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September 2004 QuakerShaker
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QuakerShaker on-line distribution
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Sep 02, 2004 05:26 PDT
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This is the September 2004 e-mail version of the QuakerShaker,
Newsletter of the Yellow Springs meeting of the Religious Society of
Friends.
For information or feedback about the newsletter, contact the editor,
Ann Cooper, at adco-@aol.com.
To unsubscribe from e-mail edition, e-mail DABlan-@aol.com.
To subscribe to paper e-mail edition, contact Harold Putnam at
HPu-@aol.com.The Quakershaker
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In this issue
1. September Calendar
2. US Actions in Iraq—Denise Runyon
3. Friendly Living—Mary Thorp
4. Yellow Springs Friends Retreat Sign Up!
5. OVYM Brown Bag Discussion—Notes from Dale Blanchard
6. OVYM ‘s New Address
7. On Spirituality: A Quaker Perspective—Irwin Abrams
8. The Way to York
9. Joint Quarterly Meeting
10. Dances of Universal Peace
11. Eva Paige Shares Her Experience of Pendle Hill
12. Eyes Wide Open: Beyond Fear—Towards Hope
13. Monthly Meeting for Business
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1. September Calendar
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Sundays 8:30 a.m. Meeting for Worship, Rockford
10:00 a.m. Friendly Living Discussion, Rockford
First Day School for Children, starting Sept. 12
11:00 a.m. Meeting for Worship, Rockford (Childcare is available)
Wednesdays 7:00 a.m. Meeting for Worship, Rockford
Saturdays 12-1:00 p.m. Peace Vigil, corner of Limestone & Xenia
Ave.
Sun., Sept. 12 First Day School for Children begins, 10:00,
Rockford
Monthly Meeting for Business, following a noon potluck, Rockford
Thurs., Sept. 16 Eva Paige talks about her Pendle Hill Experience,
7:30-9 pm, Rockford (item 12)
Sun., Sept. 19 Deadline for October Quakershaker
Peace & Social Concerns Brown Bag Sharing: Iraq (item 2)
Fri—Sun., Sept. 24-26 Yellow Springs Friends Retreat, Glen Helen
Outdoor Education Center (item 4)
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2. US Actions in Iraq—Denise Runyon
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The Peace & Social Concerns Committee will host a Brown Bag Sharing
session on September 19, at Rockford, following the rise of Meeting for
Worship. Friends will gather to share what’s in our hearts about US
actions in Iraq. Friends are invited to bring prepared statements, if
they wish. Those gathered will serve as witnesses to each other and will
surround these concerns in prayer.
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3. Friendly Living—Mary Thorp
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Friends continue to meet at 10:00 a.m. on First Days to discuss writings
about living out our Quaker faith. The current book is Patricia Loring’s
Listening Spirituality, Vol. II; please contact Dale Blanchard if you
need a copy.
Sunday, September 19, is the deadline for submissions for the October
Quakershaker
Send submissions to Ann Cooper, at 937-767-7973, or email
Adco-@aol.com
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4. Yellow Springs Friends Retreat Sign Up!
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Glen Helen Outdoor Education Center, Yellow Springs
September 24-26
Please fill out and return to Cindy Butler-Jones at Meeting, by
September 17.
You can also e-mail Cindy at cbutler-@who.rr.com, or mail to Yellow
Springs Friends Meeting; PO Box 45; Yellow Springs, OH 45387.
Cost is $30.00 for the entire weekend. Free to those 18 and under, and
to anyone attending for less than a year. Teens can bring a friend for
$15.00. If you are coming part-time, donations accepted and appreciated.
Scholarships available if your budget is too stretched!
Are you planning to attend the retreat?
___Yes ___No ___Some of it
Which times will you attend?
___Friday night ___Saturday a.m. ___Saturday p.m.
___Sunday a.m. ___Sunday p.m.
Which meals will you be there for? (For meal planning—if more than one
person, please put number of people for each meal).
___Friday bonfire ___Saturday breakfast ___Saturday lunch
___Saturday dinner ___Sunday breakfast ___Sunday lunch
Would you like to sign up for the Saturday night talent show?
___Yes ___No ___Already did ___Undecided
How many adults ____, teens ____, children ____, in your party?
Any special food needs? _________________
How many will be attending sleepovers?
