For the schedule of upcoming events, see the list below. For the monthly Queries, see June: Reaching Out. (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
We are happy to announce that Reno Friends Meeting has returned to the Meeting House for Silent Worship at 10:00 am on Sundays. Twice a month, on First and Third Sundays, we will have Hybrid Silent Worship, which will be both on Zoom and In-Person from the Meeting House. Our First Day School for children is open, with a varied schedule of classes on Zoom or in the Meeting House garden (for COVID safety.) We are also holding online meetings, spiritual discussions and yoga on Zoom. For details on using Zoom, see our Zoom guidelines.
June 2022 Reno Friends Meeting Schedule
Sun. June 5 – Parallel Silent Worship (Separate Meetings on both Zoom and In-Person), 10 am (details)
Sun. June 5 – Zoom First Day School on “Peace,” 10 am (details)
Wed. June 8 – Embodying the Light at Lake Park, 10-11 am (details)
Sun. June 12 – In-Person Silent Worship, 10 am (details)
Sun. June 12 – Zoom Meeting for Business, 12:30 pm (NOTE NEW TIME) (details)
Thurs. June 16 – In-Person Brown Bag Lunch, with Melanie and Peg, 12 noon (details)
Sun. June 19 – Hybrid Silent Worship (Zoom and In-Person), 10 am (details)
Wed. June 22 – Embodying the Light at Lake Park, 10-11 am (details)
Thurs. June 23 – Ministry and Oversight Committee meeting, 2 pm (details)
Sun. June 26 – In-Person Silent Worship, 10 am (details)
Sun. June 26 – In-Person First Day School (outside) on “Peace,” 10 am (details)
Sun. June 26 – Garden Potluck 11:30 am (details)
Tues. June 28 – Zoom Spiritual Discussion on “Creativity and the Divine Connection,” 7-8:30 pm (details)
Other Important Dates
July 22nd – 27th – Pacific Yearly Meeting Annual Session; This will be a hybrid gathering, with the in-person component taking place at Mt. Madonna Conference Center near Watsonville, CA. This gathering will be fully “pay as led” and youths 18 and under will be free. See below in this newsletter or the Pacific Yearly Meeting website for more information. Registration is now open and closes July 15th.
Quaker Summer Camps Registering now – Quaker Service and Art Camp for ages 10-14 at Ben Lomond Center near Santa Cruz. Costs are on a sliding scale. See below in this newsletter for more details. Camp Woolman near Nevada City has sessions for teens and children; see below in this newsletter for more details; registration is open as of late February. Costs are on a sliding scale.
Reno Friends Meeting Event Details & Other Notices
Join Us for Silent Worship Back in the Meeting House
Reno Friends Meeting has returned to the Meeting House for Silent Worship, at 10 am, 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. We plan to run our air purifiers. If you are not feeling well, we ask that you stay home, even if you are vaccinated.
For Hybrid Worship, 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 plan to hold Hybrid Silent Worship (Zoom and In-Person) twice a month on First and Third Sundays. 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 classes(at)renofriends.org. Our worship clerk will read them at the next Silent Worship.
Occasionally, we may need to run Parallel Silent Worship, which means that the Zoom Meeting will be separate from the In-Person Meeting in the Meeting House. For Parallel Zoom Worship, use the zoom link above.
Zoom Spiritual Discussion on Creativity and the Divine Connection, Tues. June 28, 7-8:30 pm
Please join us for a discussion of “Creativity and the Divine Connection.” We will hold Zoom spiritual discussions from 7-8:30 pm on the 4th Tuesday of each month in 2022, except December. Starting in the fall of 2022, our Spiritual Discussions will be focused on Quakerism 101 Curriculum, standard topics about our Quaker testimonies, background and history. 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.
First Day School is Back in Business!
First Day School is now meeting regularly, with a Zoom FDS class on 1st Sundays, and in-person FDS on 4th Sundays (potluck Sunday). To get the First Sunday Zoom link, contact Cheri at dougncheri (at) aol.com. Erin will be our lead teacher for in-person classes, when we expect to see most of our kids and will have a more elaborate lesson plan. The 1st Sunday Zoom classes will be taught by adult volunteers from the Meeting. On 2nd, 3rd, and 5th Sundays, Erin will be available to hold class for any drop-in children. For the next six months, the curriculum will focus on a different Quaker Testimony each month, starting in June with Peace. As has been our practice, the children will sit in silent worship with their parents for the first ten to fifteen minutes, until a teacher comes to get them. At this time, in-person classes will be held outdoors, for COVID safety. Please contact the Meeting if you are interested in bringing children to the First Day School for the first time. You can email us at clerk (at) renofriends.org.
