Meeting for Worship
& First Day School
Sundays at 11:00 a.m.
Midweek Meeting for Worship, Wednesdays at 6:00
p.m.
In daily relationships with
others, both inside and outside the home, our lives as Friends speak
immediately and lastingly. In these relationships, our faith may also be
severely tested.We are called to respond to that of God in everyone: we are all
children of God. Friends celebrate any union that is dedicated to mutual love
and respect, regardless of the unique make-up of the family.We strive to create
homes where the Spirit of the Divine resides at the center and where the
individual genius of each member is respected and nurtured.
Human sexuality is a divine
gift, forming part of the complex union of body, mind and spirit that is our
humanity. In a loving adult relationship in a context of mutual responsibility,
sexuality brings delight, fulfillment and celebration.
The presence of children carries
a special blessing as well as responsibility. Children bring unique spiritual
gifts — wonder, resiliency, playfulness and more. Recognize and honor the
Divine Light within children and treat them with the dignity and respect that
is due to all people. Listen to and learn from children; share with them those
values and practices that are central to our own lives. Special care must be
given to resolving problems between adults and children in a manner that gives
equal weight to the feelings and needs of both children and adults. Tender
parenting is one of the critically important peace vocations in our
society.Make every effort to offer all parents the personal and institutional
support that this challenging work requires.
Take a strong stand against any
form of abuse, whether that abuse is minor or severe, and whether it is emotional,
physical or sexual in nature. The terrible impact of abuse on the most
vulnerable members of our families creates lifelong suffering for its victims
and is a major source of violence in our society. Perpetrators are themselves
usually victims of similar violence and should be approached with compassion as
well as firmness.
Do I make my home a place of
friendliness, joy, and peace, where residents and visitors feel God’s presence?
Are my sexual practices
consistent with my spiritual beliefs and free of manipulation and exploitation?
What barriers keep me from
responding openly and lovingly to each person?
Do we open our thoughts,
beliefs, and deep understandings to our children and others who share our lives
and our hospitality?
Do we provide our children and
young adults with a framework for active, ongoing participation in the Meeting?
Meeting began at 1:00 pm
with a period of worship and 23 people present. The clerk opened with a reading
from PYM Faith & Practice with
a time for reflection. The Advices
& Queries for Ninth month are on “Integrity and Personal Conduct.”
We reflected on the queries in silence and one Friend shared vocal
ministry.
Approval of Previous Month’s Minutes
09-01: Meeting
approves the minutes of July 8, 2012, as presented.
Pending Nomination
09-02: Meeting
approves the appointment of Dawn Moore to Hospitality & Community Committee
for a term ending April 30, 2014, and as clerk of the committee through April
30, 2013.
Ministry & Oversight Committee
Co-clerk Chad Stephenson
reported Ministry & Oversight’s recommendation that Meeting grant the
requests for transfer of membership of Robert Levering and Zakee McGill, each
of whose letters was read at a prior Meeting for Business. Robert’s was
read in July and Zakee’s some months before that, Zakee having originally
sought transfer to Friends Meeting of Washington (DC) before asking the request
be put in abeyance while he considered other meetings. Each will remain a
member here until the receiving meeting records its acceptance the the
transfer.
09-03: Meeting
approves Robert Levering’s request to transfer his membership to Santa Cruz
Monthly Meeting.
09-04: Meeting
approves Zakee McGill’s request to transfer his membership to Adelphi Monthly
Meeting in Maryland.
Chad was pleased to announce
that M&O has received a letter from Alice Sowaal and Owain Elliott
requesting a to be married under the Meeting’s care. A marriage clearness
committee has been formed with Rolene Walker serving as clerk joined by
Marianne Chatfield-Taylor and an additional member or members to be determined.
Chad announced that the
Women’s Retreat will be the first weekend in October, at Quaker Center in Ben
Lomond. The registration form was sent out on our “Google Group.” Please send
in registration forms by Sept. 15th.
