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Meeting Tasks for this Sunday:
Care of Meeting: Susan R
Key - Wendy G
Setup help -Karen S
Greeter - Don G
Snack - Mary Ann P
Kitchen -Mimi F
Kitchen help - Ginny H (Virginia)
Children's Teacher - vacant
Please contact Carole Teshima at knitpearl68@gmail.com to volunteer on a semi- regular basis.
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Calendar for Bellingham Friends
When
Tonight! Wed, Oct 7, 7– 9pm
What
Where
Midweek Worship
Mary Ann P.'s home
One hour worship + one hour worship sharing/ check-in. Friends gather for midweek worship on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays each month.
Note that there will be no midweek worship on 10/21, since Mary Ann will be traveling to Ben Lomond Quaker Center for the QEW meeting there.
When
Tue. Oct 13, 7-8:30 pm
What
Where
Book Group
Sharon T and Don R' home
The Book Selection for October is
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki. This will be the Whatcom Reads selection early next year. Contact Susan R if you would like to have a copy of the book (she will have a library book club kit)
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Quaker Centering Consultation Opportunity
Kathy and Bob Runyan of Ben Lomond Quaker Center have invited all meetings in PYM, NPYM and IMYM to send two members who are interested in deepening the Quaker Life of the Meeting to a free weekend Consultation on Quaker Centering, Dec. 11-13. The weekend is free except for travel expenses, and Bellingham Friends Meeting is offering travel scholarships of $250 apiece to two Friends who would like to attend. Here is a link for more information:
http://www.quakercenter.org/a-complimentary-quaker-centering-consultation/
If you are interested in representing Bellingham Friends Meeting at this gathering, please contact Dorrie Jordan or Rob Dillard by October 18. Whoever attends is asked to make either a written or oral report about their experience to Ministry and Counsel after they return.
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Opportunity to visit the
Bell Towers Studio
Saturday, October 10 1- 3 pm
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If you have not yet visited the Bell Towers Studio, there is one last opportunity to do so before we reach the end of our contingency contract.
Come and take a look on
Saturday, October 10 between 1 and 3 pm.
1430 N Garden Street
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Local Coast Salish Day Events
2nd Indigenous Peoples Day Celebration,
Monday, October 12
Whatcom Community College and NW Indian College
Free, all are welcome
Start off at Whatcom Community College, Syre Auditorium
9 am to 12 Noon: Speakers, performances (singers, drummers, dances)
Follow up with Pizza & Potluck, Speakers and Performers
NW Indian College, Log Building (2522 Kwina Rd)
1 pm to 2 pm: Potluck and Pizza
2 to 4:30 pm: Speakers, performances (singers, drummers, dances)
Oct. 9-11
Powwow event that will be taking place at Skagit Valley College
in Mt Vernon: 2405 E. College Way
Grand Entry Friday at 6pm, Saturday at 1 & 6 pm, Sunday at 1 pm
Showcasing a weekend filled with drummers and dancers in full regalia, the Skagit Valley College Fall Powwow is a multicultural event sure to draw performers from all across the U.S. and Canada.
For intermission entertainment, the Skagit Valley College Powwow is proud to present guest performances by CeAtl Tonalli, a traditional Danza Azteca group from Seattle, Washington, that has been impressing audiences in the Northwest since 2004, and Náakw, a Tlingit dance group that shares song, dance, and cultural presentations that celebrate ancestry and community empowerment. |
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From Social and Environmental Concerns Committee
Item for Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business
PYM AS 2015 – Quaker Earthcare Witness Statement
A Statement has been developed by Quaker Earthcare Witness, the Quaker United Nations Office, and Friends Committee on National Legislation for their joint presence at events during the UN Climate Summit in September 2014. click here to read the statement.
Social and Environmental Concerns will be bringing this to Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business. Please consider whether Bellingham Friends are led to add our name as a signatory.
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Group Discernment Workshop
Dorsey Green & Ann Stever
Sponsored by
Whidbey Island Friends Meeting
Sat, Oct 24, 2015
9 am - 3:30 pm
(Bring dish for potluck lunch)
Location: Unitarian Universalist Congregation SR 525, 2 mile north of Freeland on Whidbey Island
Please Register by October 8
Group discernment - making Spirit-led decisions together - has been an essential part of Quaker community life for 350 years. Everyone contributes, not just clerks. In this day-long workshop, join Whidbey Island Friends to consider:
- Why does group discernment matter to Friends?
- How can we all participate helpfully in Sprit-led decisions - clerks, members and attenders?
- How can we prepare ourselves for weighty decisions?
- When have you experienced the Spirit in group decision-making?
To register, contact:
Toni Grove
tgrove@whidbey.com
360 221-6748
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From Ministry and Counsel:
We ask Friends to hold the question of Bellingham Friends' meeting-place
in the Light. We are approaching the time when our Meeting will need to
either accept for seasoning the purchase of Bell Tower Studios as a home
for our spiritual community, or decide that we are not Spirit led to purchase this
building at this time. Our Meeting for Worship for Business October 11 will
be the opportunity for this decision. Because of our contract with the
sellers, we need to make a preliminary decision at this point. However,
even if we accept it for seasoning, it would still be possible to change our minds during the seasoning period ending at our November MfWfB. The ad hoc Exploratory Committee will have additional information for us on October 11. Please come to MfWfB with hearts and minds prepared to listen for the small voice within.
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Please honor our shared silence in worship by planning to arrive before 10 a.m. on Sunday mornings. Please enter the hallways outside the worship room quietly, as voices carry. Please silence cell phones and arrange belongings before entering, and keep comings and goings during worship to a minimum.
Thank you, Friends.
