that the Meeting lay down the Committee and return its responsibilities to the Worship and Ministry Committee effective as of June when the new term of committee memberships begin. It also proposes that Worship & Ministry Committee be expanded to eight members and that special project s such as Quakerism 101 be undertaken by ad hoc committees under the care of Worship and Ministry. The proposal is seasoning.

The First Day School Committee of Strawberry Creek Meeting (Berkeley, CA) has decided that the best option for making the classrooms safe for the children is to continue to be vigilant in looking for broken glass or other dangers. Friends are asked to report anyone rummaging through the recycling bins as this may result in a hazard for the children.

Spring Valley Friends Community Church (CA) is studying. The Young Adult Group is reading Experiencing God by Henry & Richards Blackaby and Claude King. The Senior Adult Group is reading the pamphlet, “Growing Older and Wiser.” by Dale and Sandy Larsen. The Senior Group discussed how important it is to get advice from the most holy of people in one’s life.

The newly formed regional "Central Friends" group (5th-8th graders) of South Seattle Preparative Meeting (WA) is doing their first service project on Saturday, March 20. They will be involved with an Emergency Feeding Program - sorting and packaging food for the food bank.

Santa Fe Meeting (NM) meets for Soup, Bread, and Friends on the third Wednesday of the month during the cooler months of the year. The atmosphere is warm and the food is extraordinary. The main menu includes soup, bread and tea. Friends may contribute food, but contributions are not required.

Santa Cruz Meeting (CA) is considering sharing peace and social order concerns after Meeting for Worship on Fourth Sundays.

Santa Cruz Friends (CA) will gather one Sunday evening a month for “Sharing Spiritual Journeys.” The evening’s storyteller will speak for an hour and then Friends will have follow-up time for questions, light refreshments and visiting with the speaker and each other.

Sandpoint Meeting (ID) approved the suggestion that Greg Mortensen, author of Stones into Schools (in Afghanistan and Pakistan) be nominated for the 2011 Peace Prize.

How can Sandpoint Meeting (ID) do something about Overpopulation as a Contributor to world problems such as global warming? Friends expressed concerns, will work on a minute, and will lead an Interest Group at NPYM.

The Caring Committee of San Jose Meeting (CA) has written a document entitled, “Suggestions for Couples Seeking a Quaker Wedding at San Jose Friends Meeting.” Copies of the document were distributed and included in the Meeting newsletter.

A large part of the Ministry and Oversight Committee meeting of San Francisco Meeting (CA) consisted of a worship-sharing time, “Listening to Meeting, Listening to Ourselves.” The committee concluded that it is listening to people’s concerns about its recent decision in a difficult situation with an individual. The committee is aware that there is not unity in the monthly meeting concerning the situation, and will continue to labor. The committee feels that it is important to set boundaries in difficult situations.

After extended conversation, San Francisco Meeting (CA) did not come to unity to begin the program of hosting a Food Bank. The Clerk asked if the Meeting had covered logistical concerns extensively enough, and if so, then as Friends continue their consideration, the Meeting needs to

discern more deeply if it is called to do this service.

The Annual Quaker Fundraising Extravaganza at Salt Lake Meeting (UT) will be Saturday March 13. It will feature musicians and poets from within the Quaker community and The Red Rock Hot Club, performing gypsy jazz. This year there will be a recession-friendly lowered admission in relation to previous years.

At the start of each season, the young players from the Rose Valley Friends Church (Kelso, WA) basketball program concentrate on more than dribbling and slam dunks. The hoopsters also take time to raise food for charity. This year’s recipient was FISH of Cowlitz County.

This year the focus of the children's offering at Rose Drive Friends Church (Yorba Linda, CA) will be on Haiti - specifically the needs of the Friends churches in Haiti after the devastating earthquake. During the three week emphasis, the children will hear from special guest speakers who will be share their experiences in being missionaries. The curriculum will be from the book "I Can Share Too."

Rose Drive Friends Church (Yorba Linda, CA) offers mid-week electives including

Alpha for ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages). Topics covered are the same as Alpha Basics but in simple English, with potluck dinners with food from around the world.

The Easter Seals Society requested the Reno Friends Meeting (ID) donate used clothing to their thrift store periodically during the year. Friends recently delivered clothing .

Nominating Committee of Reno Meeting (NV) labored to come to unity around the requests of two Friends that they be "reinstated" onto the Reno Meeting's Oversight Committee for the year 2010. The Nominating Committee came to a strong sense of unity that it is important to demonstrate to Reno Meeting that when people are nominated and then approved by the Meeting to be on a committee, they are supported by the Meeting. As Reno Meeting currently has an approved Oversight Committee that is working well with an adequate number of members, the Nominating Committee agreed it was important to support them in their work. The Meeting reached a painful sense of unity to accept the Nominating Committee’s recommendation, and agreed to reach out personally to all the people in the meeting who have been hurt by recent divisions.

Friday, July 9th, Redwood Forest Meeting (Santa Rosa, CA) will celebrate 15 years at our Meetinghouse. July 9th, 1995, was the first Meeting for Worship and first Meeting for Business in the Meeting Room.

The Meaning of Membership workshop, addressing what it mean to be a member of Redwood Forest Meeting (Santa Rosa, CA), was attended by twelve people who engaged in a lively Quaker dialog that covered aspects of the meeting’s social and spiritual community including social action as well as financial implications of membership.

Palo Alto Meeting (CA) is concerned about the symptoms of stress and burn-out that the Meeting members, attenders, and children have been exhibiting. The Nominating process is beginning and Friends need to discern and act on Spirit-led priorities rather than just move people to fill gaps one place, only to create new gaps elsewhere. At Business Meeting, Friends will explore how to get more of what they want from the Meeting. In preparation, Friends are to consider :

- What is the core of your positive experience of our Meeting?

- Which aspects of Meeting delight you, support your persistence in living Quaker values, and/or are priorities for you?

- What opportunities do you want to retain, make better, and/or expand?

Orange Grove Meeting (Pasadena, CA) reminds Friends that email and telephone scams targeting Quakers have been reported. The perpetrators urge victims to send money to Friends who are overseas or injured and without adequate financial means. Please check with the clerks or Pastoral Care if similar email messages or telephone calls are received.

Orange Grove Meeting (Pasadena, CA) notes that the courtyard renovation is underway. The bricks have been laid and the decomposed granite will be laid shortly. Actual costs are expected to be close to budgeted costs. Once the courtyard renovation is complete, the meetinghouse rug will be removed. No decisions will be made until the type of flooring underneath is evaluated.

Orange County Meeting (Santa Ana, CA) will begin meeting in Sky Park in Irvine, CA, located near John Wayne Airport, in April. Members approved the move at a Called Meeting on February 28. The new site is slightly smaller than the Meeting’s current location. OCFM has met at its current location for nearly 10 years.

As Friends discussed the 2010 budget in a joint meeting between the elders and stewards of Newberg Friends Church (OR), there was a strong sense in that meeting to completely eliminate the rest of the church debt in 2010—$33,000. Friends are being asked to consider this prayerfully as they plan their giving for 2010. The stewardship committee will create a designated fund in the budget this year titled “debt reduction.”

Friends from Newberg Friends Church (OR), who are in or near the realm of empty nests, aging parents, adult health issues, and grandparenting, are asked to consider joining “Time for ’Pause.” These Friends share together, pray for one another, and praise God as they see him working in their midst.

Multnomah Meeting (Portland, OR) Nominating Committee held a Volunteer Fair to present opportunities for meeting service. Each committee was invited to set up a table in order to present their committee’s work and job descriptions (and snacks!), and be available to answer questions. Friends were invited to take note of opportunities they might be interested in now or in the future.

Based on recommendations from the Conflict Resolution Committee regarding Financial Matters, a Called Meeting for Worship for Business will take place at Mountain View Meeting (Denver, CO) on April 11^th to discuss adopting and following a spirit-led process for discerning ways to increase and use the Meeting financial assets. The called meeting will also begin a process to provide guidance to the Finance committee on the amount of reserves required to be kept and how quickly they should be replenished once spent.

Quaker Quest Training will be held at the Mountain View Meeting House (Denver, CO)

on Saturday, April 10, 2010.

Melba Friends (ID) has applied for a grant to build a community youth center. The Refinery Youth Center is a project that is sorely needed in all small town communities. Substance abuse and other high risk behaviors are temptations for youth in every town and city, small town youth have very few alternatives. The Refinery Youth Center will provide a place that is fun and safe for the youth of our community.

For several years Medford Friends Church (OR) had a Wednesday night program thatincludes a simple meal, followed by activities and studies for all ages. The evening was designed to encourage families to participate, while expanding opportunities for fellowship and study. However, over the last couple of years the dynamics of these Wednesday nights began to change as more and more youth from the neighborhood and community began to join Friends.

La Jolla Meeting (CA) will hold a Meeting “Garage Sale.” Friends are asked to “save their junk.” Proceeds will benefit the Pacific Yearly Meeting Youth Coordinator position.

Friends from Humboldt Meeting (Arcata, CA) participated in two workshops on The Gift of Anger.

When Honolulu Meeting (HI) receives a bequest of $5000 or more, without a specific condition on the use of the bequest, the Finance Committee puts the money in the General Invested Reserve. In the case of bequests of more than $1000 and less than $5000, the Finance Committee decides whether to put the money in the General Invested Reserve or to treat the money as current income to the General Fund. The same principles apply to the aggregate memorial gifts made in memory of a deceased person at the time of the person’s death.

It was suggested, and agreed by the Meeting Clerk of Honolulu Meeting (HI), that there be a specific bulletin board for the official business announcements of the meeting, at the moment to include the draft State of the Meeting Report, the Nominating Committee proposed slate, and the draft budget.

Florence Worship Group (OR) will meet in Florence and Coos Bay during the month of March.

A New Bike Parking Area is coming to the Eugene Meeting House (OR). It will be located at the back (west) wall of the Meetinghouse by the parking lot. There will be 16 spaces, steel loops and a higher roof. The existing bike area, tool shed, and compost area will be replaced to open up more space in the courtyard.

Meeting for In­quiry of Eugene Meeting (OR) will focus “On Speaking in Meeting for Worship” Who speaks? When? On what subject? These questions, put this way, cannot be answered by a people who have no dogma. What needs to be asked and must be answered is, “What is the nature of the Meeting?”

In keeping with the testimony of Mutual Care, the children of Eastside Meeting (Bellevue, WA) held a bake sale to benefit relief efforts in Haiti. The children brought treats and collected donations during fellowship time.

Quaker Quest workshop will be at Davis Meeting (CA) on March 13, led by Steve Chase. The FGC Quaker Quest travel team will help Friends develop "inreach and outreach".

Canyon Hills Friends Church (Yorba Linda, CA) held Church Serve Day on Saturday, February 27th. Friends cleaned up the parking lot, trimmed trees and cleaned/fixed items inside.