___Fri. teens ___Fri. middle youth ___Fri. adults ___Fri. children
(w/ adults only)
___Sat. teens ___Sat. middle youth ___Sat adults ___Sat children (w/
adults only)
Special needs? (transportation, off-site lodging, childcare)
________________________
Your name______________________________
E-Mail address __________________________
Phone number __________________________
Do you need directions to Glen Helen Outdoor Education Center? ___Yes
___No
Do you need scholarship? ___Yes ___No
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5. OVYM Brown Bag Discussion—Notes from Dale Blanchard
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About a dozen Friends who attended Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting told about
their experiences during a brown bag discussion at Rockford on August
22. Some have attended every year, for nearly 15 years; for others this
was a first experience of Yearly Meeting.
Heidi Eastman said the gathering had been a very good experience,
opening resources for Meetings and individuals. She spoke of the
gathering theme, “Telling our Stories of Faith,” and how this was
evident, especially in the Friday night sharing. Other Friends agreed
the program was inspiring, and noted that David Hyde had been the first
to speak. Those present appreciated this, and noted David’s sense of
humor.
Teens and Middle Youth participated in individual work projects,
clearing brush for a path along the river (to be continued), and helping
in a restaurant where homeless guests sit down to be served rather than
pass through a cafeteria line. Parents of teens found a teen-led
discussion group one of the weekend highlights. Participants appreciated
the dynamic of teens posing challenging questions for adults and other
teens to discuss. T. Canby Jones’ impersonation of George Fox, complete
with leather breeches and shaggy locks, was a point of interest for the
Middle Youth group.
OVYM representatives and others discussed topics including assessment, a
possible FWCC conference coming to the Ohio-Indiana-Kentucky area in
three or four years, and our Monthly Meeting’s need for more involvement
in the Discipline revision. A treasurer’s report showed that Yellow
Springs is now the largest Monthly Meeting in OVYM, with 120 members.
Details about our assessment will be further discussed at our Monthly
Meeting for Business in September.
The Friends Music Camp concert coincided with OVYM this year, as it has
in the past. Some suggested combining the concert and Yearly Meeting, a
possibility in 2005 when OVYM returns to Wilmington. Benefits might
include allowing Friends to experience both, and introducing the concert
experience to a wider circle of Friends.
Friends who attended Yearly Meeting in 2004, would love to see others at
next year’s gathering. They found it a great place to build new
relationships, visit with old f/Friends, discover resources, and enjoy
spiritual growth. Though volunteering for committee work is not
required, several who chose to do so found their experiences rewarding.
The gathering also provides an excellent family vacation option, with
activities for toddlers, teens, young Friends, new parents, middle-aged
and “ancient” Quakers, as John Woolman would say.
Attenders included Deb Kociszewski, Heidi Eastman, Nick Eastman,
Victoria Burke, Dale Blanchard, Don Hollister, Kay Hollister, Denise
Runyon, Tom Malcom, Gwen Glowaski, and the Hyde family—David, Susan, Ed,
James, Mary and Laura.
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6. OVYM ‘s New Address
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Greetings from Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting!
We have a new mailing address and a new clerk. Please update your
records.
Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting
P.O. Box 1333
Richmond, Indiana 47374
Clerk: Virginia Wood, vwo-@donet.com
Contact Person: Krystin Schmidt, ovym-@insightbb.com, 765-962-5227
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7. On Spirituality: A Quaker Perspective—Irwin Abrams
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(Adapted from an item in a Yellow Springs News series on different
religions)
Quakers are better known for their works than for their faith.
What won them the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947, for example, was their
relief of suffering caused by the war. Such a tribute recognizes the
attempt to do justly and to love mercy, but may not acknowledge that
such good works are the outcome of a more fundamental drive, the effort
to “walk humbly with thy God.”
If by spirituality we mean the nature of our relationship to God, the
distinctive Quaker emphasis has been not on creed or ritual, but upon
direct experience of the Divine.
The central conviction of the Religious Society of Friends, as
expressed by George Fox, its 17th Century founder, is that “there is
that of God in everyone.” But what Fox said about God was based upon his
own experience. “This I knew experimentally,” he wrote in his Journal.
