Earlham School of Religion

Public Ministry Workshop Series: Accountability for Public Ministry
2024-10-17 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Indiana/Indianapolis)
Join Powell House for the second of three skills workshops co-sponsored by Quaker Leadership Center. This workshop will dive deep into material explored in our first workshop with QLC. What is accountability to a call, and how do we actively fulfill this as religious communities?

Register for this event

Pastors Conference
2024-10-18 08:30 - 16:00
Join us on Friday, October 18th for a day of reflecting on the role of silence in pastoral ministry.

Whether programmed or unprogrammed, Quakers have always valued silence as an important means of accessing divine grace and listening to God. Some talk about “centering down” or “communion in the manner of Friends”; programmed Meetings talk about “open worship” or “waiting worship.” In a noisy and divisive time, the place of silence and stillness seems more important than ever. Yet we are also aware of folks being “silenced” from sharing hard truths or strong emotions. How do we address these issues?

Non-Quakers are also welcome to join the conversation! Many other traditions have contemplative components to their worship and liturgy. Let’s learn from each other.

REGISTER HERE

Our featured presenter will be Gregg Koskella from Newberg, Oregon. Here is his bio:

After spending decades as a pastor, I no longer have that as my job. Our faith community shattered, and yet I still am committed to walking the journey of life and faith in community. Writings of women from the Middle Ages, mystics like Hildegard of Bingen and Catherine of Siena, have grounded me in the last few years and given me a new (and ancient) spiritual life.

I want to be someone who pursues and explores in all kinds of ways. I’m deeply committed to honesty and living with integrity to the best of my ability. I know and love theology, Quakers, and church life, and also have found that the distance of not serving in day-to-day ministry gives a different perspective. I hope that will be helpful and encouraging to those in vocational ministry.

I’ve been Elaine’s husband since 1990. I’m also Aubrey, Hayley, and Natalie’s dad.

He is the author of Finding Hildegard: Healing through Medieval Wisdom.

Join us for a rich time of fellowship, conversation, worship, and learning. Breakfast and lunch will be provided for those attending in-person.

Author Talk with Richard Foster & Mimi Dixon
2024-11-12 19:00 - 20:30
We will talk with Richard Foster about his journey among Friends and with his best-selling book Celebration of Discipline. We will also talk with Mimi Dixon about her recently published book Worth Celebrating about the impact of Celebration. Join us for this generative conversation!

REGISTER HERE

Bios

Richard J. Foster is the innovative pioneer who reintroduced ancient spiritual resources to contemporary Christians, especially among evangelicals and other Protestants. The author of several bestselling books, including Celebration of Discipline and Streams of Living Water, he is the founder of Renovaré, an infrachurch movement committed to the renewal of the Church in all her multifaceted expressions. Having studied at George Fox University and Fuller Theological Seminary, Foster has served as a pastor and taught worldwide on spiritual formation. He and his wife, Carolynn, have two grown children, many grandchildren, and live near Denver, Colorado.

Miriam (Mimi) Dixon began her ministry in 1979 serving as an associate pastor at Northminster Presbyterian Church in Seattle, Washington. From April of 1985 to May of 2019 she served as senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Golden, Colorado. She earned both her MDiv and DMin degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary. Mimi is on the Renovaré Board of Directors and teaches for the Renovaré Institute. She is faculty for Next Frontiers, a ministry to pastors in transition, and actively promotes Christian Spiritual Formation, crediting Richard Foster and Dallas Willard for their influence in her life and ministry. Mimi has authored Worth Celebrating: a biography of Richard J Foster’s Celebration of Discipline, available through Barclay Press.

Public Ministry Workshop Series: Eldering a Public Minister
2024-11-21 19:00 - 21:00
Join Powell House for the third of three skills workshops co-sponsored by Quaker Leadership Center. Do you feel a call to serve as an elder, or support person, to another’s public ministry? Join us for a conversation about lessons learned in serving in this capacity, including how to ask for and offer eldership and negotiate this important relationship.

Register for this event

Trustees Training Series #1: Narrative Budget
2025-01-16 20:00 - 21:30
Join us for a new trustees training series with new topics. We will gather on Zoom monthly on the third Thursday of January through May, 2025. Emily Provance will facilitate the series but each session will have a different guest speaker.

For our January training, we will discuss how to create and use a narrative budget.

