April 2015 Newsletter
(Fourth Month)
(Fourth Month)
Meeting for Worship
& First Day School
Sundays at 11:00 a.m.
Midweek Meeting for Worship,
Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m.
Advices:
John Woolman
said, “As Christians all
we possess are the gifts of God… To turn all the treasures we possess into the
channel of Universal Love becomes the business of our lives.” The
principle of stewardship applies to all we have and are. As individuals, we are
called to use our time, our various abilities, our strength, our money, and our
material possessions with care, managing them wisely and sharing them
generously.
From the
indwelling Seed of God, we discover our particular gifts and discern the
service to which we are called. In making choices about occupation or
education, consider the way that offers the fullest opportunity to develop your
individual abilities and contribute to the world community while providing for
yourself and your family. In daily work, manifest a spirit of justice and
understanding, and thus give a living witness to the truth.
Be ready to
limit engagements, to withdraw for a time, or even to retire from an activity
that inhibits your ability to follow a higher call. Try to discern the right
moment to accept new responsibilities as well as to relinquish responsibility
that can pass to others. Be open to your calling in different stages of life.
Meetings need the strength and vigor of young people as well as the experience
and wisdom of elders. Although they may not be able to contribute great
financial support, their energy and insight invigorate the community. As people
begin careers and families, they may need the spiritual and experienced help of
the Meeting. Later, when families are growing up and careers are established,
greater participation in the Meeting and greater financial support may become
possible. Welcome the approach of old age, your own and others’, as an
opportunity for wisdom and greater attachment to the Light.Meetings should be
ready with material and spiritual support for those suffering from unemployment
or facing difficult vocational decisions.
Queries:
How have I been
faithful to the leadings of the Spirit in choosing work or vocation?
What am I doing
with my talents, time, money, and possessions? Am I sharing them according to
the Light I am given?
Is my conduct at
the workplace consistent with my life as a Friend?
How does my
daily work enhance my spiritual life?
How does the Meeting help and support
members who are in job transitions?
San Francisco Monthly Meeting
March (Third Month) Meeting for Business
March 8, 2015
Meeting for Business began at approximately
1:03 pm with a period of silent worship with 16 people in attendance.
Clerk's Report: Chad
Stephenson, Clerk, asked attenders to turn off cell phones during Meeting for
Worship and Meeting for Business. He encouraged committee clerks and the
Meeting to think of ways to include participation through use of different
electronic tools, doing the best to synthesize the qualities and traditions of
Quaker faith with the current expression of Quaker faith.
After reading aloud the draft of the State
of the Meeting Report, the Clerk announced that he will be making print outs
available in the lobby. Responses and input and that can be communicated in
person or by e-mail (clerk@sfquakers.org),
or any other means.
As the Nominating committee searches for
new clerks for our committees, we were reminded that a Clerking workshop hosted
by Arthur Larrabee will be held at Ben Lomond at Quaker Center on May 29-31,
2015 and all are encouraged to attend. The Clerk will also be hosting a Clerk’s
Breakfast on March 15, 2015.
3-1: Meeting approves the minutes of
February, 2015.
Nominating: Nominating Clerk,
Beth Bird, presented the slate for nominations for 2015. (Names in parentheses
indicate standing committee members and their term dates): Clerk, Chad
Stephenson; Assistant Clerk, Stephen Matchett; Recording Clerk,
Ann Marie Snell; Recorder, Bruce Folsom; FCNL Contact, Paula
Stinson; FCL Contact, Sandra Schwartz; AFSC Liaison, Jan
Hartsough; Historian-Archivist, Bruce Folsom; CPQM Representative,
Alice Elliott-Sowaal; PYM Representative, Cheryl Hendrickson; SFFS
Quaker Life Committee Reps, David Matchett; Hospitality and Community, Peter
Rothaug (Clerk), Lorin Gillin, Bob Kovsky, John O’Connor; Library, Bruce
Folsom (Clerk), Santiago Meyers; Ministry and Oversight, Marian
Chatfield-Taylor, Sandra Schwartz; News, Catherine Fox; Peace and
Social Concerns, Charles Martin; Property and Finance, Philip Gerrie
(Clerk); Rausch Street, Philip Gerrie, Rolene Walker, Amy Baker, Marian
Chatfield-Taylor; Welcoming, Ann Marie Snell (Clerk).
