La Hasta Aurora
See these words when you lie down and when you rise up…
Imagine winning. This is your sacred task….

Story telling troupe
At home behind the mask
individual and systemic oppression

Been to Gaza a couple times

Jeff Kissling Iowa?
Meteor meeting past weekend
Father died two weeks ago
Playground equipment Bear Creek Meeting

Carol
3 weeks after the flu
parents TX to Iowa last 3 days
saying rosary every day in car
Sarah Thomas Mennonite minister
peace team
chicago exec dir
MLK 50th death anniv now
How to bear witness in difficult situations
Program in Burlington
“Bridges out of poverty”
Become like us middle class people?!
Middle class assumption that everyone wants to join our class
3 african amer family
generational as well

Chris Moore Green St Mtg Phil
Bldg Mgr Friends Ctr
Busy lately
Loved the poem
Need to keep that imagination and vibrant love for life alive

Group was slow to get started
Every Murder is Real EMIR
Quaker Speak video
dynamic caring person
run ctr in Germantown area of Phil
Want to step up and walk this path with them and families they serve
Regulating firearms to reduce homicides
Organizing a school supplies drive
85 children participating in pgms

Jeff:
part of 2 groups
in Indianapolis
pulled in by phone
Here in Bear Creek native amer affairs
10 yrs w/local conservation board
prairie awakening
Funding in jeapardy
Friends of Prairie Awakening group
7-8 native americans, in circle, rock in middle
how much experience the rock had had, lit candle, 5-7 mins silence
Reducing fossil fuel use aim
urges friends to focus on using bicycles

Lori Kamala Sanctuary Everywhere work
w/UU’s Boston UU association
& UUFC
Real need anti racist efforts much like SCM
Church world svd, CIVIC, other orgs
Kickstarter for SCM groups
Six webinars
Groups to come together as groups
Anti-racist practice
1Changing systems, changing ourselves
Looking at yourself as life fragility
2Accompaniment
3Case studies
One eve how to apply the practice
congregational
court and ICE accompaniment
prison and detention a
May – Aug 3/6 sessions
Want groups to register

Hope Quaker Cohort emerges to join our cohort
Ministry part:
that’s what makes this different
companionships, acccompaniment, ministry
How do you think about ministry part?

Chris:
w/covenant helped transform it for group

Are you really gonna deliver and stick with us?

Jeff:
IN part, person will describe spiritual journey /month
SCM like mini spiritual journey
What kind of ministry would be seen by group we accompany
Hadn’t brought up SCM w/groups we accompany
Sort of an interview to see if we fit into their community
There’s that of God in everyone in room
learned so much from them ; they said they learned a lot from us

Relationship based models hard but incredibly rewarding
Enormous and valuable ministry AFSC
QSCM is really trying to bring to mtg level
AFSC experiences to the Meetings
Relationship stuff is at the heart of it; to group and
companioning, take a lot of time

Jeff:
was involved w/FCNL heavily years ago
Now seems to work for change at local level
Container and scope seems more do-able
Very moved by Prison Activists
Mvt to end incarceration in Phil
Direct support,
got a state legislator most progressive DA in state now
to end life w/o parole
built over time, led by people who’re incarcerated
power of relationships really important

Group Formation on agenda
Helping to bond
what obstacles you’ve encountered
New groups: racial development
stages of development,
one day retreat option
development of group –
trust conflict commitment accountability and results
Worthwhile to talk about with group
where are we? how can we stay together
Rev. Janet Dugens? Beloved community
MLK dream to i
only love of God powerful enough to bring people together
At core of this, is what we practice

Carol:
Still trying to figure out how to be a group
Mtg is husband, myself, 3 attenders
Peace rallies or have… doesn’t seem to evolve with this group
How to live your faith is exemplified in this model
Removed from functioning Quaker Mtg
my challenge

Lucy: Idea of this webinar series…
Way to jumpstart group formation

Jeff:
Struggle with small numbers too
dozen each Sunday, have known each other whole life

