First Day School is Open!

For the younger children, ages 0 through kindergarten, the Nursery opens from 10 a.m. to 11:30 each Sunday in the white house.

Children in 1st through 5th grades worship with their families (and all of us) from 10 to 10:20 and then go to their classes with their teachers. 

We are still looking for one paid worker and one volunteer for the Nursery.  Here is the job description for the paid position.  Otherwise, our classes are fully staffed!

"Friends Peace Testimony:  History & Controversy"

Continuing Quaker Education Second Hour: October 2

Please join us on Sunday, October 2, at 12:15 pm, to learn about the history of the Friends Peace Testimony.  Michael Levi will kick off our year-long exploration of this central component in Quaker faith and practice -- a journey through discussions about Friends' approach to war, parenting, conflict resolution, social media, and more. 

How closely does our understanding of peace mirror the early Friends' testimony against war?  What controversies have sprung from the peace testimony in the 20th and 21st Century?  Come to hear and talk about this fascinating part of our Quaker identity!

Takoma Park Does Like Festivals!

And another one - the Takoma Park Street Festival - is coming up on Oct. 2.  Takoma Park Friends Meeting Preparative always tries to have a table at these festivals, to reach out to people who might be trying to find Quakers.  It's actually great fun to greet people. If you'd like to help staff the table for a couple of hours, send a note to clerk@takomaparkfriends.org (or call 301-588-2724).

First Friday Film Discussion

October 7 at 7:00 pm

Please join the discussion of the critically acclaimed film Killer of Sheep available on Kanopy streaming platform. Find out more about the film here.  The film builds on vignettes from the life of one man, a slaughterhouse worker in Watts (Los Angeles), to create a mosaic of an austere working-class existence, in which the key figure feels unable to affect the course of his life. This is the recurring link for the film discussion group.

Homework:  Review Minute on Reproductive Justice

Between the September Meeting for Business and the next one (October 9), we're asked to consider a proposed minute on reproductive justice brought by Peace and Social Concerns Committee. The proposed minute is here for your reference. If you have comments or recommendations, please contact the committee's co-clerk Charlie Goedeke (through Breeze).

Homework:  Review Minutes
from September Meeting for Business

Here are the draft minutes from our September meeting for business.  Do you see some corrections that need to be made?  Please send a note to recordingclerk@adelphifriends.org.

AFM Fall Work Day
Moved to Saturday, October 22 - 10 am to 4 pm  

Friends of all ages are encouraged to come and share the joy of working with your hands, taking care of the grounds, and enjoying the fellowship of the day!  We need many hands to do these tasks:  

• Power washing stairs, walkways and plastic playground equipment
• Cutting back brush with clippers, pulling ivy off trees with gloves
• Trimming bushes with hand tools
• Edging sidewalks with weed whacker
• Raking and sweeping driveway
• Picking up sticks, trash and moving wheelbarrows around
• Fence repair
• And more!

New! Kids can get up to 2 SSL hours. Under age 14 should be fully supervised by parent/guardian.  Ages 14 and over can be supervised by House and Grounds committee member.

There will be a potluck lunch as usual!  Bring a dish to share if you feel so inclined.  If you have any questions you can contact Patrick Mulvey through Breeze.
 

World Quaker Day is Sunday, October 2

The theme of World Quaker Day is "Becoming the Quakers the World Needs."  On World Quaker day, we can visit meetings all over the world.  Learn more here. Here are some of the ways Friends are marking World Quaker Day:

• Patricia Thomas of Wilmington Yearly Meeting contributes a spiritual message on understanding "sense of the meeting" vs. "consensus," suggesting that "Quaker business process, when faithfully practiced, is our gift to the world."
• Friends Journal features an article by Tim Gee, General Secretary of Friends World Committee for Consultation, called "You are the Light of the World."
• Pendle Hill releases its new podcast, "The Seed: Conversations for Radical Hope."

