Attenders at the annual meeting this year got to hear about some of the exciting things happening within the Friends World Committee on Consultation, including the upcoming Sixth World Conference of Friends scheduled for August 21-28 2012 in Kenya. [Update: Due to the possibility that the Kenyan elections would be happening during the conference new dates have been set - April 17-25, 2012]


Thomas Taylor, Clerk of the LEYM Nominating Committee has posted a letter inviting LEYM Friends to consider getting more involved. It is attached here for your review. If you are interested in being a representative for LEYM to the Sixth World Conference you’ll want to read the invitation letter and reply using the attached Expression of Interest Form before the October 15 29, 2010 deadline.

Lake Erie Yearly Meeting 2010 Summer Teen Retreat

High school teens are cordially invited to the Lake Erie Yearly Meeting 2010 Summer Teen Retreat.

Friday, August 6 – Monday, August 9
Michigan Friends Center, Chelsea, MI

If you would like information about attending as a teen or serving as a FAP (Friendly Adult Presence), please contact Cari Burke (231-383-1296 or cariupnorth@gmail.com).

**Join our Facebook group: "LEYM Youth Retreat Program" **

Dear Friends,

Pam Hoffer of Friends Lake Cooperative Community in Chelsea invites us to

CHECK OUT: http://www.friendslake.org

Finally Friends Lake Cooperative Community has its own web site, due to the wonderful technical gifts of our member , Janice Weber (aptly named).

We really want you to take a look at this site, with info and slide shows, so you know what a wonderful haven this is...for camping and swimming and fun. Begun in 1961 with the help of the founding families, including the Bouldings, the Bloods, the Hamms....it still goes on..and is eager for newcomers.

by the way....Eldon Hamm turns 95 this July and this will be the site of a family reunion that he hopes many Friends will attend...over the July 4th weekend.

Please share this site with Friends in your circles...we so look forward to new members enjoying this special place.

FGC is searching for candidates for the following four positions. All applications received by July 16 will be given full consideration. Later applications may be considered, depending upon progress in each search.

Youth Ministries Coordinator:
This is a 60% time position dedicated to helping Friends and meetings build intergenerational communities based in mutual respect and caring. Much of the work is with young adult Friends. Strong organizational and communication skills are necessary. Must know the Religious Society of Friends very well; membership a plus.
Read the job description www.fgcquaker.org/about-us/youth-ministries.

Conference Associate:
The full-time Conference and Admin Associate is part of a team of three staff who manage the annual FGC Gathering of Friends and other FGC conference and also provides some administrative support for the whole FGC office. Candidates should be detail-oriented with strong communications, computer and web skills.
Read the job description www.fgcquaker.org/about-us/conference-coordinator.

Quaker Quest Associate:
This full-time position is one of four supporting FGC’s Quaker Quest program in the USA and Canada. Candidates should have strong organizational and communication skills, experience leading workshops and working with volunteers, and a deep commitment to the Religious Society of Friends.
Read the job description www.fgcquaker.org/about-us/quaker-quest-associate.

Communications/Quaker Quest Intern:
This one-year full-time intern works with other staff to develop, implement and monitor strong web-based and electronic communications about Quakers and the Quaker Quest program. Strong online communications and writing skills and a good knowledge of the Religious Society of Friends are essential.
Read the job description www.fgcquaker.org/about-us/quaker-quest-intern.

To apply for any of these positions, send cover letter, resume and list of at least four references via email to nicoler@fgcquaker.org.

The U.S. Social Forum will be held in Detroit June 22-26, 2010. Information about the overall forum and its large number of workshops and cultural events and how to register can be found at http://www.ussf2010.org. For more information on events of potentially great interest to Friends, see the Earthcare Section of the LEYM website.

LEYM Friends may be interested in a new website that provides maps to Quaker Meetings around North America and beyond. The well-organized QuakerMaps.com is the results of a collaboration between Micah Bales and Jon Watts.

As they explain:
“The goal of this website is to help all of us become more familiar with the dimensions of Quakerdom; to make visible the geography of the Quaker world. Friends talk about Philadelphia Yearly Meeting – but what area does PYM in fact comprise? We may have heard of Mid-America Yearly Meeting – but where exactly is it? Whether your goal is to find a Friends Meeting near you or to better understand the lay of the land, QuakerMaps is designed to orient you.”

The flyer and registration form for the 2010-2011 Spiritual Formation Program is now available.
You can get it here, or by visiting the Ministry & Nurture page of the LEYM website.

We have a few corrections to the recently published Spring 2010 LEYM Bulletin.

On p. 17: The addresses of both institutions to which memorial contributions for Bill Bliss are invited include errors.
The correct address for Friends Lake Cooperative Community is PO Box 3596, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-3596.
The correct address for Quaker Earthcare Witness is 173-B N. Prospect St., Burlington, VT 05401-1607. The editor regrets the errors.

