18, :30 PM - & 7:00 PM

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1 December 2016 Richland Friends Monthly Meeting 206 South Main Street - PO Box 444, Quakertown, PA Phone: Website: friends@richlandquakers.org Annual Peace and Light Gathering Sunday, December 18, :30 PM in the schoolhouse - Potluck, Fellowship & Music 7:00 PM in the Meetinghouse - Candlelight Meeting for Worship Lighting fires on the longest night of the year to celebrate the return of more hours of daylight has probably been a custom since the winter solstice was noticed, about 6,000 years ago in Egypt. (Stonehenge was about 1,000 years later.) Controlled fire was figured out way before that, probably 125,000 years ago. Put the two together and parties started. And worship. In the Northern Hemisphere, the winter solstice is always between the 21 st and 23 rd of what we now call the month of December. In the year 350 Pope Julius 1 picked December 25 to celebrate the birth of the Son of God, some think to capitalize the ready-made celebration of the return of the sun. Lights are lit during this time of year in many cultures and in many religions. Christians the world over decorate their homes with lights inside and out representing the starlight of the Magi. The Hindu celebration called Diwali celebrates the victory of light over darkness with candle lighting, and Buddhists have the Tazaungdaing festival celebrating light. Although not connected with the solstice, the Jews celebrate the Festival of Lights, or Hanukkah, around the same time of year in December. Hanukkah is in memory of the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 517 BCE and the Maccabean revolt against their oppressors during which one day s supply of oil lasted for eight days. And Kwanzaa, also celebrated with lighting candles is December 26 to January 1. Most Muslims, however do not have a festival of lights, as the lighting of candles is associated with death and sadness. And even though most Quakers do not celebrate Christmas or any other Christian holiday together, many of us gather to celebrate the hope of peace and the love of family and friends, often with candle lighting. We at Richland will have our annual Celebration of Peace and Light this year on Sunday December 18. That day we will have light for 9 hours, 20 minutes and 12 seconds. The actual solstice will be Wednesday the 21 st and will be the shortest day of the year at 9 hours, 19 minutes and 58 seconds. And the next day will be lighter longer. Please join your Friends this year, in the beautiful darkened Meetinghouse and experience the growing brightness of the room as we light our candles in the spirit of our hopes for the New Year. ~Linda Cooper

2 Safety, Pinned By Molly Baskette, First Church Berkeley, a United Church of Christ Note: Full text available at Under the shadow of your throne Your saints have dwelt secure Sufficient is your arm alone And our defense is sure. "O God, Our Help in Ages Past" The night after the election, as people all over America sorted out their very different feelings about the outcome, I gathered in our chapel with a couple dozen church members to eat homemade soup (aka first line pastoral care) and sing hymns. We were, universally: shaken, grieving, angry and frightened: not just for ourselves, but for the many vulnerable people who we feared would suffer even more under the new regime, if even a fraction of our president-elect's campaign promises came true. We opened with the hymn above--and critiqued it after we sang it. How could we sing without irony that "our defense is sure" when already that day hundreds of stories of copycat harassment and physical attacks were popping up?. The truth is, our defense is anything but sure. God does not promise us safety. What God does, is invite us into the safety of each other, if we will accept the challenge and call. There is a movement afoot to invite those who want to be allies in public places to wear a safety pin clearly and visibly wherever they go. And if you want to help people in danger even more practically, here's a meme, which I've tweaked a la UCC: If you wear a hijab, I'll sit with you on the train. If you're trans, I'll go to the bathroom with you. If you're a person of color, I'll stand with you if the cops stop you. If you're a person with disabilities, I'll hand you my megaphone. If you're an immigrant, I'll help you find resources. If you're a survivor, I'll believe you. If you're a refugee, I'll make sure you're welcome. If you're a veteran, I'll take up your fight. If you're LGBTQ, I'll remind you that you are beautiful and beloved, just as God made you. If you're a woman, I'll make sure you get home ok. If you're tired, me too. If you need a hug, I've got an infinite supply. If you need me, I'll be with you. All I ask is that you be with me, too. Together, we'll be the strong arm of God. Prayer God, divided, we are so vulnerable. Together, we make your defense real and visible and durable. Give us courage to stand up for one another. Amen ~Submitted by Barbara Zucker