Camas Friends Church (WA) has invited Friends from Multnomah Meeting (Portland, OR) to a shared worship at the Camas Church on April 11. After the church service Friends will meet to discuss the experience and / or what our form of worship means to us - how it was or is experienced. This will be followed by soup and bread and informal conversations.

“Desiring to be of service to God and the community, we, Chico Friends Meeting (CA), commit ourselves to make our property available for use by community groups whose work is consistent with our testimonies. We ask Building and Grounds Committee to oversee such use.”

The Discussion Committee of Claremont Meeting (CA) will present the following topic for Friends to discuss: Quaker Traditions and Practices: What Binds Friends Together When We’re So Diverse? The world of Quakers contains an amazingly diversity. What binds us together? Evangelicals have creeds, Jews have observance, Catholics have the papacy. Eastern Orthodoxy have the liturgy. We will explore how Quaker traditions and practice help Friends to navigate differences and to discover deep unity in worship, testimony, and activism (ministry).

The Peace and Social Concerns Committee of Bridge City Meeting (Portland, OR) recommended that the Meeting follow the policy established in 2007 of contributing 10% of our annual budget, to be equally allocated to Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Friends Committee on National Legislation, Friends World Committee for Consultation, and the Oregon Food Bank. Friends approved.

Bridge City Meeting (Portland, OR) has been told that the building where they normally meet for worship will be unavailable on Sunday, March 28. Friends are encouraged to visit other Friends Churches and Meetings in the Portland, OR area on that day.

All members of the Meeting House Committee of Boise Valley Meeting (Boise, ID) are enthusiastic about the idea of having a Meeting House, but are mindful that others may have strong reservations. The committee came up with a set of queries for the rest of the Meeting having to do with values and vision for the Meeting in 5, 10 or 15 years. Would having a Meeting House help achieve that vision? Should Friends continue accepting contributions towards a Meeting House?

Berkeley Friends Meeting (CA) invites Friends to a Long Range Planning Committee presentation after meeting on March 28 . Friends will review the history of the building renovation project, what decisions have been made to date, where they are now, what work remains before construction can start, and how Friends can participate.

Berkeley Meeting Friends (CA) are invited to join in a celebration of the abundance of the local foodshed; Friends are asked to bring “Locavore” food gifts, to share on April 12th.

Berkeley Friends Church (CA) will hold its 2010 Quaker Heritage Day on Saturday April 10, 2010. Carol Spencer will speak on Holiness: The Soul of Quakerism. There will be three sessions:

“Early Quakerism: A Radical Holiness Movement” “19th Century Revivalism: Love It or Hate It?” “Holiness, Mysticism & Modernism: A 21st Century Synthesis”

At Friday Night at the Movies at Berkeley Friends Church (CA), Friends will watch “Real Women Have Curves,” which is a timely coming of age story about a first generation Latina who struggles to balance her family's culture with her own hopes and dreams.

On April 13, Berkeley Friends Church (CA) will host Dr. Alexia Nibona, director of the Friends Women’s Association in Burundi. Dr. Nibona will reflect on growing up in Kamenge, Burundi---one of Burundi’s deadliest warzones—and her decision to pursue her medical degree so that she could return to work with women, HIV+people, and trauma survivors in her community. She will talk about how she helps people to heal from devastating violence and trauma, moving Burundi to a more peaceful future.

Apple Seed Meeting (Sebastopol, CA) is changing its meeting location to the West County Community Services Building at the corner of Walker and Petaluma Ave. in Sebastopol.

At Albuquerque Meeting (NM), concerns have been expressed regarding compliance with health and safety guidelines for food service. Thus a Third Sunday Social after meeting for worship will replace the potluck. The Meeting will provide snacks, coffee, tea, and juice.

Because the regularly scheduled Meeting for Worship for Business at Albuquerque Meeting (NM) falls on Easter, the April business meeting will be a called meeting on March 28 to finalize the State of the Meeting Report, with the next Meeting for Business to be held on May 2nd.

Friends from Agate Passage Meeting (Poulsbo, OR) show interest but hesitation regarding possible Bible Study sessions. It seems that Bible Study might commence, but not immediately. Names of potential participants are being gathered.

Beyond the Monthly Meeting/Churches

Youth of Alaska Friends Conference are invited to gather at Nancy Lake State Park, July 28-30, paddling and hiking to Cabin #1. Each day is filled with spirit-led activities, games and arts and crafts. The menu is simple, cooked family style over a campfire. Each night Friends enjoy s’mores and good singing around the fire. Friends leave July 30 to join the Yearly Gathering of the Alaska Friends Conference. No age limit, kids from age 1 to 90 are welcome!

Portland area Friends will meet at the Multnomah Meeting House with the American Friends Service Committee staff and Executive Committee members to hear about current programs and dialogue about new developments at AFSC on Friday, March 12, 7:00 p.m.

Arizona Half-Yearly Meeting will hold its Spring gathering March 27, 2010 at the Phoenix Meeting House with the theme, “Strengthening and Deepening the Work of our Committees.” Responding to input from individuals and Monthly Meetings, Friends changed the format of the spring AHYM session. There will not be a guest speaker or the usual small-group worship/sharing . The afternoon sessions will focus on the needs and workings of Peace and Social Concerns committees, and Ministry and Oversight/Adult Education/Pastoral Care committees. On Saturday night, the Phoenix Meeting House will be transformed into a coffee house for acoustic folk music.

Barclay Press will celebrate 50 years of publishing ministry among Evangelical Friends in May.

The quarterly meeting of the Christian Friends Conference will take place on Saturday, March 20 from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM at Berkeley Friends Church. Lunch is brown bag. Beverages and bagels will be provided in the morning.

College Park Quarterly Meeting will gather May 15-16 at Ben Lomond Quaker Center.

College Park Quarterly Meeting Youth, 5^th – 9^th grades, are invited to a weekend retreat, March 19-21, in Palo Alto, CA.

Ministry and Oversight of College Park Quarterly Meeting is eager to learn about persistent problems and best corrective practices from Meetings dealing with emotionally or mentally disturbed participants in worship and other Meeting events.

Colorado Regional Meeting (CRM) of Friends Spring Gathering is an opportunity for shared spiritual growth, Quaker fellowship, and fun! Friends will meet on April 18, 2010 at the Fort Collins Meeting House for “The Lighter Side of the Light.” and explore how lightening up can deepen our spirituality.

Good News Associates is presenting a 3-day “Leadership Institute for Group Discernment” May 17-20 at George Fox University, Newberg, OR. The Leadership Institute is a four-day intensive experience to empower church leaders in group discernment. It will integrate theological, spiritual and practical organizational processes. Each participant is invited to bring both expertise to share and problems to be solved. Insitute Leadership includes Paul Anderson, Bruce Bishop, Chuck Conniry, Lon Fendall, and Jan Wood.

The Joy of Clerking is a one-day workshop for clerks or people considering being clerks, to provide training and support to help you fulfill this task with an eye on how God is stirring and moving your community. The workshop will be offered at George Fox University on Tuesday, May 18 and led by Lon Fendall and Jan Wood of the Good News Association.

This workshop is part of the larger “Leadership Institute for Group Discernment.”

Full details for the institute are available at www.goodnewsassoc.org/leadershipinstitute

The Friends Committee on Legislation of California Education Fund invites Friends to a very special event on Friday, March 26, 2010, in Sacramento to benefit the FCL Education Fund and Death Penalty Focus. The FCL third Capitol Awards Banquet will honor three outstanding activists for criminal justice reform and the abolition of the death penalty. Information: fclca.org

On Monday, February 15, Quaker Lobby Day, Friends descended on Olympia. With the help of Friends Committee on Washington Public Policy, Washington State Friends learned some of the latest developments in legislation about criminal justice reform. At noon they joined a rally of 6,500 people on the Capitol steps to call for education, health care and other human needs, not budget cuts and then visited with representatives and senators’ staff and had good discussions.

Intermountain Yearly Meeting (IMYM) will be held June 9-13, 2010, at Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, NM, with early program days on June 6-9 The theme will be "Quaker Service in the 21st Century." The registration material for Intermountain Yearly Meeting (IMYM)Annual Gathering is posted at http://imym.org/2010annualgathering. Registrations are due by April 20. Registrations post-marked after April 20 may be accepted at the discretion of the Registrars, but
housing may not be available and IMYM will request a $25 late fee.

Continuing Committee of Intermountain Yearly Meeting decided to remove the $24,000 budget item for the Joint Service Project and reduce the assessment to $35 per member. Continuing Committee could not come to unity on whether to include any support for service in the 2010 or 2011 budgets. It decided to propose that the Annual Gathering in June form a committee to investigate future Yearly Meeting service possibilities.

The New Mexico Quaker Women’s Spring Retreat will be held April 3 to 5th at the
Norbertine Retreat Center in southwest Albuquerque. The theme will be “What do we bring to our communities and what do we get? How do we create and maintain this community?”

Northwest Yearly Meeting will gather at George Fox University for worship, business, and visioning on July 25-29. The keynote address by Superintendent Colin Saxton will be on Sunday and the Outreach Rally will occur on Monday.

Northwest Yearly Meeting has a Facebook page. It features daily postings from local church sites, as well as updates about NWYM ministries. Friends are invited to leave comments or join in the dialogue. www.facebook.com/NorthwestYearlyMeeting

February was the first annual Peace Month in Northwest Yearly Meeting. The subcommittee that put together resources for Peace Month is asking Churches about their experiences or lack thereof. The subcommittee wants to know what Friends did and did not find useful and what they can do better next year.

Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends Church Junior High Jamboree, a retreat at Twin Rocks Friends Camp over Presidents’ Day weekend, had a record 58 attenders! Planned and directed by a group of high schoolers from the Portland and Newberg Areas, it also helps develop the leadership and ministry skills of our youth.

The 8th Pacific Northwest Quaker Women’s Theology Conference will take place June 16-20, 2010, at Seabeck Conference Center in Seabeck, Washington. The theme is Walk With Me: Mentors, Elders, and Friends. www.pnwquakerwomen.org.

Pacific NW Quarterly Meeting Spring Gathering is scheduled for April 23-25, 2010, at Lazy F Ranch near Ellensburg with the theme “Compassionate Listening: Finding God in the Midst of Fear.” For more information, see http://www.pnqm.org.

Pacific Yearly Meeting Representative Committee (RepComm) will meet on Saturday, March 5^th at Orange Grove Meeting.

Southern California Quarterly Meeting will gather at Orange Grove Meeting in Pasadena, CA on Saturday, April 24^th.

Friends are invited to mark their calendars for a delightful, family-friendly gathering at Twin Rocks Friends Camp, “Party by the Parkway” on Saturday, May 22, 2010.

Western Half Yearly Meeting (WHYM) will meet Friday May 21-Monday May 24^th at Sorrento Centre. Friends are invited to arrive at the Sorrento Centre on Thursday evening so they can join in the WHYM Retreat Day on Friday.

Willamette Quarterly Meeting Spring Gathering will be April 23-25 at Sky Camp, east of Eugene, Oregon. The theme is “Living in Harmony: Body and Soul.”