The Spring 2010 LEYM Bulletin with news of the July 29 - August 1 2010 Annual Meeting has been posted to the site. At the end of the Bulletin please find the Annual Meeting Registration forms, which are also available separately.

The Ad Hoc LEYM Query Committee is now ready to have a draft of its work spread more generally to the yearly meeting. Details on the process of development and consultation on this draft and a final version of the Advices & Queries are included in the first few pages of the document which is available here (updated 4/20).

Posted on behalf of Dorsey Green, Clerk, FCNL General Committee

Greetings to Friends Everywhere:

I'm writing on behalf of the General Committee of the Friends Committee on National Legislation. Attached please find a copy of our program report for the year that has just ended. We hope you can distribute this to members of your yearly meeting in published reports or by other means that you have available.

This year, as clerk, I would also make a special request that your yearly meeting hold the FCNL community in the Light as we go through the long-planned process of selecting a new Executive Secretary. In 66 years, we've had only three executive secretaries. Joe Volk has announced his plans to retire in 2011, so we're in the midst of a discerning search process to find his successor. We expect to name a new Executive Secretary at our November 2010 Annual Meeting. Please hold our community in the Light as we go through this process.

In peace,
G. Dorsey Green, Clerk
FCNL General Committee

Friends,
The Memorial Service for Bill Bliss will be held at the Michigan Friends Center in the Waterloo Recreation Area near Chelsea, Michigan.  The house Bill and Isabel retired to many years ago is adjacent to Friends Lake and the Friends Center property.

The service will start at 4:30 pm on Saturday, May 8th, and will be followed by a carry-in/potluck dinner. The address for Michigan Friends Center is 7748 Clark Road, Chelsea, MI 48118. The telephone number is 734-475-1892.

Registration is now open for the 2010 Young Adult Friends Gathering to be held May 28-31 in Wichita, Kansas!

On Friday, May 28 - Monday, May 31, 2010, Young Adult Friends (aged 18-35) from across North America will come together in Wichita, Kansas, for a gathering entitled: "Bearing Witness to the Word Among Us - Witness, Testimony and Transformation." Our scriptural focus will be 1 John 1:1-3: "We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life - this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us - we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you may also have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ."

It is our prayer that this gathering will be a time for Young Adult Friends from a wide variety of Yearly Meetings to gather to worship God, share in fellowship, and grow together in our faith as Friends.

Following the weekend gathering, those who are able to stay longer will have an opportunity for a shared service project, Tuesday, June 1 - Thursday, June 3. Young Adult Friends will work together to let our faith shine, demonstrating our love for the people of Wichita.

Finally, Thursday, June 3 - Sunday, June 6, Great Plains Yearly Meeting invites Friends to join them for their annual sessions, also held in Wichita. Great Plains Yearly Meeting is a unique Friends body, that spans much of the diversity of the Religious Society of Friends in the United States. GPYM is affiliated with Friends United Meeting, and is composed of both pastoral and unprogrammed Meetings. Some of these Meetings are individually affiliated with Evangelical Friends Church or Friends General Conference. Great Plains Yearly Meeting is at a critical point in its history and is seeking God's guidance for how it might move forward despite great challenges. Young Adult Friends are heartily welcomed and encouraged to attend GPYM's 2010 sessions, and to participate in the life and business of the Yearly Meeting.

Please consider joining us for any of these dates, whether for the weekend gathering (May 28-31), the service days (June 1-3), Great Plains Yearly Meeting (June 4-6), or some combination of the three. We hope that you will be with us as we gather to worship God, share in fellowship, and are challenged to serve others as Christ calls us to. Please save these dates, and let other young adults know about this opportunity to deepen our faith together as we are gathered and led by the Holy Spirit.

For more information, contact yaf2010@gmail.com

High school teens are cordially invited to the Lake Erie Yearly Meeting Spring Teen Retreat
Friday, March 26 – Monday, March 29
Olney Friends School, Barnesville, OH

Theme: Discovering Our Quaker Past
Through discussions, worship sharing, watching a Quaker history skit and going to the Quaker museum on
Olney’s campus, we’ll briefly explore some of the significant Quaker milestones in history.
Presenter/Discussion Leader: DR Stanley. He is a graduate of Olney Friends School, Wilmington College (BA) and Ohio University (MA) who teaches art and Quakerism at Olney Friends School.

Cost: $40/person Includes weekend program and all meals. Additional contributions welcome. Cash or check, please. Make checks payable to Lake Erie Yearly Meeting. We do not want costs to be a barrier preventing you from attending. Monthly Meetings are encouraged to help youth attend. LEYM also has a limited amount of financial assistance available. Ask your meeting for their help and contact Cari if you still need help.

