Goose Creek Friends

Newsletter July-August 2024

Goose Creek Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Lincoln, Virginia

Book Sunday 2024!

Queries for Seventh Month – Queries for Eighth Month –

Social Concerns Stewardship of Personal Resources
• How do I express my faith in action? • Do we regard our resources as gifts from God, to
How are my actions grounded in my faith? be held in trust and shared according to the Light
• Is my sense of justice based in love? we are given?

• Do I endeavor to face the pain of the world and • What are we doing as individuals and as a
respond to it with forgiveness and compassion? meeting to nurture our gifts?

• Are you concerned for those in our society • How do we encourage the members of the larger
who are disadvantaged? community to be careful stewards of their gifts?

• Do I make an idol of that which I am led

to defend? Seventh Month Monthly Meeting for
• How do I avoid demonizing those who march Worship with a Concern for Business
against my concern? Friends approved with thanks the annual report of the
• Do I take my full share of civic responsibility? Ministry and Worship Committee. In preparation for

• Do I avoid partisan assumptions and rhetoric? Continued on next page ☞

Goose Creek Friends Newsletter | July-August 2024 | Page 2
Continued from page 1
the creation of our 2023 Spiritual State of the Meeting
report, Friends met in small worship-sharing groups.
This was well received and the Committee plans
to offer more worship-sharing opportunities during
Second Hour. Several Committee members have
formed a spiritual deepening group; they continue to
explore this format and to discern whether this would
be a good practice to offer Meeting under care of
the Committee. Three memorial services have been
held so far this year. Second Hours following second
First Days have continued to be fruitful and have
been followed by simple lunches to provide more
opportunities for fellowship. Committee members have
continued to offer Midweek Meditations via email,
and reached beyond our Friends community through a
series of online discussions of the topic “What Do
Quakers Believe?”
Friends approved with thanks the interim report of
the Trustees. Ed Devinney and Caroline Pelton are
stepping down from that committee, and Friends
approved the new trusteeships of Allen Cochran
and Cory Joseph. In addition, Meeting approved the
standardization of our name, to Goose Creek Friends
Meeting, Religious Society of Friends.
Friends approved with thanks the annual report of the
Library Committee. In addition to their work in the
library itself and the challenges presented during the
past year by the mold remediation process that took
place, the Committee collaborates with the Archive
Committee on the disposition and care of our historic
books, and with the Tech Subcommittee. The library is
now cleaned and has re-opened to Friends for browsing
and checking out books. Plans for going forward
include a new policy re: book donations and an effort
to increase Friends' interest in our collections.
Friends approved with thanks the annual report of
the Goose Creek Scholarship Committee, which
administers both the Jane Pancoast Shepherd and the
Goose Creek Scholarships. In 2024 they awarded 43
scholarships. Recipients have become more diverse
over the years, and this year we have a good mix:
scholars with clear Goose Creek connections (8), other
graduates of Loudoun County schools, students who
are attending both undergraduate and graduate schools,
and students of different ages. They try to support
students throughout their educations, so a number of
the scholarships were awarded to repeat applicants. The
Committee aims to offer substantial scholarships that
can make a real difference to the students. Going forth,
the Scholarship Committee needs a clerk.
Sheila Kryston will join this year's Nominating
Committee.
Debbi Sudduth and Sheila Kryston reported that the
Baltimore Yearly Meeting interim meeting held here
last month went well. A major item of business was the
BYM Indigenous Affairs Committee's recommendation
that a reparations payment be made to the Pawnee
Nation. Some at the meeting felt that the proposal was
not sufficiently detailed or clear, so this will be further
discussed at the Annual Session. Carolyn Unger spoke
about BYM’s historical connections with the Pawnee
Nation, including the fact that it was the Pawnee people
with whom Samuel M. Janney worked when he was one
of the first Indian Affairs superintendents, in Nebraska.
Goose Creek Jam at the
Meeting House
Sunday afternoon, July 21, at 4:00
All are welcome! Bring your instrument(s) – or
simply your voice! – and a few copies of your favorite
music.  Don't have music?  No worries – we will have
plenty to choose from. A little rusty?  No worries – we
enjoy making music together no matter what our skill
levels. Questions or comments? Contact Mac Robinson
(601-363-8367), Carolyn Ormes (703-431-1061), or
Will McCabe (571-235-5563).
From the Anti-Racism Committee:
On the evening of June 27, eight of us attended the
“Mini-Sunset Indigenous Gathering” in Bluemont.
Before the event, we toured the local Indigenous
Exhibit in the Plaster Museum of Bluemont Heritage,
located in the E. E. Lake General Store. Patrick
Littlewolf Brooks of the Tuscarora, dressed in his
regalia, demonstrated men's Northern traditional dance
and played the flute. Others drummed, danced, sang,
and talked about Indigenous traditions and Indigenous
life today. The Plaster Museum is open every Sunday,
12-3. To read more about this gathering, visit http//
harvestgathering.org/mini-gathering.html.
Continued on next page ☞

