65 Ninth Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
415-431-7440
September 2013 Newsletter
(Ninth Month)
(Ninth Month)
Meeting for Worship
& First Day School
Sundays at 11:00 a.m.
Midweek Meeting for Worship,
Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m.
Advices:
Integrity has always
been a goal of Friends. It is essential to trust, to all communication between
people and between people and God. Integrity grounds our beliefs, thoughts, and
actions in our spiritual center and makes us whole.
Friends believe that
we are called to speak the truth. A single standard of truth requires us to
conduct ourselves in ways that are honest, direct, and plain, and to make our
choices, both large and small, in accord with the urgings of the Spirit. It
follows that we object to taking an oath, which presupposes a variable standard
of truth. Be true to your word.
… let your yea be
yea, and your nay, nay.
James 5:12
King James Version
King James Version
From early days
Friends have opposed gambling and practices based on chance. These activities
profit from the inevitable loss of others, promote greed, and conflict with
good stewardship. Public lotteries have not furthered their purported benefit
to the public good. All addictions are of concern. As the use of alcohol and
tobacco all too often entail serious risks to self and others, Friends who
serve alcohol at home should be diligent in offering alternatives. Alcohol
should not be served at Meeting gatherings.
Find recreation that
brings you joy and energy. Be aware of how your choices affect yourself and
others.
Queries:
How do I strive to
maintain the integrity of my inner and outer lives?
Do I act on my
principles even when this entails difficult consequences?
Am I honest and
truthful in all that I say and do, even when a compromise might be easier or
more popular?
Am I reflective
about the ways I gain my wealth and income and sensitive to their impacts on
others?
Is my life so filled
with the Spirit that I am free from the misuse of alcohol and other drugs, and
of excesses of any kind?
Do we, in our
Meeting, hold ourselves accountable to one another as do members of a healthy
family?
After
a period of worship, Meeting for Business began at 1:07 pm with 14 people
present. Clerk Stephen Matchett read two queries on “Reaching Out,” from the
Pacific Yearly Meeting Faith &
Practice. The reading was followed by reflection and spoken ministry.
Approval of Previous Month’s
Minutes
7-01:
Meeting approves the minutes of June 9, 2013, as presented.
Treasurer’s Second-Quarter
Finance Report
Amy
Baker, treasurer, provided a report on the meeting’s finances at the midpoint
of the year. (Report attached to archived copy of these minutes.) Income and expenses are what was
anticipated at this point. The unspent balance of the Kitchen/AFSC remodel fund
has been returned to the General Fund. A final report on report on 2013 Meeting
Memorial Day Retreat finances awaits the collection of some registration fees
still outstanding.
7-02:
Meeting accepts the Second Quarter Financial Report as presented.
Membership Transfers
Stephen
reported receiving notice that Robert Levering’s transfer of membership was
accepted at Santa Cruz Monthly Meeting in February 2013, and that Demece and
Sally Garepis-Holland’s memberships were accepted at Scarsdale (NY) Monthly
Meeting on June 9, 2013. He read a
request from Jim Pilliod requesting transfer of his membership to Redwood
Forest Monthly Meeting. Stephen
explained that Jim and his husband Pete Anderson, whose letter was heard last
month and referred to Ministry and Oversight Committee, had actually submitted
their letters at the same time, only Jim’s was not received due to an e-mail
malfunction, and therefore not read last month; however under the circumstances
the clerk decided to refer Jim’s letter to Ministry & Oversight directly,
and the committee has considered both.
(See next item.)
Ministry & Oversight
Committee
Markley
Morris, co-clerk, reported that the committee recommends Meeting approve the
transfer of Jim Pilliod’s and Peter Anderson’s memberships to Redwood Forest
Friends Meeting.
7-03:
Meeting approves Peter Anderson’s and Jim Pilliod’s requests to transfer their
memberships to Redwood Forest Monthly Meeting in Santa Rosa.
Markley
also read a letter from Alan Lessik requesting release from membership. Alan feels clear his decision is in
good order, as he has not been active in Meeting for many years. He reports having found more spiritual
relevance in his practice at the Zen Center, and that he recently underwent a
public ceremony of acceptance of Buddhist principles. M&O has considered Alan’s request and recommends that he
be released from membership. Two members of M&O will meet with Alan as part
of this process.
7-04:
Meeting approves Alan Lessik’s request for release from membership.
Markley
reported that M&O is having difficulty staffing the weekly Introduction to
Meeting for Worship session. If any Friends would like to volunteer to help
lead these sessions, please let Markley or David Matchett know.
