Ruth Reber experienced the FGC Gathering for the first time when she was three years old. Her fond memories of summers with Friends, and her passion for creating opportunities for Quakers of all ages to connect and nurture their shared spiritual journeys together, are what made her a great Conference Coordinator for the Gathering. On the occasion of her retirement, we’d like to extend our profound gratitude and reflect on Ruth’s dedication to the Quaker community.

This article originally appeared in FGC’s Vital Friends eNewsletter. Read the full newsletter here.

Ruth Reber experienced the FGC Gathering for the first time when she was three years old. Her fond memories of summers with Friends, and her passion for creating opportunities for Quakers of all ages to connect and nurture their shared spiritual journeys together, are what made her a great Conference Coordinator for the Gathering. On the occasion of her retirement, we’d like to extend our profound gratitude and reflect on Ruth’s dedication to the Quaker community.

Ruth became the Conference Coordinator of the FGC Gathering in 2015, though she previously served as the Gathering Assistant for two years beginning in 2000. During her tenure, the Gathering deepened its commitment to creating an actively anti-racist community of Friends. More programming and opportunities for fellowship among Black Friends and Friends of Color were scheduled year after year, and more events inviting Friends of European Descent to begin or continue their anti-racism work were woven into the happenings of the week, like afternoon activities presented by members of the Institutional Assessment Implementation Committee, evening plenaries by speakers like Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II, and anti-racism programming for Junior Gathering and High School Program participants.

Many Friends have also marveled at Ruth’s calmness in the lead-up to and during FGC’s biggest event of the year. She is epitome of grace under pressure, and that gift has inspired many Gathering volunteers and members of the Long Range Conference Planning (LRCP) Committee to re-center and refocus when deadlines loomed and unexpected crises arose. FGC was fortunate to have Ruth’s grace and collaborative spirit when the 2020 FGC Gathering transformed from an in-person gathering into a virtual conference (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), which required condensing many months of planning into about 12 weeks.

Ruth herself credits the spiritually-grounding energy of the Gathering with helping her meet the challenges that come with her role. “There is a synchronicity and grace that happens at the Gathering, and I will miss that,” she told FGC staff members recently over Zoom.

Before she was our Conference Coordinator, Ruth supported the Gathering as a volunteer and was a conference organizer for American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), and worked with new parents and parents-to-be as a nurse in Maryland. Ruth is also the proud mother of Elanna Reber, a long-time Gathering attender-turned-Junior Gathering counselor and a recent graduate of Guilford College.

Ruth’s role came to an end in late July, and she has worked with our new Conference Coordinator, Lori Piñeiro Sinitzky, since March of this year.

Thank you Ruth, for your service that has benefitted thousands of Friends!