Community Companion. Caretakers: Alan Wright and Grace Conrad Childcare: Emily Spring, Margaret Arney

Transcription

1 Community Companion Quaker House: 3960 Winding Way, Cincinnati, OH (513) Volume 19, Issue 11 November, 2013 Tim Leonard talking with Eileen Bagus at the Fall Renewal. Photo by Elyce Presiding Clerk: Kate Anthony Assistant Clerk: Recording Clerk: Paul Buckley Treasurer: Lynn Funck Nov. 3 Nov. 10 Nov. 17 Nov. 24 Nov. 28th In This Issue: Page 2 Caretakers: Alan Wright and Grace Conrad Childcare: Emily Spring, Margaret Arney Page 3 Pages 4-5 Pages 6-7 Page 7 Page 8 Ministry and Counsel: Eileen Bagus Erin Bagus Lisa Cayard (clerk) Tim Leonard Sunny Rhein (SA) (SA) is special assignment Newsletter: djordan@fuse.net Jean Crocker-Lakness Editor & Photographer unless noted otherwise j.crockerlakness@gmail.com Submissions for the December newsletter due by: Monday, Nov. 25, 2013 to Jean Crocker-Lakness Calendar All events and meetings take place at the Meeting House unless otherwise noted. Singing 9:45 am, Meeting for Worship 10 am Second Hour or Carry in 11:40 am Singing before Meeting for Worship at 9:45 for those who love to sing their favorites. Carry In. Friends in Unity with Nature (the FUN Committee) appreciates and encourages locally grown food when possible for the carry in. Second Hour: Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business Second Hour: A discussion of draft sections for the OVYM Faith & Practice led by Lisa Cayard Second Hour: Music on the themes of harvest, giving thanks, and food coordinated by Eugene Marquis. This will be in conjunction with a "food drive" - our goal is to fill the barrel in the meetinghouse entry to overflowing with non-perishable food to be donated to the food bank. Thanksgiving worship and potluck: afternoon (exact time to be decided) RSVP by Nov. 10th to or djordan@fuse.net Summary of Minutes from Meeting for Business Photos from the Fall Renewal Photos from Joint Quarterly Meeting at Happy Hollow Camp, Indiana The AMOS project and Community Friends by Eileen Bagus Beyond Meeting for Worship at Community Friends Meeting Learning from the Spiritual Journey of Early Friends at the Friends Center, OYM Page 9 Meeting Officers and Committees, Eleventh Query from OVYM Book of Discipline, 1978: Peace and Cooperation Do you live in the life and power which takes away the occasion for all wars? Do you, on Christian principles, refuse to participate in or cooperate with all military effort? Do you work actively for peace and the removal of the causes of wars? Do you endeavor to cultivate good will, mutual understanding and equal opportunities for all races, creeds, and nations? Have you examined your life style and possessions to make sure that the seeds of war are not found within them?

2 Community Companion November, 2013 page 2 October 13, 2013 Business Meeting Summary prepared by Paul Buckley, Recording Clerk The meeting opened with a period of worship during which the clerk read a selection from a Pendle Hill pamphlet by Michael Birkel on the spirit that animates Quaker business meetings. Twelve Friends were present. The treasurer is still working on revising our financial reports. At the end of September, unrestricted income and our expenses are each down a bit relative to the budget, but the bottom line is good. The development of a new website on the Friends General Conference Quaker Cloud is progressing. In the course of this work, the web clerk noticed that services are not included, but FGC recommended a vendor for this purpose. Several concerns were raised. Would committee clerks would be able to post messages to the list? Would someone act as a filter only posting messages that seem appropriate? Would a reply be sent to the sender when a message is not posted? Since we did not have answers to these questions, the meeting was unable to move ahead. A small committee will consider these issues and flesh out the proposal. Ministry & Counsel Committee presented an updated list of meeting officers and committees, showing the positions that still need to be approved. Nominations for meeting statistician, OVYM Executive Committee representatives, two members of the Peace & Social Concerns Committee, and all the members of the Community Committee were approved House & Grounds Committee reported that a lot of work was completed during the workday on October 5. Friends in Unity with Nature Committee reported that the next woods day will be Saturday, November 2. They are also continuing to explore whether the meeting should consider divestment from coal, gas, and oil companies. Stewardship Committee is investigating how divestment could be implemented. A new mission statement for the library was approved: The mission of the Community Friends Meeting Library is: To provide convenient access to a representative collection of historical and contemporary Quaker publications for members and attenders of Community Friends Meeting. To offer selected non-quaker publications which support the current programs, projects, and ministries of the Meeting. To maintain the Meeting s archives and essential documents related to conduct of Meeting business. The Transforming Jail Ministry Worship Team will have a second hour on Sunday, October 27, to discuss the meeting s readiness to and comfort with welcoming ex-offenders into our community.

