Announcements

October 30, 2005

Food for Thought

SEEKERS AND SPEAKERS FORUM TODAY, October 30, will focus on Quaker Process. The final follow-up forum will take place November 6 and will be an opportunity for questions and discussion. Sessions are 9:00 to 10:40 a.m., in the Dining Room beginning with bagels and beverages. Full participation is encouraged. The series is under the care of the Spiritual and Intellectual Nurture Committee.

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 November 6 and 20, and December 4 and 18. At 11:20 the students attend their regular First Day School classes.

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."

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 coat 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.

JOSIE LABUA WILL PLAY MARY in Friends Upper School presentation, "Pride and Prejudice," an adaptation of Jane Austen's early 19th century romantic comedy about five sisters. The play will run Friday and Saturday, November 11 and 12, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $6 and may be purchased at the door.

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.) 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.

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.

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.

UNITY WITH NATURE COMMITTEE MEETING will be held Sunday, November 20 at 9:00 a.m. at Homewood Meetinghouse Everyone is welcome.

VEGETARIAN COOKING CLUB - Unity with Nature Committee invites Friends to a Vegetarian Cooking Club dinner on Saturday, November 19, from 4:30 to 7:30 pm in the Stony Run kitchen. We will cook together, share the recipes and enjoy the fruits of our labors. RSVP to Stan Becker if you plan to attend.

AMERICA RECYCLES DAY is a non-profit organization whose mission is to hold an annual national awareness event to promote the social, environmental, and economic benefits of recycling and buying recycled products. More about this year's November 15 event is at www.AmericaRecyclesDay.org. Appliances, lumber, carpeting and clothing are just a few products that can be made with recycled materials. Remember, almost everything can be recycled except the planet.

TWO EVENINGS IN NOVEMBER: Friends School will host two lectures in November. Elam Ray Sprenkle, renowned composer, will present "Music is a Scary Thing," Monday, November 14, at 7:30 p.m. Mr. Sprenkle serves on the faculties at the Johns Hopkins University and Peabody Institute, and is a frequent classical music commentator for National Public Radio. His works have been performed locally by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Baltimore Choral Arts Society, as well as nationally and abroad, by such groups as the Western Wind Vocal Ensemble and the Netherlands Brass Ensemble, among others. Audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions of Mr. Sprenkle. This lecture is made possible through a music enrichment grant given by Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Klein, Jr. '49. PLEASE RSVP by November 10. Bart Walter, Maryland Sculptor, will present "A Journey Shared," Tuesday, November 22, at 7:30 p.m. Mr. Walter will speak about his life as an artist and experiences with his family on the Maasai Mara in Kenya. Mr. Walter's sculptures have appeared in solo and group exhibitions throughout the U.S. and in Europe. The lecture will include slides of his work and of life in Africa, living in camp and sculpting and drawing in the wild. Audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions of Mr. Walter, a 1976 Friends School graduate. Mr. Walter's appearance at Friends School is made possible through the Class of 2000 Lecture Series endowment. PLEASE RSVP by November 18. Both lectures will be held in the Friends School Auditorium and are free and open to the public. There will be a reception immediately following each presentation. To reserve seats, please call 410.649.3206.