April Representative Meeting will be held online

Lake Erie Yearly Meeting’s executive committee has discerned that we will hold our Representative Meeting that had been scheduled 4/3 & 4/4 in Pittsburgh via Zoom, the online meeting platform, to reduce #COVID19 exposure. We will now meet on Zoom Saturday morning (April 4) with the Executive Committee convening at 9:00 AM, followed by the full body at 10:00 AM. See tips below for getting started with ZOOM. Our expectation is that we will wrap up by noon. Zoom connection information has been sent out via email. You can contact the LEYM worker (leymworker@gmail.com) if you need the information to be resent.  Here’s the draft agenda, also available on our Trello planning board (access information was sent via email).

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE SESSION (9 AM Start)
— Welcome and Orientation
— Update from Adult Program re Bluffton Meeting
— Review/Create List of Action Items to Bring Forward
— Short Break?

REPRESENTATIVES MEETING AGENDA (working draft) 10 AM Start
— Welcome and Review of Procedures for Virtual Session (Using Zoom and Trello)
— Opening Worship
— Roll Call
— Discussion of Annual Meeting Status Given Coronavirus Issues
— Review of COVID-19 Impact on Committees
— Finance Committee Report
— M&N Discussion of LEYM Virtual Worship service
— Nominating Committee Status Report & Ideas for Moving Forward
— Referral to Available Online Committee Reports
— Roundtable of Reps on Emerging Issues at Meeting Level (5 min each)
— Announcements After the Close of Business
— Closing Worship

TIPS ON USING ZOOM

For those new to the tool, Zoom is a video meeting platform that is designed to work across many different types of devices (phone, smartphone, tablet, or desktop computer).

Before joining a Zoom meeting on a computer or mobile device, you can download the Zoom app from the Zoom Download Center at https://zoom.us/download . If you haven’t already installed it, you will be prompted to download and install Zoom when you click a join link shared via email. While it is quick to install, it is best to set up your system in advance of a meeting.

Here’s a link to a quick video and a detailed walk-through on how to join an online meeting on different available platforms: How Do I Join a Zoom Meeting

You can also join a test meeting to familiarize yourself with Zoom and try out your set-up here: Zoom Test –  https://zoom.us/test

Advance Registration for Representative Meeting (due March 13)

UPDATE: Lake Erie Yearly Meeting’s executive committee has discerned that we will hold our Rep. Meeting that had been scheduled 4/3 & 4/4 in #Pittsburgh via @zoom_us to reduce #COVID19 exposure. More details to follow in coming days.

The 2020 LEYM Representative Meeting will be held on Saturday, April 4 at Pittsburgh Friends Meeting, 4836 Ellsworth Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15213. For more information, contact emilyanderson257 at gmail.com

Schedule for Saturday, April 4:
Registration & simple breakfast …. 9:00 AM
Meeting for worship …………………. 9:30 AM
Greeting & announcements ………..10:00 AM
Committee meetings ………………….10:15 AM
Lunch ……………………………………….12:15 PM
Meeting for business ……………………1:15 PM
Adjournment by ………………………….4:30 PM

A light breakfast and lunch will be offered for those who register in advance. A donation of $10, more or less, for meals will be appreciated. For other attendees, there are restaurants in the neighborhood.

Childcare will be provided for those who request this by March 13 on the registration form.

A meeting of the Executive Committee (Yearly Meeting officers and committee clerks) will be held on Friday evening, April 3, at the same location, starting at 7:00. Supper will be provided for Executive Committee members and their traveling companions at 6:00; suggested offering $5.

Friends are invited to stay for worship with Pittsburgh Friends on First Day at 9:00 or 10:30.

 

Upcoming Contemplative Retreat

LEYM Friends are invited to join in April 16-19, 2020, for All Shall Be Well: Contemplation in an Age of Crisis, a contemplative retreat in the manner of Friends at the Siena Retreat Center in Racine, Wisconsin. During the retreat, participants will experience the distinctly Quaker manner of knowing soli­tude in community. There will be individual silent time for prayer, reflection, rest, walks, and contemplative interaction with scripture and other spiritual resources. April Allison (RCF) and Roger Hansen (Milwaukee) are offering their seventh retreat in Wisconsin through the School of the Spirit, and are delighted that Elizabeth Evans (Milwaukee) will join us as she enters the SotS mentoring program.

Also Sharon Frame and April Allison will offer a Michigan-based a contemplative retreat in the manner of Friends from November 12-15, 2020, at the Weber Retreat & Conference Center in Adrian. More details will be forthcoming.

