Friends Center Director's Report
Spring, 2003

Friends Center General Programming

A January hectic with the beginning of the semester, the FWCC peace conference, Martin Luther King, Jr. celebrations, and Religious Emphasis Week gave way to a fractured February, filled with inclement weather, the director's trip to the Middle East, and uneasy anticipation of war. March brought spring break trip preparations, more special speakers and programs, and war - reminding us that early Friends called it Third Month for a reason! April picked up steam with numerous special celebrations and semester's end busy-ness.

Especially noteworthy speakers with whom Friends Center was involved included Bernard Wasserstein, a Jewish academic from Great Britain whose brilliant analysis of the Middle East conflict left people with actual hope! Jennifer Chapin Harris of Friends Committee on National Legislation encouraged students to become involved in lobby work on Capitol Hill. Roland Kreager, General Secretary of Right Sharing of World Resources, encouraged analysis of how the earth's riches are distributed. Eric Sterling, a Quaker and president of the Criminal Justice Policy and Foundation challenged the effectiveness of the war on drugs and sparked lively discussion about substance use and spirituality - much of it as "blowback" from his planned remarks.

As of this writing, Earth Mama (aka Joyce Rouse) of Friends Committee on Unity with Nature is set to ply her folk singing in the Underground on April 24, and James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, is scheduled April 28 to give a major public address on issues related to the Arab and Muslim community.

Much planning went into an exciting Bolivia work trip, eventually cancelled because of travel warnings from the State Department. A similar warning is in effect for the Middle East, putting the Israel/Palestine trip in jeopardy, too, although intense orientation programs continue. A possibility remains for holding the work trip solely under Friends United Meeting sponsorship - meaning few students would be able to participate, owing to their dependence on financial assistance through the College.

North Carolina Yearly Meeting (FUM)'s ministers association meeting was held on campus March 18. Following concerns about last year's low attendance, efforts were made to "sexy up" this year's offering! Kent Chabotar made an appearance; evangelical, programmed Friends students from the yearly meeting shared their experiences; a preliminary report was given by students researching the state of Quakerism in Guilford County. The meeting was declared the best in recent memory by the association president, and he encouraged us to do more of the same next year.

Through collaboration between the Quaker Studies seminar taught by Friends Center and the sociology Research Methods class, students visited each Guilford County Friends meeting twice, administering questionnaires and observing the variety of worship settings. All were warmly welcomed and were enthusiastic about he experience. Early findings indicate that rumors of the demise of Quakerism in Guilford County are exaggerated. Two-thirds of the meetings report increased attendance in the last five years. Real life was observed!

A full report of the research will be a featured element of Friends Center's annual Quaker Festival Week on campus, April 20 - 26. Other activities scheduled are QLSP senior projects, games, a film, and a campus historical walk.

Friends Center continued to meet with Kent Chabotar on a regular basis to help him orient to campus and community Quaker life. In a luncheon meeting at Ragsdale, Kent met with Brent McKinney and John Porter of NCYM (F), Deborah Shaw of NCYM (Conservative), the Friends Center director, and the clerk of the Guilford College Board of Trustees, Curt Hege. The conversation focused on ways the Quaker community could support the College through identifying and encouraging potential Quaker Board members.

Collaboration with Leslie Daisy of Institutional Advancement resulted in a successful $8,000 grant from the Chace Fund of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting to support the Israel/Palestine trip. During Max Carter's trip with FUM in February to visit Friends work in Ramallah, he did planning work for the trip, connecting with Israeli peace activists and coordinating plans with the Friends meeting and school community in Ramallah. With a grant from Guilford's Admission Office, he held a college orientation session for Friends School seniors. Over ten RFS students have applied to Guilford for the fall.

Anticipation of war in the Middle East and related concerns resulted in several speaking engagements and interviews: a workshop on conscientious objection for NCYM (F) youth; presentations to Rotary clubs, the High Point Women's Study Group, and USFW circles; interviews on TV 2 and Fox 8; and interviews by the News & Record, Atlanta Journal Constitution, High Point Enterprise, and ESP.

Plans under way for next year include:

1. J.M Ward speakers Janet Melnyk and Ben Pink Dandelion coming in October and January respectively to address the theme of apocalypticism in Quakerism.

2. Luby Casey speakers Michael Birkel and Mike Heller coming during Religious Emphasis Week to speak on John Woolman.

3. Judith Weller Harvey speaker James Childress coming in March to address ethics.

4. Max teaching fall courses on Quaker spirituality at Wake Forest Divinity School and on community and Quaker studies at Guilford. A winter course on Quaker history will be taught both during the day and at night to encourage wider community involvement.

5. Dan Snyder of Pendle Hill will be in residence for ten days in February to do a QRP workshop on the spiritual basis of peacemaking and interact with the campus and wider community.

6. Continuing Education of NCYM (F) will collaborate again on a fall QRP book study.

Campus Ministry

Religious Emphasis Week in its 13th annual incarnation was a success. Melanie Weidner, the Luby Casey Visitor this year, connected powerfully with students and faculty/staff through her art and welcoming spirituality.

