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Bellingham Quaker E-News, May 27, 2015                                       View this email in your browser 

Sun., May 31
Silent Worship, 10 am


Second Hour:  
Comprehensive Plan Road Show
A short interactive workshop and visioning exercise 
Meeting Tasks for this Sunday:

Care of Meeting: Kristen M
Key - Lorina H.
Setup help - Carole T. 
Greeter - Karen S.
Snack - Mimi F.
Kitchen - Mark H.
Kitchen help - Don R.
Children's Teacher - vacant

Please contact Carole Teshima at knitpearl68@gmail.com to volunteer on a semi- regular basis.

Calendar for Bellingham Friends

Today at noon!
Wednesdays, May 27 
and June 3, 10 and 17

Don Reinke, Stephanie Manzo and Sharon Trent are sponsoring a reading of
TS Eliot’s Four Quartets,
his final masterpiece.
 12 Noon to 1:00 PM,
with optional discussion from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM
1160 St. Paul Street
Bellingham WA 98229
 Lunch and babysitting provided
 Please let Don know if you are coming so we can guarantee an adequate lunch.


****

THURS, May 28
SEC Film Night


Featuring Eri Schlosser & Eva Longoria

Film starts at 7 pm at the Hopkinson's
light refreshments will be served
RSVP , please

(This is the 1st in a 3-part series of programs planned by SEC to help Friends explore the issue of farm workers and migrant labor.)

*****

Wed., June 3, 7-9:00 PM
Midweek Worship

Where: Mary Ann Percy's home
(1 hr worship + worship sharing and/or check-ins).
 Friends gather for midweek worship on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays each month.  


****
Sat., Sept. 12th 2 pm through  Sun, Sept. 13th 2pm
Annual Retreat
Camp Lutherwood
(see Announcements for more information)
Michelle Alexander at
Pendle Hill:
 
Pendle Hill was honored to welcome noted author Michelle Alexander as keynote speaker at our recent 
Ending Mass Incareration and the New Jim Crow
 
 conference. Her interview-style presentation is now available to view on our YouTube channel
 
.

Opportunities for Friendly Activists

Stand Up for Tax fairness in Washington State
THIS WEEK!

 
HB1106 / SB 5077 Governor’s Budget bill is being debated in the special session.  It would
 Increase Revenue,
 Redress regressive tax system,
 Increase support for behavioral health care
 Increase support to house the homeless
 
Friends Committee for Washington Public Policy (FCWPP) recommends that we contact our state legislators THIS WEEK - and urge them to:
 
keep the capital gains tax in
any final budget proposal
 
retain proposed funding needed
for behavioral health care

Retain proposed funding for 
housing the homeless


Here is the link where you can find your state legislators and contact them by email or any way you choose: 
http://app.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/
 
For more information on the bill, go to the Friends Committee for Washington Public Policy Website - bill tracker page and scroll down to this bill.

Celebrate Nature! 

Check out introductory nature walks with the Native Plant Society:

Thurs., May 28, 6:00 pm to dusk: Downtown Plants at Maritime Heritage Park.    Click here for more information:  http://wnpskoma.org/field-trips/

Announcements from the Wider Community
Native Events

 
*****
First Friday with Swil Kanim
and friends

Friday, June 5:
Lummi Gateway Center

5:30 dinner and 7:00 program.  
Details will come next week
.


****

69th Lummi Nation Stommish Water Festival
“In Honor of our Heroes”



June 10-14:

 
Canoe races, salmon dinners, slahal bone games, food and various venders, carnival, performances, etc.
Free and open to the public except for events limited to tribal members
Information will be posted at this website soo 
www.LummiNationStommish.com   

*****


Friday June 12, 8 p.m.,
Sixkiller Buys the Redskins
Lummi Silver Reef Casino (Slater and Haxton Rd)
Tickets on Sale at: The Silver Reef Casino and Brown Paper Tickets.
Vimeo site for Sonny Sixkiller Buys the Washington Redskins https://vimeo.com/115941030 
This is Darrell Hillaire’s Play about the issue of the “Redskins” baseball team’s name, a tongue in cheek play. The video is about the derogatory name and the making of the play.