Western Quaker Newsletters February 2010

Friends Meetings and Churches

2nd Street Community Church (Newberg, OR) has helped create a city-wide program to support recovery of all kinds. Celebrate Recovery is a recovery plan based on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.
Jack Parkinson is the interim Student Ministries Director at 2nd Street Community Church (Newberg, OR).
“Quaker Sojourns,” the first hour program of Agate Passage Meeting (Poulsbo, OR) is an opportunity to learn more about each other and to nourish conversation about how travel can nourish values and beliefs.
Albuquerque Meeting (NM) unites that it will make every attempt to keep the library door open and available from 10:00 – 10:30 and from rise of meeting to 12:00, on First days.
Albuquerque Meeting (NM) is holding a study group on Samuel Bownas. About eight people have indicated interest and the organizers would love to have more participants, especially among those relatively “young” to Quakerism.
Anthem Friends (ID), a church plant in the Hayden Lake area of North Idaho, was approved at Northwest Yearly Meeting 2009.
Apple Seed Meeting (Sebastapol, CA) plans to hold a threshing session on whether or not to look for other Meeting locations? Questions include: “What would the goals of any move be? What are the pros and cons of moving?”
Berkeley Friends Church (CA) will hold its 2010 Quaker Heritage Day on Saturday April 10, 2010. Carol Spencer will speak on Holiness: The Soul of Quakerism. There will be three sessions:
“Early Quakerism: A Radical Holiness Movement” “19th Century Revivalism: Love It or Hate It?” “Holiness, Mysticism & Modernism: A 21st Century Synthesis”
Canyon Hills Friends Church (Yorba Linda, CA) has added new staff: half-time Equipping Pastor for Adult Ministries, Carlos Lopez; half-time Junior High Director, Calvin Sodestrom; Audio-visual Coordinator, Randy Castner; Nursery Coordinator, Katy Castner; Worship-Leader Assistants, Joyce Wheeler and Blake Mendenhall.
Casa de los Amigos (Mexico City, Mexico) has opened its doors to Haitian refugees including a family of four, a couple, and a family of three.
The Coeur d’Alene (ID) Ministry Point exists to build bridges to those who have walked away from traditional “church.” Bruce and Leann Williams provide leadership.
The Adult Religious Education Committee of Corvallis Meeting (OR) has heard a need from the Meeting to discuss how the Meeting connect to our greater community. This broad theme may incorporate modes of outreach, as well as other ways of connecting to, and defining ourselves to, our community.
Corvallis Meeting (OR) is seeking ways to allow interaction between adults and children, and to make children feel more involved in the meeting. They could create a poster, make planter boxes, garden and donate produce. Perhaps a first hour that includes children (Not silent!).
Delta Meeting (Stockton, CA) is organizing old records to put together a history of the Meeting. Friends would like to at least put together significant dates in the history of the Meeting, and track the movement from Tracy to Modesto to Stockton.
It was suggested to Delta Meeting (Stockton, CA) that with all the good cooks in the Meeting, they include a tab to post Recipes on their website.
Fresno Meeting (CA) has agreed to join the website gaychurch.org, a location for the gay and lesbian community to find religious connections where they are accepted.
Grass Valley Meeting (Nevada City, CA) is considering a proposal to split Hospitality and Outreach Committee into two committees. Hospitality Committee is the Meeting host. The committee is responsible for the Meeting's Christmas Party, memorials, initiating and coordinating Friendly 8's, etc. Outreach/Greeters committee is focused on visitors to Meeting for Worship, essentially, making visitors feel welcome and offering Outreach to the community as it is indicated.
Young adults from Hayden Lake Friends Church (ID) traveled to Portland in January to work with Bridgetown Ministries to demonstrate Christ’s love by reaching out to the homeless. The trip created a sense of renewal and energized the young adults to serve in the Hayden Lake area.
Iglesia Amigos El Altar en Boise (The Altar Friends Church) (ID) is the newest church plant of Northwest Yearly Meeting. Jorge Sileoni is the pastor.
La Jolla Meeting (CA) notes: The Christmas Eve candle light worship was, as usual, wonderful. It's the only time of the year that most Friends actually use the front door!
La Jolla Meeting (CA) Adult Religious Ed has started a "women's meeting" with about 20 interested women.
Lynwood Friends Church (Portland, OR) hosts Friends Community Playgroup as a service to local Moms. The Playgroup has two goals, to increase learning and provide support. Moms have a chance to talk about various family related issues in a safe and supportive environment.
Quaker Quest Training will be held at the Mountain View Meeting House (Denver, CO)
on Saturday, April 10, 2010.
Mountain View Friends (Denver, CO) will explore stories and ideas at an Introduction to Faith and Play Workshop on Saturday, February 27. Susan Bailey, who was trained in the Faith and Play stories and practice at Pendle Hill, will begin the morning with a story demonstration. The workshop will continue with issues ranging from creating an experience of wonder and awe to the nuts and bolts of teaching Faith and Play in the classroom.
Marge Abbot will lead a series on Quaker history and practice at Multnomah Meeting (Portland, OR) on three Sundays in February. Topics include: Quakers Over Time; Listening For The Still, Small Voice –in Meeting For Worship & In The Conduct Of Business; and Engaging With The World –Friends’ Witness –Equality, Peace, Truth, Simplicity, & Care for The Earth.
Newberg Friends Church (OR) will be the host site for Newberg’s first Adult Health Day. The social hall will become the “waiting room” as patients wait to see a doctor. A variety of health services will be offered for those without insurance coverage. Newberg Friends will brew/serve coffee, “host”/escort folks to their exam room, and pray. The NFC parish nursing team will do blood pressure checks and help facilitate the day.
Newberg Friends Church (OR) is reorganizing a Global Outreach Task Force with the goal of helping more people at the church connect the hand and the heart in support of the many ways that God is at work in the world.
David and ?Debbie Thomas who serve with Evangelical Friends Mission in Rwanda, will be at Newberg Friends Church (OR) late 2010/early 2011 as missionaries in residence.
North Valley Friends Church (Newberg, OR) has written a Minute on Immigration. It begins: “The community of faith known as North Valley Friends Church in Newberg, OR seeks to value and reach out to persons of all races, cultures, and social classes. …. We believe there is a need for reform of the current immigration system. We recognize the complexity of the issues surrounding immigration, the importance of national security, and the need for humane treatment of persons caught in the dilemmas of the lack of legal documentation. We see these as moral, as well as spiritual issues...”
The Clerk of Orange County Meeting (Santa Ana, CA) sends reminder notices each Wednesday for the upcoming Sunday's events, and adds any other announcements received.
Orange County Meeting (Santa Ana, CA) notes that in the next two months, its major task will be to find a new meeting site. Friends are looking for a place to lease, or to share with a compatible group, and the whole meeting is asked to help in search. The Meeting is working with a real estate agent, and is hoping to locate in Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, Tustin or the general area.
The ad hoc Fundraising Committee of Orange County Meeting (Santa Ana, CA) plans to hold a garage sale to raise money for philanthropic causes the Meeting supports. Friends are asked to do their spring cleaning with an eye toward items that can be donated to the sale.
As a part of its proposed guidelines for extending financial help to members, Orange County Meeting (Santa Ana, CA) has developed a Policy Document which says, “No member or regular attender of Orange County Friends Meeting will ever be prevented from full participation in Meeting activities because he or she cannot afford it.”
Minute approved: “Pima Meeting (Tucson, AZ) asks that the Finance Committee define the purpose of our financial reserve, and the amount of the Meeting’s average operating expenses with details, and from this, suggest an amount for our financial reserve of about one year’s expenses.”
Pima Meeting (Tucson, AZ) agreed that there is a problem with noisy people, and that the Meeting needs to have standards set for the Meetings. The Ministry and Oversight suggestions, such as gathering the space by 9:50 a.m. for worship at 10:00 a.m. by closing the doors to the Meeting Room, were approved.
Parents who wish to dedicate their children at Rose Drive Friends Church (Yorba Linda, CA) are required to attend a Parenting Class before the dedication.
Rose Drive Friends Church (Yorba Linda, CA) will hold its Annual Congregational Meeting on Sunday, February 28. Jim LeShana will update Friends on the state of the church. Friends will have the opportunity to exercise their membership, get an inside view of future plans, and make decisions that will impact the life of RDFC, including approval of the annual budget and a review of committee and ministry reports.
Sacramento Meeting (CA) has developed a policy regarding earmarked donations. Policy: – Sacramento Meeting may receive earmarked donations supporting any line item in the Meeting’s current approved budget. Sacramento Meeting may also facilitate earmarked donations to causes or purposes that are not line items in Meeting’s budget, after these have been approved by Meeting or its Finance Committee. The goals and activities of approved recipients must be consistent with the corporate purposes of Sacramento Friends Meeting, and must be known to Friends active in the Meeting.
Each month, Finance Committee of Sacramento Meeting (CA) reports on one organization to which Meeting sends an annual contribution. This month, Jim Updegraff reported on Friends House Moscow.
Salt Lake Meeting (UT) has agreed to replace the floor in the Meeting House basement. This will happen sometime in April or later and will affect the children’s program, the kitchen and AFSC as everything will have to be moved out of the basement.
The Kitchen Remodel Subcommittee of San Francisco Meeting (CA) has scheduled a second hour worship sharing session. Friends will consider queries: “Whom do you envision using the kitchen and how are they using it? How does a kitchen create, support, and enrich the San Francisco Meeting Community?”
San Jose Meeting (CA) collects Newsletters from other Friends Meeting and places them in a binder which can be found on the coffee table in the Brinton House living room.
QuakerMen of Spring Valley Friends Community Church (CA) gather once a month on Saturday mornings at 7:00 a.m. for grace, breakfast, devotionals, a financial report, and then chore lists and assignments. Doing the work of caring for the church themselves is a sacrifice of sweat and a time to God and saves the congregation some money as an added bonus.
Strawberry Creek Meeting (Berkeley, CA) recently held its annual Listening Meeting on the State of our Meeting with the query, “What have been the main strengths and shortcomings of Strawberry Creek during the past year, particularly in terms of our spiritual health as a Meeting and how well our committees and other activities have contributed to the life of the Meeting?”
Tacoma Meeting (WA) is considering its committees. It was noted that while the name “Intellectual and Spiritual Pursuits Committee” may seem whimsical, it does reflect the intended work of the committee. The Meeting notes that the work of the Peace and Social Concerns Committee is important, but its membership has dwindled. The Meeting will hold a Second-Hour threshing session on the Peace and Social Concerns Committee.
The Finance Committee of Tempe Meeting (AZ) was looking for a report of the membership total, either from Counsel and Oversight Committee, or from the ad hoc committee (clerk, treasurer and the convenor of C&O) established by Meeting for Business to discuss how to determine actual participating membership. The need for the realistic count surfaced during the budget review process; assessments paid to both IMYM and AHYM are based on membership.
Tempe Meeting (AZ) has 57 members on record as of January 2010.
On Saturday evening February 27th at 7PM at University Meeting (Seattle, WA) Rayahn Samati will lead a discussion and present information on the Woolman Semester (Nevada City, CA) for interested teens and their parents. The Woolman Semester is a program that is available for high school juniors, seniors or those in their “gap year” after high school to study peace activism, social justice and environmental sustainability.
Whittier First Friends Church (CA) hostrd Quaker Forum on February 20th. Earlham College Professor Tom Hamm spoke on “California Quakers: Community, Controversy, Connection.” Facilitators from Earlham School of Religion led a discussion on “Lessons from the Past; Insights for the Present.”
Joyce Ajlouny, Director of the Friends Schools in Ramallah, Palestine visited Whittier First Friends Church (CA) early in February.
Whittier First Friends Church (CA) has a new carpet in its Fellowship Hall because individuals and friends made special contributions to cover part of the cost.

