A Friend today talked about wanting to worship with others who felt guided by something bigger than themselves, and that has agency. He doesn't care if that's God, or Christ, or Truth in an a-theist view. As long as there's that sense of something bigger. People who attend Quaker meetings without that are there for the culture of Quakers, not the faith tradition -- the religious society, as we're called.
What stood out for me was the word "guided."
I haven't been feeling very guided lately, at least not on a personal level. I moved to Philadelphia from San Francisco because my wife Robin M. is very much led to do the work she is currently employed to do, with the Friends World Committee for Consultation Section of the Americas.
Fortunately, we found a place to rent (though that's turning into a whole nother story lately), a school for our children, and a job for me that's just a few blocks away from Robin's work and the boys' school. I particularly don't take that last item for granted -- in the words of Quakers, "Way opened" for me, in a big way.
My life is focused on helping care for our family, doing my paid work, and doing one volunteer job that is rather substantial. Otherwise, I read Facebook, try to stay current on email, and read books that at least alternate between fluff and seriousness. But I'm not pursuing much in the way of an individual spiritual practice.
I attend meeting at Green Street the Sundays we're home, but I seem to be elsewhere many Sundays. Last weekend we went to Gwynedd Meeting in Montgomery County, and visited an aunt and uncle nearby afterwards; and two weeks ago, we went to 15th Street Meeting in New York City, where Robin and I met. Both of those opportunities came about because of Robin's work engagements. So I'm not as involved in my monthly meeting as I used to be. (Well, even if I were still in San Francisco, I wouldn't be quite as involved in my meeting as I used to be, because last spring I completed four years as clerk of the meeting; that was the right thing to do whether or not we had left.)
It's not surprising that I feel a bit unmoored (haha!) after leaving the area where I'd been living the last 16 years, and where Robin & I learned to be parents, and which had been where our children were born and had lived their lives until then.
But hey, today we went to meeting and then the Woodmere Art Museum where both our boys had pieces in the show of their school's art. Our younger son got to play outside quite a bit in the spring weather, and I did a little yard work and sat on the front porch to read a book about particle physics. And ate homemade pumpkin pie after a substantial dinner. So I certainly am blessed and have much to be grateful for. May I remain open to Guidance.
Showing posts with label quaker.community. Show all posts
Showing posts with label quaker.community. Show all posts
3/11/2012
2/14/2011
A Teaching Meeting
A former member of San Francisco Friends Meeting transferred his membership to his new meeting last year. In his letter requesting transfer, he wrote very movingly of the importance of the meeting to him, and how it served as a teaching meeting not only for him but for many other Friends.
This Friend had himself truly grown and deepened in the nearly 15 years he had worshiped with us. He had eventually quit his job as a management consultant for a very large corporation, made other work arrangements that reduced his hours substantially, and used the time freed up to make himself useful to Friends in all sorts of ways. He now consults part-time for Quaker organizations.
We miss him, but I'm glad our paths crossed and we became friends as well as Friends.
Because the cost of living in San Francisco is so high, our population is more transitory than in many cities. Add to that the appeal of its culture, its weather, its many startup companies, and its rich array of nonprofit community-based organizations and arts groups, we get a lot of young people cycling through, checking out Quaker meeting for the first time or -- if they grew up Quaker -- for the 1000th time.
Finally, because San Francisco is a popular destination for tourists and for conferences, our meeting also has a regular stream of visitors from other areas.
Suffice it to say, it's not always easy to keep track of any individual who starts attending. We do our best to be welcoming and talk to new people. (For a recent reflection on this topic by Robin M., see "Worship with My Eyes Open".) We also offer a session called "Frequently Asked Quaker Questions (FAQQs)" for 15 minutes after the end of meeting for worship, so that's a chance for people to plug in.
On 2/13, we had a visitor who introduced herself as someone who had attended our meeting for about six months in 1997. She then moved elsewhere, and stayed involved with Friends. She said she is someone who would gladly be involved with Quakerism every hour of the day, or words to that effect. She is now the clerk of Ministry and Counsel for another yearly meeting on the East Coast, as well as a member of their Faith & Practice revision committee. She was enthusiastic to be back where she had started with Quakers.
It was rewarding to know that her experience with us had stuck with her.