Continued from page 2
From Baltimore Yearly Meeting
BYM Yearly Meeting Annual Session
July 30-August 4, 2024
Hood College in Frederick, Maryland
A Testimony to Social Justice: Rise Up
and Let Your Life Speak
Annual Session Pre-Sessions Retreat
July 29-30
Effetá: Being Attentive to the Spirit
in a Challenging World
Offered by Francisco Burgos,
Executive Director, Pendle Hill
Whether this is your 50th Annual Session or your 1st,
you are wanted and welcome. To to learn more and to
register: https://bit.ly/3XD3Xzl
As We Are Led: BYM Seeks Friends
for Yearly Meeting Service
The Nominating Committee continues to seek
volunteers to serve on Yearly Meeting committees
and as representatives to outside organizations.
There are openings on Advancement and Outreach,
Development, and Religious Education. We are
particularly looking for representatives to Friends
General Conference Please consider engaging in this
important work with fellow Quakers! To volunteer,
please email nominating@bym-rsf.org.
A Tender Time: Quaker Voices
on the End of Life
A Tender Time explores practical, emotional, and
spiritual aspects of aging and dying well. A unique
collection of voices, historical and contemporary,
illustrates making end-of-life decisions guided by the
Spirit and Quaker values. The book provides guidance
on pastoral care at the end of life. It includes resources
for Friends, families, and Quaker meetings, including
checklists, sample forms, queries for clearness, and
further readings.
Complimentary copies are being distributed to all
BYM meetings. Additionally, all yearly meetings and
all Quaker retirement communities in the country are
receiving this book, thanks to a generous grant from
Goose Creek Friends Newsletter | July-August 2024 | Page 3
the Friends Foundation for the Aging. Individual
copies of A Tender Time are available for sale from
the Pendle Hill Bookstore and FGC's QuakerBooks, at
BYM's Annual Session July 29, and also from major
commercial outlets in the fall.
Contact admin@bym-rsf.org for bulk sales of 12 or
more – available at a 30% discount.
Coming Events at Friends
Wilderness Center
Ephemeral Art in Nature – Sat. July 20, 10:00 am
Sacred Chant and Dance – Sat., July 27, 2:00 pm
Share & Share S’more – Campfire Open Mic,
Sat., July 27, 4:00 pm
Meteors on the Meadow – Delta Aquarids,
Sat., July 27, 9:00 pm
Star Light with Kevin Boles – Perseid Meteor
Shower, Sat., August 10, 7:30 pm
Rolling Ridge Bird Walk – Tues., August 13, and
Tues., September 10, 7:30 am
Forest Therapy – Nurtured by Nature,
Sat., September 7, 11:00 am
For more information: friendswilderness.org
Meeting News
In a recent Meeting for Worship, Friends shared some
wonderful resources:
Martha Mason Semmes spoke about a piece of choral
music taken from John 1:1, "The Word Was God,"
composed by Rosaphanye Powell. You can listen
to it at several places on YouTube, including this
version sung by the Tuks Camerata of the University
of Pretoria, South Africa: https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=5g5G3nCtKU8
This month, July 2024, marks the 400th anniversary
of George Fox's birth, and Patricia Barber pointed us
to the latest edition of Friends Journal, which reflects
upon George Fox and his legacy. You can read – for
free! – some wonderful articles by Marcelle Martin,
Thomas Gates, Geoff Knowlton, and others at https://
www.friendsjournal.org.
Continued on next page ☞
Page 4 | July-August 2024 | Goose Creek Friends Newsletter

