The Conservative Friend
An Outreach of Ohio Yearly Meeting of Friends
Friends Center of Ohio Yearly Meeting
A Retreat and Conference Center for the Exploration of Christian
Unprogrammed Quakerism and its Meaning Today Adjacent to Stillwater Meetinghouse near Barnesville, Ohio, USA
For information contact: Friends Center Coordinator, 61388 Olney Lane, Barnesville, Ohio 43713
Or contact Fran Taber at (740) 425-1248 tabersimon@zippytech.com
Registration information
Vision
The Friends Center is a retreat and conference center for outreach for the Christian unprogrammed Quakerism of Ohio Yearly Meeting. The Friends Center expresses OYM's grounding in Christian faith and its tradition of hospitality for spiritual seekers. Here we can explore, articulate and share an understanding of Quaker faith and practice which is both unprogrammed and Christian. While that faith is rooted in the experience and writings of earlier Friends, we seek to express it in ways appropriate to the language and conditions of our own time. The witness of Ohio Yearly Meeting is also shaped by our location, centered in rural eastern Ohio. It is an appropriate setting in which to explore issues affecting rural life and community as they grow out of faith.
Facilities
The central gathering space for the Friends Center is the Morlan, a
house adjacent to Stillwater Meetinghouse and bordering the campus of
Olney Friends School. The Morlan provides meeting and eating space as
well as a library and three bedrooms. Additional rooms for lodging are
available in the Mary Davis, the guest house of Olney Friends School.
Stillwater Meetinghouse can also be available. The Friends Center is
in a rural setting surrounded by the hills of Belmont County. The
facilities of Barnesville, a pleasant town of under 5,000, are
available within a few minutes' walk or drive. Attractive, quiet
grounds and nearby rural roads are available for walking.Personal Retreats
Take time out from the busy-ness of your life to accept Jesus's invitation to come aside and rest awhile Friends have known since our beginning that times of retirement from outward activity nourish the soul and allow us to sink deeper into an awareness of God's work in our lives. In solitude one can experience with William Penn that "True silence is... to the spirit, what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment."
A weekend, a day or several days in the solitude of a personal retreat offers time for refreshment of both body and spirit. It provides opportunity to take our lives into the silence before God, to listen more deeply to the Inward Teacher; it opens the way for God's transforming work in us.
Persons wishing for consultation during their time of retreat may arrange to talk with a Friend experienced in spiritual guidance. Frances Taber, a graduate of Shalom Institute's Spiritual Guidance Program, who also developed a personal retreat program at Pendle Hill, is available as her schedule permits.
The Morlan House is available for personal retreats as the schedule permits. One may enjoy the use of the house alone, or possibly with one other retreatant in residence. Each person will have a private bedroom with a comfortable chair and a writing table. The bath is shared; an additional half-bath is also available. A living room and a library of Quaker and other spiritual books are at the disposal of the retreatant. A patio and swing give opportunity for sitting outdoors.
The retreatant may bring food to prepare in the Friends Center's fully-equipped kitchen. Alternately, arrangements may be made to pick up the noon and evening meals at the Olney School kitchen, with breakfast groceries available in the house.
To schedule a retreat, use contact information above. Cost per day with retreatant bringing food: $25. The cost for a full week is $150. Meals from the Olney kitchen: $6.50 each for lunch and supper. Breakfast food provided at the Friends Center, per day: $3.00. Two grocery stores are within walking distance.
Rentals
The Friends Center will rent space to compatible groups needing meeting space or facilities for small conferences. Use of the Friends Center for a half day is $20; for a full day, up to 12 hours: $35. Lunch or supper from the Olney School kitchen, by arrangement, costs $6.50 per person.
Talking About Christ in Liberal Meetings
14-16 March 2008
Led by Brian Drayton
Cost: $120. Click here for registration information.
One way or the other, Christ is a presence even in the most liberal of Friends meetings, but He may be welcomed with ambivalence or not at all. For some, He is the beloved companion, prophet, and guide. Others consider Him an historic relic, a controversial shibboleth in the culture wars, or a Jungian archetype. How do Friends in your meeting regard Christ? What happens when you or others in your meeting
speak about Him ? How does Christ affect the life of your meeting? What way might open for the life of your meeting, or yourself, if you could speak more freely, more honestly, about Christ in all his manifestations and meanings, with others in your community?