Dear God, thank you for the many blessings in my life, including San Francisco Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends.
This Friend had himself truly grown and deepened in the nearly 15 years he had worshiped with us. He had eventually quit his job as a management consultant for a very large corporation, made other work arrangements that reduced his hours substantially, and used the time freed up to make himself useful to Friends in all sorts of ways. He now consults part-time for Quaker organizations.
We miss him, but I'm glad our paths crossed and we became friends as well as Friends.
Because the cost of living in San Francisco is so high, our population is more transitory than in many cities. Add to that the appeal of its culture, its weather, its many startup companies, and its rich array of nonprofit community-based organizations and arts groups, we get a lot of young people cycling through, checking out Quaker meeting for the first time or -- if they grew up Quaker -- for the 1000th time.
Finally, because San Francisco is a popular destination for tourists and for conferences, our meeting also has a regular stream of visitors from other areas.
Suffice it to say, it's not always easy to keep track of any individual who starts attending. We do our best to be welcoming and talk to new people. (For a recent reflection on this topic by Robin M., see "Worship with My Eyes Open".) We also offer a session called "Frequently Asked Quaker Questions (FAQQs)" for 15 minutes after the end of meeting for worship, so that's a chance for people to plug in.
On 2/13, we had a visitor who introduced herself as someone who had attended our meeting for about six months in 1997. She then moved elsewhere, and stayed involved with Friends. She said she is someone who would gladly be involved with Quakerism every hour of the day, or words to that effect. She is now the clerk of Ministry and Counsel for another yearly meeting on the East Coast, as well as a member of their Faith & Practice revision committee. She was enthusiastic to be back where she had started with Quakers.
It was rewarding to know that her experience with us had stuck with her.
Dear God, thank you for the many blessings in my life, including San Francisco Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends.
8/03/2009
PacYM wrapup: The Epistle (long)
Well, Anthony Manousos, Western Friend magazine, and my good friend Robin Mohr all wrote about Pacific Yearly Meeting, so I don't feel the need to go further into great detail here.
I did clerk the epistle committee, which was only possible because Robin did attend the last two days of the session. I am grateful to our friends Erik, Jennifer, and Jason, who as it is watched my kids more than I watched theirs. The nice thing is, though, that all of our boys are getting big enough to wander around without much supervision. In fact, they spent most of their free time up in a big pine tree that was great for climbing.
As I said in my worship sharing group, "Go, primates!"
Anyway, this is what Pacific Yearly Meeting's Faith and Practice has to say about the epistle committee:
So here is what we wrote:
To Friends everywhere:
Greetings of all peace and good to you, dear Friends!
We in Pacific Yearly Meeting carry you in our hearts here at our 2009 annual session, held 7/26 to 8/1 at Walker Creek Ranch in rural Marin County, California. We have heard epistles from other Yearly Meetings throughout the week, reminding us we are part of the larger body of the Religious Society of Friends.
Our 2009 annual session has provided us with many opportunities for worship in spirit and truth, as well as for learning, fellowship, and relaxation in the countryside. The setting, hemmed in by rolling, fog-enshrouded hills, reminded us of the musical “Brigadoon,” as we recreate once again this faith community.
This week we deepened our faith together, in community. A major topic before us was a proposal to create a Youth Program Coordinator as the yearly meeting’s only staff position. A year ago, Pacific Yearly Meeting approved the position in concept. An ad hoc subcommittee circulated a detailed proposal and gathered extensive feedback from meetings and individuals, compiled in 110 pages of appendices.
Wrestling with this proposal demanded the best of us. We were reminded to be faithful to our Quaker practice of meeting for worship with attention to business. We needed to step back from results, create space, and leave room for the Spirit to enter. We were not here for a product or goal, but to be faithful and uncover: What does God will for us? After lengthy and difficult discernment, we came to unity to try this three-year experiment. Friends were reminded we remain one community, bonded by love.
Opportunities for nurture and growth of our spiritual lives included extended worship every morning. The children participated for the first 20 minutes, with a lesson, and then retired to their programs. Vocal ministry reflected a grounding in Quaker faith and practice. The lengthened periods of worship created more space for the Spirit to breathe and allowed time to absorb each ministry.
