August 2002

August 2002
1	Thurs	7:30	BQM Oversight Committee meets at Buckingham Meeting.
8-12	Thurs-Mon		Fellowship of Friends of African Descent at Pendle Hill. Call 1-610-566-4507.
9-10 t	Fri-Sa		Goschenhoppen Historians’ 36th Annual Folk Festival.
11-17	Sun-Sat		PYM Middle School Arts Camp at Burlington Meetinghouse. Call 215-241-7171.
14-18	Wed-Sun		Grange Fair at Middletown Grange.
16	Fri	6:00 pm	BQM Worship & Ministry meets at Wrightstown Meeting.
16-17	Fri-Sat	9-4	Conflict Resolution/Community Building for Elementary School Educators 215-241-7233
24-25	Sat-Sun		Bucks Quarterly Meeting, under the care of Newtown Meeting, at Camp Onas.
Looking Ahead
September 7	Yardley Meeting Flea Market. Call Karen Lucca for a table at 215-943-5478.
September 14	PYM Support & Outreach: Doing Monthly Meeting Outreach - events & workshops
September 15	Peace Forum at George School. Call Marge Schier for info: 215-945-7061.
September 19-22.	FGC: “Nurturing the Meeting Community” at Rosholt, Wisconsin. Call 215-561-1700
September 20-22	Intergenerational Men’s Retreat at YMCA Camp near Medford. Call 215-349-6959.
September 21	Peace Fair at Buckingham Meeting.
October 20	AIDS Walk Philadelphia: Young Friends team organized by the amazingcliff@hotmail.com
October 26	“Training for Trainers” workshop for Meeting care-givers. Call 215-241-7068.
January17-20,	2003 North American Quaker Peace Gathering for Friends World Committee for Consultation

A North American Quaker Peace Gathering For Friends World Committee for Consultation

There will be a North American gathering on Friends’ Responses to the Growing Danger of Wars and Terrorism, scheduled for January 17-20, 2003, at Guilford College. It will be the fifth such national assembly sponsored by FWCC in its 70-year history.

According to FWCC, the event’s mission is “to gather in the spirit of prayer and openness to Divine Guidance, as a family of God spanning all traditions of Friends meetings and churches, to assist Friends to carry forth the peace witness in its many forms in the face of the increasing danger of wars and terrorism. Together we will study the spiritual heritage of the Peace Testimony, identify spiritual tools for strengthening it in today’s world, and prayerfully consider actions to remain faithful witnesses to Jesus’ message, “Blessed are the peacemakers.”

The gathering will be limited to 200 attenders, and FWCC is seeking representation from the various North American Quaker traditions, and has asked all Yearly Meetings name Friends to attend from their group. Fifty places are also being reserved for younger Friends.

For more info: FWCC at 1506 Race St., Philadelphia, PA 19102, or email at: americas@fwcc.quaker.org

Lilly Endowment Awards Nearly $14 Million for Peace Studies at Three Indiana Colleges

Lilly Endowment has announced a four-year, $13.88 million grant to Earlham College, Goshen College, and Manchester College, all in Indiana, to strengthen programs that focus on peace, justice, and conflict resolution. A portion of the funds will establish a Peace House in Indianapolis that will serve as a base for community outreach and conflict resolution work in the city. Peace House staff will facilitate approaches to the study of practice and peace, justice, and conflict resolution.

Peace Pals Will Resume in September

We’ll be having Ann Bartholomay showing us how to make wonderful cakes, followed by our Halloween bonfire in October, and Chris Langhart who will speak about Woodstock in November, and much more. Don’t miss the fun! Bring a friend who hasn’t been there yet.

United Friends School Update

To know UFS for the last nineteen years is to see an ascendant school, always improving for the sake of the children it serves. At particular junctures the ascendance has been dramatic. Along the way, the school grew in students and program, and for the last eight years has been operating from two sites.

On April 2, the school began construction of a new Link Building at the Tenth Street site, along with renovations of the existing Tenth St. school and the newly acquired Professional Building. The Link Building is under roof, and the UFS community is looking forward to using the new facilities in September, 2002. They will pay for the related costs through a combination of a bank loan, enrollment growth, and fundraising.

The UFS Capital Campaign Committee completed the silent phase of its $700,000 Uniting Friends and Growing Together Campaign in May, and has raised more than half of the funds. Committee Chair Tim Wilsey announced the results at the annual Spring Benefit in May and invited the entire UFS community to join the excitement and become part of a legacy that will serve children for generations to come. The school looks forward to a new year in a truly “united” school.

September 11, 2002. Interfaith Service for Peace and Justice

An Interfaith committee of peace activists is calling on all communities of faith in the Philadelphia area to join together on the one year anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks for a service in the name of peace and justice. For information on how your Meeting can become involved call 215-241-7003 or bwaxman@afsc.org

Words from Dan Gottlieb @ WHYY

1) Love those whom you love, only do it more consciously. This will bring you more joy.
2) Love those whom you don’t know. It will make your sense of community bigger and more trustworthy.
3) Love those whom you fear. It will make you feel safer and sleep better. 4) Love those whom you hate - it might save the world. We must pray for a miracle. After that, let’s do something to create one.