Lucy: SCM whetting people’s appetite of different way of being

QSCM Cohort Call
Nov 14, 2017 5:30PM PST

Check-ins:
Phil Newberry OK City Mtg
Doing well mtg & self
More passive support from some members

Paul Hammer New Haven Friends Mtg CT
Sunday session about leadings
concerns that haven’t risen to level of leadings
individual’s leadings how to support each other in them
Fairly small worship meeting don’t know what each other
are doing
Recycle bicycles in CT

Carol Bartle
A bit challenged in meeting of 6 worship group
community garden
thurs eve peace vigil

Arthur:
Leadings workshop down the road
happy to share resources

Shan Cretin at Quarterly Mtg Fall Fellowship
Nogales AZ Border Watch w
Mary and Jim Summers
Synchronicities: Rev. Deborah Lee, others doing detention immigration visitation

Need help moving towards accompanying a group
Business Mtgs often caught up in other issues

Viv?
No longer with Committee for racial healing and wholeness
Every murder is real healing center
Quaker X group variation of SCQM model
Philadelphia Yrly Mtg work with/some fed up with

Getting bogged down in business – other groups similar experience
in fact what we’re doing is part of the work
Building relationships so that when we fall we’re there for each other

Lucy Duncan
Green St Mtg & Quaker X
Lots of running around before call, not as focused as hoped
Phil elected most progressive DA in country
mass incarceration mvt, 74% of vote
canvassing
mvt bldg that builds up political power
“incarcerate” group to get families out doing organizing & canvassing
Ex prisoners actually having used political position to make change
Relationships are the foundation
how to build resilient community
Local activism led by people most impacted way to shift political landscape

Tonight talk about accompaniment:
Reading some things from SCQM manual
How to do well
find group to accompany
support each other

“Doing social change as companioning”
1 on 1 as well as group
companioning is being present without trying to take away the pain
going to the soul without being responsible for
listening with heart w/o —- head
w/o judgement act of listening
not about leading with expertise and solutions
gift of sacred silence w/o filling w words
being still w/0 frantic mvt
learning from others before teaching them
cultivating curiosity w/o expertise
context of hospice

Quotes:
1 Chris Pratt? Follwership
coming to Philly this wkend
white anti racist organizer UU
standing on side of love
thousands of UUs participating in black lives matter
bringing spiritual leadership
empowered followership
providing food
free space for meetings at church
sharing actions with ntwk of community and families

paulo fiere
Oppressed class joining
airs of expectation
lack of confidence in people’s ability to think and organize
because of bkgd don’t trust their ability

Tamarie Day
Anti Racism liberation and justice
Rev James Lawson follow the lead of people of color
white end up wondering how to get blacks to join them
better to listen and participate to learn how to support
formation of relationships of sufficient trust
relationships of accountability and mutuality

Sympathetic to problem Arthur mentioned:
how we’ve addressed problem
Stillwater:
When we got involved with people arrested on non-violent charges or false charges
couldn’t put off until biz mtg
formed own committee and raised our own money
small group of dedicated people
wasn’t bldg political power
direct involvement with victims
moved to OK City
When allotted time in mtg for biz exceeded
Not always
urgent uses worship time
marginalized guy
didn’t have clothes for job interview
ended up paying us back
arrested for traffic ticket
job he got will be lost if he doesn’t get to it
OK Mtg not like Phil or LA
but if a few supportive, response possible
Group supports our leadings
know we’re sincere and cautious
another group wasn’t as responsive
can’t wait a month when people suffering

Paul:
We have diverse interfaith immigrant rights & sanctuary group
Quakers in New Haven taking supportive role
individual initiatives others have started
Greatest things to happen from interfaith
Yale Law Immigrant Bail Fund started
to help immigrants in detention
Embraced by interfaith group
practical aspect to it
Our Mtg meagre funds in P&SC budget
individual members & attendees very generous
Hope to see same sort of fund crop up all over country
Don’t see Quakers as having leadership role, but supporting
Pastor Rabbi and Imam together

Lucy: Other thoughts: How to find groups or learn companioning work?

