Message from NYYM Treasurer

If need be, you can expedite a voucher by sending the unsigned original with supporting documents to the 15th Street office. Also send a copy to the person responsible for approving payments from that account, call that person, and ask that an e-mail or faxed approval be sent to the office, followed by the signed copy.

Approved 2004 expenses received in 2005 will be paid from the 2005 budget and could thus compromise the Yearly Meeting's ability to cover similar expenses in 2005.

Contributions from meetings received by January 21 for the 2004 Operating Budget will be credited to 2004 income.

The committee clerk or other person responsible for an account must let the Yearly Meeting treasurer and office know by January 21 in writing, c/o the NYYM office, about any corrections that may be needed in the December budget report.   —Harold Risler, NYYM treasurer

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Resources for Meetings

• A flyer about an Inreach/Outreach Workshop offered to any meeting through the coordinator of the Friends General Conference (FGC) Traveling Ministries Program, Deborah Fisch, 515-277-2189; deborah@fgcquaker.org, or the clerk of the NYYM Advancement Committee, Jane Berger, 914-631-3697; jberger@westnet.com.
• Bumperstickers promoting www.quakerfinder.org. This site, geared to people who are unfamiliar with Friends, lists all meetings within NYYM, as well as FGC meetings throughout the U.S. It is regularly updated by Friends General Conference.
• "Nurturing the Small Meeting and Worship Group" by Lynne Phillips. From the Pastoral Care Newsletter, this article addresses opportunities and challenges facing small meetings and worship groups: planning for spiritual formation, welcoming children, maintaining business process, and outreach.
• "Seeking Racial and Ethnic Diversity," which gives simple suggestions for making our meetings more welcoming to people of color as well as quotations that could be the focus of worship, worship sharing, or discussion. This pamphlet was produced by the FGC Advancement and Outreach Committee and the Committee for Ministry on Racism.
• "When You're the Only Friend in Town." Also from FGC, this piece provides advice to people thinking of starting their own Quaker worship group.
• "The Plain and Simple Press Release," from the Purchase Quarter Advancement Committee. This article explains how to write a press release to promote your meeting; two sample press releases are included.

If you would like to have some of these resources, but no one from your meeting is attend December Representative Meeting to pick them up, please contact Jane Berger.

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AFSC Seeks Southeastern Region Director

Contact: Madeline Haggans. Letter of interest and résumé by December 10, 2004, to: jobs@afsc.org; 215-241-7032; fax: 215-241-7248.

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AFSC/NYMRO Seeks Detention Attorney

Qualifications include JD and bar admission (or eligibility). Experience with immigration law and procedures, especially political asylum, is preferred. Second language and computer literacy required. Strong written and oral communication skills and an ability to work effectively and comfortably with Quaker principles are essential.

Please send cover letter and resume to NYMRORecruit@afsc.org or to Anne Wright, AFSC/NYMRO, 15 Rutherford Pl., New York NY 10003 by December 13, 2004. No calls or faxes, please.

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Meetings Save Energy through RSWR Committee

RSWRC also offers a free monthly e-mail called "Right Sharing Memo." Its purpose is to encourage all of us to live in a manner consistent with Friends' testimonies on simplicity, care of the earth, and right sharing. Each issue contains practical suggestions and thought-provoking news. It's brief and easy to read. For a sample, e-mail Phil Harnden at phil@northnet.org. —Mary Eagleson, clerk, RSWRC

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Tag Sale at Saratoga Benefits RSRW

Save your Used Stamps! Project Report

A partial list of those benefiting from the project includes: Friends World Committee for Consultation , $5,525; Right Sharing of World Resources, $3,400; Friends Committee on Unity with Nature , $1,100; Palestinian Refugee Children Play Center (Ramallah), $1,000; Quaker United Nations Office , $1,000; Quang Ngai Rehabilitation Center (Vietnam), $1,000.

Stamps may be sent directly to Mattapoisett Meeting, 103 Marion Rd. (Rt. 6), Mattapoisett MA 02739.

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Bob Bacon Memorial Fund

This year the committee is granting a total of $2,000, which will be shared between the Garden Project in New York City; Project Lakota, to support Native American concerns, under the care of Columbia, Mo., and St. Louis, Mo., Friends Meetings; Chatham Peace Initiative, committed to peace and justice and working on behalf of detained immigrants; and Gwynedd Meeting Peace Camp for inner-city children.

