Friends Center Director's Report
Winter, 2003

Friends Center General Programming

It has been a packed fall. Rosemary Moore, the 2002 J.M. Ward Distinguished Quaker Visitor, visited in early October, sharing insights from her groundbreaking research into early Quaker history. She met with the Quaker Renewal Program group that had been studying her book, The Light in Their Consciences, and gave a public address on the Peningtons. Her visit was well-received.

In anticipation of the Israel/Palestine work-study trip next summer and the centrality of concern over the Middle East, several programs on the conflict were held in October and November. Josh Ruebner, founder of Jews for Peace in Israel and Palestine, came through the courtesy of Fahim '51 and Nancy Qubain. In his talk to a full Gallery, he addressed the religious and political dimensions of the conflict that have led him to become active in finding a just resolution. Stephen Zunes, an acclaimed foreign policy analyst and Quaker, also spoke on campus in October. His presentations focused on the impending war with Iraq. His visit, co-sponsored with Friends Center by Peace & Conflict Studies and the Political Science Department, drew a capacity crowd to the New Garden Friends meetinghouse.

Squeezed in between these presentations on the Middle East, Herman Otioko, a Kenyan Friend recently retired from 29 years of service at the Turkana Friends mission, visited. He spoke to classes and gave a public presentation on Friends in Kenya.

November saw visits by David Horovitz, editor of Jerusalem Report, visiting courtesy of the Greensboro Jewish Federation. His conversation in the Hut with Palestinian students and applicants for the Israel/Palestine trip was a sight to behold! Nancy Nye and Mubarak Awad, advocates for nonviolent social change, attended a tea & discussion on campus, led a weekend workshop, and spoke to the Greensboro Peace Coalition.

In December, Mahmoud Amra, principal of the Friends Boys School in Ramallah/El-Bireh, was to have visited on a Friends United Meeting - sponsored trip. However, he was unable to receive the requisite travel papers from Israel to exit the West Bank. Canceling his visit meant the unfortunate cancellation of a meeting that was to have included the heads of local Quaker and Jewish schools.

Lissa Carter '01 was able to get her exit permit from California. Her visit to campus included talks to an FYE class about sustainability and the importance of avoiding mind-altering drugs; meeting with the campus ministers; and several occasions with gatherings of QLSP. With QLSP, Lissa spoke mostly about her spiritual path, vocational discernment, and her concerns about substance use.

Participants in next summer's work trips to Bolivia and Israel/Palestine were selected through an application and interview process. Steffany Drodzo-Jones, a professor of Spanish, will lead the Bolivia trip. Currently she has four confirmed students, three yet to be interviewed, and interest from two staff members. The Israel/Palestine group has eight students, two older adult veterans of previous work trips, a faculty member and spouse, and two additional possibilities. Jonathan Malino and Jane & Max Carter will co-lead the trip.

Friends Center staff met with program planning committees of the FWCC peace conference to be held on campus in January, 2003. A stimulating four-day conference will attract upwards of 250 participants from around North America, with extensive involvement on the part of Guilford College.

The annual Friends Center newsletter was produced and distributed by early November. Many thanks to Deborah Shaw and Leslie Essien, responsible for the hard work of editing and mailing the newsletter.

Campus Ministry

College Meeting for Worship continues to attract a steady attendance in the 20-30 range, with an ongoing mix of students, staff, and some off-campus attenders. Morning and mid-week worship, however, have not enjoyed an increase in numbers. A core group of 4-5, half of whom are staff, make up the usual body of worshipers.

The Guilford Council of Religious Organizations (GCRO) has been capably clerked by Liz Baltaro, with assistance from Bradley Podair. With Liz's editing, the Caw has improved its graphics and consistency. There is even evidence that it is being read around campus and among off-campus subscribers! It is also now available on the Guilford website. In addition to designing GCRO's new "crow" logo, Liz also designed Tee-shirts for GCRO. They are being worn proudly around campus, advertising GCRO with the slogan, "We have more sects than anyone on campus."

