We have a nice variety of workshops on offer Friday and Saturday June 16 and June 17. All events are in the John C Myer Convocation Center on the Ashland University Campus. The annual meeting webpage provides additional details about our gathering.
Green Pastures Quarterly Meeting Gathers on May 20th
It’s almost here! On Saturday, May 20, Green Pastures Quarterly Meeting will gather in person at Ann Arbor Friends Meeting house for our Spring Quarterly Meeting. Hospitality will start at 9:30. Business begins at 10:00 a.m., with a presentation by Friend Brad Shaw at noon. BRING A BAGGED LUNCH if you need one.
The business meeting and presentation will be available hybrid. Friends are encouraged to sign in just before 10 a.m., so they don’t miss out on anything. The Zoom link can be requested from gpqmcommunications@gmail.com.
Agenda
- Query related to stewardship of resources: How do I simplify my needs, making decisions that balance self-sufficiency and fair sharing of resources?
- Roll call
- Approval of minutes
- Treasury report
- Finance Committee
- Nominating Committee
- Friends Center report
- Michigan Quakers for Environmental Action
- Announcements
- Break
- Presentation: Brad Shaw, Red Cedar Friends: “Lessons from Quaker History: Activism within the Socioeconomic Realities of the Status Quo”
Detroit Friends Have a New Meeting House!
Dear Friends,
The members and attenders of the Detroit Friends Meeting are excited to announce that after ten years of being on a relocation journey, a way opened in Fourth Month! We have a new spiritual home! We purchased an existing building at 19309 Greenfield Road in the City of Detroit. We are hoping to begin renovations immediately and move into the building in the early summer.
We are pleased with the building’s location and potential to provide service to the neighboring community, while giving us an opportunity to attract new attenders. However, the building will require extensive renovations over a two-year period. We anticipate being able to purchase and renovate the building with our original fundraising goal. Many in our meeting felt a level of comfort that repurposing along with the planned use of energy efficient materials and equipment will have less impact on the environment. That said, these efficiency upgrades are not a luxury. Repurposing the building with new energy saving measures is a necessity to drive down operating costs, enabling us to maintain the building within our existing annual budget of approximately $18,000 a year. Also, in Detroit, water and sewage bills are based on impermeable space like parking lots, so removing most of the existing parking lot to create a permeable surface with rain gardens is a cost saving reduction as well. Our fundraising efforts will continue over the next year to meet our anticipated needs for renovations and additional costs.
Various committees are beginning to work on the physical acknowledgment of the land, ways to serve the community, creating a welcoming space for those in the community, fundraising, and hiring minority contractors and companies to complete many of the major renovations needed.
We want to express our deepest gratitude to Lake Erie Yearly Meeting, monthly meetings, and individuals within our LEYM faith community for your generosity, support, and encouragement that has been instrumental in helping us reach this point.
Our main vision and commitment to ensure that an active and engaged Quaker presence will continue in the City of Detroit for future generations to benefit from… has now become a reality!
We welcome each one of you to visit our new meeting house in the near future. We are full of gratitude for each one of you who helped make this possible. We have felt your loving care from miles away.
If you would like more information about the new meeting house, please feel free to contact a member of the Development Committee. Kevin Howley, khowley@aol.com, Peter Dale, PeterDale67@gmail.com, Mark Michener, michman@comcast.net, or Sharon Ottenbreit, sharonottenbreit@gmail.com
Akron FM Minute on Abolition of the Death Penalty
Akron Friends Meeting adopted a Minute on the Abolition of the Death Penalty at their April 16, 2023 Business Meeting and asked that it might be shared with other Friends, especially those in Ohio where abolition legislation is being considered. In addition using to the direct link above, you can find the Minute over at the LEYM Resources for Peace and Justice page alongside other sample minutes.
We note that Lake Erie Yearly Meeting has previously minuted their opposition to the Death Penalty and encourages Friends to press the case for abolition (see LEYM 2007 minute here).
Spring LEYM Bulletin Now Available
The Spring LEYM Bulletin, which provides much information and registration materials for the 2023 Annual Meeting, is now available online (see leym.org/leym-bulletins/) and in the mail to meetings and worship groups. Please note that the registration deadline for Annual Meeting is May 10, and the gathering will take place at Ashland University, in Ashland, Ohio, June 15-18. We hope to see many of you there!
