SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN YEARLY MEETING
AND ASSOCIATION
Yearly Meeting 2003
Advance Program and Registration
June 5-8, 2003
Warren Wilson College
Swannanoa, NC
Dear Friends,
On behalf of the Yearly Meeting Planning Committee, I would like to invite you to join us again this year on the beautiful mountain campus of Warren Wilson College for four Spirit-filled days of worship, fellowship, workshops, intergenerational activities, meetings for business, inspirational talks, and more. It is a dark time for our country, because our leaders have once again chosen war over diplomacy. Our theme, “Flames of Faith from Embers of Tradition,” suggests that we can draw hope and guidance from our unique heritage as Quakers. We invite you to come and ground your faith in our spiritual traditions, share your experience of the Light with other Friends, and emerge refreshed and empowered for a peace-making, justice-seeking, love-promoting life.
Tim Lamm, Clerk
YM Planning Committee
Yearly Meeting will begin with workshops on Thursday afternoon. The Thursday evening plenary session will be an address by our featured speaker. Please plan to arrive in time for these events!
We invite you to come with hearts and minds prepared for worship and to accept the personal responsibility to keep our time together Spirit-led. Opportunities for corporate worship include morning and evening meetings for worship, meeting for worship with attention to business, worship sharing, early morning outdoor worship, men’s and women’s evening worship, and meeting for remembrance.
SAYMA’s Ministry and Nurture Committee will sponsor a NURTURE CENTER. The focus of the activities in this room will flow as the Spirit leads---quiet time, listening, open worship sharing, worship and healing work. This is an expansion of the ongoing meeting for worship sponsored last year by the Ministry & Nurture Committee.
Worship sharing is an opportunity for people to communicate more deeply with each other than is normally possible in everyday conversation. In small groups, we listen in an open and accepting way to the statements of others. Participants are invited to speak from their own personal experience, rather than to engage in intellectual discussion. The following queries will be used to prompt the sharing:
Friday:
1. In what ways are knowledge of or the study of the Bible part of your spiritual life?
2. How do the life and teachings of Jesus speak to your condition?
Saturday:
1. What of the Quaker tradition is most meaningful or helpful to you?
2. In your experience, how do current Quaker faith and practice differ from the faith and practice of early Friends?
Sunday:
1. In what ways do current Quaker practices enrich, extend or redirect your religious heritage?
2. In what ways do aspects of non-Quaker/non-Christian traditions inspire or augment your spiritual practice?
Thursday and Friday evenings, our featured speaker will be Lloyd Lee Wilson of North Carolina Conservative Yearly Meeting, author of Essays on the Quaker Vision of Gospel Order. His messages will likely challenge us to explore the breadth and depth of our Quaker heritage and to live all aspects of our faith more fully. Lloyd Lee will also be available for “question and answer” sessions after his talks and for a discussion group on Saturday afternoon.
The Saturday evening plenary will be our annual Quaker Talent Show. This year the program will be organized and led by our very creative Young Friends. For the first time, we will also include displays of visual art by SAYMA Friends. If you would like to perform in the talent show or display your original art, please contact Wren Hendrickson at 919-490-8950 or wrenhendrickson@aol.com.
One of the advantages of coming to Yearly Meeting is the opportunity to talk with visiting Friends from other Yearly Meetings and Quaker organizations. This year our invited guests include representatives from Friends General Conference (FGC), Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), Friends Peace Teams, and Quaker House in Fayetteville, NC.
If you will be representing a Quaker-related organization and wish to have a table on which to display your materials, please contact Bob Welsh at 828-669-0832 or bobwel@mindspring.com.
The Planning Committee would like to encourage Friends to arrive early this year. Workshops begin on Thursday afternoon. Those marked with an ‘*’ are offered both Thursday and Saturday. On Saturday, you may choose one 2½-hour workshop or two 70-minute workshops.
Thursday, 2:00-4:30
*1. “Spiritual Practices that Fan the Flames of Faith Among the Embers of Religious Beliefs” with Richard Barnes. High school and adult.