During this weekend, we will explore our experiences in speaking about Christ - positive or negative. More than that, we will consider how we can help each other to a liberating engagement with the cultural, emotional, spiritual issues that arise within and among us, owing to the diversity of attitudes and interpretations of Christ in our meetings. How can this engagement feed our peacemaking, our prayer lives, our ministry to each other, our testimony to the world, the divisions among Friends?
Brian Drayton of Weare (NH) Monthly Meeting is a plant ecologist working in science education research. He has traveled extensively in the ministry, carrying a concern to encourage those who contribute to their meeting's ministry. He has given workshops, retreats, and addresses on a range of topics in Quaker history and belief for monthly, quarterly, and yearly meetings and Pendle Hill. In 1994, he published Selections from the Writings of James Nayler. In 2003 Brian was one of the originators of the Quaker Peacebuilders Camp, a program for teaching nonviolent action based on Quaker spirituality. His most recent book, On Living With a Concern for Gospel Ministry, has been among the best selling Quaker books since 2006.
Led by Brian Drayton
Cost: $120. Click here for registration information.
One way or the other, Christ is a presence even in the most liberal of Friends meetings, but He may be welcomed with ambivalence or not at all. For some, He is the beloved companion, prophet, and guide. Others consider Him an historic relic, a controversial shibboleth in the culture wars, or a Jungian archetype. How do Friends in your meeting regard Christ? What happens when you or others in your meeting
speak about Him ? How does Christ affect the life of your meeting? What way might open for the life of your meeting, or yourself, if you could speak more freely, more honestly, about Christ in all his manifestations and meanings, with others in your community?
During this weekend, we will explore our experiences in speaking about Christ - positive or negative. More than that, we will consider how we can help each other to a liberating engagement with the cultural, emotional, spiritual issues that arise within and among us, owing to the diversity of attitudes and interpretations of Christ in our meetings. How can this engagement feed our peacemaking, our prayer lives, our ministry to each other, our testimony to the world, the divisions among Friends?
Brian Drayton of Weare (NH) Monthly Meeting is a plant ecologist working in science education research. He has traveled extensively in the ministry, carrying a concern to encourage those who contribute to their meeting's ministry. He has given workshops, retreats, and addresses on a range of topics in Quaker history and belief for monthly, quarterly, and yearly meetings and Pendle Hill. In 1994, he published Selections from the Writings of James Nayler. In 2003 Brian was one of the originators of the Quaker Peacebuilders Camp, a program for teaching nonviolent action based on Quaker spirituality. His most recent book, On Living With a Concern for Gospel Ministry, has been among the best selling Quaker books since 2006.
A Structured Sojourn
25-27 April 2008
Led by Ken and Katharine Jacobsen
Cost: $60 per person. Click here for registration information.
As the responses of participants in the Structured Sojourn we offered in the spring of 2007 were enthusiastic, we are offering this format again.
Many Conservative Friends believe they can best share their faith by ėletting their lives
speak. To share a way of life that grows out of faith, participants will spend two nights as guests in the homes of Friends of Stillwater Monthly Meeting, joining their hosts for breakfast and parts of their ordinary lives, including work projects.
Time will also be scheduled for Sojourn participants to gather together with the group leaders at the Friends Center for reflection, discussion and other meals.
Persons interested in a longer sojourn experience should contact the Friends Center to explore possibilities.
Ken and Katharine Jacobsen are members of Ohio Yearly Meeting currently living in Wisconsin. While living in Ohio and active in Stillwater Monthly Meeting, Ken and Katharine served in the leadership of Olney Friends School. Katharine is an elder in Stillwater Meeting.
Groups of 5 to 12 people who would like to sojourn together may contact the Friends Center to arrange a custom date and to discuss any particular interests the group may have. Facilitators for a specially arranged sojourn may be Frances Taber and Richard Simon, Friends Center coordinators, or other members of Ohio Yearly Meeting.
Led by Ken and Katharine Jacobsen
Cost: $60 per person. Click here for registration information.
As the responses of participants in the Structured Sojourn we offered in the spring of 2007 were enthusiastic, we are offering this format again.