The Guilford Council of Religious Organizations (GCRO) continues to develop strength through good clerking by Liz Baltaro and Bradley Podair and active involvement by most of the campus religious organizations. Liz handed over her editing duties for the Caw to Ben Taylor, a first-year student who has stepped right in without missing a beat. GCRO is offering two "Seekers Sessions" for the spring semester. The chocolate passional attraction group has been a success, gathering a number of students around a different chocolate each week for discussion evoked by the brand's history and student memories. Another Seekers Session will do interfaith visitation to a mosque, Jewish synagogue, and Hare Krishna community.

College Meeting for Worship has been especially strong this semester. Attendance continues at the 20 - 30 level, with several students and older adults making it their regular Sunday worship opportunity. Speakers and music have been excellent, and the open worship has been deep. Deborah Shaw has developed a worship committee of students to assist her in preparing the weekly worship. They have done an excellent job of "sprucing up" the Moon Room and helping with worship planning. They hope to incorporate more music and congregational singing into the worship.

GCRO planned an Easter sunrise service by the lake, complete with brass, singing groups, bonfire, readings, and silence. New Garden Friends provided a hearty breakfast for worshipers after the service. Another special event planned by GCRO was the "encouchment" in the Hut of Kent Chabotar following his inauguration. With the assistance of Fr. John Frambes and the campus ministry coordinator, Kent was "crowned" with a Quaker Oats box mitre as a puff of white smoke went up the chimney.

Morning worship continues to be a small group of 3-4 on a regular basis. Midweek worship attracts a regular 6-8. A student-led Buddhist meditation group has good attendance for its weekly gathering in the Hut, and the Guilford Christian Fellowship, Hillel, and pagan mysticism groups have been lively. A new Catholic campus minister, Fr. John Frambes, has been assigned to the campus and has begun meeting regularly with interested students. He attends the monthly campus ministers lunch on campus and has met with Kent Chabotar.

Spring break work trips went to Olney Friends School (Deborah Shaw and Scott Pierce Coleman with five international students); Tompkins organic farm (two students on their own); and Carbon Hill, AL with the Friends Disaster Service (Max Carter with eleven students). All returned safely with all their digits!

In response to the outbreak of the war in Iraq, Campus Ministry helped organize an all-college worship service in Dana Auditorium and followed with offerings of special times for prayer and reflection. After the first two days of the war, students appeared to be coping without the need for special worship opportunities.

The campus ministry coordinator was called on to help organize memorials for former faculty member Bill Fulcher and Clyde Lane, parent of QLSP graduate Kory Lane. He also assisted in planning the senior baccalaureate service and consulted with Page High School on their first baccalaureate in recent memory.

In recognition of four years of outstanding service to campus ministry, Liz Baltaro was named the recipient of the 2003 Judith Weller Harvey Award in Campus Ministry.

Adult Programming

The winter Quaker Renewal Program, two Saturday workshops on the Quaker testimonies, was well-attended. Thirty-five registered for the February 15 workshops on peace, integrity, simplicity, and equality held at Jamestown Friends Meeting. Jamestown Friends were wonderful hosts, providing refreshments, and hearty lunch, and their welcoming meetinghouse.

An equal number attended the "Experiment with Light" workshop March 8, led by Rex Ambler at New Garden Friends Meeting. Many who participated in the two workshops were first-timers in QRP, some even using the workshops to explore Friends.

The spring series, "Quakers and Culture," met at Friends Homes at Guilford in a six-part series using Pendle Hill pamphlets and materials. Over fifty attended each session, the numbers bolstered by QRP's being offered free to Friends Homes residents.

A book has not yet been chosen for the fall, 2003 series co-sponsored with the NCYM (F) committee on continuing education. The winter series will be two Saturday workshops in February, led by Dan Snyder '72 on spiritual resources for peacemakers. A theme for the spring series has not yet been determined.

Sara Beth Terrell has offered to lead a second QRP fall series on prayer.

Exploring Carolina Quaker Crossroads is being presented again in June, facilitated by Sara Beth Terrell with a returning cast of teachers. As of this writing, however, only two have registered. A decision will be made May 1 about whether the program can go ahead.

In conjunction with the Center for Continuing Education of Guilford College, Max Carter will teach Rel. 110, "Introduction to Quaker History," as a Fast Track night class in the spring semester, 2004. It is hoped that this offering might attract QRP and ECQC veterans as auditors or full participants and attract others from the wider community.

Forthcoming programs by Friends Center for adults will include forums at First Friends and Chapel Hill Friends meetings and a lecture at North Carolina A & T State University.

Funding

With the assistance of Jim Vroom and Candi Lofano in the Business Office, a clear accounting of Friends Center holdings has been made and helpfully explained. They noted that Friends Center has endowment holdings in various funds with a current market value of over $1,550,000, making it one of the healthiest programs of the College and assuring that it has excellent potential for maintaining the health and strength of its activities. At this time the Friends Center Annual Fund stands at $27,694.

Given the increasing difficulty with phonathons in reaching people directly and the resistance - shared by Friends Center staff, too! - to phone solicitations, it was decided to forego a phonathon for the Annual Fund this year. An end-of-the-year "last gasp" letter will go out to encourage those who have not contributed, and the decision not to use phone solicitation will be evaluated at the end of the fiscal year.