New York Yearly Meeting
of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
InfoShare
Volume 2 Summer 2003 Number 4
Editor: Paul Busby, paul@nyym.org

Contents

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 the Yearly Meeting office is 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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Spark: Not Just for Members

 Every member of NYYM receives Spark in the mail. Regular attenders may also receive Spark if they wish. If you attend a monthly meeting or worship group regularly and would like to receive Spark by mail, please send your name and address to the NYYM office, 15 Rutherford Pl., New York NY 10003 or e-mail the information to office@nyym.org.

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Help Spread the Word!

 We need your help. If your monthly, regional, or quarterly meeting is having a retreat, a Basic Quakerism course, or some other event, please let us know, so that we can spread the word. (We also put many events on the Events section of this Web site and on the NYYM Calendar, but we can't do that if you don't tell us about them!) We especially encourage newsletter editors, meeting clerks, Ministry and Counsel clerks, etc., to keep in touch with us and inform us of the goings-on in their meetings. We also request that Yearly Meeting committees to send us their news.

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

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NYYM E-Mail List

 The Yearly Meeting office maintains an e-mail list so that we can disseminate information throughout the meeting quickly. Among other things, the Worship and Action Updates, written by the Task Group on Worship and Action, go out on this list as often as they are published. (These updates and other information are also sent out by mail to anyone who requests that we send them in this way. They are also posted on the Web site at www.nyym.org/qr/nyympa/wau)

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Powell House Youth Summer Conferences

 August
8-10: HeartSong: Jr. & Sr. High. Sing your heart out at this summer music festival
15-17: Here Comes the Sun: special event for grades 4-6. Singing Beatles songs and create songs of your own

For more information on the youth programs contact Powell House at 524 Pitt Hall Road, Old Chatham NY 12136; 518-794-8811 ext. 13; chrisanmike@powellhouse.org; www.powellhouse.org.

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Other Powell House Events

 Spread Your Wings, singing weekend with Annie and Peter Blood-Patterson, Aug. 15-17, 2003. Singing instills hope, conquers fear, transforms consciousness, builds community, draws families closer together, quickens the heart, and enriches the soul. Come spend a joy-filled intergenerational weekend with the very best song leaders we know.

Work Exchange Week-Vacation Week, Aug. 18-23, 2003 (Monday lunch through Saturday lunch). Bring your family to Powell House for vacation in a room or in the campground. All of our facilities are open and available. If you want to earn money toward PoHo conferences or retreats, you can do work exchange. Possible projects: roofing, painting, office jobs, tree work, gardening.

Lucretia Mott: Liberal Quaker Theologian, led by Chuck Fager, Sept. 12-14, 2003. Lucretia Mott was more than a pioneering feminist and abolitionist. She was also a seminal Quaker theologian. We'll explore in depth why her reading, thinking, and preaching shaped (and still shape) the religious thought (theology) and practice of liberal (FGC-style) Quakerism.

Fall Work Weekend, Contra Dance, and Storytelling, Oct. 31-Nov. 2, 2003. Digging, gardening, raking leaves, trimming bushes, cutting firewood, roofing, painting, sewing, cooking/baking, contra dancing, story telling. Sound like fun? Enjoy a challenge? Bring your favorite tools, old clothes, and hearty appetites.

Food for Women's Souls, led by Rosalind Zuses and Ann Davidson, Nov. 7-9, 2003. Women! Goddesses! Gaia-ites! Crones! Virgins! Come to PoHo the first weekend in November to share the energy of our beings. We will share Spiritual Practices That Feed Our Souls, spiritual healing techniques for self-care as well as for other-care, a fireplace get-together, recipes, songs, stories, etc

A Life of Prayer, led by the Spirit, with Louise Wilson and Frank Massey , Nov. 14-16, 2003. (This is the annual Friends in the Spirit of Christ weekend.) Come for the weekend relying on the Spirit to lead us as we focus on sustaining a life of prayer. Through sharing our faith stories, small-group work, and responding to queries, we will learn how others have deepened their relationship with Jesus through prayer. Our desire is to experience the deep abiding love that is known only from Jesus (Christ; the Inner Light; the Divine).

Recognizing, Honoring, and Acknowledging Diversity (with an emphasis on race), Niyonu Spann, facilitator, Nov. 21-23, 2003. In this workshop we will create a space for sincere searching, honest dialogue, challenging assumptions, and exciting movement. Working on the individual, group and systemic levels, we will identify ways of responding to diversity, particularly racial diversity, that block our abilities to connect.

For information on any or these events: Powell House, 524 Pitt Hall Rd., Old Chatham NY 12136; 518-794-8811; info@powellhouse.org; www.powellhouse.org.

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QIVP Open House

 The Quaker Intentional Village Project (QIVP) will hold an Open House on August 2, 2003, from 2:00 to 4:00 P.M. Come learn firsthand about the Quaker Intentional Village Project (QIVP) in Canaan/East Chatham. Walk the land, see the views over the hills, and meet some of the Friends involved in creating this new Quaker intentional community.

Situated in Columbia County, between Albany and the Berkshires of Massachusetts, and six miles from Powell House, Quaker Intentional Village-Canaan is an undertaking of Quakers and others who are interested in creating and living in a new kind of community

To learn more about QIVP and to get directions, visit the Web site, www.qivp.org. If you plan to attend the Open House, please write to QIVP, 236 Bradley's Crossing Road, East Chatham, NY 12060; info@qivp.org; 518-392-0891.

