NewSPARK York Yearly Meeting The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) Address Service Requested VOLUME 45 NUMBER 3 15 Rutherford Place, New York, NY 10003 MAY 2015 Invitation to Summer Sessions from Sessions Committee Dear friends: 2015 an auspicious year for us: It is the 320th anniversary of the creation of the New York Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. 2015 is also Provided by Silver Bay Association by Silver Bay Provided the 60th anniversary of our becoming a united yearly meeting, approved at Summer Sessions 1955. And finally, 2015 will be the first calendar year during which we will consider and worship The Clerk's Invitation on our shared Leadings and Priorities, approved at our 2014 Summer Sessions. (Find the full text of the Leadings and Priorities online at t is a wonderful marvel how a people such as Quakers can place nyym.org/?q=PrioritiesWorkingGroup.) I such great emphasis on individual experience, and at the same time Given these three historic events, New York Yearly Meeting’s hold our collective experience above all earthly forms of governance. Sessions Committee has chosen to work them together into a theme Friends are familiar with individual leadings that often place for the 2015 Summer Sessions, being held July 19-25, at Silver Bay those Friends who have them in opposition to the greater society at Association. The first two envision statements from our Leadings and large. We understand that any person can experience God’s presence Priorities state: “We Envision a Yearly Meeting Deeply Grounded in directly. And we know that our individual experience of the Divine the Practice of Our Faith” and “We Envision a Yearly Meeting Made carries greater authority than all the laws and governments that might Up of Strong, Vital Monthly Meetings.” While we are all encouraged to otherwise require our obedience. Our individual relationship with God consider the six envision statements as one piece, our theme will be: informs our essential presence in the world. 320 Years, One Faith. But our corporate process guides us as well. We seek to understand 60 Years, One Meeting. what God’s purpose for us might be, and our collective discernment Today, One Vision. draws us closer to Truth. When we each are individually led to unite We hope you will join us in celebrating New York Yearly Meeting, with one another in a shared understanding of God’s purpose, we which is, after all, nothing without our faith and our meetings. We are partake in a collective process and expression of community not often 320 years strong because of you. Thank you. experienced in other settings. It seems a miracle, and perhaps it is. Sincerely, Sessions Committee Being a Quaker can be challenging as we seek to live lives filled with God’s presence in the midst of Steps to Summer Sessions a society that places secular and material pursuits above all spiritual concerns. Quakerism is not simply If you’re a first-timer, find a seasoned • Determine whether you need finan- a once-per-week faith. It’s a full-time way of being in Summer Sessions attender as a mentor! cial assistance; if so, apply following the world. • Read the Summer Sessions pages of the steps outlined on nyym.org or call There is much work to be done in that world. this Spark issue carefully and be sure Helen Garay Toppins in the office at And we have been busy as a Yearly Meeting doing to see additional important informa- 212-673-5750. that work. But we also need time to reflect, and to tion on the Yearly Meeting website, • Register, either online at nyym.org or bathe ourselves in the strengths of our community, www.nyym.org. using the form included in this Spark. our heritage, and our continuing experience of the • Decide your arrival and departure • Send your registration fee to the Divine, both individually and collectively, as we are dates. NYYM office along with your registra- led. Our theme this year invites us to assemble and • Choose your housing preferences, tion form or register and pay at enter into that space of reflection and renewal: page 8. www.nyym.org/?q=donate. 320 Years, One Faith. 60 Years, One Meeting. Information for Summer Sessions begins on page six. Today, One Vision. Around Our Yearly Meeting Albany Meeting Covenant Donation Discussion on the Israeli Friends will appear together –Palestinian conflict at on June 13. t a called meeting on October 5, 2014, members and attenders Genesee Valley Meeting. Addressing racism— A of Albany Friends Meeting took up the request from New York May 31: Deb and Ted First resources for meetings Yearly Meeting to increase our covenant donation by 3.75%. We began of Fredonia Meeting will We now have on our our meeting with a period of silence. We then reviewed the history facilitate. Program runs from website (www.nyym.org/?q= of Albany Meeting’s covenant donations since 1997. After discussing 12:30 to