November (Eleventh Month)
2012 Newsletter
Meeting for Worship
& First Day School
Sundays at 11:00 a.m.
Midweek Meeting for Worship, Wednesdays at 6:00
p.m.
Friends
oppose all war as inconsistent with God’s will. As every person is a child of
God, we recognize God’s Light also in our adversaries. Violence and injustice
deny this reality and violate the teachings of Jesus and other prophets.
Friends
challenge their governments and take personal risks in the cause of peace.We
urge one another to refuse to participate in war as soldiers, or as arms
manufacturers.We seek ways to support those who refrain from paying taxes that
support war. We work to end violence within our own borders, our homes, our
streets, and our communities. We support international order, justice, and
understanding.
Become
an instrument of peace. At every opportunity, be peacemakers in your homes,
workplaces and communities. Steep yourself in the power of the universal
Spirit. Examine your actions for the seeds of violence, degradation and
destructiveness. Overcome the emotions that lie at the root of violence and
nurture instead a spirit of reconciliation and love. Come to know the oneness
of all creation and oppose the destruction of the natural world.
Do
I live in the virtue of that life and power that takes away the occasion of all
wars?
How
do I nourish peace within myself as I work for peace in the world?
Do
I confront violence wherever it occurs, even when my personal relationships are
involved?
Where
there is distrust, injustice, or hatred, how am I an instrument of
reconciliation and love?
What
are we doing to remove the causes of war and destruction of the planet, and to
bring about lasting peace?
Do
we reach out to all parties in a conflict with courage and love?
After a period of worship,
Meeting for Business began at 1:06 pm with 16 people present.
Approval of Previous Month’s Minutes
10-01: Meeting
approves the minutes of September 9, 2012, as presented.
Appoint Ad Hoc Naming Committee
Clerk Stephen Matchett
reviewed the process for constituting a “Naming Committee” and how this
committee helps to fill open positions on the Nominating Committee. There was a
period of silent worship, during which the following Friends volunteered
themselves or accepted a nomination brought by another. (One Friend declined at first then
accepted later in the meeting.)
10-02: Meeting
appoints Philip Gerrie (convener), Paula Joyce, and Larry Pettit to constitute
a “Naming Committee” to propose four candidates to join continuing members Dan
Nakamura and Sandra Schwartz on the Nominating Committee: three for a two-year term of
1/1/13-12/31/14 and one to fill an already open term ending 12/31/13; and to
propose a Nominating Committee clerk for the coming year.
Property & Finance Committee
P&F Clerk Philip Gerrie
reported on the following matters (written report attached to archive copy of
these minutes): (1) We may have a
new tenant for the small office upstairs. Institute for Public Accuracy will be
moving out and P&F is in discussion with the Center for Lao Studies to rent
the space. (2) Final approval of
the building permit for the kitchen renovation is expected this coming week. We
will likely hire the same contractor the American Friends Service Committee has
engaged to renovate their office upstairs. (3) The subcommittee clerked by Amy
Baker, the formation of which was reported last month, is completing a plan for
displaying Arthur Koch’s photography in the meetinghouse, including a
photograph of the 67 Sueños mural.
The subcommittee is also developing a proposed policy on future art
exhibits.
Treasurer’s 3rd-Quarter Financial Report
Philip Gerrie presented
Treasurer Amy Baker’s third-quarter report, noting and explaining a variety of
items on both the Budget v. Actuals and the Balance Sheet. Per Amy, our financial health continues
to be good. (Report and
treasurer’s accompanying notes attached to archive copy of these minutes.)