3 Community Companion November, 2013 page 3 COMMUNITY FRIENDS MEETING FALL RENEWAL Our Fall Renewal was held on Saturday October 19 th at the Meetinghouse. Cathy Barney, a member of Cincinnati Friends Meeting and a graduate of the School of the Spirit, was our facilitator on the topic of discerning our gifts individually and as a meeting. Photos by Elyce Cathy Barney, facilitator

4 Community Companion November, 2013 page 4 Joint Quarterly Meeting, Happy Hollow Camp, Brown County, Indiana: 10/12-13/2013 Rachel Dean with son, Toby who is enjoying the hot cocoa. Kate Anthony leading the Intergenerational Worship with Attention to Movement Jamie Fota (right) advising Jean Crocker- Lakness on the content of the newsletter. Rhonda Pfaltzgraff-Carlson talking with Rex Sprouse who presented his workshop Listening for Divine Guidance in Meeting for Business

5 Community Companion November, 2013 page 5 Joint Quarter at Happy Hollow Camp, continued Marjorie Isaacs who describes herself as a pie connoisseur samples several of the pies including apple, peach and cherry. She stated that they were all very good Susan Gerke reading a children s Bible to preview it for her grandchildren. The Beginner s Bible, Timeless Children s Stories. All was OK until page 482, the story of Judas betraying Jesus. It was time for Jesus to die. God had planned it a long time ago. Jesus knew it would happen when he came to earth. Susan objected to the predestination part that Judas was born to betray because God knew he would. Charlotte Dean chose to have her photo taken in her favorite climbing tree. Community Companion Chuck Moore and Rachel Dean

6 Community Companion November, 2013 page 6 THE AMOS PROJECT AND COMMUNITY FRIENDS By Eileen Bagus The AMOS Project is a multi-congregation, social justice community organization. It organizes congregations around community issues that impact the poor and working families. It develops the leadership skills of people to be active in public life. It is motivated by faith traditions and inspired by American Democracy. The AMOS Project is a founding member of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, a statewide alliance of faith, community and neighborhood leaders. I began attending meetings of the AMOS Project s Leadership Assembly on July 29, 2013 at St. Vivian Catholic Church. With this article, I would like to introduce our Meeting as a whole to this organization and raise the possibility of our developing a relationship with them. Since I have been involved with volunteer work or ministry in incarceration settings for the past ten years, I began to learn about organizations dedicated in whole or in part to helping people either during incarceration, or when they complete their sentences and become returning citizens attempting to re-establish themselves in their communities. While volunteering as a GED tutor at River City Correctional Center, I learned about the organization called Transforming Jail Ministries (TJM)). TJM, composed of almost 100 worship teams from as many congregations, provides worship services to the 1,200 people incarcerated at the Justice Center and hundreds of others at locked facilities around Hamilton County. The mission of TJM is limited to working with people while they are in jail. Since July of 2012 our Meeting has had a TJM worship team. Concern about the criminal justice system and its impact on society is not new to Friends, either historically or in our Meeting. Some of our current members have worked to end capital punishment. As my interest in incarcerated people grew, I have mentored several women, former felons, in their efforts to return to society. They taught me much about the hurdles a returning citizen encounters. In an effort to help them, I began exploring organizations that have an explicit goal, either as part or the whole of their mission, to assist returning citizens in taking their place in civil society. The AMOS Project has this goal as a part of its mission. At the July Leadership Assembly, the AMOS Project developed the concept of the Beloved Community to guide its work. The Beloved Community would treat all people with dignity, justly steward public resources, and include and elevate the least of us. The platform for the Beloved Community includes: Increasing opportunity and employment of residents in low-income neighborhoods through targeting employment on city-funded projects; Fair Hiring Policies by all employers, so that returning citizens are included in the workforce and included in the growing prosperity of our region; Protection and strengthening of voter s rights, so that the ballot box is something that nobody fears or mistrusts; The building of a more redemptive, healthy and healing juvenile justice system that ends the school-toprison pipeline and puts youth on the right track; Improving the safety and pay of low-wage workers, as all work has dignity, and so their families can thrive; Ending the never-ending, resource wasting, and racially targeted War on Drugs. Stopping Stand Your Ground (HB 203) in Ohio Some recent actions in which AMOS Project has participated included an August 17 Training Day to teach coaches how to help returning citizens acquire a Certificate of Qualification for Employment (CQE) as provided in Ohio s 2012 legislation against collateral civil sanctions for criminal offenses; an October 2 Day of Action in Columbus to oppose Ohio s proposed Stand Your Ground legislation; and support for Wal-Mart employees in their efforts to improve wages and working conditions.

