Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting March 2010 Newsletter

Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting

March 2010 Newsletter

What's Happening | March Calendar | Activities of Friends | Outside the Meeting | Poem

What's Happening

Quaker Quest at CHFM

On Saturday, 6 March, from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, we have an opportunity to find out more about this "inreach/outreach" exercise, developed in the UK. Harry and Lois Forrest will lead a workshop designed to help us decide as a meeting if this is something we want to pursue in the coming year. Here are some thoughts from members of our community on what they expect from the workshop.

Sue Betts: I believe Quaker Quest can help deepen our relationships within the meeting. Most of us come to meeting because we are attracted to Quaker silence as a place to explore. But many of us also come to feel a part of a community where we can be known and where we can try to live out the Quaker values that attracted us. Although I have not previously been part of Quaker Quest, I believe it offers us a place to share those aspects of Quakerism that draw us, even to talk about what frustrates us about it. It offers us a way to appreciate our fellow members and attenders beyond the usual Sunday and committee experiences. I also hope Quaker Quest can help us articulate our faith and more naturally and comfortably share it outside the meeting.
Tricia Walmsley: I was involved in spreading information about (QQ) around the various Meetings in Western Australia a year ago so that we could all be in a position to make an informed decision about whether or not to go ahead with Quaker Quest. I see its training stages as a meaningful way in which to deepen our own community's spiritual life, an opportunity to get to know one another "in the things that are eternal." At this stage, the program is not yet a public outreach. Meetings in Australia all enthused about the spiritual rewards of the preliminary (“inreach”) stages.

What should FCNL's lobbying priorities be?

On Tuesday March 9 at 6:00 pm, Friends are encouraged to join the Peace and Social Concerns Committee at the Meetinghouse to help us discern our Meeting's highest priorities for FCNL's (Friends Committee on National Legislation's) legislative lobbying work for the next (112th) Congress. We'll share Mom's Bake at Home pizza, review past and current FCNL priorities, and, in worship sharing, listen for the deepest concerns of those present. It is a privilege unique to Friends that individuals and meetings have a voice in setting the priorities of our faith-based national lobbying work. All are welcome. E-mail us at kathy.miller127@gmail.com or hollisterknowlton@gmail.com to give us your pizza topping preference (and so we'll be sure to order enough!)

Friend Alice Terné

We note with sadness the death of our long-time member Alice Terné (most recently a member of Wilmington Friends) on Thursday, 12 February. Sympathy and remembrances can be sent to her family at the address in the directory. A memorial meeting for worship will be scheduled at Chestnut Hill Meeting (at Alice's request) in the future.

Wednesday Peace Vigil: 7 - 8 pm

It started Sept. 11, 2001 at the top of the hill in Chestnut Hill. It was Tuesdays then, each week. In 2005, related to a Move-On.org action, we changed to Wednesdays. People have come from many faith communities and some from organizations like Northwest Greens. Rain, shine, ice and snow. All are welcome.

Sometimes a Viet Nam vet and an Iraqi vet have joined us; they did not want to talk. An Episcopal priest of Pakistani origin routinely stops to chat. One evening a woman asked what we thought of Guantanamo; she was a lawyer, Susan, who was representing some of the Guantanamo prisoners. Another evening a man pulled over in his car, saying, “I have been watching you for years. When you started, I was in favor of searching out the weapons of mass destruction and getting Saddam Hussein. Now, I am with you. It was all a pack of lies. I admire your fortitude.” The SEPTA Route 23 bus drivers and the regular UPS driver all give a resounding honk as they pass. We also have the difficult conversations and we listen. I have come to understand the vigil as loving each person that goes by, not knowing what their story is.

Please know that we are there and stop by as you pass. We do need new signs. Some of our signs which have the word "war" need an "s" added. For more information, contact anyone on the Peace and Social Concerns Committee.
Carolyn Schodt

The Butler Knows!

acorn.svg.med.gif Live Oak Friends Meeting (Houston) member Hiram Butler (who is James Turrell's agent) paid a whirlwind visit to Philadelphia in mid-February. (Live Oak Meeting has Turrell's first Skyspace in a meeting.) At his presentation at the meetinghouse on February 17th, Hiram talked about their 7-year long building process and how the meeting has grown and changed. He said that Live Oak uses the meeting as a tool for many causes. For example, they sponsored a 24-hour long Erik Satie piano piece that raised $12,000 for an interfaith refugee effort. In addition to this presentation, Hiram met with people outside the meeting community who are interested in James Turrell's work. The artist has offered to donate his fee for up to two commissioned art pieces if we will find purchasers in the Philadelphia area. The response from art lovers as well as those intrigued by our overall project was positive and encouraging.