Beyond the Monthly Meeting/Churches

The Alaska Friends Conference Ministry and Nurture Committee has been tending a leading to offer a Spiritually Nurturing Retreat, Spring 2010, a weekend residential retreat. The current theme is “Tending the Spiritual Taproot of our Yearly Meeting individually and collectively.” Possible venues are in the Talkeetna area or the Wasilla or Chugiak area.
Alaska Yearly Meeting churches recognize the importance of ministering to youth in order to give them firm grounding in the faith and alternatives to drinking and suicide which are prevalent among native youth.
Arizona Half-Yearly Meeting will hold its Spring gathering March 27, 2010 at the Phoenix Meeting House with the theme, “Strengthening and Deepening the Work of our Committees.” On Saturday night, the Phoenix Meeting House will be transformed into a coffee house for acoustic folk music.
Barclay Press will celebrate 50 years of publishing ministry among Evangelical Friends in May.
Ben Lomond Quaker Center and Western Friend announce their first collaborative program, Rightly-Ordered Financial Management for Friends' Meetings and Organizations. It will take place at Ben Lomond Quaker Center on March 5-7, 2010.
College Park Quarterly Meeting will gather May 15-16 at Ben Lomond Quaker Center.
College Park Quarterly Meeting Youth, 5th – 9th grades, are invited to a weekend retreat, March 19-21, in Palo Alto, CA.
The Colorado Regional Meeting will be Sunday, April 18 at Fort Collins Meeting, CO with the theme, “How Quakers Have Fun.”
Intermountain Yearly Meeting (IMYM) will be held June 9-13, 2010, at Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, NM, with early program days on June 6-9 The theme will be "Quaker Service in the 21st Century."
Continuing Committee of Intermountain Yearly Meeting decided to remove the $24,000 budget item for the Joint Service Project and reduce the assessment to $35 per member. Continuing Committee could not come to unity on whether to include any support for service in the 2010 or 2011 budgets. It decided to propose that the Annual Gathering in June form a committee to investigate future Yearly Meeting service possibilities.
Montana Gathering of Friends (MGOF) will meet Feb. 19-21, 2010 in Great Falls, MT with the theme “Integrity.” At Business Meeting Friends will discuss “The Future of MGOF,” – considering the health of the meetings and the relationship with North Pacific Yearly Meeting. Information: jk8345@hotmail.com
The New Mexico Quaker Women’s Spring Retreat will be held April 3 to 5th at the
Norbertine Retreat Center in southwest Albuquerque. The theme will be “What do we bring to our communities and what do we get? How do we create and maintain this community?”
Northwest Yearly Meeting will gather at George Fox University for worship, business, and visioning on July 25-29. The keynote address by Superintendent Colin Saxton will be on Sunday and the Outreach Rally will occur on Monday.
Northwest Yearly Meeting has a Facebook page. It features daily postings from local church sites, as well as updates about NWYM ministries. Friends are invited to leave comments or join in the dialogue. www.facebook.com/NorthwestYearlyMeeting
Northwest Yearly Meeting Men’s Retreat will be February 19-21 at the Quaker Hill Conference Center, McCall, ID. Colin Saxton will speak on the theme “Living a Balanced Life.”.
Northwest Yearly Meeting Men’s Retreat will be February 26-28 at Twin Rocks Friends Camp with the theme, Living Purely in a Sex-Driven World. Speakers include Gar Mickelson, Marshall Snider, Dr. Terry Riske, and Jason Minnix.
The 8th Pacific Northwest Quaker Women’s Theology Conference will take place June 16-20, 2010, at Seabeck Conference Center in Seabeck, Washington. The theme is Walk With Me: Mentors, Elders, and Friends. www.pnwquakerwomen.org.
Pacific NW Quarterly Meeting Spring Gathering is scheduled for April 23-25, 2010, at Lazy F Ranch near Ellensburg with the theme “Compassionate Listening: Finding God in the Midst of Fear.” For more information, see http://www.pnqm.org.
Pacific Yearly Meeting Representative Committee (RepComm) will meet on Saturday, March 5th at Orange Grove Meeting.
Southern California Quarterly Meeting will gather at Orange Grove Meeting in Pasadena, CA on Saturday, April 24th.
The Western Association of the Religious Society of Friends (WARSF) will meet February 20th following the afternoon sessions of Whittier First Friends Church’s Quaker Forum.
The Willamette Quarterly Meeting Men’s Retreat will be February 26-28 at Camp Myrtlewood near Myrtle Point, Oregon.
Willamette Quarterly Meeting Spring Gathering will be April 23-25 at Sky Camp, east of Eugene, Oregon.

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

Western Quaker Newsletters

Friends Churches and Meetings
At its January business meeting, University Meeting (Seattle, WA) appointed three new temporary committees to follow up on several of the Year of Discernment recommendations. The three groups are the Ad Hoc Retreat Committee, the Communications Task Force, and the Remodel Task Force.
The Friends in the Arts of Southside Quaker Meeting (Santa Fe, NM) will host Ira Progoff's Intensive Journal Program of Self Development with Paul Ilecki, EdD. This three part series “helps one to gain a foundation & perspective to realize the continuity and director of life, helps participants to build a solid basis for future decisions and offers a method to connect more deeply with personal relationships, career interests and one’s self.”
South Seattle Preparative Meeting (WA) agreed to consider the question of becoming a monthly meeting as an agenda item in February.
The Faith in Action committee of South Seattle Preparative Meeting (WA) will help facilitate a worship sharing, discussion and discernment about our Quaker national lobby's legislative focus. Friends hope to end with up to five issues that South Seattle Friends Meeting can recommend to FCNL for their work with Congress in 2011-2012.
Vandals broke into South Salem Friends Church (OR), turned on all the lights, disconnected all audio-visual equipment, and put it outside.
Santa Monica Meeting (CA) will focus upon how Quakers learn together to be open to the Divine with sessions on “Constructing Our Discernment of God Together.” Friends will explore the face of the Divine in its many different guises and pray that each one can make his/her own doorways into that sacred space.
Santa Fe Friends (NM) are invited to join a discussion group on the article by Heidi Hart entitled “Quakerism and the Passionate Life” (FJ 09/2008). Copies are available next to the birdhouse in the library.
Finance and Good Works Committees of Santa Fe Meeting (NM) learned about a reduction
in the IMYM assessment for 2010 which would result in a projected budget surplus. The Good Works committee recommended that part of that money be sent immediately to AFSC earmarked for disaster relief in Haiti. Meeting approved a donation of $250 to AFSC for disaster relief in Haiti.
“Mid-Life Friends” of Santa Cruz Meeting (CA) are sponsoring a community-building potluck on February 6 to which all are invited (including children).
Santa Cruz Meeting (CA) is again experimenting with extended worship which will begin at 10:30 and continue as led. The sense of Worship and Ministry is that worship might continue up to or beyond two hours. Those who need to leave after an hour will exit with the children.
As part of the clerk’s report at San Francisco Meeting (CA), the clerk asks a minister among them to speak of his/her work.
Peace and Social Concerns Committee of San Francisco Meeting (CA) is sponsoring a program, beginning Sunday February 7, called ENGAGE – From Violence to Wholeness. This twelve-part program on the spirituality and practice of non-violence will be led by David Hartsough.
The Kitchen Remodel Subcommittee of San Francisco Meeting (CA) is, as its first step, asking Friends, “What is your understanding how the kitchen works?”
Salt Lake Meeting (UT) will hold its Annual Quaker Fundraising Extravaganza on Saturday, March 13 at the Meetinghouse. The evening will start with a social then proceed to the Community Showcase which features musicians and poets from within the Quaker community. The Red Rock Hot Club, a quartet of musicians which performs gypsy jazz, will be back by popular demand. There will also be a silent auction and Friends are asked to contribute.
On a recent Sunday after Meeting for Worship and time for Hospitality, Ministry and Counsel of Salt Lake Meeting (UT) convened an open discussion on the Quaker Testimony of Equality.
Friends from Rose Drive Friends Church (Yorba Linda, CA) took home baby bottles during Sanctity of Life weekend. They will fill the bottles with spare change and return them to the church.
Rose Drive Friends Church (Yorba Linda, CA) is planning Mexicali, 2010. During this annual Spring Break mission trip to Mexico, Friends will partner with the churches of the Mexicali Valley through Vacation Bible School, playing with kids, service projects, and other projects.
At the next meeting of the Prayer Book Potluck Group of Reno Meeting (NV), Friends will discuss “Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan” by Greg Mortenson.
The Center for Christian Education at Reedwood Friends Church (Portland, OR) is offering The Parables of Jesus: Stories that await your conclusion, half-hour videos by guest teacher Dr. Kenneth Bailey. Moderators of the class are John Wilkin and Kara Newell.
Worship and Ministry Committee of Redwood Forest Meeting (Santa Rosa, CA) presented an updated version of the Meeting’s Newcomer’s pamphlet. Friends appreciated the work, but did not have unity on approving the proposed text.
Palo Alto Meeting (CA) Worship and Ministry Committee asked about including the queries in Meeting for Worship. A variety of responses and ideas arose from the ensuing worship. Friends generally like the queries and returned the matter to the committee for discernment and implementation
Orange Grove Meeting (Pasadena, CA) has developed a document called Advices and Queries on the Right Sharing of Resources: “. . . (W)we seek to fulfill the vision developed by the Meeting from our Quaker testimonies and principles. Our vision has interconnected components that reflect how the Meeting is to nurture, support, utilize and grow the Meeting itself, make use of our various resources and engage with our surrounding community. All of these components are cultivated in our worship and radiate throughout the Meeting’s vision.”
Newberg Friends Church (OR) is offering a four-week group that will deal with grief and grieving. During those weeks, discussion will focus around the topics of: What does grief look like? What helps? The big questions that grief brings into our lives? Hope, where does it come from?
Newberg Friends Church (OR) has begun an alternative worship service at 5 pm, which will meet every other week before eventually becoming a weekly community. Recognizing that the gap between those who go to church and those who don’t gets wider and wider all the time, this service is one way Newberg Friends hope to worship and serve as a community, intentionally striving to be open to those who are not a part of a church currently.
Youth of Newberg Friends Church (OR) have invited Friends to an afternoon of festivities as the seniors (65 and older) and youth (middle and high school students) of its community compete against each other in “The Price is Right” to see which generation knows the most about the other. There is a twist, though, because not only will questions be asked about prices, but about occurrences, memories, sayings, technology, and objects from each side’s time period.
Marge Abbot will lead a series on Quaker history and practice at Multnomah Meeting (Portland, OR) on three Sundays in February. Topics include: Quakers Over Time; Listening For The Still, Small Voice –in Meeting For Worship & In The Conduct Of Business; and Engaging With The World –Friends’ Witness –Equality, Peace, Truth, Simplicity, & Care for The Earth.
Young Adult Friends of Multnomah Meeting (Portland, OR) gather on second Sundays each month at 6:00 pm for discussion, potluck, song & silence; and on fourth Sundays for lunch about 12:30; locations vary. mmm-yf@yahoogroups.com
Quaker Quest Training will be held at the Mountain View Meeting House (Denver, CO)
on Saturday, April 10, 2010.
Missoula Friends (MT) got together for a Friday games and pizza night. Pizza was provided and Friends brought games.
Ministry and Oversight of Missoula Meeting (MT) collected, filled, and delivered holiday gift baskets and bulbs to various Friends.
Ministry and Worship of Honolulu Meeting (HI) will sponsor a workshop on Quaker process. Stratton Jaquette, who grew up in Honolulu Friends Meeting and has served as Clerk of various committees and Meetings, including Clerk of Pacific Yearly Meeting, will present a workshop on good Quaker process after Meeting on Sunday, February 7. Among other topics, he will address the question of an understanding of Quaker unity and Quaker etiquette.
Eugene Meeting (OR) approved the recommendation to establish a standing committee for the purpose of making recom¬mended donations to the meeting.
Davis Meeting (CA) invites Friends to save the date, Saturday March 13, for the Meeting's Quaker Quest workshop. Steve Chase, from the Friends General Conference Quaker Quest Travel Team, will lead the workshop, which is intended to help Friends develop "inreach and outreach".
Davis Meeting (CA) is holding three Wednesday evening gatherings of Quaker dialogue on the subject of Engaging Quaker Practice—Friendly Spirituality: Personal Queries, Corporate Exploration, Opportunity to Reflect. Topics are: (1) Queries on how we apply our time & talent; (2) Queries on sharing our treasure & tenderness; and (3) What lies behind the choices we make?
Claremont Meeting (CA) is involved in an on-going discussion of the conduct of marriage by the Meeting relating to the current inequalities in the availability of civil marriage for all people. A threshing session will be scheduled by Ministry and Counsel for consideration of this concern.
Chico Meeting (CA) holds monthly gatherings at a Friends’ home which offer a time to explore less-familiar songs in Friends Hymnal as well as more time to enjoy favorites, accompanied by piano and flute.
The Meetinghouse of Chico Meeting (CA) has Open Hours every Wednesday, 4-6 pm. Friends are welcome to use the library, work in the office, do cleaning or other tasks, or have quiet time in the Meetinghouse during these hours each week.
Bridge City Meeting (Portland, OR) will participate in FCNL’s “Policy Priorities Process.” Friends will meet at the Stark Street Meeting House for potluck dinner and worship sharing. Younger Friends are especially invited to join in this process. In preparation for this meeting, Friends are asked to consider their Quaker values and their personal beliefs about where our nation needs to focus its attention and resources.
Ministry and Oversight Committee of Boise Valley Meeting (ID) will be working on nominations to fill Meeting positions for the next year. Friends are encouraged to “let us know where your great talent will meet our great need!”
Berkeley Friends Meeting (CA) will sponsor a Red Cross Blood Drive on Saturday, February 13 at a nearby Later Day Saints Church. As this will be an interfaith event, other local churches will be asked to participate.
Berkeley Friends Church (CA) will hold its 2010 Quaker Heritage Day on Saturday April 10, 2010. Carol Spencer will speak on Holiness: The Soul of Quakerism.
The ad hoc library committee of Bellingham Meeting (WA) met and discussed criteria for the Meeting’s library and proposed guidelines for what acquisitions to keep or discard:
a. Keep books about Quakers, fiction or non-fiction, including hymnals.
b. Keep Bible and Bible study books.
c. Books on theology, Christianity and other religions can be endless and can be found elsewhere, so the committee proposes to limit them.
Bellingham Meeting (WA) will sponsor one member or attender each year to go to the Gathering of Friends sponsored by Friends General Conference. The Nominating Committee shall give some preference to Friends who have never attended the Gathering, or who have not done so for a long time. The selected Friend may be either an adult or a high-school-age Friend. The Committee's nominee shall be presented to the Meeting for Business in March.
Christa Brelsford, daughter of Taylor and Terry Brelsford of Anchorage Meeting (AK), was injured in the earthquake in Haiti. She continues to heal and will soon return to Arizona where she is a college student.

