Clear Creek Friends Meeting News

For 350 years, Quakers have talked about the light in each person. But what is it? Is our experience of the light today the same that gathered early Friends and forged them into a dynamic movement? ‘Experiment with Light’ draws upon the spiritual counsel of Quaker founder George Fox. It provides an opportunity to center our awareness in the light in a focused, intentional way. This renewal began over a decade ago with the work of Rex Ambler, a British Friend, who immersed himself in Fox’s letters of spiritual guidance and devised a guided meditation based on them. I have attended one of Rex Ambler’s workshops and found his guided meditation a powerful experience. It is non-manipulative and does not assume any particular system of belief.

‘Experiment with Light’ has been taken up in North America by Mel Keiser, retired professor of religion from Guilford College. Mel led a short workshop in Richmond last spring with the annual gathering of the Quakers in Pastoral Care and Counseling. He will lead a more extensive workshop Saturday, November 7, at the Earlham School of Religion. We will begin at 10:00 am with coffee and rolls, then move into Mel’s introduction and our first meditation at 10:30. A free, simple lunch will be provided around noon. More meditations will follow the afternoon. We will close by 4:30. The focus of meditation sessions will move from a personal focus in the morning, to meditations in the afternoon on one’s community, Meeting, or the world. This free workshop is co-sponsored by Earlham’s Newlin Center for Quaker Thought and Practice and by First Friends Meeting. It will help planning for lunch and refreshments if you call the Newlin Center (983-1605) in advance.

October 18: Discovering the Light Within During Experiments with Light
Rex Ambler, a British Quaker, uses George Fox’s writings to articulate a meditation technique based on the early Friends.  Many Quaker “Light Groups” have formed using his book, Light to Live By: An Exploration in Quaker Spirituality.  After a brief explanation of the method, we will practice it.   This session will be led by Jerry Knutson, a member of Pittsburgh Monthly Meeting who is currently a student at ESR.

November 15: Sharing Our Stories, Sharing our Faith
Herb and Mandy Fraser will share their spiritual journey stories with Friends during second hour on November 15 , 11:30 to 12:30 pm.

December 20: Inner Christmas
Join Friends for worship sharing after the manner of Friends, prompted by queries on the places inside our spirits and our lives where Christmas and the Christian story is born and borne out. We will begin with Friends understanding of the events of the Christian story as inwardly real and move outward to share the evidence of this in our own lives. December 20, 11:30-12:30.

1.    The meeting opened with a reading of the Queries for the 10th Month. Eleven Friends were present. Friends reflected on our use of resources and its effects on the environment.
2.    Treasurer’s report: Income for the ninth month was $1370 and expenses were $190. This is the end of our fiscal year. For the whole year we had a surplus of $696 when special contributions were included. The budget for next year was presented for second reading. Changes from first reading were the addition of $1000 for Quaker Quest and $700 for partial reimbursement of costs and labor for the cabinet that Dan S built. This revised budget was approved by the Meeting.
3.    Nominating Committee report: They are working on filling a list of positions that will be open in January. One name was brought for first reading: Larry H for the Simple Burial Committee through 2011.
4.    Ministry and Oversight: The committee has received a request from Anna Margaret B and Emmanuel G to be married under the care of Clear Creek Monthly Meeting. M&O is forming a clearness committee for them. The committee also received a letter from Keith S requesting a transfer of membership from Clear Creek Monthly Meeting to Spokane Monthly Meeting. M&O recommended approving this transfer and it was approved by the Meeting. The clerk will send a letter of transfer to Spokane Meeting. The committee received a request from Doug G, pastor of First Friends Meeting, that Clear Creek Meeting host the Christmas eve service for the 3 Richmond Meetings at Stout Meetinghouse this year. M&O recommended accepting this. This would mean that Clear Creek would plan the service and invite the other Meetings. In addition, since this is during Earlham break, we would have to make sure that heat was on in the Meetinghouse and snow (if present) was shoveled on the paths to the Meetinghouse. The Meeting approved moving forward with this.
5.    Children’s Religious Education: It is different this year since the children, on average, are younger. There is not a set curriculum, but the teachers are ably developing things as they go.
6.    Peace and Social Concerns: They have purchased a set of DVDs with the help of West Richmond Friends that will be available for our use and will be stored at West Richmond. She also reported that Open Arms Ministries is now opening on a permanent basis to help coordinate ministries by local religious organizations. P&SC has invited the director, Judy Jackson, as well as Sue Axtell, to the after meeting discussion on Oct. 25th.
7.    Jerry K reported on a covenant that is being developed by Earlham College in relationship to Indiana and Western Yearly Meetings. Jerry will develop a threshing session to explore whether Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting might also want to be involved. If there is a feeling that we should move forward on this, it would be brought to monthly and quarterly meetings. Contact Jerry if you are interested in pursuing this issue.
8.    The minutes were read and approved.
9.    Meeting closed with a brief period of waiting worship.