Positions that still need to be filled are:
Treasurer; SFFS Quaker Life Cmte Reps; Children’s Religious
Education, Co-Clerk (co- clerk); Ministry and Oversight, Clerk; Peace
and Social Concerns, Clerk.
The committee proposed that the Meeting pay
for clerks and representatives to travel and attend meetings which are part of
the work of the Meeting.
Ministry and Oversight: Rotating clerk,
Bob Kovsky, reported that the Pacific Yearly Meeting’s Discipline Committee is
looking to gather information as part of its revision process to Faith and
Practice. Bob presented queries from PYM regarding the section in Faith
and Practice on “unity and decision-making” (pp. 131-132).
The queries are:
1. How does our meeting
utilize Faith and Practice?
2. What are the “nuts
and bolts” of how your meeting reaches unity in your business practice?
3. Where
does your Meeting have difficulty with the current Faith and Practice?
Where does your meeting have comfort with the current Faith and Practice?
The passage was read aloud and attenders
wrote reactions to the queries on hanging note papers. The note papers will
appear in the fellowship hall for four more weeks for further responses. Copies
of Faith and Practice are available for members and attenders with
suggested $5 donation.
The Clerk read aloud a Letter
of sojourn for Heidi Pidcoke for San Antonio Friends Meeting.
3-2 Meeting approves the letter of sojourn
for Heidi Pidcoke with an edit referencing the length of term to be one year.
The death of member Mary Thomson on January
22, 2015 was announced. She requested no memorial service. A memorial statement
is in the works and the Clerk will to forward to Pacific Yearly Meeting.
3-3 Meeting approves Gail Cornwall's
transfer to San Francisco Monthly Meeting from University Monthly Meeting
(North Pacific Yearly Meeting). Welcoming committee will be Marion
Chatfield-Taylor (convener), Steve Leeds and Ann Marie Snell.
3-4 Meeting approves the transfer of Lydia
Cohen to San Francisco Monthly Meeting from Sacramento Monthly Meeting.
Welcoming committee will be Stephen Matchett, Bob Kovsky (convener), with one
additional member to be determined.
3-5 Meeting approves the release of Amy
Lyman from membership in San Francisco Monthly Meeting.
Bob read a report from Ministry and
Oversight on on the letter of resignation from Keith Wedmore, effective immediately.
3-6 Meeting approves the release of Keith
Wedmore from membership in San Francisco Monthly Meeting
Peace and Social Concerns: Charles Martin
reported for the committee reading a letter from San Francisco Food Bank that
reported on the generous work of the Saturday Food Pantry in distributing food
in 2014. Charles acknowledged the work attender David Breitzmann has been doing
in procuring donations of food for the Saturday Food Pantry, Friday Food
Sharing and 67 Sueños. He also announced that Sheri Maurin and Kathy Kelly will
give a presentation, tentatively scheduled for May 4, on their work with
Afghani women. Details are to come.
Rausch St.: Philip Gerrie
presented a photo tour of the renovations, including in-progress photos, noting
that the apartment will be habitable in a few weeks. The committee is planning
to have an open house once it is ready.
Meeting closed at approximately 3:06 after a period of silent worship with 17 people present.
Meeting News
The Memorial Day
Retreat at Ben Lomand is approaching.
Each year San Francisco Friends Meeting holds a Retreat over
Memorial Day at Quaker Center near Santa Cruz. This year the dates
are May 22-May 25, 2015. You
can share in pleasant relaxation, tasty meals and community
fun. Registration starts after Meeting for Worship on April 5,
2015. There will be more information next
month.
A memorial worship for Mary Beth Oranumamu Washington is scheduled for Berkeley Friends Meeting, 2151 Vine Street, Berkeley 94709, on Saturday, April 4, at 11 am. She was well known to and loved by Friends of our Meeting, who may wish to attend.
News from Friends
2015 April News from Ben Lomond Quaker Center
Sometimes we get so focused on world affairs that we forget what God has
in store for us, individually
and as a community. Jim
Anderson, Marilee Eusebio, Diego Navarro, Kathy and Bob Runyan
will facilitate a week of Living
into Beloved Community, from April 6-11th (Monday -Saturday).
Our days will be filled with Bible study, worship, Quaker readings,
periods of writing and reflection,
and shared enjoyment as we seek to know what it means to be, and bring
forth, blessed community.