about 2:30 follow- Resources-RacialEquality) the factors that have led the Yearly Meeting to make this request, we ing worship (10-11 am) and materials developed by Phila- turned to questions posed by the clerk: What benefits do we receive Dish-to-pass lunch (11:15 delphia Yearly Meeting for from New York Yearly Meeting? What value does the Yearly Meeting am – 12:15 pm). All welcome use by meetings that want to hold for us? for any portion. Location: consider what they may do to In response to these questions, we identified many benefits that Growing Places Creative address racism, specifically, come to us from NYYM. For ten years we received financial support NY for our summer Peace Week. We also received financial and organi- Learning Center, 14 Battle and “isms” in general. YM St., Dansville, NY. zational help for our Quaker Quest Project. We received spiritual support from NYYM during a time of crisis in our meeting as we Shrewsbury Meeting Notices moved to recognize lesbian and gay marriage. We have deeply appre- celebrates two big ciated the services and assistance to our meeting from the ARCH anniversaries New Members program and the related Committee on Aging Concerns. Members This year, the Meeting has Alexander Douglas Smith and attenders spoke movingly about the insight, inspiration, and been worshipping together Brancato – Jericho information they get from reading Spark. for 350 years and in their Andrew Smith Brancato We also expressed our deep appreciation for other services that current meetinghouse for – Jericho NYYM provides its members. We particularly noted the value of the 200 years. outreach activities of the Young Adult Field Secretary and the William Lyford Brancato support NYYM provides to the youth program at Powell House Flushing Meetinghouse – Jericho and Summer Sessions. Many of the young Friends associated with our the pick-up site for the Rosario DiSalvo – Pough- meeting have benefited from these services over the years. Flushing CSA keepsie We support the work of New York Yearly Meeting commit- Flushing CSA (Community Andrea Herrin – Saratoga tees that articulate our witness on social justice issues (e.g. European Supported Agriculture) is a Jennifer Ilenberg – American Quakers Working to End Racism) and Yearly Meeting repre- volunteer co-operative group Albany sentation on national committees, such as the National Campaign of local Flushing (Queens) Craig Kukuk – Poplar Against Torture. Above all, we wish to support New York Yearly residents working with an Ridge Meeting as the body that can best provide a public witness to our organic farm and JustFood collective concerns. to bring fresh, locally-grown, Felicia Raphael – Catskill After this review of benefits, we enthusiastically agreed to recom- organic produce to the Flush- Tom Ruscitti – Ithaca mend to the October business meeting that we increase our covenant ing community. Paul Stuart – Saratoga donation by the requested amount. Lucy Swift – Cornwall NYYM Friends speak The recommendation was accepted SPARK (ISSN 00240591) to NAACP chapter on Transfers and approved at our October Quakers and slavery business meeting. We do this New York Yearly Meeting News John Lewis, to Ithaca from Published five times a year: April 9, May 14, and June even though our current covenant Abington Monthly Meeting January, March, May, September, 13: At the invitation of the donation is higher than our (Balt YM) November by Edison, New Jersey chapter donation in 2008 and even though New York Yearly Meeting of the NAACP, Jeffrey Aaron Annalisa Raymer, to we have large capital expenses Religious Society of Friends (New Brunswick Meeting) Ithaca from Abington on the horizon. It is our way of 15 Rutherford Place Monthly Meeting (Balt YM) witnessing the importance to us New York, NY 10003 and Jeffrey L. Hitchcock 212-673-5750 of the continued presence and (Rahway & Plainfield Deaths [email protected] Meeting) have done and will work of New York Yearly Meeting. www.nyym.org do several presentations James W. Boice, member We hope that other meetings will Editorial Board: NY on the history of Friends of Bulls Head-Oswego, on share our assessment. YM Communications Committee and slavery as part of the April 2, 2015 Editor’s note: emphasis Editor: Steven Davison chapter’s 2015 Juneteenth John Bunting, member of above was in the original. SPARK deadlines are the first of the Celebration, referring to June Butternuts, on November month preceding the publication 19, 1865, the day that the 10, 2014 month. Permission is granted to Charles E. Carpenter, Jr., About This Issue reprint any article, provided Spark last slaves were informed of is acknowledged as the source. their freedom, two and a half member of Poughkeepsie, Sessions Committee has on April 11, 2015 Periodicals Postage Paid years after it happened; this moved some content previ- at New York, New York took place in Texas.