Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jonathan on 9th mo. 1, 2009 at 10:51pm

Hello,

While I was unable to attend the Yearly Meeting I am currently in the process of becoming more familiar with OYM. For several months I have been in contact with a Friend from the Rockingham, VA Meeting via telephone and e-mail.

I live in Kentucky and do not have access to an OYM Monthly Meeting. I would appreciate any opportunity to connect with OYM Friends as well as others that may be new to Conservative Friends ways.

Permalink Reply by Raye on 9th mo. 2, 2009 at 7:14am

Hello, Jonathan!

Thanks for checking in. You have probably explored www.ohioyearlymeeting.org. One page that I like at that site is "What We Believe." It came out of a prayerful meeting of a number of us while we were at Yearly Meeting. At least part of the motion for collecting these statements was to communicate our experience and our joy to those interested in our community.

Friends travel a bit, so I pray that opportunity will arise for you to worship with us some time soon.

Permalink Reply by Faye M. Chapman on 9th mo. 2, 2009 at 8:47am

Greetings, Friend. It's good hearing from you. Kentucky is not worlds away from the mountains of Virginia where I live. I do hope way will open for you to stay connected with us.

Permalink Reply by Jonathan on 9th mo. 2, 2009 at 8:39pm

Raye,

Thank you for your response. I've found the OYM website to be very helpful as a source of information about Conservative Friends ways.

And I do hope to meet with Friends some time in the future. It may also be possible to eventually find others of a like mind in my area.

Permalink Reply by Jonathan on 9th mo. 2, 2009 at 8:42pm

Faye,

It's good to hear from you as well. This site is a great way to connect with Friends that one might otherwise never interact with. The communications that I've had with OYM have been, and continue to be, a great source of support and inspiration for me.

Permalink Reply by Jonathan on 10th mo. 13, 2009 at 2:11pm

Thanks Scott, it's good to hear from you via qq!

Permalink Reply by Geoffrey Gilmore on 10th mo. 27, 2009 at 9:52am

Jonathan, if you live in Kentucky, you might want to look at the "Directory of Conservative Friends" which is published by Ohio Yearly Meeting. There are at least 2 families listed there in Kentucky, so you might be able to find someone close enough to worship with at least occasionally. My parents also live in Kentucky; maybe we could meet sometime when I'm there visiting.

Permalink Reply by Jonathan on 10th mo. 27, 2009 at 1:09pm

Geoffrey,

Thank you for your message. I've been in contact with two Conservative Friends here in Kentucky; I'm not sure if they're the two families that you mentioned.

I live in the south-central part of the state and would enjoy staying in touch with a view toward possibly meeting the next time you're here in Kentucky.

Take care,
Jonathan

Permalink Reply by Faye M. Chapman on 1st mo. 26, 2010 at 7:59am

Dear Friend Amanda,
I truly hope thee can meet up with some of us at some point. Do remember that the indwelling Christ who is leading thee has many children in many places...yes even in the western part of our country. I hope this venue can be a place where thee is lifted up and led. Think what it must have been like to hear the call to cross the sea to witness to the Friends message!

Permalink Reply by Raye on 2nd mo. 13, 2010 at 8:14am

This is an offering of a little more about Ohio Yearly Meeting. I was looking through some of the publications I have, and came upon this booklet, published in 2003:

Articulating Our Faith
A Process begun by Ohio Yearly Meeting in the Spring of 2003

Here are a couple of paragraphs from it:

The search for what God would have us to do and be is at the heart of the spiritual life of Ohio Yearly
Meeting. From our individual and corporate experience of the presence of God in our hearts, we
believe that we are transformed into sons and daughters of the Almighty by the indwelling of the living
Christ within.

. . .

Our faithfulness as a meeting depends on our faithfulness as individuals. We are called to pay attention
to what God is asking of me now: to give something up, something maybe not known to others; to
pause inwardly and let go of the image of what we are supposed to do in order to see what God will
show us to do in the next moment; to pay attention and then to obey. We must keep reminding
ourselves and each other to do that: pause, listen, know and obey. Wonderful freedom follows that
obedience.

Permalink Reply by Simon Marc on 11th mo. 13, 2010 at 9:42am

Hello Friends,
I find amid all the liberal, believe everything that comes along, hippy-hippy-go free-free, Meetings AND Friends---I find Ohio Yearly Meeting a refreshing change.
So who needs another UU, trans sexual, transgender, trans-bilingual-bisexual Meeting? There are so many you can't stir 'em with a stick!!!
People are looking---NEED--something different. Something stable. I say back to the Quaker gray. Back to rules of simple speech and dress and keeping 1st Day in holiness and awe.
In short; BACK TO LIFE DEDICATED TO GOD.
simon marc

Permalink Reply by Raye on 11th mo. 13, 2010 at 8:59pm

Simon,

Thanks for checking in! As a member of Ohio Yearly Meeting, I have found many blessings among Friends of this YM. Among them have been precious times of worship, with all present gathered under the spiritual guidance and in the presence of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Our life together seems to me to be dynamic. Our center, Christ Jesus, leads us through times of change, through discernment, through difficulty. It feels uncomfortable and messy to me sometimes, as we each and all listen for the voice of our Good Shepherd in matters that affect our ways of living.

Another great blessing is the number of Friends with whom I can have loving and meaningful times of sharing, whether or not we initially feel or think the same way.

There is a variety of callings in our individual lives, the ways in which we express our faithfulness and service to our Lord. It is the Lord who is the same now and always, and we do well to respond daily to his guidance, as his presence is real and close and precious.

May you be blessed in your walk.