RSVP: Please contact Cari Burke, LEYM High School Youth Program Coordinator (cell: 231-383-1296, e-mail: cariupnorth@gmail.com), or RSVP on Facebook. Please RSVP by Monday, 22 March 2010 if you plan on coming, as we need to buy food. If you are vegan, vegetarian, or have specific dietary needs, please indicate so on the registration form and contact Cari beforehand so that we may plan accordingly. If you want to carpool from Kalamazoo, MI or from places along the way please contact Cari. Please be sure to forward a signed version of the attached registration/medical release form to Cari even if you RSVP via email or Facebook.

Weekend activities:

- Hanging-out
- Olney GymEx Performance
- Meeting for Business
- Wink!
- Music, singing and dancing
- Meeting for Worship
- Games
- Worship Sharing
- Olney Quaker Museum
- Film of Quaker History Skit
- Discussion with DR Stanley
- Planning for future retreats

Things to bring:

- Payment (cash or check)
- Clothing for wink (i.e. t-shirt & sweats - yoga or gym-type clothing)
- Sleeping bag, pad, & pillow
- Towel & toiletries
- Medicines
- Acoustic musical instruments
- Dance party music!
- Games
- Snacks to share
- Your calendar (for planning)

If you are interested in serving as a FAP (Friendly Adult Presence) for the weekend, please contact Cari.

For driving directions to Olney Friends School, visit: http://www.olneyfriends.org/admissions/directions.htm
** Join our Facebook group: “LEYM Youth Retreat Program” **

Friend Dick Hogan from Athens MM sends along the following event announcement for a symposium entitled Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream happening Saturday, January 30, 2010 in Athens, Ohio.

Hi all,
For those who may not have received this earlier or did not get a personal invite from the team, you are cordially invited to this very special opportunity to be together to co-evolve and co-create a better future for all. Hope to see you on Saturday.  Awakening the Dreamer (ATD) number two, coming soon to the Athens as soon as early spring. Do let us know if you are interested for the next symposium. More notice next time!

Blessings for the Earth Family and Community At Home,

Dick Hogan
greenfirefarm.org
740-664-4028

See all the event details on the attached event flyer.

Following a concern raised by the LEYM Earthcare Committee with regard to the recent Supreme Court ruling removing limits on corporate spending for campaign ads, provided here are some resources related to Democracy and Corporations. They come courtesy of Greg Coleridge, Director, Economic Justice & Empowerment Program; Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee.

Supremely Reducing Democracy
The Citizens United vs FEC decision granting business corporations free speech "rights" Is the latest in a 124-year long history of legal absurdities by the US Supreme Court. The unelected, appointed-for-life robed ones have expanded entrenched Constitutional protections to entities that exist solely through legal charters imposed by the government of We The People. What's next? Declaring that computers are human beings with Constitutional rights?...continued at http://createrealdemocracy.blogspot.com

Action Steps
1. See resources listing at end. Invite us to speak, hold a workshop, take part in a Town Hall Meeting, or other action in your community.
2. 10 Ways to Stop Corporate Dominance of Politics, Yes magazine
http://www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/10-ways-to-stop-corporate-dominance-of-politics/
3. Move to Amend Take Action suggestions http://www.movetoamend.org/take-action


Since Thursday, the internet, newspapers and people around kitchen tables across the country have been ablaze with outrage over the Supreme Court's action to open the floodgates to corporate money in our elections. Over 40,000 of you have joined with us in launching a long-term campaign to amend the Constitution, and others have begun to follow your lead.

We think you'll agree that it's time to raise a ruckus! Over the weekend we prepared some ideas for things you can do and materials to get you started. Please check out our new Take Action section right now at:

Here's some of what you'll find there:
1) Spread the word! Tell your friends about the Motion to Amend. Use our form to forward a message to your contacts. Join our new Facebook page to connect with others.
2) Donate to the cause! Move to Amend is the beginning of a multi-year movement to amend the Constitution. We're gearing up big and we need your financial support.
3) Educate Others! Write a letter to the editor to explain what Citizens United ruling does and let others know how they can take action. Make sure to mention the MovetoAmend.org website. Our website has useful tips and sample letters to help get you started.
In the words of Margaret Mead, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

We agree, which is why we've also included ideas for group action like:
1) Hold a Funeral for Democracy! Organize a mock funeral outside your closest federal building, with mourners, music, speakers, and eulogies for democracy. Let everyone know that the U.S. judiciary has made democracy illegal by granting away our rights to corporations. Take video to post on YouTube, invite the media, and make sure your political officials are invited to speak in memory of democracy.
2) Organize a Study Group or Kitchen Table Discussion! Most folks do not have a deep understanding of what corporate personhood means to democracy and elections. Bring your friends, family, co-workers, fellow students, or neighbors together for a discussion about why this happened, what it means and what needs to be done. We provide materials to help get you started and readings to discuss.
3) Pass a Democracy Resolution! We include a model resolution to start from. Your political party, rotary club, city, township or even state can pass this declaration calling for a Constitutional Amendment to Legalize Democracy and Abolish Corporate Personhood. We also provide some materials to get you started if you'd like to take action at the municipal level.