Pacific Yearly Meeting Representatives’ Report
Steve Leeds (immediate past
representative) and Rose Medellin (current representative) shared a
representatives’ report about Pacific Yearly Meeting’s annual session in
August, held at Walker Creek Ranch in Petaluma, California. The theme of the
gathering was “The Dance between Hope and Fear among Friends.” Steve read the
Epistle, which is available in the current issue of Western Friend magazine. Rose shared about her first visit to PYM
with her family. “It was so nice to be surrounded by other Quakers in a big
tent.” Rose’s children were excited and involved in many activities. While she
described feeling a little overwhelmed by how much is offered in such a short
period of time, she was pleased the gathering had such a strong impact on her
family and their connection to Quakerism. She looks forward to serving on the
meeting’s behalf in the coming year. Steve highlighted the Yearly Meeting’s
thoughtful and prayerful endorsement of California Proposition 34, which would
abolish the death penalty. Steve shared
the joy of his involvement with the teen program. One Friend expressed
appreciation for Steve and Rose being our reps. Another Friend shared about
John Calvi’s work as a Quaker Healer who cares for those facing “brokenness.”
She especially liked the Meeting for Healing during the PYM gathering which
John led. Rose will attend the PYM Representative meeting in March 2013.
Peace & Social Concerns Committee
Larry Pettit, on behalf of
co-clerks Dirk Von der Horst and Jan Hartsough, shared more information about
Proposition 34, and the committee’s recommendation that Meeting endorse the
measure. Friends shared concerns, and the clerk read PYM’s minute of
endorsement, which reads: “Pacific
Yearly Meeting endorses and encourages Californians to vote for Proposition 34,
the initiative to replace the death penalty with life imprisonment without the
possibility of parole. Although
this proposition is based on cost savings, we oppose the death penalty on moral
grounds.”
10-03: Meeting
endorses Proposition 34, the November ballot measure to abolish the death
penalty in California. We do so out of our moral opposition to capital
punishment, not out of support for the alternative sentence of ‘life without
parole,’ and not out of concern for the financial costs of the current system.
We authorize Peace & Social Concerns Committee to post signs in the
meetinghouse windows supporting the initiative.
Paula Joyce gave a report on
the Food Pantry and the rollout of a new system of managing our client base and
how people line up for their food. Paula says “The Food Pantry is doing great!
We have a lot of clients who volunteer each week and help us out.” Clients can
now register with the Food Pantry as a way to avoid standing in a long line of
100 people to get their food on Saturdays. The only requirement is that clients
live in the zip codes 94102 or 94103. There are also provisions for those
without a fixed address. The Food
Pantry is still looking for more volunteers so please contact Paula, or Philip
Gerrie, if you are interested.
Follow-Up on 9/30
Threshing Session
Stephen offered a summary of
the September 30th Threshing Session to consider the Joseph Priestly
bequest of a two-flat building at 46-48 Rausch Street. A small group of Friends
have indicated they would be interested in working on this issue and discerning
a proposal for moving forward. Stephen asked if the meeting had a sense of what
would be needed in terms of a minimum number of interested Friends (both within
and outside of the meeting) before we agree to move forward to accept the gift.
Currently, Dawn Moore, Philip Gerrie, Rolene Walker, Amy Baker, Dalton Tedford
and Tim Schwartz have agreed to serve on such a committee. It is hoped this
type of group would discern a proposal to bring back to the meeting. Then the
meeting would discern if we are prepared to accept the bequest.
10-04: Meeting
supports the efforts to assemble a group of able and committed Friends to
oversee and shepherd the Rausch Street property should meeting decide to accept
title. In order that Meeting can decide whether to accept the gift, we ask for
a proposal or description from such a group about how it might be constituted
and what it would intend to do, including the preliminary work of bringing the
property into a usable state and the determination of possible uses for the
property.
Ministry & Oversight Committee
Co-clerk David Matchett
offered highlights from the recent M&O meeting. David highlighted ongoing
discussion about the Rausch Street building, and success of the recent Women’s
Retreat. He reminded Friends about the Retreats subcommittee that now has
oversight of both the women’s retreat and Meeting’s annual Memorial Day Weekend
retreat. David reported on Cat Mendes’s health situation and encouraged Friends
to visit or call him while he is in the hospital. Friends rejoiced at news of
the birth of co-clerk Chad Stephenson’s and his wife’s twin girls
Minute Recording Marriage
10-05: Meeting
records the marriage of Heidi Pidcoke and Anand Madhvani, which took place in
good order under Meeting’s care on First Day, 22 Seventh Month 2012, at Ben
Lomond, California. We now lay
down the arrangements committee, with gratitude for their service.
