Friends Meeting At Cambridge - Quakers

11/15/2022

What does the Quaker history of running Indigenous Boarding Schools and the ongoing impact of Native communities mean for Friends today? How can Friends contribute to healing?

Folks from Friends Meeting at Cambridge's Friends For Racial Justice group will be in attendance at tonight's Zoom event (hosted by Beacon Hill Friends Meeting - Quakers and New England Yearly Meeting of Friends!) to learn, and envision possibilities. Join us! Register here:

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Quakers managed more than thirty schools for Native American children. Some Quaker schools operated with federal funds and carried out the...

11/14/2022

Shoutout to all the q***r Quakers out there! 🌈💗🥰

Beloved LGBTQ+ online magazine Autostraddle included "Quaker Meeting" as one of the "68 Gayest Ways You Met Your Gay Partners, According to the 2022 Reader Survey" 😎
..we love to see it 🥰

10/10/2022

Join us for our annual "Quakerism 101" course — Exploring the Quaker Way: Fall 2022!

Three Sundays from 7:00 – 8:30 pm (ET), on Zoom only
October 16 – November 13, 2022
Participation in all three sessions is requested, though not required.

REGISTER HERE: https://exploringthequakerway.eventbrite.com

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WHAT?: Exploring the Quaker Way (XQW) is a 3-part course intended to help participants connect with others while going deeper into explorations of Quaker faith, practice, and history.

WHO? XQW especially welcomes newcomers and new-ish-comers, as well as more experienced Friends who wish to examine fundamentals more closely. It is also an opportunity for newer Friends to meet longtime attenders and members

FORMAT/PARTICIPATION STYLE: For these online sessions, facilitators will offer an interactive, participatory experience, with learning and fun!

COURSE OVERVIEW:
10/16 - Session 1: Quaker History; Me, Myself, and I, and Spirit: Individual Spiritual Life
10/30 - Session 2: Us and We: Spiritual Life Within Community
11/13 - Session 3: The Whole Wide World: Spiritual Life in the Wider World

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ACCESSIBILITY & INCLUSION:
A few things you might like to know:

—You may participate via Zoom or phone, with or without video. Live auto-transcripting will be enabled.

—You are invited to share your pronouns if you wish.

—If you have additional accessibility or inclusion needs, please email [email protected].

Most importantly, all are welcome, regardless of disability, race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, relationship status, age, religious background, physical or mental health, socio-economic circumstances, a history of addiction or incarceration, or anything else that too often divides us.

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ABOUT QUAKER FAITH & PRACTICE:
Quaker Meeting for Worship is rooted in silence, but the silence is not emptiness—rather, Friends gather in expectant waiting. We believe that there is "that of God" in all people, and through Meeting for Worship, we make space to encounter it. Anyone at a Quaker meeting might be led to speak; ministry and encounters with Spirit may also occur in silence.
More: https://neym.org/beliefs/faqs

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ABOUT FRIENDS MEETING AT CAMBRIDGE (FMC):
FMC is a gateway to Quakerism in New England and beyond. Our meetinghouse is located near Harvard Square in Cambridge, MA, USA, and we also welcome folks from all over the world via Zoom. We are a large community, with about 100-125 attendees each Sunday morning, and we especially welcome newcomers. https://fmcquaker.org/you-are-welcome-here/

Exploring the Quaker Way

09/01/2022

Please join us on Monday, September 19 from 7-8:30 ET for Quaker Basics: What Is It That We Worship?

The Quaker Basics series focuses on topics at the core of Quaker faith & practice, and especially welcomes those who are new to Quakerism, as well as longtime attendees who wish to reflect with a beginner's mind.

Register here for this free Zoom event:

With special welcome to folks new to Quaker faith & practice, we'll hear some personal reflections from Friends, then reflect and discuss.

06/18/2022

Dear Friends,

Peace. It's perhaps one of the things Quakers are most known for. But it has taken me decades to learn that peace is not just the absence of external conflict.

