by Diane Bowden | Jun 19, 2018 | Announcement, Committees, Peace and Social Concerns, Uncategorized
The Workcamp committee installed plantings for new homeowner, Sandra, at her home in southside Richmond, on June 2. The mission of this committee is:
The Workcamp Committee at Richmond Friends Meeting seeks to act on the Quaker belief that there is that of God in every person. We believe that working cooperatively can put us in touch with that deeper spirit. We seek to do physical work in the spirit of love. Working with a homeowner, we will devise a plan for the yard. With the homeowner, we will plant shrubs and flowers. We
have found that working together enhances relationships, which is our deeper mission. We believe that working with others in our community has tremendous potential to build relationships and reduce misunderstanding.
Sandra is a new homeowner recommended by HOME (Housing Opportunities Made Equal). Meeting with two committee members, Anne Gray and
Barbara Myers, a week in advance, we planned a small vegetable garden (tomatoes and okra) for Sandra’s sunny back yard and hydrangeas, azalea, and small hollies for the front of her brick house. It was a warm sunny day, and committee members Wendy Wadsworth (co-clerk), Barbara Myers (co-clerk), Anne Gray, Anna Best, Anne Atkins, Carolyn Moul, Mark Perry, Paul Kvam, and Al Best dug up the grass and installed the new plantings. A flat of begonias and a deep covering of mulch provided the finishing touch to the new garden. We had a picnic lunch in the shade and celebrated the new look of Sandra’s yard. Sandra later wrote to us, “I love my lawn. My family, friends, and neighbors have all expressed how beautiful my lawn looks. Thanks sooo much for your hard work and kindness. May God bless you all for being thoughtful and loving neighbors.”
by Diane Bowden | Aug 22, 2017 | Announcement, Committees, Peace and Social Concerns
As part of Richmond Friends Meeting’s support and welcome for people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions, the Visibility Coordinators, in collaboration with the Ministry and Worship Committee, have registered for a booth at VA PrideFest 2017. This year, PrideFest will be held Saturday, September 23, 2017, from 12-8 pm on Brown’s Island.
PrideFest is a free, family-friendly event with vendors, food, activities and entertainment, organized and operated by Virginia Pride to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community in Virginia. RFM planning for the event will begin in early September. For more information, contact Diana Cole, Julia Hebner or Jim Thoroman.
by Diane Bowden | Apr 21, 2017 | Peace and Social Concerns
You are invited to attend MAY DAY RVA – May 1st, 10:30 am – 8 pm at Abner Clay Park, 200 West Clay Street. New Virginia Majority, Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy (VICPP), Southerners on New Ground (SONG) and other local community groups are sponsoring the “MAY DAY RVA” event in conjunction with similar gatherings throughout the country in support of immigrants, workers, and those who are marginalized.
Schedule of events for the day:
10:30 Interfaith Prayers -Vigilia Interreligiosa
11:00 Community Art Showcase -Demuestro de arte comunitario
12:45 March -Marcha
4:00 Cook out (Abner Clay) -Cena en el parque
6:30 Parade -Desfile
Additional healing spaces will be provided. The whole day is family-inclusive. For additional information, contact Lana Heath de Martinez at lana@virginiainterfaithcenter.org.
by Diane Bowden | Apr 21, 2017 | Peace and Social Concerns
From the Baltimore Yearly Meeting Working Group on Racism:
In his recent (2016) book, Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching: A Young Black Man’s Education, writer Mychal Denzel Smith includes a chapter about his personal struggles with depression. He goes deeply into how difficult it is for black men, whose persona is generally supposed to be macho, to acknowledge mental health problems and any need for – or access to — mental health treatment.
“What would happen if we reframed the way we understand black male life in a way that took mental health seriously? If we looked outside and didn’t see ruthless gangbangers but teenage boys left hopeless and giving themselves suicide missions. If instead of chastising young men for fighting over sneakers we asked why they feel worthless and unseen without them. If we didn’t label them junkies but rather recognized their need for affirmation. If we held our boys close when they cried instead of turning them away to face the frustration, pain, and sadness ‘like a man.’ If we believed black boys were worthy of second chances that didn’t involve prison cells. What if?”
by Diane Bowden | Apr 21, 2017 | Peace and Social Concerns
Registration is now open for the Richmond Youth Peace Summit, Saturday, April 29, 2017. This program, sponsored annually by the Richmond Peace Education Center, will be held at St. Paul’s Baptist Church, Southside campus, 700 E. Belt Blvd. Richmond, VA 23224, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event is open to young people from throughout central Virginia, ages 12-19, free of charge. Lunch is provided.
