For the schedule of upcoming events, see the list below. For the monthly Queries, see April: Harmony with Creation. (The blue text on this page and within this web site contains embedded hypertext links. Click on a link to open the web page associated with that link.)
Announcements
This month, we are happy to announce that Reno Friends Meeting will return to the Meeting House for Silent Worship at 10:00 am on Sundays. Twice a month, we will have Hybrid Silent Worship, which will be both on Zoom and In-Person from the Meeting House. This month, we are holding Hybrid Silent Worship on the First and Fourth Sundays. Our First Day School is closed at present. We are also holding online meetings, spiritual discussions and yoga on Zoom. For details on using Zoom, see our Zoom guidelines.
April 2022 Reno Friends Meeting Schedule
Sun. Apr. 3 – Hybrid (Zoom and In-Person) Silent Worship, 10 am (details)
Thurs. Apr. 7 – Zoom Ministry & Oversight Committee Meeting, 2 pm
Sun. Apr. 10 – In-Person Silent Worship, 10 am (details)
Sun. Apr. 10 – Zoom Meeting for Business, 12:00 noon (NOTE TIME CHANGE)
Wed. Apr. 13 – Zoom Embodying the Light, 10-11 am (details)
Sun. Apr. 17 – In-Person Silent Worship, 10:00 am (details)
Sun. Apr. 17 – Easter Garden Potluck and Earth-Day Planting: 11:30 am
Thurs. Apr. 21 – In-Person Brown Bag Lunch, hosted by Melanie and Peg, 12 noon
Sun. Apr. 24 – Hybrid (Zoom and In-Person) Silent Worship, 10 am (details)
Tues. Apr. 26 – Zoom Spiritual Discussion on “Pacifism and the War in Ukraine,” 7-8:30 pm (details)
Wed. Apr. 27 – Zoom AM Embodying the Light, 10-11 am (details)
Thurs. Apr. 28 – Ministry and Oversight Committee meeting, 2:00 pm (details)
Reno Friends Meeting Event Details & Other Notices
Join Us for Silent Worship in the Meeting House, Starting Sun. Apr. 3!
Reno Friends Meeting is returning to the Meeting House for Silent Worship, starting Sunday April 3. Worship will be held at 10:00 a.m., with fellowship afterwards. We ask that attenders be vaccinated, boosted, and wear a mask for indoor activities. If necessary, we may open doors and/or windows for air, so dress warmly if it is chilly. We plan to run our air purifiers. If you are not feeling well, we ask that you stay home, even if you are vaccinated.
We will use a webcam and a small video screen so that in-person attendees and remote/Zoom attendees can see each other. The chairs inside the Meeting House that will be off camera are so marked, so you may sit off camera if you prefer. If you are moved to speak during hybrid Silent Worship, please use the mic or ask for the handheld mic so that everyone, including remote attendees, can hear you.
Going forward, we will hold Hybrid Silent Worship (Zoom and In-Person) twice a month. Normally, Hybrid Silent Worship will be on First and Third Sundays. Because of Easter (Apr. 17 – when we hope most will join us at the Meeting House), however, we are holding Hybrid Silent Worship on the First and Fourth Sundays of this month, Apr. 3 and Apr. 24. Here is the recurring Zoom link for Hybrid Silent Worship:
https://zoom.us/j/98305205938?pwd=cDZseGdLbWMyYWZsZDdiN00rMjRUZz09
For Hybrid Silent Worship on Zoom, we have developed a set of Zoom Worship guidelines. For those who would like to learn more about Zoom in advance, go to https://westernfriend.org/media/how-use-zoom-videoconferencing. If you would rather sit in Silent Worship quietly at home rather than online, we invite you to send after-thoughts, joys and concerns, and requests to hold people in the Light to Rhonda at rhondalou14(at)gmail.com. Our worship clerk will read them at the next Silent Worship.
Easter Garden Potluck and Earth-Day Planting, Sun. Apr. 17 at 11:30 am
On Easter Sunday, April 17, we will hold Silent Worship in the Meeting House at 10 am, followed by an Easter Potluck in the Garden and an Earth-Day Planting, starting at 11:30 am. Weather permitting; stay tuned.