True peace comes from an unwillingness to compromise on the equal value of each person. If I value myself or "my people" above others, I will intimidate, steal, threaten, and bully others to get what I want. If I value myself less than others, I comply or go along with their agenda, but I allow my own unique beingness in the world to be diminished.

True peace takes courage. The courage to listen to a different perspective, to ask questions, to admit to being wrong. The courage to say "This isn't fair" or "I'm not feeling safe" or "Let's try something different."

True peace means there are no winners or losers, but rather co-equal people finding a solution that will best meet everyone's needs.

Our process of consensus decision-making is deeply rooted in this type of peace. It can be maddeningly slow, but when we arrive at a decision, it's one we have fully examined and accepted. The process requires each of us to both listen deeply to each other and to speak with integrity from our own perspective. And because we take time to listen, we often find solutions that were not apparent at the beginning.

Conflict is inherent in being in relationship with other people. But if we commit to engaging in conflict from our highest state of being, to truly honoring the Divine in each other, we can deepen and strengithn those relationships.

That is where Peace begins.

When in conflict, do you find it hardet to listen to others or to speak your truth? What practices can you draw on to make that easeire?
What strengths do you see in our decision-making process? What challenges?

With love and Light,
Amy

Amy Greene
Interim First Day School and Youth Programs Coordinator
she/her
[email protected]
413-251-6512

For more from Amy's weekly email missives: https://mailchi.mp/fc8e36c0fad3/fds-news-for-june-19-2022?e=62c504b720

06/14/2022

Happy Pride Month, everyone! Recently, our First Day School gave a mini Pride Parade through the meetinghouse at rise of worship, while everyone sang "This Little Light of Mine"—because we want to make space for everyone's light to shine proudly!
🌈❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🌈

05/28/2022

A Memorial Day reflection from First Day School & Youth Programs Coordinator Amy Greene:

Dear Friends,

As we move into Memorial Day weekend, I'm struck by the contrast between the solemnity of the holiday and the festivities which usually accompany it.

And I wonder about the futility of it. Memorial Day began in the wake of the Civil War, to honor the soldiers that lost their lives. And maybe those who know history better than I can answer: have we learned our lesson? Are we better at finding solutions that don't involve killing each other? Have we made any progress toward a more peaceful existence on this planet?

I think about the tragic, unnecessary loss of lives due to shootings at schools, grocery stores, subways, shopping malls. I keep hoping that one day we will collectively say "This is ENOUGH" and find a way to end gun violence in this country.

This weekend I will take time to grieve and to grapple with questions I'm not sure have answers. But I will also hold tight the ones that I love, remembering each day is precious. I will soak in the vibrancy of life, the many signs of growth and resilience and persistence. "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:5, NIV)

Be that Light, friends.

With love and Light,
Amy

Amy Greene
Interim First Day School and Youth Programs Coordinator
she/her
[email protected]
413-251-6512

FAMILY ACTIVITIES THIS WEEKEND:

May 29, 10:30 - 11:45 — First Day School: While there will be no formal classes this week, children will have the opportunity to play together, read stories, and enjoy some special time with our helpers, Toni and Eddy.

May 29, 6:30 - 8:30pm: Intergenerational Community Game Night: Join us on Zoom for a night of games. Bring suggestions of fun games or improv activities you’ve done online with others and are willing to teach us. Or suggest a game you’d like to try. We can also play favorites from past Zoom Game Night sessions.

For more details, view this week's youth and families newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/3a1980ee0459/fds-news-for-may-29-2022?e=62c504b720

Photo: Memorial Day Commemoration by davidyuweb. CC BY-NC 2.0.

04/11/2022

As part of our First Day School unit on Art and Spirituality, Minga Claggett-Borne shared her love of clay with us.

From toddler to teen (and adults, too!), we all found joy in the creative process!

