Brown background with text reading "Quakers in Canada: News from around Canadian Yearly Meeting." Most of the text is yellow, but the Q is pale green.

Dear Friends,

Look, the newsletter isn't coming out on the last day of the month this time! Please deliver all congratulatory flowers to...no, we're kidding.

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

A welcome for new members within CYM

Wondering how to introduce Friends to the work of CYM? (Or maybe you're wondering what the heck CYM does yourself?) Contributions Committee has created a welcome letter summarizing some of CYM's work and how to stay up to date! 

"With CYM, it is like being part of a spiritual extended family. Going to CYM gatherings, you have the opporutnity to discover untold riches amongst people you have not met before."

 Read more
Terrarium with moss, cacti with yellow and red blooms, and a haworthia. A yellow "Welcome" sign sits in the middle.

October 30th: KAIROS For the Love of Creation Fall Symposium

Join KAIROS for the 2021 For the Love of Creation Fall Symposium! This gathering will mark a key moment in our journey, in Canada’s climate plan, and in global climate action as we engage with COP 26 (November 2021). We will hear the collective theological reflections in the Letter of the Faithful, learn about how our advocacy goals have evolved, and engage with faith leaders, theologians, climate organizers including CFSC’s own Jennifer Preston, and more

Event fees have been set to help cover the costs of this event (Student = $5; Non-Student = $10). Please note that there is a barrier-free option ($0). If you have any questions about this event, please email flc.pac@gmail.com

 

Register
"For the Love of Creation: Faith-in-action campaign: Take Action" sits on a white background, with a blue, yellow, red, black, white, and green logo--you can see some trees on yellow land, a blue see, a black hand. Part of the sky is red, with black birds in it.

Our interim CYM Secretary: Jocelyne Tranquilla

"As you know, our CYM Secretary, Cameron Fraser, completed his work with us in late September. The Personnel Committee and myself have been actively searching for an interim CYM Secretary until we begin the hiring process for a permanent staff person.... I am pleased to announce that we now have an interim CYM Secretary -- she is Jocelyne Tranquilla, a member of Halifax Monthly Meeting. Jocelyne is a social worker and happens to be on leave this year from her regular employment....

"We are contracting with her to work part time for a few months on an "as needed" basis to monitor communications, assist with technology needs for online meetings, provide support to Personnel Committee, assist other CYM staff and contractors when necessary, and assist CYM Clerks and Committee Clerks to execute their plans. If you have need of the services of the CYM Secretary during this interim period, I request that you first contact me at cym-clerk@quaker.ca."

--Marilyn Manzer, CYM Presiding Clerk

 
Sign that says "Quaker Meeting; Religious Society of Friends: all welcome." A big stylized Q with a dove inside it is in the middle of the sign. The sign seems to be on a rural road--there are pine trees in the background.

Pendle Hill's 2022 Spring Term: apply by December 15th

Pendle Hill has opened the application process for the 2022 Spring Term!　

"The Spring Term is a ten-week resident student program based on the daily rhythm of worship, learning, and work that creates space for Spirit-led discernment, community, and guided study within the context of a spiritually led Quaker community. This resident study program provides an alternative and experiential adult education that aims to support the formation and renewal of the whole person. The simple framework of study, worship, and work in community offers participants a unique sanctuary in which to develop a deeper awareness of the Divine in daily life and of their own vocation in the world.

"Information about the 2022 Spring Term and the application process is now available on our website. Applicants are encouraged to submit before December 15, 2021, and applications will be considered on a rolling basis.

"We appreciate your assistance in sharing this information with your communities. If you have questions about the program, please contact us at Admissions@pendlehill.org"

 
Graphic for the Pendle Hill Spring Term: olive green background, white text reading "Pendle Hill spring term: Mar 1 - May 10, 2022. Are you curious about your leadings in life? The Spring Term, a ten-week residential study program that supports personal and communal renewal, discernment, and action may be for you." There is a logo shaped like a window with a book in front of it, looking out on a lush green lawn and trees; it's a hand drawn style.