Treasurer’s 2nd-Quarter Financial Report
Treasurer Amy Baker
presented a financial report for the second quarter of the year. (Attached to
the archive copy of these minutes.) She affirmed that our meeting is in good
financial health, enabling us to fund our service to the community and our
meeting. She did note that while the annual Meeting Retreat is budgeted
to break even, and most years it comes close, this year expenses exceeded
income by about $2,500. We may want to adjust the way we budget for the
retreat next year. She noted a few other places on the income and expense
report where expenses appeared to be running high. and explained the reasons.
Concerning apparent anomalies on the Building Manager salary and “payroll
burden” lines, she noted that these were simply due to different reporting
methods used by our new and old payroll services and would be corrected in next
year’s budget. Turning to the balance sheet, Amy noted that the unusually
high checking account balance on June 30 was the temporary result of income
from the developer who is covering some expenses related to the construction
next to our building. This was subsequently transferred into the money
market account, or is being or has been spent on legal and engineering fees.
Meeting accepted the report
with gratitude. Three Friends encouraged greater funding for scholarships
and travel assistance for Quaker gatherings as a result of our financial
health.
Property & Finance Committee
Clerk Philip Gerrie reported
on three items for the committee:
Update on construction next
door. An engineer was engaged to inspect the work completed so far. The “tie
backs” (under the building) have been installed and will be monitored.
Plans to repaint and
recarpet the American Friends Service Committee office upstairs, at Meeting
expense, are under way. At the same time, AFSC is taking the opportunity
to explore some needed remodeling, for which it would foot the bill.
Meeting and AFSC together have hired an architect to prepare plans and
obtain a consolidated permit for both that job and the pending improvements to
our kitchen, including any required accessibility improvements to other parts
of the building that may be triggered by the project. The Institute for
Public Accuracy, Meeting’s other longterm tenant, recently gave notice that it
will be vacating its office, and we are exploring whether the AFSC might be
interested in taking over that space.
Arthur Koch has offered for
display in the meetinghouse a collection of his black and white photographs on
the theme of light. Amy Baker will convene a subcommittee to recommend
policies, which we currently lack, about the the display of art in the
meetinghouse. This is timely, as Meeting also recently received from
another Quaker artist an offer of the loan of a painting she made of the
Thursday peace vigil. And Arthur also has photos of the mural on our
north wall which will soon be covered by the new building, which Friends have
also discussed displaying in the meetinghouse.
Joseph Priestley Gift Progress Report
Stephen Matchett reported
that both Property & Finance and Ministry & Oversight Committees have
continued to consider the matter of Joseph Priestley’s property bequest, as
described at our previous Meeting for Business. The meeting has been
offered title to the residential building at 46-48 Rausch St., on the condition
that we retain ownership as long as the tenants currently occupying one of the
two units continue living there. The building needs some updating, and
funds for this were not provided. If Meeting does not accept the gift, the
property will likely pass under the terms of Joe’s trust to the Medical School
at the University of Tennessee, who will be under no obligation to the current
tenants.
Stephen distributed a report from the joint subcommittee that met with the tenants and toured the building, and a letter from one of the tenants, describing Joe’s and the tenants’ history with the property. P&F is hiring a contractor to make a complete inspection and give us a report on repairs and improvements needed to maintain basic habitability, with associated cost estimates. In addition to determining what work might need to be done on the building should we take title, Friends need to consider what we are being called to do with the building should we accept it, and how we would go about fulfilling that vision. Stephen announced a threshing session to consider this complex of issues, on Sunday, September 30th at 1 pm.
]
Peace & Social Concerns Committee
Co-clerk Dirk Von der Horst
offered a reported that the committee is considering options for Second Hour
sessions regarding Middle East issues and also organized labor themes. The
committee is inviting Friends to join them to honor United Nations Day on
September 23rd with a public witness in the neighborhood; contact Dawn Moore for
details. P&SC is considering a request for the meeting to contribute to
Palo Alto Friends Meeting’s El Salvador Scholarship Fund and Redwood Forest
Friends Meeting’s Guatemala Scholarship Funds. These funds help low income
young people to attend school in their home country. One Friend suggested we
consider making these donations through our annual giving to Quaker
organizations. Friends were in support of these programs and continued
discussion on how to fund these gifts and to determine an amount we would like
to give. P&SC will continue seasoning these requests.
