South Central Yearly Meeting

5/29/23
Jan Michael writes:
Susan Garzon passed away peacefully at home Sunday night from breast cancer.  It is still early so plans have hardly been discussed, but I think a memorial in Stillwater for friends and colleagues would be appropriate, and another sometime in Iowa where we both have family. SCYM Friends can check here for news about the memorial meeting which will be posted here when a decision has been made. 

5/18/23
Please hold Sue Garzon and Jan Michael in the Light for the best possible outcome as Sue spends her last days, weeks, months, in hospice care with Jan a steady presence at her side.

5/3/23
Betty Richardson, of Live Oak Friends Meeting (Houston), died April 18, 2023 after a long struggle upper respiratory issues made worse by COVID. Please hold Mitch and the whole family in the Light as they grieve their loss and celebrate her life. 
The memorial service will be on May 20, 2023 at 7:30 PM at Live Oak Friends Meeting: 
1318 West 26 Street,
Houston, TX 77008.
The time will coincide with sunset and a skyspace viewing. 
To join Online please go to Betty Richardson Memorial Link. 

4/20/23
Betty Richardson, of Live Oak Friends Meeting (Houston), died April 18, 2023 after a long struggle upper respiratory issues made worse by COVID. Please hold Mitch and the whole family in the Light as they grieve their loss and celebrate her life. 

4/5/23

Friends meeting at the first business session of 2023 Annual Sessions requested we hold the following Friends in the Light:

Betty Richardson, (LOFM) who has been dealing with COVID since January 19.
Sally Bishop Merrill (RGVM) died in late March. hold her family, especially her son Noah Merrill
Sue Garzon, (SMM), who is dealing with cancer
Margaret Britain (Fayetteville Monthly Meeting) whose mother, Dolores Mead, is at the end of her life
Jean Sizemore, (LRMM),
Nelly Prescott 
Denise Wilkinson, (FMSA)
The caregivers of these Friends

3/24/23
Please hold Betty Richardson in the Light! She has been in the ICU battling a lung infection for weeks now. You can let Betty and Mitch know you are holding them in the Light for the best possible outcome on the SCYM Facebook Page.

Sally Merrill, former attender at Rio Grande Valley Worship Group, died unexpectedly March 22, 2023 just after moving to a retirement community in Ohio. Please hold Volker Imschweiler, her companion for many years, her son Noah Merrill Baker, Yearly Meeting Secretary of New England Yearly Meeting, his brother, and her whole family in the Light as they grieve her loss and celebrate her life. Volker regularly attends Friends Meeting of Austin via Zoom. 

Dear SCYM'ers:

The first draft of our SCYM Faith and Practice is now ready for your review. There will be a workshop at 2023 SCYM Annual Sessions in which Friends can ask questions of the committee and bring suggestions for editing. We will not be asking for a decision to adopt this as our Faith and Practice at this time. 

Friends should know that this document has been a long time coming with the work of many Friends. Let us express gratitude to the committee that has worked hard to bring it to us and the many others who participated in this process along the way.

Now it is all of our responsibility to review it and discern if it reflects the faith and practice of the meetings in South Central Yearly Meeting. See the SCYM Faith and Practice draft here. 

John Coffin, Committee clerk
Little Rock Friends Meeting

Oklahoma/Arkansas Quarterly Meeting celebrated Tina Coffin's long years publishing The Carillon at their Quarterly Meeting this fall. Two members of the Quarter, LaDeana Mullinix and Sue Garzon, wrote new lyrics to a familiar tune to celebrate. 

Tina's Song

Former Houston native and Quaker activist, J.E. McNeil prides herself on her ability to bridge the regional, cultural, and political divides in the United States—the ability, as she puts it, to speak both NASCAR and NPR. So she created a program that teaches others how to communicate with people of different ideological persuasions. As she says, "You can't start persuading people until you're actually communicating." 

Watch the video here.

If you don't already know about Quaker Speak Videos, this is great time to view this one and others. You can find the whole archive of videos here. 

Friends Peace Teams Announcements and Upcoming Events: 

Upcoming Events

• Roots of Injustice (TRR) Online: Jan 22 or Feb 11, Sun 2-4pm Mountain
• Meet the Javanese Team: Fri, Feb 24, 6:30p Eastern for Power of Goodness and 8:30pm Eastern for Visitation.
• Indian Boarding Schools… Online, Mar 14, Tue 9:15pm Eastern 
• FPT Annual Gathering, May 4-7, Westtown Friends School, Register Now! (yes all are welcome)
• Paula Palmer interview

Friends Peace Teams In Ukraine:

FPT has been working with Ukrainians since 2014 supporting internally displaced

To Friends Throughout the United States:  

Greetings in the Spirit of Love.  

We write to share with you an “Urgent Call to the Religious Society of Friends” concerning the current extensive threats to our U.S. democracy. We are led to speak out against the lies, extremist movements, and anti-democratic actions that are the opposite of our Quaker understandings of integrity and Truth.   This Call was prepared by a group of nineteen Friends.

We encourage your prayerful discernment of this “Urgent Call” and ask you as individuals, monthly meetings, yearly meetings, and Friends organizations to consider how you might be called to act with integrity in response to these concerns. 

Read the Urgent Call
Join the Conversation at quakercall.net 

Join Friends in Moscow for Daily Worship for Ukraine

9:00AM Pacific / 10AM Mountain / 11AM Central