Beyond the Monthly Meeting/Churches

The Alaska Friends Conference Ministry and Nurture Committee has been tending a leading to offer a Spiritually Nurturing Retreat, Spring 2010, a weekend residential retreat. The current theme is “Tending the Spiritual Taproot of our Yearly Meeting individually and collectively.” Possible venues are in the Talkeetna area or the Wasilla or Chugiak area.
Lowell Sage is the new Superintendent of Alaska Yearly Meeting. Lowell and his wife Mary live in Kivalina, AK where he co-pastors Kivalina Friends Church.
Alaska Yearly Meeting churches recognize the importance of ministering to youth in order to give them firm grounding in the faith and alternatives to drinking and suicide which are prevalent among native youth.
Arizona Half-Yearly Meeting will hold its Spring gathering March 27, 2010 at the Phoenix Meeting House.
Friends Center at Azusa Pacific is offering a course on Friends Theology, Worship, and Leadership, taught by Kent Walkemeyer, Friends Center Director. kwalkemeyer@apu.edu
Barclay Press will celebrate 50 years of publishing ministry among Evangelical Friends in May.
Ben Lomond Quaker Center and Western Friend announce their first collaborative program, Rightly-Ordered Financial Management for Friends' Meetings and Organizations. It will take place at Ben Lomond Quaker Center on March 5-7, 2010.
College Park Quarterly Meeting will gather May 15-16 at Ben Lomond Quaker Center.
College Park Quarterly Meeting Youth, 5th – 9th grades, are invited to a weekend retreat, March 19-21, in Palo Alto, CA.
The Colorado Regional Meeting will be Sunday, April 18 at Fort Collins Meeting, CO with the theme, “How Quakers Have Fun.”
Evangelical Friends Church Southwest will hold Annual Conference and Serve Day:
• Arizona/Nevada – Serve Day and Celebration Banquet, Saturday February 13, 2010.
• Northern California - Serve Day and Celebration Banquet, Saturday February 20, 2010.
The second annual Quaker Lobby Day of Friends Committee on Washington Public Policy, which will focus on criminal justice issues, will be held in Olympia on Monday, February 15. Help express Quaker voices in Olympia.
George Fox University (Newberg, OR) will hold its Woolman Peacemaking Forum, February 10-11, with the theme, “Are We Achieving Racial Justice and Reconciliation?” John M. Perkins, founder of the John M Perkins Foundation for Reconciliation and Development and one of the leading evangelical voices to come out of the American Civil Rights movement will be the featured speaker.
Intermountain Yearly Meeting (IMYM) will be held June 9-13, 2010, at Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, NM, with early program days on June 6-9 The theme will be "Quaker Service in the 21st Century."
Continuing Committee of Intermountain Yearly Meeting decided to remove the $24,000 budget item for the Joint Service Project and reduce the assessment to $35 per member. Continuing Committee could not come to unity on whether to include any support for service in the 2010 or 2011 budgets. It decided to propose that the Annual Gathering in June form a committee to investigate future Yearly Meeting service possibilities.
Montana Gathering of Friends (MGOF) will meet Feb. 19-21, 2010 in Great Falls, MT with the theme “Integrity.” At Business Meeting Friends will discuss “The Future of MGOF,” – considering the health of the meetings and the relationship with North Pacific Yearly Meeting. Information: jk8345@hotmail.com
The New Mexico Quaker Women’s Spring Retreat will be held April 3 to 5th at the
Norbertine Retreat Center in southwest Albuquerque. The theme will be “What do we bring to our communities and what do we get? How do we create and maintain this community?”
The North Pacific Yearly Meeting Junior Friends Ski Trip will be the weekend of February 13th.
Northwest Yearly Meeting Friends Men’s Retreat will be February 26-28 at Twin Rocks Friends Camp with the theme, Living Purely in a Sex-Driven World. Speakers include Gar Mickelson, Marshall Snider, Dr. Terry Riske, and Jason Minnix.
Northwest Yearly Meeting and George Fox University sponsored A New Abolitionists Conference (October 2009) to promote awareness and stimulate action to abolish sex trafficking and forced prostitution in the Portland area.
The 8th Pacific Northwest Quaker Women’s Theology Conference will take place June 16-20, 2010, at Seabeck Conference Center in Seabeck, Washington. The theme is Walk With Me: Mentors, Elders, and Friends. www.pnwquakerwomen.org.

Pacific NW Quarterly Meeting Spring Gathering is scheduled for April 23-25, 2010, at Lazy F Ranch near Ellensburg with the theme “Compassionate Listening: Finding God in the Midst of Fear.” For more information, see http://www.pnqm.org.
The Religious Education Committee for Children of Pacific Yearly Meeting will schedule a workshop day for First Day School teachers, hosted by Palo Alto Meeting.
Southern California Quarterly Meeting will gather at Orange Grove Meeting in Pasadena, CA on Saturday, April 24th.
WESTERN FRIEND MAGAZINE Subscribe today to receive 8 issues jam-packed with articles, art, photos and stories by and about Friends you know. editor@westernfriend.org
The Willamette Quarterly Meeting Men’s Retreat will be February 26-28 at Camp Myrtlewood near Myrtle Point, Oregon.
Willamette Quarterly Meeting Spring Gathering will be April 23-25 at Sky Camp, east of Eugene, Oregon.

