Friends General Conference shares the following yearly meeting announcements that may be of interest to Friends in the United States and Canada:

Very Soon: Rivers of Life Conference

Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting is passing on news of the Rivers of Life Conference, which will be on September 30. This conference is hosted by Earlham School of Religion and includes reflections from several public ministers. It includes opportunities to hear ideas, make new connections, and worship together. Registration is required.

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American Friends Service Committee

American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has job openings in Philadelphia, PA for a Chief Financial Officer. There are also positions open for attorneys, social workers, and other roles.

Baltimore Yearly Meeting

Retreat: Registration is now open for the BYM Women’s Retreat 2023. The retreat will be on October 21 and the theme is “Hope for an Inclusive Future.” This retreat is open to all women and non-binary people who are comfortable in a space that centers women. The location is Friends Community School in College Park, Maryland.

Save the Date: Fall Interim Meeting for BYM will be held at York Friends Meeting, Nov 11th. Additional details and registration will be forthcoming in the first week of October.

The Black Quaker Project

World Quaker Day includes a presentation by The BlackQuaker Project. The Zoom meeting runs on October 1 from 1-2 p.m. (Eastern), with a prelude starting at 12:45 p.m. Friends are invited to a virtual presentation from Hal Weaver and the BlackQuaker Project with special guest Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge. This program will showcase recent developments in the Black Quaker Project’s mission to give voice to Quakers of Color around the globe. Registration is required.

Earth Quaker Action Team

This summer, an intergenerational group of Friends from across the country gathered in an action against JP Morgan Chase and Vanguard. High school students from the Friends General Conference Gathering were present and vocal. Read more in an article that centers the voices of high school students.

Friends Committee on National Legislation

Workshop: Healing the Harms of Nuclear Testing will be September 27, 2023, 6:30 – 7:30 PM (Eastern). This session features Allen Hester and Tina Cordova. Hester is a nuclear disarmament lobbyist; Cordova is a co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium.

Gathering: The Diaspora Organizer Gathering will be October 27-30, 2023, at Friends Place on Capitol Hill. This is a gathering for advocates from diaspora communities in the United States. The purpose is to learn how to influence foreign policy change, build relationships with other advocates, and gain skills to organize in their communities

Friends Peace Teams

Friends Peace Teams is sponsoring an interactive workshop. “Roots of Injustice, Seeds of Change” will be November 11 from 4-6 p.m. (Eastern). This workshop is hosted by Towards Right Relationship with Native Peoples

Friends World Committee for Consultation

World Quaker Day: Friends World Committee for Consultation is hosting World Quaker Day on October 1, 2023. Friends everywhere will learn, pray and act, as we prepare to come together as a global family of Friends.

World Plenary: Registrations are now open for the FWCC World Plenary. All Yearly Meetings associated with FWCC are invited to send nominees, as are nominees of partner groups. The location in 2024 will be an hour from Johannesburg in South Africa. Online participation (individually and in groups) is also a possibility.

Illinois Yearly Meeting

Reading: The 2023 Plummer Lecture has been published by Illinois Yearly Meeting. Virginia Schelbert shares about her spiritual journey. 

Workshop: “Quaker Indigenous Boarding Schools – A Call for Research, Accountability, and Healing” will be held October 16 from 7:00- 9:00 p.m. (Central). This is led by Paula Palmer. and sponsored by the Racial Equity and Education Committee. The workshop is open to all of ILYM. Zoom link for workshop. Meeting ID is below.

Meeting ID: 816 0513 7311
Passcode: 067565
Phone: 312-626-6799 (Chicago).

Worship: The next Monthly Virtual Meeting for Worship will be October 10th at 7:00 p.m. (Central). This worship is hosted by the ILYM Ministry and Advancement Committee.

Lake Erie Yearly Meeting

Opportunity: LEYM Friends who are interested in the practice of Spiritual Companioning will gather online. Friends next meet on November 19, 2023 from  3:00 pm – 4:30 pm (Eastern). If you currently have a concern you’re sitting with or working on and would welcome and enjoy support with this work, please consider joining LEYM friends. For more information, contact Barbara LeSage (North Columbus, barbaralesage@hotmail.com), Cassie Cammann (Ann Arbor, cassie.cammann@gmail.com), Mark Hoover (Ann Arbor, mhoover@umich.edu), or Joann Neuroth (Red Cedar, jneuroth@gmail.com).

New England Yearly Meeting

Job Opening: Teen and Outreach Ministries Coordinator. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis beginning October 30, 2023.

Worship: The next worship-sharing hosted by Brian Drayton is October 13. Open to all, the opportunities are limited to 30 at a time. To sign up and learn the start time, contact Brian Drayton.