MLK Jr. Day Celebration - Public Lecture
2025-01-20 19:00 - 21:00
What Would Martin Luther King Do Now’? by Rev. Robert ‘Bob’ Hunter

Free admission – Registration is Required.

Please join us for the 2025 MLK Jr. Day celebrations with a public lecture, ‘ What Would Martin Luther King Do Now’? by Rev. Robert ‘Bob’ Hunter.

Before retirement in 2014, Rev. Bob Hunter was a Diversity and Justice specialist for the Indiana Division of Intervarsity. He was also on the national leadership team for Black Campus Ministries of InterVarsity. He has taught courses in Racism, Conflict Management, and occasionally Statistics at Trinity College, Binghamton University, and Earlham College and is the former chair of the Richmond Indiana Human Rights Commission. He has twice won the Frieda Dawkins Award for his work in Civil and Human rights. He is the Co-Author of Loving Justice, InterVarsity Press, 1990, and Co-editor of Yearning to Breathe Free: Liberation Theologies in the United States, Orbis Press, 1990.

Bob has two grown children, Rachel and Daniel. Rachel, a talented musician, teaches Spanish at Richmond Friends School. Daniel is an organizer and skilled trainer, having worked with 350.org on Environmental Justice issues for 15 years. He is the author of 5 books on organizing and justice work, including his recent book “What Would You Do If Trump Wins.” Bob was married to Dr. Carol Hunter for 40 years until her death in 2015. Together, they worked for various organizations and taught justice issues to scores of students. Bob is on the board of Just Faith Ministries, The Richmond Equity Commission, and a pianist at Bethel African Methodist Church in Richmond, Indiana.

Trustees Training Series #2: Session 2, Dividing the Work & Good Communication
2025-02-20 20:00 - 21:30
Join us for a new trustees training series with new topics. We will gather on Zoom monthly on the third Thursday of January through May, 2025. Emily Provance will facilitate the series but each session will have a different guest speaker.

For our February training, we will discuss how to divide up responsibilities and practice good communication. What authority belongs to trustees? What authority belongs to the whole meeting or church or Quaker organization? How do we prevent communications gaps and hard feelings? How do we divide our responsibilities if the group has trustees, a finance committee, a property committee, a treasurer, and possibly even staff and a board of directors? How do we avoid stepping on each other’s toes, getting our work done reasonably efficiently while still relying on guidance from the Holy Spirit? Because these arrangements vary so much from one organization to another, this workshop will not attempt to provide any “correct” answers. Instead, we’ll focus on considering helpful principles. How do we maintain a functional and mutually respectful community?

Willson Lecture 1 - Jubilee and Decolonization: Navigating the Colonial Past to Redefine a Decolonized Future in African Quakerism. Featuring Prof. Esther Mombo
2025-02-21 19:00 - 21:00
Professor Esther Mombo teaches at St. Paul’s University in Limuru, Kenya, where she has served for fourteen years in senior management positions of Academic dean and Deputy Vice-chancellor of Academic Affairs (DVCAA) Director at St. Paul’s Lifelong Learning Institute, Director of International Partnerships and Alumni Relations. Her research and teaching interests span the fields of Church History, with a focus on Mission History, interfaith Relations, and Theology & Gender Studies, with a focus on African women’s Theologies.While connected to the University of St. Paul’s, the University of Dublin, and the University of Edinburgh, she has directed and examined postgraduate students in research, most of whom are serving the church in different capacities, including senior church leadership, organizations, and academia. She has mentored students, especially women who now serve in church religious organizations and academic institutions in different parts of the world. She has served as an external examiner for postgraduate students in several universities, including African International University, Kenyatta University, Makumira University in Tanzania, and Kwa Zulu Natal, and Pretoria Universities in South Africa.In 2007, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by Virginia Theological Seminary for her work in bringing to the fore issues of gender disparity and gender justice in Church and society. In 2023, she was awarded another honorary doctorate by her alma mater, the University of Edinburgh.Professor Mombo has been a visiting professor at several universities, including the Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology (EGEST), Bright School of Divinity at Texas Christian University, Graduate Institute of Theology in Yonseo University Seoul, South Korea, Candler School of Theology, Emory University and Utrecht University. Professor Mombo has served in several ecumenical committees including co-chair of the Commission of Education and Ecumenical Formation of the World Council of Churches. She is chair of the African Contemporary Institute of Research in Africa(AICMAR) and the East African Co-ordinator of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians (CCAWT). Currently, she serves on these boards: American Friends Service Commission and Friends World Committee of Consultation. I serve on these high school boards: Gianchere High School in Kisii County and Umoja High School in Kiambu County.