Jim Cox on the move

Jim reports with great pleasure that his relocation from the hospice unit at Nazareth Hospital to Chestnut Hill Lodge in Wyndmoor is “imminent.” There have been some minor snags in the transfer, so if you plan to visit, it's probably best to call Jim ahead of time to confirm his whereabouts. You can also call Chestnut Hill Lodge at (215) 836-2100; it's located at 8833 Stenton Avenue, in Wyndmoor.

Term Limits for Committee Service?

Nominating Committee is in high gear these days, preparing its slate of committee appointments for presentation at the March meeting for business on 21 March. If you haven't yet been called, perhaps you've been pondering what you'll say when one of the four members of the committee calls to ask about your interest in doing committee work. If you already do serve on a committee, there's another question that you should be asking yourself about continuing: “Am I called to this work, or am I staying on this committee out of habit?”

Though the idea of committee term limits arises from time to time, in recent memory these haven't been enforced in our meeting. We are a small group, and don't have the luxury of removing people from committees where they want to serve, and where they serve well. But sometimes Friends continue on a committee just because it's what they've always done. So “nominating season” is a good time to think about your own reasons for committee service. If your current service feels stale, think about a different committee where you might bring different talents, and some fresh energy.

Forum: Haitian earthquake eyewitness

Julian Brelsford will speak at our Forum on Sunday, 12 March. He's the database coordinator for PYM. He and his sister were in Haiti during the earthquake. His sister was injured in the quake. There are news stories with details. Julian will speak on Haiti and work there, as well as his experience with the earthquake.

Outreach Breakfast

The Outreach Committee is hosting an informal breakfast on Sunday, 28 March, for people new to the meeting community, and for those who might not be so new but who have questions about Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting, or about Quakerism in general. Come between 8:30 am and 10:00 am for coffee, tea, bagels and other forms of morning sustenance, and bring your questions. For “old-timers” this is a good event to bring a friend to who has asked you about what we do on Sunday mornings.

If you're coming and expect to need child care, please let the Outreach Committee know in advance.

Web site re-design

The newly formed Communications Committee (though that name may change) sees as one of its first tasks to examine the Meeting's existing web site with an eye to its re-design. We need to think not just about how it looks and what it contains, but what features we might want to add (e.g., password-protected area for certain kinds of documents), what content we want to keep and what we should archive, how best to organize that content, and so on. It's a big job, and having broad input from members of the meeting community is important. While there will be actual physical meetings (hey, we're Quakers, aren't we?), some of the work may be do-able online, and online participation in the meetings might even be possible.

So if you feel called to participate in this activity, please indicate that willingness by sending an e-mail describing how you think you could best contribute to Phil Jones.

Call for Friendly 8s hosts

Before the next round of Friendly Eights begins in mid-March, we need more hosts. Be not afraid! There are no reports to write, very few phone calls to make: this is HAPPY work!

What a host is asked to do:

be involved for one social occasion per month for four months in a row
make the initial contact with each person in the group to welcome and arrange date, time, nature and place of first meeting. It is also useful to find out if anyone in the group has a particular food need or other concern; e.g., gluten-free diet? allergic to cats? vegan? (allergic to vegans?)
ensure that, at the first gathering, the group discusses what they would like to do during future gatherings, and set dates for the remaining three gatherings
encourage different people in the group to take responsibility for co-ordinating / hosting / co-hosting each subsequent gathering. Meeting in different homes or settings is a great way to become better acquainted with one another.
consult with a member of the F8 committee if there is a complication, a problem or a change in the group.

F8s should be an enjoyable communal undertaking. What a host is NOT asked to do:

plan and cook the entire dinner / lunch / whatever
decide on and arrange all activities
host every gathering in their own home
polish the silver and clean the windows

If you don’t have room in your home, a picnic in the park is lovely; a stroll in the arboretum is the perfect springtime activity; a movie and an ice-cream parlor visit on a warm day is bliss.

If childcare is a concern, if you are short of chairs, if you have questions, please talk to Roger or Tricia Walmsley (215) 248-1514 or e-mail them at walmsley127@verizon.net. If you are willing to be a host, please let us know as soon as possible. Many thanks.

… and new Friendly 8s participants

Friendly 8s are informal groups of 8 people (!), who meet a few times over a few months to get to know one another better. Ideally, each group has a few old-timers with a few more recent arrivals. Each group has a host as the contact person, but the host does not have to cook the dinner and wash the dishes each time (see the Appeal for Hosts article above). Each group retains the same people over the course of 4 months, and there are at least 4 gatherings of some kind during that period. These might be potluck suppers, picnic lunches (we’re talking spring and summer here), going to a movie together, playing games, bird-watching. Gatherings have usually taken place on Saturdays and Sundays, but again, it’s up to the members of each group. Families with children are welcome.