Do you endeavor to live in harmony with nature, avoiding pollution and the destruction of our environment?  What are you doing about your use of the world’s irreplaceable resources?  Are you concerned for family and population planning so that future generations will be able to live on the resources available to them?

Stewardship
We are called upon to be stewards not only of the Divine Spirit which God has implanted within us, but also of the rich provision which the Creator has made for the sustenance of all life on earth.  If we are true followers of Jesus, we must ever be seeking to bring conditions of life in this world into conformity with the purposes of God

From Britain Yearly Meeting Faith and Practice 2.50…It’s not easy for the parents to believe that their child’s gurglings actually help the meeting rather than interrupt it.  Nonetheless that is true, and you shouldn’t give way to the temptation to take a happily babbling child out of meeting (though howling is something different!)”

The meeting opened with a period of silent worship. Nine Friends were present. The clerk read the Queries for the fifth month and Friends reflected on how we balance care for self and others.

1. Treasurer’s report: Income for the fourth month was $1890 and expenses were $1792.
2. M&O: The committee recommended changing the time for meeting for worship to 10:00 am with discussion after worship. A potluck or lunch would be held prior to business meeting. This change would start in June. After considerable discussion, there was clarity to change the time for meeting for worship to 10:00 starting on June 14 and to reevaluate this in one year. There was less clarity about how to schedule other activities around this meeting time. We will do some trial experiments with different possibilities for how to schedule these activities. For June, business meeting will be held after worship with a potluck prior to business meeting. M&O also reported that renovations on the Quiet room will begin shortly. M&O is making plans to move our stuff that is currently stored in the Quiet room. Dan S. has offered to build a cabinet to store our stuff in the future. Cost for this would be reimbursed by the donor that is funding the renovations to the Quiet room.
3. P&SC committee: Jane S. may plan a program on Israeli/Palestinian  issues for June 21st. She also asked whether the Meeting wants to support the group “Churches for Middle East Peace”. This will be discussed further by the committee and a Meeting discussion will be planned.
4. Clerk reported that Newell P. has asked for a letter of introduction for himself and Jennie I. on their trip to Costa Rica. Meeting approved having the clerk draft a letter of introduction for them.
5. Clerk reported that he is coordinating with the other Meetings to plan the 3 Meeting worship on June 7. we will also plan to have someone at Stout Meetinghouse for those who prefer to worship at Stout.
6. Whitewater Quarterly Meeting report: The 2010 FCG gathering will take place July 4-10 at Bowling Green. If Friends wish to help with planning, see www.fgcgathering.org. The search for a new clerk for quarterly meeting is continuing. The Right Relationship with Food and Land minute was discussed. The quarterly meeting will not approve its own version. Clear Creek Meeting approved sending our version of the minute to the Earth Care subcommittee of OVYM. The Irvington/Eastern Hills issues were discussed, but the quarterly meeting’s previous position on this has not changed

The minutes were read and approved. The meeting closed with a brief period of worship.

Do you examine thoroughly your behavior in regard to work, leisure, diet and the use of drugs, alcoholic beverages and tobacco, thus trying to avoid and to discourage practices that interfere with health, sensitivity or social responsibility?  Remembering the parable of the talents, do you exercise fully those that God has given you?  Do you endeavor to minister humbly and sensitively to the needs of others that they may attain their full potential?

Wednesday, May 6: another program on Quaker Hill in the 1940’s including the Refugee Hostel experience, the short-lived Civilian Public Service Camp, programs, personalities and controversies of the day.

