This is an Epistle from the Portland 2023-2024 House to the incoming Portland Fellows, written during their final retreat:
To the 2024-2025 Portland QVS Fellows:
We are Imani, Salem, Samantha, and Tas. Our end of year retreat hasn’t quite gone according to plan, as we are writing to you from a zoom screen. COVID has been going through our house at an inopportune time and yet it feels representative of some of the themes that have occurred during our year and the lessons we are taking with us. We are reminded our year has been weaved with perseverance, challenges (particularly at some of our site placements), and adapting to change, alongside themes of spontaneity, trying new things, and a shared, collective respect for rest. While we would have greatly preferred an end of year retreat in which we could all be together exploring Bend and Crater Lake, it hasn’t stopped us from reflecting on the important parts of our year together that we would like to share with you.
From the beginning, we supported each other in trying new things. Each of us not only found different communities for ourselves outside the house that represent the different interests in our house, but also supported each other in doing so. We attended stand-up comedy shows Imani performed at, sang at Labor Church Salem started, tried a game of D&D with Samantha, and took trips to Mt. Tabor with Tas! We were able to recognize that all of us are pretty different people, but instead of that being a source of conflict, we have been able to celebrate these differences.
Reflections on our differences:
Our myriad different activities and communities we are a part of did make it difficult sometimes to find time for each other. There were times when our schedules conflicted and it was hard to connect. However, this created space for spontaneity in our community, such as sometimes finding all of us sitting in the living room and deciding to have a chat, going on an unexpected walk together, spending time while preparing dinner, or hanging out on the porch on a nice day. We took advantage of being present in the moment and looked for opportunities to do small acts of care for each other. Whether that looked like Tas always making tea for folks, Samantha making time to drive people around seemingly nonstop, or listening to each other in the moment about what’s going on in their world, life, or simply during their day, we tried our best to seize these moments of connection that have made up our community.
These communities we became a part of increased our resiliency when facing some of the challenges we experienced at our site placements. Some of those challenges included white supremacy culture present in our workplace, an anti-union attitude, and policies impacting human autonomy around our bodies. It was a special experience to witness the city of Portland stand together meanwhile significant and unfortunate policy changes for many communities affected their safety and bodily autonomy, including reproductive health. Oregon continues to be a safe haven for many as their safety is supported by the law more than in some other places, although protections were weakened this year with the repeal of measure 110 and the Grants’ Pass Supreme Court ruling. In our experience, we had the chance to meet with folks who relentlessly worked for their community and beyond to create a safe space for them. Another event that impacted the Portland community was the conflict between Israel and Palestine; Salem witnessed firsthand the Refaat Alareer Memorial Library campus protest for Palestinian human rights, leading him to write the “Lentil Curry Song” (on Spotify).
Having a creative outlet to process hard days at work strengthened our perseverance during challenges at our workplaces, within our community, and even within the greater Portland community. Samantha and Salem sometimes recharged by doing fiber arts together in the basement, and Tas could often be found practicing painting or calligraphy. Imani crafted jokes and different members of our house helped them workshop the jokes and delivery.
In January, Portland had an “Icepocalypse” that turned our power off when it was freezing temperatures outside. Although our power was only out for the day (we were one of the lucky ones), we didn’t know at the time how long our power would be out for. Because of our perseverance and our adaptability, we were able to use the opportunity to play games and spend candlelit time with each other. We stayed almost the entire day at the house as the temperature dropped, but headed to a local Quaker family’s home for heat and a warm meal, and some affection from two of the hugest dogs we’d ever met. It’s important to advocate for yourself and others when there are needs you have rather than just trying to “tough it out.”
This is one example of how our interactions with the Quaker community in Portland have added to our experience of this program, in both very lovely and very imperfect ways. We appreciated the LSC’s support throughout the year, through their willingness to share supplies with us, their hospitality when our power went out during the ice-storm, and their invitations to dinner! Sometimes, invitations from local Quakers felt overwhelming, and we discussed our boundaries as a house and made sure not to accept invitations we didn’t have capacity for. In addition, although local Quakers have generally approached us with good intent, they (and Quakerism as a whole) are imperfect, and make mistakes or express uncomfortable ideas from time to time. We leaned on our house community to process these imperfect experiences. It’s okay, and even helpful, to get together afterwards and laugh about that weird thing someone said at Meeting for Worship, or talk about why something was hurtful.
Through discussing and setting our boundaries, we became unified on a shared value: prioritizing and respecting rest as a reminder for each other to take time to recharge. Sometimes this looked like Imani telling Samantha to go to bed instead of cleaning, or Samantha reminding Salem that he can work from home from time to time. We recognized that everyone holds collective and personal responsibilities, and choosing to prioritize rest over obligation can be a valid option. Rest was also experienced as individuals through occasional trips to visit family (Turkey, Boston, Minnesota, Los Angeles) and as a collective by creating art.
In the beginning, we started as strangers at Pendle Hill learning each other’s names, pronouns, and preferences for living together. We got weird with Portland and consumed lots of vitamin D supplements. We laughed, cried, fell down the stairs, and ate a lot of stir fry. Overall, we worked together to create a space where people could feel the freedom to be themselves. We wish the best to you all as you create memories, face challenges, and build a community of your own this year.