Hard Decision Hits

Two weekends ago, I went to a friends wedding. It was very nice to finally see them have a wedding even if they don't decide to go to the state to be formally recognized.

After the wedding some friends and I went and checked in. This group has been checking in with each other for about five years now but I only recently was added. It was very nice to be able to check in with this group of people. It was hard for me to check in because while listening to everyone else I realized that I now need to make the decision around moving. We are all have close to the same type of changes; we are moving or having large changes in what we are doing in our lives.

I need to make this decision but everything is so complicated. I have to decide if i want to finish high school in the same school district I have been in since kindergarden or if I should move with my family. I am starting to look at quaker school in Philladelphia area and seeing if i can graduate by the end of next year if I moved. It is looking more like I will be moving but it still is in the air.

Koinonia: Community Living Faith in Action

Two summers ago a group of teens and adults gathered before PYM Annual Session, in San Francisco, for a week-long activity and exploration of Quaker theology. That experience was powerful; transformative for many.

This summer, just before Yearly Meeting (approx July 24 - 29th), we plan to gather in urban Los Angeles for a similar week. Koinonia: community living faith in action will be a week of experiential focus on Quakerism, Jubilee Economics, and considering the integrity of our everyday choices. We will visit the LA Catholic worker, MacArthur Park, plus a 14-acre urban farm where we will work together as we consider this issue of Sabbath economics and Quaker Community.

Will you join us for this week of seeking?

Teens from Pacific Yearly Meeting, ages 15-20, are invited to join a group of adult seekers* to explore: how our Quaker container can support us, connections to our Monthly Meetings, and building a community that explores justice and lives the many questions we have about being Quakers in this time. We’ll worship and talk; play games, do yoga, cook and live together; and get our hands dirty doing good work!

*Kristina Perry(SC), Joe Franko(Orange Gv), Paul Harris (Redwd Forst), Darcy Stanley(Straw Ck) and others…
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For more information – contact Kristina Perry, Humboldt/Santa Cruz meeting at quakerworker AT riseup DOT net or 831. 345-2349 --- or Rebecca Sullivan, Santa Cruz meeting/Past-JYM co-clerk at supersullivan24 AT gmail DOT com.

Return the following to by email or to PO Box 7258 Santa Cruz, CA 95061:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
YES!! I want to be part of KOINONIA this summer before PYM.
Name: Age: Monthly Meeting
Address:
Telephone: Email:
Parent/Guardian Name (if under 18):

Mom Leaves

On Thursday of last week my mom left for Philadelphia because she is the new Conference Coordinator for FGC. It was a little hard on my family last week since she was trying to get ready to leave and we were just trying to live our normal life.

There was planning meeting this last weekend so I had put off the fact that she was leaving because I knew that I would see her over the weekend. But once we started to have farewell celebrations I started to break down. I got to see her over the weekend but we did not really have time to talk because we were constantly in meetings.

It has now been two days since I last saw her and the house is a total mess and we are still trying to adjust.

Letter of Membership

Here is the second letter that I wrote and was taken to Business Meeting in February.

February 6, 2006

Dear Santa Cruz Meeting,

I have started to look into my religion and feel like Quakerism is for me. I have felt a closer connection with the meeting since I went away to Woolman and I would like to ask this meeting to accept me as a member.

I feel like being a member of Santa Cruz Friend Meeting will help keep me rooted in Santa Cruz and Pacific Yearly Meeting while I travel and go to school over the next few years.

Sincerely,

Rebecca Sullivan

My Experience Away at Woolman Semester

Here is a letter that i wrote in February talking about my experience at Woolman Semester at Sierra Friends Center. It is becoming clear that i should start to post for those people who want to have way to figure out how my life is changing and in transition.

This letter was one of two letters that i wrote to my meeting and was read at the February Meeting for Business. This one was the reason for the second but you might want to read the second one first because it leads into this one.

February 5, 2006

Dear Santa Cruz Friends Meeting,

Thank you for giving me a scholarship so that I could take part in the 2005 Fall Woolman Semester. It was a wonderful experience. I learned a lot and grew in many ways.

Three weeks into school, we set out on a wilderness-backpacking trip so that we could get to know the ecosystem we would live in for four months. On the trip, I learned how to read a topographical map and how to set-up a shelter with a plastic tarp, rocks, and rope.

In November, we went on a two and a half week service-learning trip to Mexico. I experienced how stressful it is to drive with a whole lot of people who all have a different opinion on what we should do. First, we think that we want to stop and eat lunch but then some one notices that we are only an hour from a nice park.

We took a week to drive down the Eastern Sierra’s to give presentations on California water issues for our Environmental Science class. I gave a presentation on the Salton Sea, which is twenty- five percent saltier than the Pacific Ocean. One of the reasons for the Salton Sea’s salinity is because the main inlet is agricultural run off, which contains extra salt from the ground. The sea is also evaporating faster than water is coming in so salt is being left behind and the concentration is rising.

We were in Mexico for eight days. Mexico was quite different from the United States; as soon as we crossed the boarder, we saw pedestrians crossing the highway. While trying to caravan with three cars, one of which was an old beat up van, we almost got into three car accidents but we made it safely without touching other cars. Being in Mexico reminded me that poverty around the world is really close and that you don’t need to travel very far to find out how people live differently. It was interesting to see the poverty in Mexico (near the United States) and to remember the poverty I saw in Rwanda seven years ago.

While in Mexico, we worked on multiple projects: finishing a community clinic, tiling a counter, and working on an addition to a building. I mostly worked on the tiling project. While working, I learned that it is really easy to get hurt and make bad decisions when it is late at night and there is not enough light.

In our World Issues class, we learned about media literacy and globalization. Using what we learned in the first ten weeks, each of us wrote a ten-page research paper on whatever world issue we wanted. I wrote about the Second Congo Civil War, which is supposedly done but really is still being fought. The Congo War is a war that was started after the Rwandan Genocide because the genocide perpetrators fled to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s jungles and Rwanda was scared that they were planning another genocide with the help of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s president.

In Peace Studies, I wrote a letter to Selective Services declaring conscientious objector status but did not send it in. I am still trying to decide how everything I have learned informs what I believe and how to best communicate what I believe. Before writing our letters, the class read the Quaker peace testimony from Faith and Practice; I found myself struggling with the wording. This has been one of the major thought provoking parts of my life in school. I do believe in peace but I do not understand why “… all war is inconsistent with God’s will.” (Pg 43). Why would we have war if God had not wanted us to stand up for what we believe? I believe that there is a difference between fighting for food and fighting for resources on another continent. I believe that most of the wars we have been in are against what God would want us to do but I do believe there is a time and place for military help.

We also took Humanities and Ethics where we looked at how the Quaker testimonies fit into our everyday life. This was very helpful because it really made me contemplate how I could change my lifestyle to fit more with my values.

I also grew spiritually. It was extremely nice to be able to go to Meeting every week and have some time to meet with other Quakers. It was wonderful to have Quarterly Meeting at Sierra Friends Center while I was there. Quarterly was extremely moving because spiritual leadings are something that I have been dealing with over the last six months or so.

Woolman was an exciting place for me to explore my spiritual life and learn more about myself. Thank you for supporting all of us who have had the chance to take part in the Woolman Semester.

Thanks,

Rebecca Sullivan

Santa Cruz Friends Meeting