Scholarship Funds Available – Deadline extended
Scholarship Funds for Attending Quaker Colleges and Universities or for Quaker Organizational Internships/Fellowships
LEYM is committed to supporting young adult Friends who choose to attend Quaker colleges and universities for their undergraduate education, and for individuals who will be participating in a post-secondary internship or fellowship for a Quaker organization. LEYM has created an annual budget line item that can be used to support students who meet all of the following criteria:
- Applicant participates in the life of a monthly meeting or worship group that is a member of LEYM.
- Applicant is attending a member institution of the Friends Association for Higher Education as a degree-seeking student or is participating in a post-secondary internship or fellowship for a Quaker organization such as Quaker Voluntary Service, Friends Committee on National Legislation, American Friends Service Committee, Quaker United Nations Office, or Quaker Experiential Service and Training.
- Applicant will be a student or intern/fellow during the school year following disbursement.
For consideration, applicants must send the LEYM treasurer the following:
- Letter from their monthly meeting clerk or worship group convener affirming their support and sharing how the applicant has participated in Quaker life, such as participation within their faith community or with Quaker camps or organizations.
- Proof of registration at one of the institutions listed above. This can be a print-out of their class registration or letter from the registrar.
- Address of office that check should be sent to, along with student ID number or any additional information the treasurer should include when sending the check to the institution. In the case of an internship, the check will be sent directly to the student to offset living expenses.
Deadline: Normally the application deadline is March 1, but for 2023, deadline has been extended to April 30, 2023. All materials should be received by the treasurer by that date. All eligible applicants will be considered with the line item in LEYM’s budget being evenly divided among them. If there are no applicants during a particular year, the funds can roll over and will be made available in subsequent years. Applicants may apply for each year of enrollment or internship. The maximum scholarship per recipient per year is $2000. Materials can be sent to: Tom Kangas, Treasurer, 3641 Weston Place, Columbus, OH 43214 or emailed to LEYMTreasurer@gmail.com.
2023 Welcome Video
You are invited to join us June 15-18, 2023 for Lake Erie Yearly Meeting’s Annual Sessions, held at Ashland University. Visit leym.org/annual for all the details.
GPQM invites you to Early-Spring Gathering, April 8, 2023, on Zoom
Join us on Zoom for a Green Pastures Quarterly Meeting Early-Spring Gathering from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Saturday, April 8, 2023. We will share a program, Friendship, and one item of business. The Zoom link can be obtained by writing us at gpqmcommunications@gmail.com .
Our presenter, Desiraé Simmons, will speak on Black Lives Matter—What Are We Called to Do? Desiraé is co-director of the Interfaith Center for Peace and Justice in Ann Arbor.
Since moving to Ypsilanti from Boston, she has co-hosted a resistance march focused on the love, resilience, and history of activism in the community; organized for affordable housing, keeping a school within the Ypsilanti Community School district, and a Community Benefits Ordinance; ran for City Council as a nonpartisan candidate; and she currently holds leadership positions within the Washtenaw County Democratic Party and serves on a citizen committee for housing affordability and accessibility. (See bio: https://www.icpj.org/blog/about/bios/)
Our plan for the day:
- Worship
- Report on Michigan Friends Center
- Presentation by Desiraé Simmons on Black Lives Matter – what are we called to do?
- Small group discussion
- Lunch socializing
- Closing worship
2023 Business Sessions
Our Annual Business sessions are scheduled for June 15-18, 2023 at the LEYM Annual Meeting. Zoom access will be provided for remote participants via links provided below.
Business Sessions Schedule
- LEYM Executive Committee Meeting
Thursday, June 15 1:30pm-3:00pm EDT - Opening Welcome, Business and Rollcall Session
Thursday, June 15 7:30pm-9:00pm EDT - MFW w Attention to Business
Friday, June 16 10:30am-12:00pm EDT - MFW w Attention to Business
Friday, June 16 1:15pm-3:15pm EDT - MFW w Attention to Business
Saturday, June 17 1:15pm-3:15pm EDT - MFW w Attention to Business
Sunday, June 18 8:45am-9:30am EDT
2023 Annual Sessions – Ashland, Ohio
Navigating Anew is our 2023 Theme. We’re all excited to finally be gathering together again in person. We find ourselves in changing times in the world and in our Quaker meetings. With all this change, navigation isn’t on autopilot but becomes a conscious task, whether it is finding the way from dorm to dining hall or finding our way toward being an inclusive body of Friends. Navigation also involves a careful discernment of how we are led and how we can keep true to a spirit-led path as new ways open. Workshops, bible study and shared worship can help. Please plan to join us on June 15-18 2023 for LEYM’s Annual Meeting. Discovery awaits!