Participants learn leadership and conflict resolution skills, ways to work for social justice and have fun through music, dance, and yoga! The Summit will also feature a panel discussion with stories from immigrant youth.
Morning and afternoon workshops offer a variety of topics including:
- • Building Healthy Relationships
- • Anger Management
- • Preventing Human Trafficking
- • Indonesian and Latino cooking and culture
- • Capoeira
- • Drumming
- • Yoga
- • Cross-Cultural Understanding
- • and much, much more!
The Summit also includes a midday performance by talented local musicians, dancers and poets. And participants can earn credit for six community service hours.
Teens can register online at www.rpec.org/summit or by emailing rypp@rpec.org. Registration in advance is required. Groups are welcome!
The Youth Peace Summit is organized by the Richmond Peace Education Center. The Summit is part of the Richmond Youth Peace Project program for teenagers, a Peace Center collaboration with Drums No Guns. Through the Richmond Youth Peace Project, we empower teenagers to be leaders for nonviolence and community change. For more information: rypp@rpec.org or 804-232-1002.
by Diane Bowden | Apr 21, 2017 | Peace and Social Concerns, Topics
The Richmond Peace Education Center is looking for a skilled volunteer for a bookkeeping position that is essential to the work and functioning of all of the Peace Center’s activities.
For more information, send email to rpec@rpec.org.
To learn about RPEC, visit rpec.org.
by Diane Bowden | Apr 15, 2017 | Adult Spiritual Education, Peace and Social Concerns
Sponsored by the Peace and Social Concerns and Adult Spiritual Education Committees of the Richmond Friends Meeting (Quakers)
WHEN: Sunday, April 30th, 12:30 PM
WHERE: Richmond Friends Meeting, Community Room 4500 Kensington Avenue, Richmond (Please park on Commonwealth Avenue)
FORUM PARTICIPANTS:
1) Linda Rabben, PhD.., author, and anthropologist who has written several books including Give Refuge to the Stranger: the Past, Present and Future of Sanctuary” and Sanctuary and Asylum.; attender at Adelphi Friends Meeting.
2) Lana Heath de Martinez, (M. Div, Union Theological Seminary), “Welcoming All Coordinator” from Virginia Interfaith Center (VICPP), Legislative Coordinator for Virginia Coalition of Latin American Organizations (Vacolao) during 2017 General Assembly. Lana is supporting/facilitating efforts of the VICPP Circles of Protection Sanctuary Network – Central Virginia.
3) Jennifer L. West, J.D., from UNC School of Law, Immigration & Nationality Attorney at Law Offices of Hyder and Overas, Richmond, Va, since 2002, member American Immigration Lawyers Association.
This forum will focus on:
**a history of the Sanctuary movement, specifically sanctuary provided by congregations and individuals, including the more recent Sanctuary movement of the past decade;
**information about ICE detentions in the Richmond area in recent years and under the current administration; Circles of Protection Sanctuary Network (VICPP)
**support and care for the vulnerable, undocumented, immigrants who have been detained or deported and their families; Power-of-Attorney clinics;
**and the legal aspects of providing Sanctuary as a congregation and/or an individual Faith communities have been mobilizing around the Sanctuary Movement and have been considering how best to protect, care for, and be allies with the undocumented, detained immigrants, and the families and loved ones of those deported.
Additional information: contact Sally Gudas at seatide1@gmail.com, (804)399-8342.
Finger foods, snacks, and drinks will be provided.
by Diane Bowden | Mar 27, 2017 | Adult Spiritual Education, Peace and Social Concerns
The RFM Peace and Social Concerns Committee is aware that the current U.S. administration is going forward with plans to increase the number of deportations of the undocumented and expand the scope of these deportations. Our Quaker testimonies of equality, community, and integrity cause us to hold in the Light the impact on the undocumented immigrant community of an unjust immigration system that harms people’s human and civil rights and tears families apart, and children from parents.