Professor Mombo has written extensively, and some of her work can be found here.

Free Admission

2025 Perkins Family Lecture Series - With Colin Saxton
2025-04-23 19:00 - 21:00 | Earlham School of Religion & Zoom, 228 College Avenue, Richmond, Indiana, 47374-5360, United States
Yearning and Yielding: Living Together in the Life and Power of God

Friends all everywhere, in the life and power of God, live and dwell, and spread the truth abroad. Quench not the spirit, but live in love and unity one with another; that with the wisdom of God, ye may all be ordered to God’s glory… And live all as the family of God in love, in life, in truth, in power… George Fox, Epistle 150

For many, these are fearful and anxious times. Our world is marked by injustice and violence, isolation and division, and hope often feels like it is slipping from our fingers. Quakers, of course, are not immune to these realities. We fret over the future, worry about declining numbers, and often find ourselves caught in a cycle of not knowing what to do and just wanting to do something to make a difference.

In our better moments, we know a deeper truth. Not only is there One who can speak to our condition but also One who can animate and empower our lives and life together—if we are willing. Over the last several years, I have been struck by George Fox’sGod’s repeated admonition and invitation to others to “God’s”live in the Life and Power.“ In the face of their current crises and challenges, he would often ask how or whether this was their reality.

Do I live in the Life and Power? Do you? Do we—as the Religious Society of Friends?

“I yearn to know in my bones the reality of Christ and learn to yield to the power available through the Risen One“ (Philippians 3:10). Even more, I long to belong to a community that hungers and thirsts for this same reality, as we proclaim and demonstrate the peaceable kingdom. I invite you to join me and help me consider and act on what this might mean as we gather at ESR. Friends all everywhere, in the life and power of God, live and dwell, and spread the truth abroad.

Colin Saxton Bio

Colin is a member of North Valley Friends in Newberg, OR. He and Janine are the parents of four grown children and two grandchildren. After working for Quaker organizations for most of his adult life, Colin now serves as the Everence Stewardship Theologian and Director of Church Relations. Through teaching, speaking, writing, and facilitation, he helps individuals, congregations, denominations, and non-profits reimagine approaches to generosity and faithful stewardship. Through Everence, he serves as an adjunct instructor through the Lake Institute/Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

Colin has served the Quaker community as a pastor, adjunct professor, fundraiser, retreat leader/speaker, Yearly Meeting superintendent, and General Secretary of Friends United Meeting. He has been a board member for several organizations and has traveled the world, visiting and teaching among Friends and others. Colin received his M.A. from Eastern Mennonite Seminary and a D.Min. in leadership and spiritual formation from George Fox University/Seminary. He is a partner and associate with Growing Edge Resources (https://www.growingedgeresources.com), a coaching and consulting company working with individuals, congregations, and non-profits to help them discover their growing edge. Colin has written for several publications, including a handful of books through Friends United Press. His blog, Walking in the Way and Stumbling Toward Faithfulness, is “at https://walkingintheway.blog.

Response By Scott Wagoner

Scott is presently the Pastoral Minister at High Point Friends Meeting (FUM) in High Point, North Carolina. He has been in Quaker pastoral ministry for forty years. His first pastorate was in Farmland, Indiana while he was attending the Earlham School of Religion from 1986-1990. He graduated in 1990 with an M.Div. with Honors. Scott is presently the Assistant Clerk for Friends United Meeting North America and also serves on the Board for the School of the Spirit, a Quaker contemplative prayer ministry as well as the ESR Board of Advisors. Scott is also a certified Coach with the International Coaching Federation and offers coaching for individuals, organizations, and congregations. He often partners with Colin Saxton through his LLC, “Growing Edge Resources” to facilitate coaching experiences with congregations towards helping them flourish and discover their growing edge. He recently co-authored a book with Eddie Hammett titled, “Coaching as Spiritual Practice” which will be available soon as an eBook and in print form.

QLC Annual Conference - Publishers of the Truth
2025-05-02 16:30 - 2025-05-05 13:00
Our Quaker Leadership Center annual conference will be a collaboration with Pendle Hill’s Quaker Institute at their campus in Pennsylvania. We will explore how Friends witness and publish the truth with integrity (both within and outside our Meetings), in an age of fractured political realities, disinformation, and artificial intelligence. Registration is now open on Pendle Hill’s website.