What do Friends believe? Friends do not seek uniformity in religious beliefs but we do seek unity in discerning leadings of the Spirit. Friends do not have a creed or uniform set of beliefs, but we do have a set of unique corporate spiritual practices for discerning Divine guidance. We will explore six unique spiritual practices of Friends - silent meetings for worship and unprogrammed ministry, meetings for business, meetings for learning, worship sharing, clearness committees, and the personal and corporate responding to queries.
*2. “Sacred Chanting” with Evan Richardson. High school and adult.
An opportunity to experience worship through music. No musical experience is necessary. We will work with chants offered by Beverly Shepard (Canadian Yearly Meeting) at the Friends General Conference Gathering. Together we will create a space for individuals and corporate expressions of Spirit.
3. “The Impact of Zero-Point Energy Technology” with J. Philip Neal. High school and adult.
This workshop will inform Friends about the imminent coming-on-line of zero-point energy which has no pollution and requires no fuel. We will consider the likely impact of this technology on our society and civilization.
4. “QUAKER PROCESS: How does your Meeting stack up?” with Bettina Wolff. High school and adult.
Most of our meetings have times when we slip, fail to follow good Quaker order. A decision is made too quickly. Friends are hurt. Workshop participants are asked to come with examples from your Meeting. We'll share and discuss our failures, our successes, our insights.
Thursday, 3:15 – 4:30
5. “The Earth Charter - Values and Principles for a Sustainable Future” with Susan Carlyle. High school and adult.
The Earth Charter is a declaration of fundamental principles of building a just, sustainable and peaceful global society. It seeks to inspire a new sense of interdependence and shared responsibility for the well being of the entire world. It is an expression of hope in a time of turmoil. Let’s talk about how this is linked to our testimonies of Peace, Equality and Simplicity.
*6. “Confronting the Peace Testimony” with Chuck Fager. High school and adult.
We will take an in-depth look at the "canonical Quaker Peace testimony” Declaration of 1660, as background for renewing the peace testimony today. (Chuck Fager is Director of Quaker House, Fayetteville, NC.)
Saturday 2:30 – 3:40
7. “What Would a Non-racist SAYMA be Like and How Do We Get There?” with Adelaide Solomon-Jordan and Bert Skellie. High School.
We will document that the Religious Society of Friends has been racist from inception through now. Then we will consider what a non-racist SAYMA would be like. Next we will consider effective ways to end racism within SAYMA. Our focus will be on how white people need to work with other whites.
8. “Friends Peace Witness in a Time of Crisis - A Report from the FWCC Conference” with Kim Carlyle, Debra Johnson, and Hannah MacDermott. High school and adult.
Three Friends officially represented SAYMA at the FWCC peace conference at Guilford College in January. These Friends will share their experiences and perceptions and then facilitate a discussion of “Friends Peace Witness in a Time of Crisis.”
9. “Prison Visitation and Support” with Peg and Nils Pearson. High school and adult.
This workshop will be for people who do prison work or who are interested in doing prison work to gather together to share information, resources and concerns.
10. “Dialogue with Lloyd Lee Wilson.” High school and adult.
Informal discussion with our featured Friend about his messages and the conference theme.
Saturday 3:50 – 5:00
11. “What Would a Non-racist SAYMA be Like and How Do We Get There?” with Adelaide Solomon-Jordan and Bert Skellie. Adult.
Repeated for adults. See description above.
12. “Dialogue with Lloyd Lee Wilson.” High school and adult.
Informal discussion with our featured Friend about his messages and the conference theme.
*13. “Confronting the Peace Testimony” with Chuck Fager (Director of Quaker House, Fayetteville, NC). High school and adult.
Repeated from Thursday afternoon. See description above.
Saturday 2:30 – 5:00
14. “Healing the Past, Nurturing the Future: A Case for Reparations in the Twenty-First Century” with Harry Rogers, Norma Jackson, and Peter Jackson. High school and adult.
This workshop is designed to actively involve the group in trying to understand the manifold functions of reparations within the context of the struggle for African liberation. In particular, the discussions will consider not only understanding why some black people are calling for reparations, but also investigating how reparations might be distributed if acquired.
15. “Become A Friendly Adult Presence (FAP) for Southern Appalachian Young Friends (SAYF) Retreats: A FAP Training” with Sig Christensen, Wren Hendrickson, Bill O’Connell, Dick Houghton, Nicole Rennie, Phillip Lee, and Rooney Lamm. Adults.