A lot of the stuff we talk about sounds like buying people out of trouble
follow cases, look at arrest logs, 90% of cases we follow we end up talking and
offering sympathy, what to expect legally, drawn out process confusing, try to offer sppt
and assure support
Most of time no opportunity to interfere to positive end
Showing up helps
People with personal experience
SE OK City started off, not birkenstock liberal professors
bunch of nuts in OK City – several done drugs in past
respecting people’s boundaries
can’t show up thinking you have answers
attention to injustice of it appreciated

Lucy:
think really notable
encounters really change us

Look into: Immigrant Bail Fund in CT
OK – immigration stuff 0% success rate

2 year stays best accomplished New Haven
A lot of good PR
Yale Law Professors with students helping them

Lucy
interviewed Ingrid Latour
peru woman in sanctuary in mountainview friends mtg
court date
false papers fraudulent meant deportation
governor didn’t pardon
about to be deported
went back into sancuary
this has to change massive economic resistance
AFSC does legal representation
landscape of situation people getting deported
Figuring out both ends of affected individual
So powerful in terms of narrative
am I figuring out how to choose a group to accompany
not just supporting affecting individuals
congregational sanctuary one way to do that

Boycotts and strikes needed economic impact
Maybe bring representatives to your group to present on their projects

QSCM Topics you would like?

Electoral Politics
How to empower ourselves in that area

Maybe invite a guest for next call
stories about organizations building political power

Langston Hughes poem
“I look at the world”
I look at the world
From awakening eyes in a black face—
And this is what I see:
This fenced-off narrow space
Assigned to me.

I look then at the silly walls
Through dark eyes in a dark face—
And this is what I know:
That all these walls oppression builds
Will have to go!

I look at my own body
With eyes no longer blind—
And I see that my own hands can make
The world that’s in my mind.
Then let us hurry, comrades,
The road to find.

-Langston Hughes

SCQM Call 2017_10_24

Highly relationship based model – getting to know each other
healing brokenness in our world through healing our relationships

Lucy: Emergent Strategy by Eleanor?…Brown
Ruckus Society
Practicing with each other the change we’re trying to build in the world
not only intellectually but in our living experience

with communities we’re trying to support
tasting justice, what a transformed world is like

Spiritual practice to be fully present

Stories – to share difficult moments
Check-ins

Accompaniment
Congregations having hard time listening to voices of those housed in their church building
family understood they were collecting money for them,
church had a different understanding
Takes time to learn how to do this

Chris Lerner? Green Street in Philadelphia
how to bring this to our core group?

Feguson attenders, elders helping them afterwards
heard about the model, and it seemed like a good fit for accomplishing this
Members mentoring children of color – seemed like good group to accompany
1 – purpose to draw in people who don’t consider themselves activists

• how much we wanted the meeting as a whole to work together, rather than individuals
  17 of 30+ people joined

Lucy: individual invitations – personal will matter here

Getting Started:
Formation: worship groups and meetings, integration, sanctuary,
Santa Fe/Alb area –

Completely organic formation
Stillwater OK mtg p&sc committee
Sppt of general group
Bailing people out of jail, etc, people got cold feet
started raising own money
snowballed after taken to OK City; case a month
more serious cases

Powerful enough work that made people uncomfortable
model made to make it safe to take risks
CO woman about to be deported taken into congregation in face of ICE

Jeff- sustaining the group a bit of struggle
KI community accompanying
announcements
regularly scheduled combined meeting with group we’re accompanying helped

Recognizing everyone in group has different gifts
can’t expect somebody who’s never been in court room to deal with that process
some don’t deal well with prison visits
others amazing; we’ve put up people at our meetinghouse, caretaking, being there
unified effort, but if spiritually grounded all will be led to different areas
Defense attys weren’t necessarily as helpful as those with no legal bkgd

