Swarthmore Friends Meeting  of the Religious Society of Friends

Calendar Highlights: 

• Sunday, February 3, 11:45 a.m. - Spiritual Journey, Catherine King, Whittier Room
• Friday, February 8, 6:00 p.m. Meal to fundraise for the Ali Forney Center, Rushmore Room
• February 23-24, Swarthmore Mountain Justice Convergence, Meetinghouse 
• Sunday, February 24, 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. Harmony for the Homeless in Whittier Room  
• Saturdays, March 23, and April 6, Mediation Training, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Meetinghouse

Queries on Equality  

Draft Minutes of Swarthmore Monthly Meeting for Business,  

Sunday, January 13, 2013, (edited for the Web)  

The Meeting opened with a short period of silent worship. Christine DeGrado, Clerk, presided. Last week's worship sharing experience was referred to as a memorable “moment of light”. The Queries on Education were read, considered and spoken to: Several present expressed gratitude for the positive experience their children received in Friend's schools—notably Westtown and Stratford Friends. The latter, though a small school of 77 students from a wide range of backgrounds, focuses on those with learning disabilities and has been successful in transforming the lives of many children. Mention was also made of progress in developing a closer relationship between the Meeting and the Nursery School. Minutes of the previous Meeting were perused and accepted with corrections in spelling and the clarification that Rich Schiffer is recommended for Meeting membership. 

 Stephen Weimar reported for Budget and Finance Committee: Contributions are less than last year's sum at this time, perhaps owing to the change in the Meeting's fiscal year which now ends June 30. The Committee is managing to keep up with daily expenses. The amount of our covenant with Yearly Meeting and new avenues of fund raising are topics that the Meeting needs to continue to address. Budget and Finance Committee will discuss ways to engage the Meeting in an examination of how the Meeting understands the right relationship with PYM through the covenant. At the request of the Committee, the Meeting reaffirmed those authorized to sign Meeting checks and deal with the account that holds CD’s in the Meeting’s name: The Treasurer (Stephen Weimar), Assistant Treasurer (Barbara Casini), Meeting Clerk (Christine DeGrado) and Peace and Social Concerns Clerk (Paul Greene). The Meeting also minuted its appreciation to Patricia Thomas for her service as Assistant Treasurer. 

 Lynne Piersol reported for Worship and Ministry Committee: She distributed draft copies of the State of the Meeting Report. This was discussed and suggestions were noted, among them that Care and Counsel’s new streamlined process for membership and the fact that it has already brought six new members to our Meeting be included in the first paragraph of the report. Any further comments or suggestions should be sent to Lynne to help her prepare a final draft, to be presented next month. The Committee is planning for earlier input from Committees for the Report next year. Lynne suggested that the Report focus more on the spiritual state of the Meeting and less on Committee reports. Friends spoke of their interest in and gratitude for the annual Committee reports. Lynne also spoke of the new, streamlined process for applying for membership. It was clarified that the conversation with a representative from Care and Counsel about becoming a member replaces the letter previously required. A brief exercise entertained by those present was to think of a single word or phrase that might describe the state of the Meeting. The words vibrant, growing, comforting, undertaking new challenges, evolving and considerate were mentioned. 

 Rebecca Seglem reported for Swarthmore Friends Nursery School : She is a teacher and administrator in SFNS. The School is fully enrolled. The teachers work on introducing Quaker ideas to the children: this year they are focusing on the SPICES. The children are involved in service projects such as assisting in the Meeting's Cooking for the Homeless as well as collecting food for the Delaware County Food Bank. The Christmas poinsettia and coupon book sales (the book sale alone raised $ 700) were successful in raising money for the Scholarship Fund. SFNS thanks Meeting members and attenders for their participation. Rebecca also noted that SFNS now has opportunities to work more directly with our local School District in helping to co-ordinate the Nursery School’s programs with those of the District. Rebecca noted that newsletters from the various classes at SFNS are posted regularly in the hallway that leads to Rushmore Room, and that Lyn Goff has been maintaining a bulletin board there highlighting School- Meeting connections. 

