Welcome all, dear ones all. We need one another. We need all hearts open, all minds full of ideas, all hands on board, all feet ready to dance together. Together in faith we can become clearer about how way will open. People in our Yearly Meeting are doing amazing acts of love and faith. They are repairing little corners of our world. Let us share together.

To challenge us on this journey, we welcome Jay O’Hara as our Friend in Residence. Jay O’Hara is a member of Sandwich Monthly Meeting on Cape Cod, and is a co-founder of the Climate Disobedience Center. Jay was part of the team that in 2016 shut down five pipelines carrying crude oil from Canada’s tar-sands. A visionary climate activist, Jay works to deepen the spiritual underpinnings of powerful action in the world. Jay will be accompanied by his elder, Susan Davies, from Maine.

Through Abundant Financing, our Annual Session can continue to be accessible for Friends of all levels of financial means. We need all amongst our big Quaker Community here in the North Pacific to come together. Each has something to give to others. We will continue working to make our place welcoming for Friends of color by following the suggestions made by last year’s Friend in Residence, Vanessa Julye. We have invited Vanessa to join us again this year to help us continue to challenge ourselves in relation to racism.  

 Let’s all provide loving attention to the Children’s Program. We will notice the children playing, thinking, questioning and standing in awe of creation. Youth bring us magnificent gifts. Even more reason to listen deeply to God’s call for the world. Our Junior Friends and Central Friends will be conducting their own business meetings and playing and supporting one another. We are all connected.

At the heart of our time together is the business meeting. We will consider a minute on undoing racism as we seek new ways to live more fully and with greater integrity. Agenda and written materials will be published ahead of time for preparation by all those in attendance. During this time of worship how will the Spirit call us to act? Strengthened by being together in Quaker community, how will we, individually and together, go forth in faith to witness to the wider world?  

See you at Annual Session, North Pacific Yearly Meeting, July 17-21 at Linfield College, McMinnville, Oregon.

Lucretia Humphrey, Presiding Clerk presiding_clerk@npmy.org