Ministering in Anxious Times: 2025 ESR's QLC Pastors Conference
2025-09-26 10:00 - 16:00 | Earlham School of Religion & Zoom, 228 College Avenue, Richmond, Indiana, 47374-5360, United States
Ministry always has challenges. Ministering in anxious times provides some unique challenges. Kelly Burk (counselor and pastor) will engage us in preparing ourselves for how to meet the challenges and meet people where they are without losing ourselves. Jim Higginbotham (professor of pastoral care) will provide additional insight and perspective. The ESR Pastors Conference will include interactive elements throughout the day.

Presented by the Quaker Leadership Center @ Earlham School of Religion

This topic is so important and pertinent to our times that ESR’s Quaker Leadership Center is offering this experience as a “Pay-as-Led.” This means you pay what you can. Please note that for onsite participants this event does include lunch. The actual cost to provide this program is $50 per person onsite and $25 per person for online (Zoom) Please keep these factors in mind as you discern what you can pay.

QLC Quaker Beliefs for Everyone Course with Steve Angell
2025-10-02 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-10-09 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-10-16 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-10-23 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-10-30 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-11-06 19:00 - 21:00 | Earlham School of Religion & Zoom, 228 College Avenue, Richmond, Indiana, 47374-5360, United States
This course is for Friends who want to understand the deep roots of our current practices!

About this Course:Quakerism is not a credal religion, but all varieties of Quakerism are structured around certain doctrines that have roots going back to the religion’s seventeenth century origins. I will lead a consideration of what these doctrines have been, and how they were understood prior to about 1700. Robert Barclay’s Apology for a True Christian Divinity (English version published in 1678) is an optional reading to prepare for this workshop, but you are welcome to attend if you have not had the opportunity to read. I will present and there will subsequently be an opportunity for small group discussion, and for each group to post a short summary of their discussion in the chat. Subsequently, I will also take some questions.

The topics for the six weeks will be:

1. God and Christ

2. Human Nature and Holiness

3. Barclay’s Understanding of Scripture, its Uses and Authority

4. Spiritual Sacraments

5. Eschatology and the Testimonies

6. Barclay’s Understanding of Worship and Ministry

Bio:

Stephen W. Angell has taught Quaker Studies at the Earlham School of Religion for 25 years. He has co-edited The Oxford Handbook of Quaker Studies, Early Quakers and their Theological Thought, The Creation of Modern Quaker Diversity, and several other books. He is a member of the Oxford Quaker Meeting in Oxford, Ohio.

Payment:The six-week course is being offered “Pay-as-Led.” This means you pay what you can. We suggest a donation of $30 – $300 depending what you discern is appropriate for your circumstances.

Registration:https://QuakerBeliefsforEveryone.eventbrite.com

Experiential Seminar: Teaching Peace in 2025
2025-10-07 19:00 - 20:30
online on Zoom, onsite @ Perkins-Wildman Community Center building at Earlham School of Religion, Richmond IN)

Diana Hadley and David Weatherspoon will engage participants in an interactive, immersive example that illustrates how to teach and live peace.

Register for Teaching Peace

Diana Hadley

Diana Hadley is a retired educator. She taught at the high school level for 33 years and the college level for 13 years. During her tenure at Franklin College, she created the curriculum for a peace studies class that she eventually shared with David Weatherspoon. That teamwork was so inspiring to Diana and David that they wrote a book about the class titled: The Peace Class: A study of Effective Cheek-Turning, Neighbor-Loving and Sword-To-Plowshare Conversion. The book includes the peace studies curriculum approach and specific class activities.

Diana continues to emphasize peace initiatives as an active member of Indiana Friends Committee on Legislation, a Quaker lobby group that speaks for issues that affect all Hoosiers at the state legislature. The bipartisan group focuses on education, environment, public health, justice, voting and most recently, affordable housing and eviction issues.

Diana is strong supporter of Earlham and ESR, serving as a member of the Earlham Board of Trustees.

Rev. Dr. David Weatherspoon

Rev. Dr. David Weatherspoon serves as a pediatric chaplain at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital where he has ministered since January 2023. Before coming to St. Jude, David served for seven years as a pediatric chaplain at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. Prior to moving to Memphis, David served ten years as college chaplain at Franklin College in Franklin, Indiana. David and Diana Hadley are co-authors of the book, The Peace Class: A study of effective cheek-turning, neighbor-loving and sword-to-plowshare conversion. The book came out of the nonviolence class they taught and the experiences gained from the wonderful learning lab of the classroom. David is married to Dr. Sarah Weatherspoon, a pediatric neurologist, and they have two wonderful and loving girls, Norah and Vivian.

