New York Yearly Meeting
of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
InfoShare
Volume 3 Summer 2004 Number 4
Editor: Paul Busby, paul@nyym.org

Contents

AFSC Joins Relief Efforts for Sudan

More than 6 million people have been affected by recent fighting and genocide in Sudan's Darfur Province. Over 1 million people have been displaced.

AFSC is cooperating with Action by Churches Together (ACT) International and Caritas Internationalis to support the work of Norwegian Church Aid, the Sudan Council of Churches, the Sudan Development Organization, and Sudanaid of the Sudan Catholic Church in Darfur.

AFSC's partners on the ground are working to assist directly 125,000 people in three areas of southern and western Darfur including 50,000 preschool children in need of supplementary nutrition. In addition to material assistance, staff will also assist victims in dealing with trauma associated with violence and displacement .

For information on how you can help, visit http://afsc.org/emap/sudan.htm.

Back to 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 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.

Back to contents

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 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.

Back to contents

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 committee clerks send us their news.

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

Back to contents

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 letters from Task Group on Worship and Action go out on this list. (These updates and other information are also sent out by mail to anyone who requests that we send them in this way.) If you wish to be included on the list, send your name and e-mail address to office@nyym.org. Also please indicate whether it's okay to share your e-mail address with others on the list. (We do not make the list available to people who are not on the list.)

Back to contents

Transforming Conflict: Friends Listening to Friends

This will be a Powell House conference October 15 (Friday) through lunch October 18 (Monday), under the care of the NYYM Committee on Conflict Transformation. The purpose is to develop a Visiting Listeners network. We invite Friends and attenders of all ages who wish to assist in conflict situations by providing a centering presence. We ask that you first go through a clearness process in your monthly meeting regarding this leading.

Participants will explore the skills necessary for Visiting Listeners, including active listening, confidentiality, and neutrality (which is the opposite of indifference, but rather a loving attachment to all sides). Participants will also learn about the guidelines for their service. Fee, $170 for three days (scholarship may be available); 35-participant maximum. For more information, contact a committee member: Alyce Branum, Cheshire Frager, Joanna Komoska, Tom Rothschild, or Rick Townsend, or contact the Yearly Meeting office.

Back to contents

Powell House Youth Conferences

  • September 17–19: Planning 2004—Jr./Sr. High
    What works? What doesn't? What do you want to talk about in future conferences? This is the time when we come together to share about the PoHo youth program we've experienced and our visions for upcoming conferences. $90
  • October 1–3: Media Monsters: What's True on the Tube—4th, 5th, 6th grades
    Info here. Info there. Info coming at us from everywhere! We'll talk about your favorite TV programs, movies, and magazines. What do you like about them? What do you learn from them? How do they compare to the world around you? Maybe we'll even create a Media Monster made up of all the stuff that's not quite right. Fee: $90.
  • October 22–24: Acting on Trust—Jr. High
    Good theater and good community require trust. Through discussion, games, and improv we'll delve into what trust looks like. We'll talk about how we recognize whom and what to trust. And, trust us, we'll have lots of fun in the process. Fee: $90.
  • October 29–31: Spooks and Spirits (Learning from the Dark Emotions) —Sr. High
    Grief. Fear. Despair. Anger. Each of us has experienced one or more of these emotions. Too often we're asked to sweep these under the rug long before we've had a chance to learn the lessons they bring with them. This weekend we'll spend time sharing our experiences of the dark emotions. Then, in a true celebration of the dark side, Saturday will find us at a festive Halloween party, with games and costumes. Fee. $90.
For further information contact Powell House, 524 Pitt Hall Rd., Old Chatham NY 12136-3410; 518-794-8811; www.powellhouse.org.

Back to contents

Upcoming Activities Supported by NYC Peace Friends

  • 9/11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows is sponsoring a "Stonewalk" of the stone dedicated to the Unknown Civilian victim of war, from Boston to NYC. Go to their web site, www.peacefultomorrows.org for the latest information on their route and schedule. This walk has already started, and will come to NYC on August 30. Join them for a day or part of a day, bring food or water, greet them as they arrive at St. Mary's Church on 124th St. on August 30.
  • August 14: GI Hotline training at 15th Street meetinghouse organized by Rosa Packard, cosponsored by NYC Peace Friends together with AFSC/NYMRO and NY Quarter. To register or for more information, contact Rosa Packard rpackard@optonline.net.
  • August 22: [NOTE: This event has been postponed and will not be held August 22. Contact Riverside Church for updates.] Forum on Peace Tax Fund Bill and the NYC Council Resolution supporting the bill. Riverside Church, 1–3 p.m. Contact Neena Das, New York City Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund, 212-866-3244; peacetax@hotmail.com for more information.
  • August 29–September 2: Friends needed to assist with overnight hospitality at Brooklyn meetinghouse during the Republican convention. Brooklyn meeting is offering this hospitality through a service of the NYC Forum of Concerned Religious Leaders, www.nyc-hospitality.org. Several Friends are needed each night to provide supervision. To volunteer, contact Tom Rothschild, tomr@tnrmediate.com.
  • Ring of Hope, a project brought forward by NYC Peace Friends and now being shepherded by Riverside Church. Religious folk throughout New York City will unite with candles on August 31 from 9:30–10:30 p.m. Help surround Manhattan Island with messages of hope, not fear and despair; love, not hate; peace, not war. Stay tuned for more details.
  • October 29–31: GI Hotline Training and Conscientious Objector Training, and Training for Trainers, all conducted by Bill Galvin of the Center for Conscience and War, www.nisbco.org. Contact Tom Rothschild tomr@tnrmediate.com for information as it becomes available.

