New York Yearly Meeting
of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
InfoShare
Volume 2 October 2003 Number 5
Editor: Paul Busby, paul@nyym.org

Contents

Worship and Action for Peace Retreat Gatherings
Where is our peace testimony leading New York Yearly Meeting Friends now?

We called one another to shared worship and action for peace more than a year ago. Over the months, we have reached out to one another, facing horrible events and deep and unfamiliar questions. This summer we were directly challenged to seek a vision of action for peace that Quakers might undertake corporately, through organizations like Friends United Meeting.

We are Quakers. In emergent times, we listen deeply, and we listen together. We call one another to this practice now.

Three retreat gatherings will be held soon. Two will take place at the end of October and the beginning of November, one at Powell House and one south of Rochester. The third, in New Jersey, will be in mid-November.

Each monthly meeting is asked to send at least two Friends to a retreat gathering; the gatherings are open to all who wish to attend. Food and overnight hospitality will be provided. Participants are asked to pay $40 each for the Powell House and western New York gatherings. A $10 donation will be requested for the New Jersey gathering. Expenses beyond participant fees will be drawn from the Worship and Action/Peace Initiatives Fund of New York Yearly Meeting.

The Powell House gathering will take place Friday evening, October 31, through Sunday midday, November 2. The registration form, schedule, and directions are on the NYYM Web site and will be mailed to people on request. Directions to Powell House and a map are at http://www.powellhouse.org/directions.htm. Please register by Saturday, October 25, 2003.

The gathering in western New York State will take place Friday evening, October 31, through Saturday afternoon, November 1, at the Rotary Sunshine Camp in Rush, N.Y., south of Rochester. The registration form, schedule, and directions are also on the Web site and will be mailed upon request. Please register by Saturday, October 25, 2003.

The New Jersey gathering will be Friday evening, November 14, through Saturday afternoon, November 15, at the Rahway & Plainfield meetinghouse, 225 Watchung Ave., Plainfield, N.J. The registration form, schedule, and directions are also on the Web site and will be mailed upon request. Please register by Thursday, November 6, 2003.

 

NOTE: Further information, registration forms, and schedules for these retreats are available by clicking here.

Friends are asked to consider the six peace queries below and the Advices and Queries from our Faith and Practice, as we seek our response to God in these times and prepare for these retreat gatherings. Please come prepared to share any responses. The queries and Faith and Practice are also available through your monthly meeting, at www.nyym.org, or by request from the Yearly Meeting office. (The queries are available in HTML, for viewing with your Web broser, and in PDF format, for reading and printing. Adobe Acrobat Reader is needed to read and print PDF documents. You can download this program free by clicking here.

    Queries

    Where does our peace testimony lead New York Yearly Meeting Friends now?

    1. Are there crises in our world, in our nation, in our communities, that compel our attention? our concern? our action? In these times, how are we responding to God? Are there crises of peace within ourselves? Are we listening for God's direction?
    2. What are our responsibilities in these times?
      • at home?
      • toward our country?
      • toward global equity and justice?
      • toward democracy?
      • toward people victimized by our country's wars?
      • toward our environment?
      • in addressing war and militarism?
    3. What awareness and learning are we called to? What changes?
    4. Are we committed to love, even if it doesn't lead to the results we want? If love does not succeed in overcoming violence and hate, are we connected with whatever it is that inspires and sustains us so that we do not despair? Are we willing to continue and continue and continue, constantly renewing our source of strength and love, regardless of apparent results? What is our response to experiences of "failure"? Of "success"?
    5. What sustains us in faithfulness?
      • Do we accept our blessings? Do we acknowledge them?
      • Where do we find strength?
      • Do we know how to ask for help? Are we willing to ask?
      • How do we encourage one another, and ourselves?
      • How are we supported in testing leadings? In living in response to them?
    6. What role(s) can/should the Religious Society of Friends play in the world? Is it called to a particular witness in these times?