Second Hour Presentation on November 4th
Rose Medellin reported that
at Pacific Yearly Meeting two Sacramento Friends, Alvaro Alvarado and Patricia
Portillo, shared of their work with promoting a Quaker Undocumented Student
Scholarship Fund. Rose has invited them and several students to come and
present information about their organization. Friends are invited to come to a
Second Hour presentation on November 4th at 1 pm to discuss this program and ways we can help young people
“achieve their dreams.”
Clerking Workshop at Ben Lomond Quaker Center
Friends who had attended the
recent clerking workshop at Quaker Center reported on their experience. One
Friend shared about the learning he gained from the workshop about the
distinctions between “unity” and “consensus” as well as how Friends can engage
the real challenges that committees face and how best to respond as clerks.
Friends shared support for fostering greater skills and sensitivity for
clerking in our meeting.
After a period of
announcements and sharing of joys and concerns, Meeting closed with worship at
3:12 pm with 24 people in attendance.
Respectfully submitted,
Blake Arnall, Recording Clerk Stephen Matchett, Clerk of Meeting
Respectfully submitted,
Blake Arnall, Recording Clerk Stephen Matchett, Clerk of Meeting
Dear Friends,
It
was incredible being with you and thank you so very much for all you did for
our wedding...it was everything we wanted...fun, meaningful, warm and
love-filled.
Anand
and I had a wonderful time in London and Turkey. We arrived home on August 31st
to find our cats and home all well. We started back to work last week and were
almost immediately back into full swing.
This
week it was nice to be together with friends from 7 other organizations doing
AVP* and HROC* here in Kenya. We spoke mostly about what we need to do to collaborate
more closely as we come closer to Kenya's next elections. We are also making
plans to have some festivities celebrating Peace One Day on September
21st.
We
are just on our way back from a 3-day all Kenya AVP meeting. We are passing
zebra, impala, baboons and several police check points...they tend to be more
visible on Fridays.
This
weekend reminded me about why I love living here. On Friday night we had our
good friend Njeri, and her bridesmaids and flower girls, to spend the night
with us before her wedding. I met Njeri through Initiatives of Change. On her
wedding day about 100 people were singing outside our gate wanting the bride to
come out. We felt the privilege of being her family and being the home from
which she was collected to then be joined in marriage to a wonderful man who
also works with Initiatives of Change (formerly Moral Re-Armament).
Today,
after a lovely Quaker Meeting, we had lunch with a dear friend and her daughter
and then went for a swim. The days are getting warmer as we head into summer
and life feels very much like a gift - being involved in meaningful work, in a
happy marriage and having plenty of fun with good friends.
May
you feel blessed in your endeavors and friendships,
Love,
Heidi
*AVP=Alternatives
to Violence Project, HROC=Healing and Rebuilding Our Communities
Second Hour
Program
Please join us for the second hour on November 4th by welcoming members
of Sacramento Meeting, Alvaro Alvarado and Patricia Portillo, as they
share with us what Sacramento and other Meetings are doing to support
scholarships for undocumented students at CSU Sacramento. These
students, along with thousands of California college students, were brought
here as children without documentation and grew up
here. Living for years in fear of deportation, they
persevered in their education. This informative presentation will give
updates on the scholarships, the new CA Dream Act and what we can do as
Quakers.
STEPPING OUT OF THE CIRCLE OF TIME AND INTO THE CIRCLE OF LOVE. Rumi
OCT. 5-7
QUAKER CENTER, BEN LOMOND, CALIFORNIA
A Retreat for the Women of San Francisco Monthly Meeting
The women of San Francisco Monthly
Meeting are going to have a retreat together to hang out, do some community building
exercises, sing, and have fun. We hope you can join us.
For more information, please talk to Rolene Walker.
October 2012 News from Ben Lomond Quaker
Center
As Quaker Center's busy summer season
transitions toward the more moderate days of autumn, we too are shifting more
toward preparations for the future. We are excited to let you know that we have
been awarded $129,000 in grants
toward the total cost of the culvert replacement project, which has just begun
on the road leading to Quaker Center and a detour will be in place through the
rest of October. These funds have been made available to us through the Santa
Cruz County Resource Conservation District as they recognize that securing the
stability of a Marshall Creek culvert upstream will benefit all those living
downstream. Quaker Center will be paying about one-quarter of the full cost of
the project from our reserve funds. We are incredibly fortunate to be able to
complete this project with this level of financial assistance.
