The RE Committee is cancelling all children's classes at the meetinghouse and nursery for this First Day, May 29.
Several teachers have been exposed to Covid and the risk is too high. We are planning
to keep open June 5. We'll let you know if we close RE.
Monica Shaw,
clerk of RE
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Friends —
VDH/CDC now have Richmond and surroundings rated “High.”
Ministry & Worship plans to implement stronger safety protocols for worship, including asking for universal masking at indoor gatherings, continuing attention to ventilation and maintaining 6’ social distancing. Let’s take this higher level of Covid risk into account when planning other Meeting-related gatherings.
Thanks
Dan Shaw, clerk
Covid Working Group
For those who are coming to Spring Retreat, we have a number of updates for you. Please read carefully! We will also have this information available at The Clearing when you arrive.
FIRST - Please be aware that VDH has now moved Richmond and surrounding counties into the high risk category for COVID-19. We are continuing with Spring Retreat, but we will be requiring masks while inside the Lodge, and we also ask that Friends follow social distancing practices. We will post signs to help everyone remember. Thankyou for helping us all to stay safe and enjoy this gathering.
It looks like rainy weather today, so be prepared, but for tomorrow, it's looking like the rain will clear out, and it will be around 80 F. If your participation in the weekend changes, please contact a committee member (contacts below) with an update, via phone call or text. We won't be able to check email after about 2:00 pm today. Thanks!If you have questions, please reach out!All our best,Ted Heck, Genevieve Oei, Heidi Rugg, Katy RuggSpring Retreat Committee Members
Have a last minute question or change in plans? Please reach out to one of the following:Sam Rugg 804-539-6552 (mobile phone, text or call)Heidi Rugg 804-334-4338 (mobile phone, text or call)Ted Heck 804-726-1056 (mobile phone, text or call)Website for the Clearing: https://testsite.richmondfriends.org/theclearing/Address for the Clearing: 14006 Genito Rd, Amelia Court House, VA 23002
THINGS TO BRING:General:Weather-appropriate attireA board game or card game (optional)Bug repellantSunscreenA hatComfortable chair (nice, but optional)If camping or staying overnight:FlashlightTowelsBathing Suit (optional)Flip flops/shower shoes (optional)ToiletriesJacket/layersSleeping bag, blankets, pillowCamping gear if you plan to use a tent site
THE SCHEDULE (Group events will take place outdoors or in high-ventilation areas; indoor masking will keep our community safer. Thanks!)Friday:4pm: Earliest arrival time; check out a tent site/secure cabin accommodations5:30-6:30 DIY Dinner; soup and rolls available to all6:30 Clean up/Sign up for Chores!7pm Board Games9pm Dessert/Coffee/ConversationSaturday:7-9:30am Breakfast/Coffee/Conversation9am Sign up for chores!9:30am Cleanup10am - 12pm Council of All Beings12pm Lunch Prep12:30 LUNCH1-2pm Lunch Cleanup2pm Sign up for Chores!2-4pm Games! / Mary Burruss to lead Yoga! / Playing in the Sprinkler!4pm Watermelon Break4:30 - 6pm Dinner Prep6pm DINNER7pm Clean-up; Fire Prep8-10pm Fire Circle, Singing, and S’MORES!Sunday: 7-9:30am Breakfast/Coffee/Conversation (continued on next page)9:30am -10:30 Strike/Cleanup 10:30am-11:30am Meeting for Worship11:30am Cleaning12:30 LEFTOVER FEST! LUNCH1pm Final Cleaning3pm Go home 🙂
MENUFriday evening: Soup, rolls, cheese, and crackers (gluten free, dairy free, and vegetarian options will be available)Friday dessert: Cookies, coffee, tea (gluten free options available)Breakfast (Saturday/Sunday): Eggs, cereal, oatmeal packets, bananas, apples, oranges, yogurt, granola, toast (gluten free, dairy free, and vegetarian options will be available)Saturday Lunch: Soup, sandwich fixings (turkey, ham, cheese, hummus, PBJ), veggies, chips, pretzels, fruit, lemonade (gluten free, dairy free, and vegetarian options will be available)Snack: WatermelonDinner (once): Tacos (refried beans and/or ground turkey taco meat available), sweet potatoes, green salad, salsa, guacamole (gluten free, dairy free, and vegetarian options will be available)Fire Circle: S’mores (gluten free/vegan options will be available)Sunday Lunch: Leftover Fest!
The Baltimore Yearly Meeting wholeheartedly supports the establishment of a national commission to seek truth
and a measure of justice for those still suffering the residual effects of public policies that created and maintained
hundreds of boarding schools for Indigenous children in the United States from 1869 through the 1960s. We
support legislation to fund such a commission. Once established we will hold the people who come before it and
the commission members in the Light, in expectation that airing of harms and traumas will lead to some healing
of long-suffered wounds. We want a commission that yields real results and changes, not a report that gathers dust on a shelf.
We applaud the fact that one intention of the commission is to prevent continued removal of Indigenous (American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian) children from their families, communities, and cultural connections by adoption and foster care agencies.
We urge research by faith groups that ran residential schools, especially the Religious Society of Friends, to
provide explicit data requested by the federal government as part of the commission’s documentation of all
boarding schools and students. We believe accountability requires robust cooperation.
Our dear friend Bette Gilchrist died last night at Westminster Canterbury. Bette’s daughter-in-law, Julie, and her grandson, Charlie, were holding her hands when she left us. Bette had fallen earlier in the week and sustained a brain injury. We will miss her sweet smile, her sense of calm and trust. Bette’s sons, Mark and Jay are in town and are taking care of anything that needs to happen now.