Clear Creek Friends Meeting News

Participate in an Exploration among Richmond Friends, January – May 2010

Friends from the three Richmond Friends meetings (Clear Creek Friends, First Friends, West Richmond Friends) will gather for eight sessions to explore the meaning of call, leadership, gifts development, community, the language and stories of faith. How can we renew Quaker traditions of discernment, the naming and nurturing of gifts, following our leadings, and envisioning the work of our meetings?

The course method will be shared exploration, rather than content delivery.  Participants should expect to be challenged and perhaps changed by one another and by the Spirit working in the group.  Organizers of the course hope that 6-8 participants from each meeting will commit to the series of eight Sunday evening sessions.

Jennie I, of Clear Creek Meeting, has developed this curriculum with the Earlham School of Religion.  She will facilitate the course with two other Friends from our Richmond meetings.

The tentative schedule for sessions is January 24, February 7 and 21, March 7 and 28, April 11 and 25, and May 2.  Sessions will be held Sunday evenings, 7:00 to 9:00 at the Earlham School of Religion. Participants are invited to come early at 6:30 and enjoy a brown bag meal together.

Cost of the course is only $30.  To register or to ask questions, contact Jennie I, Doug G, or Josh B.

Because our original date for Quaker Quest, Feb. 6th, was cancelled due to snow, M&O has rescheduled the event for Saturday, Feb. 20th, 9am-4pm. Friends are asked to let Jana S (or any member of M&O) know again whether you are able or unable to attend for this new date. Also, please let Mary G know again what food you can provide for the potluck lunch.

All local members and attenders are urged to attend this event sponsored by Clear Creek Meeting. This is an exploratory session for us to find out what Quaker Quest is (a structure first developed in the U.K. for both inreach and outreach for local meetings) and to see if we might want to sponsor some public Quaker Quest sessions in the future. It will include a sample panel with Clear Creek members and time for sharing with one another. Please make it a priority to attend!

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.