Friends know “experimentally” that there ius in each of us something of
the Divine Spirit, that each of us can come into communion with Fod,
that we can open ourselves to the universal force of love, sense our
unity with all humanity, make our lives channels through which the
Eternal Spirit can be active in the world of the here and now. The life
and teaching of Jesus stand as a supreme demonstration of our Divine
potential.
In our times of worship together, we have no prearranged program. Every
meeting for worship is an adventure; we are accustomed to the
unexpected. We sit in silence, “waiting upon the Lord,” trying to still
the distracting thoughts of the momentary, to center down to our
innermost selves, to listen for the prompting of the Spirit.
Any worshipper may become the vocal instrument through which
inspiration comes to us. It may be through a prayer one feels called to
utter, some lines from the Bible that another sees in a new light, a
moral concern that has taken hold of someone, a recent experience that
has become illuminated, or some other deep thought that is wanting to be
shared. We may even remain completely silent, but it can be a living
silence, a profound stillness in which we con have an overpowering sense
of our unity with God and with one another.
While in our group meetings for worship, we gain strength from one
another as each individual seeks to draw closer to that of God within.
In our everyday lives, each of us is trying to “walk humbly with our
God,” in his or her own way.
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8. The Way to York
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A traveler, lost on a Yorkshire moor, met a Quaker and said to him,
“This is the way to York, is it not?” To which the other replied,
”Friend, first thou tellest me a lie and then thou asketh me a
question.”
—from Laughter in Quaker Grey, collected by William H. Sessions
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9. Joint Quarterly Meeting—Dale Blanchard
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Here are some tentative details about the Joint Quarterly Meeting of
Whitewater and Miami Quarters, to be held in October. Friends
interested in carpooling should contact Dale Blanchard (767-7891), who
will try to match drivers with those needing rides.
October 9-10, Happy Hollow Campground
10:00 Committee Meetings
12:00-1:00 Registration
1:00-2:00 Intergenerational Presentations: Alternatives to Violence and
the Make Peace programs, by Stanley Zarowin, NMCF
2:00-3:00 Intergenerational Small Group Worship Sharing: Queries related
to the earlier presentations, adding personal messages to a Make Peace
Scroll
3:00-5:00 Meeting for Business
Meeting of Middle Youth and Teens: Military Draft (tentative)
5:00-6:00 Dinner
6:00-7:00 Free Time
7:00-9:00 Intergenerational Fun: Possible Contra Dance, Cha Cha Cha
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10. Dances Of Universal Peace & Abwoon Study Circle
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September 26, at Rockford. Dances at 3-5 pm; Study Circle at 5-6:15 pm
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11. Eva Paige Shares Her Experience of Pendle Hill
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All are invited to meet with Eva Paige on September 16, from 7:30-9 pm,
at Rockford. Eva will talk about the time she spent at Pendle Hill, from
January to June of this year.
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Use of Rockford Meeting House
Contact Joanne Prinz, Antioch University, 769-1370, jpr-@Antioch.edu,
to schedule use of the Meeting House.
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12. Eyes Wide Open: Beyond Fear—Towards Hope
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An Exhibition of the Iraq War September 24-27, 2004
10:00-7:00, Friday, Saturday & Monday
12:00-7:00, Sunday
Cross Creek United Church of Christ
State Rte. 725; Centerville
This multimedia exhibition and project of the American Friends
Service Committee will visit the Dayton area from September 24-28. The
exhibit includes presentation of combat boots marked with the names of
U.S. military victims of the war, panels listing the names of Iraqi
civilian victims, an audio-video exposure to the realities of the war,
and a presentation of the cost of the war. Eyes Wide Open has been
displayed in many U.S. cities, including Washington, D.C., during
Memorial Day weekend, and in Boston during the Democratic National
Convention. The mainstream media have taken note of the poignancy of the
display, and it has been featured in news stories, both print and video.
For more information about the Dayton-area visit of Eyes Wide Open,
contact Barb Roberts at the Dayton AFSC office, 278-4225, or email
AFSC-@aol.com. For more information about the history and experience
of the exhibit, Friends can visit the websites www.eyes.peacechicago.org
and www.afsc.org. Deb Kociszewski of Yellow Springs Friends Meeting is
serving on the local planning committee for the exhibit. Volunteers are
needed for a variety of duties related to hosting the event.
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13. Monthly Meeting for Business
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The next meeting for business will be Sunday, September 12, 2004 at
12:45 PM at Rockford.
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