Affiliated Organizations Events

Many Friends have expressed their desire for contemplative time apart from daily life during this time of COVID-19, when in-person retreats are not feasible. In response, and to celebrate the renewal that takes place in the spring, the School of the Spirit Ministry is offering an online retreat via Zoom. From Friday evening through Saturday afternoon, while you remain at home, you will be joined by others from their homes.

The retreat will begin on Friday evening, April 9, at 6:30 Central Time/7:30 Eastern Time. We will introduce ourselves to one another, worship together, and talk about plans for the next day.

On Saturday morning, April 10, we will gather online again at 8:00 Central Time/9:00 Eastern Time. The day will include worship, worship sharing, and silence. We’ll bid farewell at 4:00/5:00pm.

About half of the time will be spent in individual contemplative silence. We’ve found that retreatants continue to feel one another’s presences during these quiet periods. In advance of the e-retreat, participants will receive by email a collection of suggestions for ways to spend the silent time. We will also, of course, send you the link for our Zoom time together.

There is a fee of $30 for this retreat. If this amount is not currently possible for you, please be assured that we have scholarship money available.

We have discovered that retreats are most rewarding when participants do not come and go. Your fellow retreatants will feel the disturbance if you can’t be with us the entire time. Please, if you know you will be otherwise occupied during part of the retreat, request to be placed on the waiting list for a future date.

Others have found e-Retreats rewarding. We hope that you will too!

To register, please click below and fill out the form by April 6. If you have questions about the e-Retreat, you can email Catherine (blycox@comcast.net or 301-471-5330) or Roger (johnroger1@sbcglobal.net or 414-988-0605). There will be a limit of 21 participants in addition to the leaders.

Blessings from the e-Retreat leaders,
Catherine Cox (Goose Creek MM), Roger Hansen, Thais Carr, and Elizabeth Evans

The soft pastels of spring are washing over the Blue Ridge and Shenandoah Valley. Join this family friendly hike to observe spring awakening on the mountain as flora and fauna welcome the warmth & bounty of the season.

This hike will be moderately challenging over rocky screens & some uneven terrain with an elevation change of approximately 600'.

Please bring your own snacks & beverages. Temperature changes during the season can be dramatic, so dressing in layers is recommended. Please bring gear for the occasional shower.

The hike will be rescheduled if heavy rain or thunderstorms are predicted. Participants will be reminded to maintain social distance. All (over age 3) are required to wear masks. Restroom facilities will be available at the Niles Cabin prior to & after the hike.

DONATIONS are appreciated. Suggested levels are $10/person or $25/families.

SAFETY: The hike will be rescheduled if heavy rain or thunderstorms are predicted. Participants will be reminded to maintain social distance. All (over age 3) are required to wear masks. Restroom facilities will be available at the Niles Cabin prior to & after the hike.

On behalf of the steering committee for Quakers in Pastoral Care and Counseling, I would like to share information with you about our upcoming virtual retreat, hosted on Zoom, April 17, 2021, "Healing Ritual: Quaker Perspectives."

We are sharing it widely across the North American Yearly Meetings and have scheduled it for times that make participation from all time zones possible. Can you direct me to the best place to share this within your yearly meeting? If you have an email and a person who would be best to receive this for wider distribution, please email a reply and I will share it.

The conference is for all Friends and will have broad appeal for those who are especially interested in how to mark and honor times and transitions--an especially relevant topic for this year.

The most relevant information is here at the end of the email, including registration information.

Thank you again for your care of our collective ministry to Friends!
Holly White
member and webmaster, QPCC Steering Committee
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"Healing Ritual: Quaker Perspectives"-- Quakers in Pastoral Care and Counseling Retreat
Dawn Ottoni-Wilhem, PhD, Plenary Speaker
Saturday, April 17, 2021 by Zoom
9:00 AM-1:30 PM PDT/12:00 PM-4:30 PM EDT
What is ritual today for Friends? We will reflect how it is embedded in human life, encourages healing, and calls forth personal and social transformation. How might we employ ritual to heal from the traumas of our era? How can we use ritual in our own spiritual lives, and how can we share ritual in our spiritual caregiving?
Registration online at qpcc.us Cost: $50-full fee, $10 students

SCHEDULE (times listed in Pacific Daylight Time)
Friday, April 16
5:00 pm... -Social time, gathering (1 hour)

Saturday, April 17
8:30 am… -Optional opening worship (30 min)
9:00 am… -Welcome and Plenary 1: “Ritual and Reflection”
(45-minute presentation with 15-minute Q&A)
10:00 am… -Small group break out session (45 min)
10:45 am… -Meal Break
11:45 am… -Plenary 2: “Ritual Care and Faith”
12:45 pm… -Small group break out session (30 min)
1:15 pm… -Closing--large group

In the past year we have learned a lot about how to gather online as a community. Yearly Meetings and Quaker Organizations have been working to create community online and to find ways to allow Spirit to move us. As we transition from a fully online world to a blended in-person and online one, it seems valuable to come together to share.

We have learned about muting and unmuting, raising virtual hands, and creating breakout rooms in Zoom. The greater challenge has been how to use technology to create spaces where Spirit can move us, lead us, and how we can support and build the community that nurtures us.

Join us April 17, 2021 to explore what we together have learned and how we might utilize that going forward.

Every person deserves the right to live a life free from harassment, discrimination, and police brutality. On Friday April 23rd at 3pm ET, you are invited to join us for the “Interfaith Rally & March: A Call For Justice and Healing” hosted by the Washington Interfaith Staff Community (WISC). We will gather as religious and civic leaders in public witness to lament, demand for just policies in policing, and an end to racism. This event will take place in-person outside of the Department of Justice building located at 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW (corner of 10th & Penn. Ave.), Washington, DC 20530.

For your convenience, we have also provided two versions of the promotional flier for this event. Please circulate the flier widely to your networks. We ask that you remind invitees that COVID-19 safety guidelines will be observed. Masks will be required.

Should you have any questions, please feel free to reach me at (703) 829-7229. Most importantly, we are grateful for your advocacy work that affirms the human dignity of every person. Our work is not done! We look forward to seeing you! Be safe in your travels.

In peace and solidarity,
WISC Interfaith Rally Organizers