The SAYF FAP training will begin with presentations about the philosophy of SAYF, first by adults and then interactively by a number of Young Friends. Next, principles for safety of the community will be addressed, followed by suggestions for transporting Young Friends to, at, and back from SAYF retreats. Opportunities for questions will be interspersed throughout the training.
16. “Extraterrestrials and Zero-Point Energy Technology - How Should Friends Respond?” with John Artley. High school and Adults.
This workshop will consider the linkage between zero-point energy technology and extraterrestrial visitors and the ultimate meaning of this to Friends in mental/spiritual terms. What might Friends’ ministry be in this area?
*17. “Spiritual Practices that Fan the Flames of Faith Among the Embers of Religious Beliefs” with Richard Barnes. High school and adult.
Repeated from Thursday. See description above.
*18. “Sacred Chanting” with Evan Richardson. High school and adult.
Repeated from Thursday. See description above.
SAYF is a program for Middle and High School Young Friends, from age 12 through 18. The SAYFers at Yearly Meeting will have a separate dormitory with ongoing program and supervision. We welcome all rising Middle Schoolers (i.e. entering 6th grade in fall 2003) who have turned 12 and other teens who have moved to our area to be part of SAYF at Yearly Meeting. Parents with questions about SAYF may call Dick Houghton (dickhoughton@covad.net or 615-463-9512) or Kathleen Mavournin (kmav@icx.net or 865-691-9506).
To participate in the SAYF program, Young Friends must first register for SAYMA, using the forms included in this registration packet, including the medical form. These should be sent to the SAYMA registrar ahead of time. There's a registration deadline and it costs extra if you miss it! If Young Friends need help figuring out the Yearly Meeting registration form, call Wren at 919-490-8950 or Jon at 770-939-5574. (Call in the evening.)
IF YOU ARE COMING TO SAYMA WITHOUT YOUR PARENTS, you must have an adult sponsor who will be at SAYMA. There is a space on the SAYMA registration form to identify the sponsor. Note that the sponsor must sign the form.
Scholarships are available, but the procedure is different than for retreats. You have to request it in advance. Apply first to your Monthly Meeting and then fill in the line for financial aid on the SAYMA registration form. See the page titled Registration Information in this packet and call Dick or Kathleen if you still have questions. (See contact information above.)
***THIS IS IMPORTANT -- and it's different from last year!! There will also be special versions of SAYF registration and medical forms for Yearly Meeting; they are slightly different from the forms for retreats. You must bring these “SAYF-at-SAYMA” forms with you to the SAYF dorm when you arrive at Warren Wilson. Note that you should fill out both the SAYMA medical form (mail it with your SAYMA registration) and the SAYF-at-SAYMA medical form (bring it to the dorm).
SAYF-at-SAYMA registration and medical forms will be mailed to everyone on the SAYF mailing list. To get on the mailing list, send the child's name, address, age, and monthly meeting to Therese Hildebrand, thildebrand@acer-access.com or 260 Radford Hollow Road, Big Hill, KY 40405. Forms will also be available directly from Therese and at the SAYF website -- go to www.SAYMA.org and click on the Young Friends link at the bottom left.
Bring the SAYF-at-SAYMA registration and medical forms to the SAYF dorm when you arrive, not to the SAYMA registration desk. You will get a SAYMA badge at the SAYMA registration desk when you arrive at Warren Wilson; bring that with you to the SAYF dorm too.
The SAYF program will begin after supper (6:30 p.m.) on Thursday, June 5th. The SAYF dorm will not open until then. Please take note of this. If Young Friends arrive at Warren Wilson before then, they will be under the care of parents or sponsors until SAYF gets underway. Please don't come to the SAYF dorm before the program starts. There are workshops on Saturday afternoon that SAYFers may participate in.
Partly in response to Robin Wells’ plenary in 2002 in which she challenged us to revitalize our religious education for children, this year we will be working with an ecumenical program that promises to offer children a wonderful opportunity to experience their own religious potential. It is called the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a method of instruction developed in the Catholic Church meant to tap the religious potential of the child. Our Head Teacher will be Rebekah Rojcewicz from Memphis, a leader in the Catechesis method.
