June Query & Announcements

LEYM ADVICES AND QUERIES: PARTICIPATION IN MEETING

Do you give sufficient time to sharing with others in the meeting, both newcomers and long-time members, your understanding of worship, of service, and of commitment to the Society’s witness? Britain YM, QF&P, 1.02, 20.

What are we doing to recognize and nurture the skills and spiritual gifts of adults and children in our Meeting? Do we encourage attenders to take part in committees, attend business meeting, and participate in the activities of the Meeting? Do we encourage them to pursue membership when they are ready?

Do we accept our share of responsibility for carrying out the Meeting’s work? Do we support the Meeting financially and in other ways, according to our resources and abilities? How do we share our gifts and what do we hold back from offering?

When faced with personal or corporate decisions, do we join with others in seeking clearness, in asking for God’s guidance, and in offering appropriate counsel to one another?

How do we celebrate the presence of children and young people in the Meeting, nurturing and learning from the gifts they bring? Are we involved in the support, care, and religious education of our Meeting’s children? How do we learn from them and accept our responsibilities toward them?

LEYM’s Advices & Queries, for Use by Individual Friends, Meetings, and Worship Groups is available online at http://leymquaker.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/aq3f2.pdf.

On the Calendar

• June 13: Sewing circle meets at Roberta Rossi’s. Call Roberta or Judi Buchman for details.
• June 15-16: Workshop/retreat with Merry Stanford, April Allison and Peter Wood. See below for details.
• June 27: Sewing circle meets at the Green House, 315 Eastern Ave., at 1:00 pm. Judi Buchman has details.

News and Notes

• Would you like to work to make love visible? LEYM is sponsoring workdays with Habitat for Humanity on July 24-25, in conjunction with LEYM Annual Sessions in Bluffton, OH. The work will be done in a Habitat ReStore in Lima, OH, and a Habitat house in Delphos, OH. There will be small and large jobs, something for everyone age 16 and over. Organizers hope to have childcare for little ones. Housing and meals will be arranged; costs will be low. Please send an early indication of interest, with names and ages listed, to Nancy Taylor, Ann Arbor, MI. More details about the work project are available at www.habitatlima.org.
• FGC seeks mentors for new meetings. As part of supporting new meetings and worship groups, the FGC New Meetings Project is seeking seasoned, faithful Friends to serve as members of mentoring teams. Friends who can bring an experiential understanding that the Spirit can teach us together, invite people more deeply into God’s presence, and teach the Quaker way, should speak to Mike Holaday for more details about the NMP and the mentoring teams. There’ll be a Mentoring Teams retreat November 15-17, 2013, at Quaker Hill Conference Center in Richmond, IN.
• You can sign a petition to close the federal prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by visiting www.change.org/petitions. 
• During the workshop/retreat with Merry Stanford, Friends will gather at the Browne Center for worship, prayer and discussion. To be eligible, a person must have attended meeting for worship during the past year and participated in an individual meeting with Merry and April. He or she must also commit to being present for the whole of the retreat. Eligible individuals have received an email explaining how to register. Attendees should bring a brown-bag lunch on both Saturday and Sunday, and a dish to pass for dinner on Saturday; the main dish (roast chicken) will be provided by the Miller-Seif family. 

Minute Addressed to Friends School in Detroit Board of Trustees and Green Pastures Quarterly Meeting, From Birmingham Friends Meeting

May 27, 2013

Dear Friends:

We wish to share the following minute, approved by Birmingham Friends Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends on May 26, 2013. This minute borrows some language from the minute passed by Red Cedar Friends Meeting on February 10, 2013.

Minute:

Birmingham Friends Monthly Meeting wishes to express both its appreciation for the many contributions of Friends School in Detroit and its long history of providing much benefit to the lives of students and families in Detroit and southeast Michigan. We recognize the sacrifices and investments that so many Friends have made through the years in furthering the work of Friends School. We have a strong concern for the current students, teachers and staff members living in the uncertainty of the situation. It is apparent that some Friends have given as much of themselves as they humanly can, and now need to draw back from participation.

Birmingham Friends Meeting has deep concerns about the current sustainability of the school as it faces recurring financial crises. The strategic plan recently prepared by the Board of Trustees does not appear to reflect a future that will significantly alter the existing financial problems of the school. We reluctantly encourage serious consideration of laying down Friends School in Detroit at the close of the 2012-2013 school year. The decision to mindfully lay down the school could thereby release energy for other work with youth that may blossom among Friends.

On behalf of Birmingham Friends Monthly Meeting, Ellen Barnes, Clerk

May Announcements

During the workshop/retreat with Merry Stanford, Friends will gather at the Browne Center for worship, prayer and discussion. To be eligible, a person must have attended meeting for worship during the past year and participated in an individual meeting with Merry and April. He or she must also commit to being present for the whole of the retreat. Eligible individuals have received an email explaining how to register. Attendees should bring a brown-bag lunch on both Saturday and Sunday. Dinner on Saturday will be provided by the Miller-Seif family.