Author Talk with Diana Hadley & David Weatherspoon
2025-10-08 16:00 - 17:30
(online on Zoom, onsite @ Perkins-Wildman Community Center building at Earlham School of Religion, Richmond IN)

Andy Stanton-Henry, Co-Director of the Quaker Leadership Center, will interview Diana and David about their book.

Register for Author Talk

Diana Hadley

Diana Hadley is a retired educator. She taught at the high school level for 33 years and the college level for 13 years. During her tenure at Franklin College, she created the curriculum for a peace studies class that she eventually shared with David Weatherspoon. That teamwork was so inspiring to Diana and David that they wrote a book about the class titled: The Peace Class: A study of Effective Cheek-Turning, Neighbor-Loving and Sword-To-Plowshare Conversion. The book includes the peace studies curriculum approach and specific class activities.

Diana continues to emphasize peace initiatives as an active member of Indiana Friends Committee on Legislation, a Quaker lobby group that speaks for issues that affect all Hoosiers at the state legislature. The bipartisan group focuses on education, environment, public health, justice, voting and most recently, affordable housing and eviction issues.

Diana is strong supporter of Earlham and ESR, serving as a member of the Earlham Board of Trustees.

Rev. Dr. David Weatherspoon

Rev. Dr. David Weatherspoon serves as a pediatric chaplain at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital where he has ministered since January 2023. Before coming to St. Jude, David served for seven years as a pediatric chaplain at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. Prior to moving to Memphis, David served ten years as college chaplain at Franklin College in Franklin, Indiana. David and Diana Hadley are co-authors of the book, The Peace Class: A study of effective cheek-turning, neighbor-loving and sword-to-plowshare conversion. The book came out of the nonviolence class they taught and the experiences gained from the wonderful learning lab of the classroom. David is married to Dr. Sarah Weatherspoon, a pediatric neurologist, and they have two wonderful and loving girls, Norah and Vivian.

Conflict in Meetings/Churches: Workshop Training with Bill Eagles
2025-11-13 00:00 - 2025-11-15 23:59 | Earlham School of Religion & Zoom, 228 College Avenue, Richmond, Indiana, 47374-5360, United States
Conflicts within congregations happen. From the Gnostics to the Reformation to the last 30 years, we’ve seen massive Christian disagreements. Quakers have their own history of splits. But the divisive issues within congregation are both large and small. For four sessions, participants will work with one another and with Bill Eagles (mediator, retired lawyer, and Quaker leader) examining how to avoid, recognize, manage, and heal from conflicts within your congregation. How does decision-making turn into conflict? What can we learn from prevailing? From what feels like a loss? How can move through and beyond conflicts?

So, unless you bask in a conflict-free congregation, participation will offer insights into dealing with conflicts within your congregation, with attention on how your own approach can result in growth in faith.

The 4-sessions are scheduled for

Thurs., 11/13 from 7-9 PM (Eastern) Conflict Arising: What it looks and feels like.

Fri., 11/14 from 7-9 PM (Eastern) I Can’t Hear You: How we listen and how we might.

Sat., 11/15 from 10 -11:30 AM (Eastern) What do you mean that I might be wrong.

Sat., 11/15 from 12:30 – 2 PM (Eastern) Avoiding and Managing Conflict Like Quakers.

This event is offered ON SITE @ Earlham School of Religion and ONLINE via Zoom.

This topic is so important and pertinent to our times that ESR’s Quaker Leadership Center is offering this experience as a “Pay-as-Led.” This means you pay what you can. Please note that for onsite participants this event does include lunch on Saturday. The actual cost to provide this program is $175 per person onsite and $150 per person for online (Zoom) Please keep these factors in mind as you discern what you can pay.

For leaders of Friends Meetings, but open to congregational leaders in all faith traditions

Register at https://QLCConflictinMeetings.eventbrite.com!

Pendle Hill Info Session
2025-12-04 19:30 - 21:00 | Pendle Hill
Pendle Hill Info Session (Hosted by Quaker Leadership Center)

We invite you to learn more about Pendle Hill, a Quaker center fostering Spirit-led learning, retreat, and community. We are committed to creating peace with justice in the world by transforming lives through our programs, services, and campus.