Membership Transfer Request
Stephen read a letter from
Peter Schmidt requesting a transfer to St. Petersburg (Fla.) Monthly Meeting.
This letter will be referred to M&O for their discernment and
recommendation.
After a period of
announcements and sharing of joys and concerns, Meeting closed with worship at
3:30 pm with 15 people in attendance.
Notes on 9/30/12 Threshing Session Regarding the Bequest of Joseph Priestley
After a period
of silent worship, the Threshing Session began at 1:04 pm with 18 people
present.
Clerk Stephen
Matchett clarified the purpose of a Threshing Session as described in our Faith
& Practice. Our goal today is to air views and information about the
bequest of the Rausch Street building. We don’t need to make any decision
today. This is a time to get a sense of the issues and how they are working in
our lives.
The session
began with a review of background materials and reports:
●
Information
sheet - Stephen distributed and summarized an information sheet he had
prepared (attached to archive copy of these notes), quoting the terms of Joseph
Priestley’s bequest of the two-unit residential building at 46-48 Rausch Street
to San Francisco Friends Meeting, to be used for our “general charitable
purposes” provided we retain title as long as the current tenants remain and do
not raise their rent over the amount allowed under San Francisco rent
control. The building consists of two
six-room flats built in 1907. It recently appraised at approx. $500,000, there
is no mortgage. The current tenants, who
occupy the first-floor flat, and under an unwritten agreement with Joe have
also had exclusive use of the garden, pay rent of $423 per month. Property taxes are incurred for residential
rental, so would apply at least for that unit, and possibly the upstairs as well
depending on the use we put it to: if
the whole building is taxed, the amount can be expected to be approx. $6,500 a
year. Insurance is likely to cost
approx. $2,000 per year. Ministry & Oversight and Property & Finance
Committees are clear we should only accept this gift if we are prepared to
shoulder the renovation costs, needed repairs, upkeep, and be willing to
oversee and nurture its future use. Some possible uses that have been mentioned
include overnight hospitality for traveling Friends, housing AFSC interns,
Quaker Voluntary Service House, bi-national US/Mexico youth “boot camp” on
setting up non-profits, renting the flats as a source of income until we decide
what to do with the building. Note that
some of the proposed uses could depend on availability of both units. Given the terms of the bequest, and the
tenants’ investment in the place, displacing them could be expected to involve
significant financial and other costs.
●
Joint
subcommittee report - A joint M&O/P&F subcommittee comprised of
Tim Schwarz and Rolene Walker toured the building and met with the tenants, and
their report was distributed (copy attached to archive copy of these
notes). Rolene offered a summary. Need
to look at the brick foundation, may need to be updated to cement. Some aspects
of the building are not up to code, and many past repairs and improvements were
done without permits. The back garden is lovely. To make the upstairs flat
habitable we would need to renovate the kitchen and bathroom which could cost
approx. $30,000.
●
Letter
from tenants – Stephen summarized a June 2012 letter from the current
tenants (copy attached to archive copy of these notes). The letter gives a
brief history of the building and Joe’s and their relationship with it. When
Joe bought the building in 1978 it had been condemned and he needed to put a
lot of work into repairing it. The now senior tenant started out working on the
building and soon moved in, and he and Joe became friends over the years. He continued to work on the building, later joined
by current partner. They and Joe had
intended that the upstairs unit be renovated after it was vacated earlier this
year, however the work had not started when Joe died. Both tenants are living with HIV, and one is
undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.
They are greatly attached to the building, which has been their home for
decades. They are committed to try and
make things work for us there.