Reading: New England Yearly Meeting has a newsletter for youth and young adults. Learn more on their newsletter page.

New York Yearly Meeting

Virtual Interest Groups: New York Yearly Meeting’s first Virtual Interest Group is entitled “Engaging Our Voices for the Next Generation: Finding Ways Forward.” This group will be held over two sessions: October 5 & 12, both from 8-9 pm (Eastern). Oct 5 will consider First Day School; Oct 12 will discuss Families In Community. Register by email at: VirtualInterestGroups@gmail.com. A Zoom link will be provided two days before each session to those who have registered.

Save the Date: NYYM’s Fall Sessions will be December 1-3 and held online.

Reading: The September issue of Spark, the printed NYYM newsletter, is now available online. November’s Spark Will Be About the Peace Testimony, and Friends are invited to write submissions.

Northern Yearly Meeting

Reading: The Northern Yearly Meeting Summer/Fall journal has been published online. It includes epistles from Pacific Yearly Meeting, Baltimore Yearly Meeting, New Zealand, and the Middle East. It also includes the Urgent Call to Action made by 19 Friends regarding democracy and integrity in the United States. (See page 6.)

Worship Opportunity: NYM has released a list of worship opportunities to connect with Friends from a range of locations. See the current list of Northern Yearly Meeting—Virtual Worships.

Pacific Yearly Meeting

Epistles, minutes and reports from the PacYM Annual Session are available online.

Worship Opportunity: Every Wednesday from 7:00-7:30 pm (Pacific), the Eldering Subcommittee of PacYM Ministry Committee sponsors meeting for worship. The focus is on attention to the wellbeing of the yearly meeting community.

Pendle Hill

World Quaker Day: Dancing with Ubuntu: World Quaker Day Worship-Sharing. This event is October 1 at 1:15 p.m. (Eastern). Pendle Hill executive director Francisco Burgos will guide the community in dancing with queries being shared by Friends around the world.

Spring Term: Spaces are available in the 2024 Spring Term. This is a 10-week residential study program on Pendle Hill’s beautiful 24-acre campus. On October 11 and again on November 11, Friends are invited to an info session to learn more.

Reading: Pendle Hill Pamphlet #483 is out now! The Fundamental Principle of Quaker Spirituality: Light in the Conscience explores how the first Quakers rediscovered the early Christian experience. Written by David Johnson

Workshop: Deepening at the Root will be held October 5-9, 2023 at Pendle Hill This workshop is facilitated by Christopher Sammond. It includes experiential exercises, small group sharing, large group processing, and worship.

Jobs: Pendle Hill is hiring for several positions.

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

Workshop: Meditative Inquiry Series for Healing and Health. October 4 from 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm (Eastern). Meditative Inquiry is the practice of listening deeply in stillness to what arises in present moment awareness with curiosity. This workshop is led by George Schafer of the PYM Friends Counseling Service. 

Threshing Session: Presiding Clerk Melissa Rycroft has called a threshing session for PhYM on the Advocacy Policy. A threshing session is a time of open discernment in which people engage in conflict transformation and deep listening to listen for unity. It will be October 5 from 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm (Eastern). This will be the only agenda item. All are welcome to attend.

Young Adult Friends: Fall Retreat: “Worship & Ministry.” The retreat will be October 6 – 8 at Lehigh Valley Friends Meeting. Calling all Young Adult Quakers and Seekers who are ages 18-35 in the Philadelphia area and beyond. All are welcome to join us for the fall retreat.

Workshop: Energy Stewardship for Friends Institutions: Solar Schools and Nonprofit Toolkit. October 10 from 3:30 pm –  4:45 pm (Eastern). Join the first session of a four-part series to help Friends schools, retirement communities, retreat centers and housing development save money and reduce their carbon emission through new incentives and programs. Register online. 

Jobs: PhYM is hiring for a Director of Grant Making, an Assistant Controller in the Finance Department, and a Youth Program Co-Facilitator for young Friends.

Piedmont Friends Meeting

The Fall Gathering for Piedmont Friends will be  October 28. It includes a visit to the International Civil Rights Center and Museum, which is in Greensboro, NC.

Powell House

Crafting Sacred Connections: The Art of Hybrid Worship. This is an in-person AND ONLINE Conference at Powell House in Old Chatham, NY. October 6-8, 2023. Facilitated by David Coletta. When we hold our meeting for worship in both our meetinghouse and on Zoom, it allows a whole new level of accessibility for people who can’t come to the meetinghouse for whatever reason. It’s God calling us to make space in new ways. More information here.

Quaker Earthcare Witness/ QEW

Keith Runyan is the new General Secretary for Quaker Earthcare Witness. He comes to QEW with a vision of building a strong movement for Earthcare in the Society of Friends and beyond.

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