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October 2004 Quakershaker
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QuakerShaker on-line distribution
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Nov 06, 2004 16:10 PST
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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 or subscribe to e-mail edition, e-mail
DABlan-@aol.com.
To subscribe or unsubscribe to paper e-mail edition, contact Harold
Putnam at HPu-@aol.com
In this issue
1.October Calendar
2.Jim Keen on Synthesis Dialogues
3. A Note from Our Clerk, Dale Blanchard
4. Mascot Pecans-Jane Morgan
5. Corrections
6. Use of Rockford
7. Dances of Universal Peace and Abwoon Study Circle -Denise Runyon
8. Friendly Living-Mary Thorp
9. Listening Spirituality Vol 2 - Reader's Copy Needed
10 OVYM 's New Address
11.Habits of a Lifetime
12.Old Clothes - New Friends
13.Joint Quarterly Meeting information
14.Meeting for Business Minutes - September 2004
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1. October 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<BR>
11:00 a.m. Meeting for Worship, Rockford (Childcare is available)
Wednesdays 7:00 a.m. Meeting for Worship, Rockford
7:00 p.m. Worship Sharing - Deepening the
Spiritual Life Rockford
Saturdays 12- 1:00 p.m. Peace Vigil, corner of Limestone & Xenia
Ave.
Sat.-Sun., Oct 9-10 Joint Quarterly Meeting, Nashville, IN
Sun., Oct 3 Monthly Meeting for Business, following a noon potluck,
Rockford
Thurs., Oct. 14 7:30 p.m. Jim Keen Discusses Synthesis Dialogs
(details below)
Sun., Oct. 24 3:00 -5:00 p.m. Dances of Universal Peace 5:00
-6:15 p.m. Abwoon Study Circle (details below)
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Deadline for November Quakershaker Sunday, October 24, is the deadline
for submissions for the November Quakershaker
Send submissions to Ann Cooper, at 937-767-7973, or email
Adco-@aol.com
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2. Jim Keen on Synthesis Dialogues
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Jim Keen will meet with Friends to talk about sessions he attended with
spiritual leaders from around the world. Jim spent a week in Italy,
involved in Synthesis Those attending included international experts in
conflict resolution, a Sufi master from Pakistan, a Cherokee medicine
woman, Ashok Rinpoche (a Tibetan spiritual master and the Dalai Lama,
who spent several days considering the progress in his country's
relationship with the Chinese. All are welcome to meet with Jim at
Rockford, October 14, at 7:30 p.m.
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And
they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God
boldly. All the believers were one in heart and mind Acts 4:31-32)
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3. A Note from Our Clerk, Dale Blanchard
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Recently our Nominating Committee requested that committees prepare
descriptions of what they do. Coming from the business world, I thought
I'd write a brief job description for Clerk of Meeting Friends may wish
to edit.
Job Title: Clerk of Meeting
Direct report to: The Divine.
Indirect report: Corporate body of Monthly Meeting. (Which also directly
reports to The Divine.)
Job Description: Servant of the corporate meeting, tends Monthly Meeting
for Business. Serves as initial monthly meeting contact person for
visitors and outside organizations. Sometimes called to redirect
communications between individuals and appropriate individuals or
committees within the meeting.
Duties: Presides over Monthly Meeting for Worship with Attention to
Business. Prepares, schedules and distributes agenda for Meeting for
Business each month. Reminds committee members of reports due to Monthly
Meeting; writes letters and minutes as needed. Synchronizes
correspondence and requests from outside and inside the meeting.
Retrieves, sorts and distributes correspondence from phone, regular mail
and e-mail. Welcomes everyone to Meeting for Worship, coordinates
announcements and introductions. Makes sure all meeting house worldly
doors, lights, fans and windows are opened, turned on, turned off,
closed and if necessary, locked, at appropriate times.
During Monthly Meeting for Business only, is corporate meeting's back-up
representative with the Divine; may be called to remind Friends of the
Divine connection and presence. Sets personal opinions aside on concerns
or items being considered. Gently but firmly shepherds discussions;
translates, interprets, then expresses sense of the meeting, remaining
open to others' perceptions of that sense of the meeting. As needed,
writes and presents proposed minutes for approval of corporate meeting.
May be slightly uneasy (when not amused) by reactions to clerk as
leader, pastor, spokesperson or administrator of the meeting.
A personal connection with the Divine and /or a desire for the same is
highly recommended.
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4. Mascot Pecans-Jane Morgan
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If anyone is interested in pecans by the case (a case is 24, 1-pound
bags), or ½-case or ¼-case, or less, please let me know by October 10
(767-1461). They will be this year's new crop of halves or pieces and
they will arrive before Thanksgiving. They are great for snacking,
cooking or for gifts. The proceeds from this sale will go to whatever
cause the Meeting wishes to support.
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5. Correction-Last month the Quakershaker ran an article about the Ohio
Valley Yearly Meeting gathering. Unfortunately, the list of attenders
omitted Lucas Blanchard-Glueckert. Lucas was there full time with the
Middle Youth group.