●
Inspection
report – Philip Gerrie, clerk of Property & Finance Committee,
summarized a report from General Contractors Inspection Service completed on
Sep. 27, 2012. (Partial copy attached to archive copy of these minutes.) The report notes various items in need of
work or out of compliance with city codes.
The presence of past improvements undertaken without permits could
complicate attempts to get permits for future work.
●
Additional
conversation with tenants – Rolene reported on a further conversation
with the senior tenant regarding, among other things, the possibility of their
moving, or of their taking an equity share in the building were we to decide to
sell it and split the proceeds with them.
Aside from the disruption of their lives that it would cause, he is also
reluctant to acquire any ownership interest or receive a large amount of cash
as it would put his medical benefits at risk.
He suggested he could rent the upstairs flat for $600 for a work space,
providing the Meeting $3,000 per year income while he would work on and/or
oversee needed repairs to the unit.
Rolene also asked if they would consider moving upstairs and vacating
the downstairs unit if Meeting decided that that unit would be more useful to
us, and he responded that they could consider it but only with great
reluctance.
Friends sought
clarification about the fate of the building should Meeting not accept
title. This is uncertain, as there is no
specifically applicable provision in the bequest. The best understanding we have from
representatives of Joe’s trust is that it would be offered to the University of
Tennessee medical school, who would likely not be bound by the condition
imposed on Meeting. It is possible a
judge would need to make the final decision about that, however.
Stephen asked
Friends to share a “pro” and a “con” about accepting or declining the bequest.
What are the benefits of SFMM taking on this property? What may be the
challenges? Are there serious concerns we should consider in discerning this
proposal? If we accept the gift, what spiritual use would we have for the
building?
Friends
reflected:
●
Could put up travelling Friends. Would need a new committee, huge job to
oversee the property.
●
Opportunity for the next generation of Friends.
Even if we just held on to the building and did the minimum it would be good
for our young people. It will take time and effort from many to accomplish
this, and I’m not personally available for a few years.
●
A lot of opportunity; however, much entanglement
regarding tenant and building issues, hard to see how these can be surmounted.
●
Possible use by World University & School
for interns, presentation space and bookstore; the challenge is that WU&S
is not currently funded to pay these rents.
●
Moral possibility of supporting the tenants.
Needs people who would take it on with enthusiasm, and follow-through is a
challenge in our meeting (e.g., kitchen, food pantry).
●
Help the tenants as Joe wanted to, and possibly
resume offering overnight hospitality as we did at Lake St.; act of faith to
take it. Permit issue a big one: any repairs could trigger requirement of
massive additional work.
●
Ninth Street building is already a source of
stress and tension. However, have observed we grow through working together, so
this may be an opportunity to grow more. Would need a committee or board
drawing from outside our Meeting; possibly involve young people, ‘work camps.’
Could revitalize our meeting in powerful ways.
Quaker Voluntary Service as a model.
●
Experience of living in community of young
Friends. Rent to group at reduced rate
who could provide hospitality and/or work on the building. It would need a
committee to oversee it and a manager to keep the program running well.
●
Was thinking we should turn the gift down since
we are not doing well with current responsibilities and it seemed like a
burden; today is the first time I connected with the tenants and I see it
differently. Maybe we could have a slow start, keep the tenants in the
building, and keep it as a valuable gift for the future.
●
Sometimes you’re given the horse before you know
you’re going on a journey. Many ways we could use the building for
intercultural work, for youth service work, to have a place to worship outside,
an outdoor space for our children. Many people are committed Quakers because of
their connections with vital youth programs. The building may be a way to
develop an important youth program in our meeting that would affect people
their whole life. There is no
downside. If things don’t work out after
a couple of years we can sell it.
●
Speaking from experience of offering overnight
accommodations at Lake Street, it was valuable but not easy. This property was
a charitable concern of Joe Priestley; when someone dies it is our
responsibility to carry on their specific charitable work? Question whether we have moral obligation to
help the tenants remain, even if moving will cause them difficulties. Much
daunting work to take on if we accept this building which is below standard.