At our March P&SC Meeting, we had a brief presentation on the topic of Sanctuary by Lana Heath de Martinez, staff member of the Virginia Interfaith Center (VICPP). Lana is supporting/facilitating efforts of congregations throughout the State of Virginia as they learn about how to provide Sanctuary to these undocumented immigrants facing deportation.
To further educate ourselves and the Meeting about the needs of the immigrant community and all the aspects of Sanctuary, the Peace & Social Concerns Committee is co-sponsoring with Adult Spiritual Education an Educational Forum about Sanctuary to be held April 30th, at the Rise of Meeting in the community room. Light finger food, snacks, and drinks will be provided. We have invited the following participants to date:
- 1) Linda Rabben, PhD., attender at Adelphi Friends Meeting , author, and anthropologist who has written several books including “Give Refuge to the Stranger: the Past, Present and Future of Sanctuary” and “Sanctuary and Asylum”. Dr. Rabben conducts presentations about Sanctuary.
- 2) Lana Heath de Martinez, (M. Div, Union Theological Seminary) and Welcoming All Coordinator from Virginia Interfaith Center (VICPP)
- 3) Immigration Attorney (name not yet confirmed).
Sanctuary – brief history:
The practice of Sanctuary has a long history as a tradition of religious communities during situations of human despair. From the ancient Hebrew communities, the Christian churches of the late Roman Empire, to the church of England in the late medieval period, churches provided refuge to those fleeing governmental punishments for a variety of reasons. In the US, the first time that a practice surfaced similar to sanctuary was the Underground Railroad that developed to help slaves flee their masters in the South and find safety in homes and congregations far away.
In the early 1970s, again church communities provided sanctuary within their churches to conscientious objectors who had been drafted to the War in Vietnam.
In the 1980s, refugees fled from Civil Wars in Central America to the US, but the US did not recognize them as political refugees seeking asylum. The Sanctuary Movement protected some of these refugees while protesting this practice with the US government; at the time, the US was directly supporting the Central American dictators and death squads. The Sanctuary Movement’s efforts at the time resulted in including Central Americans in US asylum laws in the 1986 immigration reform law.
Neighborhood raids by Immigration enforcement in the US escalated beginning in 2006 and the New Sanctuary Movement evolved from coalitions of congregations in major cities throughout the US.
The Sanctuary Movement Today
Under the Obama Administration rising rates of deportation continued and congregations recommitted themselves to Sanctuary.
Before the November 2016 presidential election there were approximately 400 congregations engaged in the work of sanctuary across the nation — since the election that number has doubled as communities of faith across the nation, due to concerns that the number and scope of deportations is being greatly expanded.
by Diane Bowden | Mar 2, 2017 | Peace and Social Concerns
From the Peace and Social Concerns Committee and Denna Joy:
Peace and Social Concerns Committee would like collect supplies in March in support of the students at Armstrong High School. I have been part of the support staff there for a number of years. Armstrong is a Richmond Public School High School located in the city’s east end. It has a proud history. It was founded in the 1870s as the Richmond Colored Normal School and became the first public school in Richmond for African American students. The school was named for Union General Armstrong, a white commander of colored troops during the Civil War who founded Hampton Institute, a historically black college. Alumni speak with pride of the strong school spirit of Armstrong students.
Today, Armstrong High School is on its fourth location. It sits on the edge of Fairfield Court, on the border of Henrico County. The Armstrong zone includes students who come from all four subsidized housing communities in the east end. Many face the trauma of living daily in dangerous, high crime neighborhoods. They struggle with poverty, stresses at home and a community in need of more resources. As a result, many of our students are often chronically late and find remaining in school and graduating on time very difficult. Included in our population are students classified as homeless; they have no permanent residence. Many are doubled up with friends or relatives or living in motels. On paper, the number of reported homeless students is close to 45. However, staff feels that number is probably much higher. Particularly hard to serve are our over eighteen homeless students who are” couch surfing”- staying where ever they can. The resilience and persistence our students demonstrate is humbling. We have a food and clothes pantry designed to serve these students. They are often in need of food when they come into school in the morning or something to take home with them for the evening. While all RPS students receive free breakfast, many of our students are just not in the building at 7:30 when breakfast is served. So we are asking folks to contribute food items to the pantry. Additional supplies such as deodorant, laundry detergent and feminine hygiene products are usually in short supply.
