San Francisco Friends
Meeting
Ninth Month 2015
(September)
Monthly Newsletter
Ninth Month 2015
(September)
Monthly Newsletter
The monthly newsletter of the
San Francisco Friends Meeting
(Quakers)
Advices and Queries
Ninth Month - Integrity and Personal Conduct
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
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?
Ninth Month - Integrity and Personal Conduct
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
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?
August (Eighth Month) Meeting for Business
August 9, 2015
Meeting for Business began at approximately 1:00 pm with a period of silent worship with 12 people in attendance.
8-01: Meeting approves Charles Martin
as acting clerk of this Meeting for Business.
8-02: Meeting approves minutes from
June 14, 2015.
Nominating: The committee recommends the release of Jan Hartsough and David
Erickson from Hospitality Committee.
8-03: Meeting approves the following
nominations as presented in June: Art Koch to Property and Finance through
2017; Ruth Sheldon to Welcoming through 2017; Tim Schwartz as Treasurer through
2016.
Property and Finance: Philip Gerrie reported on short-term solutions to the encampment
in front of the building. The Building Manager has set up some meetings with
the local police precinct and the CBD. There is a block meeting set up for
later this week to get input from our neighbors.
Rausch Street: Philip Gerrie reported the loan that was approved at the last
Meeting for Business is in the application process and that we currently have
happy tenants in the new unit.
Peace and Social Concerns: Ann Marie Snell read the report as submitted by P&SC co-clerk
Owain Elliott-Sowaal. P&SC is exploring the possibility of two extra
programs for September. Noel Schwerin was approached about having a viewing of
her movie, In a Perfect World, followed by a question and answer with her. A visit from author
Eileen Flanagan (Renewable: One Woman's Search for
Simplicity, Faithfulness, and Hope) may occur in
September. The committee is also working with the Clerk of Meeting about a
worship sharing session with a topic to be announced. There are many wonderful
groups starting up from Pacific Yearly Meeting with glowing praise, in
particular, People of Color & People of European Descent groups. Our
meeting’s food programs (Food Pantry, Food sharing and Food/Rev) are growing
and serving more people throughout the Bay Area. Philip Gerrie and David
Breitzmann are trying to meet with organizations doing similar work. Peace and
Social Concerns meetings are changing to the last Wednesday of the month to
clear up time conflicts for our members that are also on Ministry and
Oversight.
Announcements: Paula Joyce (Hospitality Committee) reported she is implementing
online sign-ups for set-up and clean-up shifts in the hopes of making
volunteering easier and to distribute the workload a little better and that
this system could be useful for other committees in the meeting. She is happy
to share her experience.
Meeting closed after silent worship at
1:33 with 12 people in attendance.
Respectfully submitted,
Ann Marie Snell, Recording
Clerk
Charles Martin, Acting Clerk
Charles Martin, Acting Clerk
News from Friends
2015
September News from Ben Lomond Quaker Center
Join us for Growing into Paradox: Discovering the Dynamic Center of Quakerism from October 2nd – 4th with Tom Gates. Explore the spectrum of Quaker belief and practice ranging from the practical to the theological to the controversial. Register early at:
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Wondering how can you live more fully into your spiritual gifts and next steps in service or ministry? Come to Roots of Contemplation-Roots of Action to explore how Quakers witness to the dynamic integration of prayer and leading with Christine Betz-Hall from October. 30 – November 1, 2015. Learn more and register at:
http://www.quakercenter.org/roots-of-contemplation/
We are once again co-hosting our Music and Dance Retreat with the participant leaders. This is low-cost program with a sliding scale of only $60-$100 per person for a weekend filled with a variety of singing and playing punctuated by a few dancing opportunities. Bring your kids and grandkids or just yourselves and join us from Dec. 4-6th for a few days of fun making food, music, and song together with a professionally called community dance on Saturday night. Find out more and register online at :
http://www.quakercenter.org/music-and-dance-retreat/
Join us for Growing into Paradox: Discovering the Dynamic Center of Quakerism from October 2nd – 4th with Tom Gates. Explore the spectrum of Quaker belief and practice ranging from the practical to the theological to the controversial. Register early at:
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Wondering how can you live more fully into your spiritual gifts and next steps in service or ministry? Come to Roots of Contemplation-Roots of Action to explore how Quakers witness to the dynamic integration of prayer and leading with Christine Betz-Hall from October. 30 – November 1, 2015. Learn more and register at:
http://www.quakercenter.org/roots-of-contemplation/
We are once again co-hosting our Music and Dance Retreat with the participant leaders. This is low-cost program with a sliding scale of only $60-$100 per person for a weekend filled with a variety of singing and playing punctuated by a few dancing opportunities. Bring your kids and grandkids or just yourselves and join us from Dec. 4-6th for a few days of fun making food, music, and song together with a professionally called community dance on Saturday night. Find out more and register online at :
http://www.quakercenter.org/music-and-dance-retreat/
Contact Us
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 Meeting's communications for better in-reach 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.
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)
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
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
Calendar of Events for
Ninth Month (September) 2015
Ninth Month (September) 2015
(all events at 65 9th St., unless noted; *see details
elsewhere in newsletter)
Sunday
|
Monday
|
Tuesday
|
Wednesday
|
Thursday
|
Friday
|
Saturday
|
30
9a Extended Meeting for Worship
|
31
|
1
|
2
6p
Meeting for Worship
|
3
12p
Peace Vigil‡
7p
Potluck & Quaker Study
|
4
|
5
10:30a-1p
Food Pantry
|
6
9:30a
Bible Study
11a
Meeting for Worship, Community Potluck following
|
7
|
8
7p
Property & Finance Mtg
|
9
1:10p
SFFS Meeting for Worship†
6p
Meeting for Worship
7p
Ministry & Oversight Mtg
|
10
12p
Peace Vigil‡
7p
Potluck & Quaker Study
|
11
|
12
10:30a-1p
Food Pantry
|
13
11a
Meeting for Worship
1p
Meeting for Business
|
14
|
15
|
16
6p
Meeting for Worship
|
17
12p
Peace Vigil‡
7p
Potluck & Quaker Study
|
18
|
19
10:30a-1p
Food Pantry
|
20
9:30a
Bible Study
11a
Meeting for
Worship
|
21
|
22
|
23
6p
Meeting for Worship
|
24
12p
Peace Vigil‡
7p
Potluck & Quaker Study
|
25
|
26
10:30a-1p
Food Pantry
|
27
9:15a
Non-Violent Comm. Practice Group
11a
Meeting for Worship
|
28
|
29
|
30
|
1
12p
Peace Vigil‡
7p
Potluck & Quaker Study
|
2
|
3
10:30a-1p
Food Pantry
|
†San Francisco Friends School, 250 Valencia
St. ‡Federal Building, Golden Gate Ave. and Larkin St.
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