Come and rest, relax deeply, and learn self-healing through massage,
energy work, and laughter with John
Calvi who will be leading Healing Hands, Healing Self from October 26th - 28th. Childcare
will be provided by Friend,
Neil Fullagar, from San Francisco Meeting during program sessions at no additional cost to
parents. Find out more and register online a thttp://www.quakercenter.org/healing-hands-healing-self/October 2012 News from Woolman and Sierra Frinds Center
The fall always brings abundance to Woolman and SFC, and this year more than ever. Our 14 students have arrived from across the country (Michigan, Colorado, Pennsylvania…) and close to home (San Jose, Berkeley…). They are already choosing their sustainability projects and the subjects of their peace documentaries. Our eight new interns also hale from far and near and have already made themselves a part of community, harvesting early Sunday mornings for our CSA, providing that extra support for trigonometry or a college essay, and preserving ½ gallons of zucchini and cucumber pickles in seemingly every spare moment. Our new 80 ft. hoop house has just gone up which promises to make our winter garden abundant as well. We are grateful for the grant which allowed us to purchase it.
We are looking forward to our “Feast in the Fields” fundraising dinner to be held under the oaks on October 12th as a chance to make new friends and welcome old ones to a Woolman grown meal and a chance to hear about our innovative farm-to-table educational programs. You can keep up to date with what is happening at Woolman and SFC at www.woolman.org and on Facebook at The Woolman Semester School.
First annual OYFBA awards
Oakland Youth Friendly Business Association (OYFBN) named AFSC’s own Pablo Paredes one of four winners of the first annual OYFBA Award from among 80 nominations. This was a result of nominations submitted Pablo’s mentees at Met West High School. Pablo mentors a group of students, some of whom are undocumented, who participate in various civic engagement projects on militarism and immigration. Congratulations Pablo!
California Proposition 34
AFSC has taken a position in favor of California Prop 34 despite hesitations that the removal of the death penalty will result in substituting life without the possibility of parole instead.
California Proposition 36
AFSC also formally endorsed Prop 36, which narrows the California three-strikes law and would permit sentence reduction hearings for close to 4,000 existing prisoners. If would also result in sentence reductions for future cases, if the third offense was not a specified “violent or serious” crime.
“Right to Healthcare Tour” at San Francisco Monthly Meeting
In conjunction with Global Exchange, Jewish Voice for Peace and the San Francisco Friends Meeting, AFSC is sponsoring a presentation by Drs. Allam Jarrar and Ruchama Marton as part of the “Right to Healthcare Tour.” Dr. Jarrar works with the Palestinian Medical Relief Society maintaining health centers, clinics, and rehabilitation programs and training women as health workers. He was instrumental in launching the Palestinian call for Boycott/Divestment/Sanctions. Dr. Marton is the founder and president of Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, focusing on health in Occupied Palestine and in Israel. The presentation will take place on October 28th, from 5 - 8PM at the San Francisco Friends Meeting House, 65 9th Street in San Francisco. Contact Dalit Baum at the office for more information, dbaum@asfsc.org.
The upcoming Pacific Yearly Meeting session will be at Walker Creek
Ranch in Marin County, August 13-18
COLLEGE PARK QUARTERLY MEETING
Fall Quarterly Meeting, October
19-21, 2012, at Sierra Friends Center
In the
World, but Not of It…
William Penn
observed, “True godliness do[es]n’t draw [us] out of the world, but enables
[us] to live better in it and excites [our] endeavors to mend it.” As you decide how to work among
Friends and in the world, how do you discern the Spirit's true calling for you,
given your talents and situation? What
are your experiences in politics and wider campaigns, in relation to Quaker
values? Have you found ways
to maintain your Quaker center while working in the world and with Friends
? What experiences
have you had with "being in the world but not of it"? We will examine our individual and
corporate lives through panel discussions, group and individual exercises,
worship and worship sharing.