We invite your suggestions for future grant recipients, both individuals and nonprofit groups. Each year, your contributions are deposited with the Friends Meetinghouse Fund of Friends General Conference, and grants are made from the income.

For information on how you can assist the fund, contact Bob Bacon Memorial Fund, Old Chatham Monthly Meeting, 524 Pitt Hall Rd., Old Chatham NY 12136.

Thank you for your work and your witness. —Kay Bacon, Elisabeth Grace, Lyle Jenks, Bill Thompson

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Bolivian Quaker Education Fund

The strongest of the BQEF programs is scholarships for higher education. This year there are 25 (about half women), up from 15 last year. Since there are already 15 new applications in hand with ten weeks to go, BQEF will be hard pressed to fund all the worthy candidates.

The next two BQEF programs are improved instruction in information technology (IT) and English in the three Bolivian Quaker secondary schools. We have submitted grant applications, and we expect to begin installing equipment in January 2005 and to have these programs fully implemented in 2006.

Bolivian Friends have shown special interest in learning more about the FCE (Friends Council on Education) workshops for non-Quaker teachers in Quaker schools, and about AVP workshops for secondary school students. There was also some discussion of management workshops. It will be a challenge to develop concrete proposals to respond to it. We invite your suggestions.

Everywhere we went, we carried greetings from Buffalo Meeting, Fredonia Meeting, and Farmington-Scipio Regional Meeting. Bolivian Friends received these enthusiastically, and send their own heartfelt greetings in return. So: ¡Saludos, hermanos! —Newton Garver

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AVP at Oakwood

The basic AVP workshop is an intensive, three-day learning experience that teaches interpersonal conflict-resolution skills through a series of step-by-step processes. These experiences, in small groups and one-to-one interactions, build a sense of community and trust through exercises focusing on affirmation, communication, cooperation and creative conflict resolution—getting in touch with inner Transforming Power to resolve violence.

Registration is open to all adults (18 years of age and older). The cost is $30; scholarships available if needed. For more information or to register contact Robert Martin, AVP facilitator, Oakwood Friends School 22 Spackenkill Rd., Poughkeepsie NY 12603; 845-462-4649; or send a message to poughkeepsiefriends@myway.com.

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Peer Counselor Training Workshops On Enlistment Issues for Youth & Adults

Are you tired of being recruited for the military as you walk down your school halls? Are you worried about friends considering joining the military? Do you wish you knew what to say to them? Do you know young friends who face these questions? If so, consider participating in this intergenerational peer counselor training workshop with Oskar Castro of AFSC's Militarism and Youth program April 29–May 1, 2005, at Powell House.

The Peer Counselor Training Workshop Project hopes to develop a resource bank of young people who can assist others as they wrestle with recruiter promises and their own future. The aim is to enable youth to address military enlistment issues within communities. The workshops will train young people to assist their peers by answering questions about military recruitment, military money-for-college programs, and life in the military; helping them resist inappropriate pressures to join the military; helping them to get out of the Delayed Enlistment Program (DEP); and preparing them to present their own version of the counter recruitment workshops.

To register, call or write Powell House, 524 Pitt Hall Rd., Old Chatham NY 12136; 518-794-8811; info@powellhouse.org; www.powellhouse.org.

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PoHo Conferences and Wish List

WinterSong 2004, December 10–12, 2004, Jr/Sr High
Begin this winter season with a burst of warmth as we gather to celebrate our community and fill both houses with light and love. There will be awesome workshops, small group discussions, sumptuous food at an elegant "dress-up" dinner, and an entertaining, stretching-late-into-the-night cabaret. This is a popular weekend. Priority will be given to folks who have participated in conferences throughout the fall. Fee $90.

Annual New Year & Kwanzaa Celebration: Cherish Family & Friends, Dec. 30, 2004–Jan. 1, 2005
This intergenerational conference is a time to reflect on the past year and live in the moment with our family and friends. Last year there were activities for all ages including making snow people, ice-skating, yoga, cookie making, origami, Kwanzaa stories, worship sharing, story telling, and building hot air balloons.

