SILENT ANNOUNCEMENTS                January 28, 2007______

 

UPCOMING EVENTS AT ADELPHI FRIENDS MEETING

Sunday January 28: Debbie James and Steve Woods will be leading their monthly Vignette Writing Workshop on January 28th...4th Sunday After Pot Luck.  Come write a story and see how it can change your life for the better.  Steve and Debbie would like to see everyone at meeting attend a vignette workshop at some point. If you can't come this month, please come next.

Sunday, February 4, 11:30 am-1:30 pm: Religious Education Midyear Check-in: All RE Teachers are invited to attend this annual check-in, for an informal time to share our experiences in the classroom and plan ahead for the second half of the year.  This is a valued time of renewal for our volunteer teachers who provide spiritual guidance to our community’s children.  We will meet in the library of the White House at about 11:30 am and will end by 1:30 pm.  A light lunch and childcare will be provided.

Sunday, February 18^th, Second Hour: The Adult Religious Education Committee (ARE) has invited Imam Johari Abdul Malik of the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington to present the award-winning film documentary “Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet” and to lead a discussion afterwards on the Prophet Muhammad and Islam in general. Following a brief introduction by Tom Wolfe citing William Penn’s belief in the unity among religions and his support of religious pluralism, selected extracts of the Muhammad film will be shown, leaving time to explore questions such as: Who was Muhammad? What is Islam? What do Muslims believe? Is Islam compatible with American values? How do we move the world in a more peaceful direction? Imam Johari is a former Muslim chaplain of Howard University, President of the Muslim Society of Washington, Head of the National Association of Muslim Chaplains in Higher Education, and Chairman of government relations of the Muslim Alliance of North America. Please join us in what certainly shapes up as a fertile opportunity for Muslims and non-Muslims alike to explore, discuss, and understand each other’s faiths in the context of world upheavals these past several years.

SHARING JOYS AND CONCERNS

Please hold Joan Clement's mother, Ruth Petersen, in the Light. Ruth, age 89, broke her hip in late November and, while her hip has healed, she also needs knee replacement surgery. This will take place on January 24th, and she will have several more months of rehab in West Virginia near Joan's brother before returning to her apartment. This has been and will continue to be hard in Ruth on many levels. Your continued prayers will be much appreciated

Part Time Opportunity to help spread the Word with the Vignette workshops. Following on the success of the Vignette Workshops at Adelphi, Deborah James is led to offer the workshops to other meetings in our region.  We need someone (or someones) who would be willing to travel 1-2 times per month to lead scheduled second hours. This is fun and rewarding work and who knows you may find out some great things about yourself along the way. A small stipend is being offered as well as travelling expenses. So, take the time to see the world and spread the word!  Contact Deborah James at ddhjames@gmail.com or call her at 301-422-9260.

Reserve space by 2/1/07: New Sessions of Art Workshops at Joanna Axtmann’s Studio starting February 22^nd.  Come explore art concepts, dry & wet media, sources for images - set-ups, figure, imagination. All levels of experience welcome - beginner to professional - teen and adult! Small class size facilitates individual instruction and customised curriculum. Phone for flyer and info:(202)723-4428 or e-mail jaxart@infionline.net

Sunday, February 11, 8:00 a.m.  Another BREAKFAST AT IHOP with F/friends.  Our first one was a success!  Please join us at the College Park IHOP, Rt. 1 and Cherry Hill Rds., for an informal breakfast and fellowship time.  A sign-up sheet is in the Lobby and it is helpful to us if you can sign up in advance.  If not, just come!  Sponsored by Outreach & Fellowship Committee.

 

Feedback Requested by Ministry and Worship Committee:  The Ministry and Worship Committee is reflecting on how our current practice of hearing Joys and Concerns after Meeting supports Meeting worship and community life. We would like to hear from anyone who has anything to share about that.  Please feel free to contact Joan Clement (clerk) (joanpclement@yahoo.com or 301-270-3862) or any other current member of the committee (Reuben Snipper, Jolee Robinson, Scott Houckman, June Confer, and Michael Newheart).

OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS

 

Sunday February 4, 11 am: Area Meetings and Friends are invited to the 11 a.m. worship and afterward for fellowship Sunday Feb. 4 at Bethesda Friends Meeting to welcome two high school students from Ramallah Friends School in Palestine/Israel visiting the area that week as part of the Quaker Youth Leadership Conference in Charlottesville.  The two youngsters come from a place of near total collapse of their civilization/government/economy, a trip paid for by the Sidwell Friends School's Sami Sulieman Ramallah Exchange program ... begun two years ago with a bequest of Sam following his death to build bridges between the Muslim/Arab world at Ramallah with us here in the Washington metropolitan area.  For more information, contact Ray Lane (301) 270-6057.