On Sunday, April 19 at 11:00 am Jerry K., current ESR student and Clear Creek attender, led an Adult Religious Education session entitled, “Meditation, the Scientific Approach.”

In this session, Clear Creek Meeting participants learned about the basics of meditation, using ideas from Herbert Benson’s book, The Relaxation Response, and then compared and contrasted “meditation” with “meeting for worship”. If you’ve ever wondered for yourself, or been asked and unable to answer, “What’s the difference between ‘meditation’ and ‘meeting for worship?’”, this session attempted to shed light on this question.

Clear Creek Meeting has continued the process of adjusting to being a smaller meeting, seeking the path of faithfulness and growth in the Spirit.  We experience both benefits and distractions of closeness to the larger Earlham College community, and seek to find ways to incorporate student members and attenders in the life of the Meeting.   We are increasingly aware of the need to seek opportunities for connection to, and participation in projects with other members of the Richmond community, as we also participate in wider Quaker groups, activities, and concerns.

Gathering for the First Day hour of worship continues to be the core of the Meeting’s life.  Our worship is deepened by a variety of voices in spoken ministry.  We appreciate the presence of our one toddler and two elementary-age children during the opening period of our worship, as well as the regular participation in the worship hour of high school, college and seminary students.  The children follow a First Day School curriculum.  A second-hour schedule of adult religious education activities has been revived.  Our small but active Peace and Social Concerns Committee has faithfully provided information and opportunity for communicating our concerns to appropriate, responsible groups.  We rejoice to hear of the experiences and achievements of our young people in school at other places, and welcome them to our worship when they are at home.

Members of Clear Creek Meeting participate in the responsibilities and events of Whitewater Quarterly and Ohio Valley Yearly Meetings, as well as the wider Quaker world, and share the news and challenges of these groups with the local Meeting.  We are gratified that the First Day worship during the annual session of our Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting fills our Meeting Room once a year!

We are grateful for the diligence of faithful participants who share and assume the routine tasks of “Keeping the Meeting going.”   We now have an active Meeting web site that keeps us informed of Meeting activities.  Our newsletter editor has put special effort into compiling an interesting and informative document distributed to local and former members and friends.  The schedule of monthly potlucks has been revived, experimenting with Saturday night instead of Friday night gatherings.   Several interest  groups: “Poetry Writing as a Spiritual Practice”, ”Mystical Practices and Worship Sharing,”  “Book Group,” and “Spiritual Friendship” continue on their separate schedules.  The mid-week Meeting for Worship continues to gather at Friends Fellowship Community.  The traditions of “Simple Gift Making,” the children’s Christmas Program (now including the participation of eager adults), and Christmas caroling nurture our fellowship and joy.  The fireplaces, closed without authorization a few years ago, were opened in time for our Christmas morning worship.  A weekly peace vigil, started on Christmas Eve, 2002, was regretfully laid down this year, as attendance dwindled. Several members of the Meeting were involved in political activities related to the national election.  We have welcomed two new members, and two transfers.  Two Friends have transferred memberships to other meetings.  A long-time, very active member has moved to service in another area.  We have experienced loss through the deaths of a long-time member, and a long-time attender.   We cherish the friendly experiences we have had with these and others who are no longer with us for regular worship and fellowship.  We send greetings to our fellow Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting Friends, and welcome your visits at any time!

Clear Creek Annual Retreat
On April 11, Clear Creek held a meeting retreat at Virginia Cottage on the theme “From Deep to Deep: Exploring Prayer.” About a dozen participants considered various approaches to prayer through poetry, art, and music, and enjoyed a series of activities, worship sharing, and discussion led by Jennie Isbel. It was a nice time, deepened in meaning for many by awareness of the importance of coming together as a community to support Michael B. and his family at a time of grief over the death of his father.

Whitewater Quarterly Meeting
Whitewater Quarterly Meeting was held at the Stout Memorial Meetinghouse on Saturday, April 18, 2009 starting at 10:00 a.m.  The meeting began with a period of worship followed by Business Meeting.  A pitch-in lunch provided by Clear Creek Friends, who were the host meeting,  followed the business meeting.  The afternoon activity involved the reading and discussion of the State of the Meeting Reports of the various meeting in attendance.