In this info session, you can learn about the QLC and Pendle Hill partnerships, and other upcoming residencies and learning opportunities at Pendle Hill. QLC and Pendle Hill staff will share about our ongoing Quaker Institute and Quaker Leadership Conference collaborations. Pendle Hill Director of Education will also share about other Pendle Hill resources and opportunities: residences, including the Spring Term Resident Student Program, Pendle Hill’s artist and scholar residencies and Friend-in-Residence program; our publications and podcast; and other online and on-campus upcoming events.

A core component of Pendle Hill’s educational program is providing religious seekers, leaders, writers, artists, scholars, theologians, and activists with extended residencies to conduct their creative projects in the context of a spiritual community rooted in a daily rhythm of common meals, work, worship, and contemplation.

Leaders: QLC co-directors Della Stanley-Green and Andy Stanton-Henry and Pendle Hill Education Director Frances Kreimer

Register in advance for this meeting at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/fRmJM1myT7GT5YL-AGNfgA. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

The Pros & Cons of Seminary Panel
2025-12-09 19:30 - 20:30 | Zoom
Panel: The Pros and Cons of Seminary

Is seminary worth it? What happens afterward?

Join us for a panel on The Pros and Cons of Seminary!

December 9 from 7:30-8:30pm ET on Zoom.

Our panelists will share about their experiences in seminary, the effects that has had on their lives and careers, things they wish they had known, and advice for prospective students. There will be time for Q&A, so bring your questions!

Register at www.publicfriends.org/events/p/panel-the-pros-and-cons-of-seminary.

THE PANEL

C. Wess Daniels is the William R. Rogers Director of Friends Center and Quaker Studies at Guilford College. He is a recorded Quaker minister committed to liberation theology, anti-imperial expressions of Christianity, and working towards the revitalization of faith traditions that embody love and justice in the world. He is the author of A Convergent Model of Renewal: Remixing The Quaker Tradition in Participatory Culture (2015), Resisting Empire: The Book of Revelation (2019), contributor to We Cry Justice: Reading the Bible with the Poor People’s Campaign (2021), and the co-editor with Rhiannon Grant of the Quaker World (2022).

Rachel Guaraldi is a member of Beacon Hill Friends Meeting and lives in Strafford, Vermont where she works part time as a community chaplain and pastor of the United Church of Strafford. Rachel is a ESR graduate and a board certified interfaith chaplain with experience working in hospitals, community care settings, and hospice.

Christina Repoley received her MDiV in 2011 from Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta. Immediately following seminary, she founded Quaker Voluntary Service and served as its Executive Director until 2018, when she transitioned to the Forum for Theological Exploration, where she is currently the Vice President of Program. Christina is a recorded minister.

This event is brought to you by Public Friends and the Quaker Leadership Center.

Bivocational Church
2026-01-16 19:00 - 2026-01-17 16:00 | https://bivocationalchurchjan26.eventbrite.com
See Us in Action

Everyone is a minister!We are ALL ministers.But… What does that REALLY mean? Friday afternoon and Saturday morning and afternoon, Phil Baisley, will lead us though a process of making real our strong conviction, as Friends that we are all ministers.Register at https://BivocationalChurchJan26.eventbrite.com for this virtual event: Friday, January 16 at 7:00-8:30 p.m. and Saturday, January 17 at 10:00 a.m.-12:00 noon & 1:00-4:00 p.m.

This event is offered ONLINE via Zoom.This two-day workship is “Pay-as-Led.” This means you pay what you can. We suggest a donation of $45 – $175 depending what you discern is appropriate for your circumstances. If you need to pay less, that is fine. If you are led to pay more, that is fine, too.

Register at https://BivocationalChurchJan26.eventbrite.com

MLK Day meeting for worship with sharing (virtual)
2026-01-19 19:00 - 20:30
In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Friends are invited to gather online for a semi-programmed meeting for worship with sharing. Rooted in silence, reflection, and Spirit-led ministry, this time of communal worship will invite us to listen deeply both to one another and to the movement of the Spirit among us. Drawing on Dr. King’s vision of justice, nonviolence, and the Beloved Community, participants are encouraged to bring a meaningful quote or story from Dr. King to share as we reflect together on faithfulness, resistance, and hope in our time.

