Upcoming Local Worshiping Communities Events

This announces a gathering, beginning at 4pm, of "Kenyan Quakers in America", all the Kenyan Quakers we can find in the area. Lifegate Chuch, the Kenyan Quaker Church which met for a while at Stony Run, has reached a point where attendance is very low, and some of them think this is the right time to start afresh, laying down the existing structure, and coming together to work at developing a church structure much more similar to what they are familiar with from Kenya. The concern arises from the hundreds of Kenyan Quakers who are now in this area, who are not comfortable in the local unprogrammed Quaker worship service. We all know that some have persisted with us and have become valued members of the local Quaker community. But many more have not. There is no immediate expectation that a new Kenyan-based Friends Meeting or Church would necessarily become part of or affiliated with Stony Run. That will be up to the new group and its agreements with existing Meetings. It is hoped that we can support Kenyan Friends' aspirations, similar to the way that we might support a preparative meeting. For more information, contact Adrian Bishop. (aadrianfpt@gmail.com). If you are a Kenyan Friend or if you know Kenyan Friends, please invite them. And bring food, so we can break mandazis together!!

Midlothian Friends Meeting is enjoying the next few months preparing for our 30th anniversary celebration on Sunday, September 24th at our Meeting House at 900 Preservation Road, Midlothian, VA 23113. We hope Friends everywhere will consider joining us for this event while also enjoying our park-like grounds, located within a one-hundred-acre Preserve neighborhood. Directions can be found at MidlothianFriends.org. Here are the activities we will enjoy:
• 10:00am - Sharing memories, experiences, and advice about starting a Quaker Meeting. Alternatively, Friends may prefer to visit our meeting library while this discussion is in earshot. It is located just above our worship room in our balcony and contains many historical displays, pictures, and information about Quakerism; and Midlothian Friends Meeting’s historical ancestry in particular. For kids during the adult session: A nature walk that includes a visit to an adjacent Llama farm after walking over a running creek.
• 11:00am - Worship in the manner of Friends. “First Day” (Sunday) School will be held in our Religious Education Building for toddlers and elementary/middle school kids.
• 12:15pm - Potluck lunch, followed by a wonderfully delicious Ice Cream Social. Seating and tables will be on the large front porch of the meetinghouse and on the back deck. Indoor seating for dining will also be available. Picnic tables and benches for dining are plentiful on the four acre grounds surrounding the Meeting House.
• 1:15pm – Burial of a Time Capsule with artifacts on the grounds under a granite marker - for opening every 30 years in order to add future artifacts that future Quakers can enjoy - for hundreds of years to come!
Please come for any or all of the above events. If you would like to come but need overnight accommodations at the Meeting House in order to do so (indoors or camping in a tent/camper), please email Quaker_Town_Crier@msn.com.