LEYM ADVICES AND QUERIES: MEETING FOR BUSINESS

The act of listening to God’s will in Meeting for Business is a way for the Meeting to give back the expression of unconditional love. It requires faith and obedience – faith that God will lead us and that we will obey His leading. Cleveland Meeting, Eighth Month 15, 2010

Be faithful in attending and participating in meeting for worship with attention to business. Are our meetings for business held in a spirit of worship? Do we depend on the guidance of God in love and humility? Do we seek the leadings of the Spirit and admit the possibility of error? Do we help one another in our search for unity by listening well and speaking briefly without repetition?

Be tender and considerate of differing views. As difficult problems arise, are we careful to meet them with open hearts, with minds receptive to creative solutions? Can we allow our personal wishes and insights to take their places alongside those of others or even to be set aside as the meeting seeks the right way forward? Do we recognize that the search for unity may require that we accept with grace a decision of the meeting with which we are not entirely in agreement?

Do we avoid feeling pressed by time, neither unnecessarily prolonging nor curtailing discussion? Do we maintain prayerful support for the clerk that he or she may be sensitive to the movement of the Spirit among us? Do we hold each other and the whole meeting in the Light as we conduct our business?

LEYM’s Advices & Queries, for Use by Individual Friends, Meetings, and Worship Groups is available online at http://leymquaker.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/aq3f2.pdf.

April Announcements

On the Calendar

• Apr. 6:  LEYM representatives meeting, Pittsburgh Friends Meeting House.
• Apr. 12-14: Merry Stanford and April Allison visit.
• Apr. 14: Friend Marie Pippenaar sings in the Calvin College choir at Grace Episcopal Church at 3:00 p.m. All are invited.
• Apr. 21: Program: Quaker pastor Silas siboe wanjala, a native of Kenya and a graduate of the Earlham School of Religion, will speak on “Peacebuilding in Kenya.”
• Apr. 28: 9:00 a.m. joint meeting of Advancement & Min & Nurture.
  
• May 11: Memorial service for Ray Jansma, Fremont.
• May 18: GPQM Spring Gathering, MI Friends Center.
• June 15-16 (tentative): Workshop/retreat with Merry Stanford and April Allison
• June 30: Open meeting for discussion of finance

News and Notes

• The worship group at the Bradley Indian Mission in Shelbyville will begin to meet every second and fourth First Day. Waiting worship is at 6:00 p.m., followed by a potluck meal.
• The Kaufman Interfaith Institute sponsors several challenging and engaging talks in the next few weeks. On Apr. 8 you can hear interfaith activist Padma Kuppa speak on “Religious Freedom, Predatory Proselytization and the Case for Pluralism” at 7:00 p.m. in the Loosemore Auditorium. On Apr. 16 you can hear a panel discussion on “Death, Dying and Life after Death,” from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at the Dominican Center at Marywood. On Apr. 23, you can hear a panel discussion on “Dementia in Your Faith Community,” from 8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at the Postma Center at Pine Rest. On Apr. 26 and Apr. 27, you can hear a performance of Bach’s St. John Passion at 8:00 p.m. at the Cathedral of Saint Andrew. From May 5-9 you can see the 15^th Annual Jewish Film Festival at Celebration Cinema North. For more information about any of these programs call 616-331-5702 or visit www.interfaithunderstanding.org.
• Friend Gerard Akkerhuis recommends “Whale Songs and Elephant Loves,” from the March 21 broadcast of the radio program “On Being.” In the program, acoustic biologist Katy Payne, who say she has a “Quaker sensibility,” describes her experiences with two of the most exotic creatures. From the wild coast of Argentina to the rainforests of Africa, she discovered that humpback whales compose ever-changing songs and that elephants communicate across long distances by infrasound. You can hear the program online at http://www.onbeing.org/program/whale-songs-and-elephant-loves/241.
• Join Friends for singing on Apr. 28 after meeting for worship.

April Advices & Queries

LEYM ADVICES AND QUERIES: MEETING FOR BUSINESS

The act of listening to God’s will in Meeting for Business is a way for the Meeting to give back the expression of unconditional love. It requires faith and obedience – faith that God will lead us and that we will obey His leading.

Cleveland Meeting, Eighth Month 15, 2010.

Be faithful in participating in meeting for worship with attention to business. Are our meetings for business held in a spirit of worship? Do we depend on the guidance of God in love and humility? Do we seek the leadings of the Spirit and admit the possibility of error? Do we help one another in our search for unity by listening well and speaking briefly without repetition?

Be tender and considerate of others’ views. Are we careful to meet those with open hearts and minds receptive to creative solutions? Do we allow our personal wishes and insights to take their place alongside those of others? Can we let them be set aside as the Meeting seeks the right way forward, recognizing that the search for unity may call us to accept with grace a decision of the Meeting with which we are not entirely in agreement?

Do we avoid both unnecessarily prolonging and curtailing discussion? Do we prayerfully support the clerk in detecting the movement of the Spirit among us? Do we hold each other and the Meeting in the Light as we conduct our business?

Adapted from Advices & Queries, for Use by Individual Friends, Meetings, and Worship Groups (Lake Erie Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends: Ann Arbor, 2012). Available online at http://leymquaker.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/aq3f2.pdf or in printed form in the GRFM library at the Browne Center.