Meet Your Staff: Patsy Arnold Martin

Patsy Arnold Martin has served as a teacher, a radio DJ, a public librarian, and a Peace Corps Volunteer in Malaysia. Her role as Junior Gathering Coordinator was one she felt compelled to do from the moment she was interviewed at FGC, and one she still sees as vital, fulfilling work.

When she was asked “Why do you want this job?” by FGC’s then-General Secretary Bruce Birchard, Patsy Arnold Martin gave an answer that she still remembers vividly.

“Seriously, I don’t want this job, I feel compelled to apply for this job,” she told him. “I feel I’m being led to this work. My adult children are Quakers today due in great part to the influence of the Gathering, and particularly, Junior Gathering. For the future of the Religious Society of Friends, I see this as vital work, and feel a leading to be part of this work.” 

Eleven years later, she says, “I still feel the same way about this work.”

Get to know Patsy Arnold Martin, the Junior Gathering Coordinator for the annual FGC Gathering.

How long have you worked for FGC?

I began on October 5, 2005 with a Gathering Committee Meeting at University Friends Meeting in Seattle.

What are three interesting things Friends should know about you?

In addition to 29 years as an educator, I have worked as a radio DJ, a public librarian, and a Peace Corps Volunteer in Malaysia.

What do you like most about being a Quaker?

The mystery of Meeting for Worship.

What is your favorite part of the Gathering? What do you look forward to most about it?

I think my answer to both these questions is the same thing: having the opportunity to see and work with so many people that I love, who I don’t get to see very often.

This edition of Meet Your Staff originally appeared in the January 2017 issue of FGC’s Vital Friends eNewsletter. 

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