Quaker Leadership Center Info Session hosted by Pendle Hill
2026-01-21 19:30 - 20:30
Quaker Leadership Center Info Session (Hosted by Pendle Hill)

This event is hosted by Pendle Hill–please register and find out more at https://pendlehill.org/calendar/qlc-info-sessoin:

“We invite you to learn more about the Quaker Leadership Center, a ministry of Earlham School of Religion dedicated to renewing Quaker meetings by equipping Quaker learner-leaders through resources, trainings, events, and microcourses.

QLC believes that local meetings are the lifeblood of Quakerism but we know that many are struggling to find a way forward through challenges of distraction, division, and decline. We seek to renew local meetings by educating and equipping Quaker leaders of all kinds to skillfully and faithfully practice their ministry. We also believe the best and only way forward is together, so we seek to build new connections and collaborations. Let’s connect!

In this info session, you can learn about the QLC and Pendle Hill partnerships and upcoming learning opportunities with QLC. Co-directors Della Stanley-Green and Andy Stanton-Henry will share about the ministry of QLC and the 2026 programming and resources that could benefit your own ministry.”

Rural Ministry Series
2026-02-04 19:00 - 20:30, 2026-02-05 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Join us for this Rural Ministries Series! Register at https://RuralMinistry26.eventbrite.com to join us for any or all days!

February 4 ~ Farm Stress with Rachel Van BovenIn this interactive workshop, participants will be introduced to the urgent issue of farm stress in our communities. There will be time to reflect individually and together on the unique support that faith communities can offer farmers and farmworkers. We will also provide practical information and resources for faith communities.

Farming can be isolating and stressful, and for many farmers and farmworkers, faith communities are woven into their lives as an important place of connection and belonging. In this interactive workshop, participants will be introduced to the urgent issue of farm stress in our communities. We will present on the unique stressors that farmers face, and the opportunity that faith communities have in supporting farmers in crisis. Throughout the presentation, there will be time to reflect individually and share as a group on the values and support that faith communities can offer. In addition to deeper reflection, we will provide practical resources for faith communities. This workshop was created by a small and diverse group of folks with backgrounds in farming, mental and public health, and seminary training and who currently work to support farmer mental well being.

Bio:

Rachel Van Boven comes from a long line of farmers and has worked with farmers across the US as a Farm Aid hotline operator since 2021. In addition, she works on the Farm Stress Faith Leader Initiative, an effort to invite faith leaders and communities into conversations about farm stress. After a career in teaching, she earned a Masters in Religion from Earlham School of Religion in 2021 and trained in both interfaith chaplaincy and farming. Her passion is food justice, and she considers farmer well-being to be integral to that work

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February 5 ~ Young Adult Friends PanelJoin us for a discussion and deep dive into rural ministry, led by a panel of young friends: Lucy Enge, Jackson Napier, and Thomas Rockwell.

Bio: Lucy Enge (she/her) is passionate about the intersection of politics, agriculture, and religion. She is currently wrapping up life in Richmond, Indiana, where she recently finished her Master of Arts in Peace and Social Transformation at Earlham School of Religion and has been leading Earlham College’s certified organic Miller Farm. She is a recorded minister and finds her calling sometimes in but mostly beyond the pulpit focused on service: doing good and walking with people—holding space for and moving toward a better world. She is a Wilmington College Board of Trustees member and is co-clerk of the Friends Committee on National Legislation’s Quaker Governance and Engagement Committee. Lucy is joining her partner Connor in Roanoke County, Virginia, and enjoys knitting, cooking, and gardening.

Bio: Jackson Napier is a Quaker (more info coming).

Bio: Tom Rockwell serves as the associate superintendent of Western Yearly Meeting and co-pastor at West Elkton (Ohio) Meeting. He is particularly interested in leadership development and organizational renewal. Tom lives with his wife, Jade (program director of Quaker Connect with Friends World Committee for Consultation), and daughter Agatha in Richmond, Indiana.

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February 11 ~ Biblical & Theological Resources for Rural Ministry with Andy Stanton-Henry

Andy leads a workshop exploring Biblical, theological, and Quaker themes in rural ministry.

Bio: Andy is a writer and Quaker minister living in East Tennessee. He is the co-director of the Quaker Leadership Center and co-pastor of Lakeway Quaker Meeting. Andy carries a concern for Quaker renewal and rural ministry leading him to publish Recovering Abundance: Twelve Practices for Small-Town Leadership.
