by Diane Bowden | May 11, 2016 | Committees
Hello Friends! Spring Retreat is coming soon, on the weekend of May 27 – May 29, and this year we have an online registration form that you can access at this address.
Our theme is Telling Our Stories, and we’ll have opportunities for you to tell stories or listen to stories, and of course, all the other great opportunities to enjoy each other and the beautiful Clearing, whether you want to camp, stay in one of the sleeping cabins, or just come for the day on Saturday.
Please do register though! It really helps us to plan the correct amount of food, avoiding waste and avoiding having too little. Also, please don’t worry about not having the money for the registration fee. Scholarships are available.
We can’t wait to see you! -Ted Heck, for the Spring Retreat Committee
by Diane Bowden | May 10, 2016 | Peace and Social Concerns
In March, the Meeting minuted support of six youth (Emma Blake, Max Thoburn, Dorsey Crocker, Justin Sykes, Jordan Keller and Olivia Duncan) who had shared their written personal statements of conscience. As follow-up to this moving testimony, members and attenders were invited to write their letters of support on behalf of these youth. Such letters will be housed in Meeting archives and available to the youth in the event they are called up by Selective Service for the military.
In April, members and attenders were given additional information for writing their letters of support. At the request of members who earlier asked to read the statements again in preparation for their letter-writing, students asked that these not be placed on the website or in the newsletter for privacy concerns. Instead letters will be maintained under the foyer bulletin boards in a white notebook for members to re-read on Sunday mornings over the next month. Extra copies of statements may be taken home if you wish to have such in front of you when you write. Statements will also be available at the April 22 coffee house sponsored by RE.
Please address your letter either (1) to the student by name or (2) to the Clerk of Richmond Meeting on behalf of the student. Be sure to include the student name or names. Letters can be any length. If you wish to include something you know personally about the youth, please do so. Be sure to date and sign your name. Regretfully for letter writers, a letter on behalf of all six youth does not work. If a youth wishes to use them for Selective Service business at a future date, other names would be contained in the supporting document and would violate the privacy of those youth.
Please leave your support letters in the Historian’s mailbox hopefully by the May 15 Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business. Your letter(s) of support will be shared with each youth over the next few months. For questions, please email or call Betsy Brinson.
by Diane Bowden | May 4, 2016 | Adult Spiritual Education
Friends:
The Adult Spiritual Education Committee is seeking your feedback on the series “Living the Quaker Life.” If you attended one or more sessions, please let us know how you experienced it and your ideas for the future. Reprints of the form below will be available at Meeting for Worship over the coming weeks or you can print a copy, complete the form, and bring to Meeting.
We are also eager to hear from those of you who did not participate. We would like to have your ideas and suggestions for future programs and series.
We look forward to receiving your feedback and suggestions.
Adult Spiritual Education Committee
The link below opens the feedback form:
ASE Living the Quaker Life Feedback Form
by Diane Bowden | Apr 27, 2016 | Peace and Social Concerns
The following is an excerpt from letter from Shan Cretin, General Secretary, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC).
No other country imprisons more people than the United States. In 2014 over 1.5 million people were incarcerated in the U.S. at a cost of $80 billion—approximately $51,250 per person imprisoned. The U.S. has just 5% of the world’s population, but the number of people behind bars in our country makes up 25% of the entire world’s prison population.
This incarceration epidemic is a moral crisis that hits hard on communities of color and the poor. Imagine if just a fraction of the billions being spent on mass incarceration was directed towards public schools, substance abuse treatment, mental health services, job training, and other services to keep people out of prison.
For information about AFSC’s efforts to end mass incarceration and how you can make a donation, visit the AFSC website.
by Diane Bowden | Apr 27, 2016 | Children and Religious Education, Peace and Social Concerns
For Grade 6 and above: Richmond Youth Peace Summit Saturday, April 30, 2016
The Richmond Peace Education Center will hold its 2016 Youth Peace Summit on Saturday April 30, 2016, at St. Paul’s Baptist Church–Southside Campus, 700 E Belt Blvd., Richmond, VA 23223. The summit will feature a morning large group session, as well as 90-minute small group workshops for groups of about 12-15 teen participants.
Participants will also be served lunch; after lunch there will also be a program of music, dance and spoken word poetry. The event is FUN and FREE for teens grade 6 and above. Advance registration is required. To pre-register online, go to the registration page or send an email to rpec@rpec.org.
The summit emphasizes cooperation and collaboration among Metro Richmond’s diverse populations of young people. Small group workshop choices include conflict resolution, anger management, healthy relationships, understanding Islam, hip-hop dance and culture, drumming, know your rights, Sudanese cooking and more! All workshops are active and participatory.
For more information: email rpec@rpec.org or call 232-1002