Dear Friends, Your f/Friendly newsletter editor is typing away while resisting the urge to go set up the balcony garden, and keeps having to pause lately to smell nice flowers while in the middle of a run--may you all be similarly blessed with pleasant distractions. Thank you for reading Canadian Yearly Meeting's monthly electronic newsletter—we're glad to have you! If you know others who might like to receive this, please feel free to forward this message so that other friends can subscribe at the link below. Your help in connecting Friends across the country is deeply appreciated! If you'd like to contribute to the newsletter, email newsletter@quaker.ca by the 15th of the month. We may not be able to fit all contributions in, but we'll try! Sign up | Register Now for CYM 2022 (August 7-13) The Yearly Meeting in Session registration is now up and running! -
Special Interest Groups (SIGs): Submit your Monthly Meeting minute of support. -
NEW!! Ask a Young Friend Panel Discussion: Call for questions -
Registration is open. Registration is required. This year it is a two phase registration. -
Firstly, commit to attending between August 7 - 13 -
Secondly, consider how you want to participate. How can you share your gifts? What are your needs? Learn more | | June 3rd deadline: CYM is Hiring an Office Coordinator CYM is hiring an Office Coordinator. This is a part-time position (17.5 hrs per week) based in Ottawa and accountable to the General Secretary-Treasurer of Canadian Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. The Office Coordinator’s role is to support the work of the national office by maintaining the office and providing financial, fundraising, communication, and program support. Interested candidates should submit a cover letter and resume to cym-office@quaker.ca. In light of the recent storm disruption in the Ottawa area, the deadline has been extended to 5 pm Eastern on Friday, June 3rd, 2022. This is a part-time position. Depending on qualifications and experience, the salary range is $38,000-$45,000 (FTE), prorated to .5 FTE or 17.5 hours per week. For more information on the desired qualifications, view the job description at the link below. More information | | June 4th: CAST survey To assist the Change and Sustainable Transformation (CAST) working group, we are asking all Friends (whether members or attenders) to complete a survey. The survey looks at the programs and services of Canadian Yearly Meeting (CYM) and asks what you find useful and meaningful. We hope that it will assist in determining the priorities for CYM and how we might simplify our organization without losing what is of value. Please complete the survey by June 4, 2022. The survey is available below. Fill out survey | | June 11: Meeting for Worship for Business There will be a CYM Meeting for Worship for Business on June 11th from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. PDT (11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. MDT, 12:30-3:30 p.m. CDT, 1:30-4:30 p.m. EDT, 2:30-5:30 p.m. ADT, and 3:00-6:00 p.m. NDT). To find the documents you'll need to prepare, visit the business section of the CYM website (note: a login will be required). Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8671213216?pwd=VlRCRHhpSFFhRHllS2dBcHNnc1kvdz09 Meeting ID: 867 121 3216 Passcode: CYM1955 Dial by your location: - +1 613 209 3054 Canada
- +1 647 374 4685 Canada
- +1 647 558 0588 Canada
- +1 778 907 2071 Canada
- +1 438 809 7799 Canada
- +1 587 328 1099 Canada
- Meeting ID: 867 121 3216 Passcode: 5144807
| | June 11th: CAST Working Group Recommendations coming to Meeting for Worship for Business Change & Sustainable Transformation (CAST) working group April 2022 Recommendations on CYM-in-Session to be considered at the online Meeting for Worship for Business on June 11th. The following recommendations are based on thoughts Friends shared during the Friendly Exploration on CYM-in-Session held online by CAST in January 2022. There continues to be support to gather in-person. Some Friends felt it is impractical to have an in-person gathering every year. We were united in our desire to provide remote access to in-person gatherings. We recommend that Meetings for Worship for Business continue to be part of CYM-in-Session. We suggest that meeting at rented venues across Canada, in rotation among Atlantic, Central, and Western locations is no longer practical. We recommend the following plan for CYM-in-session for 2023, 2024, and 2025: 2023 Plan to meet in-person at the Canadian Mennonite University (Winnipeg) in August 2023. Ask Program Committee to incorporate the previous CAST recommendations: having a shorter event, beginning with sessions that spiritually ground the gathering, holding a daily community gathering, and enhancing the program for children & youth. 2024 Hold CYM in session in August 2024 in Ontario – split between Friends House (Toronto) and Camp NeeKauNis. Evaluate how this plan has worked in Fall 2024 and recommend a location for CYM-in-Session in 2026. 