February 12, 2006
End of Life Decisions
Today's program was highly informative, as many of you know. The presenter was John Carney, of the Center for Practical Bioethics. I'm not going to summarize it all, but an important piece was that their web site has a two-page document that you can download in a PDF format and use. On one side it has a healthcare directive or "health proxy," with a space for your wishes regarding health care in a possibly terminal situation. On the other you can designate a person (or persons in priority order) whom you trust to speak for you on your wishes. He emphasized that this second part is critical; given the changing state of medical technology and the unpredictability of situations, there's no way we can foresee all the contingencies.

He said that the above forms are currently being revised, and that in a couple of weeks the up to date version should be available. He also mentioned a downloadable pamphlet that sounded excellent - it has suggestions for starting a deliberate conversation with chosen people about our needs, wants and wishes.

There is an option for a more in-depth two-hour workshop that will focus less on the legal issues and more on how to converse with our loved ones on this tricky subject. He hopes that if we opt for it, we will also have the services of Sister Rosemary, who is apparently a witty and wise advisor on this topic.

Here's the web site for you to look at: www.practicalbioethics.org.

January 29, 2006
PLANNING PEACE AND SOCIAL CONCERNS ACTIVITIES
The meeting was convened by Echo, newly appointed Coordinator of Peace and Social Concerns. It started with urgent requests from representatives to organizations and then was opened to concerns of anyone present.

From AFSC (Marianne and Echo, representatives):

On March 19, AFSC is conducting a major vigil to mark the third year of war in Iraq. They are seeking sponsorship and volunteers as well as financial help. They hope to have 2400 volunteers, each holding the picture of a military person killed in Iraq. In addition, there will be a memorial to Iraqi civilians killed in the war.

Friends decided that it would be highly appropriate for the meeting to be an official sponsor for the event. It was pointed out that merely noting the deaths of military persons in no way expresses the damage done by the war, but it was still felt to be a fitting tribute and protest. Friends also had the opportunity to sign up for volunteering and to donate to this event. These opportunities will be available up until the time of the event.

AFSC is also having a Valentine’s Day party/fundraiser on February 11. There will be more details in the newsletter.

FCNL: We need to decide what priorities FCNL should have for the coming two years. We are seeking program time for this discussion. FCNL is also encouraging every meeting to send people to discuss with their representatives to Congress the next year’s FCNL major issues. There was some interest in doing this.

Ginger and Jim Kenney: They will be starting their yearly meeting sojourns on behalf of FCNL in April. Friends would like to know then these are happening and also would like to arrange an evening when we can talk with the Kenney’s about what they do and offer them support.

Rachel MacNair: She presented copies of her new brochure on her books and also offered to continue leading letter-writing activities when issues come up that seem to call for this kind of action.

Susan Clymer: Susan is now a facilitator for the Alternative to Violence Project and is interested in finding out what her next direction will be. She may want to participate in Friends Peace Teams, which current work in Africa and Colombia, and she is interested in helping make our meeting a peace center, if Friends feel so led.

She suggested the possibility of having an AVP training at the meetinghouse. We would need at least 12 people and a whole weekend; all participants need not be active in the meeting.

Leesa Whitson: a reminder to click daily on the Hunger Site and the related sites where for free one can make possible a donation of food, mammograms, books and other necessary items. She noted that families can do a lot, and that they like doing their holiday shopping from organizations that do good as well.

Karin McAdams: She invites Friends to form a group to pull garlic mustard, an invasive plant, in late April or early May. The Wildlands project sponsors this activity. Gary noted that they also have a cedar cut in December, thus providing politically correct Christmas trees.

Nancy Moon: Someday she would like to present a program (possibly a fifth Sunday program) on “shadow work as peace work.” This would help us look at our motivations and personal issues in doing activist work.

Jim and Ginger Kenney: Currently they are deeply involved in case of the young persons who were inappropriately raided by the KCK police during a birthday party. Jim sees this case as becoming ever more complex, but he expressed hope that long-term change will come from it. The emotional support being offered by the community can be very valuable. They will inform us if we can help.