News from Western Quaker Newsletters

Social Concerns Committee of Agate Passage Meeting (Poulsbo, WA) is considering how it could follow up on the recent community panel and discussion about the detention and treatment of unregistered immigrants.
The Building Planning Committee of Albuquerque Meeting (NM) invited Friends to review the site program of the Meeting: what do Friends need and want from their site now and in the future along with practical ideas for addressing the amount and quality of space needed for those activities.
Berkeley Friends Church (CA) will hold its 2010 Quaker Heritage Day on Saturday April 10, 2010. Carol Spencer will speak on Holiness: The Soul of Quakerism.
Ministry and Oversight Committee of Boise Valley Meeting (ID) will be working on nominations to fill Meeting positions for the next year. Friends are encouraged to “let us know where your great talent will meet our great need!”
Bridge City Friends Meeting (Portland, OR) seasoned 16 revised job descriptions for a month.
Steve Smith of Claremont Meeting (CA) will lead two workshops at Pendle Hill:
February 7-11 – Eastern Light: Buddhist and Quaker Spirituality;
February 12-14 – The Joy of Quaker Communities: Clerking and Working with Spirit.
Davis Meeting (CA) invites Friends to save the date, Saturday March 13, for the Meeting's Quaker Quest workshop. Steve Chase, from the Friends General Conference Quaker Quest Travel Team, will lead the workshop, which is intended to help Friends develop "inreach and outreach".
The Worship and Ministry Committee of Davis Meeting (CA) considered dogs in the Meetinghouse. In discussion Friends noted a difference between service animal and companion animal and also, noted the distinction between dogs in the social room vs. dogs in worship room during a Meeting for Worship. The Meetinghouse Use Committee is discussing this and will take the lead in considering policy.
Due to poor weather Delta Meeting (Stockton, CA) cancelled December’s Livermore Peace Witness for the first time in history.
Fresno Meeting (CA) held a Meeting for Worship in the hospital room of a Friend who was hospitalized. Friends are considering doing it again.
It was suggested that Grass Valley Meeting (Nevada City, CA) consider changing the time of Meeting for Worship to a later time to encourage younger people to attend. A Friend noted that an FGC workshop on encouraging younger members suggested having Meeting at a time when young people are likely to attend.
Homedale Friends Community Church (ID) organized near downtown Homedale, Idaho in 1939 with the understanding that all denominations could participate. Six groups were initially represented. This tradition continues, with many of the most active members not being official “members.”
Kivalina Friends Church (AK) recently began a series on healing. Friends are learning more about healing in their own lives and ways to help others around them to heal.
Millie Stalker is co-pastor of Kivalina Friends Church (AK). She came from Kotzebue this winter where she served as Assistant Pastor. Millie Hawkins is working with youth in Kivalina.
Quaker Quest Training will be held at the Mountain View Meeting House (Denver, CO)
on Saturday, April 10, 2010.
Marge Abbot will lead a series on Quaker history and practice at Multnomah Meeting (Portland, OR) on three Sundays in February. Topics include: Quakers Over Time; Listening For The Still, Small Voice –in Meeting For Worship & In The Conduct Of Business; and Engaging With The World –Friends’ Witness –Equality, Peace, Truth, Simplicity, & Care for The Earth.
Noatak Friends Church (AK) welcomes Brent Hostetter as youth minister. A graduate of Bethel College, he worked for two years at Alaska Christian College in Soldotna.
Teens from Northwest Friends Church (Arvada, CO) and First Denver Friends (CO) traveled to Aquascalientes, Mexico last summer to help with Vacation Bible School.
Property Committee of Orange Grove Meeting (Pasadena, CA) presented its report. It was noted that expenditures from the reserve and maintenance accounts were markedly higher this year than in previous years. The reasons for this primarily stem from the fact that many tasks have been put off from year to year. Property Committee encourages members and attenders to donate extra funds this year to enable them to continue their work.
Orange Grove Meeting (Pasadena, CA) has a burial ground adjacent to Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena. The common plot where some Friends’ ashes are buried is unmarked. Friends asked if there should be some sort of identification on it as the Common Plot of Orange Grove Friends Meeting? Many Friends seemed to agree that recognition and simplicity are not in conflict and that there may be a way of marking that preserves the natural beauty of the place. Friends seem to agree in principle that they’d like to mark the cemetery and common plot.
March 19 -21 Palo Alto Meeting (CA) has scheduled a middle school retreat which
will be open to neighboring meetings.
The House Committee of Pima Meeting (AZ) has spent its budget for the year. They have hired a handyperson to do repairs in a timely fashion and are trying to fix the meetinghouse before small repairs become large projects. Friends are reminded the Meeting must bear the expense of a new roof, coolers, and a possible water heater.
The Center for Christian Education at Reedwood Friends Church (Portland, OR) is offering The Parables of Jesus: Stories that await your conclusion, half-hour videos by guest teacher Dr. Kenneth Bailey. Moderators of the class are John Wilkin and Kara Newell.
The Prayer Book Potluck Group of Reno Meeting (NV) is discussing Practical Mystic: Religion, Science, and A. S. Eddington by Mathew Stanley. Practical Mystic uses the figure of Eddington to show how religious and scientific values can interact and overlap without compromising the integrity of either. By examining this intersection between liberal religion and astrophysics, Practical Mystic questions many common assumptions about the relationship between science and spirituality.
Rose Drive Friends Church (Yorba Linda, CA) is hosting a Super Game Day Party on Sunday, February 7th in a family friendly environment. The gym will be open, and there will other games available as well. Admission is free; food will be sold during the game.
Teens from Rose Drive Friends Church (Yorba Linda, CA) will participate in a High School Red Eye “Night of Awesomeness” which will last until midnight. Teens are invited to hang out late night and enjoy a concert with twentyfour64, a Wii tournament, and delicious treats!
Sacramento Meeting (CA) will show Brother Outsider on Saturday Jan 23rd. This is the story of Bayard Rustin, Quaker, black and gay rights activist.
Sacramento Meeting (CA) sent a letter to the mosque in West Sacramento, and the two synagogues in the Sacramento area deploring the vandalism they had recently received, offering spiritual support and a donation to each congregation.
Rolene Walker of San Francisco Meeting (CA) has ended her Walk with the Earth with six months in Santiago, Chile where she did five workshops on how to make solar ovens, four on how to do wall gardening, made a zen garden at Conspirando, did Joana Macy’s work with three groups, gave talks to four classes, and 8 other groups.
A gathering at Santa Cruz Meeting (CA) will explore questions related to mid-life. Friends were to consider, “If you see yourself as in mid-life, and if you would like to explore what this means to you and to other Friends – and if you would like to consider ways in which mid-life Friends can seek greater clarity around their concerns and/or support each other, please come to this first exploratory meeting.”
Anthony Manousos of Santa Monica Meeting (CA) traveled among Friends in Australia in December 2009. He attended the Parliament of the World's Religion in Melbourne as a representative of American Friends who have a concern for interfaith peacemaking. Anthony serves on the Christian Interfaith Relations Committee of Friends General Conference. After the gathering, he visited Australian Friends in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, where he attended Yearly Meeting and gave a Report on Interfaith Work at Australia Yearly Meeting.
The church building of Selawik Friends Church (AK) was destroyed by fire in 2007. The new building is nearly complete with the structure enclosed; workers can continue in the sub-zero temperatures. Soon, electrical work, wall panels, and a porch will be completed.
Women of Spring Valley Friends Church (CA) heard about “Ornaments of Grace” at a tea. Ornaments were displayed to illustrate stories of Christmas’ past and family traditions. A big red broken ornament was displayed to remind the women that God can take the most broken person and make them beautiful.
Two Friends from Tacoma Meeting (WA) will have 90-something birthdays in January. Julius Jahn will be 96 years of age; George Kenny will be 91.
The Nominating Committee of Tacoma Meeting (WA) recommends not chosing anyone for the Peace and Social Concerns Committee until the meeting as a whole has had a chance to reflect on and discuss the roles of the committee and the potential relationship between the committee and the meeting as a whole.
Tacoma Meeting (WA) has scheduled a special discussion session for Second Hour around Friends’ sense of commitment to participation in peace and social concerns activities. The questions include: How do Friends see themselves, individually and as a group, with respect to peace and social concerns activism?
Tempe Friends (AZ) held a web site meeting at the meetinghouse. It was noted that the Meeting sign-in sheet data shows that 2/3s of those who come to meeting as new visitors and sign-in found the meeting through the Meeting’s web site.
Tempe Friends (AZ) asked an ad hoc committee to consider whether there are any Friends who might benefit from the Meeting raising the question of their intention for future relationship with, or membership in, Tempe Monthly Meeting.
Wyoming Friends Meeting Gathering will be in Jackson, WY on Jan. 22-24. jeanj@bresnan.net.
Wyoming Friends Meeting (WFM) has made a commitment to offer financial support to its members and attenders as they, consistent with the WFM Mission Statement, seek to “engage with the broader Society of Friends,” and “seek to show greater spiritual hospitality.”

Beyond the Monthly Meeting/Churches

The Alaska Friends Conference Ministry and Nurture Committee has been tending a leading to offer a Spiritually Nurturing Retreat, Spring 2010, a weekend residential retreat. The current theme is “Tending the Spiritual Taproot of our Yearly Meeting individually and collectively.” Possible venues are in the Talkeetna area or the Wasilla or Chugiak area.
Lowell Sage is the new Superintendent of Alaska Yearly Meeting. Lowell and his wife Mary live in Kivalina, AK where he co-pastors Kivalina Friends Church.
Alaska Yearly Meeting churches recognize the importance of ministering to youth in order to give them firm grounding in the faith and alternatives to drinking and suicide which are prevalent among native youth.
Arizona Half-Yearly Meeting will hold its Spring gathering March 27, 2010 at the Phoenix Meeting House.
Friends Center at Azusa Pacific is offering a course on Friends Theology, Worship, and Leadership, taught by Kent Walkemeyer, Friends Center Director. kwalkemeyer@apu.edu
Barclay Press will celebrate 50 years of publishing ministry among Evangelical Friends in May.
Ben Lomond Quaker Center and Western Friend announce their first collaborative program, Rightly-Ordered Financial Management for Friends' Meetings and Organizations. It will take place at Ben Lomond Quaker Center on March 5-7, 2010.
The Colorado Regional Meeting will be Sunday, April 18 at Fort Collins Meeting, CO with the theme, “How Quakers Have Fun.”
Evangelical Friends Church Southwest will hold Annual Conference and Serve Day:
• Southern California – Representative Session and Equipping Community Dinner, Friday January 29, 2010; Serve Day, Saturday, January 30, 2010.
• Arizona/Nevada – Serve Day and Celebration Banquet, Saturday February 13, 2010.
• Northern California - Serve Day and Celebration Banquet, Saturday February 20, 2010.
The second annual Quaker Lobby Day of Friends Committee on Washington Public Policy, which will focus on criminal justice issues, will be held in Olympia on Monday, February 15. Help express Quaker voices in Olympia.
On January 29-30, the Friends Center at George Fox Evangelical Seminary will host a one-credit seminar on the use of drama in ministry. Rich Swingle (GFU, '91) will share from his 15 years of experience in 18 nations as a full-time dramatist, highlighting a number of different forms of drama, including sketches, monologues, mime, sociodrama, enacted prayer, and others. After a summary, Rich will focus on sketch development, showing a hands-on approach to writing, casting, directing and acting.
Intermountain Yearly Meeting (IMYM) will be held June 9-13, 2010, at Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, NM, with early program days on June 6-9 The theme will be "Quaker Service in the 21st Century."
Montana Gathering of Friends (MGOF) will meet Feb. 19-21, 2010 in Great Falls, MT.
Neighbors East and West is planning a trip to Iran April-May 2010. N.E.W, a Citizen-Diplomacy Community Education Organization led by Sam and Ruth Neff, is based in Richmond, IN and Whitefish, MT. http://neighborseastandwest.org/
The North Pacific Yearly Meeting Junior Friends Ski Trip will be the weekend of February 13th.
The North Pacific Yearly Meeting Youth Committee asks if Meetings, Worship Groups, or individuals would be able to send a one-time donation (or to add a line item in annual budgets) to support the NPYM Youth Opportunity Fund.
Northwest Yearly Meeting Friends Men’s Retreat will be February 26-28 at Twin Rocks Friends Camp with the theme, Living Purely in a Sex-Driven World. Speakers include Gar Mickelson, Marshall Snider, Dr. Terry Riske, and Jason Minnix.
Northwest Yearly Meeting and George Fox University sponsored A New Abolitionists Conference (October 2009) to promote awareness and stimulate action to abolish sex trafficking and forced prostitution in the Portland area.
The 8th Pacific Northwest Quaker Women’s Theology Conference will take place June 16-20, 2010, at Seabeck Conference Center in Seabeck, Washington. The theme is Walk With Me: Mentors, Elders, and Friends. For more information and to register online, see www.pnwquakerwomen.org.
The Pacific Northwest Quarterly Meeting Silent Retreat will be January 29-31, 2010 at Camp Huston in Gold Bar, Washington.
Pacific Northwest Quarterly Meeting Spring Gathering is scheduled for April 23-25, 2010, at Lazy F Ranch near Ellensburg. The theme for the gathering is “Compassionate Listening: Finding God in the Midst of Fear.” For more information, see http://www.pnqm.org.
The Religious Education Committee for Children of Pacific Yearly Meeting will schedule a workshop day for First Day School teachers, hosted by Palo Alto Meeting.
Southern California Quarterly Meeting will gather at Orange Grove Meeting in Pasadena, CA on Saturday, April 24th.
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Willamette Quarterly Meeting will gather for its annual business meeting on February 6, 2010 at the Corvallis Meeting House.
The Willamette Quarterly Meeting Men’s Retreat will be February 26-28 at Camp Myrtlewood, near Myrtle Point, OR.
Willamette Quarterly Meeting Spring gathering will be April 23-25 at Sky Camp, east of Eugene, OR.