Tai Chi Class Offered in Greenbelt Community Center: Tai Chi is an ancient Chinese Martial Art and the movements are slow and flowing like a deep and wide river.  These slow-gentle-weight bearing movements relieve stress, exercise internal organs, create deeper breathing and increase flexibility.  If you are interested in classes on Saturday mornings or Wednesday evenings in Greenbelt, call 301-397-2208 for additional information.

March 17, 2007, 9am to 6 pm: The William Penn House and Baltimore Yearly Meeting’s Peace and Social Concerns Committee are co-sponsoring the workshop, "Strategy is Possible." The workshop will take place on Saturday, March 17, 2007 from 9AM to 6PM at the William Penn House on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.  Daniel Hunter of Training for Change will facilitate. Training for Change is a group founded by George Lakey that helps activists stand up more effectively for justice, peace and the environment. Daniel will share key lessons gleaned from Training for Change’s Strategy Project focused on successful social movements around the world.  So if you would like to get a fresh perspective on social change strategies, gain tools to develop effective strategy, get to know Friends from other Meetings and reflect on ways Monthly Meetings might work together for peace and social justice, please join us for this workshop! The cost is $40 per person before February 15th and $45 after February 15th.  To register or for more information, please call Bernadette Odyniec at 202-543-5560, email ernadette@williampennhouse.org, or go to www.WilliamPennHouse.org.

From Ray Lane:

GREENSBORO — Two of the three Palestinian students attacked over the weekend at Guilford College spoke out Tuesday as school officials shed more light on the incident police are treating as a racially motivated assault.

In a statement and during an afternoon news conference, college officials said:

* The attack occurred at 12:30 a.m. Saturday in the courtyard outside Bryan Hall dormitory.

* At least some of the students involved were "under the influence of alcohol."

* Some students involved were acquaintances and residence hall neighbors with no history of conflict.

* Criminal charges were filed the next day, which led to arrests Monday.

"It was the most horrific experience of my life," N.C. State student Omar Awartani , one of the Palestinians, said Tuesday during a phone interview.

"This was a horrible, unprovoked hate crime."

Student accounts of the assault vary greatly, and the college stressed in its statement Tuesday that the cause is not yet known. But court documents say up to 15 members of Guilford’s football team attacked the students with fists, feet and brass knuckles while using racial slurs.

Michael Bates, of Reidsville; Michael Robert Six, of Clemmons; and Christopher Barnette, of Semora , were arrested in connection with the attack.

Barnette is the second NCAA Division III All-America player in the school’s history and is considered an NFL prospect.

Six is the team’s second-leading tackler.

Bates and Six were charged with three counts of assault and battery each. Barnette was charged with two counts of assault and battery. All three were charged with ethnic intimidation, a misdemeanor that can carry a sentence of up to 120 days in jail for each count.

All three have been released on $2,000 bond.

Calls to those arrested were not returned Tuesday.

Awartani, 18, was visiting his friends Osama Sabbah and Farris Khader, two Guilford students. The three had attended a Quaker school in the West Bank city of Ramallah before coming to the United States.

"These people who beat me I had never seen before in my life," Awartani said. "They just began insulting us, calling us 'dirty,’ 'terrorists’ and 'sand niggers.’ We tried not to fight them; we did not insult them back, but they beat the hell out of us."

Awartani said he suffered a concussion and had trouble walking for several days after the assault. He has returned to Raleigh to try to resume classes but said he remains in great pain. Sabbah, 19, said he has a concussion and nerve damage in his hand. No information on Khader’s condition was immediately available.

"The ones who attacked us, some of them live in my dorm, but I have never met them," Sabbah said Tuesday. "I can’t tell you anything about why it happened."

Guilford officials have said the arrested students will remain enrolled at least until the school’s judicial process is complete.

College President Kent Chabotar emphasized Tuesday that the school’s investigation is independent of law enforcement . He said Guilford will take its time and avoid "jumping to conclusions."

"We need to get all the facts from every perspective and let the judicial process … take its course as expeditiously as possible," Chabotar said in the statement.

On campus at Guilford, which has about 3,000 students, the assault and its aftermath were the main topic of conversation Tuesday. Emotions ran high.

Sophomore Nathan Ellis said students were shocked.

"It was kind of devastating," he said. "It’s a real close community. It’s a real small school."

Dozens of students Tuesday flooded a room set up for a news conference, seeking answers from the administration. College staffers let them enter, holding an impromptu closed-door meeting between students and Aaron Fetrow, Guilford’s dean for campus life.

Some students disputed the administration’s motives and information. Two students held up signs that read "LIAR" and "COVER UP" during the briefing. Later, the students held up signs calling the assault a hate crime. Fetrow said he isn’t ready to use that term.

"It was a very unfortunate conflict between students who knew each other," he said. "Until the discovery is done, that’s a very powerful word to use before we know every fact."

A community forum on the incident and student-organized candlelight vigil were in the works for today.

Many students expressed concern that their school — a Quaker college with a long history of diversity and social justice — was being portrayed in a bad light.

"I love Guilford College. It has such a great reputation for being open-minded," senior Ryan Kitaif said. "It’s sad a couple of idiots gave our school a PR nightmare."