Peace and Social Concerns
Committee
Dirk
von der Horst, clerk, reported there have been several deep conversations which
helped resolve an ongoing conflict among participants in the Food Pantry
program. Dirk expressed appreciation for Friends’ participation in this
process. The committee sponsored the first of three conversations about the
Friends’ Peace Testimony at the Meeting Retreat in May. The second conversation
will be in September, focused on the query: “How do we bring our search for
inner and outer peace together?” This conversation will be offered as a Second
Hour session, details will be announced soon. P&SC will sponsor a book
discussion of A Feminist Ethic of Risk,
by Sharon Welch. If you are
interested, please contact a member of P&SC. Dirk reported that the
National Religious Campaign Against Torture has regular conference calls. John
O’Connor recently offered to participate in these calls and report back to the
committee.
PYM Youth Program
Coordinator Consideration
Stephen
recalled Friends’ attention to the summary report and recommendation of the
Pacific Yearly Meeting Youth Program Coordinator Supervisory Committee
circulated last month, and the minute of PYM Representative Committee
recommending to the annual session that the YPC position be continued. He read some highlights from the full
report, and then invited a time of reflection for Friends to further discern
the benefits or concerns of continuing the YPC position. These were universally
positive, and a Friend urged that Meeting minute its support of the
Representative Committee recommendation.
7-05:
San Francisco Meeting supports the Representative Committee’s recommendation
that the PYM Youth Program Coordinator position be continued.
During
closing announcements, Stephen read a letter to Meeting from the participants
in the 67 Sueños program of the American Friends Service Committee thanking
Meeting for its support of the mural project and for purchasing a photo
reproduction of the now-covered mural for the office upstairs.
After a sharing of joys and concerns, Meeting closed
with worship at 2:50 pm with 16 people in attendance.
Respectfully
submitted,
Blake
Arnall, Recording Clerk
Stephen
Matchett, Clerk of Meeting
News from
Children's Religious Education Committee
A
new teen program is being born! Chad Stephenson and Ian Singleton will be
working with young Friends the first First Day of each month during Meeting for
Worship. We'll use the current testimony observed by our Meeting for that month
to engage around issues and concerns as well as building literacy and knowledge
of our shared Quaker heritage, faith, and practice. We hope that teens will
find the program enlightening, engaging, and fun and our time sparks conversation
at dinner tables at home during the beginning of each month. Please join us if
you are 13-18 or ask us questions about how to get involved.
--Chad
and Ian on behalf of the Children's Religious Education Committee
September 2013 News from Ben Lomond Quaker Center
When
we gather for regional meetings and programs, we often find ourselves hurried
and busied by a tight schedule of sessions—with little time to answer to “that
of God” in ourselves or others. We hope you will join us for The
Un-Program from September 27-29th facilitated by Bob Runyan.
We will have extended waiting worship each day and leave the rest of the day
open to our Inner Guidance. Early on, Bob will facilitate some group
discernment about what the weekend might offer. Please register online at http://www.quakercenter.org/the-un-program/
What
joins us as a faith community? During What’s Your …ism? from October 25-27th, Ray
Rischpater and Brian Vura-Weis will facilitate an exploration of our shared
testimonies as we attempt to find common ground among our disparate backgrounds
and beliefs. We plan to keep in mind the experience of John Woolman at a
meeting with a Native American community where translators “labored along, divine love attending.” It
will be our goal throughout the weekend, to listen to “where the words come from” as we share together. For more
information, please visit http://www.quakercenter.org/whats-your-ism/
The
2014 Program Schedule is now
available at http://www.quakercenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/2014-Program-Schedule.pdf.
We hope you will find so many compelling programs that your meeting will
purchase a Ben Lomond Quaker Center
Annual Pass for $1200, which allows the meeting to send one person to each
Quaker Center program for a full year from the time of purchase. Our hope is
that meetings will consider the theme of each program and invite the person who
might be the right fit to attend. We hope participants bring back what they
have learned as a report or presentation so that the entire meeting community
can benefit from the experience.
September 2013 News from
AFSC
Prison Hunger Strike
As
of this writing, August 13, 2013, the prisoner hunger strike is in its 37th
day. The prisoners are striking for better conditions in the Security Housing
Units (SHU), or solitary confinement sections of the prisons. AFSC has been
involved as part of the Mediation Team for the prisoners. You can go to www.afsc.org to
sign onto the letter from people of faith, or write your own letter to Governor
Jerry Brown asking him to intervene to end long term isolation.
In
the California Prison System, over 100 people have been in conditions of
extended solitary confinement for over 20 years, and some for over 40 years.
There is no excuse for holding people indefinitely without any meaningful
activities, any phone contact with families, any social interaction. Even if
they cannot be out in the general population, they could still have more
opportunities and activities available to them.