***** 
Sunday, June 14, 7pm (Doors at 6:00)

David Suzuki, Letters to My Grandchildren
Mt Baker Theater
 
Through inspiring letters to his grandchildren, Suzuki offers grandfatherly advice mixed with reflections from his and Canada’s past, speaking personally and passionately about their future. The book provides us an intimate look at Suzuki’s life as a father and grandfather, as he challenges his grandchildren – and us – to do everything at full tilt and to live with courage and conviction.
 
David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author, and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation.  He is the recipient of the Right Livelihood Award, has been named a Companion to the Order of Canada and a recipient of UNESCO’s Kalinga Prize for science, the United Nations Environment Program medal, and has been honored with seven names from indigenous people. In 2007 he was named one of Time Magazine’s Heroes of the Environment. He is the proud grandfather of six grandkids.
 
Village Books presents David Suzuki in partnership with the Mount Baker Theatre, as part of their Booked at the Baker series. Tickets are $7.50 and are available at Village Books, by calling (360) 671-2626, at the Mount Baker Theatre Box Office or online at mountbakertheatre.com. Receive one free ticket with the pre-purchase of David Suzuki’s new book Letters to my Grandchildren.
 
For more information, please contact Village Books: (360) 671-2626
 
  Upcoming Second Hours

June 7 - Potluck
June 14 - MfWfB

June 21 – QEI: Spiritual Journeys: Looking to the Future (Sharon Trent)
June 28 -  NPYM Faith and Practice: collective clearness, with Alice Robb

Friends' Input Needed

1)  Friends are requested to contact Don Goldstein if they are not attending the retreat and would like to attend Meeting for Worship that weekend (Sept 13).  In order to hold meeting in town on that date, sufficient volunteers are needed to cover meeting tasks.  Alternatively, Friends not attending the retreat may be invited to join retreat participants at Camp Lutherwood for Worship that Sunday.

2) Ministry and Counsel is reviewing our overall on-line communications. Friends are requested to contact a member of Ministry and Counsel with comments / suggestions / concerns about the various forms of on-line communication and postings for Bellingham Friends.  
Query of the Month
 
" Every stage of our lives offers fresh opportunities. Responding to divine guidance, try to discern the right time to undertake or relinquish responsibilities without undue pride or guilt. Attend to what love requires of you, which may not be great busyness."

Advices and Queries. - #28 - Little Red Book

Looking ahead to wider Quaker gatherings: 
 

Friends General Conference 
(FGC) Gathering of Friends
 – July 5-11, Western Carolina Univ., NC Click on the link above for more information or to register

 



North Pacific Yearly Meeting  
(NPYM) Annual Session  -
July 15-19,
Whitworth Univ., Spokane  
(click here to register or for more information)

2015 Theme:  QuakerCraft: Becoming Quakers the World Needs  

  • How are we called to service in a broken world?
  • How do we blend our hunger for action with our responsibilities to our families and our Meetings?
  • How can our Quaker community support us in living into our leadings?

Message from Joe Snyder about NPYM Community Night:

Annual session is coming up and I have been asked to MC and organize or evening of fun and creativity we now call community night.  We encourage all groups to come up with a skit or other form of group presentation/entertainment.  Although these are frequently put together hurriedly a few hours before the event, it can be quite helpful to do some advance planning.  I hope you may find some way to get this out to those in your group who will be attending in hopes that some planning and preparation will ensue.  I will be happy to field any questions at the address below.

Yours hopefully,
Joe  (click on his name to send him an email)



Quaker Earthcare Witness 
(QEW) Fall Steering Committee Meeting:October 22 - 25  at Ben Lomond Quaker Center near Santa Cruz, CA
 

 


 

Bellingham Friends are reminded to contact Ministry and Counsel for assistance reaching clearness about attending, and/or availability of financial assistance for attending any  Quaker event.