REGISTER EARLY: Your
registration needs to reach the registrar Sandy Kewman by Tuesday, October 9.
If you don’t get
registered by Oct. 9, you’re still welcome, but we may have to ask you to bring
your own tent and food. (Registrations
received after Oct. 9 incur a $20 late fee per family.) No matter how late you decide to
attend, please call the registrar. Please
let us know of any special needs, including financial assistance, before Oct.
9.
COSTS: See
the registration form below and at collegpark.quaker.org. No one is turned away for lack of funds -- if you
want to come and can’t afford it, first check with your own Meeting for
financial assistance; if none available, contact the Registrar before the
deadline. Teens and young
Friends are especially encouraged to make use of this opportunity. Consider making a donation to
CPQM to help others attend.
WAYS TO REGISTER:
1. MAIL the registration form by Tuesday, October 9, with check to
"College Park Quarterly Meeting" or "CPQM," to: CPQM Registrar c/o Sandy Kewman,
12960 Woolman Lane, Nevada City, CA 95959 (form included in paper October
Newsletter, or at http://collegepark.quaker.org/
2. E-MAIL: Send the information on the registration form to srosekewman@gmail.com by Tuesday, October 9, and bring a check to quarterly
meeting. Please include
“CPQM” in the subject line.
3. TELEPHONE: Call Sandy Kewman at 530-559-9850 by
Tuesday, October 9, with the information from the registration form, and bring
a check to quarterly meeting.
Once
on site, registrar’s hours during the weekend will be posted.
WHAT TO BRING: Essentials: flashlight, towel, soap, and bedding (a pillow case
with either sleeping bag or sheets and blankets), and if you’re camping, a tent
in case it rains. Suggestions:
A sweater or jacket for chilly mornings and evenings. Your own cloth napkin and coffee
mug to reduce use of paper products. Walking shoes for hiking. A small travel alarm to help you
be on time for morning activities. Work gloves for service projects.
WHAT NOT TO BRING: Please do not use scented products of any kind, as we often have
attenders who are sensitive to these. Do
not bring or consume alcohol or other mind-altering substances.
ALL ATTENDERS are expected to participate, as they are able, in meal
preparation and clean-up, and in final cleaning of their rooms and common
spaces. Sign up at the
registration desk.
CHILDREN'S PROGRAM: Parents are expected to sign their children into the Children's
Program or have them in their own care. Children
in their parents’ care need to be directly supervised by a parent or to have a
specific agreement whereby parents and children know exactly where to find each
other at any time. The
Children’s Program is offered during worship, plenary sessions,
worship-sharing, and interest-groups. For
details, contact Delcy Steffy delcysteffy@gmail.com 916-529-7455.
TEEN PROGRAM (ages 13-18 years) includes fun activities, interest groups,
community service, and worship-sharing, as well as supervised, gender-specific
group sleeping arrangements. Teens
share meals and most activities with the whole Quarterly Meeting and have other
activities on their own. Bring
a camping pad, sleeping bag, pillow, and clothes and walking shoes you can get
dirty during the service project.. Teens
are expected to either participate in the teen program whenever it is in
session or to be under supervision of parent, guardian, or adult sponsor.
Contact Kathy Runyan, kathyrunyan@hotmail.com 530-635-0962 for more information.
All minors must have Parental Consent and Medical History
forms. These can be found atcollegepark.quaker.org or can be
filled out by the parent or guardian at registration.
PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE OUTLINE
Friday Evening
4 pm
on Sign-in and room assignments
6 pm Simple supper, followed by worship,
singing, fellowship.
Saturday
Morning Breakfast; Family worship; Welcome,
Plenary I, Plenary II
Afternoon Lunch; Worship-sharing groups;
Interest groups; Plenary III
Evening Dinner; inter-generational family
night; singing, skits, dancing, etc.
Sunday
Morning Breakfast; Plenary IV; Worship with
Grass Valley Friends
Noon Lunch; cleanup; good-byes
QUESTIONS ? SPECIAL NEEDS ?
CPQM Clerk: Eric Moon (510-604-3162) ericmoon@juno.com
Teen’s & Children's Programs: see above.
