Sharing the Light: Radical Love for the World 2018 Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting Annual Sessions Sixth Month 2018 Earlham College, Sixth Month 13-17 We hope to see you Wednesday, June 13, through Sunday, June 17, at the 2018 annual sessions! We’ll be back at Earlham College with a full slate of all the things that make annual meeting special. Details are being finalized now — look for updates and registration forms on the OVYM website, www.quaker.org/ovym/. Our theme is Sharing the Light: Radical Love for the World, and our plenary speakers are confirmed: Vanessa Julye and Dwight Wilson. Brief bios follow from Planning Committee: Vanessa Julye, who has visited with OVYM as a guest several times in recent years, is the coordinator for two Friends General Conference programs — its Ministry on Racism Program and Youth Ministries Program. She first worked with FGC as a volunteer in 1994 and has been on staff for the past 11 years. She is well known as the co-author, with Donna McDaniel, of the groundbreaking book “Fit for Freedom not for Friendship: Quakers, African Americans, and the Myth of Racial Justice. She is also the author of “The Seed Cracked Open: Growing Beyond Racism.” Called to racial justice work, she has visited yearly and monthly meetings across the U.S. and Canada as they engage in the struggle with racism and white supremacy. She also spearheaded FGC’s partnership with the annual White Privilege Conference (WPC), seeing the numbers of Quakers attending the annual conference grow from 11 in 2010 to more than 500 in 2016, when the conference went to Philadelphia. Growing up in Philadelphia, Vanessa’s introduction to Quaker worship came in elementary school when a friend invited her to attend a summer Quaker camp. She came back to Friends as an adult when she started working with Friends World Committee for Consultation and found Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, where she and her husband are members. Dwight L. Wilson is a retired educator who spent 41 years as a school professional, including as headmaster of Friends School in Detroit. He also has served as pastor of Friends Meeting in Durham, Maine, and as general secretary for Friends General Conference. (continued page 2) : Greetings from the Clerk EETING Dear Friends I’m delighted to be writing you as spring, albeit with summer temperatures, has finally Betsy burst out. Here in Kentucky, it’s been a cool CIETY OF FRIENDS spring with freezing nights, chilly days, and Neale even snows in April. Nonetheless, we’ve The Quaker Quill The Quaker enjoyed the usual parade of spring flowers – crocus, daffodils, redbud, and now dogwood in full glory. Each year I marvel as these beauties endure cold temperatures. Now that it’s May, we’re not too far away This will be my final year as presiding clerk of from our annual sessions in mid-June. I look OVYM. I’ve enjoyed my term of service to you and forward to seeing many of you. Inside you’ll the yearly meeting. After our sessions I will become find detailed information about our program assistant clerk, and Martha Viehmann will become and guest speakers. If you’re not a yearly our presiding clerk. Martha has been of great OHIO VALLEY YEARLY M meeting regular attender, I hope you’ll assistance to me this year, even filling in for me as consider attending, either full- or part- time, presiding clerk at the April meeting of the Executive this year. Committee so that I could attend Lexington’s OF THE RELIGIOUS SO memorial service for Bo Huff. Long-time attenders of OVYM may remember Bo Huff and Beth Stafford, members of Lexington Friends Meeting, who attended OVYM in the 1980s and 1990s. Beth served as OVYM clerk a number of years ago. Bo was a wise and knowledgeable Friend who guided Lexington Meeting in many ways. He will be dearly missed. I hope to see you at OVYM next month!! Volume 44, Issue 3 (from page 1) Scholars Program, Baltimore Yearly Meeting’s women’s retreat, Earlham School of Religion, the Moravian Seminary He earned a BA in history and sociology from Bowdoin in Bethlehem, PA, Canadian Yearly Meeting, and many more. College and a master’s of divinity from Bangor Theological It’s always rewarding to share this gift of educating and Seminary. He also was awarded an honorary degree in Human inspiring through song, and each time I’m amazed and Reconstruction from Wilmington (Ohio) College. In 1980, humbled by the response of those who participate. Christian Century magazine named him one of America’s Most Influential Religious Leaders. He has served on educational delegations to Spain, Egypt, and China; and has lectured on Q: To what extent has Timeless Quaker Wisdom in religion, peacemaking, leadership, multicultural