Each of us can help in our own way, as in the story of the starfish. We want to avoid the need for perfection, to avoid “making the perfect the enemy of the good.”

November 27, 2005
Quakers and the Holidays
It was Shane’s vision — of harps and angels, mannequins and Santa hats — that sparked the discussion of “Quakers and the Holidays” on Nov. 27. And after an hour of focused dialogue, we were left with quite another vision — that of a laughing Jesus.

As part of the Quaker education program on that First Day, Shane shared his impressions of passing a harpist in Crown Center a few days earlier. The harpist played beautifully, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” while seated rather incongruously in front of Victoria’s Secret with its display windows full of supermodeled mannequins wearing Santa hats and little else.

What exactly are we celebrating at Christmas? What is the Quaker response to such marketplace sights? How did the celebration of Christmas get to where it is today? What is important to each of us? The discussion turned on all of these points.

According to the biblical story, a point made by Ginger and Marc, with its references to the spring lambing season, it would have been impossible for Jesus to be born on Dec. 25. The date, most agreed, was set during the era of cultural colonialism of the early church, when Christian leaders twinned their holidays with the traditional feasts of other people in an effort to assimilate those people. From the start, the holiday agenda included more than marking the birth of Jesus.

The melding of traditions is not a bad thing, Rachel said. We are all gathered to celebrate together, and whether or not our beliefs are the same is not important; the togetherness of our multi-religious traditions is important. The togetherness promotes community, reminding us of our shared space and time, and perhaps destiny.

The Bethlehem story is rich with analogy and metaphor. But it is the gift-giving aspect, the lesson of the magi, that has caused the most consternation, leading as it has to the capitalist usurpation of the holiday.

So is there a proper way to observe Christmas without submitting to the commercialism, to follow the example of the early Quakers, who eschewed ritual? Does that mean we do not “celebrate” this holiday?

The sense of the gathering was that not only was it OK to celebrate, it could be perceived that Jesus would have wanted us to. Ginger, conjuring the image of the laughing Jesus, said, “Without celebrations, we Quakers can become very dour. My view of Christ is that he loved a party.”

“Yes, Jesus, the wine maker,” Jim added. These designated days, which we call holidays, give us a reason to gather. In and of itself, that is good.

We all have our own ways to celebrate. They’ve become our traditions. Some of us set up Nativity scenes. Some phone friends around the country. Some attend churches to experience the “smoke and bells” of those traditions, all memories, nostalgia, and sensual feasts to help us transcend. Some of us dress our homes with garland and greens.

As Bill Kellison said, our traditions are many; we should take what we want and leave the rest. Listen to the harp, in other words, and avert the eyes, if it offends.

How we each mark the holidays is an individual thing, but one that takes place within community. And the important thing is not the trappings of the holiday, but the spirit behind, beneath and beyond our traditions.

— Gary Marx

March 13, 2005
Friends Have Musical Fun
November 14, 2004
Program on Women's Experiences in Prison
The few people who attended the program were rewarded with an informative session. Consuelo has been out of prison for two years, and when she says she's never going back, you know she means it. She's been in prison five times for drug-related offenses, in Kansas and in Missouri. She related how, contrary to her fears of grim lock-downs and beating, her first experience had more in common with a highly structured camp. High test results got her a minimum-wage job away from the prison, and she had activities and classes to keep her busy. Often a rule-breaker outside, she followed rules in prison.

By the time of her most recent prison experience, conditions had changed. The Stop- Violence program, which she had appreciated, seemed to have been discontinued, and the only special programs now allowed were faith-based ones. The emphasis is more on warehousing than on rehabilitation. Minimum-wage jobs are gone; now the most one can earn is $1.05 a day. A person who chooses not to work is confined to her room during the day. Education, which did include college courses, has been pared down to GED classes only for a few.