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World Issues Forums/Paths to Global Justice
Fall Quarter 2015
Coordinator: Shirley Osterhaus Shirley.osterrhaus@wwu.edu
Click here for more information
October 7, TODAY - Noon-1:20pm, Fairhaven College Auditorium. “The State of Hate: The Threat of White Nationalism in a ‘Post-Racial’ America”
Devin Burghart, vice president of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights (IREHR))
The horrific massacre in Charleston, South Carolina was the most recent in a long list of white nationalist atrocities. Find out all about the state of hate in an eye-opening talk that goes inside the white nationalist movement.
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Committee Clerks and Friends Please send items to be distributed before business meeting to Dorrie Jordan (Clerk of Meeting) and to John Hatten (acting recording clerk on Oct 11) |
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Upcoming Second Hours:
Oct. 18 – “39 Questions for White People”
Oct. 25 - “39 Questions for White People”
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Second Hour Oct 18 & 25
“39 Questions for White People”
by Artist Naima Lowe
Naima Lowe is a 34 year old Queer, African-American artist and educator based in Olympia, Washington. Her films, videos, performances and writings have been seen at the Athens International Film and Video Festival, Ann Arbor Film Festival, Anthology Film Archive, The Knitting Factory, The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific Islander Experience, The Stella Elkins Tyler Gallery, The International Toy Theater Exhibition, and Judson Memorial Church.
Her work, "39 Questions for White People" has been purchased by American Friends Service Committee as a powerful way for Friends to reflect on and discuss race, racism, and white privilege.
Bellingham Friends will be viewing and discussing this installation in the hope that it will contribute to an ongoing dialogue about white privilege and racism within the Quaker Community and in society at large.
After viewing the work, Friends will be encouraged to consider several queries related to the piece and to share their reflections in small groups. Opportunities for further reflection and for action/ involvement will be available.
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Announcements from the Wider Community
Sat, Oct 10, 10 am - 12 noon
League of Women Voters election forum
Bellingham City Council Chambers
Presenting Pro and Con Speakers on
Initiatives and Charter Amendments
For more information:
www.lwvbellinghamwhatcom.org/
Assumption Church: Poverty Workshop
Sunday, November 1, 2015 from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Church of the Assumption, 2116 Cornwall Avenue, Bellingham, WA 98225.
(Park at Bellingham H.S. or at the Church)
This program helps people understand the complexities and frustrations of living in poverty day-by-day. With greater awareness of its impact, we can more effectively address the poverty issues in our community.”
Learn more about the poverty workshop here. Pre-Registration is Requested (walk-in will be accommodated as space allows) Click here to register
This Workshop is not appropriate for children under the age of 12.
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Looking Ahead to Wider Quaker Gatherings:
Quaker Earthcare Witness (QEW)
October Gathering and Steering Committee meeting
Ben Lomond Quaker Center, CA,
October 22 -25, 2015.
Spiritual Deepening Enhancing Our Work.
Scholarship funds are available for Young Adult Friends
Please visit this link for more information about the meeting and/or to register
Cut off date for registration is October 15.
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Pacific Northwest Quaker Women's Theology Conference
July 15-19, 2016
Canby Grove Christian Center
Canby Grove, Oregon
Theme: Naming the Gifts of the Living Presence
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Group Discernment Workshop:
Car Pool Opportunities
Susan R has offered to coordinate carpooling to Whidbey Island for this workshop
Click here to email Susan
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You may also contact Don and Wendy G.
They will drive down Friday evening and stay overnight with Whidbey Friends. Other overnight hospitality is also offered, so if anyone wants to ride with them (1 or 2), that possibility is available.
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On Our Wedsite:
Metamorphosis (October issue is on the way!)
The October issue will include feature articles on the Pendle Quaker study opportunity and a special article about Pope Francis' address in Philadelphia in which he pays homage to Quaker leadership in establishing religious freedom
Back issues of the E-News
(soon to include this one!)
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Friday Peace Vigil
When
Every Fri, 3:45pm – 4:45pm
Where
104 W Magnolia St, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA ()
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.
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Special Announcement!
Important Dates for Discernment re: The Bell Tower
Ministry and Counsel urges Friends to attend our 11:30 a.m. Oct. 11 Meeting for Worship for Business. We will be making a decision for seasoning, regarding the Bell Tower Studios building. Please come to listen and share the Light. Be prepared to stay a little longer than usual, as sometimes significant and complex decisions like this take time.
Before that, there will be another opportunity to ask questions and get an updated report on feasibility from the Exploratory Committee, after potluck, around noon on Oct. 4. Please bring your thoughts and questions!
Also, you are welcome to our last opportunity to tour the building before Oct. 11: On Saturday, Oct. 10, from 1 to 3 p.m., the seller, Jon McGrath, has agreed to have the building open for Friends.
When we gather on October 11 for worship with attention to business, Ministry and Counsel asks Friends to keep in mind that consensus is not "the sense of the Meeting." Without unity among members of BFM, we can not make this purchase. We value Light shared by attenders as well as members, and our Faith and Practice reminds us that "responsibility for decisions remains with members of the Meeting."
We ask that Friends be prepared on October 4 and 11 to stay longer than normal if need be. Kristen McLewin has volunteered to take on the "labor of love" providing lunch for Friends who stay for Meetings for Worship for Business, so there will be potluck Oct. 4 and lunch on Oct. 11.
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Interfaith Coalition
Coat Drive
Interfaith Coalition Annual Winter Coat Drive is in October.
Please give gently-used or new coats, hats and mittens to Sharon Trent before the 18th. Bring donations to meeting to give to Sharon or contact her to arrange pickup.
The Interfaith Hope Annual Meeting is Tuesday, October 13th at 7 pm at Bellingham Covenant Church. Come together with other faiths. Discover opportunities for your congregation to connect compassion with action.
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