ALL THAT AND MORE IS HERE:
http://www.movetoamend.org/take-action

Large corporations have used our legal system for decades to make enOrmous profits at the expense of our health, our communities, the environment and our democracy. Let's seize the moment and make the Citizens United v. FEC decision the last straw that breaks corporate rule once and for all!

Do you have other ideas for action? Let us know! http://www.movetoamend.org/node/63
If you make templates or example documents, costumes, flyers, props or other materials, we'll post them. See you in the streets!

==============================

AFSC/RELATED RESOURCES ON DEMOCRACY AND CORPORATIONS

Creating Democracy workshop
An introductory, participatory workshop on how to change laws and assert citizen authority and power.
http://www.afsc.net/PDFFiles/CDWorkshopFlyer.pdf

A Call to Democratize Money, Part I
By What Authority, published by the Program on Corporations, Law & Democracy [POCLAD]
August, 2009
http://www.poclad.org/bwa/August09.htm This is What Democracy [in Ohio] Looks Like: Ohio's Democratic/Self-Determination 'Infrastructure'
[updated, July, 2009] 16 pages http://www.afsc.net/PDFFiles/DemocraticInfrastructureJuly09.pdf
Keeping Public Assets Public

By What Authority, published by the Program on Corporations, Law & Democracy [POCLAD]
March, 2009 http://www.poclad.org/bwa/Mar09.htm

Controlling Blackwater and Other Corporations (September 21, 2007 letter to editor)
http://www.afsc.net/PDFFiles/092107PDLTEIraqContractorsGC.pdf

Honor Democracy in Iraq (September 13, 2007 letter to editor)
http://www.afsc.net/PDFFiles/091307ABJLTEIraqGC.pdf

A U.S. Constitution with DEMOCRACY IN MIND
Second of two articles on the U.S. Constitution
By What Authority, published by the Program on Corporations, Law & Democracy [POCLAD]
Spring, 2007
http://www.poclad.org/bwa/Spring07.htm

The U.S. Constitution: Pull the Curtain
First of two articles on the U.S. Constitution
Winter 2007
By What Authority, published by the Program on Corporations, Law & Democracy (POCLAD)
http://www.poclad.org/bwa/Winter07.htm

Nature not the only source of closings (February 2007 article)
http://www.afsc.net/PDFFiles/022007ClosingsGColeridge.pdf

Employee Free Choice Act (February 2007 talk)
http://www.afsc.net/PDFFiles/EmployeeFreeChoiceCole.pdf

Will changed faces result in changed policies? (November 2006 article)
http://www.afsc.net/PDFFiles/110806PostElectionEditorial.pdf

Globalization is a choice (November, 2006)
http://www.afsc.net/PDFFiles/112006ABJLTEGlobalization.pdf

Closing the Circle: The Corporatization of Elections (Article)
from By What Authority, a publication of the Program on Corporations, Law & Democracy [POCLAD], Summer, 2006
http://www.poclad.org/bwa/Summer06.htm

CorpOrNation - The Story of Citizens and Corporations in Ohio. DVD
http://www.afsc.net/Products/CorpOrNation.html

Citizens Over Corporations, A Brief History of Democracy in Ohio and Challenges to Freedom in the Future. Booklet
http://www.afsc.net/Products/COCBooklet.html

Defying Corporations, Defining Democracy: A Book of History and Strategy
http://cipa-apex.org/books/poclad/

Resources for Educators
http://www.afsc.net/educatorresources.html

Other resources on Corporations and Democracy:
http://www.afsc.net/neoresources.html

AFSC webpage on Corporations and Democracy:
http://www.afsc.net/ejcorpdem.html

Saturday, February 27, in Detroit
Including a Work Day at Friends School Birmingham and Detroit Monthly Meetings will jointly host the mid-winter gathering of Green Pastures Quarterly Meeting on Saturday, February 27. The day will begin with meeting for worship at Detroit Friends Meetinghouse (6227 West Fort Street, Detroit, MI 48209), probably starting at 9:30. There will then be a brief tour through Detroit, ending at Friends School in Detroit (1100 St. Aubin Street, Detroit, MI 48207 – corner of St. Aubin and Lafayette) for a day of cleaning and repairs, with “a bit of frivolity in the mix.” Watch for a flier announcing this event and providing more details.

The Winter 2010 LEYM Bulletin is now available for download via the LEYM website. This issue includes information on the upcoming Representative Meeting. The advance registration deadline for that event is February 16th.