Linda Chidsey, Vicki Cooley, Fred Dettmer
Worship and Action working group

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Representative Meeting December 6-7, 2003

 Purchase Quarter welcomes you to Representative Meeting. All Friends are encouraged to participate in this interim business meeting which carries on the business of the Yearly Meeting between our annual sessions at Silver Bay.

The weekend will begin at 7:30 P.M. Friday, December 6, at the newly renovated Purchase Meetinghouse, with a performance and sing-along by the Walkabout Clearwater Community Chorus. On Saturday, December 7, we will gather on the Pleasantville, N.Y., campus of Pace University. On Sunday we will meet at Purchase Meetinghouse.

Further information and registration forms will be published in November Spark, mailed to meetings and worship groups, e-mailed or mailed to NYYM committee clerks and members of Sessions, and posted on the Web site.

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Attention Newsletter Editors and Contributors

 Did you know that we read every meeting newsletter that we receive? It's always a joy to share the blessings of meetings and worship groups, whatever form these blessings take. We also pass this information on to other meetings and the Yearly Meeting by way of Spark, InfoShare, and the Web site.

Please be sure that we are on the list to receive your newsletter, either by mail or electronically. Also, we need the e-mail addresses of newsletter editors, so that we may inform you of important information.

Send items to Paul Busby, c/o the NYYM office; e-mail paul@nyym.org.

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Fall 2003 Powell House Youth Programs

 October 17-19: You're Right, I'm Right, So Why Do We Fight?--Jr. High
November 7-9: Creative Spirit--4th, 5th, & 6th grades
November 14-16: Junior Counselor Training 2003--Sr. High
December 12-14: WinterSong--Jr. & Sr. High

For more info Call Chris DeRoller or Mike Clark at 518-794-8811 x13 or e-mail chrisandmike@powellhouse.org.

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A Clear Leading: Drama about John Woolman

 Rich Swingle has created a one-person, two-act play, A Clear Leading, that dramatizes John Woolman's life. The play will be presented Saturday, October 18, 2003, at 7:00 P.M., at the Brooklyn meetinghouse, at 110 Schermerhorn St. Admission is free, though voluntary donations will be accepted.

John Woolman, who lived most of his life in southern New Jersey, is known mainly for his abolitionist activities, which eventually helped to end slavery within the Religious Society of Friends. He was also a tireless advocate for the poor. "Collecting riches," he wrote, ". . . operates against universal love. . . . To desire these things belongs not to the children of the Light." He also enjoined Quakers to refuse to pay taxes for the French and Indian War.

A Clear Leading is intended to bring Woolman's story to life for today's Friends.

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AVP Training for Facilitators

 If you have taken the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) Basic and Advanced workshops and want to become a facilitator, this is your opportunity. A Training for Facilitators, led by longtime workshop leader Steve Angell, will be held October 31 to November 2, 2003, at Westbury Meetinghouse, 550 Post Ave., Westbury, N.Y. The fee for the workshop is $40 for meals and incidentals plus $7.50 for the Basic manual. For information contact Daisy Palmer at 516-333-7173. Hospitality can be arranged with prior notice. Some partial scholarships are available.

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QIVP Open House

 The Quaker Intentional Village Project (QIVP) is a new venture of Quakers and others who are interested in creating and living in a new kind of community. We are building the first QIVP community in East Chatham, N.Y.--in Columbia County, between Albany and the Berkshires of Mass. We are currently improving our 135 acres of land and its buildings, working on the organizational and legal structure we'll need to make the community happen, and hoping to connect with like-minded people (Quaker and otherwise) who are interested in joining us as either eventual residents (members) or friends and supporters.

QIVP will hold an Open House on Sunday, November 2, 2003, from 3:00 to 6:00 P.M. Come learn firsthand about QIVP. Walk the land, see the views over the hills, and meet some of the Friends involved in creating this Quaker intentional community. For more information, call 518-781-0465. To see pictures and learn more, go to www.qivp.org.