Formation of the covenant

Accompaniment:
Jeff: Kepper Institute relationship
Ten Yr old community started with couple & their child
purposely didn’t let parents know he needed summer school until too late to attend
father made him stay with him then,
youth mentoring started from that
big environmental focus rain barrel system
youth mentoring empowerment
Michelle Alexander’s New Jim Crow

Only place in Indiana was Kepper Institute
Taught kids about computers as programmer,
expecting to teach them coding
kids of color were needing to know he was somebody they could trust
Quakers try not to take credit for things they haven’t done
underground railroad
that of God in everyone – you, and you, and you…. they lit up
Don’t talk about religion with the community; social justice, construction projects, etc

Accompaniment focus of next call
4th Tuesday of month? does it work for you?
Doodle poll
let Lucy know if anyone would like to share a poem

QSCM Call March 16, 2017

Lucy Duncan
Dir Friends Relations Green St Mtg
Founder of Quaker X experiment

Well spiritually; deeply connected to others planting seeds exciting to me
open political movement horrifying & opportunity for transformation

Rhonda fairfield friends Indiana
down about WA depths of despair before we can rise up

Alice Marion Mtg Marion, PA
understand both feelings proud of amount of objection about things going on
Daughter from Tucson to DC for Women’s March also Phil march inspiration
frustrated from responses in congress & senate
lies and lack of response
focus on things showing promise of change

Jed Kissling Indianapolis No Meadow Friends QSCM there
accompanying partner Kippner institute inner city black youth mentoring
Kodak pipeline resistance here
Canadian Americans contact changed my spiritual life

Jane Westburg Miami Meeting
up & downs news – budget – bouyed up by ACLU presentation
young people getting involved I’m in 70’s
terrified about deportations
not only undocumented kids scared
documented worried about what’s happening to their friends

Agenda:
spiritual practice of the meeting – share & give advice
another share of how meeting is going

more about accompaniment
how to center people partnering with
Sanctuary Everywhere and Congregational Sanctuary

Jeff N. Meadow – Spiritual Practice part
surprised to see
beneficial for group
spiritual and religious experiences some members had
Buddhism experience shared
Visualization techniques that are pretty interesting

Very important to focus only on small group beliefs into action group
racism issue
read with group from Presbyterian Group helpful
Radnor mtg works with Methodist church taking in immigrants who feel threatened
Reaching out in that fashion important
Msg from PA Council of Churches ministry of public witness
Burks County Sheriff announced plans to deputize sheriffs as ICE agents
Council of Churches resisting inspiring hoping for their success

Jane Miami
woman on call not here yet
ad hoc committee focusing on immigration

Lucy: lots of urgency
being willing to meet the need that exists is powerful and humbling
when we tend for one another it makes a huge difference
I’m a both and person

Quaker X experiment we’re doing similar to QSCM
spiritual connection and practice and doing action
close & been together a while
have covenant
use check-ins
grapple with difference in the group spiritual difference in group

Rhonda Fairfield Indianapolis
Social Justice Committee formed a couple years ago
personal challenges
interest in this

Jeff – half meeting attended
avg 7-10 people

Arthur – 4, 7, 8 people

Marion – 5 people in attendance
focus on problems w/in meeting
reaching out to be aware what’s going on in the area

Pedro Rios
Naima Lowe
Lucy – Sanctuary Everywhere?