 Virginia Williams Joyce reported for Nominating Committee: She distributed and discussed a list of members for each Committee showing those rotating off in 2013, 2014, and 2015 as well as resignations and openings. Nominating is looking for new recommendations. The suggestion was made that members of the Nursery School Board be listed along with the committees of the Meeting. Approved. Friends were reminded that service on the SFNS board is a valuable service to the Meeting, and were encouraged to consider it. As a point of clarification it was noted that Care and Counsel, Worship and Ministry, and Budget and Finance are the only Committees that require participants to be a member of the Society of Friends: one need not be a member of Swarthmore Meeting, if a member of another Meeting, in order to serve on these committees. A request was made to clarify the term “ex officio.” It means that by holding a certain “official” position, one is automatically a member of the Committee associated with it. For example, the Treasurer is an ex officio member of Budget and Finance Committee, and thus may have more than two consecutive terms on that committee. Lynne Piersol, who has been our PYM Annual Fund representative for a number of years, noted that since she is resigning, this position needs to be filled. 

Paul Greene reported for Peace and Social Concerns Committee: He distributed and discussed a minute by the Environmental Working Group on PNC Bank and Mountain Top [coal] Removal. Concern was expressed for those whose livelihood is in the coal industry. Also, should the focus be on PNC in that other banks are involved? Two Friends decided to stand aside and with minor editing, the draft was approved. P&SC will move forward in determining the particulars of how the minute is to be disseminated to those mentioned in it. Peace and Social Concerns is interested in expanding fund raising for specific causes, for example, through use of the website and donation boxes and/or a check-off list on the Appeal Letter. The Committee suggests placing a donation box in the kitchen for support of Cooking for the Homeless. This was approved. There was general discussion on how such specific appeals or opportunities might affect general contributions to the Meeting Budget. It was decided that P & SC continue exploring ideas regarding targeted donations and report back to the Meeting. Also presented and distributed were forms for this year's Matching Fund Campaign which be submitted by February 1. Three organizations are listed: 

1. Nonviolent Peace Force

2. Protecting our Waters

3. Tibetan Association of Philadelphia. 

 Mary Lou Parker, our representative to the Swarthmore Wallingford Interfaith Ministry (SWIM) read a statement by SWIM in response to the recent tragedy at Sandy Hook School , urging solutions that will reduce violence. The statement appeared in the Swarthmorean. In discussion, it was suggested that this or a similar statement be sent to our representatives, and that contributions from the NRA to our representatives be looked at. The Meeting encouraged Mary Lou to pursue the discussion with SWIM. The proposal several months ago to establish a Fund Raising Committee has had little traction thus far. However, three people today expressed interest in serving: Rich Schiffer, Nancy Sanders and Andrea Knox. This will be taken up again. 

 Mary Titus had spoken to Christine about problems arising out of the use of Whittier House by two groups earlier this month. With the Young Friends, 70 people came when 35 were expected. It was also difficult to host two groups on back-to-back weekends, especially as the College was not in session. Mary was able to solve all problems that arose. The Meeting will work to see that future visits run more smoothly, at the same time trying not to discourage groups from the large Quaker community from using our Meeting’s facilities. The Meeting minuted a special thanks to Mary for her efforts in dealing with all this. 

 After several moments of silent reflection, the Meeting adjourned.  

 Submitted by Leslie Keighton, Recorder

General Swarthmore Meeting Announcements

SWIM Press Release about Sandy Hook Elementary School

The undersigned members of the Swarthmore-Wallingford Interfaith Ministerium are united in our sorrow over the shootings that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown , Connecticut . We are painfully aware that many people in our region and around the world die from violent acts every day. This tragic incident has brought to the forefront many challenging issues for us all, such as the ready reliance on weapons to settle disputes stemming from our culture’s love of violence, the inadequacy of care for the mental health of our people, and the need for security in our schools and public places. Together, and within our separate congregations and communities of faith, we hold in prayer all who suffer and all those who today are in need of comfort and consolation. We strive to find solutions that will reduce violence and promote healing for all who suffer. Let us all unite this day in working to create a better future for ourselves, our children, and our communities; a future not controlled by fear or violence. Note: Swarthmore Friends Meeting was a signatory, along with all other faith communities in the Swarthmore-  Wallingford area. 

  From the Meeting: We are forming an interfaith committee of concerned lay people to spearhead a possible community event, possibly around gun control or just communal responsibility. We would like to have one or two VERY interested members or attenders represent our Meeting on the committee to start working together on this joint project. The working title is ‘Jagged Ploughshare,’ which acknowledges that Isaiah’s vision of beating our swords into ploughshares hasn’t worked out quite as we’d all hoped. Please let Mary Titus or Mary Lou Parker know if you would be interested in serving on this committee.  

  After the tragedy at Sandy Hook, the Meeting and Swarthmore College faculty received this message from Donna Jo Napoli, Professor of Linguistics at Swarthmore College . Friends at Meeting for Business suggested it be reprinted in the newsletter. 