2025 Hold CYM-in-Session online in 2025. Provide opportunities for Young Friends and families to gather during the year. | | June 25th: Quakers & Disabilities Quakers & Disabilities, a new group of Canadian Friends, has begun to meet regularly, with the purpose of giving the opportunity for those who have a Concern regarding disabilities to gather in worship and sharing. This group is not under the care of any Meeting, but thanks Vancouver Island Monthly Meeting for offering their Zoom account for meetings. The group plans to meet on the 4th Saturday of the month at 11:00 a.m. PDT (12:00 p.m. MDT, 1:00 p.m. CDT, 2:00 p.m. EDT, 3:00 p.m. ADT, and 3:30 p.m. NDT). The next meeting will be Saturday, May 28th. If you'd like to be on the email list for this Meeting, please email David McKay dwmckay@sympatico.ca Join meeting | | A Friendly Exploration during CYM online Change and Sustainable Transformation (CAST) invites Friends to join a Friendly Exploration during CYM online in August 2022: Title: Understanding Meeting for Worship for Business: Who speaks, and who listens? Description: What is happening in Meeting for Worship for Business? Are we seeking consensus? Discerning the will of God? Or something else? Do (and how do) the background assumptions we bring to Meeting for Worship for Business affect both the manner of our participation in it, and the decisions at which we arrive? In this session Jeffrey Dudiak will invite Friends to reflect on this central Quaker practice through an historical and a contemporary lens. Date/Time: this discussion will take place during CYM on Monday August 9th at 1:30pm PT, 2:30pm MT, 3:30pm CT, 4:30pm ET, 5:30 AT, 6 pm NT (to be confirmed). | | Reminder: June 4th: Yonge Street Half-Yearly Meeting Reminder: the spring session of Yonge Street Half-Yearly Meeting will take place on June 4th, 2022. It will be an online gathering only,
and Friends from anywhere in Canadian Yearly Meeting are welcome to join. The program is very relevant to the current world situation. Please note: registration is required to receive the link for the meeting. Register in advance here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Agenda (all times in Eastern time): 9:15-9:45 - Join Zoom, Fellowship (Bring Your Own Doughnuts!)
9:45-11:00 - Meeting for Worship with reading of Memorial Minutes for Friends who have died since Spring 2021
11:00-11:15 - Break
11:15-12:30 - Meeting for Worship for Business with reading of State of Society Reports
12:30-2:00 - Lunch and Stretch Break
2:00-3:15 - Program: Julie Harlow of Pacific YM speaks on "Friends House Moscow: 26 Years of Service in Russia and Beyond"
3:15-3:30 - Break
3:30-4:30 - Q&A, discussion of presentation, closing worship The programme is on the topic “Friends House Moscow: 26 Years of Service in Russia and Beyond”. Our speaker, presenting on Zoom, will be Julie Harlow, an American Friend who is on the International Board of Friends House Moscow. Friends House Moscow is not a Quaker Meeting, but a collaboration among Quakers worldwide. It is overseen by an International Board which is composed of Quakers from Russia, the USA and Europe. The Board sets strategy and makes funding decisions for the charitable activity that Friends House Moscow carries out in Russia and Ukraine. You are invited to send her questions in advance of her presentation at fhmus@sbcglobal.net Please remember to have a Friend or Friends in your Meeting prepared to do the reading of the State of Society report and any Testimonials you may have. Please send items for the business agenda, as well as copies of the reports and memorial minutes, to Jane MacKay Wright, Clerk, at janemw70@gmail.com. Learn more | | Western Half-Yearly Meeting Report Western Half-Yearly Meeting Friends gathered in hybrid format over the Victoria Day weekend, testing out how to worship, conduct business, and play together with friends both near and far. Read attender Ro Fife's report for more details: "Victoria Day weekend in 2022, Western Friends gathered for their regional half yearly with a significant twist, as a hybrid meeting with some attending in person at the Sorrento Centre and others joining in for much of the weekend over zoom. This was truly an experiment as Friends found their way forward with the care and support from a dedicated crew of tech volunteers helping folks connect across the distances. Efforts were made to bring those online truly into the meeting room in Sorrento as we continued to learn how to gather - with a few tech glitches and Friendly reminders to speak clearly to the microphone in the room..." Read more | | Canadian Friend Service Committee Needs to Hear From You Canadian Friends Service Committee (CFSC) is looking for your ideas and opinions: "We've created a short survey that will help with our planning and decision making. We need to know what sorts of events you want, what resources of CFSC's you find useful, and how best to communicate with you. We greatly value all feedback and no questions are mandatory. Please say as much or as little as you like. There is also an option of responding anonymously. Please tell us how we're doing so that this can inform our planning and discernment. The survey can be found at: https://QuakerService.ca/Survey The last time we conducted a survey of Friends across Canada was in 2013! It's past due. We value all feedback and appreciate your help in encouraging Friends to take a few minutes to take the CFSC survey." Take the survey | | New Equity and Access Policy for Friends Serving on CYM Committees CYM has introduced a new Equity and Access policy to make serving on CYM committees more economically feasible for Friends: in cases where paying for meals and alternative care arrangements (for example, if a Friend's absence from home means hiring childcare or eldercare) are a financial burden, Friends can seek funding from CYM. Learn more | | CYM