WESTERN QUAKER NEWSLETTERS
DECEMBER 2009-JANUARY 2010

News of Friends Meetings and Churches

Marge Abbot will lead a series on Quaker history and practice at Multnomah Meeting (Portland, OR) on three Sundays in February. Topics include: Quakers Over Time; Listening For The Still, Small Voice –in Meeting For Worship & In The Conduct Of Business; and Engaging With The World –Friends’ Witness –Equality, Peace, Truth, Simplicity, & Care for The Earth.
Finance Committee of Multnomah Meeting (Portland, OR) requests that new activities proposed for the Meeting which require expenditure of money, go first to an appropriate committee (Peace and Social Concerns, Social, etc.) before they are sent to Finance Committee.
Multnomah Meeting (Portland, OR) is considering making a donation to the City of Portland is lieu of property taxes.
The food ministry at New Life Friends (Vancouver, WA) recently picked up 10,000 pounds of food from the annual Walk and Knock. Last month the volunteers served 2,700 people a meal; they hand out groceries to 250 to 350 families every Friday;. and run a soup kitchen four days a week. New Life Friends cares for “the least of these.”
The Finance Committee of Orange County Meeting (Santa Ana, CA) is looking for ideas from Friends to help raise money for the Meeting’s philanthropic budget. People have suggested holding a rummage sale, a service auction, a bake sale, and a talent show. Friends may have other ideas about how they might raise the funds needed to help make a difference in the lives of others.
Palo Alto Meeting (CA) has decided that its newsletter will be posted on its new website. Therefore, they will no longer print full Directory corrections in the newsletter, only the names of those whose information has changed.
March 19 -21 Palo Alto Meeting (CA) has scheduled a middle school retreat which
will be open to neighboring meetings.
A Friend applied for membership at Redwood Forest Meeting (Santa Rosa, CA). He noted that he cannot say that he is an absolute pacifist because he does not know what he would do in every possible situation… Another Friend expressed her core tenets: “…to me there is that of God in everyone. Our faith also demands that we love God. So when we love God, we should love our fellows. If we kill, we kill something of God. Therefore, whatever the reason, there can be no justification in taking other life.” Oversight organized a focused and worshipful discussion on the meaning of Peace to Quakers. The two Friends issued a joint statement: “In our different ways, we see and value how each of us seeks and works for Peace. We respect and value each other’s points of view and differing understandings of Quaker values.” The Meeting approved the Friend’s membership.
Rose Drive Friends Church (Yorba Linda, CA) is offering Health classes for the new year: Matter of Balance, Healthier Living with Chronic Conditions, Aqua Exercises (warm weather or indoor), and Effective Living with Hearing Impairment. Each class is 6-8 weeks in length.
Rose Drive Friends Church (Yorba Linda, CA) will sponsor Financial Peace University, a biblically-based video discussion series with Dave Ramsey that will help Friends learn how to beat debt, build savings, and give like never before. Imagine what the people of God could do for the Kingdom of God if they lived by God's money principles.
Friends at Sacramento Meeting (CA) will participate in a Journal Review as a time to reflect upon the year past and prepare for the new year. Friends who do not journal are welcome to create their own style of review. Friends will gather with their journals from the past year and together, in silence, will re-read their year -- quietly reflecting, present to one’s own "on-going revelation" or movement of the Holy. What difference has this year made? What gifts want to come forward into 2010? .
John Helding from FGC is coming to Sacramento Meeting (CA) to lead a Quaker Quest Training Workshop on Sunday, January 17th. Everyone from the meeting is invited – attendance is required for Core Team, Speakers, and Facilitators. Lunch will be provided.
Salt Lake Meeting (UT) learned that the format adopted by Religious Education is working reasonably well. Older youth are now separated from the young kids and participate in a more age-appropriate program. Finding a space for the older children is still being explored.
San Francisco Meeting (CA) is going through the process of establishing a Food Pantry for homeless people at the Meeting House.
San Jose Meeting (CA) has been notified that it will be receiving a bequest from the estate of Betty Bates, for which the Meeting is grateful. As far as they know, there was no request that the money be spent in any particular way. Members and attenders are asked to take a moment to reflect and to let the Meeting know how they think the money might be spent.
Santa Cruz Meeting (CA) is considering the issue of flowers on the table during worship. If Friends feel that flowers are important they are to team with a member of Ministry and Oversight to provide flowers. This will be like a “flower potluck.”
The Library Committee of Santa Fe Meeting (NM) will sponsor the Meeting's First Quaker Talent Show on Saturday 27th. Friends are asked if they sing, dance, write, play the ukulele, or impersonate Barack Obama?
Santa Fe Friends (NM) agree to incorporate and to adopt the December 20, 2009 draft of
the bylaws with the changes noted during the discussion regarding the purpose of the corporation, membership in the corporation, and the wording of Bylaw 13. The Meeting acknowledges the need to deal with the issues concerning Olive Rush's bequest identified during the discussion.
Santa Monica Meeting (CA) will hold Adult Education Sessions, using the worship sharing format, on “Constructing our Discernment of God Together.” Friends will focus on how Quakers learn together to be open to the Divine. They will explore the face of the Divine in its many different guises.
Amy Watson is the new youth minister at Sherwood Friends Church (OR).
South Seattle Preparative Meeting (WA) will hold another brief teacher orientation. This ten-fifteen minute meeting will give potential teachers the basics of how First Day School is run. (Here's the quick summary: curriculum is provided, the Friend team-teaches with another adult, and is encouraged to sign up for two consecutive Sundays so the kids have more consistency.)
The Community and Spiritual Life Committee of South Seattle Preparative Meeting (WA) has been thinking of ways to help the Meeting grow spiritually, and help individuals in their search for a better understanding of themselves, the world and the nature of God.
A. Spiritual Sharing Group: An opportunity to deepen one’s spiritual journey through personal reflection and dialogue with others, with the possible use of Parker Palmer's Circle of Trust model.
B. Spiritual Reading and Discussion Group: Quaker and other religious writings will spark discussion and exploration of spirituality and deepening of spiritual lives, beginning with Patricia Loring's Spiritual Listening.
Tempe Meeting (AZ) will hold a retreat Jan 22-23 at the Tempe Meeting House. The guest speaker, Lucy Duncan of Friends General Conference, will lead on the topic of telling spiritual stories and the technique of deep listening to the stories of others.
Friends at Tempe Meeting (AZ) are organizing a monthly sewing gathering where Friends will bring their own projects or join another’s.
Gathering on Life, the Universe, and Quakers will be held at University Meeting (Seattle, WA) on January 24. Friends are invited to a worshipful sharing of thoughts on scientific understandings of the 14 billion year history of the universe (Deep Time) and the evolutionary development of life (the Tree of Life). How does new knowledge which has been acquired in the last half century about the universe and life affect our view of ourselves as Quakers? Does this knowledge affect our experience of the divine in our lives?

Queries from the Year of Discernment from University Meeting (Seattle, WA):
Is thinking differently about our existing work seen as a means to an end, or as an end in itself? Does Meeting still see the ultimate goal of the process as a shift back to thinking in terms of “doing different work” (and if so, what)?
For ongoing discernment related to our current ministries: What has life? What should we lay down? How are we supporting our individual and corporate ministries?
How does prophetic witness fit with the four essentials we identified in the meeting (worship, community, stewardship, and service)?
What is our understanding of discernment now and how should we continue the work after the Year of Discernment?
In doing outreach, Vancouver Meeting (BC) was reminded behavior in meeting needs to be conducive to encouraging newcomers to return. Quaker Quest Committee and Ministry and Counsel could brainstorm together to implement additional changes to ensure meeting is welcoming and supportive of newcomers. Meeting approves undertaking the Quaker Quest and the committee going forward with the proposal outlined in its report.
Shan Cretin, Pacific Southwest Regional Director of the American Friends Service Committee, will speak Wednesday, January 13, at First Friends Whittier (CA). Shan will present an overview of AFSC’s international and domestic work and program details.
The youth groups of First Friends Whittier (CA) gathered to cook, stir, dip and mold the ingredients necessary to make tootsie rolls, divinity, caramel turtles, fudge, peanut butter balls and cups for the Christmas dinner candy sale. The proceeds, $852, were divided between the Heifer Project International and the Youth Travel Fund.
The Wyoming Friends Meeting gathering is to be held in Jackson January 22-24.

