Pam Kuhn, Among Friends co-editor and member of Lake Forest Friends Meeting

The Continuing Committee approved Marcia Nelson as Presiding Clerk of Illinois Yearly Meeting beginning at the rise of Annual Sessions, 2019. Marcia is a member of Downers Grove Monthly Meeting. 

Marcia started coming to Annual Sessions in the early 1990s when her children were little. She remembers the sandbox worship group. The children played in the sand, while the parents (in this case, mothers) sat in a surrounding circle and answered queries or discussed their Quaker spirituality. At the heart of this group was spiritual formation and the building of deep spiritual friendships. These parents supported each other during Annual Sessions and Marcia remembers that one day when her child was having a bad day, another mother took him under her wing, giving Marcia some much needed quiet time. 

Lisa Thompson, Lake Forest Friends Meeting

On a chilly afternoon in late April, I hopped into my van with two other Lake Forest Friends to travel to McNabb, Illinois for a weekend retreat open to cisgender women, self-identifying women, and gender minorities. We had food and luggage, sleeping bags, etc., stashed in the back and we were ready to go. But we had no idea what to expect. The topic was Nonviolent Communication. I have some experience with workshops on that subject, but I was eager to learn more.

We arrived at the ILYM campus just before supper. One of our carpool friends planned to sleep in the cabins, so we helped her set up, then headed to the Clear Creek House. The folks who had arrived early had made soup and bread. They set it out before we arrived. Every bit of the food was allergen friendly and/or labeled. which for me was a big deal. The food was also Jain friendly for our guest speakers. Jains eat a diet geared towards reducing violence on the environment. It is similar to a vegetarian diet, but also refuses any food that destroys the plant upon harvest or risks harming insect or microorganisms when pulled from the ground. Eggs, cheeses, and yogurt are also restricted because they may have living or dead creatures within. Do you know how unusual it is to find Jain-friendly food at an event? Amazing!

Liam Gardner, Interim ILYM Youth Coordinator, Urbana-Champaign Friends Meeting

Mike Dennis, Clerk of Youth Oversight, Clear Creek Friends Meeting

Over the Martin Luther King weekend, the annual Quake that Rocked the Midwest was held at Evanston Friends meetinghouse. In attendance were 19 teens and 4 main staff: Including 8 teens from Illinois Yearly Meeting (ILYM), Liam Gardner (ILYM Youth Coordinator) and Michael Dennis (ILYM Clerk of Youth Oversight); 6 teens from Scattergood Friends School & Farm (SFSF), and Thomas Weber (SFSF Head of School); and 5 teens from Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting (OVYM) and Kaia Jackson (OVYM Youth Secretary).

During the course of the Quake, there were workshops about warm fuzzies led by Liam Gardner; about social justice and its relationship to Quakers led by Mike Dennis; about restorative justice led by Arica Barton; and about sound and movement led by Gloria Bruner; In addition the teens conducted business meeting and did a service project with Chicago Friends School to help sort, transport and recycle old electronics. They also made pancakes with EFM friends, had an out trip to an indoor trampoline park, played wink, made video blogs, and generally had a good time.

The ILYM Fall Quake will be held on September 27-29 at Salem, Indiana at the Blue River Quarterly gathering. Please contact Liam Gardner for more information on the Quake. For more information on Scattergood Friends School contact Thomas Weber, tweber@scattergood.org.

In closing, the teens and staff wish to thank Jim Davidson, Kaia Jackson, Nora Barber, Gloria Bruner, Thomas Weber, John Knox, Charlotta Koppanyi and Evanston Friends for again sharing their ideas, time, meeting house and homes for hospitality to make the Quake that Rocked the Midwest happen.