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Thinking About Race (October 2022) – Ladder to the Light

by WebPost | Sep 21, 2022 | Announcement

These quotes, by Steven Charleston, a member of the Choctaw Nation, are timely for the month that contains Indigenous People's Day, October 10. Note: Indigenous People's Day 2022 is a state observance in 30 states, including Maryland, and a state holiday in 3 states and 1 federal district.
From Ladder to the Light - An Indigenous Elder’s Meditations on Hope and Courage, by Steven Charleston, 2021, Broadleaf Books, p. 79
"One of the greatest challenges we face in our ascent to freedom is the fear of diversity. Throughout the centuries, oppressive cultures have invented scores of ways to pretend human beings are fundamentally different. They have invented the concept of race. They have developed elaborate caste systems. They have engineered class distinctions. They have economically separated people by gender. They have practiced religious exclusivity and intolerance. The list goes on, but the results have been the same. Humanity has remained fractured along imaginary fault lines created by fear and perpetuated for social control and domination.”
Charleston, a member of the Choctaw Nation, goes on to tell us how to climb the ladder: "In the kiva, we begin overcoming this fear. We begin to see the deeper truth of our own humanity. The higher we climb on the ladder, the more we realize the reality of our own existence. We are not different; we are the same. The light exposes these false divisions and helps us recognize one another for what we are: brothers and sisters in the great tribe of human beings."
This column is prepared by the BYM Working Group on Racism (WGR) and sent to the designated liaison at each local Meeting. The BYM WGR meets most months on the first Saturday, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, currently via Zoom. If you would like to attend,contact the clerk at david.etheridge@verizon.net

Message from Nominating Committee

by WebPost | Sep 21, 2022 | Announcement, Nominating

Serving on a committee or holding a position is a wonderful way to become more integrated into the RFM community.
Since Richmond Friends Meeting has no paid pastor or staff, the work of keeping the Meeting going is done entirely by its community of members and attenders. There are some 16 standing committees and more than 25 positions to be filled each year. Committees operate in the Quaker way, requiring a sense of the committee to move forward. Thus all who serve are equally important to a committee’s functioning.
A list of all committees, with descriptions, is on the Meeting website: www.richmondfriendsmeeting.org. Click on About Us on the top menu and scroll to Meeting Organization. (Or contact Janet Thoroman for the complete list.)
The Nominating Committee, appointed by the Clerk of Meeting, seeks each fall to find people in the RFM community who can best serve on each committee and fill each position for the coming calendar year. It presents a draft roster to Meeting for Business in November and then the final roster in December. Upon approval, the new committees begin their work in January.
If you feel led to serve, or have any questions, please contact a member of the Nominating Committee:
Joe Ball
Denna Joy Michael Pierce Janet Thoroman Christy Woody

Isabel Wilkerson to speak at UR

by WebPost | Sep 21, 2022 | Announcement, Communications

Friends,

Some of us are participating in a BYM book group on Caste, the book by Isabel Wilkerson. I just learned she will be speaking at the University of Richmond on Oct 3 at 7pm.

Tickets are free and you must reserve through the Modlin Center box office, which you can do online or by calling during their office hours. I called and they had sold out, but someone called me back and they have released 40 more tickets. So if you are interested, don't delay.

For more info:

https://chaplaincy.richmond.edu/programs/weinstein-rosenthal/

Lynda

--

Lynda Fleet Perry

Clerk, Richmond Friends Meeting

Adult Spiritual Education Fall Series: “Books the Nurture the Spirit”

by WebPost | Sep 18, 2022 | Announcement

ASE is delighted to announce the return of its fall series: “Books that Nurture the Spirit.” In these sessions, members of our community who have been deeply touched by a particular book will explore how the book connects to their spiritual journeys. Participants will be given opportunities to do the same, whether they have read the book before the session or not.

We will offer four Zoom sessions, Saturdays from 9:30 to 10:30/10:45, as follows:

Saturday, September 24: Tao Te Ching led by Steve Humphrey, facilitated by Allen Lee

Saturday, October 8: Black Like Me by John Griffin, led by Paul DiPasquale, facilitated by Howard Garner

Saturday, October 22: The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, led by Susan Singer, facilitated by Rita Willett

Saturday, November 12: This Day, Collected and New Sabbath Poems by Wendell Berry, led by Janet Thoroman, facilitated by Barbara Hulburt

Remember that it is not necessary to have read the books in order to participate fully in these sessions!

