This page is for short updates from across our Yearly Meeting membership—individuals, committees, or other groups. We will also share news from other Quaker organizations from time to time.
Be sure to check out our quarterly newsletter, the Quaker Quill, for more news. You can also follow us on Facebook.
Welcome Announcement
Hello Friends!
As noted in the introduction above, this new space on the website is meant for sharing updates that may be of interest to OVYM Friends. If you have something you’d like to share, you can email our Administrative Assistant, Susan Lee Barton, or use the form on this page.
For less time-sensitive news, consider sending a submission to Cecilia Shore for inclusion in the next edition of the Quaker Quill.
– Daniel Day,
OVYM Website Administrator
Seeking Sponsors for Youth Lobbyists
The Friends Committee on National Legislation is hosting a Spring Lobby Weekend March 25th-28th in D.C. and online! They are encouraging meetings and communities across the country to sponsor young adults who might want to travel to DC to be a part of this program! If your meeting or community would like to sponsor a group of young adults to participate in Spring Lobby Weekend, contact Clare Carter at FCNL or Adam Funck in OVYM for more information.
Deadline extended for AFSC
young adult leadership program applications
Do you know someone who is 18-22 years old and Quaker—or who went to a Quaker college?
| There’s still time to apply! AFSC is extending the application deadline for our hands-on leadership program, Emerging Leaders for Liberation. Applicants must be 18-22 years old as of April 1, 2023 and have a relationship to an AFSC program, a Quaker college/organization, or a Quaker meeting. The cohort will begin meeting in April 2023. The application will close on March 19th. |
| This program is a chance for young people to hone their leadership and social justice organizing skills. Participants will receive up to $1,000 to fund an action project in their community, as well as a $500 stipend for completing the program. Learn more about ELL here. In peace, Julián AndayaDirector, Emerging Leaders for Liberation |
OVYM Clerking Workshop Cancelled for 3/25
As reported at the Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting Executive Committee meeting on 2023-02-04, the workshop on clerking and the conduct of meeting for business that Religious Nurture and Education had originally planned for the Fall of 2022 and had tentatively rescheduled for 2023-03-25 has been cancelled. RNE came to the discernment to postpone this workshop because of a growing sense that this particular topic may not be what OVYM Friends are seeking at this time. We came to that discernment in the context of several hours spent together in worshipful reflection. The Committee is still engaging in prayerful seasoning about how we can best serve the spiritual needs of OVYM Friends, and we invite and encourage you to share your concerns with us.
Stop Dirty Banks National Day of Action
21 March, 2023
| Watch Webinar “Banking on our Future” |
| In March, QEW Friends gathered to learn more about Third Act and the Stop Dirty Banks National Day of Action on March 21.Third Act is building a community of experienced Americans over the age of sixty determined to change the world for the better. Together, they use life experience, skills and resources to build better tomorrow.Watch the recording to learn how Friend Kathy Barnhart and fellow volunteers Shekinah Shepard and Ann Walker have taken action and how we can get involved and organized as Friends to pressure big banks to take climate seriously. Learn more at ThirdAct.org. |
FWCC Americas Section Meeting 2023: Hybrid!
Fellowship, Study, Business, Nature, and Growth: March 23-26, 2023
(In-person registration closed 2/26. Only online registration is available.)
Theme: Becoming the Quakers the World Needs
Location: Haw River State Park, Greensboro, North Carolina
All are welcome! Register today for in-person or remote participation. For more information, to register, or to help a Friend attend, see the FWCC Section of the Americas website.
Earth Hour: Turn off your lights for one hour
Saturday, March 25, 8:30-9:30 pm. Join others around the world in celebration of Earth Hour. The world’s first Earth Hour in Sydney, Australia, saw more than 2.2 million people turn off their lights for one hour to show their concern about climate change. Now one of the largest grassroots environmental movements, Earth Hour (last Saturday of March) reaches millions in over 190 countries. Iconic buildings and landmarks from Europe to Asia to the Americas have stood in darkness during previous Earth Hours. Turn off your house lights for the hour (at 8:30 p.m. in each time zone) and light a candle.
Quaker Earthcare Witness Worship Sharing
| Tuesday, March 28th: 7pm Eastern/ 4pm Pacific |
| Join Quaker Earthcare Witness’ monthly online worship sharing. This is a special time each month where Friends across many time zones gather to connect and deepen our connection with Creation and Spirit. Our hope is that we will create a sacred space and encounter each other in “that which is eternal.” |
Development Manager
Job Opening with Friends General Conference
From Faith Josephs, FGC Associate Secretary for Development:
FGC is hiring a new Development Manager (our current manager, Joan Botto, is retiring). The Development Manager works closely with the Associate Secretary for Development to plan and implement a comprehensive development program. There is strong collaboration with the communications department to ensure clear messaging is shared supporting FGC’s mission and vision. There is a strong emphasis on writing and telling the stories of Friends and meetings to share the positive impact of FGC ministries.
Please share this job description<https://www.fgcquaker.org/2023/03/10/development-manager/> with anyone who may be interested. And folks are welcome to reach out to me if have they questions.
Thank you!
Applications will be accepted until March 31, 2023.
Grant Opportunities: Quaker History
The Friends Historical Association is offering funding to support contributions to the field of Quaker history. There are three grant opportunities: project support, publication subventions, and research funds. All opportunities run on the same cycle, and applications are due April 15, 2023. Details here.
QEW’s Spring Steering Committee Meeting
| You’re invited to QEW’s online Spring Steering Committee Meeting Zoom April 20-23, 2023. All Steering Committees members must attend as part of their responsibilities as representatives of their Yearly Meetings—and we encourage Monthly Meeting Contacts to join us as well! All are welcome. We will do business together, engage in some fellowship, and share resources about QEW’s recent work and how to support QEW. Photo of Shelley Tanenbaum (General Secretary), Brad Stocker and Beverly Ward (Co-Clerks) |
ESR Quaker Leadership Center Conference:
“Rivers of Life Among Friends”
Apr. 27-29 Earlham School of Religion’s hosts its first annual Quaker Leadership Center Conference: “Rivers of Life Among Friends.” Watch for more details. As part of the conference on the 27th 7:00-8:30 p.m. in Earlham College’s Goddard Auditorium, Parker J. Palmer will begin the Perkins Family Lecture Series, “All Real Living is Meeting: Close Encounters of the Quaker Kind.”
Quaker Institute:
Beloved Community As Prophetic Witness
April 28-May 1, 2023 on campus at Pendle Hill Conference Center
A gathering of Friends to learn about and practice the art of building beloved
community as an act of prophetic witness.
Grounded in Friends’ history of community as the roots of spirituality and
social change, we will learn from each other about what is possible in this
moment – both old and new ways Friends are grounding our communities in
our prophetic values and mobilizing in the service of healing the world.
Experiential workshops will explore different ways that the Religious Society
of Friends is creating cultures of beloved community. Themes will include the
ministry of space, intergenerational programming, art as a container for
building community, and ways Meetings can support and engage with
Friends’ peace and justice organizations.
This long weekend is a collaboration with a broad range of Friends and
Friends’ organizations, including the American Friends Service Committee,
the Friends Committee on National Legislation, Friends General Conference,
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, the Quaker Religious Education Collaborative,
and other Quaker institutions and retreat centers.
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting will be providing programming to young
Quaker Institute registrants. We hope this will make attendance for families
with children more accessible.
Pricing, financial assistance, and accommodation information available on the Pendle Hill website.