GCRO has recruited "moles" for the various residence halls to extend campus ministry programming more broadly among the students. Through periodic meetings of the "moles" and communication of different program possibilities, these students are encouraged to provide opportunities in the residence halls that might attract larger participation than GCRO programs have in the past. Thus far, results are encouraging.

Seekers Sessions were placed on hiatus while the "mole" program developed. They will begin again in the spring semester, with the first offering being a study series on articles from The Other Side magazine about Martin Luther King, Jr. Guilford alumi Hannah Loring-Davis and Christina Repoley, on staff at the magazine, have helped put at study kit together for the articles.

Only one fall break trip was sponsored by campus ministry: a work project at Tompkins' Organic Farm near Burnsville, NC. There was low participation in this trip, but several trips have strong backing for the spring, with programs with Friends Disaster Service, Goat Lady Dairy, Tompkins' Farm, and Olney Friends School in the works. Quaker Concerns is planning a joint work trip with Haverford College; alumna Sarah Rightmyer is hoping to coordinate a hurricane relief trip to Louisiana with her service organization.

Plans for Religious Emphasis Week, January 26-31, are being made. The Luby Casey Campus Ministry Visitor will be Quaker artist Melanie Weidner. She will do programming on art and spirituality. Many of the usual activities of REW will again be featured, with each religious organization encouraged to do special programming. The theme for the week is "Understanding Religious."

Quaker Concerns has become more active this year, with a small group of dedicated members. Hillel has continued its resurgency under new director Yolanda Hairston. The Guilford Christian Fellowship has also enjoyed growth; regular weekly prayer and Bible study is offered, along with a weekly book table and discussion in Founders Lobby. Cherese Wolfe, a Friend from Forbush Meeting, is the InterVaristy staff assigned to GCF. The Episcopal campus ministry at UNCG continues to link with Guilford's Episcopal students. The Catholic and Unitarian-Universalist fellowships have not been active.

Campus ministry has also been involved in the presentations of two well-attended panels this fall: one on the death penalty, in conjunction with the One City/One Book program around A Lesson Before Dying, and one on slavery reparations, in conjunction with an Anthropology of Slavery class.

Adult Programming

The fall Quaker Renewal Program sessions used Rosemary Moore's book, The Light in Their Consciences, and was co-sponsored by the Continuing Education Committee of NCYM (FUM). QRP was held at Quaker Lake Camp, in hopes of attracting more participants from meetings closer to that site. Fifteen people did register, including two pastors and seven first-timers, and discussions were lively and fruitful. Unfortunately, however, only one came from the area meetings targeted by the choice of location. Continuing Education is committed to joining with QRP again next fall.

Winter and spring QRP sessions have been planned with helpful suggestions from QRP veterans and Jack Kirk's keen interest. Jamestown Friends Meeting will host a Saturday, February 15th workshop day on the Quaker social testimonies. Jack Kirk will open the day with a meditation on "The Testimony of the Changed Life," and four separate workshops will follow: "Integrity," led by Kathy Coe; "Simplicity," led by Val Vickers; "Peace," led by Chuck Fager; and "Equality," tentatively scheduled to be led by Judy Harvey (Bailey) and Santes Beatty.

A second winter workshop will be held on Saturday, March 8, with British Friend Rex Ambler leading "An Experiment with Light." Rex's work on how early Friends "centered down" in silent worship has resulted in systematic guided meditations that have been very helpful in entering into a rich and deep silence. His materials have been used in previous QRP programs to good effect.

The spring QRP series, "Quakers as Counter-culture," will be a six-week session using a different Pendle Hill pamphlet each time. Jack Kirk will lead the first program on March 25, using John Punshon's Alternative Christianity. The succeeding sessions will be Bill Taber's Four Doors to Meeting for Worship, led by Deborah Shaw; Jonathan Dale's Quaker Social Testimony in Our Personal and Corporate Life, led by Max Carter; Newton Garver, et. al.'s Nonviolence and Community (AVP), tentatively led by Chuck Fager; Parker Palmer's A Place Called Communtiy, led by Max Carter; and Douglas Heath's The Peculiar Mission of a Quaker School, tentatively led by a panel of local Quaker educators.