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6. 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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7. Dances of Universal Peace-Denise Runyon
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The Dances of Universal Peace (3-5:00 PM) and Abwoon Study Circle
(5-6:15 PM) will meet on Oct. 24th, at Rockford.
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8. 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 to purchase a copy.
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9. Book Needed
Kathy Angell is looking for a borrower's copy of Listening Spirituality,
Vol II. Anyone who has a copy to loan may contact Kathy Angell,
767-9019. Also, please return borrowers' copies of Vol. I to Dale
Blanchard.
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10. 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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11.Habits of a Lifetime
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An elderly Quaker lady, rich in this world's goods, fainted one day. As
she was being given a whiff of aromatic spirits of ammonia, she opened
one eye and said, "Don't waste it. Put the stopper in the bottle."
--from Laughter in Quaker Grey, Wm. Sessions
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12. Old Clothes, New Friends
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Clothing Drive for Children of Sierra Leone
Friends may have noticed a collection box in the entry of Rockford
recently. Randi Rothman, of the Yellow Springs Havurah, provides this
information about a clothing drive currently underway in Yellow Springs
and elsewhere. Our Friendly participation is invited in this good cause.
During an eleven-year civil war from 1991 to 2002, the children of
Sierra Leone were subjected to brutal violence and recruited as military
combatants. They lost parents, homes, schools and medical care. Some
three thousand children still beg in the streets of Freetown naked,
hungry and often missing limbs, victims of wanton cruelties. Faced with
this knowledge, we must place ameliorating human suffering at the
forefront of our collective consciousness.
To this end, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism has partnered
with Saving Needy Children and Arms Around Africa, two non-profit
humanitarian organizations, to hold a Sierra Leone Clothing Drive during
the summer months. This is the first time that Saving Needy Children and
Arms Around Africa have partnered with a Jewish organization.
During the Holy Days, we read the famous charge from Isaiah: "Is not
this the fast I look for: to unlock the shackles of injustice, to undo
the fetters of bondage, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every
cruel chain? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and to bring
the homeless poor into your house? When you see the naked, to clothe
them, and never to hide yourself from your own kin?" Together, we affirm
yet again the Jewish tradition of seeking justice and tikkun olam
(repair of the world) and together we will do our part to give the
children of Sierra Leone reason for hope of a better future.
For these High Holy Days (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Sept. 15- 25)
I'd like for us to place a box at Rockford Chapel that we can fill and
send. It may not be much, but it's something. <BR>
If folks don't feel like doing this as a group, you can send a box of
clothing directly from your home; we're asked to label it as follows:
The Religious Action Center's Sierra Leone Clothing Drive
c/o Saving Needy Children/Arms Around Africa
Mission Center 5 Pleasant View Drive
PO Box 2053
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
DONATION/NO VALUE
Items for collection include: shoes, t-shirts, shorts, underwear, socks,
hats, head scarves, sports equipment, toys, and school supplies. They
may new or gently used, and suitable for children of any age. All items
will be delivered to orphanages and camps.
For more information, see the website: http://www.rac.org/pubs/sl.html
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13. Joint Quarterly Meeting
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October 9-10 2004
Happy Hollow Children's Camp
Nashville, Indiana
Note: All times are Indiana Time (EST)
Saturday, October 9
Arrive at Happy Hollow as early as10:00am for committee meetings
Noon - 1:00 Registration
1:00 - 2:30 AVP and Make Peace presentation by Stanley Zarowin: "The
Alternatives to Violence Program/The Make Peace Program"
3:00 - 5:00 Miami & Whitewater Qtrs. Each meet for business
5:30 - 6:30 Dinner
6:30 - 7:00 Free time
7:00 - 9:00 Intergenerational Get-acquainted Activity and Contra Dance
Sunday, October 10
8:00 - 9:00 Breakfast
10:00 - 11:00 Meeting for Worship
11:00 - 12:00 Free time
12:00 Lunch
2:00 Depart
A program is planned for the children, middle youth and teens 9:00 -
10:00
The cabins are clean and have comfortable mattresses, but you will need
to bring your own bedding and towels. Also bring flashlight, toiletries,
raingear, musical instruments and (if you can) a snack to share
Saturday evening (such as a dozen cookies).
Registration due September 25, to Vernon Cherrett, 712 North CR 500
West, New Castle, IN 47362; or e-mail to: vcher-@hotmail.com
If you have questions, call Vernon Cherrett at 765/533-6565 or Diann
Herzog at 765/778-7143.
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14. Monthly Meeting for Business September 12, 2004
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Yellow Springs Friends met for business at Rockford September 12, 2004
Present were: Peg Champney, Jane Morgan, Jean Putnam, Harold
Putnam, Irwin Abrams, Joan Brucker, Susan Hyde, Mary Hyde, Bruce
Heckman, Allen Treadway, Betty Wagner, Paul Wagner, Kay Hollister,
Dale Blanchard, Deb Kociszewski, Carolyn Treadway, Mary Thorpe, Hazel
Tulecke, Claire Winold, Heidi Eastman, Ken Champney
The meeting opened in silence, which included prayerful consideration of
the eighth query on education and the ninth query on meeting for
business.The clerk read a passage from Beyond Consensus by Barry Morley.