Nov 20 & Dec 4th: CYM Representative Meeting

Representative Meeting brings together representatives of Monthly Meetings, Half-Yearly Meetings, and CYM Committees to make decisions between full CYM business sessions. During the pandemic, Rep Meeting has been held more frequently online. There are two meetings coming up - if you are not your Meeting's representative but are interested in attending, some meetings are open to observers. Agendas and other documents are circulated in advance and typically posted on the password-protected business section of Quaker.ca.

Check the CYM Business calendar for other upcoming meeting dates - some of the work that keeps CYM going!

Learn more about the role of Representative Meeting in section 6.4 of CYM's Organization and Procedure.

 
A laptop, note book and pen, and white coffee mug and coffee container sit on a pale table in front of a window. There is a small jar of flowers to the right of the coffee mug.

FGC Gathering: COVID preparedness & other updates

Friends General Conference's 2022 Gathering "...and follow me" is scheduled for July 3-9, 2022, in person at Radford University in Radford, Virginia. A COVID working group has been established, aiming to have a COVID Health and Safety policy in place in early 2022 to allow for 2022 Gathering planning. Some online participation will also be available.

A Conference and Online Events Associate is also being hired for approximately a 1 year term--apply by November 15th! 

Workshop proposals are being gathered until October 31st, with a particula need for workshop proposals focused on movement, arts, the Bible, or writing.

See more
FGC Friends General Conference logo--navy background with what looks like white dandelion fluff.

Opening for Resident Friend at Ottawa Monthly Meeting

Ottawa Monthly Meeting is seeking a Friend or active attender to serve as Resident Friend for a one-year renewable term beginning January 1, 2022.

A rent-free apartment is offered in lieu of a salary. The Resident Friend helps the Monthly Meeting fulfill the elements of its life as a community: looks after the Meeting House and garden, books the facilities, and handles telephone and email enquiries.

Detailed guidelines are available upon request.

The apartment is a one-bedroom unit with a private entrance, on the second floor of the Meeting House in the Glebe area of Ottawa. Please apply by regular mail or email outlining why you are interested in the position, what you are doing now, your relevant past experiences, your relationship to the Religious Society of Friends and the contributions you feel you can make to Ottawa Monthly Meeting. Please include at least two references. Send this information by Dec 1, 2021 to:

David Shipley

951 Kincaid Court Ottawa, ON K1V 6N6

tel: (613) 260-2696

email: urbship@magma.ca
Ottawa Meeting House, a relatively modest brick building surrounded by trees.

CFSC's Get to Know Thee, Friend series continues

"Brew some tea and join Canadian Friends Service Committee on the last Thursday of every month this year for an online evening of discussion, sharing, and Friendship. Our series Get to Know Thee, Friend is a chance to meet Friends from across Canada and learn about their experience with Friends and with service work."

The series continues on November 25th; December date tbd.

 More details
"Get to know thee, Friend: A twelve part series in honour of CFSC's 90th anniversary" graphic, with a faint/transparent picture of Friends photographed from behind in the background.

Canadian Yearly Meeting: the summary of a year & an opportunity for you to make a difference

The end of the calendar year is approaching, and you might be starting to reflect on what the last year has brought. CYM certainly is! It's been a busy year, filled with pandemic disruptions and CYM business, and we hope that you have felt supported and connected to Friends across Canada.

Like all of us individually, CYM is looking at the future and hoping for a world where in-person gatherings feel safe and we can all enjoy the warm bustle of being surrounded by Friends.

You can help to make this world possible: you may not be able to bring an end to the pandemic individually, but your year end donation can support a whole host of CYM activities, including the in-person gatherings that have for so long been a central part of Canadian Quaker life.

In the words of CYM incoming clerk, Ruth Pincoe, "I ask that you hold in the Light and discern a right amount to contribute in 2021 to support the work of Canadian Yearly Meeting." To read about all the things your donations have made possible and can make possible in the future, have a look at the CYM appeal letter.

Donate
An acorn sits on a pale palm, with an out-of-focus sidewalk in the background.