South Central Yearly Meeting

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

FCNL Spring Lobby Weekend will take place soon. Young people 18-35 are welcome to attend. Sign up for Spring Lobby Weekend, March 25-28, 2023 in-person and online at: https://www.fcnl.org/events/spring-lobby-weekend-2023
Friends, please promote this among young adults in your meeting. Hundreds of young adults...

Friends,

QEW is looking for articles (400 - 600 words), poems, photographs and other creative visual content for the next issue of BeFriending Creation by March 15. Would you like to contribute? Please be mindful of the word count and check with me about your topic before writing the article. Thank you and please let me know if you have any questions or ideas by emailing me directly: hayley@quakerearthcare.org.

Thanks,
Hayley

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

1/19/23
Celebration of Life for Rex Friend
Friday, January 20 @ 10am
First United Methodist Church of Edmond
305 E Hurd St, Edmond, OK 73034
Dress code is cowboy formal, jeans are welcome!
Video stream will be available for virtual attendance. Go to the FUMC YouTube page around 9:55am to join. https://www.youtube.com/@EdmondFirstUMC/streams 
An obituary for Rex Friend can be found at  https://smithandkernke.com/memorialpage_new.asp?id=3189.

1/13/23

News about a memorial for Rex Friend from Friend Don Satterthwaite:
Dear F/friends,
Many of you may be shocked if you have not previously heard about Rex’s passing. We were stunned by the news that Rex passed away suddenly due to a heart attack. Below is the information concerning his memorial service. Rex was a long long-time Quaker, Peace Activist and lawyer in Oklahoma City.
Love & Peace,
Don Satterthwaite

1/7/23
Rex Friend died yesterday morning of an apparent heart attack. Please hold him and his family and friends in the Light. Rex brought so much to South Central Yearly Meeting over the years, especially in his work for justice and peace.

To date there is no news of a memorial. An announcement will be posted here and on the SCYM FaceBook page when we have news. 

12/07/22
We recently heard that Barbara Cowan, a member of Live Oak Meeting in Houston, died Sunday, November 27, 2022. A Memorial Meeting for Worship will be held in the meetinghouse on Friday, 12/16 from 2-4 pm with Chris Drexler as clerk. The family will provide catered refreshments beforehand. An online option is available here.
Meanwhile, here is a lovely vignette about Barbara: [https://www.boblevy.org/p118766921/h40F43A9F#h40f43a9f]