Peace Witness Meeting for Worship for Peace at Arch Street

This Meeting will be on Thursday, Aug 1st, starting at 7pm. The meeting is being called so that Friends might begin the process of realizing ways of working together for peace at the Yearly Mtg level while at the same time honoring the many different approaches Friends bring to the Peace Testimony. Info: lairdh@fgcquaker.org

Not In My Name: Taking Action for a Just Peace in Israel and Palestine

This Chicago based organization lists other groups on their website: Gush Shalom has been an outspoken advocate for a Palestinian state. Jews for Peace in Palestine and Israel believe that a lasting peace in Palestine and Israel is attainable through negotiations and the implementation of relevant UN resolutions. A Jewish Voice for Peace in the San Francisco Bay Area is a grassroots organization dedicated to the human, civil and economic rights of Jews, Palestinians, and all peoples in the Middle East. Bat Shalom is a feminist peace organization of Israeli women who work toward a just peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors that includes recognition of a Palestinian state side-by-side with Israel and Jerusalem as the capital of both. Within Israel, Bat Shalom works toward a more just and democratic society shaped equally by men and women.

August Events in Doylestown

· Tower Tour for Families, on Sat, Aug 3. Children and parents explore Henry Mercer’s castle from basement to tower and learn about Mercer’s creative ideas through stories and prints. You can come at 10:30 or 11:45am at Fonthill, East Court Street and Rte 313. Children must be over 5 and able to climb steep stairs. For reservations, call 215-348-9461 ext. 10. Included with admission.

· Children’s Summer Show on Thursday, Aug 8th, Premier Bank of Doylestown will sponsor a performance by Joe Keppel (The Magical Entertainer), at 10:15am in the Lenape Auditorium. There is no cost to attend.

· Doylestown School of Music and the Arts, on August 10th, will present this free recital at 6pm at Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church.

Philadelphia Community Health Alternatives

This is a sexual minority health agency, providing health services and mental health counseling to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. This counseling service, the Open Door, has started a new program to support parents who either have LGBT kids, or who are LGBT themselves. The goal is to form a group of parents who can support each other and share ideas in a comfortable and safe setting. The service will also provide individual and family counseling services through the Open Door to families who are interested. Call 215-563-0663, ext. 251 or OpenDoor@critpath.org.

Goschenhoppen 36th Annual Folk Festival

This annual event will be on Friday & Saturday, August 9th & 10th, in East Greenville, PA, Rte 29, Montgomery County. There will be foods, crafts, and stage programs. Hours are Friday, 12-8 and Saturday, 10-6. Cost is $7.00 adults, 12 and under free. There will be a donation for parking. No pets allowed.

The festival, on a charming ten-acre park, offers a glimpse of the local life of the Pennsylvania Germans of 18th & 19 centuries. You can assist in making rope, pressing paper, fashioning a cornhusk doll. You will find a Revolutionary soldier, blacksmith, tinsmith, cooper, cabinet maker, pie baker, seamstress, and much more. Food includes homemade root beer or ice cold lemonade, sizzling sausage sandwiches, corn pie, and ice cream.

You might want to explore the Henry Antes House, a local 18th century architectural treasure. The house is open for tours. For info: call 215-234-8953.

Snippets of News from the Quarter and Other Places

Clerk of Buckingham

John Bailey is now the Clerk of Buckingham Meeting

Plumstead Monthly Meeting

Plumstead Worship Group is now Plumstead Monthly Meeting! Beth Taylor is the Clerk. You might want to visit on a Sunday. Plumstead, for many years, was under the care of Buckingham Meeting.

Steering Committee of the Bucks County Peace Center

Laney Mitchell (Doylestown Mtg) was recently appointed to the Steering Committee of the Bucks County Peace Center.

Midweek Meeting for Worship

Middletown Friends Meeting holds midweek Meeting for Worship every second and fourth Wednesday at 7pm.Every third Wednesday Middletown holds Worship Sharing at 7pm.

Expansion to the Newtown Meetinghouse

Construction of the expansion to the Newtown Meetinghouse is ready to go in mid-August!

William Penn House

If you’re visiting Washington, D.C. the William Penn House is hosting a summer special. Quaker groups or individuals may stay for only $24 a night between May 25 and September 15. For information: www.quaker.org/penn-house. Phone is 1-202-543-5560 or dirpennhouse@pennsnet.org.

Grange Fair

The Grange Fair is a wonderful place to take your kids, your friends, your parents, your grandparents. Visit the cows, goats and lambs and more in the large barn. There are vendors of all sorts. Children love the ferris wheel!

Silent Vigil for Peace in Doylestown

Doylestown Meeting Friends continue their Silent Vigil for Peace at the corner of Court & Main Streets, and invite members from other Meetings to participate as well. The Meeting has added the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons to the Peace Vigil Message. The Vigil is from 6pm-7pm every Tuesday. Also, the Peace Committee is planning an additional street witness for Tuesday, August 6th (Hiroshima Day). Call 215-345-1714 for more information.

Wedding coming up?

Got a wedding coming up? The Philadelphia Inquirer Magazine has a weekly feature on weddings. The Inquirer would like to write up the details of your Quaker wedding. You can do it locally and send it to the Inquirer. They will also do the photos. Call 215-854-2000. (from Mary Kester, Newtown Meeting)