by Diane Bowden | Jun 19, 2018 | Aging, Announcement, Topics
Our mission statement is: It is our goal to be a source of practical, emotional, and spiritual support to help each other as we age in community. Membership: Membership is open to retirement age members and attenders of Richmond Friends Meeting and to non-Quaker spouses. Currently we have 39 members.
Requirements of membership: A membership survey must be filled out annually. It is due by the end of January. (A willingness to support other group members.) Annual dues ($25) have been suspended for 2018.
2018 Slate of officers:
Clerk- Janett Forte
Recording Clerk- Mary Fran Hughes-McIntyre
Treasurer- Donna Knicely
Asst. Treasurer-Carolyn Moul
Program Coordinators- Cas Overton, Emily Kimball
Resource Coordinator- Ellen Argenteanu
Care Coordinators- Ada Hammer (lead), Phoebe Antrim, Bob Alexander, and Jean Washburn.
Backups – Wendy Wadsworth, Chris Olson-Vickers
It is the Coordinator’s job to find volunteers as needed to provide practical, emotional and spiritual support for our membership. If you have a need/request please try to contact the care coordinator directly. Requests for support = Since Feb., we have had about 35 volunteer requests performed so far. This year our activity schedule includes six meetings. Generally the time is 5:00 to 6:30 pm on Monday’s. We meet at Richmond Friends Meeting.
Business meetings:
o January 16, 2018 (Tuesday)
o July 10, 2018
Education programs:
o March 5, 2018
o September 12, 2018 from 5:30 to 7:00
Social programs:
o May 7. 2018 – Donna Knicely’s home
o November 5, 2018 – TBD
The current balance in our account is: $3,838.25 with one expenditure in amount of $300. If you are interested in membership please contact me – or join the business meeting on July 10. We’ll be discussing program and meeting times, the group’s connection to RFM/Care and Counsel, reviewing the nature of
member requests, use of our funds, and ideas for future social and educational activities.
Presented by: Janett Forte – Clerk of Aging in Community Support Group
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 | Jan 7, 2017 | Topics
A group of Quakers and friends of Quakers sponsored by Richmond Friends Meeting is planning a trip to help our friends in West Virginia recover from the June 2016 floods. The local sponsoring group is the United Methodist UMCOR program, which has been the sponsor for each of the previous nine trips. They will direct the work assignments and coordinate the housing in local churches.
The workweek is April 10 – 15. If you are interested in this event, please contact Ada Hammer.
A fundraiser chili luncheon is planned for the rise of meeting on March 12. If you would like to help with event, please contact Barbara Myers or Ada Hammer.
by Diane Bowden | Feb 22, 2016 | Topics
The PDF file of the Richmond Friends Meeting (Virginia) 2016 Directory is now available in the Meeting Files folder (password-protected).
by Diane Bowden | Oct 21, 2015 | Topics
We sometimes call ourselves the “Agers.” We are a group of retirement age members and attenders of Richmond Friends Meeting who have formed a self-help support group. We welcome new members. There are minimal requirements to join. Annually one pays $25 a year and fills out a questionnaire stating what assistance one is able to offer to another. We have helped each other with transportation, meals, and other support.
If you are interested in more information, contact Betsy Brinson, clerk, or Ada Hammer, lead coordinator.
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 | May 1, 2015 | Adult Spiritual Education, Topics, Worship
May 18 at 7:30-8:30 PM in the Meetinghouse
Chanting is a way of centering into awareness of Spirit. We sing short songs out of the silence, and repeat them until the sense of the group ends the chant. Friends will gather into silence in the mode of worship sharing–much like we do at BYM Women’s Retreat. Have some chants in mind, and anyone may start a chant. This is the first time we’ve done this. If it goes well, we’ll do it again–perhaps regularly.
by Diane Bowden | Apr 24, 2015 | Topics
- The applicant submits a letter of intent to the Clerk of Meeting. It is suggested that the applicant become familiar with BYM Faith and Practice and Friends for 300 Years if they have not already done so.
- The Clerk then submits the letter to Care and Counsel and a clearness committee to meet with the applicant.
- The applicant then meets with the clearness committee at a mutually acceptable time to discuss the application and readiness for membership.
- The clearness committee reports its recommendation at the next Care and Counsel meeting. The committee may recommend membership or make suggestions as to what the applicant needs to be ready for membership.