Announcements
From / For Bellingham Friends

*****
Annual Retreat:

The 2015 BFM Annual Retreat Planning Committee announces that the retreat this year will take place at Camp Lutherwood, on Lake Samish just south of Bellingham, beginning about 2 pm on Saturday, September 12th and ending about the same time on Sunday, September 13th.  Most, if not all, of us will be staying overnight in one of two modern lodges with beautiful lake views and cozy kitchens/small meeting areas.  Camping space is also available.  Program details will be coming in June and July, but please mark the dates on your calendars now.  
Questions?
Contact committee clerk Don Goldstein at dnx6309@gmail.com
or 671-1395.
From Ministry and Counsel:

Honor Our Shared Silence
To honor and nurture our precious silent worship together, please plan to arrive before 10 a.m. on Sunday mornings. Please enter the hallway outside the worship room quietly, as voices carry. Please silence cellphones and arrange belongings before entering, and keep comings and goings during worship to a minimum.
Thank you.
Are you being Called to work on
Racial Justice?

The Racial Justice Coalition meets the first Tuesdayof each month.  The next meeting will be June 2 at 7:30pm at the Whatcom Peace and Justice Center (1220 Bay Street, Bellingham).

For more information contact Christa at christaayele@hotmail.com
Announcements from the Wider Community


World Issues Forum
Wednesdays from noon - 1:20 pm
WWU - Haggard Hall 253

Today!  Wed, May 27 
World Issues Forum

“One Year: eat, clown, pound, potato, pick, weave, and sow”

Arcadia Trueheart and Liliana Morgan 

 

From the Amazon to the Andes, Adventure Learning Grant recipients, Arcadia Trueheart and Liliana Morgan, spent a year exploring their most burning questions through the lens of art and agriculture respectively. How does one engage in the world through questions? They will share stories of vulnerability, wonder, friendship, loneliness, and trust and invite the audience to explore how we can begin to connect with one another by listening and sharing. Arcadia, participating in theater, folkdance, and weaving explored how Bolivians use the arts to both maintain tradition and spark change. Liliana learned and lived alongside farmers in Peru, investigating 



League of Women Voters Program

Wednesday, June 10
5:30 - 7:30 pm
Mt Baker Theater Encore Room


SMART JUSTICE FAIR JUSTICE: 
Campaign to End
Mass Incarceration 


Guest speaker Mark Cooke, 
is the Campaign Policy Director at the ACLU of Washington working on criminal justice reform, drug policy, and mental health policy. 
 

 
At the present time, the nation's adult jail and prison population numbers over 2.2 million with one in 100 adults behind bars, the highest incarceration rate in the world. The ACLU intends to cut that number in half by 2020.
The ACLU of Washington Drug Policy Project works for policies that treat drug use as a public health concern, not a criminal justice matter, through public education, legislative advocacy, and litigation. 
 
The ACLU is working to bring innovative approaches to criminal justice that will save tax money and lives.  Hear what the ACLU recommends to
  • End the War on Drugs
  • Make the Sentence Fit the Crime
  • Incentivize Smart Practices
  • Eliminate Unnecessary Incarcenation
  • Invest in Better Systems to protect the public
  •  


Friday Peace Vigil

When
Every Fri, 3:45pm – 4:45pm
Where
104 W Magnolia St, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA (map)
Description
The Nation's oldest weekly Peace Vigil. Paricipants gather weekly at 4:00 pm with signs in front of the Federal Building on the Corner of Magnolia and Cornwall Streets.
Metamorphosis
(Each month’s Metamorphosis is available on our website (www.bellinghamfriends.org ) the Wednesday following Meeting for Business. A few of the many offerings in the current issue are: 

May -- Issue -  Larry Thompson's leading regarding the jail and mental health needs.
General Information:

Ways to connect with Friends:   click on the links below for

  1. Bellingham Friends Facebook Page 
  2. Bellingham Friends Meeting website
  3. Bellingham Friends listserve
  • Please contact Allen Stockbridge by email cleanairguy@gmail.com if you have any trouble connecting to either the Facebook account or to the Yahoo group.
  • See the October 2014 Metamorphosis for more information.

Bringing snack? You may make this a contribution to Meeting, or, if you would like to be reimbursed, please write your name and "please reimburse" on your receipt/s and put in the Donations box. Thank you! 

Posting items  to the website calendar? Contact Virginia Herrick (vherrick@q.com) if you need help