Sundays Facing Bench

Meeting for Worship at 9:45 a.m. Meeting for Worship can be joined JuLY
via Zoom by clicking or copying into your browser this address: Tim Brown
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83350737205?pwd=Z0pNM2xZRTBpSDQwa2Za ***
MmRiRHM0UT09 Meeting ID: 833 5073 7205 Passcode: 061785
First Day School & Oakdale Nursery, 10:00 a.m.

Wednesdays
Discussion Group at 7:00 (Zoom). For more information, contact “Our witness will lack in
Chuck Hough: chuck.hough@gmail.com power unless it springs from
our deep spiritual communion
Calendar with the divine presence and
with one another. We were
JULY made for that community and
07.07 Sun. 11:00 am Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business it alone will satisfy the deepest
07.14 Sun. 8:30 am Peace & Social Concerns Committee meeting longings of our hearts.” –
07.21 Sun. 4:00 pm Music jam at the Meeting House Marcelle Martin, 2003
07.28 Sun. 11:00 am Ministry & Worship Committee meeting
AUGUST NEWSLETTER
The Goose Creek Friends Newsletter
08.04 Sun. 11:00 am Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business is published monthly by the
08.11 Sun. 8:30 am Peace & Social Concerns Committee meeting Goose Creek Friends Meeting,
08.25 Sun. 11:00 am Ministry & Worship Committee meeting 18204 Lincoln Road, P.O. Box 105,
Lincoln, VA 20160.
SEPTEMBER
09.01 Sun. 11:00 am Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business CLERK
Allen Cochran, 540.338.6485
Marriage Cochransstone@aol.com
Bennett Murray, to Alexandra Saposhnikova, June 29, 2024
TREASURER
First Day Summer School Brian Burgher
goose.creek.treasurer@gmail.com
Teen Group (grades 6-12) Discussions
Middle Group (grades PreK-5) Exploring SPICES, stories, crafts NEWSLETTER
Game Days: (combined teen and middle groups) First First Days of the Month EDITOR
Oakdale Nursery Catherine Cox, 301-471-5330
blycox@comcast.net
(Infant-PreK) Children enjoy toys, games, stories and play.
WEBSITE &
Continued from page 2
FACEBOOK
www.goosecreekfriends.org
Kenneth Nichols died last month after several years of declining health. He was a https://www.facebook.com/
life-long resident of Purcellville and co-owner of Nichols Hardware, the business Goose-Creek-Friends-Meeting-
founded by his father in 1914. Ken's brother, Ed Nichols, was a cherished Goose 150892438287560/?rc=p
Creek Friend.
DONATIONS
Congratulations on their June marriage to Bennett Murray and his new wife, Please direct donations for
Alexandra Saposhnikova! Bennett is the son of Catherine Cox and Charles Goose Creek Friends Meeting to
Murray and grew up in this Meeting; Sasha is Russian but grew up in Kazakhstan. Brian Burgher, P.O. Box 105
They have been living in Serbia, where their wedding took place, and will move Lincoln, Virginia 20160 - OR -
donate online: http://www.goose-
to the US later this month. Bennett is about to begin a master's degree program at creekfriends.org/please-support-
the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. goose-creek/