Friendly 8s are not exclusive cliques created for those whose bonnets are just the right shade of gray. The October – February groups are winding up now, and we are preparing for the mid-March through mid-June gatherings to begin. If you really love the group you have been with, that’s wonderful. But now be ready to move on to another group to broaden your community experience.

How can you join in?

Sign-up sheets will be in the Gather Room over the next few weeks
e-mail Roger or Tricia Walmsley at walmsley127@verizon.net
for more information, call Walmsleys at (215) 248 1514

Calendar

Printable March Calendar, which shows other groups' uses of the building as well as our own. (Note that if you click this link before March, you'll see the February calendar; from there, click the right arrow button at the top left to move to March.)

Every Sunday

Hymn-singing, in Social Room by piano — 9:45am to 10:15am
Early Meeting for Worship — 9 - 10am
Meeting for Worship¹ (childcare available) — 10:30 - 11:30am
First Day School — 10:30am to 11:30am

Tues., 2 March — Mountain Meadow benefit concert — 7pm at meetinghouse
Tues., 2 March — Sarah Whitman at Pendle Hill ("OUCH!") — 7:30 - 9pm
Sun., 7 March — Community Lunch² — 12pm
Sun., 7 March — Worship & Ministry Committee Meeting — 12:30pm
Mon., 8 March — Care & Counsel Committee Meeting — 7:30 pm at Mickey's
Tues., 9 March — Men's Spiritual Support Group — 7:30pm
Wed., 10 March — Meeting for Holding in the Light³ — 7 - 8pm
Sun., 14 March — Forum: Julian Brelsford, earthquake eyewitness — 12pm
Sun., 21 March — Meeting for Business — 12:30pm (lunch provided)
Fri., 26 March to Sun., 28 March — PYM March Sessions — Arch St. Meeting House
Sun., 28 March — Outreach Breakfast — 8:30am
Thu., 1 April — April Newsletter deadline — midnight!

Note 1: Children are welcome in meeting for worship from 10:30 to 10:45, when they leave to attend First Day School.

Note 2: Community Lunches occur on the first First Day of the month from 12:00 - 1:00pm and are provided by the Hospitality Committee.

Note 3: In the gathering room, there is a book where you may write your joys and concerns to hold in the Light. On the second Wednesday of the month from 7:00 to 8:00 pm, there will be a special meeting for worship to focus on what was written.

Activities of Friends

OUCH! Rescheduled to 2 March

Sarah Whitman's talk, postponed by a recent snowstorm, has been re-scheduled for Tuesday, 2 March, 7:30 - 9 pm at Pendle Hill. She'll look at how Hinduism, Judaism and Quakerism think about pain and suffering. This is part of a series on spirituality and mental health offered by the Friends Counseling Service. The other three lectures are about mindfulness, Quaker parenting, and spirituality and psychotherapy.

Benefit Concert for Mountain Meadow on 2 March

Come to the meetinghouse on Tuesday, 2 March, at 7:00 pm to enjoy the soulful, sweet, funny and moving music of folk singer/songwriters Mary Shapiro (Washington, DC) and Patricia Morrison (Tucson, AZ) and support the vital and unique work of Mountain Meadow as they serve youth from LGBTQ families. Carrie Newcomer, Quaker, Grammy Award winner & Rounder recording artist says, "Mary Shapiro inspires, touches, and beckons us to join in the song!” Kathy Hyzy, editor of the Western Friend says, "These are songs to live by, sweet and simple, with contagious melodies that highlight Patricia's Joni Mitchell-esque voice." Donations are requested; separate children’s activities available. All ages welcome.

Brazilian Dance Party benefit

Your calendar is already marked for this event to benefit Christine Oliger on March 6, right? The evening will showcase the Brasil Project, a five-piece band, featuring Brazilian singer/songwriter Anne Simoni. Simoni sings powerful and haunting romantic ballads in her signature seductive, sultry tone, expressing a yearning for emotional connection.

To reserve your tickets for the Brazilian Dance Party, please go to www.friendsofchristine.com and – if you have a PayPal account – use the PayPal button on the right side of the page. Or you may send your check or money order ($20/person) to “Christine Oliger Trust,” c/o Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting, 100 East Mermaid Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19118-3507. All contributions toward Christine’s medical expenses will be gratefully acknowledged. For more information, please contact info@friendsofchristine.com or 267-972-3708.