Friends found inspiration through shared reflection and study, including Bible study and a series on transformative Quakers. Worship sharing in smaller groups explored the theme of community and our relationships with our meetings. Meeting for memorials was powerful as usual, offering Friends a chance to remember the departed. The presence of the entire yearly meeting community—babies, children, teens, adults, and elders—showed the full circle of life present among us. An intergenerational dance later that evening provided a vibrant celebration of life.
The clerk’s reminders and steady hand helped conduct business in good order. One notable example of improved process this year was the swift approval of the budget on second reading. Friends often reminded one another of the importance of our testimonies, including equality, integrity, and peace.
We approved a minute from Peace and Social Order Committee against the U.S. war in Afghanistan and supporting peacebuilding. Another minute on healthcare for all in the U.S. was adopted. We were concerned that the American Friends Service Committee reported a 50% budget reduction, a result of the economic recession. Other reports, interest groups, and a tabling fair provided opportunities for Friends to engage with numerous other organizations and concerns.
We engaged on the difficult topic of racism within the Society of Friends. Visitors Vanessa Julye and Janice Domanik, coordinator and former clerk respectively of the Friends General Conference Committee for Ministry on Racism, convened affinity groups and discussions. Vanessa also discussed the new book she co-authored, Fit for Freedom, Not for Friendship: Quakers, African Americans and the Myth of Racial Justice. Friends of color wrote an open letter to the community, naming a certain level of interracial tension, asked to be greeted, and asked the Yearly Meeting to support Vanessa’s return in 2010.
The natural beauty of Walker Creek Ranch provided encounters with wildlife, as well as opportunities for reflection on the environment. The Unity with Nature Committee has found new energy, fostering a dialogue held in monthly and quarterly meetings about an emergent testimony on harmony with nature.
We also made many efforts to “green” the annual session. In the past year 48 committee meetings were held by conference call, saving on travel impacts. Some Friends bicycled to our site from locations in the San Francisco Bay Area. Meals were primarily vegetarian, with as much locally grown food as possible. We also ate one meal of plain rice and beans in solidarity with the many people around the world who eat simply at every meal. A Friend [Rolene Walker] presented her Walk with Earth from San Diego, California, to Santiago, Chile. Over 380 people have walked part of the way, including many from our yearly meeting. She described the miracles that can open up when one faithfully follows one’s leading from God every day.
Children’s programs nurtured the children’s spirituality and their experience of our yearly meeting community through lessons, games, and outdoor activities like canoeing and swimming. Junior Yearly Meeting had a sizable turnout, and the teens created guidelines for participation and their own schedule. Their spirit and energy provided Light for all of us.
We send our loving greetings and our gratitude to you all and the larger world of Friends.
In peace and friendship,
On behalf of Pacific Yearly Meeting
Joe Franko, Clerk
I did clerk the epistle committee, which was only possible because Robin did attend the last two days of the session. I am grateful to our friends Erik, Jennifer, and Jason, who as it is watched my kids more than I watched theirs. The nice thing is, though, that all of our boys are getting big enough to wander around without much supervision. In fact, they spent most of their free time up in a big pine tree that was great for climbing.
As I said in my worship sharing group, "Go, primates!"
Anyway, this is what Pacific Yearly Meeting's Faith and Practice has to say about the epistle committee:
epistle committee (ad hoc): The Epistle Committee prepares a statement (epistle) expressing the spirit and concern of the annual session to be sent “To Friends Everywhere” when it has been accepted by the Yearly Meeting.Well, none of us had been on the epistle committee last year, and I ended up clerk, mostly because they asked me first.
This committee is appointed by the Ministry and Oversight Committee and consists of three Friends who serve for the duration of the annual session. Their names are publicized at the beginning of the annual session so that Friends can contact them with suggestions. One member, who should have served the prior year, is appointed Clerk. A first draft of the Epistle is read at a plenary session prior to the final day. Then the committee may hold an open meeting for consideration and discussion of proposed changes. The revised Epistle is presented at the plenary session before the closing Meeting for worship.
So here is what we wrote:
PACIFIC YEARLY MEETING EPISTLE 2009
Final as Presented to Plenary, 1st 8th Month 2009
To Friends everywhere:
Greetings of all peace and good to you, dear Friends!