7 Community Companion November, 2013 page 7 The AMOS project, continued On November 2 AMOS Project will participate in a rally in Columbus called Standing on the Side of Justice. The rally calls Ohio lawmakers to: Halt the death penalty End the War on Drugs and mass incarceration Break the jobs barriers for returning citizens Stop Stand Your Ground proposals It will take place at the Ohio Statehouse, 1 Capitol Square, Columbus on Sat., Nov. 2, 2013, 4:00 p.m. contact: uujo@ohiomeadville.org. The AMOS Project has contacted all the candidates for Mayor and City Council to ask for their support of the Beloved Community Platform. They were asked these questions: 1. Do you support efforts, such as restorative justice, that will keep youth and nonviolent offenders from incarceration? 2. Do you believe that companies and vendors that do business with the City of Cincinnati, or receive tax breaks/incentives, should have responsible Fair Hiring Policies in place? 3. Do you support efforts to decriminalize drug possession and promote healthy alternatives to incarceration? 4. Will you endorse our Beloved Community Platform? 5. If elected, will you join AMOS for a community meeting on the Beloved Community on Monday, November 18 at 7:00 p.m. at the Church of the Living God, 434 Forest Ave.? As of Oct. 28, the following candidates agreed to come and responded affirmatively to nearly every question: Roxanne Qualls, Mike Moroski, PG Sittenfeld, Yvette Simpson, and David Mann (he said maybe to 4 Members of the community, and especially of congregations interested in the work of the AMOS Project (And hopefully that includes you) are warmly encouraged to attend. [I am sorry I will miss this session, am having surgery that day, but please tell me how it went!] Currently the director for the Amos Project is Rev. Nelson Pierce. Its office is located at 3060 Durrell Ave., Cincinnati, OH Phone number is (513) is info.amosproject.wordpress.org. Beyond Meeting for Worship at Community Friends Meeting: Submitted by Meeting for Worship is the cornerstone of our community; however, there are other opportunities to be engaged and deepen your life and the life of the Meeting. Whether you want to deepen your connections to others, enrich your understanding, serve the community, and/or get support for a concern or leading, consider the following opportunities at Community Friends. Standing Committees Join a committee such as Peace and Social Concerns, Community/Music, House and Grounds, Friends in Unity with Nature, Adult Education, Religious Development, or Library. In reach groups Join a group still open for new members (contact person is listed): Healing - Pam Richards; Clearness in your daily life Doug Burks; Eugene Peterson s The Message - Tim Leonard; Aging Jean Crocker Lakness Introduction to Quaker faith and practice Whether new to meeting or not, attend a monthly meeting. Clearness committees on request. One of the gifts of Quaker process, these committees use a process of listening and helping a person discern a leading or what to do about a particular concern. We ve had a number of these in the past year. They usually meet once when an individual requests guidance. Support or anchor committees sometimes following a clearness committee we currently have 5 of these meeting. They usually meet monthly over an agreed period of time to help a person pursue and be accountable to a leading. Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business meets monthly. All are welcome and encouraged to attend. Please contact Ministry and Council if you have questions about any of these groups.