We laughed when we realized that in a sense she was saying that for her the changes had had the desired result. She is adamant against going back. However, for many people, this is still not a deterrent, and now they no longer have a chance for positive growth while incarcerated.

Consuelo said that many people don't belong in prisons. A structured environment with support and education would serve them better. For those who are in prison, support is critical. Personal growth activities are important. She emphasized contact with family, especially for women with children. Quality time with the children makes it easier to stay in touch and to avoid the tendency for them to get into trouble. Consuelo proved to be a lively speaker and an excellent source of information, and there were a lot of good questions. She is willing to continue to be a resource if we should want one.

October 31, 2004
The Meaning of Life
Minta asked each of us to write a short description of the meaning of life. As we shared these ideas anonymously, we found different perspectives on common themes -- bringing joy to others and ourselves, discovering the connectedness of all things, learning to love God and to channel that love to others, and finding a purpose in life. The meaning of life can be viewed like a kaleidescope rather than a line: it can be different for each one of us and can change at different stages in our lives. The Spirit can give us opportunities to grow in times of sorrow and in joy. Humor, openness, and praise give important perspectives to the journey.

October 23, 2004
Faith and Practice and the Disciplines
Ginger Kenney and Marc Robinson led a discussion of Faith and Practice guidelines used by Friends yearly meetings. Yearly meetings each write their own guidelines for the members of their meetings that build on the Quaker testimonies and history. These guidelines used to be called Disciplines in recognition that the word "discipline" was rooted in the idea of learning and discipleship. Because the word has grown to have overtones of control and punishment, many meetings have chosen to rename their guidelines "Faith and Practice." Iowa Yearly Meeting is in the process of revising their Discipline and the new revision will be called Faith and Practice as well. The revision is being organized to reflect the life of the meeting as it is now. We reviewed the revision for Death and Bereavement and the revision for Travelling Minutes and Recording Ministries. Marc, who is the Penn Valley representative on the IYM Discipline Revision Committee, will take our comments back to the committee for their consideration. Those of us who participated in the discussion want to make sure that Friends in the Meeting are aware that they can request a letter of introduction or a travelling minute if they will be visiting other Friends meetings when they travel. Please contact a member of Ministry and Oversight for more details.

October 9, 2004
Expressing Your Talents in Our Meeting Community
We reflected on a list of Quaker Spiritual gifts developed by Marianne Lockerd that included Bringer of Order, Contemplative, Lover of Nature, Bridge (to people of different beliefs), Listener, Artist, Elder, Friend, Giver of Hospitality, Healer of the World, Humor, Laborer With Hands, Learner, Musician, Nurturer, Oversight, Parent, Prayer, Presence in Silence, Priesting, Prophet, Storyteller, Teacher, Vocal Minister, Witness and Writer. After each of us identified at least one gift we had been given, we also discussed which gifts were helpful for Meeting positions and committees.

July 31, 2004 
Summary of Quaker History II: Loose Threads in a Common Cloth
American Quakers began the 19th century in decline due to several factors: A hundred years of quietism and disownments, their stands against slavery and against the war for independence, and an often negative perception of Quakers. Quakers were looking to reinvigorate Quakerism and the ideological wind blowing from England brought Evangelicalism. Quietists were on both sides of the argument about how or, even, whether to embrace the new movement which advocated more emphasis on the Bible and doctrinal orthodoxy. Schisms - large and small - occurred over issues of both faith and practice. By the end of the 19th century, American Quakerism was re-invigorated, but separated and reconfigured. Even as fierce loyalties to principles and personalities splintered meetings, and even through civil war, Quakers worked together for education, prison reforms, mental health reforms, relief for those escaping slavery, assistance to Native Americans and aid to those hurt by war. Friends today retain the names and prac- tices which bear witness to the separations of the 19th century - Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative), for example. Yet, the 20th and 21th centuries have been marked by a continued focus on peace issues and common work - AFSC and FCNL, for example.