Contributions Corner Did you know that CYM presents a unified Canadian Quaker position to the world? Donate | | Support for Friends House Moscow and Friends in Russia and Ukraine Friends in Canada are looking for ways to support those affected by the conflict in eastern Europe. One suggestion, from a Friend in Prince Edward Island, is to send financial support to Friends House Moscow. Friends House Moscow is an international collaboration overseen by an International Board composed of Quakers in Russia, Europe, and the United States. The Board sets strategy and makes funding decisions for charitable activities. Projects of Friends House Moscow include translations of Quaker literature, and they also run Alternatives to Violence workshops in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and elsewhere. They provide advice to would-be conscientious objectors and soldiers in trouble and support a variety of restorative justice initiatives. Currently they are undertaking various actions to support Ukrainians. Individuals can make donations. Their work is supported by donations from Friends in many countries. More information about their work and about Friends in eastern Europe is available on their website. Julie Harlow, one of the founders of Friends House Moscow has visited a number of Quaker Meetings in Canada over the past ten years. Julie will make a presentation at the spring online session of Yonge Street Half-Yearly Meeting, to be held on Saturday 4 June. Donate | | Reminder: June 3rd-7th: Continuing Revolution 2022: Experiments in Spiritually Grounded Abolition Young Adult Friends and seekers (ages 18-35) will gather both online and at Pendle Hill (near Philadelphia) for Continuing Revolution 2022 from June 3rd-7th. Continuing Revolution is a space of collective exploration and learning for spiritually curious young adults who are striving to live in ways that reflect their values. We welcome those who are seeking to examine the connections between their spiritual, political, and interpersonal lives. This year's theme is abolition. Together we will experiment with seeds of alternative systems as we strive to live in integrity with our core values. This year’s programming is guided by Mariame Kaba’s understanding of abolition as “a vision of a restructured society where we have everything that we need to live dignified lives.” Come to Continuing Revolution to support and be supported in learning to make decisions that reflect your values and hopes for the building of abolitionist futures. Enjoy opportunities for reflection, sharing, worship, and skill-building with other young adults from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences in the nurturing environment of Pendle Hill, either online or in person. Sign-ups for online participation open until June 3rd. Fees: - On-campus resident full-time (June 3-7): $50
- On-campus resident weekend-only (June 3-5): $25
- Commuter daily attendance: $10/day
- Online: pay-as-led
Significant financial assistance is available. Learn more | | Reminder: July 6th-10th: YAY! A Separate Friends General Conference Gathering for Young Adults, Youth & Families FGC’s Junior Gathering, High School, and Adult Young Friend Committees are excited to team up for a new adventure this summer. We are excited to announce YAY! This in-person event for Young Adults & Youth will take place Wednesday, July 6 through Sunday, July 10 at Radford University in Radford, Virginia. YAY is for children, parents, youth, and young adults. This event will run at the same time as the 2022 FGC virtual Gathering, however it is not a hybrid event. YAY will only focus on in-person activities. FGC is carefully emerging from the pandemic by offering small and medium-sized events this year. FGC plans to be back at full-scale next year for the in-person 2023 Gathering in Monmouth, Oregon. YAY will have separate sessions for each of these communities: Junior Gathering (birth-rising 9th grade); High School (rising 10th-graduating senior); Adult Young Friends (ages 18-37); Parents & Sponsors (for parents & sponsors of youth & children). If you’d like to serve as staff at this event – please complete a staff application. Register | | Reminder: 2022-2023 Nurturing Faithfulness Program The nine-month Nurturing Faithfulness program includes two in-person residencies at Woolman Hill retreat center in Deerfield, Massachusetts (four nights in Sept 2022 and four in May 2023), an online winter retreat, and monthly webinars. The program teaches practices that help open one's heart to the power of God, as well as skills in discernment; methods to offer and find spiritual support; and ways to ground one’s faithfulness in a home meeting or spiritual community. Participants will form local Faithfulness Groups that foster spiritual openness and support members over time in following calls and leadings. Information about the Nurturing Faithfulness program can be found here or through the New England Yearly Meeting website. Applications are preferred by June 1st, with rolling applications possible throughout the summer. Here's a video in which the core teachers, Marcelle Martin and Hilary Burgin, speak about the upcoming 2022-2023 program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qobrlGlIT0 Here's a video in which prior participants speak about their experience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pQQZZnXJM8 Read more | | | | | |
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