Also in the building is a child care center for infants and toddlers of parents attending Armstrong. This support allows young parents to have a safe space for their children to be while they attend school. Parents are asked to bring supplies such as diapers, baby swipes and Vaseline to school. But like deodorant and feminine products, these items cannot be bought with food stamps.
PSC will be collecting:
Breakfast foods– Pop tarts, soft granola bars, packets of cold cereal
Hygiene products– male and female deodorant- both solid and spray, sanitary napkins
Baby products– diapers sizes 4, 5, 6, Vaseline, diaper swipes.
Laundry supplies– boxes containing liquid pods or packs for easy transport
by Diane Bowden | Mar 2, 2017 | Peace and Social Concerns
The Thrifty Quaker on Midlothian Turnpike will sponsor Quaker House in March. This is a good time to donate items that have been gathering dust in your closet for a good cause.
The Thrifty Quaker is located in the Midlothian Station Shopping Center at the corner of Midlothian Turnpike (Rt. 60) and Coalfield Road. The address is 13567 Midlothian Turnpike, Midlothian VA 23113. They are in the corner of the ‘L’ shaped shopping center. The TQ website is at http://www.thriftyquaker.com.
by Diane Bowden | Feb 11, 2017 | Peace and Social Concerns, Testimonies
Randee Humphrey, Clerk of Richmond Friends Meeting, joined a number of religious and organizational leaders at a Standing Together press conference, held at Temple Best-El on December 1, 2016, to demonstrate support for those who were increasingly targeted over the previous month and to stand together against divisive and bigoted rhetoric and actions. Along with others, Randee delivered prepared remarks.
The Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities posted short videos of all eight speakers on their Facebook page, here. The videos were posted on December 2. The video of Randee is part 4.
A PDF copy of Randee Humphrey’s remarks: Randee Humphrey remarks.
A PDF copy of the Standing Together program and pledge: Standing Together program.
by Diane Bowden | Nov 29, 2016 | Adult Spiritual Education, Peace and Social Concerns
The Friends Committee on National Legislation is now registering for their next Spring Lobby Weekend to be held March 18-21, 2017. The topic will be “Dismantling Income Inequality.”
The program is basically three days of workshops and one day of lobbying, urging members of Congress to:
Support a jobs program for the 21st Century
Modernize our unemployment system for today’s workforce
Stop taxing single people and people under 25 into poverty
For full information and to register, go to fcnl.org … Click on “Action & Events” then “Events” then “Spring Lobby Weekend.”
Registration is only $50, an inexpensive lodging may be available at the hostel, but that may be already fully booked. The RFM Adult Spiritual Education Committee encourages participation, particularly by younger Quakers, and will provide scholarships to this event, up to $400 per person, available to members and attenders of our meeting age 40 and under.
by Diane Bowden | Aug 28, 2016 | Children and Religious Education, Peace and Social Concerns
RE and P&SC Committees again cosponsor the annual IDoP event at Meeting. A great opportunity for children, families and all at Meeting to share some quiet attention to peace – in ourselves, our Meeting, our neighborhood, our community and beyond.
The International Day of Peace is celebrated September 21st every year and is one of the traditions of our Meeting. We gather together to worship in silence with the purpose of focusing on peace. This year it falls on a Monday and we will come together at the Meeting House at 7:00 PM for 30 minutes of worship and followed by a Candlelight Vigil and ending with snacks in the Community Room.
This is the day the peoples and nations dedicate to the temporary ceasefire of wars, violence and fighting in combat zones. It is observed by all United Nations member states and was first celebrated in 1981. This event is about adults choosing peace, reconciliation, and the ending of military conflicts. However, it is much more. It was children from all continents donating coins to melt and to cast a “Peace Bell”. The inscription on its side reads, “Long live absolute world peace.” This Peace Bell is rung at UN Headquarters to inaugurate this day.
All are welcome to come and help celebrate the goal of peace for all peoples.
by Diane Bowden | Jun 14, 2016 | Peace and Social Concerns
From the New England Yearly Meeting of Friends:
June 14, 2016
“How deeply we are connected.”