I received this email, today: The NRA has a powerful grip on our Congress and Senate because of all of the money they donate. The only way we will enact real gun control legislation is if we remove the NRA from the political landscape, for both parties. Think about how Grover Norquist used the "power of the pledge" to get Republicans to commit to never raising taxes—we can use this power in a positive way, to get politicians to publicly commit to never taking another dime of NRA political contributions. That's why I created a petition on SignOn.org to Congress and President Barack Obama, which says: Demand that your political leaders sign a pledge to never again accept a dime of funding from the NRA. Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends. http://www.moveon.org/r?r=285727&id=60272-19376863-PFJDDvx&t=2>; I signed. We are a Quaker College -- we are founded on a principle of nonviolence. My husband grew up in a hunting culture with guns ( South Dakota and Iowa ) and I understand that culture. This is different. This is about political power and about guns being used for things other than hunting. Please consider signing............Sincerely, Donna Jo Napoli

Adult Religious Education Series

When: Sunday, February 3

On Sunday, February 3, from 11:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Catherine King, a member of our Meeting, will share her spiritual journey in Whittier Room. All are welcome to come. 

Submitted by Worship & Ministry Committee 

Seeker's Session 

When: Sunday, February 24 

I will be offering a Seekers Session on the last Sunday of February at 11:15 a.m. in the Library. All seekers, whether new to Quakerism, or long time members are invited! The topic will be the testimony of integrity, but questions on other topics are welcomed. 

Harmony for the Homeless Returns to Swarthmore Friends

When: Sunday, February 24, 3:00 p.m.

The second annual edition of “Harmony for the Homeless,” an a cappella concert to benefit the Meeting’s cooking for the homeless program, will be held Sunday, February 24, in the Whittier Room at 3:00 p.m. Last year’s concert was a rousing success. This year, we’ll have the same great lineup: the Trolley Stoppers (a quartet that includes George Alexander from our Meeting) will host the event, and two college a cappella groups will also sing. Chaverim, which includes students from Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr, and Haverford, will present its eclectic mix of folk and pop songs from around the world; and Sixteen Feet, with students from Swarthmore, will perform its high-octane popular arrangements. Refreshments will follow the concert. The concert is free, but there is a suggested donation of $5 for students and $10 for everyone else. All funds received will go toward purchasing ingredients for the cooking for the homeless program. 

Upcoming First Day School Forum 

When: Sunday, March 24

On Sunday, March 24, First Day School is sponsoring a forum on "Maria Montessori and the Quaker Testimonies." Shelley Costa will speak about the Italian doctor and pedogogical innovator (1870-1952), summarizing her influential approach and how and why it originated. This model of early childhood learning is in harmony with all of the Quaker testimonies. Shelley will illustrate this with examples of Montessori education (including photographs of her daughter Sage in action at the Forest Farm school in  Oxford , England last year) as well as through principles Maria Montessori articulated in her own prolific speeches and writings. Dr. Montessori herself very strongly promoted the model's consonance with spirituality and world peace, which may surprise those of us familiar with the secular nature of modern Montessori schools. In Shelley's view, the robustness of the approach whether or not its spirituality is overt is one of the features that harmonizes with modern Quakerism. At the same time, we can more deeply appreciate the approach when its spiritual aspects are more clearly in focus. 

Nursery School News for February 

New!  Nursery School website: www.swarthmorefriends.org

Following our Open House last month, as of February 1, we start to accept applications for our 2013-2014 school year. It’s not too late to submit an application, but classes can fill up quickly, so if you have or know a prospective student, you should contact the school office sooner rather than later at (610) 328-8584. You can arrange to visit the school during a typical day to check us out. In the meantime, things continue to roll along during the current school year. We are in the midst of parent/teacher conferences with the Pre-K Four class’ conferences completed. Our Threes and Pre-K Fives classes will finish the process at the beginning of this month. The flu and cold season is well upon us. We’ve had fevers, coughs, stomach bugs and the like circulating amongst the children so we encourage you to do plenty of hand washing if you are making use of our classrooms in any capacity. It is amazing how long germs can manage to stay alive on surfaces, and we’d like to minimize spreading these illnesses beyond our student body. Please be certain to check out our bulletin boards in the upstairs hallways. We post our monthly newsletters so you can always see more detailed information about what’s happening in each classroom at SFNS. We have an open door policy for visitors so if you’re ever curious to witness our busy, happy days in the nursery school, you can arrange an appointment and tour or just stop in the nursery school office when you happen to be in the building, and we can walk you through our various classes. Stay warm and stay healthy in this short month leading us closer to spring! 