How do we live into it, and create meetings of vital spiritual presence
and power? This program has
more limited capacity than most, so please register early at
Whether or not you even expect to be a clerk, you take part in the
clerking process every time you take
part in Quaker decision-making. Take advantage of this opportunity to
work with Arthur Larrabee,
who has served as clerk of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and led over 150
clerking workshops. Join us
from May 29 – 31 for Clerking:
Serving the Community with Joy and Confidence. You will gain a
stronger connection between the core of our Quaker theology and our
business structures, and better
understand the experience of coming to unity. We expect this workshop to fill, so
please register
Quaker Center Summer Youth Camps are
right around the corner this summer with Camps Director,
Anna Lisa Chacon for the younger kids' camps and with Stephen Myers and
Mary Klein for Peace
Action Camp. Peace Action Camp will take place in June. We need
registration deposits by April
20th to secure the
location at the Sacramento Youth Hostel. For more information visit
http://www.quakercenter.org/summer-youth-camps/ or call Bob or Kathy Runyan at Quaker
Center
at 831-336-8333 with questions.
College Park
Quarterly Meeting
The
upcoming College Park Quarterly Meeting session will be 5/15 – 5/17 at Ben Lomond Quaker Center
Pacific Yearly Meeting
The upcoming Pacific Yearly Meeting session will be 7/13 – 7/18 at Walker Creek Ranch, Petaluma CA
Pacific Yearly Meeting
The upcoming Pacific Yearly Meeting session will be 7/13 – 7/18 at Walker Creek Ranch, Petaluma CA
Google Groups for
SF Quakers
The group named "San Francisco Monthly
Meeting" is for sharing announcements or other news with the meeting community.
If you wish to be added to the group, please send a request to clerk@sfquakers.org . You will also need to create a free
Google user ID and password, if you don’t already have one, you can create one at
https://accounts.google.com/signup?service=mail . The address of the group is sfquakers@googlegroups.com
Our redesigned
website (http://www.sfquakers.org) has gone up and it
is made for the 21st century, with a focus on newcomers to Meeting, including
an interactive Google Map to our Meetinghouse, a section for first-time
attenders, a guide to regular Meeting events, and a link to our newsletter. New
features include videos from the QuakerSpeak video series about our faith
practice, a 150-year history of Quakers in San Francisco (thanks to
historian/archivist/member Bruce Folsom), and a link to our new Twitter feed
(@sfquakers) and Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/sfquakers). We hope
this outreach will better serve the Meetings communications for better inreach
and outreach for our Quaker community. We look forward to improvements to the
site in the future--please feel free to contact us with suggestions at news@sfquakers.org.
A Google group for Bay Area Quakers is
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: http://groups.google.com/support
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), Chad Stephenson (web
servant), and Catherine Fox (production)
(all events at 65 9th St., unless noted; *see details
elsewhere in newsletter)
Sunday
|
Monday
|
Tuesday
|
Wednesday
|
Thursday
|
Friday
|
Saturday
|
29
9:15a Non-Violent
Comm. Practice Group
9:30a Bible Study
11a Meeting for Worship
|
30
|
31
|
1
1:10p
SFFS Meeting for Worship†
6p Meeting for Worship |
2
12p
Peace Vigil‡
7p
Potluck & Quaker Study
|
3
|
4
10:30a-1p Food Pantry
|
5
9:30a Bible Study
11a
Meeting for Worship, Community Potluck following
|
6
|
7
7p Property & Finance Mtg
|
8
6p Meeting for
Worship
7p Ministry & Oversight Mtg |
9
12p
Peace Vigil‡
7p
Potluck & Quaker Study
|
10
|
11
10:30a-1p Food Pantry
|
12
11a
Meeting for Worship
1p
Meeting for Business
|
13
|
14
|
15
6p Meeting for Worship |
16
12p
Peace Vigil‡
7p Potluck & Quaker Study |
17
|
18
10:30a-1p
Food Pantry
|
19
9:30a Bible Study
11a Meeting for Worship
|
20
|
21
|
22
6p
Meeting for Worship
|
23
12p
Peace Vigil‡
7p Potluck & Quaker Study |
24
|
25
10:30a-1p
Food Pantry
|
26
11a Meeting for Worship
|
27
|
28
|
29
6p Meeting for Worship |
30
12p
Peace Vigil‡
7p Potluck & Quaker Study |
1
|
2
10:30a-1p Food Pantry
|
†San
Francisco Friends School, 250 Valencia St.
‡Federal Building, Golden Gate Ave. and Larkin St.