DIRECTIONS TO SIERRA FRIENDS CENTER, 13075 Woolman Lane, Nevada City
95959
We encourage
Friends to bike, carpool, or take public transportation. Upon request, shuttle will be
available from downtown Grass Valley.
From Bay
Area/Sacramento: Take I-80 east to Auburn, then Highway 49 through Nevada City.
After Nevada City, go left on Hwy 49 towards Downieville about 2 miles. Turn
left at Newtown Rd (look for the “Willo” bar/ restaurant). After 3 or so miles and a lot of
winding, turn right onto Jones Bar Road. The
Sierra Friends Center driveway (Woolman Lane.) will be on your right after less
than half a mile. Please
drive slowly on the lane to avoid raising dust.
From Reno or
Tahoe: Take I-80 west to the Nevada City exit (Hwy #20) to Highway #49; follow
directions as above.
Google
Groups for SF Quakers
This
is the group to send your late breaking announcements or share other news with
the meeting community. You can sign up via the web: http://groups.google.com/group/sfquakers.
You will need to create a free Google user ID and password, if you don’t already
have one.
Visit
http://groups.google.com/group/sfquakers/about
to join or learn more.
A
group for young adult Friends in San Francisco is at http://groups.google.com/group/youngsfmeeting
A
group for parents in the San Francisco Meeting is at http://groups.google.com/group/sf-crec-parents
A
Google Group for Bay Area Quakers is now available at http://groups.google.com/group/bayareaquakers.
The group is for Bay Area Quaker meetings, churches, and organizations, as well
as individual Friends, to share news of events and activities that would be of
interest to Quakers and the general public. Events do not need to be strictly
Quaker. For more information, contact Tom Yamaguchi, tomyamaguchi@mac.com
Help
on using Google Groups is also available at:
Submissions
to the newsletter are due by the next-to-last First Day (Sunday) of each month
in the News Committee mailbox at the meetinghouse, or by e-mail to news@sfquakers.org. This newsletter is
also available for reading or downloading on our website at http://www.sfquakers.org/news.html.
Members
of the News Committee are Kate McCarley (clerk, editor), Eli Bishop (web servant),
Jim Pilliod (production), and Noel Schwerin (distribution)
(all events at 65 9th St., unless noted; *see details
elsewhere in newsletter)
Sunday
|
Monday
|
Tuesday
|
Wednesday
|
Thursday
|
Friday
|
Saturday
|
30
9:30a Extended Meeting
for Worship
|
1
|
2
|
3
8:30a
SFFS Community Mtg for Worship†
6p
Meeting for Worship
|
4
12p
Peace Vigil‡
7p
Potluck & Quaker Study
|
5
SF Women’s Retreat
at Quaker Center
|
6
SF Women’s Retreat
at Quaker Center
10:30a-1p Food Pantry
|
7
SF Women’s Retreat
at
Quaker Center
9:30a
Bible Study
11a
Meeting for Worship, Community potluck following
|
8
.
|
9
7p Property & Finance Mtg |
10
6p
Meeting for Worship
7p Ministry & Oversight Mtg |
11
12p
Peace Vigil‡
7p
Potluck & Quaker Study
|
12
|
13
10:30a-1p Food Pantry
|
14
11a Meeting for Worship
1p Meeting for Business
|
15
|
16
|
17
6p
Meeting for Worship
|
18
12p
Peace Vigil‡
7p
Potluck & Quaker Study
|
19
QPFM Fall Session begins, Quaker Center
(see inside)
|
20
10:30a-1p Food Pantry
|
21
9:30a Bible Study
11a
Meeting for Worship
|
22
|
23
|
24
6p
Meeting for Worship
|
25
12p
Peace Vigil‡
7p
Potluck & Quaker Study
|
26
|
27
10:30a-1p Food Pantry
|
28
11a
Meeting for Worship
|
29
|
30
|
31
6p
Meeting for Worship
|
1
12p Peace Vigil‡
7p Potluck & Quaker Study
|
2
|
3
10:30a-1p Food Pantry
|
‡Federal
Building, Golden Gate Ave. and Larkin St. †San Francisco Friends School, 250
Valencia St.