Those in and near NYC are invited to join NYC Peace Friends for our next meeting, Monday, August 16, at 15th Street meetinghouse, 15 Rutherford Pl, Manhattan; brown bag supper at 6:00 p.m., meeting at 6:30. We will have in-depth and up-to-date information on these and other forms of witness for peace.

Back to contents

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 the Church of the Epiphany, near Metro Center and the White House, in Washington, D.C. 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

Back to contents

Fellowship of Reconciliation Conference in L.A.

Come to the FORUSA conference Organizing the Real Superpower: People of the World Choose Peace, August 5–9, 2004, in Los Angeles, Cal. The conference will have powerful speakers, dynamic workshops, an interfaith peace walk, youth programs, nonviolence training, and more! Help FOR launch a whole year of peacemaking and justice-building events and activities to mark FOR's 90th year. Information: 845-358-4601 or 310-228-7759; www.forusa.org.

Back to contents

Peconic Bay Beach Picnic

Peconic Bay Monthly Meeting invites you to join them on beautiful Long Island Sound August 22, 2004, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Bring a potluck dish and worship, socialize, swim. Bring a towel and a Frisbee. No dogs. The location is Villa Immaculata, off Sound Ave., 2 miles west of Rt. 105. Information: 631-259-3844.

Back to contents

Quaker Lesbian Conference

Quaker Lesbian Conference (QLC) will hold its conference at Powell House August 26–29, 2004. QLC exists to be a loving time and space in which Quaker women and women familiar with Quakerism who are lesbian or bisexual, or moving toward those identities, can connect to Spirit and to each other. Information: QLC, Box 5733, Somerset NJ 08875; qlconf@aol.com; www.quaker.org/qlc.

Back to contents

Volunteers Needed for Eyes Wide Open Exhibit in NYC

AFSC will take this multimedia reminder of the cost of war to NYC as part of our response to the Republican National Convention. Lots of people are needed to help set up the boots and the other parts of the exhibit, to host the exhibit and respond to inquiries, and to take it down and store it. If you can volunteer, please call 212-598-0961 or e-mail conflictresolution@afsc.org. If you get voicemail or send e-mail you will be contacted by one of the people working on this effort to work out a schedule. –Anne Wright

Back to contents

Downtown Manhattan 9/11 Memorial Meeting

The Downtown Manhattan Outdoor Meeting in New York City is planning a 9/11 Memorial Meeting on September 9, 2004. We welcome all NYYM Friends and attenders. We meet each Thursday from 6:00to 7:00 P.M., near the Battery Labyrinth for Contemplation, in Battery Park, lower Manhattan, New York City. We display very small and basic signs indicating that we are Quakers, that we welcome anyone, and the times we meet in that location. On September 11, 2003, approximately 50 Friends and attenders took part in a Memorial Meeting, with many passersby showing interest.

Please see www.downtownmeeting.org, or call Sally Campbell at 212-787-3903 for more information.

Back to contents

Living Peace: The Spiritual Roots of Our Peace Testimony

This is the theme of the FWCC Northeast Regional Gathering to be held October 1–3, 2004, at Burlington Conference Center, Burlington, N.J., hosted by Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Speakers will include John Gallery, author of the Pendle Hill pamphlet Reflections from a Prayer Vigil for Peace; Chuck Fager, director of Quaker House in Fayetteville, N.C.; Carol and Jack Walz, directors of the John Woolman memorial, Mt. Holly, N.J.; George and Lillian Willoughby, cofounders of the Movement for a New Society. For registration forms or information call 610- 388-6725 or e-mail plgilbert@aol.com, or George Rubin 609-654-3064 e-mail mgrubin@medleas.com.

Back to contents

Conscientious Objection Weekend

Jim Hamilton and Rosa Packard will be giving a Pendle Hill weekend beginning October 22, 2004, on Conscientious Objection. Participants will look at the spiritual faith and practice experiences that ground and support work on draft, tax, and GI Rights issues. —Rosa Packard

Back to contents

Peace Conference in Princeton

The 25th annual Conference and Interfaith Service for Peace will be held November 14, 2004, at Princeton University. The tentative topic is The Impact of Media on War and Peace. Information: Coalition for Peace Action, 40 Witherspoon St., Princeton NJ 08542; 609-924-5022; cfpa@peacecoalition.org; www.peacecoalition.org.

Back to contents

Employment Opportunities at George School

This Quaker school in Bucks County, Penn., has two openings: The event coordinator/public information coordinator plans and supervises major community events, produces news releases and other print materials, and maintains communications with media. The annual fund director manages the annual giving program. For full descriptions and contact information: http://www.georgeschool.org/jobs/index.html; alumni@georgeschool.org. —Bonnie Bodenheimer, alumni director

Back to contents

Friend in Residence Sought

Burtt House Friends Center of the Ithaca, N.Y., Friends Meeting is looking for a person or couple to oversee the functioning of the Burtt House, to nourish the spirit of cooperation within small intentional living community sharing Quaker values and concerns, and to serve as liaison to meeting. Experience with Quaker traditions required. Historic home, site of peace activism and outreach. Contact Ginny at 607-272-3471 or Wilma at wilmabny@hotmail.com.

Back to contents

Start now to prepare for next year's white elephant sale

When you get home identify a bag or box for WEs. Whenever you come across something that you no longer need but that might have value to someone else, put it in the box or bag. The sale has done well in bringing in funds for the Sharing Fund. Let's use this vehicle to make another substantial contribution next year. See you on the porch! —Anne Wright and the white elephant sale team

Back to contents
Search this site for