3 QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ Friends, Our worship community has been through some very difficult times. I believe that we have not really placed our faith and practice in this worship. We have a meetinghouse for worship. Those of us who have felt disenfranchised by events might want to think about coming back to worship together and seek comfort. We need to worship together before we can attend to anything else. Please consider taking a difficult step and come back to worship. We (or maybe just I) need all of us, just not some of us. In the Light, Beth QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ Please Hold In The Light November 2016 As they deal with temporary or ongoing health issues and/or various challenges, please hold in the Light along with their families: Charlie Aylin, Donna Berger s cousin Al Burke, friend of Sharon Finn Pastor Joyce Donigian, ministerium member, Sharon Finn Don and Nancy Hall, Donna Berger s parents Larry Jalowiec, healing from back surgery Crystal Kay Marla, a violinist who is having surgery Nov. 28 th, Barbara Gordon s friend Betsy Meredith, recovering from pneumonia Joseph Onzik, (especially on Nov. 9 th ), friend of Jeanette Pasqua Lila Pudloski, Curt Doll s granddaughter, healing from ear surgery Libby and Justin Ries, family of Beth McGlinchey Kevin Rooney, friend of Donna Berger Henk Vanderlely, Gina Frederick and Leo And everyone who is dealing with illness, loss or other struggles. All are welcomed on this list. Here s how to do it: Anyone at Meeting may ask that one or more persons be "held in the light" in this section of the weekly Announcements and the Pot Luck Press. The person making the request may ask that the notice be left in "until further notice" or for some other length of time such as one month. If no time is specified, the notice will be placed for one week, but may be repeated by another notice to the editors. The person making the request to the editors must indicate when making the request that the person(s) being held in the light have given their permission to do so. In addition, where appropriate, the reason for the request may be included. If the people to be held in the light are not members or attenders at RFMM, it may be appropriate to note if they are a family member or friend of someone here at Richland. Please send your requests for hold in the Light to Donna Berger at deelee44@ptd.net and put PLP/ANNOUNCEMENTS HOLD IN THE LIGHT in the subject line. Please remember to say how long you wish it to be posted. Thanks so much.

4 Applications for Scholarship for Students in Friends Schools School Year Richland Friends Meeting supports their Members children and young Members who attend Friends schools. This support is in the form of annual scholarship grants. Applicants must be active Members. An active Member is defined as a Member who attends Meeting for Worship and serves on at least one committee in addition to coffee and First Day School activities, and frequently attends Monthly Meetings for Business. If you would like to apply for a tuition scholarship from RFM, please contact Lori for the required forms at lori.flaherty@yahoo.com or The deadline to return the completed forms to RFM is 12/31/16. QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ Coffees at Rise! We need a new coordinator for Coffees! Please contact Joan Eyer, Nominating Committee to offer to take over this role. You can also just sign up to host one of our social hour held in the Schoolhouse at Rise of Meeting. We thank everyone who is helping with the Coffee while we search for a new Coffee Coordinator! QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ Wednesday December 21 Holiday Dinner for Food For Friends Volunteers Needed! We are hosting and cooking the Holiday/Christmas meal in December on Wednesday December 21st. We will need volunteers to cook turkeys and mashed potatoes and generally help at the dinner. We also need a volunteer interested in being in charge of the gift bags we hand out. We put in toiletries and some useful and fun items and candy or cookies. If you can help coordinate that project, or help with it in any way or want to do it yourself, please let Donna know at deelee44@ptd.net. Thanks so much. QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ Richland Friends Meeting Calendar Light Group Guided Meditations, open to the public at 7pm every Wednesday First Day Adult Discussion Group, 9:45 AM every Sunday in the Schoolhouse First Day School for children and teens, 10:30AM every First and Third Sunday in the Schoolhouse. RFM Meeting for Business is held every Second Sunday at Rise. Food for Friends is every 2nd, 4th and 5th Wednesdays each month at 6pm in RFM Schoolhouse. Dinners are free for our neighbors in need of meals and fellowship. RFM cooks and hosts food for friends dinners on these dates: December 21, (which is the Big Holiday Meal,) February 22, 2017 and July 12, 2017.