Submitted by The Nursery School 

Swarthmore Mountain Justice (SMJ) to Hold Divestment Convergence at Swarthmore Friends Meeting

Meeting Connections Bulletin Board

Flo Lewis Lights up Plush Mill Senior Living 

Meeting member (and Plush Mill resident) Florence Lewis organizes Plush Mill’s contributions for the Light Up for ABC Luminaria event on New Year’s night. Every year the exterior of Plush Mill is aglow with the lights of dozens of luminarias, thanks to Flo. 

Profile: New Meeting Member, Rich Schiffer

One of our new members, Rich Schiffer, may already be familiar to many Swarthmore Meeting members since he has been working with our First Day School and has been of service to our Meeting for quite some time. Rich grew up in Bryn Athyn , PA , where he attended Bryn Athyn Church Elementary School , and the Academy of the New   Church Boys School . He went on to serve in the military, enlisting during Operation Desert Shield. After his discharge, he met Jinny, who now works at Swarthmore College . They were married in 1994, at Abington Friends Meeting. Rich is a certified Paralegal and licensed Real Estate agent, but traded in the stresses of those careers for the joys and obligations of a full-time parent. He says that raising his twin boys has been the most rewarding period of his life. Attracted to and in sympathy with Quaker testimonies, Rich and Jinny (a lifelong member of Darby Friends Meeting), decided to come to Swarthmore Meeting to be part of a spiritual community in which they could raise their boys, Chucky and Joey. Jinny actually had attended First Day School at Swarthmore Meeting as a child herself. Rich has been particularly attracted to working with our youngest members in the Faith and Play program. He has also been deeply involved in creating our monthly intergenerational worship sharing. Together with his sons, Rich is eager to work with our new Fundraising Committee, to enhance our Meeting's financial sustainability. When not presenting Faith and Play programs to our younger children, Rich works with our middle school and high school students. He has recently taken on creating a new role as First Day School Coordinator for Chester Quarter, and serves on PYM's Children's Sessions Planning Group. With a gift for and great commitment to working with children, Rich has other interests in which he involves himself in a playful manner. He is Assistant Cubmaster for Cub Scout Pack 112, in Swarthmore. He enjoys reading and writing, and has previously shared some of his poems at Arts and Spirituality events here at Meeting. He is generous, experimental and creative, enjoying many arts and craft media, and has demonstrated an ability to be a patient and relaxed teacher at our monthly Whitter Knittier gatherings, where his sons also join in and participate. Rich has many diverse interests, including camping, hiking, cooking, gardening, philosophy, cultural anthropology, linguistics, economics, emerging technology, particle physics and cosmology. It is hard to find a topic Rich does not enjoy discussing or deepening his knowledge of. We hope Meeting members will make an effort to seek Rich out and get to know him better. He has been as asset as an attender, and we are now fortunate to count him as a member. 

Submitted by the Care & Counsel Committee  

Wider News from Friends and Swarthmore College

FCNL Job Opportunity

Deadline: January 31, 2013

Swarthmore College/Meeting News: Fund Raiser for Ali Forney Center

When: February 8, 6:00 p.m. 

On Friday, February 8 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. the Swarthmore College Queer-Straight Alliance (QSA) will be hosting a student-cooked banquet in the Swarthmore Friends Meetinghouse to fundraise for the Ali Forney Center , a New York City organization that provides housing and support to homeless lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. The Ali Forney Center was destroyed during Hurricane Sandy, and although they have received lots of community support in the form of donations or fundraisers, this loss created a serious setback in the center’s ability to continue to grow its program. Our banquet will be buffet style with a cover charge at the door, and will be entirely prepared by Swat students.  The Ali Forney Center is such an important resource because of the dire situation facing LGBT homeless youth. While the LGBT community makes up around 5% of the national population, about 40% of homeless youth identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. As outlined on the Ali Forney Center ’s website: “as many as 25% of these teens are rejected by their families, and many end up homeless on the streets. Homeless LGBTQ teens are more likely than straight homeless teens to be subjected to violence on the streets, and in the homeless shelter system. They suffer from inordinate rates of mental illness, trauma, HIV infection and substance abuse.” With many challenges confronting LGBT homeless youth, it is vital to provide these teens and young adults with a welcoming and supportive environment where their needs can be met and where they can begin to put their lives back together. Please come support QSA on the evening of February 8, donate to a good cause, and eat some tasty home-cooked food. We are very grateful to the Meeting for the use of their facilities, and we heartily welcome diners of all ages. The cover charge will be collected at the door, with pricing on a sliding scale from $3 to $20. Pay as much as feels comfortable; suggested donation $10. During the dinner we also hope to have guest speakers from the Attic Youth Center in Philadelphia , who will give a short presentation on the issues concerning LGBT youth and opportunities to get involved in the Philadelphia area. 