Agate Passage Meeting (Poulsbo, WA) hosted a Breaking Bread and Barriers potluck with the goal of raising awareness in the community about immigration policies pertaining to undocumented workers.
A Friend is donating $2,000 to Bellingham Meeting (WA) for the purpose of enabling Meeting participants to attend the Friends General Conference Annual Gathering of Friends in the future, as she herself had done for the first time earlier this year. She also indicated that she would be very likely to donate additional money for the same purpose in subsequent years. Friends are considering that an ad hoc Committee develop a process by which recipients of grants for this purpose could be recruited, selected, and awarded funds in order to attend the Gathering.
Berkeley Friends Church (CA) will hold its 2010 Quaker Heritage Day on Saturday April 10, 2010. Carol Spencer will speak on Holiness: The Soul of Quakerism.
The Oral History Project of Berkeley Meeting (CA) is looking for a computer-savvy
member or attender to convert its old audio recordings of Oral Histories to CDs, for storing digitally. They have about 21 tapes of elders telling their stories.
Eric Moon and Laura Magnani of Berkeley Meeting (CA) will facilitate an informational session on Quaker decision-making process, what unity is and how the work of committees
helps the Meeting function on Sunday Jan 31.
Ministry and Oversight of Boise Valley Meeting (ID) reviewed the process for becoming a member of Meeting, in response to inquiries. It was noted that a prospective member may request a Clearness Committed to discern one’s readiness for membership without firmly committing oneself to requesting membership.
Camas Friends Church (WA) used the Northwest Yearly Meeting Peace Trunks for the church’s third annual Peace Playhouse for children in the 4th-6th grades. The overall goals were to teach the children peace-making and conflict resolution skills and to send them as peace ambassadors into the community.
Chico Meeting (CA) asks all committee clerks to send electronic versions of their committee reports to the Assistant Clerk who will have electronic copies of the minutes and all attachments available by the day of Business Meeting. The Assistant Clerk is to post a note in the newsletter that the minutes and reports are available upon request by email or postal service.
The Peace, Justice, and the Environment Committee and its Homelessness Subcommittee of Corvallis Meeting (OR) proposes that each member or attender of the Meeting consider hiring, or financing the hiring of, a homeless person for three days a year under the auspices of the Homeless Employment Launching Project (HELP)
At Corvallis Meeting (OR) a person took a copy of the Meeting Directory and has misrepresented himself to several members asking for money. It was suggested that from now on the Directory be handed to people and not left on the public table.
The Discussion Committee of Claremont Meeting (CA) presents Philip Clayton, speaking on Why There is not a Quaker Theology: Exploring Ways that Friends Connect Beliefs and Practices. Philip is a second-generation Quaker and a well-known Christian theologian. How can a person be both? How can Quakers sort out what they do and don’t believe about God and other central religious questions?
Steve Smith of Claremont Meeting (CA) will lead two workshops at Pendle Hill:
February 7-11 – Eastern Light: Buddhist and Quaker Spirituality;
February 12-14 – The Joy of Quaker Communities: Clerking and Working with Spirit.
Davis Meeting (CA) needs a few mugs. Friends are asked to check their cupboards for lonely ones that would enjoy the warmth and conviviality of coffee and tea with me and thee.
Davis Meeting (CA) Friends have been told that if they are planning to serve a treat and a knife will be needed to accomplish this, they should bring one with them. The huge assortment of knives formerly in the Meeting House kitchen have been removed and are being stored off-site until a better storage situation can be arranged. This is for the safety of little children and other visitors.
Davis Meeting (CA) heard a concern from the Interfaith Rotating Winter Shelter (IRWS) organization. Can IRWS accommodate pets? So far, none of the participating congregations have agreed to this. In the next month, one or more of the congregations providing shelter may agree to accept dogs, in which case, Davis Meeting (which serves as the intake site each night) would need to allow dogs during the intake process. The committee suggests that guests be allowed to bring their dogs on to the Meetinghouse grounds but not inside the Meetinghouse.
A Community Building Social Hour hosted by the Peace and Social Concerns Committee will gather on Sunday, January 17th at Eugene Meeting (OR) Friends are invited to share a cup of tea or coffee and a discussion of actions on peace and social concerns.
An Ad Hoc Committee has met several times to discern the ways in which the Spirit is leading Eugene Meeting (OR) to contribute to its communities locally, worldwide and in between. The committee’s recommendation is in two parts: I. a policy proposal and II. a proposed guideline for the Committee on Meeting Donations to Others.
Mike Gray, a member of Fort Collins Meeting (CO), has received a leading to conduct a ministry of work camps among the indigenous people including the Oglala people on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and other communities, especially in Mexico, where he has on-going relationships. He has requested Fort Collins Friends Meeting to release him for this ministry. The Meeting believes that Mike Gray has a gift and a calling for leading such work camps, and embraces his ministry under the care of the Meeting. Mike has been in discussion with William Penn House of Washington DC which currently oversees and delivers dozens of work camps annually through Washington Quaker Work Camps.
The Green Plow Ministry Point (Redmond, OR) coffee house is transforming extra space into a meeting room. One exciting possibility is an interactive conversational worship group hosted by several churches.
A group of Honolulu Meeting (HI) Friends met to discuss the issues of attendance
and Friends' participation in First Day School. Like many other Quaker Meetings, the Meeting has an aging membership and few children attending. Friends asked themselves, "Why are we not attracting more new members, and young families?" "What is it about our First Day School program that discourages our existing member families from attending?"
Live Oak Preparative Meeting (Salinas, CA) was recognized as a Monthly Meeting by College Park Quarterly Meeting in October 2009.
Living Waters Ministry (Plummer, ID) recently held a “Spirit Jam” dance and music outreach.
Lower Columbia Worship Group (Seaview, WA) is now meeting every Sunday, at 3 p.m. at the Peninsula Church Center .


Beyond the Monthly Meeting/Churches

The Alaska Friends Conference Ministry and Nurture Committee has been tending a leading to offer a Spiritually Nurturing Retreat, Spring 2010, a weekend residential retreat. The current theme is “Tending the Spiritual Taproot of our Yearly Meeting individually and collectively.” Possible venues are in the Talkeetna area or the Wasilla or Chugiak area.
Arizona Half-Yearly Meeting will hold its Spring gathering March 27, 2010 at the Phoenix Meeting House.
Friends Center at Azusa Pacific is offering a course on Friends Theology, Worship, and Leadership, taught by Kent Walkemeyer, Friends Center Director. kwalkemeyer@apu.edu
Ben Lomond Quaker Center and Western Friend announce their first collaborative program, Rightly-Ordered Financial Management for Friends' Meetings and Organizations. It will take place at Ben Lomond Quaker Center on March 5-7, 2010.
College Park Quarterly Meeting’s one-day Winter Quarter will be on Saturday, January 16, 2010, in Berkeley with the theme, “Cleaning out our Attics. –to find the stored-away records of the history of our Monthly Meetings and Worship Groups, and bring them into the light of day; --to examine the dusty old beliefs and practices hidden away within us; bring them into the Light, and if they are still useful, keep them, otherwise let them go. Do you have the right tools for the spiritual work you are now doing?”
Evangelical Friends Church Southwest will hold Annual Conference and Serve Day:
• Southern California – Representative Session and Equipping Community Dinner, Friday January 29, 2010; Serve Day, Saturday, January 30, 2010.
• Arizona/Nevada – Serve Day and Celebration Banquet, Saturday February 13, 2010.
• Northern California - Serve Day and Celebration Banquet, Saturday February 20, 2010.
Friends are invited to join an Evangelical Friends Mission Vision Tour led by Chuck Mylander to Nepal, India, and Ireland, March 10-29, 2010. efm@friendsmission.com.
Friends Committee on Washington Public Policy Steering and Legislative Committee will meet on Saturday, January 9, at the Tacoma Friends Meetinghouse.
The second annual Quaker Lobby Day of Friends Committee on Washington Public Policy, which will focus on criminal justice issues, will be held in Olympia on Monday, February 15. Help express Quaker voices in Olympia.
For one week in October George Fox University (Newberg, OR) students were encouraged to live lightly as they observed: Skip a Shower Day, Bring Your Own Mug Day, A Day Unplugged, Ride Your Bike or Walk to School Day, and Eat a Vegetarian Meal Day.
Tempe Meeting will host the Intermountain Yearly Meeting (IMYM) Continuing Committee from January 8th to the 10th.
Intermountain Yearly Meeting (IMYM) will be held June 9-13, 2010, at Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, NM, with early program days on June 6-9 The theme will be "Quaker Service in the 21st Century."
Neighbors East and West is planning a trip to Iran April-May 2010. N.E.W, a Citizen-Diplomacy Community Education Organization led by Sam and Ruth Neff, is based in Richmond, IN and Whitefish, MT. http://neighborseastandwest.org/
The North Pacific Yearly Meeting Youth Committee asks if Meetings, Worship Groups, or individuals would be able to send a one-time donation (or to add a line item in annual budgets) to support the NPYM Youth Opportunity Fund.
Northwest Yearly Meeting has labeled January as "Peace Month," and has prepared and sent to churches materials that can be used for the peace emphasis. Other Friends are welcome to join with in this peace ministry.
Purpose: We recognize that the communities in NWYM represent a variety of beliefs, practices and education levels regarding the Friends peace testimony. We hope Peace Month will provide each congregation space to begin or continue discussions regarding peace and social justice issues in ways that are helpful to them. Our main goal is to create a safe setting where people in your meeting can openly discuss this issue, no matter where their opinions fall along the belief spectrum. Each meeting is encouraged to host one event each week during January related to the peace testimony.
A delegation from Northwest Yearly Meeting has gone to Bolivia Yearly Meeting’s annual business sessions to celebrate their history of working together and to explore the future of their relationship. The delegation includes Hal Thomas (North Valley), Quentin Nordyke (Newberg), Kevin Nordyke, and Dan Cammack (Tigard).
Northwest Yearly Meeting Midyear Boards, the gathering for all board members and representatives, will be January 29-30.
Youth Challenged to Expand their Worldview (YCEW) of Northwest Yearly Meeting will travel to Aquascalientes, Mexico, June 30-July 19. Information - nwfriends.org/youth.
Friends Men’s Retreats of Northwest Yearly Meeting will be held February 19-21 at Quaker Hill and February 26-28 at Twin Rocks. Information: nwfriends.org/friends-men
The 8th Pacific Northwest Quaker Women’s Theology Conference will take place June 16-20, 2010, at Seabeck Conference Center in Seabeck, Washington. The theme is Walk With Me: Mentors, Elders, and Friends. For more information and to register online, see www.pnwquakerwomen.org.
The Pacific Northwest Quarterly Meeting Silent Retreat will be January 29-31, 2010 at Camp Huston in Gold Bar, Washington.
The Religious Education Committee for Children of Pacific Yearly Meeting will be putting on a workshop day for First Day School teachers, hosted by Palo Alto Meeting.
The Annual Southern California Quarterly Meeting Retreat at Joshua Tree is coming up on Jan 15-18 (Martin Luther King Weekend). Joshua Tree is fun (but occasionally cold) camping in the high desert.
Utah Friends Fellowship Mid Winter Gathering will be in Salt Lake January 16-17. Julia Halaby will present on her work with Compassionate Listening in Palestine.
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Willamette Quarterly Meeting will gather for its annual business meeting on February 6, 2010 at the Corvallis Meeting House.
The Willamette Quarterly Meeting Men’s Retreat will be February 26-28, at Camp Myrtlewood, near Myrtle Point, OR.