Zoom Spiritual Discussion on “Pacifism and the War in Ukraine,” Tues. Apr. 26, 7-8:30 pm
Join us for a discussion of the Quaker peace testimony and the current war in Ukraine.
We will hold Zoom spiritual discussions from 7:00-8:30 pm on the 4th Tuesday of each month in 2022, except December. The Spiritual Discussion Committee includes: Rhonda Ashurst, Earl Piercy, Catie Polley and Cliff Smith. We will facilitate discussions as a team this year. We welcome your ideas/topics. We encourage you to join us to facilitate a topic of interest to you.
Donating to Reno Friends in 2022
If you would like to support Reno Friends Meeting, donations should be sent to our Meeting Co-Treasurer Charlie Shepard at his home at 4395 Mountaingate Drive, Reno, NV 89519. Or you can send money to the Meeting via your bank using the Zelle payment application, which most banks offer for free. To make a Zelle transfer, you’ll need Reno Friends’ bank account number, which you can get by emailing Charlie at cshepard54(at)gmail.com. Zelle eliminates the need to write a check and, for our Treasurers, to deposit your check at the bank. Thank you from Reno Friends!
Consider Supporting Quaker Earthcare Witness
Those who support Quaker Earthcare Witness, a Quaker-led environmental group, say they believe it is important for Quakers to have a place to share concerns about the planet within the context of Quaker values, while also being cared for. One members said: “It is inspiring to be a small part of a community of Earthcare activists.” If you’ve enjoyed and benefited from reading BeFriending Creation this year, please consider making a donation to support our efforts. In peace, Hayley Hathaway, Editor, BeFriending Creation
For suggestions of books recommended by Quaker Earthcare Witness, click here: https://www.quakerearthcare.org/article/qews-favorite-books
Carson City Worship Group
The Carson City worship group meets every Sunday of the month for unprogrammed worship from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm in the living room of the Rectory of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Carson City. Attenders are asked to wear a mask. St. Peter’s, located at 314 North Division Street, occupies a small city block in the heart of Carson City’s Historic District. The Rectory, an historic two-story brick house, sits just south of the church building. If anyone would like to be connected to the Carson group, just email clerk(at)renofriends.org.
Quaker Mission Stamp Project
Read all about it! The current online Right Sharing of World Resources newsletter is focused on the stamp mission that Reno Friends Meeting has been supporting for decades. Learn how this Quaker organization helps women in Sierra Leon, Kenya, and India support themselves, which in turn helps their families and villages. https://rswr.org/sites/default/files/Newsletters/2022-Q1-Newsletter.pdf
Outside Non-Profits That (Previously) Met at the Quaker Meeting House
NOTE: These groups are negotiating their return to our Meeting House. Please contact the groups directly for updates.
Adult Children of Alcoholics and Dysfunctional Families meets every Tuesday and Thursday from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm, and every Saturday from 5 pm to 6 pm. ACA is a world service 12-step program for those struggling with the legacy of growing up in an alcoholic or dysfunctional home. These groups are open to all.
Citizens Climate Lobby of Northern Nevada works with local and national legislators to pass a carbon tax and dividend to help stop global warming. CCL meets the 4th Tuesday of the month, 6:30 to 8 pm (except for Dec.). For more info, email Betsy Fadali at bfadali(at)sbcglobal.net. Feel free to bring friends and neighbors, if they are interested. For more on CCL, go to www.citizensclimatelobby.org.
Other Quaker Activities & Announcements
College Park Quarterly Meeting
College Park Spring Quarterly will be held May 13-15, at Ben Lomond Center near Santa Cruz, CA. Reno Friends Monthly Meeting is a member of College Park Quarterly Meeting (CPQM), a quarterly meeting of the unprogrammed Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in northern California and northern Nevada. CPQM holds Quarterly Meetings in the Winter, Spring and Fall, which are gatherings of Quakers from all the member Monthly Meetings, and it also provides support for member Meetings. There are 24 Monthly Meetings and six Worship Groups in CPQM. Registration details for the next quarterly meeting will be posted online at https://collegeparkquarterlymeeting.org/.
Pacific Yearly Meeting: Clerk’s Call for Annual Meeting 2022
What Does It Mean to Belong: to Ourselves, to Each Other, to the Earth?