BYM Reading Group on CASTE starts Sept. 14

by WebPost | Sep 14, 2022 | Announcement

Friends,

The Working Group on Racism of our Baltimore Yearly Meeting is offering a reading group on CASTE, the extraordinary, highly readable book by Isabelle Wilkerson. I read the book last year and plan to participate. Please join in, if you are so led!

You can learn more about the group and how to register here.

https://www.bym-rsf.org/what_we_do/committees/racismwg/.

I've pasted some details from that site below, and the link to register, FYI.

In the light,

Lynda

Lynda Perry

Clerk, Richmond Friends Meeting

CASTE ONE BOOK PROJECT BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 14TH

REGISTER ONLINE NOW HERE

The Working Group on Racism (WGR) is asking Baltimore Yearly Meeting Friends to read Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, The Lies that Divide Us by Isabel Wilkerson.

WGR members will host a Caste reading group by Zoom, available to all in the Yearly Meeting. Zoom offers the option of access to the reading group by phone.

Friends are also invited to read Caste as Monthly Meetings or as individuals. The BYM Working Group on Racism is available to support these options. Ellen Cronin can be reached at ecronin343@gmail.com.

The Caste reading group will be offered via Zoom seven Wednesday evenings, 7-8:30, beginning Wednesday September 14 and ending December 14. Many across the Yearly Meeting have been reading and working in anti-racism for years. CASTE is a somewhat difficult reading rather than a beginners’ introduction to reckoning about race and racism. Each session will feature readings, together with questions and queries, and online, opportunity for large-group discussion and small-group sharing. Friends of Color are invited to indicate a preference for an affinity group. We hope the numbers will make this possible.

The aims of the series:

Offer white Friends an opportunity for spiritual searching and growth in processing the information and perspective presented by the author, seeking to understand historical and present-day prejudice and trauma from a Black perspective.
Offer a place for participants to practice ways to approach difficult readings and conversations, aided by somatic body work and supporting each other, especially when making mistakes and taking risks.
Offer BYM Quakers an additional means to educate ourselves together, and move closer to having BYM be an anti-racist faith community.

REGISTER FOR THE ONLINE CASTE DISCUSSION HERE --

Quaker House invitations

by WebPost | Sep 11, 2022 | Announcement

Quaker House shares the invitation from Eno Meeting. Eno Meeting gathers on Zoom each Thursday evening for worship sharing around a specific topic. ThisThursday, September 15th at 7:30, we will be joined by Quaker House executive director, Wayne Finegar. Wayne will be leading us as we consider the queries posed by Quaker House for the International Day of Peace.

Eno invites all interested Friends to join them! Please email Sally at sallyfreeman@earthlink.net if you are interested. She will send you the Zoom link. [end shared part]

I'm attaching the full Picnic For Peace piece to share on the website and anyplace you're led.

peace and thanks.

Patricia Stansbury
Epic Gardens

International Day of Peace
End Racism. Build Peace.
September 21, 2022
The United Nations General Assembly has declared September 21 as the International Day of Peace
The International Day of Peace has been devoted to strengthening the ide- als of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire. But achieving true peace entails much more than laying down arms. It re- quires building societies where every person can live in safety and peace.
For over 50 years, Quaker House has been a manifestation of the Friends’ Peace Testimony. Quaker House provides daily direct counseling and sup- port to members of the military who are questioning their roles and suf- fering from the affects of their participation in the military. We also con- tinually advocate for a more peaceful world for everyone, everywhere.
We encourage Friends to consider these Queries:

What does peace mean in a world plagued with racism and inequal- ity? Can there be peace without equality for every person?
Many Friends have reconsidered their relationship with the Peace Testimony in light of recent events across the planet. Do conscious or unconscious racism affect reactions to violence in different parts of the world?
What one thing can I do in the next 24 hours to try to ad- vance peace and end racism? What can we, as Quakers,
do to spread the message of seeking Spirit in each other throughout the world?

Richmond (VA) Friends Meeting

Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)

Message from Nominating Committee

Isabel Wilkerson to speak at UR

Adult Spiritual Education Fall Series: “Books the Nurture the Spirit”

BYM Reading Group on CASTE starts Sept. 14

CASTE ONE BOOK PROJECT BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 14TH

Quaker House invitations

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10:45 A.M - Until rise of Meeting - Childcare

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Thinking About Race (October 2022) – Ladder to the Light

Message from Nominating Committee

Isabel Wilkerson to speak at UR

Adult Spiritual Education Fall Series: “Books the Nurture the Spirit”

BYM Reading Group on CASTE starts Sept. 14

CASTE ONE BOOK PROJECT BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 14TH

Quaker House invitations

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