Many are suggesting ideas that rely on someone else doing the work of
overseeing this process. If there were someone here who said “I have a leading
to take this on for the next five years.” it would be different. Opportunity
for service.
●
Responsibilities begin immediately if we
accept. There are projects in the
meeting which need time and money we currently don’t have, would this building
take away from these projects? Also need
to settle on one idea: there are only three bedrooms. Upside is we would be helping these tenants,
though it means potentially years of commitment ahead.
●
All over the map: excited and worried. The ideas people suggest are good but the
space in the Rausch Street building is limited, will the building really be the
right place to create these programs? The building will need substantial and
costly repairs in the future. The repair work for a brick foundation is major.
When we were faced with retrofitting and accessibility issues at Lake Street we
realized the repair work would mean bringing everything in the building up to
code. This doesn’t mean we should not accept this building, but we need to do
it with our eyes wide open. If we try to rent this upstairs flat out for a
short-term basis, we may not be able to get that tenant out either. “Pros” are
helping young people and supporting traveling Friends. Additional “cons” are
how to deal with the current tenants in a way that is respectful to them but allows
us to use the building in a meaningful way.
●
Joe saw the Rausch Street building as his
ministry, helping people who were dealing with HIV in the ’80s. Current tenants
are part of that ministry. Important to look at worst case scenario: city could require us to bring building fully
up to code, which could cost several hundred thousand dollars. Does Meeting
have the energy to take this on? Building could be worth $750,000, the most
generous gift we’ve ever been offered.
●
Sense of a call to care for the tenants,
reinforced by visit to the property and seeing how they’ve restored it. Owning the building free and clear, we could
take out a mortgage to pay for repairs. The senior tenat has been there over
thirty years. We are not tied to it, if we change our minds, we can sell it.
Drawn to the idea of “build it and they will come.” Much change afoot in this neighborhood: college student housing going up on Mission,
apartments next door to the meetinghouse will bring 200 new people to the
block. How might this building fit in
with future opportunities? Who will do this? I’m willing to help.
●
As a longtime renter, much empathy with the
tenants. If we pass on this gift, it will be sold. It’s a way to keep housing
available that may not exist otherwise. Do we have the strength and Light to
take this on? Property management takes effort, ability to be there at 3 am
when the plumbing breaks down. We would need a strong committee willing to take
this on for three to five years, and I cannot help with this.
●
Deepest concern is the need for a committee that
will own this, be empowered and energized to take it on. Most people today are
saying they can’t. We are being offered a huge asset to help us stretch and
grow. If we decline the gift, we may regret it because we’ll never know what
might be accomplished through us by accepting the gift.
Friends were
asked who would be willing to put time and energy into overseeing and
shepherding the property should Meeting accept it, and three individuals
responded that they would.
The session
concluded with worship at 3:30 pm with 17 people present. Spoken messages were:
that we have been given a seed, and we won’t know what it could become unless
we take it; and a reflection on the Parable of the Talents, if we take the
building, we have to use it wisely. It’s a gift from God; we’d have to use it
with this in mind.
Respectfully submitted,
Blake Arnall,
Recording Clerk Stephen
Matchett, Presiding Clerk
News from Heidi Pidcoke
News from Friends
Dear Friends,
It's hard to believe
that a month has passed since my last update. Life seems to be rolling along
its normal course. My psychotherapy practice has been going well but not
extremely busy, as can sometimes happen.
I've been reminded again
how beautifully God orchestrates my daily and weekly life. With a little more
breathing room in my work schedule, I've been able to support Anand as he
applies to regain his Kenyan citizenship. I've also started joining Anand in a
weekly pottery class where we're learning to make bowls and vases. It feels
like a gentle month of nesting and experiencing the sweetness of married life.
