Conference Epistle 2007

The fifth biannual Quaker Women's Conference on Faith and Spirituality was held November 1 – November 4, 2007 at Canyon Camp and Conference Center in Hinton, OK. The camp lies at the base of Red Rock Canyon. We were graced by days of sun lighting up the rugged cliffs and early autumn foliage. Our theme this year was “Mustard seeds in the 21^st Century: Growing in the Spirit.” In attendance were fifty-one Friendly women including members of our sponsoring yearly meetings: Evangelical Friends Church, Mid-American Yearly Meeting, South Central Yearly Meeting, and Great Plains Yearly Meeting, as well as women from other Yearly Meetings. We were fortunate to welcome Dorothy Day from Friends World Committee for Consultation and Sue Axtell from Earlham College of Religion. Peggy Parsons, recorded minister of Freedom Friends Church in Salem, Oregon, joined us as a guest speaker.

“Spiritual journeys take different paths.” These were the first words of the registration brochure inviting us to Quaker Women's Conference. Coming from different paths, we arrived at Canyon Camp equipped with homemade jam, herbs and spices. These would be mingled in Thursday evening's bread-baking activity. This activity introduced us to the women assigned to our home group. We shared the process of transforming a sack of dry ingredients into golden brown goodness using Betty Jean Penrose's mother's recipe.

Through a series of scriptural passages and queries, our home groups provided a safe environment for us to share our stories of spiritual turning points, weathering storms, God's call in our lives, and bearing fruit. The home groups offered an opportunity to speak to each other in the Spirit, bridging our differences in love.

Times of programmed and unprogrammed worship refreshed our spirits. Deeply personal stories of spiritual growth and prophetic ministry touched our hearts and challenged us to listen and act upon God's call in our lives.

Eva Brightup and Liz Wine shared journeys of coming into awareness as a spiritual being. Our traveling Friend from Oregon, Peggy Parsons, recounted a transformative experience in which God utilized her to begin a process of healing for a traumatized church and community. Peggy identified obstacles to hearing and obeying God's call to action. She challenged us to remove these obstacles.

Jude Filler and Lois Smuck inspired us with their courage in weathering personal storms and finding the Spirit in adversity. Donnetta Carpenter and Donna Dzerlinga offered fresh understanding on what it means to bear spiritual fruit in ministry and in raising children.

Twelve workshops were offered over the weekend. Some of these focused on creative expression, including beading, knitting scarves, faith-booking, and butterfly-making. Consistent with our theme of sowing seeds and growth, we provided workshops on eating and growing locally and on Quaker attitudes toward food and drink.

We enjoyed learning about each other as programmed and unprogrammed Friends through two workshops: “Quakers by Convincement” and “Similarities and Differences in Quakers”.We also learned about each other in the informal process of getting together to eat, sing, talk, walk and play. Shelli Kadel led and accompanied a small, but enthusiastic choir.

In one workshop we turned our hearts and minds to the suffering of Iraqi refugees. In another we viewed the hopeful beginnings of peace in Rwanda and Burundi with a slide show presentation on Evangelical Friends mission work.

Friday evening Liz Wine emceed a coffee house. We enjoyed poetry, tai chi, singing, and scarf juggling. Saturday evening two historical Quaker Women, Mary Dyer and Elizabeth Fry, mysteriously appeared. Although laced with humor, the stories of these Quaker heroines exemplified courage and trust in God's call.

After semi-programmed worship on Sunday our conference closed with singing hymns and songs frequently used by Quakers from different traditions. Discussing these songs and hymns in small groups allowed us to open a window from which to view differences in our traditions.

“Spiritual journeys take different paths.” These words reflect reality, but from November 1st to November 4th, programmed and unprogrammed Quaker women were on one path – the path of loving companionship. We left the red rocks of Canyon Camp having been taught by the Spirit.