This summer, QVS staff and representatives will be present at virtual Yearly Meeting Annual Sessions across the country! Are you interested in getting to know our staff team better? Are you interested in learning about how Fellows are navigating intentional community building and social justice work during COVID-19 in one of our program cities?
Check out the many links below for upcoming workshops, panels, and more that you can join from the comfort of your home!
QVS at Virtual Gatherings Summer 2020
FGC Gathering: June 27 - July 4
Workshops
- “From SPICES to SSPICEE – Equity as a Quaker value.” Workshop led by Oskar Castro, QVS Director of Equity & Inclusion. Link here.
Description: SPICES are values Quakers agree should guide their movements through the world. It seems implicit that “equity” is embedded within all of these other values, but the culture of white America doesn’t guarantee Friends always have equity on their minds. We’ll discuss ways to integrate equity consciousness into our practice.
Quaker Exhibits and Presentations
- Make sure to check out QVS’s update on the Quaker Exhibits and Presentations page here.
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting: June/July
Workshops
- “Four Roles of Social Change” co-led by Hilary Burgin, QVS Executive Director, & Liz Nicholson, QVS Communications Coordinator. Full workshop description here.
- “Transformative Conflict Through the QVS Lens” co-led by Liz Nicholson, QVS Communications Coordinator, Claire Hannapel, QVS Development Coordinator, & Eli Phillips, QVS Minneapolis Coordinator. Full workshop description here.
Plenary Sessions
- “Membership, Commitment and Belonging” — panelists include Mike Huber, QVS Director of Program. Watch panel recording here.
- “Addressing Racism” — panelists include Oskar Castro, QVS Director of Equity & Inclusion. Watch panel recording here.
Keynote Presentations
- Live spoken word poetry performance by Zenaida Peterson, QVS Recruitment Coordinator, on Thursday, July 30th, at 7pm — more details here.
North Pacific Yearly Meeting: July 22-26
Quaker Fair
- Local Friends Jane Snyder and Janet Jump will present information on behalf of Quaker Voluntary Service at the Quaker Fair at the virtual Annual Session. More details to come, but likely available here.
Piedmont Friends Yearly Meeting: July 24-26
Plenary Session
- Friends Rising to the Challenges: “What opportunities do Quakers find in the pandemic and the current social unrest for creating the world we seek?”
Liz Nicholson, QVS Communications Coordinator, & Hilary Burgin, QVS Executive Director, will lead participants in considerations of our current circumstances and into a framework for how to move forward. The session will combine presentation and smaller group breakout engagement. More info available here.
Southeastern Yearly Meeting: September 22
Workshop
- “Multigenerational Spiritual Relationships” — Mark your calendars for Tuesday, Sept 22 at 7pm. More workshop details coming soon.
Past Event Recordings
PYM Plenary on Addressing Racism (Part 1)
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting invited Oskar Castro to share thoughts on addressing racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion as a corporate ministry. Oskar Castro serves as Director of Equity and Inclusion and the Philadelphia Coordinator. Oskar is also a member of Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting. For part two of this panel, click here.
PYM Panel on Membership
Click the video above to learn from a panel of Friends who consider what membership, commitment and belonging means to them. The panelists include Mike Huber, QVS Director of Program, as well as Howard Cell, a longtime QVS supporter who helped found the QVS Philadelphia program.
FCNL’s Quaker Changemaker Series: “The Future of Quakers”
Click the video above to learn from Marge Abbott and Liz Nicholson about what Friends’ meetings and organizations are doing to help individuals recognize and encourage the inward transformation so essential to growing prophetic ministries. Liz Nicholson served in the 2012-2013 inaugural cohort of QVS Fellows in Atlanta, and has since served as Atlanta City Coordinator and QVS Communications Coordinator.
“I have had a journey of discover along the way — a personal journey, professional journey, spiritual journey… as it relates to what it means to be a person of color who is also a Quaker… how do I fit? do I fit? My coming into this work really is a result of me asking those questions.”
“When [people] turn to the community and say ‘Am I a member?’ They’re not necessarily asking am I qualified to be on the board. What they’re asking is: ‘Am I in the circle? Is there a relationship here that matters? Is there love that connects us in a way that we can formalize somehow so that I can say I’m one of you?'”