Notes from the Field: Quaker Earthcare Witness
QEW Friends out on the bay. photo: B. Ward
In mid-October, the Quaker Earthcare Witness (QEW) Steering Committee held its fall meeting at the Dumas Bay Centre in Federal Way, Washington. Twice a year, the Steering Committee gathers to do business, worship together, learn from each other, and share in fellowship. The meetings are open to all who are interested in Earthcare, whether you serve on the Steering Committee or not. The sessions are a great way to meet others, be inspired others’ stories, and create a supportive community in the face of climate disruption and the isolation so common in our modern world.
At this meeting, we planned our goals for the upcoming six months to foster a creative, Spirit-led movement for the future of the planet and her peoples. By the end of our time together, we felt a renewed sense of urgency, excitement, and joy.
Geeta McGahey speaking at the QEW Steering Committee. photo: B.Ward
SEYM Friends and our representatives have brought a lot of enthusiasm and support to QEW. Mary Jo Klingel, an SEYMer who recently moved to North Carolina, is now Clerk of the Steering Committee. QEW has started working on outreach to other Yearly Meetings to increase participation and awareness of their work, the resources they have to offer, and above all, the urgent need for Friends’ witness on Earthcare.
There are several subcommittees within the Steering Committee, and we spend a lot of time in committee meetings. We have begun a practice of coming together as a whole by opening with Worship Sharing each morning, with queries provided by QEW’s Spiritual Nurturance Committee. These queries may be useful as you discern your work in this movement:
Sixthday morning
- What is our QEW’s most important contribution?
- How can we be more faithful in delivering our messages of the necessity for spiritual transformation in our relationship with the Earth community and Spirit-led action on its behalf?
- How can QEW deepen its roots to nurture and facilitate growth?
Seventhday Morning
- What facilitates our listening to all beings from the heart?
- How do you find paths to share natures’ stories with communities around you?
Firstday Morning
- What language can we use to think and talk about creation that doesn’t set us apart from it?
- How do you appreciate the part each being (including those too small to for us to see) plays in the Community of Life?
- What helps you take the time to see nature’s systems in action as you observe the world around you?
—Beverly Ward, SEYM Field Secretary for Earthcare and QEW Representative
31 Tenth Month 2018
News Note: Beverly has been asked by the FGC Evening Program Committee has to be the sole speaker on one evening of the 2019 FGC Gathering to be held at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. She has accepted on behalf of SEYM and QEW, and asks Friends to hold her in the Light!
Connect with Quaker Earthcare Witness
website: quakerearthcare.org
Twitter: @QuakerEarthcare
QEW is also on Instagram