by Diane Bowden | Jul 7, 2013 | Meeting House
This is the entrance to the Meeting Room for Worship, located at 4500 Kensington Avenue. We began worshiping here in 1957 and most people find our Meetinghouse timeless, quaint, and charming in its simplicity. Our facility is comprised of two buildings, the Meeting Room for Worship and the Religious Education Building.
Meeting Room
The Meeting Room for Worship is a traditional Quaker Meeting Room, beautiful and calming in its simplicity; one senses serenity and light within this space. The Meeting Room is carpeted and is climate controlled. There is a piano, and the room is delightfully warm in its acoustics.
Community Room
The Multi-purpose Room is carpeted, spacious and well lit. The room can comfortably accommodate approximately 120 people. A white board is available for use at presentations.  Receptions, banquets, forums, seminars, dances, and other artistic performances have occurred here.  The room may be divided in two by use of a sliding wall.
Kitchen
Clean, plentiful counter space has been incorporated in the kitchen’s design and aids food preparation.  The kitchen, located on the first floor of the Religious Education Building, has the space to cook for many people.  There is a pass-through from the kitchen to the Multi-purpose Room that facilitates serving at banquets and receptions.
Classrooms
Our five classrooms are well lit, carpeted and suitably furnished; they are ideal for small group meetings and are used by some organizations for worship.  Located in our Religious Education Building, these rooms have been used by brides and their attendants to dress for wedding ceremonies.  We have audio-visual equipment if needed.  Our library (not pictured) contains Quaker literature, histories, and other socially relevant writings; it, too, can be used as a changing room for a wedding.
by Diane Bowden | Apr 20, 2013 | Testimonies
“Testimony” is used by Friends to describe actions and attitudes based on the realization that there is “that of God in everyone,” that all human beings are equal, and that all life is interconnected.   It is affirmative but may lead to action that runs counter to practices common in society at large.  Shunning conventional dogma, Quakers look to the testimonies to reflect our beliefs, wherever individual Friends may be on their personal spiritual journeys. Many use the acronym “SPICE” as a reminder of our testimonies.
Simplicity
This testimony means seeking to focus our attention on what is essential and eternal, without distraction by the transitory or the trivial. Â Â Plain and honest speech is an expression of simplicity. Â Â Respect for God’s creation and, therefore, concern for the environment and the right use of the world’s resources is another obvious expression of this testimony. Extravagance, wastefulness and artificially stimulated wants is seen to be a fundamental violation of the testimony of simplicity.
Peace
This leads Quakers to avoid war and violence, while also encouraging efforts to ease suffering of victims of war on all sides. It means efforts to be or to seek a reconciling force between peoples and nations in conflict. It means a constant search for nonviolent means of conflict resolution. It means a continuing search for peace and social justice through personal and group nonviolent techniques for mediation and social change.
Integrity
Integrity (truth) is a complex concept in Quakerism, involving honest, reliable truthfulness, honor, uprightness.  Sometimes the word is used more generally for the conviction and way of life and arise from worship. One example: The concern for truthfulness led early Friends to refuse to take oaths, which they considered a sign that there were different levels of truthfulness. They believed that truth was constant and that we should tell the truth all the time.
Community
Since there is “that of God in everyone, all human beings are brothers and sisters, one human family, no matter how great our differences of experience, of culture, of age, of understanding.  Friends have found that the Light may illuminate a gathered group as well as an individual heart and bind the group together in a community of faith, conscience and experience.
Equality
If God is within and directly accessible to all persons, then all persons are to be equally valued. Â This has been manifest in many ways, from opposition to slavery and the death penalty to our early incorporation of same-sex marriage within meeting.
Some Friends also include other testimonies, such as Unity, Compassion, Justice, Truth, and Stewardship, all consistent with our shared understanding and experience in silent worship.
by Diane Bowden | Nov 4, 2011 | Minuted Decisions, Peace and Social Concerns
For a number of years, groups of mostly RFM members and attenders have spent one-week in the spring working at sites affected by natural disasters, including the gulf coast (Hurricane Katrina), Ider, Alabama (tornadoes), and Crisfield, Maryland (Hurricane Sandy).
The following policy governing the oversight and financial support for disaster-relief groups was approved at the 11th month 2011 meeting for worship with a concern for business.