Peace & Social Concerns Update
After April’s Spiritual Discussion on the war in Ukraine and Friends’ Peace Testimony, many participants – including the children who listened to the online discussion – felt called to do something in support of the Ukrainian people. The P&SC Committee proposed to the Religious Education Committee the idea of the children collecting “Spare Change for Ukraine,” and everyone agreed that the children were very interested in helping Ukraine as soon as possible. The First Day School children will be collecting spare change throughout the summer, especially at 4th Sunday potlucks in June, July, and August. At the end of summer, they will tally up their collections and send the donation to UNICEF, which is already active in helping the children in Ukraine in meeting the most critical needs for safety, health care, safe water and nutrition. UNICEF has expanded these efforts to the refugees from Ukraine as well.
Embodying the Light is Back at Lake Park, Wed. June 8 and Wed. June 22 at 10 am
Rhonda Ashurst leads the “Embodying the Light” class of gentle yoga and Tai Chi/Qigong as a service to Reno Friends and the community. During the summer months, the 2nd and 4th Wednesday morning classes will meet in-person at Lake Park, from 10-11 am. Lake Park is a quiet park is at the intersection of Wesley and Coleman Streets, off Keystone Avenue, which we used for the class last year with great success, as there is shade and little traffic. There is adequate parking on both streets, on the park side. We will do our Tai Chi/Qigong practice standing, but please bring a folding chair or mat for our brief meditation. There is no bathroom at the park, so plan accordingly. See our website for more details.
Brown Bag Lunch, Thurs. June 16 at 12 noon
Join hosts Peg McCall and Melanie Scott for an in-person Brown Bag Lunch at the Meeting House on Thurs. June 16 at 12 noon. Anyone who wants to share lunch and fellowship with other Reno Friends is welcome.
Donating to Reno Friends in 2022
If you would like to support Reno Friends Meeting this summer, donations should be sent to our Meeting Co-Treasurer Katie Dwyer at her home at 40 Arbor Oak Court, Reno, NV 89509. 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 treasurer (at) renofriends.org. 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 Meet 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 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 Fall Quarterly Meeting
The next College Park Quarterly will be held Oct. 14-16 at Sierra Friends Center, near Nevada City, CA. Registration details will be posted online at https://collegeparkquarterlymeeting.org/.
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.
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, CA
For more information about Ben Lomond Quaker Center programs and retreats, including Worship Sharing and Silent Worship, or to donate, go to http://www.quakercenter.org.
Camp Woolman at Sierra Friends Center
Wombat Camp, June 20 – July 15, 2022
For kids ages 9 to 14. There will be both day camp and overnight sessions, offering the simple joys of hiking, team building, sports, song and theatrics, and embracing the qualities that make us beautiful & unique. Games, skits, crafts, and learning will be abundant, and campers will practice “giving back” to camp through age-appropriate responsibilities, such as cleaning up after themselves and others, nature restoration and art beautification. Campers can attend one or more sessions:
- Day Camp will be offered in 2 weeklong sessions: June 20th – 24th & June 27th – July 1st
- Overnight Camp will be offered for 2 weeklong sessions: July 3rd – 8th & July 10th – 15th
Teen Leadership Camp, July 17-29, 2022
For Young adults age 15 to 17. In this two-week overnight session, campers will explore their relationship with themselves, their peers, and the natural world around them. They will choose for themselves how much to engage with camp activities, as our trained staff offers encouragement to plan outings, lead activities, and care for their fellow campers.
Bear in mind that electronics will be left at home during camp sessions. Our staff will take ample amounts of photographs for your household to cherish! If you’re ready to consider camp, please fill out our initial “Save my Place” form.
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: How To Contribute
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. Add the address “update (at) renofriends.org” to your email address list to help keep our email from going in to your spam folder. If email from us still goes into your spam folder, go into your spam folder, find the email from us, and mark it as “not SPAM.” To unsubscribe to the mailing list, email clerk (at) renofriends.org with the subject line “unsubscribe.”