PAST RELIGIOUS ED PROGRAMS
This page includes some of the past programming that our Religious Education committee has organized.
Christ and Quakerism - March 13, 2023
This Religious Education Program was facilitated by Elise Hansard and Mac Broussard.
Since we come to Friends with a host of prior religious experiences, we believe it is helpful for us to share these experiences with each other, in particular our experiences with Christianity, both positive and negative.
Quakers: The Quiet Revolutionaries - March 1, 2023
Roanoke Quaker Meeting showed the film Quakers: The Quiet Revolutionaries. This was a joint presentation by the Outreach Committee and the Religious Education Committee. Quakers: the Quiet Revolutionaries depicts the history of Friends in many of its aspects, especially its activism, from its beginnings to contemporary times. It was created by the Gardner Documentary Group and premiered on PBS. Here is a link to the trailer.
Sharing Spiritual Journeys - March 27, 2023
The Religious Education Committee facilitated the return to spiritual journey sharing, which was discontinued when Covid hit. What Zoom has happily taught is that meeting in person is not essential to deep sharing. Kent Walton kicked off our return from where he left off over two years previously! Having earlier laid the foundation of his journey, his focus was next on what it was that brought him to the Quakers.
After this initial discussion, subsequent weeks continued the focus on the spiritual journey, but included all who were present. A reading or query was selected that all could respond to from the particular perspective of their own journey, as a more free-flowing exchange similar to what happens after Sunday worship when folks hang around after announcements to follow Spirit’s often mirthful, unfailingly rich lead.
Unpacking the Testimonies: A Religious Education Discussion - February 13, 2023
Friends were asked to read "Categorically Not the Testimonies: Pulling the Quaker testimonies from their boxes" from Friends Journal June 1, 2013 By Eric Moon
These queries guided our worship sharing:
Does this article make a solid case for its claim that “The SPICE box terminology would be almost unrecognizable to the first generation of Friends”? If so, how specifically?
Do you agree that the SPICES acronym is “bumper sticker theology,” or have you found it useful even if oversimplified?
Do you consider your life a testimony, and if so, what would you like it to say?
SPICES is an acronym for Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship, often referred to as the 6 Quaker Testimonies.
Reparations Discussion - February 1, 2023
The reparations discussion was jointly presented by the Religious Education Committee and the Peace and Social Justice Committee, with help from the clerk. Roanoke Friends were offered a few brief readings and a podcast* (Memory Wars) as well as queries to help focus discussion. Friends were joined by Rev. Dr. David Jones, Pastor of Williams Memorial Baptist Church, Roanoke.
The topic of reparations has recently received much attention. It was the focus of the January 2023 Friends Journal. Friends explored the idea that White Christian Churches have been complicit in the oppression of Black people throughout our country’s history. There is more to learn about this than one might first think.
After a brief presentation, worship sharing in small groups was held focused around the following queries:
What does the word reparations evoke in you, and can you share why?
“Racism is not simply a matter of personal prejudice . . . but rather a fundamental cultural (dis)order.” How have you experienced white supremacy – perhaps in your own family – that validates the truth of this statement?
One of the essential commitments in bringing to light white supremacy is “the vulnerability of community.” In terms of white supremacy, what does becoming vulnerable mean to you?
* "Memory Wars: A podcast exploring how society confronts sin"
Memory Wars is a six-part series about how Germany has confronted its horrific past and whether America could ever do the same. Reported by Mallory Noe-Payne and featuring conversations with Richmond Times-Dispatch columnist Michael Paul Williams. From RADIO IQ
The Lest We Forget slavery museum in Philadelphia is a museum of artifacts and history of slavery.
Discernment, the Sacred Art of Finding your Way - November 14, 2022
Our lives are full of decisions, and we all want to choose wisely as we make them. Nancy Bieber offered guidance in “finding our way” using spiritual discernment: the practice of attending to the wise and loving Spirit whose wisdom and light exceed our own. Ms. Bieber believes that when “the Spirit illuminates the complexities of our decisions, we can see and understand more about ourselves and our choices.” Drawing from her book on spiritual discernment, she used stories, discussion, exercises, and participant concerns to gently guide participants in considering various aspects of their decisions and how, with God’s help, to choose wisely.
HANDOUTS: Recommended reading:
"Quotes and Summary"
BIO for Presenter: Nancy Bieber is the author of Decision Making & Spiritual Discernment the Sacred Art of Finding Your Way and Fianna’s Story. She has been a clinical psychologist, a spiritual director, and a retreat leader. She was a core teacher with School of the Spirit and served for 20 years on the teaching staff of Oasis Ministries for Spiritual Development. She has led retreats at Pendle Hill, Woodbrooke, and other around the world. An active member of Lancaster (PA) Quaker Meeting, she lives in the country with her husband, Larry, where they enjoy gardening together.
Nancy's website & Garden of the Spirit Blog
Peacemaking and the Quaker Peace Testimony - September 7, 2023
This Religious Education discussion was led by Joy Sylvester-Johnson with Sue Williams.
A Friends Journal article was the seed for this program: “Do Friends Still Need the Peace Testimony?”
Introduction to Peace Testimony Discussion by Joy Sylvester-Johnson.
Core Quaker Beliefs - September 12, 2022
Roanoke Friends continued the series on Arthur Larrabee's Nine Core Quaker Beliefs using his QuakerSpeak video. Focusing on his 8th core belief " Our inward experience of God transforms us and leads us into outward expressions of faithful living, witness and action," Friends considered the following queries in small worship sharing groups:
Is this a belief that speaks to your condition?
How does your “inward experience” of Spirit influence the way you live?
Do you agree that expressions of witness and action are an outgrowth of inward experience? Could the reverse be true? Have the outward expressions of witness challenged you to deepen your inward experience of the divine?
"Testimony" - What does it mean to you? - January 9, 2023
Religious Education Committee presented a program on Quaker Testimony. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said every word was originally a poem. Perhaps no other word is as poetic to Friends as "Testimony."
Small worship-sharing groups considered the following queries:
What has the word "testimony" come to mean to you?
If its meaning has changed over the years, how has it changed?
To what do you hope your own life "bears testimony"?
Recommended reading: passage from Baltimore Yearly Meeting Faith and Practice
All were welcome; lived experience is the only pre-requisite needed!