February (Second Month) 2015 Meeting Newsletter

     

65 Ninth Street

San Francisco, CA 94103

415-431-7440

http://sfquakers.org/

February 2015 Newsletter
(Second Month)

Meeting for Worship

& First Day School

Sundays at 11:00 a.m.

Midweek Meeting for Worship, Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m.

Spiritual Life

Advices:

The life of the spirit gains depth and vigor through devotional practices, prayer, study and meditation. Take time regularly for individual and family worship, discussions, readings from sacred texts, and other spiritual refreshment in order to live a more centered life and to bring a deeper presence to the Meeting for Worship.

Friends believe that the spiritual path is best found in community. Create opportunities in your Meetings for people of all ages to explore and express their evolving relationship with the Divine, their spiritual highs and their doubts. If different metaphors and language interfere with communication, listen more deeply, honoring the Spirit in which the thought and words have their beginnings.

Queries:

Do I live in thankful awareness of God’s constant presence in my life?

Am I sensitive and obedient to the leadings of the Holy Spirit?

When do I take time for contemplation and spiritual refreshment?

What steps am I taking to center my life and to stay open to continuing revelation?

Do we share our spiritual lives with others in the Meeting, seeking to know one another in that which is eternal?

Does the Meeting provide religious education including study of the Bible and Friends’ history and practices?

San Francisco Monthly Meeting
January (First Month) Meeting for Business
1/11/2015

Meeting for Business began at approximately 1:06 pm with a period of worship with 20 people in attendance.

1-1 Meeting approves Minutes of December 14, 2014, with the correction that Tim Schwarz was requested to be released from the Property and Finance Committee.

Clerk’s Message: A "modern" Quaker and outreach

The clerk started his message talking about Rufus Jones, a Quaker mystic who brought Quakers forward into a modern context and how one of his accomplishments was in helping to unify the various bodies of Quakers across the spectrum of Friends. The modernization effect he brought to Quakerism helped to keep Quakers relevant in today’s world and helped Quakers to be better communicators. The benefits of better communication between and among us, as well as with the outside world, can be miraculous. Many convinced Friends encountered our faith through friends or family that observed Quakerly leanings in us.

These thoughts lead us to think about what would best communicate about Quakers and our faith to the world via our website. How would you articulate the Meeting to newcomers? The Clerk brought up the website, Beliefnet (www.beliefnet.org), an online tool that “tells you what religion you are.” Through this online quiz, many people have found that “they are Quakers” and this has drawn them to our Meetings.

The clerk queried the Meeting on “What would we want to say on our website to attract people?” Some answers taken directly from the brainstorming board include:

•1st 1st day potluck • History of Quakers in San Francisco • you can come as you are • children's program and child care • Our mission, which should be a statement of 1) who you serve, 2) how you serve, 3) what you believe 4) vision of the future • George Fox • Our connection to the Bible • personal relationships • no creed • worship in silence • Frequently Asked Questions • continuing revelation • a quote • Times and place • testimonies • inclusiveness and marriage equality • other faiths • food sharing • you don’t have to give up what you have (the faith you were raised in, etc.) • other languages • a list of affiliated schools and affinity organizations (likewise, we should make sure we are on their lists as well) • queries • we are a house of God • How we relate to Christians • the Inward Light

The Clerks shared a prototype of the new website and compared it to the old. The new website will be live by the end of this month.

Naming Committee

1-2 Meeting approves the Nominating slate as follows: Beth Bird, Nancy Lewis, and  Loren Gillan (all through 2016). The meeting approves Beth Bird for Clerk through December 31, 2015

1-3 Meeting approves the laying down of the Naming Committee.

Nominating

1-4 Meeting approves the release of Chad Stephenson from Nominating Committee and approves the release of Tim Schwartz from Property and Finance

Property and Finance

Philip Gerrie reported that the recent committee meeting dealt with continuing concerns about the front of the building: campers, drug use, smoking, and people hanging out under the overhang and in front of the doorways. The building manager has reported feeling overwhelmed and would like this off of his list of duties. A person from the Community Business District (CBD) has been coming to help with cleaning up but a more long-term solution is needed. The committee has discussed and researched several options such as the cost of a gate (estimated to be over $35,000), engineering the ground in front to not be comfortable by making the pavement uneven, remodelling the front of the building so that the doors are flush with the building front or hiring a security person.

The committee wanted to hear some ideas from Meeting for long-term solutions. Friends and attenders recommended several possibilities and gave observations, such as:

• reaching out to other organizations which also deal with these issues
• enlisting the homeless community in helping us
• the increased drug trade has increasingly brought more violent criminal activity that is affecting our renters and potential renters
• we need to see and address the Light in the people we are discussing “fencing out”
• to what extent do we really feel that we are open to everyone?
• “bifurcate” the issue--have those who are called work with the homeless population more deeply with longer-term goals in mind
• install planter boxes
• a concern about retaliation
• contacting City Hall for assistance
• what does that space in front of the building offer the neighborhood as good neighbors? How does it enhance or detract from the neighborhood?
• keeping in mind how this building must include safe access for all to attend events here

The building manager spoke to needing the balance of creating a safe space and being good to the people in the neighborhood and reported recent incidents of visitors trashing the bathroom and verbal abuse with him and aggressiveness toward our renters.  He reminded us there are good things that we do with the street community: we have opened this building up for memorials and have helped people get off the streets in the past.

