WIBM & Michener Lecture Highlights

About 40 people gathered in person and online for Winter Interim Business Meeting on Saturday, January 20th, and over 100 attended the Michener Lecture on Sunday, January 21st. Orlando Friends, as they do every year, hosted these events, providing delicious breakfasts and lunches.

Several committees met Saturday morning. After lunch, and before our business meeting began, we had a Meeting and Worship Group forum, where we learned:

Clearwater Friends feel a lot of spirit, engaging in activism and enjoying potlucks. A fun project is putting Quaker books in Little Libraries.

Deland Worship Group’s book giveaways of banned books and Black history books have had an impact. People across the country have donated books and funds. People have hugged them and asked them to ‘please do this again.’ For Deland Friends, words cannot express the depth of gratitude, the spirit, and the energy that doing this has brought to their Worship Group. Book giveaways are not hard to organize; the SEYM Committee for Ministry on Racism is sponsoring a workshop on how to do book giveaways at the Yearly Meeting Gathering.

Orlando Meeting has several new attenders, including families. They now have 10 children! They are implementing suggestions from their Visioning Session, including having more time for music, and tabling at events. They did a book giveaway at Black Joy Day in Orlando; they quickly ran out of books. Jerry Knutson will be leading a series of workshops on Rooting your Worship & Life in the Spirit on 4th and 5th Sundays. 11:45 am. SEYM Friends are welcome to join; see the SEYM eNews for details.

St. Petersburg Meeting has a few new young adult attenders.

Rise of worship on Sunday

Business Meeting highlights included:

Field Secretary for Earthcare Beverly Ward will be leading a series of Zoom events on how we, as a community, can better respond to extreme events.

Friends decided that SEYM would accept FGC’s invitation to serve as a co-host yearly meeting for the FGC 2025 Virtual Gathering. Susan Taylor and Liz Dykes will be looking for just a few volunteers to do the work that this would require.

The Committee for Ministry on Racism will be sponsoring two workshops at Yearly Meeting; one will be an intergenerational workshop about where cultural differences intersect with and racism and gender discrimination, and the second workshop will be on how to do a banned book giveaway. The committee encourages Friends to see The Best of Enemies, now on Netflix; and also to read In Six Words and visit the website, The Race Card Project.

The Treasurer’s report was summed up in two words: “Send money.” SEYM is running a deficit as contributions from meetings and worship groups have lagged. Some meetings don’t know what all SEYM does and offers. Friends shared thoughts about reaching out and visiting meetings we haven’t seen in awhile. Friends also emphasized the important role of monthly individual donations. You can donate here>

Friends discerned at some length a description, or “mission” for the Ad Hoc Quaker Call Committee. This group will be focusing on concerns relating to education.

The WIBM minutes will be posted here soon.

On Sunday, January 21, Ann Jerome presented the Michener Lecture, Let It Burn: A Call for Attention to the Fires of Our Faith. Ann related that she had heard many Friends express their fears that Quakers are dying out, but had also heard many share their excitement about new, creative possibilities. Using the extended metaphor of a forest fire — how it clears out deadwood, makes space for new growth, and is necessary for the survival of ecosystems — Ann led us in understanding that our roots are strong, and where we are now holds opportunities for renewal.

Ann Jerome with the Worship & Ministry Committee