Announcements

October 9, 2005

Food for Thought

LITTLE MEETING: Religious Education offers "Little Meeting" which is designed for any child who is still learning to center into prayer or who may be new to the Meeting and the practices of Meeting for Worship. In Little Meeting, our children develop a sense of community as they work together to discover ways of being calm and peaceful, settling down and centering. This allows them to join their parents in 'Big' Meeting for Worship with a sense of silence as a pleasant state. Little Meeting takes place from 11:00 -11:20 a.m. in Room 214 (to the right of the office) and will be held today and October 9 and 23, November 6 and 20, and December 4 and 18. At 11:20 the students attend their regular First Day School classes. See the flyer on the hallway table for further details.

WELCOME TO VISITORS: Please sign the guest book in the hall (include e-mail address if you have one) and pick up a Newcomer Packet that contains information about Stony Run Meeting and the Religious Society of Friends. Feel free to introduce yourself at the rise of Meeting. Everyone is invited to stay for Simple Lunch after Meeting for Worship.

THE FRIENDSHIP FUND FOR THE PEOPLE OF IRAQ will receive October Social Order Box contributions. The contributed funds will be earmarked for Iraq Reconstruction projects, to support the community groups that AFSC is working with, and to help rehabilitate health care facilities.

SEEKERS AND SPEAKERS SERIES: Want to know more about Quakerism? Have your questions answered at the "Seekers and Speakers" series. Full participation is encouraged on October 9 (Worship), October 16 (After worship discussion for newcomers only), October 23 (Lifestyles), October 30 (Quaker Process), and November 6 (Follow-up). All sessions are 9:00-10:40 a.m., Sunday morning in the Dining Room at Stony Run Meeting; bagels and beverages will be available. Further questions may be directed to Karie Firoozmand or Anne Griffith of the Spiritual and Intellectual Nurture Committee. Flyers are on the hall table!

COMMITTEES AT STONY RUN: A workshop for committees and clerks, on Saturday, October 15, 9:00 - 10:30 a.m. or Sunday, October 23, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. Plan to attend one of the sessions on Quaker committee work and find the answers to: Can we be open to Divine Guidance and get our work done, too? Why is the role of committee members so important? What makes a Quaker committee meeting different from other types of meetings? What are good Quaker business manners? Past, present and future committee members and clerks (that's everyone) are invited to attend one of the sessions. Each is independent of the other. The same material will be offered on both dates. For some, this will be a review, for others, a revelation! Suggested advance readings are available on the hall table. The sessions, sponsored by the Committee on Ministry and Counsel, will be held in the Dining Room. Light refreshments will be served. Please RSVP to the office at 410.435.3773 or stonyrunfriends@starpower.net, one week prior to the session you plan to attend.

FALL YEARLY MEETING DAY will be held on Saturday, October 22, hosted by Nottingham Quarterly Meeting, which includes Little Britain-Eastland, Penn Hill and Oxford Meetings. Friends will provide hospitality Friday and/or Saturday night and lunch and dinner on Saturday. Do not hesitate to request a place to spend the night. Pre-registration is required for those needing hospitality or child care; forms (and full schedule & directions) are available on the hall table and are due in by October 10. There will be committee meetings, Interim Meeting, meals and fellowship time, and a program on the History and Witness of Friends.

PEACE MAKING DAY IN THE PLANNING! Peace and Social Order Committee is looking for all in the Meeting Community who would like to help plan a day of trainings, workshops and classes in 2006 focused on positive ideas for how to create peace. The theme we are working around is "War Prevention Works" which looks at the idea of preventing violence at the personal, to local, to international levels. In order to reach a broader audience, we will be focusing on the educational community and are especially hopeful that educators in the Meeting will help us with developing the day. Currently, we are considering Sunday school teachers, day care workers, and public and private school teachers. Please see the handout on the hall table that will update you with what we are currently thinking, then talk to a member of Peace and Social Order Committee, and consider being a co-creator of this project! Our next brainstorming session will be on Sunday, October 23, 8:30-10:30 a.m. in the lower classrooms.

DON'T MISS QUAKER LUNCH: The next Quaker Lunch, at Holly House on the Broadmead campus, will be held October 20, at 12:00 noon. If you would like to be part of this nourishing and very F/friendly event, call Marjorie Scott by Tuesday, October 18, to reserve a place at the table.

PLEASE WEAR YOUR NAME TAG WHEN IN THE MEETINGHOUSE. THANKS!

TUESDAY WORSHIP: Beginning in September, Meeting for Worship will be held every Tuesday, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Meetinghouse on the campus of Sheppard Pratt Hospital. The small brick meetinghouse is located at the top of the Charles Street entrance drive and is adjacent to the parking garage. The fireplace is usually burning and there are opportunities for fellowship after Worship.

YOUNG FRIENDS ASK: "Do you have an interesting job, hobby or passion you would like to share with a younger generation?" Young Friends, Stony Run's own inimitable high school fellowship group, is seeking adult members of our Meeting who would be willing to join us for an hour some Sunday to share their knowledge and wisdom. Young Friends typically meets each Sunday at 11:00 a.m. to Noon in the Meetinghouse library. Anyone who is interested in sharing time and conversation with our high school students in this way, be it this fall, winter, or next spring, please contact Lynn Jordan.

CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION: What is it? Does it apply to you? If you are a young person who has begun to wonder whether or not you will be able, for reasons of conscience, to participate in war, this program will help you start to clarify your thinking. On Sunday, November 13, attorney J.E. McNeil of the Center on Conscience and War will talk with the general audience from 9:15 to 10:30 a.m. From 10:30-12:00 noon, J.E. will speak with young people only, in the FS Lower School Assembly Room. This program is open to the General Public. Parents and any interested young people are invited. The program begins with bagels and beverage in the Dining Room at 9:00 a.m.

CELEBRATING WOMEN'S JOURNEY, Nurturing - Renewing - Empowering: Marilyn Clark (Stony Run) and Judith Waldman, Co-Directors of Celebrating Women's Journey Workshops & Community Empowerment Workshops, are offering a workshop, Saturday, October 15, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (9:30 a.m.- Registration & coffee). Celebrate your journey as a woman at a country workshop with woods, streams, and waterfalls! Feel renewed with deep relaxation and with light movement and play. Empower yourself as you move through the transitions of your life. Feel the joy and freedom of expressing your creative spirit. Registration is limited so enroll early. There is a sliding scale fee ($65 to $90 for the day) to participate. Directions will be sent to registrants in advance of the workshop.

SINGING FROM THE SACRED HARP at Stony Run Meetinghouse today and each 2nd Sunday of the month, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. (Bring a dish to share at the 6:00 potluck.). It's free, all are welcome, and singing requires no previous knowledge. Sacred Harp or shape note singing is an unaccompanied form of choral music predating colonial times and is characterized by strong rhythms and open harmonies, a truly unique sound and experience. Singing is from The Sacred Harp, 1991 edition; loaner books are available. For details contact Liz Cusick

QUAKER READERS' GROUP will begin meeting Tuesday, October 11 (second Tuesday of each month) at Stony Run. The evening will begin with a light supper at 6:30 p.m. followed by discussion of a selected reading. This season's readings will center around matters of conscience and their effects on the individual, the family and the community. Copies of the readings will be available in the library. For this first meeting, we will view and discuss a portion of the movie Friendly Persuasion in lieu of reading. All are welcome.

WORKDAY AT THE MEETING HOUSE: The Property Committee is having a workday on Saturday, November 12. We would like to do some yard-work (Friends School is removing leaves around the Meeting House), cleaning of closets and the boiler room. The workday will begin at 9:00 a.m. and go until approximately1:00 p.m. Feel free to give what time you can; come for part, or all of the event. Juice, coffee, and morning snacks will be provided. If you have, or know of items in the closets or boiler room that should be saved, please contact Michael Vermehren.

A FRIEND'S ART: Anne Griffith invites you to an exhibition of her peaceful, minimalist, meditative landscapes at Gallery G, 5616 Newbury Street, in Mt Washington Village. Brigitte Pierrette Davis joins Anne in showing her nature-based, very gentle and graceful stone carvings now through November 27. Gallery hours are Monday -Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

VEGETARIAN COOKING CLUB: Unity with Nature Committee invites Friends to Vegetarian Cooking Club dinners on Saturday, October 22, and Saturday, November 19, from 4:30 to 7:30 pm in the Stony Run kitchen. We will cook together and then enjoy the fruits of our labors, as well as good company. RSVP to Lynn Huntley if you plan to attend. UNITY WITH NATURE COMMITTEE MEETING: The next Unity with Nature meeting will be on Sunday, October 16 at 9:00 a.m. at Homewood Meeting. Everyone is welcome

ADMISSIONS OPEN HOUSE: Friends School of Baltimore will host a Middle and Upper School Open House for parents and prospective students entering grades six through 12 on Sunday, November 6, promptly at 1:00 p.m. Parents of children entering Pre-Kindergarten (age four) through grade five may attend one of several weekday information sessions and tours hosted throughout the fall. Tours are limited to no more than 12 adults per session. (Pre-Primary and Lower School parent tours are available weekdays by appointment.) Friends School of Baltimore, an independent, coeducational, college preparatory institution founded in 1784, offers students age four through grade 12 a rigorous academic program guided by the values of peace, equality, community, truth and simplicity. To schedule an appointment, contact the Admissions Office at 410.649.3211.

WARM HATS AND GLOVES NEEDED FOR WOMEN'S HOUSING COALITION (WHC) HOLIDAY PROJECT: Stony Run will again sponsor the Women's Housing Coalition holiday project. As in past years, we will provide the women residents of WHC with gift bags filled with necessary toiletries, warm hats, and gloves. Friends School second and third graders and their families will be decorating 40 gift bags and filling them with toiletries. Stony Run's Senior Hi-Q's will be decorating 60 gift bags and filling them with toiletries as well. Stony Run Meeting families are being asked for donations of women's warm hats and gloves. We would like to provide a hat and glove set for each of 100 gift bags. Please be generous. We are told that bright colors and lively patterns would be particularly enjoyed. While hats and gloves are our main goal, other items such as lip balm, combs, brushes, socks, and knee high stockings would also be welcome. Boxes will be in the Library to collect donations of hats, gloves, and other items. Monetary donations will also be accepted and may be placed in the collection box in the Library. The final date for collecting items is December 4th. For more details, contact Denise Wible. Thanks you, as always, for your continuing generosity.