Announcements

October 23, 2005

Food for Thought

SEEKERS AND SPEAKERS SERIES will give you Friendly answers to your Quakerism queries (questions). TODAY, October 23, presentation will focus on Quaker Lifestyles, October 30 will explore Quaker Process, and November 6 will be a follow-up session with questions and discussion. 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. Full participation is encouraged. Flyers are on the hall table!

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.

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, October 23, November 6 and 20, and December 4 and 18. At 11:20 the students attend their regular First Day School classes. Flyer on the hallway table has further details.

LAST OPPORTUNITY: COMMITTEES AT STONY RUN: A workshop for committees and clerks, will meet THIS EVENING, Sunday, October 23, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. in the Dining Room. Plan to attend the final session 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. The sessions have been sponsored by the Committee on Ministry and Counsel. Light refreshments will be served. No need to RSVP for this final session.

FROM MATT AND FRANCES MICCICHE TO ALL FRIENDS: “Thank you for such a warm welcome! Our thanks to everyone who prepared the scrumptious feast and helped to set up and clean up. We feel very lucky to be entering such a generous and kind community of Friends. With gratitude, Francis and Matt.”

ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT PAYING FOR WAR? Find out the latest information on H.R. 2631, The Religious Freedom Peace Fund Bill. Come hear Marian Franz, Executive Director, National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund and Frank Massey, General Secretary, Baltimore Yearly Meeting, Reps. Wynn and Van Hollen (invited). Saturday, October 29, 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. at Sandy Spring Friends Meetinghouse (Meetinghouse Road off Route 108 in Sandy Spring). Childcare can be provided. Call or write for more information or to reserve space for your child. Sponsored by Sandy Spring Friends Meeting Peace Committee

WINTER CHILLS ARE COMING: Once again, your gently worn, warm jackets, coats and sweaters will be gratefully appreciated by clients of ASTT. This organization works with those fleeing imprisonment and torture and trauma. Please leave all donations, clearly marked “For ASTT,” on the hooks to the right of the Meeting office.

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 a.m. to12:00 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.

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.

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 the 100 gift bags. 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. Thank you, for your continuing generosity.

FAIR TRADE COMES TO TOWSON November, 2005 through January, 2006! Come visit Ten Thousand Villages at a new seasonal store on the first floor of the Shops at Kenilworth, 800 Kenilworth Drive, 410.337.5005, in Towson (located between Stebbins Anderson and Towson Bootery). Ten Thousand Villages provides vital, fair income to artisans in developing countries by marketing their handicrafts and telling their stories. We work with artisans who would otherwise be unemployed or underemployed. We Need Volunteers! We need extra help at both Fells Point and our new Towson store during this busy time of year. Interested in getting involved? Please call our Fells Point store, 410.342.5568, for more information on volunteering at either location.

CONGRATULATIONS to Friends School Students Eliza Gilmore and Maia Gottlieb, who respectively received first and second prize for the spring essay contest on: "Who do you think is the most interesting recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize?" The awards ceremony will be held as part of the 333 Coffeehouse on Friday, October 21, at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis. Last year's ceremony was a treat to attend, as the winners each read part of their essays. The coffeehouse is at 7:30; Awards at 8:00 p.m. (The essays will appear in upcoming Stony Run newsletters.)

CARDS for CARES: The CARDS for CARES program invites you to participate in its fundraising. CARES is a project of GEDCO (Govans Ecumenical Development Corporation) and operates a food pantry and financial assistance center at St. Mary’s Church in Govans. We will supply groups (ages 10 and above) with card making supplies and direction. The handmade cards are then sold and the proceeds are donated to CARES. Ways you can help: Organize a group who would like to make cards. Come to CARES on a Saturday morning, 10:00 a.m. to noon, and help make cards with our clients and other volunteers. Call ahead for a schedule of Saturdays. Let us know of a place you think would be good to sell the cards. Buy some cards. They make great gifts and the cost is tax-deductible. Spread the word about the CARDS for CARES project to others who might like to make, sell, or buy the cards. Contact Becky Boynton (CARES volunteer) for more information. Cards are available on the bench across from the Book Sale Table (please note the price increase, $3 per card or 4 for $10). The selection of cards will change every few weeks.

INTERIM GENERAL SECRETARY NAMED: Frank Massey, General Secretary of Baltimore Yearly Meeting, is leaving after seventeen years of service. BYM's Presiding Clerk Lauri Perman and Interim Meeting Clerk Michael Cronin are pleased to inform Friends that Howard Fullerton has agreed to serve as interim General Secretary; beginning Wednesday, October 19. Howard’s presence will assure continuity in the YM office and provide continued support for the staff through the transition period and search for a General Secretary.

QUAKER YOUTH LEADERSHIP held its annual national planning committee meeting at Stony Run on First Day, October 16th. Quaker Youth Leadership is a national organization of students of all Friends Schools, which gathers annually to promote Quaker leadership within our youth by discussing and implementing issues and ideas as they relate to Quaker concerns in these schools. The planning committee this year consists of students from Baltimore’s Friends School, represented by Stony Run members Josie LaBua and David Lerner, The Thornton School, Sidwell Friends, and Sandy Spring Friends. The annual gathering will take place this year at Sandy Spring Friends School.