A Prayer in response to the shootings at Pulse in Orlando.
Friends believe there is that of God in all people. To intentionally harm another—with our actions, our words, or our policies—is to separate ourselves from God. We are here to love one another and to be loved as God loves us, and as Jesus teaches. We are not whole without each other.
To those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex, asexual and queer, whose place of safety has again been targeted and attacked, we stand with you in love. We pray for love big enough to hold us all.
We seek to create a world in which all people are unconditionally loved and cared for, as God unconditionally loves and cares for each of us.
We call on people of all faiths, and no faith, to recommit to the work of ending homophobia and transphobia within our faith communities, our neighborhoods, and our nation. The rhetoric of exclusion, of separateness, and of hate creates a culture that gives rise to acts of terror. We know the power of God’s love is great and that we are called to make manifest that love in the face of hate. We believe that God never calls any person, communion or community to hate or to engage in violence.
We know God’s love extends fully and unconditionally to all who are GLBTIAQ, to all who are Latinx, to all who are Muslim, to all who some in our culture would denigrate or deny full humanity.
We stand with all those who call for this moment in our nation to be a catalyst for greater love, stronger community, and a justice that heals and unites. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that (Martin Luther King).
Fritz Weiss, Presiding Clerk
Sarah Gant, Clerk of Permanent Board
by Diane Bowden | May 23, 2016 | Peace and Social Concerns
A workshop named “Living the Richmond Pledge to End Racism” is being held at the Unitarian Church, 1000 Blanton Ave. on Sat., July 9, 2016 from 9 to 4 and Sat., July 23, 2016 from 1 to 4. The organizers of this event are Annette Marquis and Anita Lee; they are also the organizers of “Living the Pledge to End Racism”. The event is free, donations accepted.
The goals of this workshop are to:
- Integrate the Richmond Pledge into our daily lives
-
Recognize and challenge systemic racism
-
Confront racism and bias in our everyday lives, and
- Take leadership in ending racism in our community, our culture and our lives.
As part of the workshop participants develop a community of support and an understanding of how to use support in deepening our goal in building a just and equitable, multi-cultural world.
If you are interested in attending this workshop, please email Marcia Dickinson for information on how to apply.
by Diane Bowden | May 23, 2016 | Peace and Social Concerns
Quaker House recently published a book of healing strategies for moral injury, Help for Moral Injury: Strategies and Interventions. Cecilia Yocum, PhD, volunteered to write this after attending one of their presentations in Tampa, FL. It is available through Amazon or by contacting QH at qpr@quaker.org or 910- 323-3912. We hope it will be a help to our service members and veterans! Please share this!
In the United States we have been late to recognize and provide supportive services to victims of post-traumatic stress disorder, and are only beginning to recognize a need to address moral injury – debilitating guilt, shame and self-condemnation secondary to inflicting violence State- sanctioned or otherwise, on others. Both exist. Both haunt our society. The strategies and interventions provided in this booklet set forth a means of addressing the injuries to an individual’s moral codes. The conflict or tension with one’s personal codes and that of armed conflict and the aftermath may create conditions which can make it difficult to return to “normal” life.
The strategies and interventions provided here are opportunities for individuals to identify, address, and manage those conflicts or tensions through a structured process and, above all, in a safe supportive environment. The emphasis is on recognizing that agents of injury also suffer, identifying the nature of their emotional and spiritual injuries, and providing a safe environment to facilitate healing. These activities will help those with moral injury develop some tools to work toward the goals listed above along with other goals of understanding moral injury, self- care, and developing personal and spiritual resources. These exercises/activities are designed to be used by counselors/pastoral counselors, psychologists or other mental health workers.
Cecilia Yocum received her Ph.D. in psychology from Ohio State University in 1978. She has over 35 years of experience working with individuals, families, communities, and professional groups and has worked overseas with community-based trauma healing programs in Rwanda, Burundi, and Colombia as a part of Friends Peace Teams. Dr. Yocum has been actively involved with Alternatives to Violence Project workshops, is a past board member of the Florida Center for Survivors of Torture, and has provided psychological evaluations for political asylum seekers. Lynn Newsom, Quaker House co-director, wrote the introduction.