We in Pacific Yearly Meeting carry you in our hearts here at our 2009 annual session, held 7/26 to 8/1 at Walker Creek Ranch in rural Marin County, California. We have heard epistles from other Yearly Meetings throughout the week, reminding us we are part of the larger body of the Religious Society of Friends.
Our 2009 annual session has provided us with many opportunities for worship in spirit and truth, as well as for learning, fellowship, and relaxation in the countryside. The setting, hemmed in by rolling, fog-enshrouded hills, reminded us of the musical “Brigadoon,” as we recreate once again this faith community.
This week we deepened our faith together, in community. A major topic before us was a proposal to create a Youth Program Coordinator as the yearly meeting’s only staff position. A year ago, Pacific Yearly Meeting approved the position in concept. An ad hoc subcommittee circulated a detailed proposal and gathered extensive feedback from meetings and individuals, compiled in 110 pages of appendices.
Wrestling with this proposal demanded the best of us. We were reminded to be faithful to our Quaker practice of meeting for worship with attention to business. We needed to step back from results, create space, and leave room for the Spirit to enter. We were not here for a product or goal, but to be faithful and uncover: What does God will for us? After lengthy and difficult discernment, we came to unity to try this three-year experiment. Friends were reminded we remain one community, bonded by love.
Opportunities for nurture and growth of our spiritual lives included extended worship every morning. The children participated for the first 20 minutes, with a lesson, and then retired to their programs. Vocal ministry reflected a grounding in Quaker faith and practice. The lengthened periods of worship created more space for the Spirit to breathe and allowed time to absorb each ministry.
Friends found inspiration through shared reflection and study, including Bible study and a series on transformative Quakers. Worship sharing in smaller groups explored the theme of community and our relationships with our meetings. Meeting for memorials was powerful as usual, offering Friends a chance to remember the departed. The presence of the entire yearly meeting community—babies, children, teens, adults, and elders—showed the full circle of life present among us. An intergenerational dance later that evening provided a vibrant celebration of life.
The clerk’s reminders and steady hand helped conduct business in good order. One notable example of improved process this year was the swift approval of the budget on second reading. Friends often reminded one another of the importance of our testimonies, including equality, integrity, and peace.
We approved a minute from Peace and Social Order Committee against the U.S. war in Afghanistan and supporting peacebuilding. Another minute on healthcare for all in the U.S. was adopted. We were concerned that the American Friends Service Committee reported a 50% budget reduction, a result of the economic recession. Other reports, interest groups, and a tabling fair provided opportunities for Friends to engage with numerous other organizations and concerns.
We engaged on the difficult topic of racism within the Society of Friends. Visitors Vanessa Julye and Janice Domanik, coordinator and former clerk respectively of the Friends General Conference Committee for Ministry on Racism, convened affinity groups and discussions. Vanessa also discussed the new book she co-authored, Fit for Freedom, Not for Friendship: Quakers, African Americans and the Myth of Racial Justice. Friends of color wrote an open letter to the community, naming a certain level of interracial tension, asked to be greeted, and asked the Yearly Meeting to support Vanessa’s return in 2010.
The natural beauty of Walker Creek Ranch provided encounters with wildlife, as well as opportunities for reflection on the environment. The Unity with Nature Committee has found new energy, fostering a dialogue held in monthly and quarterly meetings about an emergent testimony on harmony with nature.
We also made many efforts to “green” the annual session. In the past year 48 committee meetings were held by conference call, saving on travel impacts. Some Friends bicycled to our site from locations in the San Francisco Bay Area. Meals were primarily vegetarian, with as much locally grown food as possible. We also ate one meal of plain rice and beans in solidarity with the many people around the world who eat simply at every meal. A Friend [Rolene Walker] presented her Walk with Earth from San Diego, California, to Santiago, Chile. Over 380 people have walked part of the way, including many from our yearly meeting. She described the miracles that can open up when one faithfully follows one’s leading from God every day.
Children’s programs nurtured the children’s spirituality and their experience of our yearly meeting community through lessons, games, and outdoor activities like canoeing and swimming. Junior Yearly Meeting had a sizable turnout, and the teens created guidelines for participation and their own schedule. Their spirit and energy provided Light for all of us.
We send our loving greetings and our gratitude to you all and the larger world of Friends.