Outside the Meeting

The Treaty Elm of Shakamaxon

As if there weren't already enough things of interest happening on Saturday 6 March, here's another: 4th & Arch Street Meeting House will host a celebration of the 1682 Treaty of Friendship between the newly arriving Quaker settlers and the Native Americans of the Lenape Nation. This very special gathering is sponsored by the PennTreatyMuseum.org, with the kind and generous support of the Indian Committee of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Download a brochure with further details.

PYM Unemployment Conference in Burlington

For unemployed Friends or those concerned about unemployment among Friends. See the PYM web site for more information, or contact Melissa Elliott. Check with Meg Mitchell about possibly carpooling to this event.

ECA's Green Jobs Training Center: Opening Celebration on 9 March

The Energy Coordinating Agency warmly invites you to the opening celebration of the John S. and James L. Knight Green Jobs Training Center on Tuesday, 9 March, from 2-3 pm. Mayor Michael Nutter will attend, and David Bradley, Executive Director of the National Community Action Foundation (NCAF) will present ECA with one of the nine Weatherization Training Partnership grants awareded nationally by NCAF/ExxonMobil. With your support ECA is renovating this 58,000 sq ft factory, where Civil War uniforms were once manufactured, to the LEED Gold Standard. In its first year alone, ECA will train more than 600 men and women for good green jobs with a future in the clean energy economy. (Our member, Liz Robinson, is Executive Director of ECA.)

Tuesday, March 9, 2010 from 2-3pm; tours available following the event; Knight Green Jobs Training Center, 106 W. Clearfield Street, Philadelphia. RSVP to Taylor Goodman, taylorg@ecasavesenergy.org or 215 609-1048. Click here to download directions for getting there by car, public transit or the trolley that will carry people from Center City to the site.

Friends Center wins LEED Platinum plaque

Mayor Nutter presented the US Green Building Council’s LEED Platinum certification plaque to the Friends Center Corporation on Monday, 22 February. The renovation of the Friends’ office building (ca. 1974) and historic Race Street Meetinghouse (ca. 1856) was celebrated as another milestone in Philadelphia’s quest to become “the greenest city in America.” The Friends’ Office Building renovation achieved 57 LEED points, the highest number for any project to date in the state of Pennsylvania.

Arthur Larrabee's report of his trip to Israel/Palestine

George Garrettson gave a brief summary of PYM's General Secretary's trip to Israel and Palestine at the February business meeting. Here's a link to Arthur's full report, which is a 5-page PDF file.

Remembering our participation in the Sanctuary Movement

Friends who were part of our community in the 1980s may remember the Meeting's participation in the Sanctuary Movement of that time, when we sheltered a young woman, “Paz,” from El Salvador at the meetinghouse. Our action then was part of a wider movement, and that movement is being revived as the New Sanctuary Movement. This group is sponsoring a reunion of 1980s sanctuary congregations with their new group.

Come to Tabernacle United Church on Thursday, 4 March, from 7 - 9 pm, for an evening of storytelling and inspiration with Philadelphia leaders from the ORIGINAL Sanctuary Movement of the 1980s together with the NEW Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia. They will be honoring Philadelphia congregations that were part of the 1980s sanctuary movement, including Central Baptist Church, FUMCOG, Tabernacle, St. Vincents, Germantown Friends, Chestnut Hill Friends, Mishkan Shalom, and others. Download this document for more information.

Vegetarian Friends

There is a lovely online monthly journal about non-human animals called The Peaceable Table: A Vegetarian Journal for Quakers & Other People of Faith. It is a project of the Animal Kinship Committee of Orange Grove Friends Meeting in Pasadena, CA. February's journal is available here. Sign up for the journal with Gracia Fay Ellwood.
Elizabeth Killough

Poem: Beyond the Snow Belt

Over the local stations, one by one,
Announcers list disasters like dark poems
That always happen in the skull of winter.
But once again the storm has passed us by:
Lovely and moderate, the snow lies down
While shouting children hurry back to play,
And scarved and smiling citizens once more
Sweep down their easy paths of pride and welcome.

And what else might we do? Let us be truthful.
Two counties north the storm has taken lives.
Two counties north, to us, is far away, -
A land of trees, a wing upon a map,
A wild place never visited, - so we
Forget with ease each far mortality.

Peacefully from our frozen yards we watch
Our children running on the mild white hills.
This is the landscape that we understand, -
And till the principle of things takes root,
How shall examples move us from our calm?
I do not say that is not a fault.
I only say, except as we have loved,
All news arrives as from a distant land.

Mary Oliver

Previous Newsletters

Feedback: Send comments, questions and suggestions about the newsletter to newsletter editor Phil Jones: newsletter@chestnuthillquakers.org. The background colors this month are an experiment; if you print the newsletter, the background colors won't be printed. If you have a reaction (positive or negative) about the use of color, be sure to let me know.