Pages tagged "Community Building"

In your Quaker meeting, you may have experienced events similar to these: a Friend doesn’t want to be on a committee with another Friend due to a past conflict; two Friends complain about a third party, whom they find to be impossible (yes, it does happen); a Friend speaks up in business meeting about a conflict that is going on, and no one responds or takes any follow-up action.

Dear Western Friend: I can't tell you how much it means to me to be able to join Quaker meetings for Sunday worship! As a relatively Isolated Quaker at the Oregon coast, your easy website connection, not only for my home meeting of Eugene Friends, but for many meetings, is such an anticipated delight now on First Days. I look forward to it all week and relish being able to see Friends I haven't been in physical proximity to for years. I also appreciate the Extra! Extra! that comes out to keep up with other Quaker events and concerns. I can only hope that other Isolated Quakers who are scattered throughout the West will take advantage of the unique opportunities presented to us by the current requirement that virtually everyone must practice physical distancing. I wish this kind of Friendly connectivity for Isolated folks could continue, way beyond when this virus fades and we are back to normal life. We Isolated Friends will need other Quakers then, as well as now. Thanks to Western Friend for doing this extra work during our time of physical distancing. You continue to be a blessing to us all as you continue to fulfill your mission of bringing Friends in the West together – now through Zoom!

The coronavirus pandemic marches through its surges and plateaus, changing with congregating behavior, pandemic fatigue, and doubts about the seriousness of Covid-19 disease. At this writing in January, new virus variants are appearing with mutations that increase the efficiency of transmission, which means more deaths. The more transmission there is, the more the virus will mutate to escape immunity. The history of influenza is repeating itself. The distribution of two effective Covid-19 vaccines is far short of demand at this time. Even though production and distribution are solvable, practical problems, they are not getting the resources necessary. While cosmetics production remains at full strength in the U.S., vaccine supplies depend on imports. While the country continues to manufacture obsolete fighter jets, it has not built nursing schools to meet our pressing need for healthcare workers over the last fifty years.

As I sit in Quaker silence, my mind roams back over the wild places I know – icy cold snow falling all around me at a favorite mountain lake, trees I have held and spoken with, and vistas where my gaze enfolds itself into the hills and valleys far off and far below. Wilderness speaks itself deep in my soul. The untamed beauty of coastal shores and mountains run through my body and connect me to an energy bigger than myself. And though I don’t know what this energy is, I continue to step back towards it, wanting to find out.