Minutes.The recording clerk read the minutes from the July 11, 2004
Meeting for Business.
1. Letter of introduction. The clerk advised that a letter of
introduction has been issued for Mattie Fitch and will be submitted to
archive. Mattie will present the letter to the meeting she will
attend while at college.
2. Transfer of membership
Carolyn and Allen Treadway have requested that their membership be
transferred from Decatur Monthly Meeting of Illinois Yearly Meeting to
Yellow Springs Friends Meeting. Friends accepted the letter of
request; Carolyn and Allen will request the transfer from Decatur
Monthly Meeting.
3. Eyes Wide Open. The clerk read a minute summarizing Friends'
August 29 endorsement of Eyes Wide Open, an AFSC exhibit about the war
in Iraq. Friends approved the minute.
4. Blanket Presentation. Mary Hyde presented a blanket made by
First Day School students to be used by Friends at Rockford.
Friends accepted the gift with great thanks.
5. May, 2005 Miami Quarterly Meeting. Yellow Springs Friends will
host Miami Quarterly Meeting in May, 2005. We will need to provide a
location for worship and business, and plan Children's programs.
Friends suggested Bryan Center and Mills Lawn Elementary School as
locations.We will plan May 15, 2005 as the date. Susan Hyde and the
Hospitality Committee will check on facilities.
6. Ministry and Advancement. Bruce Heckman reported that Ministry
and Advancement would like to initiate a Wednesday evening worship
sharing starting in October from 7:00 to 8:30 PM.
Contact people will be Dale Blanchard, Cindy Butler-Jones and Deb
Kociszewski. Friends recommended background information on worship
sharing. Friends agreed to consider the future of the Wednesday
morning worship at a future time.
a. The Yellow Springs Friends Meeting retreat will be held Sept. 24-26,
2004.
b. Miami Quarterly Meeting February 2005 program will be taken up by
Ministry and Advancement in October, 2004.
c. Bruce Heckman will step aside as clerk of Ministry and Advancement
due to career demands.
7. Newsletter Committee. Irwin Abrams reported that the Newsletter
Committee has encouraged the newsletter editor to write editorials in
the Quakershaker and has invited the clerk to also write. The
committee proposes that Friends recommend books for purchase by the
Library Committee and write reviews of the recommended titles.
The committee explored opportunities to increase biographical
information with the Friends' community.
The committee recommended re-instating birthday notations in the
Quakershaker. Friends expressed thanks to Betty Wagner for the
birthday cards she makes and sends to children in the meeting.
8. OVYM Representative Report. Heidi Eastman reported that the OVYM
theme for the 2004 session was "Sharing our Stories". Heidi
especially appreciated the plenary by T. Canby Jones and the Worship
Sharing sessions. Heidi reported that the business meeting
discussed a change to the assessment policy and the Discipline revision
process. The meeting assessment for the next business year has increased
from $ 73 to $85 per recorded member.
OVYM approved a minute opposing the Defense of Marriage amendment to the
U.S. Constitution. The 2005 OVYM session will be held at
Wilmington College. The yearly meeting will consider the viability
of a two-year rotation between Wilmington College and Earlham College.
9. OVYM Assessment Minute.The clerk reported that the minute from
Whitewater Quarterly Meeting has been returned to constituent monthly
meetings with Miami Quarterly Meeting for further consideration and
response to the Quarterly Meeting.
10. Budget Committee.
Ken Champney reported that Yellow Springs Friends Meeting has become
more active in OVYM and the internet via our website. The result of the
increased activity is an increased need for funds. While expenses have
increased, contributions have declined. Friends were asked to consider
reminders for donations before accepting the budget. Friends were
reminded to submit the bills that need to be paid in a timely manner.
Committees are asked to carefully consider the budget requests and
expenses.
11. Miami Quarterly Meeting Representative. Claire Winold will
serve as Yellow Springs Friends representative to the Joint Quarterly
Meeting October 9-10, 2004 at Happy Hollow Children's Camp in Nashville,
Indiana.
12. Peace and Social Concerns. Peace and Social Concerns will hold
a brown bag discussion about the Iraq war on September 19 after Meeting
for Worship
The meeting closed in silent worship.
The next meeting for business will be Sunday, October 3, 2004 at 12:45
PM at Rockford.
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On Stewardship-from the Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting Book of Discipline
If we are true followers of Jesus, we must ever be seeking to bring
conditions of life in this world into conformity with the purposes of
God. It cannot be God's will that vast numbers of our brothers and
sisters should pass their lives in surroundings that render difficult
the quickening of the Divine Spirit within them.
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Tenth Query: Simplicity Stewardship
Do you endeavor to live in harmony with nature, avoiding pollution and
the destruction of our environment? What are you doing about your use of
the world's irreplaceable resources? Are you concerned for family and
population planning so that future generations will be able to live on
the resources available to them?
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end of October 2004 Quakershaker
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