In peace and friendship,
On behalf of Pacific Yearly Meeting
Joe Franko, Clerk
7/28/2009
First full day at Pacific Yearly Meeting
Today, Tues. 7/28, is the first full day of Pacific Yearly Meeting's annual session.
Last night, presiding clerk Joe Franko welcomed us (if I had more time I'd link to his blog). He said PacYM was even more like Brigadoon that evening, because the fog was in, we were meeting in a tent not a building, and a Friend was practicing his bagpipes in the distance.
Joe said we are here as a community of faith. Yet the Spirit blows where it will. Friends need to present their ideas or proposals, then step back and make space for the Spirit to enter. We don't have a product to create or a goal. We have a process we know works, our Quaker process, and we need to give it space to work.
The plenary to discuss creation of a youth coordinator position -- which would be the yearly meeting's sole staffer -- is supposed to start in 25 minutes. I skipped the first hour of regular business, I'm afraid. (I had an urgent work matter I'm monitoring, so, here I am....)
For the first time in several years I'm neither on the Children's Program Committee nor a teacher. Nonetheless, I ended up volunteering for the first part of the morning with the elementary group. It was fun, and I think Seven Year Old was happy to have me there, without being particularly attached. Then I went to worship sharing, where the community was, "What does community mean to me?"
I'm here without Robin until the end of the week, so I'm parenting solo. Fortunately, our boys are old enough, and experienced enough with yearly meeting, to hang out with their friends with much looser boundaries, and our various families hang out together, too. It reminds me of something Bill McKibben wrote in Deep Economy, about the way humans are supposed to live in community.
I brought my camera but not the cord to connect it to the computer, so I can't upload the photos from last night of Joe Franko, and of the boys on top of a big rock. Walker Creek Ranch is beautiful.
Last night, presiding clerk Joe Franko welcomed us (if I had more time I'd link to his blog). He said PacYM was even more like Brigadoon that evening, because the fog was in, we were meeting in a tent not a building, and a Friend was practicing his bagpipes in the distance.
Joe said we are here as a community of faith. Yet the Spirit blows where it will. Friends need to present their ideas or proposals, then step back and make space for the Spirit to enter. We don't have a product to create or a goal. We have a process we know works, our Quaker process, and we need to give it space to work.
The plenary to discuss creation of a youth coordinator position -- which would be the yearly meeting's sole staffer -- is supposed to start in 25 minutes. I skipped the first hour of regular business, I'm afraid. (I had an urgent work matter I'm monitoring, so, here I am....)
For the first time in several years I'm neither on the Children's Program Committee nor a teacher. Nonetheless, I ended up volunteering for the first part of the morning with the elementary group. It was fun, and I think Seven Year Old was happy to have me there, without being particularly attached. Then I went to worship sharing, where the community was, "What does community mean to me?"
I'm here without Robin until the end of the week, so I'm parenting solo. Fortunately, our boys are old enough, and experienced enough with yearly meeting, to hang out with their friends with much looser boundaries, and our various families hang out together, too. It reminds me of something Bill McKibben wrote in Deep Economy, about the way humans are supposed to live in community.
I brought my camera but not the cord to connect it to the computer, so I can't upload the photos from last night of Joe Franko, and of the boys on top of a big rock. Walker Creek Ranch is beautiful.
7/24/2009
A vision for an anti-war coffeehouse event
A lot of pro-peace people say, "It's not enough to be against war, you also have to be for peace."
While I agree with that, I can't help but think: "It's not enough to be pro-peace, you also have to be against war."
Simplistic, but true. What have I done lately to make the world a safer place? Not much.
I had a vision of organizing a Friday or Saturday evening anti-war coffeehouse at the Quaker meetinghouse, with open mic and open wifi. You could versify, sing, or chant. You could have conversations about the issues. You could weep and moan if you needed, or laugh and dance if you were moved to.
You could email your friends to explain your views. You could write letters to your Representative and Senator. You could write letters to the editors of the local papers, which is arguably more effective because it's more public. (And "papers" is plural because the SF Bay Area still has several papers for now, including many freebies.)
If you're originally from somewhere else in the country or world, you could write to your hometown paper and express your views.
(Even if you're not a pacifist, you could come if you're against the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.)
And you could feel less alone and more engaged. I'd like that part.
While I agree with that, I can't help but think: "It's not enough to be pro-peace, you also have to be against war."