For more on upcoming activities for children and families, subscribe to our First Day School/Youth Programs weekly newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/7eab44a32329/fds-news-for-apr-10-2022?e=62c504b720

03/27/2022

Here's a sneak peek into tonight's session of Living the Quaker Way | Reclaiming Jesus 😊 Our guest for the evening, Michael Birkel from the Earlham School of Religion, will be discussing Quakers and Mysticism in the first of our three-part series on Reclaiming Jesus. Join us from 7-8:30pm via Zoom; learn more about the whole series and register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/living-the-quaker-way-reclaiming-jesus-registration-217979371167

03/24/2022

How is protest connected to the spiritual? Join us for Quaker Basics: Spirit, Witness, & Protest on Tue, Mar 29, 12-1:30p ET: https://quakerbasics.eventbrite.com

This month's topic:
What do our spiritual lives have to do with protest—whether in the form of direct action and global issues, or saying no to unjust practices at your workplace?

We can of course protest as a secular activity, but many of us feel Spirit is there in a place of protest—so why protest from a place of the spiritual?

What effect does our protest have, and what else is needed? How does Spirit fuel protest, and how does protest fuel our connection with Spirit?

The Quaker Basics series is for newcomers and seekers and folks who wish to explore with a beginner's mind. All perspectives welcome!

About Quakers, also called Friends:
Quaker Meeting for Worship is rooted in silence, but the silence is not emptiness—rather, Friends gather in expectant waiting. It is our experience that there is "that of God" in all people, and through our faith and practices, we make space to encounter it. Anyone at a Quaker meeting might be led to speak; ministry and encounters with Spirit may also occur in silence.

While Quakerism has its roots in Christianity, today we are theist and non-theist, Christian and non-Christian, and grew up in many different faith and cultural backgrounds.

03/18/2022

Crocuses blooming
Pushing up through winter's death
Life and hope reborn

Dear Friends,

I love spring. It is my favorite season, and each year, I eagerly anticipate each new sign of life returning: first the snowdrops, followed shortly by the crocuses and witch hazel. The magnolia buds beckon me to touch the fuzzy scales that protect the underlying blossoms from the still-frosty nights.

This year a serendipitous discovery emboldened me to try something I've long wanted to: tapping maples for syrup. It's been fascinating to check our buckets each day and try to decipher the link between weather and the amount of sap we collect.

Once Clara discovered how little syrup we would get (a few tablespoons), she declared she didn't want to "waste" the sap. Instead, she's been drinking most of it. I feel like there are many lessons here: the tension between being in the moment and thinking ahead; abundance vs richness and depth; the sharing of limited resources. But mostly, I'm just happy to share this new experience with my daughter.

The last few days have been slow sap days. I suspect we may be approaching the end of the maple run. A part of me is saddened by this. But the wiser part of me knows that all is in order. This is part of the natural cycle. I recognize that the short duration is part of what makes maple season special.

This thought causes me to pause. What season of life am I in? What things will be passing out soon, and what will replace them? How can I fully embrace the season I am entering rather than desperately trying to hold on to the one that is passing?

Spring has always been a reminder of hope for me, especially so after moving to New England from the South. After months of frigid darkness and heaps of dirty, road-grimed snow, the first signs of spring are such a welcome reminder that life is resilient.

—What newness is emerging in your life right now? How can you make space for it?

—How can you "tap into" your own vitality or the larger stream of Life in this season?

With love and Light,
Amy

Amy Greene, she/her
Interim First Day School and Youth Programs Coordinator
Friends Meeting at Cambridge
[email protected]

03/12/2022

This Sunday’s Forum will be “How does Continuing Revelation operate in the present moment?”

"The bud disappears when the blossom breaks through, and we might say that the former is refuted by the latter; in the same way when the fruit comes, the blossom may be explained to be a false form of the plant’s existence, for the fruit appears as its true nature in place of the blossom.

The ceaseless activity of their own inherent nature makes these stages moments of an organic unity, where they not merely do not contradict one another, but where one is as necessary as the other; and constitutes thereby the life of the whole."

― Georg Hegel, Phenomenology of Spirit

Please join us! 9:15-10:15am, before Meeting for Worship. Learn more at https://fmcquaker.org/event/forum/2022-03-13/