Spiritual Resources for Connecting with and Restoring the Earth – talk by Gretel Van Wieren

The theme of the Feb 1, 2020 Winter Gathering of the Green Pastures Quarterly Meeting was “Finding Our Spiritual Foundation for Environmental Work.” The featured speaker was Associate Professor Gretel Van Wieren from the Religious Studies program at Michigan State University. Dr. Van Wieren teaches courses on religion, ethics, and the environment and is the author of Listening at Lookout Creek: Nature in Spiritual Practice (Oregon State University Press, 2019, forthcoming), Food, Farming and Religion: Emerging Ethical Perspectives (Routledge, 2018) and Restored to Earth: Christianity, Environmental Ethics, and Ecological Restoration (Georgetown University Press, 2013).

Dr. Van Wieren has graciously shared the text of her Feb 1, 2020 talk entitled Quaking Climate: Spiritual Resources for Connecting with and Restoring Earth.

LEYM Winter Bulletin now available

The Winter 2020 LEYM Bulletin can be downloaded here. This issue includes:

  • A Clerk’s Message asking how Executive Committee can help our monthly meetings and worship groups
  • Information on Representative Meeting (at Pittsburgh Meeting on April 4)
  • A preview of the Annual Meeting theme and plenary speaker
  • News from the Executive Committee
  • Descriptions of LEYM scholarships and other financial assistance for youth and adults
  • A report on the FCNL Annual Meeting
  • News from monthly meetings, including the major renovation of the Pittsburgh Meeting House
  • And more, including color photos.

Back issues of the Bulletin are available online as well here.

LEYM Harassment Discernment Committee Contact Information

LEYM now has a Harassment Discernment Committee. If a Friend ever feels she/he/they has been poorly or unfairly treated because of gender, race, age, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability, or any other factor, he/she/they can reach out to this committee. Friends who witness harassment are also encouraged to reach out. Of course, if it is safe to do so, Friends are encouraged to seek direct, positive solutions first. The complete LEYM harassment discernment policy is attached (Docx version) (PDF version).

LEYM Harassment Discernment Committee

Aran Reinhart
Email: aranreinhart at yahoo.com.
Phone: 419-619-6810

Pamela Moore
Phone: 215-593-6795

Mark Hoover
Email: mhoover at umich.edu

Peter Wood
Email: petrosh.wood at gmail.com
Phone: 517 881-6845.

Kate Enger
Email: psychdrkate at gmail.com
Phone: (740) 591-7255

Registration for Midwinter Gathering of GPQM Now Open

Midwinter Gathering of Green Pastures Quarterly Meeting will be at Red Cedar Meeting in Lansing, Michigan on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2020 from 9:30 am – 3:00 pm.  The theme is “Finding Our Spiritual Foundation for Environmental Work” and the featured speaker is Prof. Gretel Van Wieren, who teaches courses on religion, ethics, and the environment.  More information, a full schedule, and registration form are available here (docx file). Please share with other interested parties.

The GPQM Midwinter Gathering Registration Form is here (pdf).

Policies and Procedures Manual Updated

An updated version of the LEYM Policies and Procedures reflecting current practice is now available as a pdf file. With the exception of a few minor changes in wording, all of the changes in text were approved by the Executive Committee at its November meeting. Please let Jeff Cooper know of any errors you may discover, especially in the index. He can be reached at cooperdaub@hotmail.com. Thank you.

Save the Date: Green Pastures Quarterly Meeting Midwinter Gathering

SAVE THE DATE:  GREEN PASTURES QUARTERLY MEETING MIDWINTER GATHERING

Theme: “Finding Our Spiritual Foundation for Environmental Work”

Saturday, February 1, 2020, at Red Cedar Meeting, 1400 Turner Street, Lansing; 9:30 am

Featured Speaker:  Gretel Van Wieren, a professor at MSU who teaches courses on religion, ethics, and the environment

More information will be available soon.

World Quaker Day is October 6, 2019!

World Quaker Day, supported by Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC), is happening this Sunday, October 6 across the globe. You can find out more at the worldquakerday.org website. Here’s a message from FWCC regarding the day:

This year’s theme is Sustainability: Planting Seeds of Renewal for the World We Love

FWCC invites you to join Quakers around the world for the 6th annual World Quaker Day.

Across our churches, meetings, countries and sections, we feel the power of God connecting us in to a faithful family. We celebrate all expressions of Quaker worship!

Visit the resources page for ideas on how to get involved.

Please send us your photos and reports from the day by emailing submit@worldquakerday.org. If you have a video to share, please send it to submit@worldquakerday.org via WeTransfer

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