education, and Plainsong garnered interest beyond Quakers? the Ohio frontier throughout North America. A: This is what’s perhaps most amazing. I never expected He has published religious and educational articles as well as the CD to be of interest beyond Friends; it is so simple and haiku in periodicals spanning the globe. He also has written a sparse. Right when the CD was published, I was reading a fictional series of books inspired by real events, “Esi Was My book by Cynthia Bourgeault called The Wisdom Way of Mother,” that begins in 1795 with the enslavement of a Fante Knowing. Cynthia is an Episcopal priest, scholar, mystic, and couple in West Africa. an international leader in a growing movement of A native of Middletown, Ohio, he and his wife live in Ann contemplative Christians who are re-claiming Christianity as a Arbor, Mich., where they are members of the Ann Arbor Friends religion grounded in the ancient Wisdom ways of inner Meeting. spiritual transformation. Her description of this reminded me In addition to being a plenary speaker for OVYM sessions, so much of early Friends’ understanding of Jesus’ message, he will guide the daily Bible Half Hour each weekday morning at that I felt led to send her a copy of the CD. She responded the FGC 2018 Gathering to be held in Toledo, Ohio. enthusiastically and is now sharing these Quaker chants widely. She invited me to co-lead workshops and retreats An Interview with Paulette Meier about her combining Wisdom spiritual deepening practices with teachings on the spirituality of early Friends; participants have Ministry of Teaching through Song included Quakers and non-Quakers. As a result, I myself have Cecilia Shore been opening up to a new and more welcome understanding Q: Could you explain your ministry as it relates to the collection of Christianity, as have other Friends. (Cynthia says that the of quotations from early Friends that you set to song and recorded Quaker faith is the one Christian religion that “got it right.”) on the CD, Timeless Quaker Wisdom in Plainsong? But simultaneously, I’ve been extremely pleased to witness A: Since publishing the CD with Quaker Press in 2010, I’ve the excitement of non-Quakers as they learn about and discover Quaker faith and practice for themselves. had numerous opportunities to use "the Quaker song-chants” to provide educational presentations about the roots of the Quaker faith. Usually I sing some of the songs solo in a meditative style, Q: You were recently invited to a week-long Wisdom and teach other more complex songs to sing along with in School led by Cynthia Bourgeault in North Carolina with communal chanting style. Between songs, I provide commentary about 200 participants. What is a “Wisdom School” and about the texts, the authors, and the context of the quotes. The was your role there? quotes often provoke additional insights, discussion and personal A: Wisdom Schools are gatherings that Cynthia has sharing about the impact of Quaker spiritual practice on established, based on the 7th century Benedictine model of individuals’ lives. monastic life. The activities of chanting, meditation, doing A recorded CD enables the ministry to travel further than I conscious work together, sharing in small groups, maintaining can. I’ve heard that many Quaker meetings are using it in adult silent times, and listening to Cynthia’s teachings on Christian education programs and even use it in conjunction with worship. mysticism, provide concentrated time for individual spiritual I’ve received many emails from individuals, both Quaker and non deepening in a communal context. I was invited to be a -Quaker alike, telling me the impact of the song-chants on their member of their “music team,” leading chanting throughout lives. Some people say they listen to it every morning on their the week. I opened every morning’s meditation session, way to work as a way to ground themselves in Spirit and others singing one of the Quaker song-chants. I gave a talk about the tell me how it helped them get through personal crises, reminding Quaker way and my story of putting Quaker texts to song, and them to “be still and cool” and to “mind that which is eternal.” also to teach more of the song-chants. Hearing how the words of our founding Quakers, which so inspired me when I first read them years ago, are inspiring others through these songs touches me deeply. Q: What effect do you think that your ministry had? A: Many people told me how my sharing my story, along Q: You’ve had a traveling minute for your music ministry from with stories of early Friends and more about Quaker Community Friends Meeting for a number of years now. Where spirituality, touched them deeply.