Simplistic, but true. What have I done lately to make the world a safer place? Not much.
I had a vision of organizing a Friday or Saturday evening anti-war coffeehouse at the Quaker meetinghouse, with open mic and open wifi. You could versify, sing, or chant. You could have conversations about the issues. You could weep and moan if you needed, or laugh and dance if you were moved to.
You could email your friends to explain your views. You could write letters to your Representative and Senator. You could write letters to the editors of the local papers, which is arguably more effective because it's more public. (And "papers" is plural because the SF Bay Area still has several papers for now, including many freebies.)
If you're originally from somewhere else in the country or world, you could write to your hometown paper and express your views.
(Even if you're not a pacifist, you could come if you're against the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.)
And you could feel less alone and more engaged. I'd like that part.
5/18/2009
Traveling Friends
This weekend we went to College Park Quarterly Meeting's spring session at Ben Lomond Quaker Center. The theme was caring for our youth. The invited guest was Emily Stewart, Youth Ministries Coordinator at Friends General Conference. Her traveling companion was Betsy Blake from North Carolina Yearly Meeting (Friends United Meeting).
The weekend was full and rich and I'm too tired to blog about it now. I stayed up too late visiting with Friends last night!
Betsy and Emily came to our house afterwards. It turned out that C. Wess Daniels and his friend James were stopping at Chad's house on their way to Wess's new home in Camas, Washington. So we invited Chad and his wife Da to come with Wess and James to our house to hang out with us and our guests.
We're not used to late nights like that -- they left around 11. Fortunately, we had fair trade hot chocolate to drink together.
The weekend was full and rich and I'm too tired to blog about it now. I stayed up too late visiting with Friends last night!
Betsy and Emily came to our house afterwards. It turned out that C. Wess Daniels and his friend James were stopping at Chad's house on their way to Wess's new home in Camas, Washington. So we invited Chad and his wife Da to come with Wess and James to our house to hang out with us and our guests.
We're not used to late nights like that -- they left around 11. Fortunately, we had fair trade hot chocolate to drink together.
2/16/2009
Agenda for an introduction to Quakerism
Last Sunday at San Francisco Meeting, a member of our Ministry and Oversight Committee and I led a two-hour session, "An Introduction to Quakerism." We decided to take a hint from Quaker Quest and lead with the faith not the history.
Twelve people participated. Not huge, but significant. Three people were at our meeting for the first time that day, and two of them had never been to a Friends meeting before. I thought it was brave of them to stay for the whole two hours.
It seemed to go well. We got a nice email afterwards from a longtime member of our meeting, thanking us for doing the session and saying he learned something from both of us.
Here is the agenda we worked from, though what we actually said was of course different from what we wrote ahead of time:
1. Silent Worship
2. Introductions and Icebreaker:
Say your name, when you first attended a Friends meeting, and share something you remember from that first time (or, if you can’t recall, then say something about a meeting that was special for you in some way)
3. Faith: Blake
Twelve people participated. Not huge, but significant. Three people were at our meeting for the first time that day, and two of them had never been to a Friends meeting before. I thought it was brave of them to stay for the whole two hours.
It seemed to go well. We got a nice email afterwards from a longtime member of our meeting, thanking us for doing the session and saying he learned something from both of us.
Here is the agenda we worked from, though what we actually said was of course different from what we wrote ahead of time:
1. Silent Worship
2. Introductions and Icebreaker:
Say your name, when you first attended a Friends meeting, and share something you remember from that first time (or, if you can’t recall, then say something about a meeting that was special for you in some way)
3. Faith: Blake
- Foundational points from early Friends, based on Wilmer Cooper’s A Living Faith
- Encounter with the divine in silence, unmediated, etc.
- Inner Light/That of God in all humans
- The encounter with the divine leads us to work this out in our lives
- Aspects include various testimonies: how do our lives testify to our experience of truth?
- Religious ferment in 17th Century England; Puritans, revolution, Seekers.
- Fox: Great people to be gathered. One, Christ Jesus, who can speak to your condition.
- Fell: ally who provided base of operations in North of England
- Integrity, truthtelling, no oaths, no tithe, interrupting church services => oppression
- No tithe = no access to state schools, so they set up their own Friends Schools.