Rebecca McBride

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Pastoral Care Newsletter

Published by Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

Support for Caregivers

Do caregivers in your meeting sometimes find themselves called on to deal with situations outside their zone of comfort and experience? How can meetings deepen their capacity to respond to the needs of members?

Friends' time-honored process is to learn from more experienced Friends. For ten years Pastoral Care Newsletter has brought the wisdom of experienced Quaker caregivers to meetings around North America. In a recent reader survey one respondent wrote, "This is a very important resource for Care and Counsel in so many areas that come under its charge. It's the first resource we turn to when a new pastoral care situation comes up."

You can invite Pastoral Care Newsletter to bring the support of seasoned Friends to caregivers in your meeting. The newsletter is published four times a year. Single subscriptions are $10.75, reduced if you buy copies for all members of the caregiving committee in your meeting. Sample copy and subscription information: PCN, 1515 Cherry St., Philadelphia PA 19102; 215-241-7068; steveg@pym.org.

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Witness for Civil Liberties Weekend

 October 26, 2003, is the two-year anniversary of the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act and the last day before the Muslim holiday Ramadan, making it a fitting time for people of all faith traditions to affirm and celebrate fundamental freedoms.

As a result, a diverse group of religious organizations, including Friends Committee for National Legislation (FCNL) and American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), have declared the entire weekend October 24-26, 2003, as Witness for Civil Liberties Weekend. By engaging in programs of education, worship, and community action, participating religious organizations can help to ensure that freedom in the United States is truly for all people--regardless of citizenship, nationality, race, or religion. Witness for Civil Liberties Weekend: Because Freedom Is for All People!

The event Web site, http://www.witnessforcivilliberties.org, has a wealth of ideas and information on how to get involved, as well as a sign-up form for officially registering your congregation, meeting, or organization. The site includes resources such as: links to articles analyzing the USA PATRIOT Act and other regulations and orders impacting civil liberties, tips on holding a vigil, possible discussion questions for a forum, as well as sermons and liturgical readings about civil liberties.

For information contact info@witnessforcivilliberties.org or FCNL, 245 2nd St. NE, Washington DC 20002-5795; fcnl@fcnl.org; 202-547-6000; fax: 202-547-6019; http://www.fcnl.org. For congressional information: http://capwiz.com/fconl/dbq/officials/.

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Peace Conference and Interfaith Service at Princeton

 The 24th annual Conference and Interfaith Service for Peace will be held at Princeton University Sunday, November 9, 2003. George Carey, immediate past archbishop of Canterbury, will lead the interfaith service at 11:00 A.M. The afternoon conference will feature Barbara Lee, the only member of Congress to vote against the War Powers Resolution following the September 11, 2001, attacks; Cornel West, author of Race Matters and The African American Century; and Richard Falk, chair of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.

For information contact Peace Action Education Fund, 40 Witherspoon St., Princeton NJ 08542; 609-924-5022; cfpa@peacecoalition.org or visit http://www.peacecoalition.org/action/2003Q4/031109_conference.shtml.

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AFSC: Defending the Right of Public Education

 The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) celebrates more than 85 years of activism and service at its Annual Public Gathering, Saturday, November 1, 2003, at 1:30 P.M., at Friends Center, 1501 Cherry St., in Philadelphia. Civil rights activist Jean Fairfax, AFSC's former director of Southern Programs, and other speakers will explore the topic Defending the Right to Public Education -- From the 1950s to the Present. The speakers will describe the closing of public schools in Prince Edward County, Va., following the Brown v. Board of Education court decision in 1954, and will recall AFSC's response -- assisting African American children to stay with families in the North to continue their education. Representatives of both the students and the host families will participate in the discussion. The continuing struggle to guarantee high-quality public education to all children will also be explored. The keynote presentation will be followed by three simultaneous panel presentations on AFSC's current work with youth and education.

Free and open to the public .For further information contact AFSC, 1501 Cherry St., in Philadelphia PA 19102; 215-241-7000; www.afsc.org.