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Indian Affairs Committee Is Active

 The Indian Affairs Committee has had a busy year and we are forming strong ties with the Haudenosaunee community through our outreach. We were thrilled this year to award the first Marjorie Sexton Memorial Native American Scholarship to an Onondaga Community College student. We hope to do so again in the future, but this will depend on donations received. This scholarship is not an endowed scholarship, but is given out of a special fund of earmarked donations given by interested individuals. We have already received some monies toward our next scholarship award. Anyone interested in giving to this scholarship may send donations to the Yearly Meeting Office. Checks should be made out to the Sharing Fund, and earmarked for the IAC Marjorie Sexton Scholarship. Niaweh Ko:wa [a huge thank you] to everyone who helped make this dream come true.

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Fellowship of Friends of African Descent

 The ninth Gathering of the Fellowship of Friends of African Descent will be held August 7-11, 2003, at Morehouse College, Atlanta, Ga. All people of color and their families are welcome. The program includes daily worship, youth programs, and workshops.

For information contact Gathering Committee, 1515 Cherry St., Philadelphia PA 19102; http;//ffad.quaker.org/Gathering2003.html.

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Workcamp in Kenya

 Manhattan Monthly Meeting invites Friends to a Workcamp next year to restore Friends schools in Kenya. The Workcamp will be from August 1 to 9, 2004. For more information contact manhattanmm@hotmail.com or write to Manhattan Monthly Meeting, 15 Rutherford Pl., New York NY 10003. Information is also available about the Kenyan HIV/AIDS Project. --S. Jean Smith for Manhattan Monthly Meeting

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New York State Labor-Religion Coalition Delegation & Border Pilgrimage

 A Journey of Hope and Life--Oct. 28 to Nov. 3, 2003. The New York State Labor-Religion Coalition has been coordinating delegations to visit the border of Mexico since 1997. Delegations experience the impact of free trade (NAFTA) through the stories and experiences of the people who work in border factories and who live with NAFTA policies. The cost of $1,300 per person Includes round-trip air fare from Albany, NY., to El Paso, Tex., transportation to and within Mexico, meals, housing, translation, stipends for host groups in Mexico, participation in Border Pilgrimage events and fiesta, plus preparatory materials. For information: Maureen Casey, NYS Labor-Religion Coalition, 800 Troy-Schenectady Rd., Latham NY 12110; 518-272-8275; maureenc@labor-religion.org or www.labor-religion.org.

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YSOP Service Adventures

 Is your meeting looking for a service adventure for your young people?

If you've thought about going to New York City or Washington, D.C., but have been afraid of all the details and ins and outs of such an adventure, Youth Service Opportunities Project (YSOP) has the perfect solution!

YSOP is a Quaker organization that sponsors overnight, weeklong, and one-day service workcamps for young people to serve hungry and homeless people. Programs are based at the 15th Street Meetinghouse in New York City or at St. Paul's Episcopal Church near George Washington University in Washington. Last year 3,100 youth and adults from across the USA participated as YSOP volunteers, serving 165,000 people. YSOP hosts high school and college students as well as intergenerational groups. Workcamps can be scheduled any time during the year. Group size can vary, and fees depend on program selection.

YSOP Workcamps combine direct service with orientation and reflection. YSOP volunteers prepare and serve meals in soup kitchens, help at furniture and clothing banks and food pantries, conduct recreational activities for children in transitional housing, and provide companionship to homeless people from drop-in centers. Groups often combine these service experiences with sightseeing or cultural events.

You can either join with other groups or have YSOP custom-make a Workcamp to fit your needs. Visit YSOP at www.ysop.org, or call Jean or Paul at 212-598-0973 to arrange for a trip or get more information. --Ed Doty

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Nonviolent Peaceforce

 The Nonviolent Peaceforce is a "peace army" composed of trained civilians from throughout the world. In partnership with local groups, Peaceforce members apply research-based nonviolent strategies to protect human rights, deter violence, and help create space for local peacemakers to carry out their work. Affinity and support groups work locally on behalf of the Peaceforce.

For further information go to www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org. To network with NYYM Friends interested in forming affinity groups and to learn more about the Nonviolent Peaceforce, contact Jane Simkin, simkinjp@baldcom.net.

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Dean Sought for Pendle Hill

 Pendle Hill, a Quaker center for study and contemplation in Wallingford, Pa., invites applications for the position of dean, starting in 2004. The dean has overall responsibility for the administrative, spiritual, and financial health of Pendle Hill's educational programs and reports to the director.

The primary focus of the dean is on the resident community and the programs for which the resident community is the vessel. The dean must not only live on campus but also be involved in what happens on campus.

Application deadline is October 3, 2003. Contact the Dean Search Committee, Pendle Hill, 338 Plush Mill Rd., Wallingford PA 19086; bscott@pendlehill.org. Further information about Pendle Hill is available at www.pendlehill.org. Pendle Hill is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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Twin Rocks Friends Camp seeking program director

 The successful applicant will advise the camp directors of Twin Rocks' five summer camps for children/youth and oversee two summer staff programs.

Twin Rocks is a 350-bed facility, owned and operated by the Evangelical Friends Church, is on the beautiful north Oregon coast, one block from the beach.

Salary for this management-level position will be $29,000 to $33,000, commensurate with applicant's qualifications. Fringe benefits include full medical insurance and meals for the family when the kitchen is in operation, and the camp contributes 12% into a 401K pension plan.

Application deadline is July 30, 2003; hiring decision September 15; position begins November 1. Interested applicants please contact Dennis Littlefield, associate director,503-355-2284; dennis@twinrocks.org; www.twinrocks.org.

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