“God has called us together, led us together from all sorts of disparate backgrounds into a community of souls seeking to live lives obedient to the Light, lives under the guidance of the Spirit.” David Johnson, Surrendering Into Silence: Quaker Prayer Cycles.
“God’s dream is that you and I and all of us will realize that we are all family, that we are made for togetherness, for goodness, and for compassion… Enemies are always friends waiting to be made.” Desmond Tutu.
“Diversity is not just about who is in the room but about how we share space and power and relate to each other across cultural gaps.” Kazu Haga, Healing Resistance: A Radically Different Response to Harm.
I am writing to you after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with a heavy heart. What does beloved community look like when people are fleeing for their lives, while their homes and everything familiar to them is crumbling all around them? Closer to home, what does the planet look like amidst sea level rise, wild fires, atmospheric rivers and a global pandemic, now in its third year? What role do we play?
The yearly meeting Finance Committee has declared our 75th year a year of Jubilee. Our reserves are unusually high, and we will be using a “pay as led” approach to this year’s gathering, with confidence that we’ll be able to cover any expenses above what Friends can contribute. All youth 18 and under will be “free,” and the message is loud and clear, please come. Jubilee is a time when debts are forgiven, the land lies fallow, and we envision a real re-distribution of wealth. What a perfect way of imagining how to build a more inclusive, post-colonial yearly meeting. What changes do we need to make to re-distribute power and expectations so that all are truly welcome and able to be full participants, growing and learning from each other?
At Representative Committee we heard an urgent cry from our Children’s Program Committee that they cannot mount a program alone for our children unless other adults step up. It cannot be done by the few people who have served us valiantly in this capacity for so many years. They need help. Our children need to know we care about them and want them in our community. The teens made it clear that we need to meet in person, at least partly, this year.
We will be doing that, at Mt. Madonna Center, in Watsonville California, July 22-27 in person, and also joined by our zoom attenders. In other words, we will experiment with a blended meeting. And people are already stepping up. I am asking every yearly meeting committee to consider whether they can design one activity with the 6-12 year olds that demonstrates what your committee does. Once when I was on the Nominating Committee for my Meeting, two of us went to the First Day School and led a session on finding our gifts. What other kinds of activities would committees want to share with these precious ones, so they feel a part of our community and know they matter?
For me the most creative roads to fundamental change can be found in indigenous teachings, and in Mother Nature. Toward that end I have invited three Friends to be our keynote panel: Marlene Coach-Eisenstein (Honolulu), Peni Hall (Strawberry Creek), and Keith Runyan (Santa Cruz), moderated by Diego Navarro (Santa Cruz). They will share their experiences of the PacYM community and some ways they see where changes could be made.
“Sacred is about more than just sacred places and sacred sites. It is about who we are as human beings. It’s the waters. It’s the plant life. It’s about being in relationship again with everything that’s alive…So it’s about relationship and how we are all here and exist together.” Corinna Gould, a Lisjan elder in Oakland, California, as quoted in Inflamed: Deep Medicine and the Anatomy of Injustice. By Rupa Marya & Raj Patel.
This deep work, in deeply difficult times, will take courage, vision, and trust in Spirit to find new ways of living our faith. This is an all-hands-on-deck time. Join us, on zoom or in person, to be part of the joy of reimagining!
~ Laura Magnani, clerk, Pacific Yearly Meeting
Pacific Yearly Meeting’s Annual Session 2022 will take place July 22-27, 2022. It will be a hybrid gathering, with the in-person component taking place at Mt. Madonna Conference Center near Watsonville, CA.
Pacific Yearly Meeting is a community of “unprogrammed” Friends (Quaker) Meetings in parts of Mexico and the western USA. After decades of independence, PYM recently became affiliated with Friends General Conference. In FGC there is another PYM, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, so Pacific Yearly Meeting is now known as PacYM instead. Reno Monthly Meeting is a member of PacYM, and uses the PacYM book Faith and Practice which sets out the beliefs of Friends, PacYM’s structures and processes, and the spiritual foundation of these processes and of our way of worship. Western Friend is the official publication of Quakers in Pacific, North Pacific, and Intermountain Yearly Meetings. PacYM is a year-round community, and holds a four-day summer gathering called “PacYM Annual Session.”