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 | 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
by Diane Bowden | Mar 10, 2016 | Adult Spiritual Education, Peace and Social Concerns
Joyce Ajlouny, Director, Ramallah Friends School, Ramallah, Palestine, will speak at event titled “Education Under Occupation: Friends Preserving Hope and Dignity” on May 1, 12:30 pm. The event will be held in the Community Room at the Meetinghouse at 4500 Kensington Avenue.
Snacks will be provided.
For background about the speaker and the school, see the event listing on the Calendar page of this website.
by Diane Bowden | Jan 28, 2016 | Peace and Social Concerns
The Disaster Relief Group going to South Carolina in March will hold a chili luncheon on March 6. It will be an opportunity for you to eat a tasty lunch, contribute financially, and meet the people going.
If you cannot attend and would like to support the trip, you can write a check to Richmond Friends Meeting with a note that it is for the Disaster Relief trip. Individual volunteers will pay their own expenses for the trip. Donations will go to support the work of the group.
The state of South Carolina had heavy flooding in the unprecedented rains in October 2015. The group of volunteers will represent Richmond Friends Meeting in this effort and will be hosted and sponsored by the United Methodist organization, UMCOR.
If you are interested in joining the group, contact Ada Hammer or Frances Stewart.
by Diane Bowden | Dec 25, 2015 | Peace and Social Concerns
Submitted by Betsy Brinson & Curt Torrell
The decision to allow women to serve in all combat roles by Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on December3, 2015 should be enough to reverse Rostker v. Goldberg, the Supreme Court decision upholding women not required to sign up for Selective Service. That ruling was based on the Pentagon policy that excluded women in combat. It has been tested in the 90’s by Clinton and Congress yet reaffirmed many times since for the same reason.
Revisiting this would mean either a new Selective Service law or a new case brought before the Supreme Court, neither of which is likely to happen before Presidential elections. A case would be strengthened by the fact that Solomon and Thurmond amendments (denial of federal and state education loans, jobs and training) plus required SS registration to get a state driver’s license are imposed only on men.
The decision to open up all military positions to women complicates the issue even more. Women now presumably will be subject to draft. In Virginia when you get a driver’s license at age 16, your name is given to Selective Service. Most people do not even realize this is what they are doing when they apply for a license. If there is a draft and one gets notice, you only have about nine days to get an appeal together. This is why the Quaker House program to document now is so important to our peace testimony.
by Diane Bowden | Oct 21, 2015 | Children and Religious Education, Peace and Social Concerns, Topics
The RE Committee’s sale of unique peace-themed t-shirts for the International Day of Peace in September raised over $300 for Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). Thank you so much for your generous support of this organization. Should you wish to contribute to them directly or learn more about their mission, their US website is www.doctorswithoutborders.org.
by Diane Bowden | Oct 21, 2015 | Peace and Social Concerns, Topics
Last year Peace and Social Concerns conducted a blood drive at the Meetinghouse during June. Twenty three donations were collected. However, a close evaluation of the donor list suggested RFM may not be large enough to sustain such in-house collections. Twenty five percent of the 2014 donors were from outside our Meeting. As a result, P&SC is now encouraging Friends who are able to donate to do so during the month of October by going to the Virginia Blood Services donation Center. The Center address is 2825 Emerywood Parkway, which is located about one quarter mile west of the Glenside-Broad Street intersection on the south side of Broad Street.
When donating, Friends should submit the code 3149 which will allow P&SC to track how many donations are given during our October drive and we will learn whether future blood drives could be, once again, conducted at the Meetinghouse. For additional information about donor eligibility and appointments [walk-ins are allowed], Call 359-5100 or 213-4105.
by Diane Bowden | Sep 26, 2015 | Peace and Social Concerns
The following report was submitted by Tom Ilmensee, a member of Meeting, who now lives with his family in Budapest. It was written in the first week of September.
Tonight my daughter Iris and I walked to Keleti station, the transport terminal in Budapest that is currently home to thousands of refugees from Syria, Turkey and Afghanistan.
Iris carried a huge bag of apples and oranges (we nearly cleared the inventory at the market). I carried another huge bag with juice boxes, granola bars, candies and toys.