A number of local groups have asked for Friends Center programming around issues of peace and the Middle East conflict: Airport Rotary, First Friends, Greensboro Unitarian-Universalist Church, New Garden Friends, Greensboro Day School, and Friends Homes. In addition, programs have been presented at Coastal Carolina University, Furman University, and Friends Academy.

Quaker Studies Concentration and QLSP Courses

"Spiritual Roots of the Quaker Testimonies" was offered in the fall as the entry-level course in the Quaker Studies Concentration. It is also a required course for new QLSPers. In the spring, the QSC capstone course, "World Mending Spirituality," will be offered. The course will use Wilmer Cooper's A Living Faith and Thomas Kelly's The Eternal Promise as core texts in considering a "normative" Quakerism. The class will work with Kathryn Schmidt, a new professor in sociology, and Max Carter to study the status of Friends in Guilford County, in partial response to recent articles in The News & Record citing a 37% decrease among Friends in the county over the past ten years.

A "Quaker Festival Week" April 21-26 will feature the work of the QSC capstone class and the senior projects of QLSPers.

Future Speakers

Michael Sells, Haverford College professor of religion and author of Approaching the Qur'an, has been approached about speaking at Guilford College in the fall, 2003, as the J.M. Ward Distinguished Quaker Visitor. He has indicated a favorable response, but has not confirmed as of this writing.

No decisions have been made yet on the 2003-04 Luby Casey Campus Ministry Visitor or the Judith Weller Harvey Quaker Scholar. Suggestions are welcome!

Funding

Friends Center's Annual Appeal letter was mailed in early December. This year's goal is $45,000.

With the assistance of Leslie Daisy in Institutional Advancement, a grant request for $10,000 to the Chace Foundation was made in the fall. The request is for assistance in planning and implementing the expanded work/study trip to Israel and Palestine.

A request for QLSP assistance will be made again to the White Fund of First Friends Meeting. Owing to decreased earnings, $15,000 (instead of previous annual grants of $20,000) was received from the Fund this year. The College may not be able to depend on a grant for the coming year, as First Friends has a potential student applicant to the College, and White funds may go to assist the student.

A summary of known holdings in various Friends Center accounts as of the last available tally in 1999 has been sent to the Business Office, with a request for an updated accounting. Friends Center has been assured that full disclosure is forthcoming.

Quaker Recruitment

A number of Friends on campus have been working on assuring that word of openings at Guilford College are publicized in the wider Quaker community. The College has been responsive to requests from the fall that careful attention be given to the loss of many Quaker faculty and staff over the past several years. NCYM (FUM) is preparing a letter of concern to the College that, with the announced departure of David Barnhill, the last Friend who is a full-time professor in the Religious Studies Department, Guilford give attention to the need for a Quaker perspective in the department.

Friends Center has provided text for the monthly Guilford ads in Friends Journal and Quaker Life.

Scott Pierce Coleman has initiated several very helpful meetings with staff of NCYM (FUM) to discuss how to work better in cooperation between the College and Friends in North Carolina. The discussions have been frank and open, with many exciting possibilities of collaboration emerging from the conversations.

Friends Center Visioning Retreat

A subcommittee of Friends Center met in December to consider the vision and mission of Friends Center, in anticipation of a January 21 planning retreat. With the emergence of the Guilford Initiative on Faith and Practice and the resignation of long-time steering committee clerk, William P.H. Stevens, it is a crucial time for careful consideration of the future work of Friends Center.

Organizational charts for the Initiative and Friends Center, conversations among members of the Friends Center steering committee and the Initiative's advisory committee, and discussions between Max Carter and Sara Beth Terrell have been preparatory to the January meeting.