RFM policy governing the oversight and financial support for disaster-relief groups
Groups desiring to go on disaster relief missions as representatives of Richmond Friends Meeting will receive permission by writing to Peace and Social Concerns expressing their purpose, the dates of the trip, how the finances will be developed and a list of expected attendees. Disaster Relief groups will provide aid to the needy via labor to redevelop lost or damaged property, feed the hungry and serve the harmed following the principles of Quakerism. With the blessing of Richmond Friends Meeting, Peace and Social Concerns approval will allow the disaster mission to go as a Quaker group and allow them to hold fundraisers at Meeting. P&SC would request a short, written description of the work performed after their return.  A separate line item will be included in the Richmond Friends Meeting budget and each group will have the authority to collect donations that will be posted on this line item of Richmond Friends Meeting financial statements.
Presented at Meeting for Worship for Business, Nov. 20, 2011, by Martha Foster, Co-clerk P&SC
by Diane Bowden | Jun 3, 2011 | Adult Spiritual Education, History - RFM, Minuted Decisions
In her will, Jean Jones Anderson offered a bequest to Meeting, with the stipulation that it be used for adult spiritual education. After much consideration, in November 2011, Meeting approved the following policy governing the use of the bequest.
Recommendations from the Bequest Use Committee to Richmond Friends Meeting Approved by 11th Month Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business (11/21/2010)
After a series of committee meetings, a listening circle, presentation at 10th Month Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business, and with consideration of feedback from the broader RFM community, the Bequest Use Committee brought the following recommendations to 11th Month Meeting:
- The Bequest Use Committee recommends the formation of a new Committee: The Adult Spiritual Education Committee (ASE). This Committee would have responsibility for adult spiritual education as defined by Ministry & Worship, as specified in Jean’s will. Responsibilities of the new committee would include the study of scriptures (such as Bible Workbench), the study of Quaker history, testimonies, and values (such as Quakerism 101), study groups (such as Spiritual Formation), speakers, forums, adult religious education, and other activities. These responsibilities would transfer to ASE from Ministry & Worship (M&W) Committee. Fall Retreat will be a joint responsibility of these two committees.
- ASE would have an annual budget from Jean’s bequest to develop programs that benefit our Meeting as a whole and to purchase materials for Bible Workbench. In addition, ASE could use some funds to award need- based scholarships for individuals (members and attenders) who want to participate in adult spiritual education activities, especially those sponsored by the wider Religious Society of Friends. Because the Mary Hulburt Fund is designated for first-time participation in specific Quaker activities, it seems appropriate that ASE administer this fund.
- The Bequest Use Committee recommends that the members of ASE be members of Richmond Friends Meeting and that they be appointed for three years, with staggered initial terms to ensure continuity of membership over time. Current members of M&W who have one or two years remaining on their terms should be allowed to choose either to continue on M&W or to serve on ASE. Nominating Committee will determine the appropriate size of ASE and M&W and will fill ASE as soon as feasible. Like other committees, ASE will report periodically to Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business on its activities and accomplishments.
- ASE will work with Financial Stewardship to develop guidelines for the investment and expenditure of the bequest funds over time. ASE and Financial Stewardship will present these guidelines to Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business for approval as soon as practicable. In developing these guidelines, the committees will consider the following recommendations made by the Bequest Use Committee and approved, in principle, by Meeting at 11th Month Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business:
- Since the amount of the bequest funds is still unknown, the Bequest Use Committee recommends dividing the funds into two parts for budgeting purposes. The Bequest Use Committee recommends that $20,000 of the funds from the bequest be held in reserve, to be invested and monitored by Financial Stewardship. It is anticipated that these funds would grow over time and would generate income to be used for adult spiritual education after the amount over $20,000 (see paragraph 4.b., below) has been expended.
- The Bequest Use Committee recommends an annual budget for ASE of five to 10 percent of the amount of the bequest funds over $20,000 for a period of ten to twenty years, depending on the amount expended each year. The exact amount of each year’s budget will be determined through the normal budgeting process and approved in a Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business.
- Following the review and support of this proposal by M&W, this proposal was presented at the 11th Month Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business and refinements suggested at that Meeting are reflected here.
These recommendations were approved and the Bequest Use Committee is now laid down. (Committee Members: T.J. Armstrong, Diane Bowden, Howard Garner (clerk), Bette Gilchrist, Steve Humphrey and Rita Willett.)