Lucy: Every murder is real victoria green’s group
different from accompaniment
anti-gentrification coop anchor in neighborhoods providing low income housing
figuring out what leading of group is very critical

Woman:
8-9 of us
one lady could be deported any moment
S. FL interfaith justice group
Meeting w/UU and Catholic Priest, Episcopalians
trying to support each other; rick of burnout so great,
trying to ground in spiritual practice
school bd mtg undocumented people
agreed to take further steps to protect students
superintendent over my dead body will ICE take students

County Mayor not so helpful
on Valentines day they made hearts he had broken their hearts by caving to Trump

Keep PA in prayers – they’ll march Saturday war on immigrants inappropriate
Reading has thousands of immigrant families
hispanic and spanish speaking

Rhonda Nsink? Marion = I’m from Reading, PA
appalled to hear about what’s happening there
they could start shipping out thousands

Accompaniment:
core value of QSCM
immigration policy or police brutality
trying to be ally for friend being targeted
spiritual discipline to step back and really follow her lead
instead of trying to be in charge of it
take step back and take guidance of person in middle of storm

ALB inner mountain mtg
took family into their meeting house
best practice is to make it very public
uprooted from her home processing what was happening
learning who was there
getting ready to be public about it
press conference about it
powerful witness

From Monterey CA
Woman
Gaza Unlocked

Carol out of Burlington
Issues of race going on
Chamber of Commerce we have to pay attention to people’s social economic resources
poverty significant
School locked down last fall
crime on uptick along Mississippi River
Solid for most part
African American Minister in town –
undesirables Chicago blacks to Iowa for system then take $ to IL
he confronted Chamber of Commerce director
He wasn’t going to be race-baited
water fountains called colored and white in his perspective

Lucy:
I’ve found friendships with people of color
my experience so vastly different
housemate african american
racism: deeper than what they’re talking about
white people as good, to really be with people, taking off their lenses

Sanctuary Everywhere
18 congregations in US
2 are quaker
call every week from meetings wanting to do congregational sanctuary
Need for taking active role is going to grow
on afsc.org/sanctuaryeverywhere
in schools
policy things and how to do them
need is growing and AFSC is supporting meetings and hoping we can share

Sanctuary in the Streets
Phil originated these
services to interrupt ICE raids
create church on street
can give more info – let me know

Ingrid still there Mountainview – UU in Denver
Maybe talk about it next call

First call of new cohort of Quaker social change ministry

Dear Ones,

Here is our agenda for tonight’s call (7 pm ET), call in details below.

Worship
Poem read by Lucy (The Great Turning)
Check in/go round – How are you spiritually, what are your hopes for participating in QSCM? Advice and stories about forming the group – Lucy and those from experienced groups Report back on status of groups/questions
Spiritual grounding – importance of the first hour, structure
Accompaniment – thoughts and reflections
Thoughts on this moment and how to find our place – Lucy and group
Worship

(If you would like some other item on the agenda, please speak up at the beginning of the call)

Blessings, Lucy

Maine
Kansas
Central Philadelphia Quaker X
Houston Live Oak Friends Meeting

Poem: The Great Turning by Christian Fry
Check-ins how are you spiritually?
Hopes for participating in SCM
Lucy Duncan Friends Relation 6 yrs in job AFSC
Wing St Mtg Quaker X founder anti-racism?
spiritually: pain of oppression coming at us
at the crisis
what we were born for
to fight for individual and collective life on the planet
great seriousness and gravity impossible w/o joy
falling in love w/somebody grief & joy
excited for QSCM
core building blocks for change we want

Thai Amrit?
daughter sleeping on chest
Lawrence, KS
youth minister @
manhattan KS uCC church
spiritually 2 jobs & 1yr old & in school
not much time, spiritually suffered quite a bit
comedic podcasts
black lives matter involved in Lawrence
anti-spirituality dynamic hard to deal with

Maya Beal from Maine
not a Quaker, grew up in PA surrounded by it
on call with Jamie Bissonette Lewy
involved with Wabonaquie & CA tribal
member of meditation group
volunteer chaplain at couple hospitals
bkgd in activism
most family very activist
w/o spirituality crave & need
get anxious and back away
hatred and disrespect from gvt
need spiritual activist community

Claire
Burlington Iowa worship group
best school for quakers to actively engage in AFSC
ICE requiring schools to show immigrant student info

Another woman in Quaker X group
Strive drive has got up and went
hopes in relation to SCQM
apply process in my life and all involved with
general agenda great thing to apply in other group
helped come together as a people more united to do the work