- If approved for membership the recommendation is taken to the next business meeting for final approval.
- The decision is held over for one month so that people can get acquainted with the prospective member.
Applicants may also request Junior Associate Membership for their minor children at the meeting with the clearness committee. If so, the applicant states that desire on the membership form. No other action is required.
by Diane Bowden | Apr 24, 2015 | Peace and Social Concerns, Topics, Writings - Quaker Bibliography
“The Hero’s Fight: African-Americans in West Baltimore and the Shadow of the State,” by Patricia Fernández-Kelly, was published Feb. 1, 2014, by Princeton University Press. See http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10328.html#.VPHv1BBwbLw.gmail. If you click on the link, you may be struck by the unconscious bias in one sentence in the summary: “While ordinary Americans are treated as citizens and consumers, deprived and racially segregated populations are seen as objects of surveillance, containment, and punishment.” It is easy to infer that, by “ordinary Americans” the writer means “white Americans,” since “racially segregated populations” clearly means populations of color. We (whites) still tend to think of ourselves as the “ordinary” Americans. Even this blurb writer has fallen into that trap. One can only wonder what Fernández-Kelly thinks of that description of her book, if she has noticed it. One can also wonder how often any of us fall into that same trap.
This column is prepared by the BYM Working Group on Racism (WGR) and sent to the designated liaisons at each Monthly and Preparative Meeting for publication in their newsletter or other means of dissemination. The WGR meets most months on the third Saturday from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, usually at Bethesda Friends Meeting or Friends Meeting of Washington. If you would like to attend, on a regular or a drop-in basis, contact clerk David Etheridge, david.etheridge@verizon.net.
by Diane Bowden | Apr 24, 2015 | Meeting House, Topics
Please Park as a Good Neighbor. The Meeting recently has been reminded that we are located in a residential community, and that our activities can disturb our neighbors. Parking is one of the primary issues. Please do not park in front of any neighbors’ homes. If there are no spaces on Commonwealth Avenue, go over one block to Woodlawn Avenue, which runs parallel to Commonwealth, and park there.
The Meeting is a busy and vibrant place, even on many nights during the week. We can disrupt family life if we are not always careful about where we choose to leave our cars.
by Diane Bowden | Apr 19, 2015 | Baltimore Yearly Meeting, Topics
Richmond Friends gathered for a half-day on 21st day, 2nd month, 2015 to consider the spiritual state of our meeting in a worship sharing format, centered around queries provided by Baltimore Yearly Meeting. Approximately twenty Friends participated.
Richmond Friends Meeting is a thriving community. Reflecting on 2014, we notice that much of the work we have done in prior years has come to fruition. This is especially seen in our meeting’s unity on marriage equality, our prison ministry, and our child safety policy. These are the results of our patience, love, and peaceful presence. We are grateful for the way our meeting trusts Spirit-led Quaker process.
We cherish our integration of spirituality and action. It’s “how,” not “what,” we do. This Light shines most brightly in our social justice work. We nurture personal leadings, some of which have grown into educational programs and actions supported across several committees. Our meeting sustains the work that Friends do in the world.
We note our strong willingness to join and contribute to committees, as well as just lend a hand whenever needed. Inter-committee cooperation and collaboration is strong. This has led to creatively exploring topics such as privilege and the environment. Our meeting was inspired to consider these topics deeply and to commit to action within the larger community.
We value inclusivity in Meeting for Worship. We have a growing awareness of the challenges around hearing and mobility and we have been identifying ways to better accommodate these needs. We recognize the gifts that shine through our different expressions of the Light.
Although there are fewer children and young adults in our meeting, we value the gifts they bring to the life of the meeting. We see that, from young to old, Friends are encouraged to expand their involvement in the wider Quaker Community, through FGC, BYM, and BYM camps.
Smaller groups within our meeting flourish. Spiritual Formation, Spring Retreat, Men’s Retreat, Work Camp, and Friendly 8’s are eagerly attended, providing opportunities for Friends to get to know one another and deepen spiritually. Our new website supports both a reaching in and a reaching out for our meeting.
2014 has felt like a good solid year for Richmond Friends Meeting. We seek to maintain balance individually and as a meeting between outreach, nurturing our measure of light, and caring for one another. We remind ourselves to be humble and listen deeply. We trust Spirit-led Quaker process as we face emerging issues in the coming year.
Approved at Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business, 19th day, 4th month, 2015