Submitted by Ian Perkins-Taylor, Meeting Member and Swarthmore College Student 

Calling Friends (Quakers) and Fellow Spiritual Travelers of all descriptions who hold lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people close to your hearts! 

When: February 15-18; deadline for registration: January 25

You are enthusiastically invited to gather at the Bryn Mawr Mountain Retreat and Conference Center in the Poconos of Pennsylvania, February 15-18, 2013. Around the theme “ A Place at the Table,” we will seek spiritual growth and renewal through unprogrammed worship, learning, fellowship, and play under the care of Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Concerns (FLGBTQC). We will be blessed by the ministry of Friend Niyonu Spann, founder of Beyond Diversity 101 workshops. For more information and to register, go to http://flgbtqc.quaker.org/ and click on Midwinter Gathering and/or contact us by email:[email protected] or phone: 267-713-8694. Advance registration is required, and the registration deadline is January 25, 2013. Please help us spread the word via word of mouth, email, newsletter, website, Facebook, Twitter, and posting/forwarding the flyer (see website). 

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting  (PYM) News

 To view PYM News in its entirety, go to www.pym.org. for a complete list of activities.

YF Winter Gathering: Make New Friends And Keep the Old 

February 15, 7:00 p.m.  February 17 12:00 p.m. 

Valentine's Day weekend is coming up - time to join in the loving Young Friends community as we explore our new and old friendships on the beautiful campus of Medford Leas Continuing Care Retirement Community! We'll have some opportunities to be in community with Medford Leas residents through workshops as well as a particular focus on nurturing each other and the Young Friends community. Get ready for a dressy dinner in the fancy dining room, fun times in the indoor pool, a rockin' dance full of Young-Friend-ly love, and (of course) plenty of good times with new and old Friends! Registration will open next week (keep an eye out for an email!), and you'll notice a few changes: 1. The price of the gathering is less expensive than usual! We've done some re-calculations (mostly based on going to Meetinghouses rather than paying rent at Burlington ) and shifted some things around to reduce the cost to participants. 2. The start-time is later (7:00 p.m.) which means no dinner will be offered on Friday night! This is part of reducing cost to participants, and it also makes the Coordinator's hours work out more sustainably. Get registered, and get all your new and old (young) friends registered! Can't wait to see you there! 

PYM Annual Sessions 2013: July 24-28, 2013 at Muhlenberg College , Allentown PA. Sessions Planning Group invites friends to mark your calendars for the next PYM Annual Sessions: Gathering Together Our Past, Our Presence, and Our Future. Ken Park, Clerk of Sessions Planning, writes about the theme and the group’s discernment, "After much hard work, the Workgroup sensed unity in expressing the need to celebrate who we are, the importance of our past and future while looking at what presence we hold to each other and the world." Read his full statement at http://www.pym.org/gathering-together-our-past-our-presence-and-our-future and please save the dates! Contact Tricia Coscia, Annual Sessions and Volunteer Coordinator [email protected]

Upcoming Programs at Pendle Hill

Pendle Hill, a Quaker study, retreat, and conference center in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, offers programs throughout the year on Quaker faith and practice.  For more information visit www.pendlehill.org  or call ext. 3 at (610) 566-4507 or (800) 742-3150.

Listed below are a few of Pendle Hill’s upcoming events. Please view the entire program at www.pendlehill.org

• February 8-10 Clerking, a weekend with Deborah Fisch and Deborah Shaw.

• February 17-21 John, The Quaker Gospel, a short course with Doug Gwyn

• March 8-10 Quakers and the Song of Songs, a weekend with Michael Birkel

February, 2013 Calendar

Swarthmore Monthly Meeting

• Christine DeGrado, Clerk of the Meeting;

• Leslie Keighton, Recording Clerk;

• Stephen Weimar, Treasurer;

• Susan Edwards, Clerk of Worship & Ministry Committee;

• John McKinstry, Clerk of Care and Counsel Committee;

• Mary Titus, Meeting Secretary 

• Meeting telephone and voice mail: 610-328-8699 

• Meeting e-mail address: [email protected] 

• Web: http://swarthmore.quaker.org 

• Office hours: Tuesday through Friday: 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.