The Life Cycle of Quaker Meetings

New York Yearly Meeting has published this collection of stories describing various stages of the life of Quaker meetings, from beginning, to growing, to diminishing and laying down.  Editor Emily Provance observes that "it’s not true that Quakerism is dying. Quakerism is transforming and being birthed anew." But "many meetings are dying:  census analysis shows that 24 percent fewer Quaker meetings and churches existed in the U.S. in 2020 than in 2010."

Baltimore Yearly Meeting News 

• There are mutual support groups for Quaker parents.  Wish you could share some challenges and joys with other Quaker parents? These groups, beginning in November, will create a supportive forum in which Quaker parents can talk about their parenting and their faith. Find out more - and register - here.
   
• The fall conference for high-school age Friends is now scheduled for October 7th to 9th.
   
• Fall Interim Meeting will be on November 5at Sandy Spring Meetinghouse.
   
• Camping Program Workdays: The October 1 Camp Work Day at Opequon has been cancelled due to rain.  There are more opportunities to join the work days throughout October and early November.  

Find contact information and a rich assortment of other resources and community opportunities in the Weekly Baltimore Yearly Meeting News.

Native American Legislative Update

Portia Skenandore-Wheelock, Congressional Advocate for FCNL's Native American Advocacy Program. has sent us an update on September activity in Congress.  Work on H.R. 5444, a bill to create a commission to investigate the impact of mandatory boarding schools on Indigenous peoples, is intensifying as the possibility of a House vote nears.  Check here to learn what you can do and what other Quaker groups have been doing.

Lobby for Environmental Justice

This November, FCNL's Annual Meeting and Quaker Public Policy Institute will focus on environmental justice and climate change. Find out more - and register - here.

• To find approved minutes of past meetings, look here for 2022 minutes, and here for earlier years.
• Submit a Silent Announcement: To submit an item for Silent Announcements, send a message to the editor at this link. For events, please include date, time, place (if in person), and how to register. Silent Announcements are prepared each Friday morning, with brief updates on Tuesdays.
• Find a recent issue of Silent Announcements:  The last two months' editions are listed at this link. 
• Sign up to receive Silent Announcements or to change the email address where you receive them: There's a small form on our webpage (www.AdelphiFriends.org), at the bottom left corner.  You can use that form to subscribe to request Silent Announcements or change the address where the announcements go. To change your address - virtual or otherwise - for all purposes, see "edit your own entry in Breeze," below.
• Get involved in meeting activities? Check out this list of committees and opportunities, and get in touch with a member of the Nominating Committee about your interests.
• Get a log-in to access Breeze (our online meeting directory)?   If you need help with Breeze, contact Mackenzie Morgan or Reuben Snipper at   webservent@adelphifriends.org (webservent, with an “e,” is correct.)
• Edit your own entry in Breeze: Just go to your page and click on the little pencil icon at the start of any one section of information.
• Find out who serves on various committees? In Breeze, click on tags and then choose "committees." You'll find up-to-date lists there.
• Donate on line or at a distance?  Mail to Adelphi Meeting Treasurer, 2303 Metzerott Rd., Adelphi, MD 20783. Or donate securely on our website. To make or change a pledge to support renovations of the meetinghouse, click here.
• Schedule a Zoom meeting: Send an email  to zoom@adelphifriends.org.  Here are some details that you'll need to provide in order to reserve a Zoom "line" through the meeting.  
• Find the Zoom link for your committee meeting: Go to Breeze at this link, and click on “Events.”  The Zoom info should be there. 
• Schedule an in-person meeting at Adelphi (whether indoors or outdoors, recurrent or one-time) send an email to our resident Joseph Ndayisenga (resident@adelphifriends.org) requesting the use of that space.  Review these guidelines prepared by the Clerk when we started opening the meetinghouse grounds to outdoor use. 
• Advocate with others on an issue you are concerned about? Sign up here for the Couch Potato Activists list serve and report your activities here.

Business meeting: noon, second Sunday of the month
Additional Meetings for Worship:  Wednesdays at noon, Sundays at 7 pm

Bible study: Wednesdays, 7:30pm