Bridget Jensen attender Live Oak Friends Mtg
Houston
feeling spiritually robust
beautiful day in TX
silent retreat today
very rich
AVP training yesterday
core right now is hope anchors me
hope for participating name is Bridget – bridging things
personally and in community
put foot in a lot of different places

Arthur intro

David Poundstone Denver CO
Meeting in midst of offering sanctuary to immigrant facing deportation
2nd person being admitted to sanctuary as we speak
most others in coalition unitarians
Kirsten Holmby? active

Mountain View Meeting article in Guardian about what they’re doing

Context for what this is all about:
After election sense important to advocate for social change
not postponing joy, love, sense of community
when we are threatened or something difficult
fully awake and alive critical for transformation
model rooted in that understanding
only opposed to things we’re not generating energy of what we have to say
creating loving community
practicing transformation we are hoping to start

Importance of starting with covenant
Quaker X intentionally considering who are we, what do we want to become together
what kind of resilient culture are we that we want to create
really conscious of that
spiritual practice important part of that
“Fruit is in the seed” how we start these things really matters

Viv: group I was with already had members & standing w/in Mtg
vision related to racial healing and wholeness
process of creating the covenant & reading that together
helped us to come together in a new way
period of time …. Ghandi when work was to be harder, spent more time
in spiritual practice
Harder to accomplish things 1st hr of spiritual practice
sharing about story was so deep we were in worship
work that came afterwards flowed from that
one of most covered committee mtgs I’ve experienced

Our group… some people were un
shared agreement
Parker Palmer influence
Deep cocreation fundamentally quaker
we experience what we each bring to it

Sherry – Lansing in Michigan
quaker social action prison group here
foundation work with individual members in group
covenant new to me & manual too
in Jan we all got together and saw film Thirteen black history of civil rights mvt
Very good movie to see
Looking at white… racism…
w/in meeting 30 books distributed and collectively reviewed
about race issues
what can we do to make a difference? in prisons? hasn’t worked out
spiritual deepening programs have helped me

Lucy: looking for groups that have done anti-racist education tend to be more ready for this practice than other
AFSC normalizing whiteness
39 questions for white people
important part of group process setting aside attitudes of
Retreat has been found helpful
Really helpful in terms of being connected to each other

How are you in terms of formation?
Carol Margels – our group is in early stages
concept of having daylong retreat might be asset
feels like children that would prefer to have parallel play
Every person thinks they have… we have to get there

Lucy: recent social justice training institute for young people
at AFSC
young man started FB group racism organized rally 20000 interested
collectively
Inside palestinian, faith based members, organized in terms of march itself
made space at 3pm for muslims to pray
something very different from individual activity
Community HAS to be together to offer sanctuary in community
one of the things

AOK:
Clerking vs facilitating
large extent central Philadelphia
doesn’t do all 3 things in first hour
share experience relatively short
teaching a song, or leading
australian visit photos of aboriginal images
then a story…
you can mix them up
important to share about the story
deepest connection to others

Clerking vs Facilitation
has a clerk
rotate clerking of first hour
then pretty simple
intro person who brought spiritual practice
sharing about story closing worship and giving thanks for story before going into business
staying centered on group accompanying

Ugency of now is not going away.
Importance of connecting with each other
keeping it to an hour feel contained – caring for each other & self care
limiting to that boundary important
if you can’t do all of it
covenant spiritual practice, story,
David Mancina relationship is my religion
in terms of group and organization you work with
Sanctuary coalition in Denver built upon that
building that, understand impatience, critical for long haul

to what extent is that impatience endemic of white middle class culture
I work for jewish organization boss observes sabbath
how do you keep going when things are as they are?
on 7th day I know creation as God intended it to be

Logistics: another google poll to have calls in future for regular time
formation time is critical piece
We are in the fight for our lives
can stay in it with clear eyes and hearts important

Jack… late to call
echo what just said
North Meadow, IN
in pilot program