This week I've been
working on a proposal to AFSC to finish counseling we'd started at the Dadaab
Refugee Camps. We were surprised at how many of the refugees wanted counseling
after the recent AVP and HROC workshops we held from March through September.
As such a substantial number of people still needed to either finish the
counseling they started, or actually get the chance to have counseling, AFSC
suggested we apply for further funding.
Along with my personal
life being a little quieter, the Nairobi AVP/HROC office has also been a little
quiet because of a shortage of funds to put on local workshops. However, with
the wedding present we received from Karen Ande and Jeff Johnson to fund 10
workshops, we are now getting underway again.
Last night we watched a
trailer for Patrick Mureithi's film "Kenya: Until Hope is Found",
that tells the story of the violence in Kenya in 2008 and then shows a HROC
workshop in Kibera. It is going to be a great film, which will likely be
released next year on DVD. If you want a taste of it go to http://vimeo.com/38757521
I hope you are all
enjoying the Fall season and feeling God's immense grace.
Lots of love,
Heidi
News from Friends
November 2012 News from Ben
Lomond Quaker Center
The remains of a
large wooden bridge were discovered under the culvert that was just removed
from beneath Hubbard Gulch Road! The bridge was probably the original bridge
used by Lucille and Clyde Manley when they first moved to this land in
1920. (Read more about Quaker
Center's history http://www.quakercenter.org/history-before-1949/.) A new culvert will be put
in place to carry Marshall Creek water under the road, along with a newly
graded road above it, which you'll drive over the next time you visit.
Our
annual Music and Dance Retreat will
be held from Nov. 30th - Dec. 2nd with the traditional community dance on
Saturday night called by Kalia Kilban. Kalia is well known for her ability to
make folk dancing fun for even the novice, so don't let your lack of dance
experience hold you back from this delightful weekend. In order to keep our costs low, we
invite participants to share in the leadership of singing, playing, and dancing
sessions as well as helping with meal preparation throughout the weekend. The program fee for this weekend is on
a low sliding scale of just $60 - $140 to make it more accessible to all,
including families with children.
The
Year End Retreat: Whole Mind, Whole Body,
Holy Spirit, lead by Walter and Traci Hjelt Sullivan, will begin on
December 27th and end on January 1. This retreat will be an experiential
exploration of the relationship between body, spirit, and the art of living
into wholeness. Please register
online by Thursday, December 20th at http://www.quakercenter.org/year-end-retreat-2012/. We will also be hosting a benefit "Lunch with the Sullivans" for
donations on a sliding scale from $5 to $500 to honor Traci and Walter's 14
years of service to Quaker Center. Those who cannot come to the Year End
Retreat will have a chance to catch up with Walter, Traci, Rebecca and Grace on
December 26th from 11am to 2pm.
Please save the date if you'd like to join us.
November 2012 News from
Woolman and Sierra Friends Center
We
are already halfway through our fall semester and the students are fully
engaged. They have just finished their service week, working in the Nevada
County Healthy Harvest Food Bank Farm. During their service week the students
spent their days working at the farm and food bank, and then returning to
Woolman to debrief their experience and place it in the larger context of
social justice and peace actions. Woolman Semester students have been helping
with the Farm since it began and the students this semester were told that the
Farm would not exist today if it weren’t for Woolman help. On a different but
related note, shared work these days involves harvesting in the orchard where
the bounty of several varieties of apples and pears makes us truly grateful for
those who went before, planting and caring for the Woolman trees! Thanks to the hard work our interns and
students, we will have abundant pear and apple sauces long after the sweet
cider and fresh fruit is gone.
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.
The upcoming Pacific Yearly Meeting session will be at Walker Creek
Ranch in Marin County, August 13-18
College Park Quarterly
Meeting – Quarterly Quick Notes
This
weekend gathering at Sierra Friends Center was attended by 121 people, of whom
10 were teens and 11 were children. These “quick notes” are to
be announced, posted and/or circulated on line by the Monthly Meeting rep so as to provide timely highlights
for the many Friends who were not able to be present. Detailed minutes will be
posted atcollegepark.quaker.org.