Catechesis is defined as “oral instruction by the method of question and answer”—using queries, in other words. We will offer the children a number of stories from our faith tradition for them to learn from. The primary stories will be Parables of Jesus (particularly of the Good Shepherd) and the History of the Reign of God, which will include Quaker stories like “Thee, Hannah” by Marguerite De Angeli. We seek to help give children a feeling of God’s love and peace that might influence their lives for years to come.
And, of course, we will explore around Warren Wilson, swim, see some amazing skills, and play Quakerball.
Young people ages 3 to 12 may attend Junior Yearly Meeting (without charge), plus we will have childcare for children under 3. All JYM activities will begin and end at the Health Center above the Gazebo.
Please consider volunteering a half day or less to help in one of three ways: joining in the Catechesis method, being part of our outdoor play, or adopting a very young child to free the child’s parent to participate in the adult program.
Ron McDonald of Memphis Monthly Meeting is the JYM Coordinator. Please contact him at 901-722-2585 or rmcdona2@midsouth.rr.com if you can help.
We are a community of Friends living in the discipline of the Spirit. Attenders of all ages are asked to observe a level of conduct appropriate to Friends’ principles. Please take care that all behavior is bound by a respect for the sensitivities of all, including those of the host community. Remember that our individual actions reflect on the Religious Society of Friends. Parents and sponsors are expected to be actively responsible for their children at all times. All attenders are asked to help make a safe and supportive community for all, especially for our children. Any attender may be asked to leave if unable to function within the guidelines of the community. Alcohol and illegal drugs are not permitted at Yearly Meeting. Recognizing the addictive nature of tobacco, we strongly discourage its use.
1. No smoking is allowed inside the buildings. All dorms that SAYMA will be using are nonsmoking. No smoking is allowed on the porches of or anywhere near the Wellness Dorm (Ballfield 3).
2. Conference participants and guests are required to abide by all local, state, and federal laws as well as all college policies and regulations.
3. College property is to be treated with care and respect. Littering, damage or maltreatment of buildings, lawns and surrounding areas will not be tolerated. Conferees will be responsible for payment of property that is damaged, lost or stolen.
4. All college-furnished equipment must be left in the room or facility as found unless permission is granted from the building manager or designated representative for removal or rearrangement. If permission is so granted, then it is the conferee’s responsibility to see that all equipment is returned to its original place.
5. The purchase, possession or use of drugs known as “controlled substances” is forbidden by law.
6. The possession or use of firearms, weapons, fireworks and candles is illegal.
7. No gambling is permitted on Warren Wilson College property.
8. No pets are allowed on campus.
9. Any person, group or organization using college facilities who is found to be violating local, state, federal or other governmental authority rules or regulations or is in violation of college policy may be asked, at the discretion of the college, to leave college property immediately, and any agreement for future use of college facilities and services may be pronounced null and void.
10. For more specific information on college regulations, please stop by the conference office and pick up a copy of the College Handbook.
You will notice that there is little unscheduled time built into the gathering schedule. However, do not feel that you have to attend everything possible. Please feel free to take time out to talk with Friends or go for a walk in the woods or sit quietly in the garden---and enjoy this special occasion.
Important to the gathering are the informal encounters among Friends as we share living space with one another for the weekend. The Planning Committee would like to encourage Friends who live in the area to leave their usual affairs for a while and live on campus.
If you are going to Yearly Meeting and do not already have arrangements for traveling in a vehicle that will be filled to capacity, please contact Bill Reynolds of SAYMA’s Ecological Concerns Network. (See contact information below.) If you have a vehicle making the trip, let him know a) how many spaces are available, b) where you are leaving from, and c) when you expect to depart. If you seek to "hitch a ride," let him know a) where you will be leaving from, b) when you expect to depart, and c) how many you are. Thanks!
The Ecological Concerns Network encourages you to bring cloth napkins for use in the cafeteria. And as part of the effort to conserve paper, the ECN requests that meeting representatives bring 4 copies only of their State of the Meeting reports to SAYMA. The committee will facilitate distributing printed copies to those who want them.
Bill Reynolds (Chattanooga FM) cisland@aol.com (423-624-6821), 3529 Dell Trail, Chattanooga, TN 37411.