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Deadline Extended for Infant Care Kits

 In September Spark we published an article about AFSC's campaign to provide infant-care kits to Iraqis. AFSC announces that the campaign has been extended through November 30, 2003. For further information contact Anne Wright in the New York Metropolitan Regional Office of AFSC, 212-598-0951; awright@afsc.org.

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Jobs at AFSC

 Over the next two months, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) will be seeking to fill three administrative assistant positions in the Peacebuilding Unit of AFSC, providing critical support to AFSC's peace and justice work. The positions are full-time, offering excellent salary and benefits, and located at the Friends Center, 15th and Cherry Streets in Philadelphia. Beginning Monday, October 13, 2003, please look on our Web site www.afsc.org/jobs/ to find out the full details of the first position, and watch for the other two as they are posted on the Web site over the next month.

For further information contact Sharon M. Frame, Peacebuilding Unit, AFSC, 1501 Cherry St., Philadelphia PA 19102; 215-241-7122; fax: 215-241-7177; sframe@afsc.org.

The AFSC National Office is also seeking a managing editor, Web communications, for the Communications Department. Further information is available from Clara Wright, AFSC, HR, 1501 Cherry St., Philadelphia, PA 19102-1479; cwright@afsc.org; application deadline is October 29, 2003.

Job seekers are encouraged to check the AFSC Web site frequently. The Web address is http://www.afsc.org/jobs/.

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Director for Quaker Camp in Maine

 Friend's Camp, a residential co-ed Quaker summer camp located near China Lake in South China, ME, seeks a full-time, year-round director. Operated under the auspices of the New England Yearly Meeting and serving youth between seven and seventeen, the camp seeks to build a community based on Quaker values.

Competitive salary and benefits. A letter of interest and résumé should be submitted by Dec. 15, 2003, to Search Committee, c/o Andrew Dewey, Box 590, Southwest Harbor ME 04679 or electronically (encouraged) to andrew@acadiacomp.com.

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An Invitation to Read (and Write for) What Canst Thou Say?

 What Canst Thou Say? is a newsletter on Quakers, mysticism, and contemplative living--a worship-sharing group in print, with each writer contributing his or her experience in response to a central theme. Themes for upcoming issues are:

February 2004: On Being Open and Tender--editors: Jennifer Elam, Patricia McBee
Sometimes when one's heart and soul are opened to Spirit, a sensitivity emerges that makes it difficult to function in mainstream culture. How do we tenderly honor our openness and sensitivity? How do we open and close in ways that help us remain functional in our world? Please share with other readers of WCTS your experiences of being open and tender and your discoveries of how to be open without being overwhelmed. Deadline: November 15, 2003

May 2004: Guidance--editor: Kathy Tapp, deadline February 15, 2004; August 2004: Precognition--editor: Mariellen Gilpin, deadline May 15, 2004

WCTS depends on its readers to write for the publication. Articles can be from 350 to 1,500 words long. Don't worry about writing perfectly. Just get your story on paper and send it to us. You can send it directly to m-gilpin@uiuc.edu. Sometimes it helps to talk through an article idea before you start writing; give me a call at 217-352-2082, or e-mail me. Articles should be in electronic form, if at all possible, but we're happy to accept a handwritten story.

Articles that best communicate to our readers generally focus on specific events and are written in the first person. There is a special richness when the writer goes beyond describing the experience and tells how it has changed her/his attitude and/or behavior.

We have a few extra copies of back issues, and would be happy to mail you a sample. Send your name and address to Mariellen Gilpin, 818 West Columbia, Champaign IL 61820. Or e-mail me. If you have Acrobat Reader (a free program), I can e-mail a back issue to you. Save a stamp and save a tree. WCTS is $8 for four issues a year, $15 for two years. Subscriptions can be sent to WCTS, c/o Margaret Willits, Box 5082, Sonora, CA 95370

Mariellen Gilpin, Urbana-Champaign Meeting, Illinois Yearly Meeting

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