5 Richland Book Group. The next gathering of the Richland Book Group will be on Friday, December 9 at 7:00 p.m. at the home of Barbara Zucker. The book is All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. Please let Barbara know if you will be attending. We generally bring sweet or savory snacks to share. Everyone is invited to come. BJZFDZ@aol.com; phone: Barbara's address is 1070 Bordeaux Lane, Pennsburg. QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ Thank you Curt and Sharon!! We want to express appreciation to Curt Doll, assisted by Sharon Finn, for the wonderful work that was done in the Schoolhouse office! We are so grateful for these kinds of commitments from our members. noimage 0 QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ Communicating with RFM Committees A special account for the Clerk has been established for Meeting business. Beginning immediately, please use Rfmclerkofmeeting@gmail.com for s that should go to the Clerk. The Communications Working Group asks you to please send any RFM news items or notices for our weekly announcements to Margaret Anderson wiseheartist@outlook.com and copy to communications@richlandquakers.org. For Meeting for Business reports or items for the agenda, please send to Clerk Jack Schick at Rfmclerkofmeeting@gmail.com and copy to Amy Bryan, Recording Secretary at rfmminutes@gmail.com. For submissions to the monthly Pot Luck Press, please send to Linda Cooper, quakertowncooper@aol.com and put PLP in the subject line

6 A message from Rebecca Cratin, Clerk of Plymouth Monthly Meeting November 11, 2016 Dear Friends, As we live into the reality of an uncertain future within our country, I am led to reach out to all of you as the Clerk of Plymouth Monthly Meeting. I realize that we may not all be of one mind, and that is how it should be in a democracy. It is with a deep concern for the pain and fear that many Friends are feeling at this time that I share this letter with you, the Community of Faith at Plymouth Monthly Meeting. In a message yesterday from the Clerk and the General Secretary of PYM, we are reminded that it is important that we gather together to reaffirm our commitment as Quakers to the transformative power of love and the healing power of community. We must have hope for the soul of our country that we will chose a path of respect, justice, care for the disadvantaged, and honor to all people of any race, creed, or culture. As Quakers, we put our hope and trust in God, not in our government. At this time of unrest and active protests, let us remember that we need to listen to the still, small voice calling us within, for that is where God s presence is waiting to heal our brokenness. Let us recognize that the emotion that some of us feel is a form of grieving. The stages of shock, denial, anger, depression, bargaining, and hope all lead us on the journey to acceptance. May we be gentle with one another and respectful of those who do not share our feelings. God is here with us, holding us in the healing Light of Love. It is up to us to share that Light with each other as we move through these uncertain times. Plymouth Monthly Meeting has experienced much suffering and loss in the past few years as treasured members of our community have died. We are going through a period of concern and uncertainty as we make difficult decisions about needed repairs to our Meeting House and property. Now we face another challenge as we move through our nation s transition to an unknown political restructuring. I encourage all of us to trust in the healing power of God s love as we gather together in worship and fellowship in the days ahead. May we be open to discerning any leading that our Meeting Community may have as to the rightly ordered witness we might provide within our wider community. May Plymouth Monthly Meeting continue to be a sanctuary of Peace and Light to those who gather as Friends/friends, celebrating the gift of God s presence among us. In Love and Hope, Rebecca Cratin, Clerk of Plymouth Monthly Meeting ~Submitted by Barbara Zucker