- Quakers and rise of capitalism: Gwyn, Covenant Crucified
- Success of Penn’s holy experiment w/religious tolerance.
- Social witness: abolitionism, penitentiaries and prison reform, peace;
- Growing awareness of racism among Friends past and present, despite history of abolitionism
- Environment growing more important for many Friends today
- How do our Quaker roots guide us today?
- Where do we find inspiration from our Quaker roots?
- Where do we want to branch out from those roots?
- How do we “let our lives speak” as Friends? What are our lives saying?
1/02/2009
Quick Quaker Talks: An Experiment at SF Friends Meeting
If you'd been to San Francisco Friends Meeting over the holidays, you'd have heard me announce that the meeting's Ministry and Oversight Committee is trying an experiment in January, tentatively entitled "Quick Quaker Talks." These will be brief discussions at the end of meeting for worship.
The plan is that for about 15 or 20 minutes following meeting for worship and announcements, a couple of experienced Quakers will give their take on some frequently asked Quaker questions—FAQQ! Then we'll have time for others to chime in with their experiences—and their questions. All are welcome.
My current plan is to kick off the series this Sunday (1/4) by asking, "How do Quakers know when to speak in meeting for worship?"
Though subject to change, here are the suggested future topics:
Originally posted to San Francisco Meeting's email group. Essentially, we're doing "inreach" to our own meeting in a miniature version of the Quaker Quest series pioneered by London Friends, and now promoted in the U.S. by Friends General Conference.
Update, 1/6/09: We had seven people participate for the debut event. There was one person there for the first time, a Haverford student home on break in San Francisco who had been to our meeting a time or two, a person who had attended about a dozen meetings elsewhere, an attender from our meeting who's been coming for about two years or so, two members of Ministry and Oversight, and me. It was a good discussion, going far past the fifteen minutes alloted, probably more like 30 or 35. There was opportunity for sharing and discussion as well as questions. The one drawback: The potluck lunch was mostly gone by the time we were finished. Next time, we may plan to get food first, then have a discussion table. Either that or we talk quicker and end sooner.
The plan is that for about 15 or 20 minutes following meeting for worship and announcements, a couple of experienced Quakers will give their take on some frequently asked Quaker questions—FAQQ! Then we'll have time for others to chime in with their experiences—and their questions. All are welcome.
My current plan is to kick off the series this Sunday (1/4) by asking, "How do Quakers know when to speak in meeting for worship?"
Though subject to change, here are the suggested future topics:
- 1/11: Why do Quakers meet for silent worship rather than meditate alone?
- 1/18: What do Quakers think of Jesus? Are Quakers Christian?
- 1/25: What are the Quaker testimonies and what do they "testify" to, anyway?
Originally posted to San Francisco Meeting's email group. Essentially, we're doing "inreach" to our own meeting in a miniature version of the Quaker Quest series pioneered by London Friends, and now promoted in the U.S. by Friends General Conference.
Update, 1/6/09: We had seven people participate for the debut event. There was one person there for the first time, a Haverford student home on break in San Francisco who had been to our meeting a time or two, a person who had attended about a dozen meetings elsewhere, an attender from our meeting who's been coming for about two years or so, two members of Ministry and Oversight, and me. It was a good discussion, going far past the fifteen minutes alloted, probably more like 30 or 35. There was opportunity for sharing and discussion as well as questions. The one drawback: The potluck lunch was mostly gone by the time we were finished. Next time, we may plan to get food first, then have a discussion table. Either that or we talk quicker and end sooner.
8/30/2008
Signs of a Healthy Quaker Meeting
Meetings/congregations are healthy when…
- They resolve conflict and tension with attempts at healing and reconciliation.
- They have vision, direction, goals, follow-through and implementation.
- They have a missions mindset rather than an institutional or maintenance mindset.
- They welcome new ideas, creativity, and new leadership.
- They tend to elevate “Quaker faith” over “Quaker culture.”
- They provide adequate opportunities for people to grow spiritually and they provide a safe place for people to seek and ask questions.
- They foster healthy emotional systems and people, creating space for emotionally unhealthy people.
- They are solution-focused rather than problem-focused.
- They focus on the essentials and forsake the non-essentials.
- They have an ability to deal directly with one another in times of disagreement, change, and conflict.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