The discussion was left with some things to think about as we go forward: have we become an “attractive nuisance”? Can we hire someone to do a feasibility study? Property and Finance will discuss this further and will bring a proposal to the meeting.

Amy Baker, Treasurer, gave a donor report. The results of the donor drive is that the number of people donating has increased from roughly 47 to 59. We have gone from an actual of $28,086.17 to $29,069.00. Yet both numbers are below budgeted expectations. We still would like to reach a goal of 100% participation in donations. Roughly speaking ⅓ of our budget is based on our donations. Budget is roughly divided in costs as well. Next month we will have a complete budget vs. actuals report.

Ministry and Oversight

Steve Leeds presented for Ministry and Oversight this month. M&O completed the travelling minute for Stephen Matchett. We found out that an irregular, but long time attender J. Emery Fleming-Hasegawa recently passed away. Regular attender, John Standing, is in an assisted living facility and you can speak with Chad Stephenson for more information.

There have been two transfers of membership under discussion: Lydia Cohen and Gail Cornwall, which will be presented next month.

Chad Stephenson read aloud a traveling minute prepared for Stephen Matchett for approval and there was some wordsmithing recommended.

1-5 Meeting approves the traveling minute for Stephen Matchett with the understanding some edits for clarification will be made at rise of meeting.

Rausch St. Committee

Philip Gerrie spoke on behalf of the committee and wanted to bring the Meeting up-to-date after last month’s report. Renovations are on track to be finished, about 4-6 weeks after the previously reported date of “mid-January”. Next month we will be able to take a virtual “photo tour” of the completed work.

Peace and Social Concerns

Charles Martin provided the report for the committee that two programs are scheduled for the next two months: on the January 25th, attender Devin McCutchen will give a report on the housing and displacement crisis in San Francisco. On February 22, attender Cheryl Hendrickson will be presenting on the stigmatization of people released from prison. More details to come. There will also be a Prayer Walk for Peace on Saturday, January 17, 2015. Fourth Sunday’s are Peace and Social Concerns Sundays and the committee will continue to provide Second Hour presentations.

Meeting closed with a period of silence after sharing of joys and concerns at 3:10 pm with 17 people present.

Respectfully submitted,

Ann Marie Snell, Recording Clerk                               
Chad Stephenson, Clerk

Meeting News

Sunday, February 22, Second Hour (1:00 pm)

"Release from prison does not represent the beginning of freedom, but instead a new phase of stigmatization."

Michelle Alexander

Prison reform and abolition is an issue that Quakers have consistently been a part of.  For some, the issue seems enormous and out of control.  While we work to abolish the Prison Industrial Complex, we also have the opportunity to support the men and women who are reentering society after spending time in prison and/or jail. Cheryl Hendrickson is currently working as a teacher in the first high school in the country located within a jail and Julio Escobar is currently working with the Catholic Archdiocese to support the families of men and women who have been victims of homicide. Cheryl and Julio will share their experiences and the actions they are involved in. Please join us for a conversation on February 22nd.

Sponsored by Peace & Social Concerns Committee, San Francisco Friends Meeting

News from Friends

2015 February News from Ben Lomond Quaker Center

Come engage the wild expectation of Love loose in the universe potentially transforming everyone! Yet with this love comes a painful refining process accompanying the call to ministry. Marge Abbott and Julie Peyton from North Pacific Yearly Meeting will lead us for Walk Humbly – Serve Boldly from February 27th – March 1^st.  We will share ways that we as Friends are wrestling with the reality of prophetic ministry and how that shapes our lives as we seek to be faithful. Find out more and register at http://www.quakercenter.org/walk-humbly-serve-boldly/.

Join Doug Gwyn for Conversation with Christ: Quaker Meditations on the Gospel of John from March 20^th to 22^nd. “Listen in” on conversations in John, learn what early Friends heard in them, and enter into your own “conversation with Christ” through guided meditations. Register online at http://www.quakercenter.org/gospel-of-john/

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 6-11^th (Monday -Saturday). We will explore, in a variety of ways, how to live truthfully and compassionately to bring about the new day.

We hope you will come to Quaker Center soon and meet our two new residential staff members. Delaney Miller is our Administrative Assistant who lives in the apartment adjacent to the office with her partner Jeremy, and Brad MacDonald is now our Maintenance Technician, and lives in the house next to the shop with his fiance, Nikona, and her guide dog, Sanchez.

February 2015 News from AFSC

Internship Opportunities are available at FCNL and QUNO, with young adults encouraged to apply!  Information can be found at the below links:

http://fcnl.org/about/jobs/internship/    due February 15^th!

http://fcnl.org/about/jobs/summer_internships/

http://www.quno.org/opportunities  deadline is February 6^th!

Quarterly and Yearly Meeting News

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

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 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: 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)

Calendar of Events for January 2015

(all events at 65 9th St., unless noted; *see details elsewhere in newsletter)

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
28 9:15a Non-Violent Comm. Practice Group 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 1:10p SFFS Meeting 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‡ 7p Potluck & Quaker Study	23	24 10:30a-1p Food Pantry
25 9:15a Non-Violent Comm. Practice Group 11a Meeting for Worship 2nd Hour: “Displaced SF” Presentation	26	27	28 6p Meeting for Worship	29 12p Peace Vigil‡ 7p Potluck & Quaker Study	30	31 10:30a-1p Food Pantry

†San Francisco Friends School, 250 Valencia St.  ‡Federal Building, Golden Gate Ave. and Larkin St.