Ben Lomond Quaker Center, Ben Lomond Center, CA
At Ben Lomond Quaker Center, staff are enthusiastically welcoming Friends and rental guests back to Quaker Center. We have a very full calendar for spring and summer, and will be posting the fall 2022 QC Program offerings on our website soon.
Deep Listening seems to be the theme for 2022…Listening to Spirit through one another and through our connection to nature. Here are some past program highlights:
- 25 Friends gathered at Quaker Center for our Year-End Retreat, led by Lucretia Humphrey and her Elder Jim Humphrey: Listening in the Dark of Winter. This was a tender time to be among Friends – many of us gathering with others for the first time in many months.
- 7 couples joined Jeff and Kathy Richman for a Quaker oriented Couples Enrichment weekend at Quaker Center: Being Truly Seen and Heard; it was a powerful experience for all. Watch for future Couples Enrichment offerings at Quaker Center and online!
- 12 Friends gathered from the Pacific Northwest to Central California with Maia Wolff and Mary Ann Percy to explore Gratitude, Pain & Transformation through exercises which encouraged deep spiritual reflection and sharing in support of discernment toward right action in the face of climate change.
- More than 100 Friends have attended our online program this year! Those programs have included The Heart of the Quaker Way led by Ben Pink Dandelion, Clerking with Joy and Confidence led by Barbara Babin & others, and Spiritual Deepening Approaches led by Jeanne Haskell and Susan Wilson.
Going forward Quaker Center staff are looking forward to offering more in person programs for Youth and Young Adult Friends including Summer Camps, both here at Quaker Center (Service and Art Camp), in addition to those offered by Sierra Friends Center, and PacYM. Both programs are looking for summer staff as well.
We will continue offering online workshops and weekly worship sharing, as we seek to continue our support for our Western Friends community, many of whom no longer live in the western United States or are unable to come to Quaker Center in person. We are blessed to reach and serve Friends across the nation and world.
May Friends continue to work toward deepening practice of listening to and learning from one another, allowing Spirit to renew and lead in ways we never imagined.
Blessings,
Bob Fisher and Susan Wilson Co-Directors
Ben Lomond is still operating despite pandemic restrictions, but most programs are currently held online. For more information about their Quaker programs and retreats, including Worship Sharing and Silent Worship, or to donate, go to http://www.quakercenter.org.
Write for What Canst Thou Say?
Tell us your stories! What Canst Thou Say? (WCTS) is an independent publication co-operatively produced by Friends with an interest in mystical experience and contemplative practice. WCTS is a worship-sharing group in print. We hope to help Friends be tender and open to the Spirit. Articles that best communicate to our readers are those that focus on specific events and are written in the first person. We welcome submissions of articles less than 1500 words and artwork suitable for black and white reproduction. It is published in February, May, August, and November. The editorial and production team is Muriel Dimock, Lissa Field, Mariellen Gilpin, Judy Lumb, Grayce Mesner, Mike Resman, Earl Smith, Eleanor Warnock, and Rhonda Ashurst.
Reno Friends are welcome to email submissions to Rhonda Ashurst at rhondalou14(at)gmail.com. Please send your text submissions in Word or generic text format, and artwork in high resolution jpeg files. Photocopied art and typed submissions are also accepted. All authors and artists retain copyright to their articles and artwork published in WCTS. WCTS retains the right to publish initially and to reprint in WCTS anthologies.
Reno Friends Newsletter
Submissions: Please submit your items for the newsletter by the 25th of the month for inclusion in the following month’s newsletter. Send Friends events and information to Reno Friends newsletter editor Wendy Swallow, wswallow54 (at) gmail.com, or leave a message on the Meeting phone, (775) 329-9400.
Getting the newsletter in the mail: If you need to receive your newsletter by postal mail, please notify RFM newsletter editor Wendy Swallow by emailing wswallow54 (at) gmail.com or calling 775-473-5559.
Subscribing and Unsubscribing: We use the same email list for all our communications, including the monthly newsletter and the weekly update. To subscribe to our email list, attend Silent Worship with us either virtually or in person and be sure we get your email address. To unsubscribe to the mailing list, email clerk (at) renofriends.org with the subject line “unsubscribe.”