For the schedule of upcoming events, see the list below. For the monthly Queries, see March: Stewardship and Vocation. (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
Reno Friends Meeting is currently holding Silent Worship at 10:00 am on Sundays on Zoom. Our First Day School is open at parent request on Sundays when we gather in person, and will be held outside, if possible. Please contact clerk(at)renofriends.org a few days in advance if you would like to request First Day School for your children . We are also holding online meetings, fellowship, spiritual discussions and yoga on Zoom. For details on using Zoom, see our Zoom guidelines.
March 2022 Reno Friends Meeting Schedule
Thurs. Mar. 3 – Zoom Ministry & Oversight Committee Meeting, 2 pm
Sun. Mar. 6 – Zoom Silent Worship, 10 am (details)
Wed. Mar. 9 – Zoom AM Embodying the Light, 10-11 am (details)
Sun. Mar. 13 – Zoom Silent Worship, 10 am (details)
Sun. Mar. 13 – Zoom Meeting for Business, 11:30 am
Thurs. Mar. 17 – Brown Bag Lunch, hosted by Melanie and Peg, 12 noon.
Sun. Mar. 20 – Zoom Silent Worship, 10:00 am (details)
Tues. Mar. 22 – Zoom Spiritual Discussion on “Spiritual Journeys”, 7-8:30 pm (details)
Sat. Mar. 26 – Spring Clean-up at the Meeting House, 9 am to noon
Sun. Mar. 27 – Zoom Silent Worship, 10 am (details)
Wed. Mar. 30 – Zoom AM Embodying the Light, 10-11 am (details)
Reno Friends Meeting Event Details & Other Notices
Reno Friends Meeting is currently holding Silent Worship on Zoom at 10:00 a.m. with fellowship afterwards. Here is the recurring Zoom link for online Silent Worship:
https://zoom.us/j/98305205938?pwd=cDZseGdLbWMyYWZsZDdiN00rMjRUZz09
For 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.
Should Reno Friends Return to In-Person Worship? Share Your Thoughts.
Meeting for Business recently discussed returning to the Meeting House post COVID. While we agreed that January was not yet the time, we did consider how to evaluate a safe return. Based on responses to our survey, many Reno Friends were not interested in policing and verifying everyone’s vaccine status at the door of the Meeting House. Several Friends also pointed out that, given how contagious Omicron is, even vaccinated people who are asymptomatic can share the virus unknowingly. Therefore, Meeting for Business agreed that we should return to holding Worship in the Meeting House under a “restaurant model,” i.e only when we are willing to sit in an enclosed space with people whose exposure/vaccination status is unknown, and when we are willing to tolerate having masks removed when people share during Worship, or by those who have trouble breathing in a mask. Once the Omicron wave passes, and new cases/hospitalizations hopefully drop, enough of us might be willing to take such a risk. Because we have some attenders who cannot afford such a risk, or who cannot easily reach our Meeting House, Reno Friends is committed to offering Hybrid (Zoom and In-Person) Worship twice a month on first and third Sundays once we return to the Meeting House.
Until that time, Worship will continue to be held on Zoom. The task force is working on a short list of protocols for returning to the Meeting House to be presented to Meeting for Business in March. If you have thoughts to share, please email Wendy at wswallow54(at)gmail.com.
Zoom Spiritual Discussion on “Spiritual Journeys,” Tues. Mar. 22, 7-8:30 pm
Join us for a discussion of our spiritual journeys–highlights, turning points, how we came to the Quaker path and what led us to Reno Friends. To prepare, take some time reflecting on your spiritual journey and what you would like to share.
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.
Meeting House and Garden Spring Clean-up, Sat. Mar. 26, 9 am to noon
We need many hands to help clean up our Meeting House and Garden in preparation for spring, so please consider joining us from 9 am to noon on Sat. March 26. Bring a mask to wear if you are cleaning inside; and rakes, pruning shears and gloves for working outside. A list of tasks will be available that morning.
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
This just in! The latest Right Sharing of World Resources newsletter is focused on the stamp mission Reno Friends Meeting has been supporting. Read all about it! 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
Join Pacific Yearly Meeting’s Climate Action Workgroup
We’re delighted with the number of Friends who are connecting with the UwN Climate Action Workgroup in developing a climate strategy for our yearly meeting and in exploring ways to support and learn from each other the many things that Monthly Meetings are doing to address the climate crisis and the leadings and solutions they are exploring.
The result of these conversations has been the decision, commencing in February, to shift from weekly meetings to a monthly presentation & inter-meeting exchange where we would highlight stories of Quaker actions and emerging opportunities. We can share ideas and updates on the developing climate strategy for our yearly meeting and opportunities for participation in this process as they arise.
Philadelphia Meeting recently adopted a Climate Action Plan, which has inspired us to develop our own PacYM climate action strategy and set up this workgroup to that end. (see Philadelphia Climate Action Plan here) For more information, contact Keith Runyan, Co-Clerk of Unity with Nature krrunyan10@gmail.com or Klara East, Member of Eco-Spirituality of Sacramento progressiveactivist@yahoo.com
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.” The dates for the 2022 Annual Session have not yet been announced.
Ben Lomond Quaker Center Workshops
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.
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.
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.