FGC Newsletters: January 2021

Each month, FGC distributes digital newsletters to share updates and information about FGC and its programs. Check out the introductory text and links to the newsletters and updates we shared in January 2021, including Vital Friends, Book Musings, and the FGC Gathering Update.

Book Musings: Responding to the Times

Send date: January 15th, 2021

Dear Friend,

I hope this email finds you well.  

I have really missed seeing Friends at the annual FGC Gathering and at book tables, though lately I’ve enjoyed some lovely phone conversations with our readers. I appreciate the heavier talks, too. We start out talking about books, but invariably shift to happenings in our lives and the world around us. The Bookstore is filling a need greater than selling books, especially for Friends without internet.

Everyone I know feels unsettled, angry, or scared. During times of uncertainty, the Peace Testimony is especially important. How is that testimony manifested? The Bookstore has numerous books and pamphlets on the subject. You’ll find some in the Spirit-Led Healing Collection. Seek communion with the Spirit with The Heart of Centering Prayer; be inspired by Seeds That Change the World; teach the Peace Testimony to your children with Peace is an Offering.

Other resources on the Peace Testimony in troubled times can be found on the Friends General Conference website, here.

Any Bookstore questions? I’m happy to answer them.

In Friendship,
Audrey Greenhall, Manager of QuakerBooks
AudreyG@FGCQuaker.org
(215) 561-1700 ext. 3044

In This Issue:

  • Ebooks for Adult Education
  • New Collection with Discount – Spirit-Led Healing Collection
  • Friends Journal Picks – January 2021
  • Beyond QuakerBooks – Bookshop

Read the January 2021 issue of Book Musings.


Vital Friends: Faith in 2021: Becoming Grounded and Open for the Challenges Ahead

Send date: January 17th, 2021

Dear Friend, 

When the pandemic came to North America last March, Quaker communities quickly transformed their weekly Meeting for Worship, business meetings, and events into virtual opportunities to connect and deepen our faith together. We are living through an extraordinary time of shared continuing revelation. We know now that we can adapt our spiritual practices during a pandemic. How else can we transform our community and our culture, so that more Friends feel held and newcomers can experience faith as nurturing and transformative? How will Spirit help us evolve Quaker spirituality in 2021?

Recent events have reminded us, yet again, that the pandemic is not the only ongoing crisis that is challenging us to live in new ways. The attack on the U.S. Capitol reminds us that we need to be deeply centered around the Peace Testimony, and ask ourselves, to paraphrase Parker J. Palmer – how are we living our lives in a way that makes violence unnecessary? How does Spirit and the Peace Testimony call us to have difficult conversations that create real and lasting transformation?

In this issue, we’re featuring resources for Quaker Theology and Practice in 2021, a look at our recent Quaker youth conference in December, an Anti-Racism Update with a poem and Part II of a series on helping your meeting become anti-racist, and a message of gratitude from FGC’s Development team. We also have articles by the Friends Meeting House Fund and Friends Couple Enrichment, plus our monthly round-up of virtual events in (and of interest to) the Quaker community.

In this new year, I look forward to sharing the work of FGC Friends with you, and I hope we have many opportunities to learn, grow, and deepen our experience of Quaker faith.

In Friendship,
Marta Rusek
Communications Manager for FGC

In this issue:

  • Quaker Theology and Practice
  • The Quake that Rocked the Continent: A Recap
  • A Must-Read for 2021: When the Spirit Calls
  • FGC’s Anti-Racism Ministry: January 2021 Update
  • 5 Reasons to Get a Loan through the Friends Meeting House Fund
  • Friends Couple Enrichment: Anti-Racism Work and Couple Enrichment
  • Thank You from FGC’s Development Team!
  • Virtual Events in the Quaker Community: January 2021

Read the January 2021 issue of Vital Friends.


Gathering January 2021 Update: Evening Programs Announced!

Send date: January 26th, 2021

Dear Friend,

The ups and downs of recent months have reminded me of how much we need one another. At the Gathering, we can lean on each other, learn from one another, worship together, and share our hope together. This year’s Gathering is full of opportunities to be in community together as Friends.

Check out:

  • 2021 Gathering Schedule at a Glance
  • Evening Programs
  • How does a virtual Gathering work?
  • Year-round Youth Programs

Please join us for the 2021 FGC Gathering: Way Will Open, June 27th – July 3rd. 

In service,
Lori Piñeiro Sinitzky
Gathering Conference Coordinator

Read the January 2021 Gathering Update.


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