Dwelling Deep: An Extended Meeting for Worship, silent retreat led by Linda Chidsey, Jan. 14–17, 2005
During this extended weekend, Friends are invited to enter more fully into the silence and to experience the deeper rhythms in which we might live. This retreat will include the opportunity for solitude, individual and corporate worship, silent meals, and "active" silence. There will also be opportunities for individual and group spiritual reflection.

Come and simply be with God; listen and attend to the Divine stirrings of the soul.

Annual FIPSH (Friends Involved in the Practice of Spiritual Healing) Gathering, Feb. 11–13, 2005
Friends are welcome to come on Thursday for 7 p.m. dinner, followed by a renewal-healing day of personal time interwoven with group and individual healing sessions.

Angels among Us: An experiential weekend led by Frank Massey, Feb. 25–27, 2005
Angels! The Hebrew and Christian scriptures tell of myriad interactions between humanity and angels. Are angels still among us? Come spend a weekend with your angels, meeting them, writing to them, listening and learning from them. Come with an open mind and heart to receive messages of light, growth, and power.

Work/Messiah Sing & Celebration, Mar. 25–27, 2005
This weekend has become a favorite of many F/friends and families. Whether you come to work, work and sing, work and play an instrument, or work and provide the audience for the choir, there's a place for you. We'll have childcare for the young ones while we work.

Cost: a modest donation for food ($25 suggested). Childcare available with three weeks' notice

Powell House Wish List

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Spiritual Work at the Edge of Certainty:
FLGBTQC Midwinter Gathering 2005

What are the practices of centering, of quieting, of deepening that allow Friends to move forth into uncertain places and times? What do we do when we don't know for sure what to do? How can we use and expand Quaker practices of discernment?

We will take time to look at the changing attitudes towards lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer concerns, both within Quakerism and on the Virginia frontier, the site of Friends General Conference 2005. What is the work we still have to do on this border?

For further information e-mail MWG05@hotmail.com.

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Meetings and Miracles with Rubye Braye

The weekend, cosponsored by NYYM Advancement Committee and Powell House and supported in part by a grant from the Advancement Committee, will provide Friends with the opportunity to experience fully the joy of the Spirit of God. The goal is to help all make their meetings "miraculous, wonderful places to be for all ages."

The weekend begins with dinner at 7 p.m. Friday and concludes with lunch Sunday. The cost is $120 for adults, $80 for children and teens (2–17), and $40 for infants. Childcare can be arranged with three weeks' notice. For more information, or to register, contact Powell House, 518-794-8811; www.powellhouse.org.

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Fellowship of Friends of African Descent 2005 Gathering

Penn Center (www.penncenter.com) is among the oldest and most significant African-American cultural and educational institutions in North America.

We have also invited Emory Campbell, former director of Penn Center and author of Gullah Cultural Legacies, and Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, our sister Quaker from South Africa and deputy minister of health for the Republic of South Africa.

For information visit www.fellowshipoffriendsofafricandescent.org/.

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FUM Triennial

A youth and children's program, as well as USFWI and Quaker Men banquets, Bible studies, workshops and local trips are in the planning stages. The January 2005 issue of Quaker Life will have registration forms, which will also be online at www.fum.org.

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AFSC Summer Youth Project

This is an intensive experience for mature young persons concerned about justice and creative solutions to the challenges of building sustainable communities in the midst of an economic and ecological crisis. Participants are 18–26 years old and able to converse comfortably in Spanish, the language of the project at all times. They have interest in service and advocacy, and interest in political, social and cultural issues in Mexico, Latin America, and the Caribbean, as well as their own communities. Participants should be willing and prepared to live intensively in remote areas with basic and simple living conditions, with a small group of peers.

Participants pay the Project Fee of $1,250, which covers food, lodging, and project materials. Participants are also responsible for travel to and from Mexico City and incidental expenses. Scholarships are available for low-income applicants. Please make sure to fill out a scholarship request form with your application if you would like to be considered for a scholarship. A pre-project physical exam is required of all participants.

Application deadline for regular applicants: March 18, 2005.

For additional information and an application please visit our Web site at www.afsc.org/latinamerica/int/mexicosummer.htm or contact Christina Repoley, Recruitment Coordinator, AFSC Mexico Summer Project, 1501 Cherry St., Philadelphia PA 19102; 215-241-7295, fax 251-241-7026; mexicosummer@afsc.org.

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