December 24
Those present enjoyed a Christmas sing. Paul Ruhlen, former clerk now from Palo Alto, CA and Patricia Griffith, John and Reva's daughter-in-law, furnished the piano accompaniment; Ben Griffith, John and Reva's son, led the singing. The singing was heartfelt and the pianists were wonderful (someone remarked that we usually don't have any pianist and that day we had two very talented pianists). Maybe we can get them to come more often.

December 10
Ira Harritt, Program Facilitator for the AFSC, and Andy Anderson, HIP Program Coordinator, were presenters of information about AFSC in general and our own local office in particular. For some time Friends had wished for more information on the organization with which we share our facility. Those present were treated to the opportunity of learning of the involvement of the American Friends Service Committee, the Quaker service arm for peace and justice, in a number of local areas including: The Help Increase the Peace program for training youth in the ways of peace; the Couch Dialogue, an attempt to involve community persons in dialogue with one another on issues important to us all; the Forum Theatre, a unique way of working through problems we have with one another or the city, or. . . . The local AFSC has also been involved in numerous other activities in Kansas City and elsewhere. This was an informative program.

November 26
Troost Corridor Revitalization, etc. Pat Miller and David Rommel presented information on the ongoing development of Troost corridor plans for revitalization. For several years, two Friends have monitored the progress of this project, seeking to learn what Penn Valley Meeting might gain from the revitalizaton of this community transportation artery and contribute to its development. Through his activity in the Move-up organization, David agreed to ask someone to further discuss the corridor activities for the meeting at a later date.

November 12
Discussion on social activism, convened by David and Amy Zeh Rommel. Penn Valley Friends discussed their individual participation in a number of organizations which operate locallly and/or globally. These included working with prisoners, actions for community betterment through Move-up and Westport Cooperative Mission, the Western Missouri Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, writing scholarly works related to perpetration of post-traumatic disorder, and through the internet, co-establishment of the California Peace Initiative. Those present recognized that Friends not present could add to the above list.

October 29
Genia Simmons, member of the meeting, soon departs for a new life in Austin, Texas. We gathered to honor Genia and to bid her a sad farewell. She received a variety of gifts - jewelry parts for her creative bent, pictures, cards, heirloom seeds, photos, etc. Her kindness, honesty and soundness of judgment in the face of disagreements will be much missed. We look forward to promised visits. So long, Genia.

September 24
Spirituality Formation Groups. Kent Luetke-Stahlman informed the meeting of the decision of some members of Iowa Yearly Meeting (C) to form such groups. The concept was first put into action by Baltimore Yearly Meeting and later by Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. It involves the formation of groups at local, regional, and yearly meeting levels. Local and regional groups will meet once a month while there will be two retreats (fall and spring) at the yearly meeting level. There are two different activities involved -- study of readings and personal participation in a spiritual discipline. Formation will begin with a retreat October 20-22 at a Villisca, Iowa, camp. See Kent Luetke- Stahlman or Terry Matz for more information.

September 10
Relationships, intimacy, Boundaries. Minta Kenney facilitated this discussion. After defining the characteristics of relationships, intimacy and boundaries, Minta led us into discussing how the three concepts relate to one another. Those present talked of their own experiences and discernments, and evaluated how they fit each of these concepts into their own lives.

August 27
Mary Kay Meyer, director of Shalom House, a residence for homeless men in KC, KS, spoke on the recent trip she made to Iraq. She told of the results of sanctions against this old once proud country. The bombing still continues sporadically and the sanctions have reduced the nation to poverty and ill health for much of its remaining population. Brad Grebs who also works at Shalom House, discussed some of the current conditions in Iraq and expressed belief that many per- sons in this country are not aware of what's happening there. Both of these speakers agreed that there is a need in this country to educate ourselves and to advo- cate however we can for the dropping of sanctions in both Iraq and Cuba. It's the people who suffer.

August 6
Penn Valley Meeting was privileged to hear a string quartet composed of Elizabeth LaManna and five of her faculty colleagues from an annual two week workshop for children learning to play in string quartets. The workshop took place here in KC and was coordinated by Elizabeth. It was a joy to hear music of Beethoven, Puccini and Mozart played with excellence. Elizabeth and her children who now live in New York state are members of Penn Valley Meeting. Friends were pleased to be chosen to hear this transcending finale of the two week workshop.

July 23
Dan Pearson gave Friends a fascinating look into his work with Children's International. He showed a video which illustrated the problems of war, poverty and lack of access to good health care which some of the children of the world endure. He told of the organization goals of working with specific children through individuals within this country and how the work is accomplished. Some of the places where the work of Children's International takes place include Guatemala, the US, India, the Philippines, Honduras, Chile and Colombia.