Our
theme for this gathering, “Being in the world but not of it,” resonated through
plenary sessions, interest groups, and worship sharing sessions. Queries were abundant. What experiences have you
had with "being in the world but not of 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?
The
three independent centers under our care, Sierra Friends Center, Ben Lomond
Quaker Center, and Friends House, are “of the world,” but aspire to a higher
level in terms of human connections. This was the topic of several group discussions.
How
have we come to care about others and when did we learn that we can make a
difference? The adult teen committee (it helps plan and support teen activities)
led an exercise in which all ages spoke to one another in dyads and triads
about what we chose as important caring projects in our teens, and who inspired
and supported us.
Teen Brooke Lyonsjustus and YAF Sophie Brinker joined CPFEA Clerk in presenting the annual report from Sierra Friends Center. (Details will be available on the CPQM web site.) All the produce eaten here all year, including this week, comes from the huge garden on the campus.
There
was an interest group focused on Friends Committee on Legislation CA) and
another on different kinds of prayer. Nominating held an open
committee meeting, and the teens led a service activity in the huge garden. Many attended a large group
growing out of a recent week-long brain-storm about what it means to be “in the
life” envisioned by Friends.
Reports
to plenary were heard from FCLCA, from Ramallah Friends School in Palestine,
from our nominating, finance, and ministry and oversight committees, and from
our treasurer. We have been offering discounted registration fees for families, young
people and teens, so the registration charges for others have gone up
somewhat. There is adequate money for
school scholarships, and one was granted to Augie Brinker of Santa Cruz for the
spring term at Woolman Semester.
M&O
continues to work with Nominating Committee on the challenge of finding enough
Friends to do all the work of the Quarter. Other Friends also ask, are
the “heroic” efforts of some Friends actually bad for us as a community? What should be discontinued,
recreated? Should we reduce the number of committees? The number of gatherings? Can we work with the PYM
vision and implementation committee (Paul Harris, convener) to reduce our
obligations?
Meanwhile,
“Love me through my mistakes” became a fondly repeated phrase during the
weekend. The sun shown, the arrangements
were handled smoothly, Eric Moon was welcomed as presiding clerk. People camped all over
the lawns, ate wonderful food, played community-building games with all ages
during a sparkling Family Night led by Stephen Meyers, and gathered repeatedly
in the deep silence we call worship.
The
next CPQM Gathering will be a one day meeting on Saturday, January 19, 2013 at
Palo Alto Friends Meeting.
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.
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
|
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
|
4
9:30a
Bible Study
11a
Meeting for Worship, Community potluck following
|
5
.
|
6
7p
Property & Finance Mtg
|
7
8:30a
SFFS Community Mtg for Worship†
6p
Meeting for Worship
7p
Ministry & Oversight Mtg
|
8
12p
Peace Vigil‡
7p
Potluck & Quaker Study
|
9
|
10
10:30a-1p Food Pantry
|
11
11a Meeting for Worship
1p Meeting for Business
|
12
|
13
|
14
6p
Meeting for Worship
|
15
12p
Peace Vigil‡
7p
Potluck & Quaker Study
|
16
|
17
10:30a-1p Food Pantry
|
18
9:30a Bible Study
11a
Meeting for Worship
|
19
|
20
|
21
6p
Meeting for Worship
|
22
12p
Peace Vigil‡
11a
Meeting for Worship, Community potluck following
7p
Potluck & Quaker Study
|
23
|
24
10:30a-1p Food Pantry
|
25
11a
Meeting for Worship
|
26
|
27
|
28
6p
Meeting for Worship
|
29
12p
Peace Vigil‡
7p
Potluck & Quaker Study
|
30
|
1
10:30a-1p Food Pantry
|
‡Federal
Building, Golden Gate Ave. and Larkin St. †San Francisco Friends School, 250
Valencia St.
