Fall is Friendly 8’s Time!

by WebPost | Sep 23, 2020 | Announcement

A chance to gather (safely or virtually) with old and new friends to share an activity. So far we have four
groups on offer listed with the person to contact:
 Biking 20 miles or More convener, Ada Hammer
 Arts and Crafts, all kinds, all levels, convener, Meg Viar
 Women’s Monthly Hike, short distance, convener, Emily Kimball
 Quaker Birding, monthly birdwatching walk, convener, Cas Overton
If you wish to form a Friendly 8 please email your group description to Kelly Dipasquale before October 11th.

Jim Melton

by WebPost | Sep 23, 2020 | Announcement

Longtime attender, Jim Melton, has died here in Richmond. Care and Counsel Committee received a
message from his brother Ben on September 11: I'm sorry to have to let you know that Jim passed away this
evening at Brownstone, the assisted living home in which he was living. After dinner, he went upstairs to
rest and was found there a bit later. The rescue squad had been called and Bill went straight over there, but
he was gone when Bill got there.

Fall Workday at RFM

by WebPost | Sep 20, 2020 | Announcement

Fall Workday at RFM

Presented by your own Building and Grounds Committee

In this unusual year, our tasks can be done singly or with one or two others.

If you are interested in one of these jobs, contact Ada Hammer, hammer.a@gmail.com. 

Everyone working will maintain social distancing. If working with another person inside, masks need to be worn.

Here are 4 work opportunities for you at the meetinghouse:

Leaf Clean-up (an essential task)

2 people needed in late Oct. or early Nov.

2 people needed in late Nov.

Coordinating work: Al Simmons

Garden Work

1 or 2 people needed in early Oct. 

1 or 2 people needed in late Oct.

Coordinating work: Julia McLaughlin

Painting trim in back foyer​

The doors into the meeting room and the window trim need a coat of paint. (Nothing in this part of the building was painted in the recent work done.)

1 or 2 people needed for this job

Coordinating work: Wendy Wadsworth

Oiling the benches in the worship room

This task could be done in 3 different work sessions with 2 people in each work group.  

Coordinating work: Ada Hammer

Adult Spiritual Education Programs: Mysticism: Living from the Inside Out

by WebPost | Sep 20, 2020 | Announcement

Our series Mysticism: Living from the Inside Out will be presented virtually on Saturday mornings at 9:30 am. These programs will be recorded and put on the RFM website for later viewing. Contact the presenter if you have a questions about the session or the references. We will send the link for each program through the Newslist on the Friday before the session.

September 26: German Benedictine Abbess: Hildegard of Bingen. Barbara Hulburt presenting
Hildegard of Bingen (12th century) was an extraordinary woman and mystic whose writing still speaks to us today. Her mystical visions led her to a profound understanding of spirituality and she was a preacher, advisor, and spiritual guide to many. In this program we will see what Hildegard has to say to us about spirituality as a reflection of the “living light.”

October 10: American Peace Activist: Mildred Norman, Peace Pilgrim. Marjorie Bertolino presenting
Peace Pilgrim (1908-1981), born Mildred Lisette Norman, was an American spiritual teacher, mystic, pacifist, vegetarian activist and peace activist. In 1952, she became the first woman to walk the entire length of the Appalachian Trail in one season. Starting on January 1, 1953, in Pasadena, California, she adopted the name “Peace Pilgrim” and walked across the US for 28 years, speaking with others about peace. She was on her seventh cross-country journey when she died.
Suggested reading is “Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words” available free by request at https://www.peacepilgrim.org/to-receive-free-peace-pilgrim-book

October 24: Anderson Johnson, Visionary Artist of Virginia. Catherine Roseberry presenting
“I’ve heard of folk art – but what’s visionary art?”
Before I talk about Anderson Johnson (1915-1998) this fall, it might be helpful to be introduced to the confusing nomenclature surrounding the form commonly known as folk art. It’s messy, inconsistent, sometimes used interchangeably and a lot of times not.
The American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore has a good, relatively short commentary about this debate accompanying their mission statement (http://www.avam.org/stuff-everyone-asks/what-is-visionary-art.shtml). If you’re so moved, read the top of the page through “Can’t trained artists also hear their own voices?” Then for fun poke around their website, especially the section called “Our Visionaries.” Mr. Johnson isn’t here, but a lot of folks are. If you want a preview of his work, here are two versions of his Queen of Sheba paintings.

November 7: Contemporary Mystics in Action. Howard Garner presenting
It is a mistake to think of mystics as people who spend their days meditating in isolation from the world’s problems. In this session we will study the work of two modern-day mystics who live from the inside out and are making a difference in the world.
Richard Rohr is a Franciscan friar and the founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is the author of over 20 books, including “Yes, And…” He is an internationally known speaker and contributor to several publications on daily spiritual practice.
Thich Nhat Hanh is a Buddhist Zen master exiled from Vietnam in 1973 for his peace activism. He is a beloved teacher, scholar, peace activist, and poet, having written over 100 books, including “Living Buddha, Living Christ.” He is the founder of Plum Village, near Bordeaux, France, a Beloved Community with over 200 Buddhist monks in residence.

November 21: “Mystical Union”: Synthesis and Integration. ASE Committee facilitating
Where we put it all together.

Meeting for Worship Outdoors and in-person at the Clearing!

by WebPost | Aug 19, 2020 | Announcement

Meeting for Worship Outdoors and in-person at the Clearing!
(Our beautiful retreat center in Amelia County) September 13 at 11 am
14006 Genito Road
Amelia Courthouse, VA 23002
Driving directions can be found via GPS and also on the RFM website’s Clearing page https://testsite.richmondfriends.org/theclearing/
Please bring your own chair to place at a safe distance from others. Please have a mask with you.
Bring a bag lunch and enjoy a meal together.
Outdoor privies, stocked with hand sanitizer, will be available. We hope that bathrooms in the lodge will be available. Other than bathrooms, the lodge will NOT be open.
Meeting for Worship will be held online via Zoom at the same time. Because the Clearing does not have wifi, these will be separate worship gatherings.
Please contact the Committee on Ministry & Worship if you have questions.

BYM On-line Spiritual Formation Retreat – Sept 18-19

by WebPost | Aug 18, 2020 | Announcement

Friends, you have heard about the upcoming moi spiritual formation program at RFM - an opportunity to deepen our spiritual understanding and practice, as individuals and as a community. Baltimore Yearly Meeting's spiritual formation program serves as an umbrella for local spiritual formation groups - like the group at RFM - across the yearly meeting. BYM offers a fall and spring retreat each year to support and enhance the spiritual formation experience in local meetings. The 2020 fall retreat will be online Sept 18 and 19 - information below or at https://t.e2ma.net/message/ky9c5h/0igo71cThe retreat will be led by experienced facilitators Amy Schmaljohn and Alan Evans. It's an opportunity for a time of retreat and a chance to connect with Friends across the yearly meetingThe retreat fee will be "pay as led" so cost should not be a barrier. All are welcome at this retreat - whether or not you are able to participate in Richmond's Spiritual Formation program over the coming year. 

For information about the upcoming year-long spiritual formation program at RFM, please contact Joe Ball at jball@newarka.edu

Contact me if you have questions about the BYM weekend retreat - it's under the care of BYM Ministry and Pastoral Care committee, where I serve as a member. 

Rita Willett