"That’s not Guilford College," he said. "We’re not like that at all."

 

Copyright © 2007, The News & Record and Landmark Communications, Inc.

Job Opportunities at William Penn House:

Working with on-line registration system and maintaining data base. Inputting data into the database

Registering guests by phone, on-line and in person. Performing office work as needed.

Living in community with fellow staff members. Sharing in the spiritual life of the House and participating in House sponsored events. Checking status of bedrooms and baths and laundry.

When needed performing minor janitorial duties. Performing other duties as assigned

As a member of the hospitality staff, the intern is required to live at the House. Due to our small staff, we are not closed on most holidays but do close the House during Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Compensation and benefits include: Room and board, Health and life insurance (for internships of 6+months), Vacation and sick leave, A stipend.  Appointments vary in length and may be structured to meet an academic calendar.  Most hospitality shifts are from 7AM to 2PM or from 2PM to 9PM, allowing the Hospitality Intern time to explore the resources and volunteer opportunities the Washington DC area has to offer during regular business hours.  Most of the DC area is easily accessible by Metrorail (subway) or city buses, and William Penn House is a 10 to 15-minute walk to two Metrorail stops. The House is within walking distance of the Nation's Capitol, the House and Senate Office Buildings, the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Museums and the National Gallery of Art, as well as being a short Metrorail ride to the White House and most government agencies.  PLEASE NOTE:  Ownership of a car is difficult in the city. Street parking on Capitol Hill is extremely limited and William Penn House does not provide parking.

For information, contact: Byron Sandford, Executive Director, William Penn House,

515 East Capitol St., SE, Washington, DC 20003, tel: 202.543.5560 fax: 202.543.3814
byron@williampennhouse.org

 

2)   William Penn House Washington Quaker Workcamp and Program Intern:  With the support and supervision of the Washington Quaker Workcamps (WQW) Coordinator and Program Coordinator, the Washington Quaker Workcamps and Program Intern coordinates  service-learning and seminar programs of the William Penn House. The Workcamps and Program Intern is required to live on-site at William Penn House. As a residential member of the William Penn House staff, (s)he will also perform limited hospitality duties.

Duties: For seminars at William Penn House, and Quaker Workcamps in both Washington DC and out-of-town: Schedule seminars and workcamps, including writing and sending contracts to groups.

Plan seminars and workcamps in coordination with youth-group leaders, teachers and the WQW and Program Coordinators.  Plan itineraries, including plotting out local travel and scheduling service sites, speakers and field trips to local organizations.  When needed, coordinate catering and purchase and help prepare food.  Participate in facilitation and evaluation of workcamps and seminars.  Help with outreach to Meetings and schools/ recruit individuals and groups to participate in workcamps and seminars.  Help maintain and update the database, inputting information about workcamps, seminars, youth groups, schools and program resources.  Manage WQW home repair projects: Locate ppropriate projects. Identify work to be done, in consultation with experts if needed.  Obtain necessary supplies for projects.  Supervise youth work crews, 7th grade and up, and their adult leaders, on a weekly basis.

Maintain WQW tools and evaluate needs for new tools. Help develop and design new programs.

Participate in meetings. Take on further appropriate responsibilities as way opens.  Limited hospitality duties include:  Serving as "staff member on duty" as needed, Assisting guests when needed. Creating a welcoming environment for guests at William Penn House. Participating in the spiritual life of the House.

 

Desired Qualifications: A strong calling to work with young people.  Experience leading groups of young people in an experiential education or service-learning context.  Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience  Strong written, oral, and electronic communication skills.  Experience with basic computer applications.  Flexibility, creativity, and problem-solving skills.  Ability to multi-task and strong organizational skills.  Affinity with Quaker faith and practice and the traditions of Quaker education.

Willingness to work weekends.  Basic construction skills a plus.

 

Compensation and Benefits: Room and board, Health and life insurance (for internships of +months)

Vacation and sick leave, Small stipend for living expenses, Funding and leave for professional development activities.  This internship is a great opportunity for people wishing to explore the resources and volunteer opportunities the Washington DC area has to offer.  Most of the DC area is easily accessible by Metrorail (subway) or city buses, and William Penn House is a 10 to 15-minute walk to two Metrorail stops. The House is within walking distance of the Nation's Capitol, the House and Senate Office Buildings, the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Museums and the National Gallery of Art, as well as being a short Metrorail ride to the White House and most government agencies.  PLEASE NOTE:  Ownership of a car is difficult in the city. Street parking on Capitol Hill is extremely limited and William Penn House does not provide parking.

Start date: ASAP Appointments vary in length and may be structured to meet an academic calendar.

To apply, send resume, cover letter, and three references to: Byron Sandford, Executive Director
William Penn House, 515 East Capitol St., SE, Washington, DC 20003, tel: 202.543.5560,

fax: 202.543.3814, byron@williampennhouse.org