We met families. Mothers who smiled at us with their eyes. Fathers who beamed with pride. Children who laughed and said “thank you.” Old people who — despite their weariness — seemed to us the strongest people on earth.
The fruit went fast. And each piece we handed out was met with kind smiles and heartfelt thanks.
The juice was very popular. Such relief in the eyes of each person who approached us. These are 89 HUF orange juice boxes — and they were like little miracles to the families who got them.
The granola bars went fast. We handed them out like batons at a relay race.
The fruity candy went to kids between 5–16. Or to their mothers with a wink from me — meaning that I understood they may come in handy later.
The toys! My friend Lacika predicted we would be swarmed. And we were. I have never seen such delight over a tiny plastic tiger.
Iris and I waded through the tent city under the station on the Metro level. It’s stuffy. And filthy. And buzzing with love. Above ground, under the lights of the international media we stood amongst the protestors. A banner was carried high: “We want peace.” Someone waved a Hungarian flag nearby.
A family of six sat on the ground about five meters from the train terminal. The mother begged her 6-year old to stop hitting her on the head with a pink balloon. The eight-year old tickled the two-year old. Dad wandered from their camp to the protest zone.
A buffed and polished reporter stood poised with his microphone. A boy about 5 walked over with a sign made from a pizza box: “Help us save our children from homelessness.” The camera guy pointed the camera at the reporter, but his eyes were on the kid.
If you’re able, support a family at Keleti — and anywhere else refugee families are camped. Let them know there’s love for them as they travel along the strange and often lonely road.
by Diane Bowden | Sep 26, 2015 | Peace and Social Concerns
The Other Tennessee. “I never knew anybody who really got active because of guilt. Everybody white that I know that’s got involved in this struggle got into it because they glimpsed a different world to live in… Human beings have always been able to envision something better… All through history there have been people who have envisioned something better in the most dire situations. That’s what you want to be a part of.” Anne Braden, quoted in the Facebook page, “The Other Tennessee,” (https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Other-Tennessee/464461963762234).
The Other Tennessee is part of a regional online campaign of Southerners stepping up against hate and racism in response to both Black liberation movement on the move and the presence of hate groups in our towns and cities. We’re building on and expanding the white anti-racist tradition in the South. See the coalition’s full statement at http://surjnashville.org/get-involved/the-other-tennessee/”
Serena Williams. I asked how winning felt for her. I was imagining winning as a free space, one where the unconscious racist shenanigans of umpires, or the narratives about her body, her ‘‘unnatural’’ power, her perceived crassness no longer mattered. Unless racism destroyed the moment of winning so completely, as it did at Indian Wells, I thought it had to be the rare space free of all the stresses of black life. But Serena made it clear that she doesn’t desire to dissociate from her history and her culture. She understands that even when she’s focused only on winning, she is still representing. ‘‘I play for me,’’ Serena told me, ‘‘but I also play and represent something much greater than me. I embrace that. I love that. I want that. So ultimately, when I am out there on the court, I am playing for me.’’
Because just as important to me as her victories is her willingness to be an emotionally complete person while also being black. She wins, yes, but she also loses it. She jokes around, gets angry, is frustrated or joyous, and on and on. She is fearlessly on the side of Serena, in a culture that that has responded to living while black with death. — From The New York Times Magazine, August 25, 2015, “The Meaning of Serena Williams: On tennis and black excellence,” by Claudia Rankine.
— The Baltimore-Area Working Group on Racism usually meets 7 – 9 pm on the 2nd Sunday of the month in the Stony Run dining room. We consider issues around racial justice, share personal experiences, and plan and host special events. All are welcome to attend.
by Diane Bowden | Aug 24, 2015 | Peace and Social Concerns
In our exploration of the Israel Palestinian conflict we have learned of the destruction and theft of olive trees as part of the Israeli process of taking Palestinian land. We feel that one small way to help is to buy Extra Virgin Olive Oil that is produced by Palestinians. Olive oil from Palestine meets standards for organic. PSC committee plans to buy a case of extra virgin olive oil from Zatoun because 25% of the profit goes directly to the farmer and also uses some of the proceeds to help education, establish small businesses, etc.
We are hoping that enough people in meeting will be interested in buying this product to make our effort worthwhile. To learn more about Zatoun, see their website at zatoun.com.
