Bulletin 01.22.2021
Minute Approved by Eugene Friends Church
An excerpt: Jesus expects his followers to practice peacemaking, love their enemies, and tell the truth at all times. Jesus’ vision includes all persons living in peace, freedom, and justice, and his ministry was one of integrity, nonviolent action, forgiveness, healing, and reconciliation. When Jesus was urged to seek worldly power, he declined.
- We condemn violence as a means to any end.
- We repudiate the lie that Jesus would encourage or condone the sort of reprehensible behavior and violence that we witnessed at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
- We condemn white supremacy, and we repudiate the common conflation of Christianity with any nation, party, or racial group.
- We urge other followers of Jesus to join our commitment to rejecting these lies, to repenting of them, and to praying and working for peace and reconciliation.
Click here to read the full minute.
New Name for William Penn House
At Friends Committee on National Legislation, we see how profoundly important our work is now – to engage people across the country in our advocacy for peace, justice and an earth restored. Just as we advocate to root out systemic racism in federal policy, we must also acknowledge and change the systemic racism in our own organization and within the Religious Society of Friends.
We write to you now to share our decision about changing the name of the William Penn House.
We seek a new name that welcomes all peoples to gather in this center for Quaker civic engagement. Changing the name is only one step in the anti-racist work that we must all be about. As we fully develop dynamic programs at this Capitol Hill property, telling the full history of the Religious Society of Friends will be one way we own the foundations of white supremacy.
Click here for more information.
A Note from the Nominating Committee
Greetings from the SCYMF Nominating Committee! We always welcome nominations for any committee or working group (see a list with descriptions HERE). You can use our nomination form HERE to nominate yourself or someone else. While all committees have space for more members, we are particularly aware of the following needs: the Finance Committee, the Youth Committee, and the Coordinating Committee. The Nominating Committee encourages you to spend some time in prayerful discernment about whether you or someone you know might be called to participate in one of these ways.
Matt Boswell, clerk of Nominating
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Quarterly Gathering
Schedule:
Friday, February 19
7 to 8pm – Small group sessions
Saturday, February 20
10:00 to 10:45 am – Music and worship led by Aaron Pruitt and Jill Townley
11:00 am to 12:30 pm – Workshops
12:30 to 1:30 pm – Break for lunch
1:30 to 3:45 pm – Business session
4 to 5 pm– Second small group sessions
All sessions will be conducted via Zoom. Registration in advance is required, and you will be sent the Zoom details after registering. Please send the following information to registrar@scymf.org: Name(s) of attendees, email address, and church or meeting affiliation (if you have one).
Click here to view the workshop options.
Click here for more information.
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Announcements
The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is launching Under the Mask, a site that tracks and analyses government abuse of power around the world. Please join AFSC and our global community on January 26 for this special online event. Click here for more information.
The Quaker United Nations office in New York Offices are currently looking for two programme assistants. The deadline to apply for the position is January 29th. Click here for more information.
The next Quarterly Gathering for Sierra-Cascades Yearly Meeting of Friends is scheduled for Saturday, February 20, 2021. The meeting will be held virtually via Zoom.
The Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) 2021 Section Meeting, March 12-21, welcomes all Friends. The schedule includes opportunities for worship, workshops, business sessions, and small group activities. It is a great opportunity to get to know and connect with more Friends. Click here for more information.
Quaker Voluntary Service (QVS) is rediscovering and reclaiming the living tradition of Quaker service for our time, offering new models built on enduring truths. We are eager to share the QVS experience with more young adults and excited to announce that applications for the 2021–2022 fellowship year are open through March 15, 2021. Click here for more information.
Sierra-Cascades Yearly Meeting of Friends Annual Sessions are scheduled for Friday to Sunday, June 18–20, 2021, and we are tentatively planning on meeting in person at Canby Grove.
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If you have an announcement you’d like to have included in the next Bulletin, please send it to newsletter@scymf.org.
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