For
its part, the Brown Administration has taken the position that no negotiations
can take place and the prisoners just need to stop. The California Department
of Corrections and Rehabilitation has suggested that the strikers are all gang
members, forcing people to be on strike through their gang influence, in order
to carry out their gang activities. This doesn’t match what we know of these
men, or how they have been behaving. The hunger strike is a genuine non-violent
action, chosen out of desperation, in order to bring about long overdue
systemic change.
For
another view of the gang dynamic see: http://californiacorrectionscrisis.blogspot.com/2013/08/a-response-to-cdcr-secretary-beard-by.html?spref=fb
Memory of a
Forgotten War
AFSC
has a wonderful37” film, Memory of a
Forgotten War, that presents the human cost of the Korean War. 2013
is the 60th anniversary of the armistice that is yet to lead a peace
treaty ending that conflict. AFSC’s Stephen McNeil is available to present
the film and context and may be contacted at SMcneil@afsc.org or (415) 565-0201 x 12.
Abuelito Fue Bracero
This summer AFSC’s migrant justice youth program
in the San Francisco office, 67 Suenos,
worked on their third annual mural project. They focused on the Bracero Program
of the 1940's and 1960's in order to inform proposals to include a “guest
worker” program within the large immigration reform bill. The mural,Abuelito Fue Bracero (“grandpa worked as a
bracero”) is our response to these proposals.
Murals serve to educate the community about
important topics and engage young people in learning and expressing their
feelings. Our murals tell the stories of undocumented struggles and encourage
deeper conversations about topics like migrant justice. Our bracero grandparents
are important voices in the current immigration debate and the mural is a
vehicle to assure their voices are not excluded. Abuelito Fue Bracero is a migrant community People's history
project. This mural was also a pathway to connect the young people with the
older generation and share each other’s struggles as a community.
In producing the mural, youth first decided on the
theme. They then interviewed the braceros and did independent research. They
then brainstormed images and ideas for the design of the mural in multiple
sessions with a muralist who provided sketches and received feedback both in
real-time at each session and in between sessions. Armed with a carefully
developed sketch, the youth then worked with the artist and were mentored
through the entire process of producing the mural.
The mural, Abuelito
Fue Bracero, is a 15ft by 5ft Acrylic and Spray can on Canvas portable
mural. It was painted by the youth between July 7th and August 9th, 2013 in
Oakland and will be unveiled initially in Stockton where the people interviewed
and their families reside. You can join us September 29th for
Bracero Day in Stockton. Tentatively, the unveiling will take place at the park
housing a statue of a bracero at Fremont and Center Streets in Stockton. Please
contact the office to confirm: (415) 565-0201.
Pacific Yearly Meeting
The
upcoming Pacific Yearly Meeting session will be July 14-19, 2014 at Walker Creek Ranch in Petaluma, CA
College Park
Quarterly Meeting
The upcoming College Park Quarterly Meeting session will be October
18 - 20 (Fri-Sun) at Sierra Friends Center
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), Catherine Fox (production), and Noel Schwerin
(distribution)
(all events at 65 9th St., unless noted;
*see details elsewhere in newsletter)
Sunday
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Monday
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Tuesday
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Wednesday
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Thursday
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Friday
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Saturday
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1
9:30a Bible Study
11a Meeting for Worship, Community potluck following
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2
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3
7p Property & Finance Mtg
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4
6p Meeting for Worship
7p Ministry & Oversight Mtg
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5
12p Peace Vigil‡
7p Potluck & Quaker Study
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6
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7
10:30a-1p Food Pantry
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8
11a Meeting for Worship
1p Meeting for Business
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9
.
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10
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11
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12
12p Peace Vigil‡
7p Potluck & Quaker Study
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13
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14
10:30a-1p Food Pantry
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15
9:30a Bible Study
11a Meeting for Worship
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16
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17
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18
6p Meeting for Worship
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19
12p Peace Vigil‡
7p Potluck & Quaker Study
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20
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21
10:30a-1p Food Pantry
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22
9:15 Non-Violent Comm. Practice Group
11a Meeting for Worship
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23
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24
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25
6p Meeting for Worship
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26
12p Peace Vigil‡
7p Potluck & Quaker Study
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27
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28
10:30a-1p Food Pantry
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29
11a Meeting for Worship
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30
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1
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2
6p Meeting for Worship
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3
12p Peace Vigil‡
7p Potluck & Quaker Study
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4
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5
10:30a-1p Food Pantry
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‡Federal Building, Golden Gate Ave. and Larkin St. †San Francisco
Friends School, 250 Valencia St.