The price is $20/750ml bottle, including shipping. It would be helpful to know of your interest so we can order an appropriate amount. You can email Verna Boos at hlaford@juno.com to place an order ahead of time. We will also have a small number of bottles to sell at meeting without prior order.
by Diane Bowden | Aug 19, 2015 | Peace and Social Concerns
Saturday, October 24 from 10-12 noon. A presentation featuring Lynn and Steve Newsom, co-directors of Quaker House Military Counseling Center, Fayetteville, NC, home of Fort Bragg. MORAL INJURY, a relatively new term employed by the Veterans Administration, recognizes that among the effects of war on military personnel is emotional trauma over serious transgressions of moral, spiritual, or religious beliefs. Acknowledging the reality of “moral injury” provides common language for people of faith and conscience to collaborate with the medical profession in caring for the needs of veterans of all wars, past and present. (For more information about moral injury, see the August Meeting newsletter for in-depth article.) This free workshop is sponsored by the Richmond Peace Education Center, the Alliance for Unitive Justice and Friends Meeting. It is open to the public so please share information with others who may wish to attend also. If you plan to attend, please email Gordon Davies or Betsy Brinson. (The Newsoms will be presenting on moral injury to the local Veterans Hospital on Friday.) This is a timely opportunity to learn more about this important concept.
by Diane Bowden | Aug 19, 2015 | Peace and Social Concerns
Sunday, October 18 at 1 pm. Dr. Alice Rothchild, Boston physician, human rights advocate and Jewish advocate for peace in Israel and Palestine, will present on her recent and ongoing travels to Gaza. This session is a kickoff to Dr. Rothchild’s three day visit to Richmond, where she will speak and meet with numerous groups and organizations. Dr. Rothchild is the author of
Broken Promises, Broken Dreams: Stories of Jewish and Palestinian Trauma and Resilience and
On the Brink. In addition, she produced the documentary film
Voices Across the Divide. Her visit to Richmond is co-sponsored by Richmonders for Peace in Israel and Palestine, the Richmond Peace Education Center and our Adult Spiritual Education Committee. For more info about speaker, please see her website at
www.alicerothchild.com.
Finger foods will be served after meeting and before the 1 pm program.
by Diane Bowden | Jul 1, 2015 | Peace and Social Concerns
(The following minute, proposed by the Peace and Social Concerns Committee, was approved at Fifth Month Meeting for Business.)
Richmond Friends Meeting is a Quaker community of spirit dedicated to peace, justice, and right relations with all creatures and life upon the earth. Our place on the earth is rooted in respect, not domination. We submit this Minute in furtherance of that respect.
The effects of climate change have been documented by scientists who agree that human activity, specifically pouring millions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, is reaching a tipping point. Living in harmony with the natural world has been replaced with unsustainable ways of living: reliance on fossil fuels, extreme methods of resource extraction, widespread destruction of old-growth and rain forests, and over-consumption of natural resources. These unsustainable practices are responsible for the Earth’s degraded state and climate disruption. As a faith community dedicated to peace and social justice, it alarms us that the effects of climate change disproportionately impact the world’s most impoverished peoples and that fossil fuel extraction and consumption has contributed to international conflict.
We recognize the urgency of this problem and support actions on all levels–individual to international — to work toward an ecologically healthy planet. Developed countries must reduce carbon emissions and actively support the development of alternative energy sources. It is imperative that developed countries transfer money, expertise, and technology to support sustainable development in less developed countries.
Our commitments to peace and justice, as well as our commitment to care for the earth, compel us to restorative action. Restorative actions include: education about both climate change and sustainable living; conservation; consideration of the impact our dietary choices has on the environment. We can also reduce consumption and our carbon footprints, invest in renewable energy, divest from fossil fuels and support sustainable energy development.
We are convinced that climate change is real, significant, worsening, and urgent. We are called to advocate for immediate attention to the climate at the local, state, national, and global levels through lobbying, community education, and peaceful protest as conscience dictates.
Although the challenge posed by climate change is complex and may seem daunting, our call to action is grounded in faith and supported by community. We are a connected part of this earth, not separate from it. We invite other communities, individuals, and groups to endorse this minute and to join us in restorative actions to heal ourselves and the planet.