8 Community Companion November, 2013 page 8 FRIENDS CENTER OF OHIO YEARLY MEETING Learning from the Spiritual Journey of Early Friends Facilitated by Marcelle Martin, November 8-10, 2013 Barnesville, Ohio Those who became the first Quakers changed from being people conformed to their society and out of touch with God, to people filled with the Spirit and whole-heartedly responsive to divine promptings. During this weekend workshop we will look at passages from the writings of early Friends that reveal the spiritual transformation process they collectively experienced as they allowed Christ to be active within and among them. We will consider ten elements of their spiritual rebirth: Longing, Seeking, Turning Within, Openings, the Refiner s Fire, Being Gathered into Community, Leadings of the Spirit, Living in the Cross, Living in Divine Love and Power, and Perfection (in One s Measure). There will be opportunities to share with one another our own experiences of God s transforming work in us, and together we will listen for how Christ is guiding us today. Marcelle Martin is a member of Chestnut Hill Meeting in Philadelphia. She currently lives in Richmond, IN, where she is finishing two books, one telling the story of the beginning of Quakerism and the other about essential elements of the Quaker spiritual journey. For four years she was the resident Quaker Studies teacher at Pendle Hill and has led retreats at Quaker meetings across the country. She is the author of two Pendle Hill pamphlets, including Invitation to a Deeper Communion. Ken and Katharine Jacobson, members of Stillwater Meeting, have led retreats on Quaker faith and practice and sacred community at Friends Center, at Pendle Hill, and at their home in Wisconsin. Ken currently teaches theology and social and personal transformation at Chicago Theological Seminary. They will serve as elders for this weekend. Friends Center of Ohio Yearly Meeting is a retreat and conference center for exploring Christian unprogrammed Quakerism and its meaning today. Rooted in Ohio Yearly Meeting and its tradition of hospitality for spiritual seekers, Friends Center is a place where we can explore, articulate and share a faith that is both unprogrammed and Christian. While this faith draws on the experiences and writings of earlier Friends, we seek to express it in ways that are appropriate to the language and conditions of our own time. Our intention is to learn together from the living presence of Jesus Christ, whom we experience teaching us directly from within, through the Scriptures, and through one another. Each weekend at Friends Center begins with supper at 6:00 PM on Friday and ends with a noon meal on Sunday. Cost for each workshop is $170 per person, double occupancy. Scholarship aid is usually available. Please use the attached registration form, or inquiries or registrations to Katharine Jacobsen, addresskenkatharine@earthlink.net. The registration deadline for this weekend is October 25th. If you need to cancel a registration, please phone Katharine (262) or Fran Taber (740) Those who are not able to come to Barnesville, Ohio for this weekend in November may be interested in a fuller opportunity to explore this material at Pendle Hill, May 11-15, /942-in-the-life-and-power-of-god-on-the-spiritual-journey-with-early-friends For the past year I've been sharing what I've learned from early Friends on my blog, A Whole Heart. You can read about it here: Peace and grace, Marcelle

9 Community Companion November, 2013 page 9 Officers: Presiding Clerk: Kate Anthony Assistant Clerk: Recording Clerk: Paul Buckley Treasurer: Lynn Funck Ministry and Counsel: Kate Anthony (ex officio) Eileen Bagus Erin Bagus Lisa Cayard Tim Leonard Sunny Rhein (SA) Community Friends Meeting Officers and Committees Final Approval 10/13/13 Archivist/Librarian: Peggy Spohr Web Page Clerk: David Pfaltzgraff-Carlson Directory Editors: Frank Huss & Susan Mospens Quarterly Meeting Representative: Rhonda Pfaltzgraff-Carlson Friends in Unity with Nature: Elyce Benke Sue Brungs Bill Cahalan Judy Ganance Jamie Fota Kim Francis Kevin Kelso (SA) Tom Orr (SA) John Sniegocki (SA) Eric Wolff (SA) Jennifer Wolff (SA) Quaker Quill reporter: Paul Buckley Statistician: Lisa Cayard Newsletter Editors: Jean Crocker-Lakness & MARCC Delegate: Ken Bordwell OVYM Executive Committee Reps: Frank Huss & House and Grounds: Carol Burks Kim Frances David Funck Richard House (SA) Kevin Kelso (SA) Eugenia Mills Susan Mospens Tom Orr (SA) Jim Rhein (SA) John Sniegocki (SA) Eric Wolff Tom Zalla Peace and Social Concerns: Kate Anthony Eileen Bagus Doug Burks Tim Leonard Cannon Fund Trustees: Mary Anne Curtiss Sarah Hoffmann Eugenia Mills Adult Education: Paul Buckley Doug Burks Pam Richards Community: Ken Bordwell Lynn Funck Kaitlyn Funck (SA) Richard House (SA) Eugene Marquis Pam Richards Geoff Maher (SA) Tom Zalla Library: Peggy Spohr David Pfaltzgraff- Carlson Alvin Jose (SA) John Sniegocki Stewardship: Sarah Hoffmann Richard House Lynn Funck (ex officio) Marjorie Isaacs Religious Development: Erin Bagus Lisa Cayard Lynn Funck David Funck Jim Rhein Hannah Branson