Many Conservative Friends believe they can best share their faith by ėletting their lives
speak. To share a way of life that grows out of faith, participants will spend two nights as guests in the homes of Friends of Stillwater Monthly Meeting, joining their hosts for breakfast and parts of their ordinary lives, including work projects.
Time will also be scheduled for Sojourn participants to gather together with the group leaders at the Friends Center for reflection, discussion and other meals.
Persons interested in a longer sojourn experience should contact the Friends Center to explore possibilities.
Ken and Katharine Jacobsen are members of Ohio Yearly Meeting currently living in Wisconsin. While living in Ohio and active in Stillwater Monthly Meeting, Ken and Katharine served in the leadership of Olney Friends School. Katharine is an elder in Stillwater Meeting.
Groups of 5 to 12 people who would like to sojourn together may contact the Friends Center to arrange a custom date and to discuss any particular interests the group may have. Facilitators for a specially arranged sojourn may be Frances Taber and Richard Simon, Friends Center coordinators, or other members of Ohio Yearly Meeting.
Friend's Center at Stillwater: Registration Information
To register, use the form in this page or include the information
requested on a piece of paper. We'll have a downloadable brochure up
here pretty soon.
Mail to:
Friends Center Coordinator
61388 Olney Lane
Barnesville, Ohio 43713
To propose dates for your own group or arrange for a longer sojourn, contact Fran Taber at 740-425-1248 or at tabersimon@zippytech.com
Friends Center Registration Information
Each weekend event begins with a meal at 6:00 PM on Friday and ends with a noon meal on Sunday. Please include a $25 deposit for each event with your registration, which can be refunded up to a week before the starting date of the event. If you need to cancel your registration, please phone Fran Taber (740-
425-1248). Requests for single occupancy rooms will be honored, as space is available, for an additional $20 for the weekend. Scholarship aid is usually available.
PLEASE REGISTER ME(US) FOR THE FOLLOWING EVENT(S)
____Centering Prayer Workshop October 26-28, 2007 COST: $ 120
____Friends Talking about Christ March 14-16, 2008 COST: $ 120
____A Structured Sojourn with Conservative Friends April 25-27, 2008 COST: $ 60
Name(s)__________________________________________________email__________________________________________
City______________________________________State_______Zip____________Phone_______________________________
Vegetarian Option: I eat no meats_____ Fish only _____ Fish and fowl____
I prefer a single room and will pay an additional $20 for the weekend _____
Other information you want us to know about you for your health or comfort__________________________________________
I am enclosing $________________deposit with this reservation (refundable up to one week before event starts)
Please make checks payable to Friends Center and mail to Friends Center Coordinator, 61388 Olney Lane, Barnesville, OH 43713
Mail to:
Friends Center Coordinator
61388 Olney Lane
Barnesville, Ohio 43713
To propose dates for your own group or arrange for a longer sojourn, contact Fran Taber at 740-425-1248 or at tabersimon@zippytech.com
Friends Center Registration Information
Each weekend event begins with a meal at 6:00 PM on Friday and ends with a noon meal on Sunday. Please include a $25 deposit for each event with your registration, which can be refunded up to a week before the starting date of the event. If you need to cancel your registration, please phone Fran Taber (740-
425-1248). Requests for single occupancy rooms will be honored, as space is available, for an additional $20 for the weekend. Scholarship aid is usually available.
PLEASE REGISTER ME(US) FOR THE FOLLOWING EVENT(S)
____Centering Prayer Workshop October 26-28, 2007 COST: $ 120
____Friends Talking about Christ March 14-16, 2008 COST: $ 120
____A Structured Sojourn with Conservative Friends April 25-27, 2008 COST: $ 60
Name(s)__________________________________________________email__________________________________________
City______________________________________State_______Zip____________Phone_______________________________
Vegetarian Option: I eat no meats_____ Fish only _____ Fish and fowl____
I prefer a single room and will pay an additional $20 for the weekend _____
Other information you want us to know about you for your health or comfort__________________________________________
I am enclosing $________________deposit with this reservation (refundable up to one week before event starts)
Please make checks payable to Friends Center and mail to Friends Center Coordinator, 61388 Olney Lane, Barnesville, OH 43713
