2018 SCYM Workshop Summaries
The workshops will give you specific tools through the arts that will encourage you to creatively move forward “to the Light.” Come join us as we make art through clay, collage, writing, movement and music.
FRIDAY: March 30 @ 2:30-3:30 Locations to be assigned on site.
Creating Joy out of Thin Air - Jessica Arjet: In this quick introduction, I will teach how to create adorable balloon animals. You’ll twist, pinch, and tie your way to creating some of the cutest balloons around. It is hard not to be happy when you have a bunch of balloon buddies around.
Teaching Each Other - Peter Blood: We will explore ways we can use adult religious education as a way of strengthening outreach, deepening the lives of our meetings, and spurring prophetic witness by Friends.
Meditative Writing - Tina Coffin: We start with reading a short passage of a meditative, spiritual, or religious nature. After a brief period of personal reflection, the participants are invited to write a short reflection. Did the passage open up new insights, bring delight or exasperation? Where did it take you? Afterwards, those who want to are invited to share what they have written. Bring paper and writing implements.
Qigong (Energy Practice) - Leada Dietz: Would you like to experience an Energy Shower? Send an Inner Smile throughout your system: Dance with Rainbows: Check out the Qigong (pronounced chi-gung) workshop for simple breathing and movement methods to balance your energy and rejuvenate your spirit. The translation of Qigong is “energy practice” and it has been developing with the input of millions of players over thousands of years, mostly in Asia, more recently throughout the world. It ranges from martial arts to chair exercises, all sharing the basic roots of self-aware attention to the breath and the accompanying movements.
Sanctuary Everywhere – Jacob Flowers, AFSC: As a part of our efforts to build communities that offer sanctuary to all in need, join the AFSC to learn how to intervene in public instances of racist, anti-Black, anti-Muslim, anti-Trans, and other forms of oppressive interpersonal violence and harassment. Explore “dos and don’ts” of bystander intervention and consider scenarios for responding effectively. Learn not only how to intervene on the streets, but how to teach and train others on these methods.
Quakerism 101 - Jane Houser: I will present an introduction about how Live Oak Friends Meeting does Adult Continuing Education. A few years ago we realized our tried-and-true curriculum, first introduced by Philadelphia Yearly Meeting in the 1970’s, was a little out of date. Some of the materials were long out of print and did not address current questions. Now we offer a course twice a year, with four to six participants per course, to help them learn about Quakerism and how their experiences build on previous understandings. In this workshop, you can look over materials used at Live Oak and learn how to facilitate presenting the course with some ideas about adjusting it to meet the needs of your meeting.
Beginning Sketching for Fun and Relaxation - Lori Laub: Do you ever feel like you would like to be able to do “just a little” bit of sketching for you own amusement? This workshop is for you! We will be using concepts set forth by Danny Gregory in his book, Art Before Breakfast: A Zillion Ways to be More Creative no Matter how Busy You Are. He says “Art with a big ‘a’ is for museums, galleries and collectors; art with a small ‘a’ is for the rest of us.” This is art with a small ‘a.’ If you have a journal book and a favorite pen or pencil, feel free to bring them, but some paper and pencils will be available. If you are already a good sketcher, feel free to join the fun!
Hand Building Objects with Air-Dried Clay - Joanna Vaughn: Take home something you make! No Grades! High school students and adults invited! I will guide participants through the process of create – destroy – reflect – create again.
SATURDAY: March 31 @ 1:30-2:30 Locations to be assigned on site.
This is Our Testimony to the World (Quaker prophecy) - Peter Blood: What is prophecy? How did early Friends function as a prophetic movement? What impact did they have on 17th century England? Is God calling Friends today to be a prophetic community in the 21st century? What difference could this make in our world today?
Faith and Practice Discernment - John Coffin: This workshop is a chance for Yearly Meeting attendees to engage with members of the Faith and Practice committee. Learn of concerns and hopes about our task of writing SCYM’s Faith and Practice. Loo at some proposed text on certain topics. Be a part of the team that is putting our Yearly Meeting values and practices into words.
Art Dialogue - Rich Corl: This workshop starts with a piece of art. In this case, “Guernica” by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, completed in June, 1937. The painting, which uses a palette of gray, black, and white, is regarded by many art critics as one of the most moving and powerful anti-war paintings in history. Art, like nonfiction books, stores our sense of being human. This workshop uses Queries and Worship Sharing to explore what the artist has stored in it for us.
How Poetry Illuminates the Sacred in Everyday Life - Mark Herranen: We will read several published poems by Joan Chittister and Ron Starbuck that describe their sense of spirituality if different aspects of their lives. Those attending the workshop will have an opportunity to share their poems about spirituality, and to receive feedback about them.
ARCH - Linda Houser: Come and learn about the ARCH Program of New York Yearly Meeting. As a member of Purchase Meeting in New York Yearly Meeting, I will provide information about the Program Aging Resources, Consultation, and Help (ARCH). The ARCH Program of New York Yearly Meeting connects our older and differently abled f/Friends with the care they need. Through individual consultations, workshops, and trainings, ARCH provides resources to help us all cultivate a community of well-supported aging friends. ARCH staff primarily support the work of our network of regional Coordinators and volunteer ARCH Visitors, f/Friends from all corners of NYYM who have attended a weekend training retreat where they learn how to: 1) vigil at the end of life, 2) sharpen active listening skills, 3) complete advanced care directives, 4) locate local aging resources, 5) make a spiritual assessment, 6) set up a care team, 7) and much more.
Photos to Art - Val Liveoak: Using free apps for Android and Windows phones and tablets, we will work with transforming photos into artworks. Bring your device (charged up!) with several photos (portraits, nature, landscapes). Consider downloading and installing “photo art” apps from your app store (Google Play, Microsoft Store). All ages are welcome!
Outdoor Sketching and Water Color - Pen Morrison: Participants will walk out to a location on site, sketch what they see, and then add water color for some nature studies. Materials will be provided but Friends should bring something to sit upon and a reusable water bottle, if you have one. Suitable for any level of drawing skill.
Improvisational Comedy - Neil Redfield: Improv is an art form that requires group creativity, deep listening, and a joyful spirit. Some people have said that an improv troupe could be a model for an ideal society but others just think it is fun. I will guide participants through exercises from my experiences in theater in New York City. Everyone will be moving, playing, and laughing. Supplies? Your body and your playful spirit.
Zentangle - Lois Way: Zentangle is a fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns . . . called “tangles.” Zentangle art is non-representational and unplanned. In creating zentangle images, you likely will enjoy increased focus, creativity, self-confidence and an increased sense of wellbeing. If you think you are not creative, join me in this workshop! Discover through zentangle that an artist does indeed reside within you. Reference books for ideas, paper, pencils and colors will be provided.