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Greetings , from Quaker Earthcare Witness!
We've officially moved into summer in the Northern Hemisphere and hope wherever you are in the world, you're enjoying nature's beauty and bounty!
This is our sixth issue of our enewsletter, Resources for Earthcare Action. We publish and share it with you in the hopes that you will find something interesting you can share with Friends, family, your meeting, and others who care for the earth. Please share freely by using the Forward link at the bottom of the enewsletter--the more, the merrier! In this issue you'll find a number of resources designed to help you share information with your Yearly Meeting. Please help us spread the word!
An Opening Reflection: Bean Song
 by Kathleen Norris
A bean does not know much,
but it remembers the winter.
It sweats in secret, its skin grows tough
and smooth as it pushes up against the darkness,
against the weight of the universe.
Somehow it displaces just a little earth,
and everything shifts to one side.
The bean flower stands up
to see if it's in the middle of a field,
or someone's flower pot;
it is beautiful and bitter,
and dies after a while,
but the bean keeps singing to itself
a song about the stars,
and the cities, and the people
who live in sunlight.
No one hears it singing,
only a few ever learn the song.
At night, when I sleep alone,
I sing it for you.
News & Updates
- Join Us in the Earthcare Center at FGC, afternoons June 30 through July 4! Shelley Tanenbaum (General Secretary) and Roy Taylor (Clerk) will be present to share ideas, facilitate workshops, and lead movies and discussions. If you’re going to CALU, just outside of Pittsburgh, PA this year, be sure to stop in and say hello! The theme of the Gathering this year is “Let Love be the first motion.” You can find out more about the Gathering on the FGC website: http://www.fgcquaker.org/connect/gathering
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In the QEW Earthcare Center: If you're going to FGC, please plan to attend Roots of Injustice, Seeds of Change: Toward Right Relationship with America's Native Peoples in the QEW Earthcare Center on Tuesday afternoon, 1:30-4 pm. This workshop is offered by the Toward Right Relationship project of Boulder Friends Meeting. For more information, contact project director Paula Palmer at paularpalmer@gmail.com or visit http://boulderfriendsmeeting.org/ipc-right-relationship.
- QEW @ FUM. We were pleased to be with Friends at the Friends United Meeting Triennial this month in Marion, Indiana! We took two displays and many pamphlets and back issues of BeFriending Creation, and Friends gathered up and shared many resources.
- Quakers Move Their Money to Protect the Planet. The Eco-Justice Working Group of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting announced today that more than $2 million of assets have been divested from fossil fuels and reinvested in a new Quaker Green Fund offered by Friends Fiduciary Corporation. By doing so, Philadelphia area Friends join a growing number of religious communities, colleges, towns and states across the country, which are bringing pressure to bear on government and industry to act now to slow climate change. Meetings that have already shifted funds include Central Philadelphia, Lansdowne, Westtown, Lehigh Valley, Old Haverford, and Newtown Monthly Meetings. The question of investing with integrity is actively under way at many others. These Quaker Meetings are urging Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, the largest body of Friends in the United States, to divest as well. http://www.quakerearthcare.org/blog
Opportunities: Engage & Connect
- Prepare for the March! QEW is proud to be a co-sponsor of the Peoples’ Climate March, September 21, 2014 in New York City. Sponsor 350.org is publicizing this as “the largest climate march in history,” and we’re calling all Friends to participate as you feel so led! You can find out more by going here: http://peoplesclimate.org/march/. And watch our website, BeFriending Creation, and our Facebook page for more information about Friends’ involvement.
- Want to know more about fossil fuels? “To the Ends of the Earth: a Guide to Unconventional Fossil Fuels” is a new free report from Corporate Watch that brings together all the basics about unconventional fossil fuels. Order a copy or download for free here:
www.corporatewatch.org/publications/2014/ends-earth-guide-unconventional-fossil-fuels
Resources to Share: Living Our Testimonies
 New Travel Trifold. Friends on the QEW Publications committee recently published our newest trifold, “Energy Efficient Travel Options,” and it is now available on the QEW website. You can download the PDF to print and share with your meeting by clicking the PDF link on the right side of the page. You can also read the trifold content (without the tables) here: http://www.quakerearthcare.org/pamphlet/energy-efficient-travel-options. Please share freely! You can also email Katherine if you’d like to receive print copies of the trifold.- Southeastern Yearly Meeting approves minute on climate change. At a gathering in April 2014, SEYM approved—after long and rich discernment—a minute on climate change. Mary Jo Klingel writes, “Southeastern Yearly Meeting approved a minute on climate change at our most recent Gathering, in April 2014. The minute is the result of a full year’s work. It was first read at our Gathering in 2013. Our Earthcare Committee asked each Monthly Meeting to season the minute and give us suggestions to improve it. Many meetings threshed the minute as a focus for discussions about the climate and our responsibilities, and recommended improvements. It was a wonderful moment when a year’s work ended in approval of a minute that we could own as a community. Then, even better, our clerk reminded us that we have many inspiring minutes gathering dust on shelves. She asked that we focus as a body on discerning the actions that are now asked of us. That work has begun.” You can read the minute on our website at http://www.quakerearthcare.org/article/southeastern-yearly-meeting and review our growing list of minutes and epistles from Friends meetings and organizations all over North America by going here http://www.quakerearthcare.org/article/minutes-and-statements-friends-meetings-and-organizations .
 Take QEW displays to Your Yearly Meeting. This year, in addition to our QEW in a Box display option, you can download and assemble a QEW display on divestment from fossil fuels. Get the files you need on our website here: http://www.quakerearthcare.org/resource/qew-display-fossil-free-friends. You can also find QEW in a Box and the information about the QEW Earthcare Toolkit here: http://www.quakerearthcare.org/article/take-qew-your-yearly-meeting
Until Next Time…
As we enjoy best this season has to offer and tenderly nurture and protect this planet we are holding in trust, may we take time to breathe and be thankful for spirit's work within and among us. Let us know how we can help support your efforts, Friends.
And remember, we’d love to hear and help you share your stories, reflections, minutes, and epistles. Please send your ideas by emailing them to me at mailto:katherine@quakerearthcare.org!
In Friendship,
Katherine
Katherine Murray
on behalf of the QEW Publications Committee
Quaker Earthcare Witness
Who we are: Quaker Earthcare Witness is a network of Friends (Quakers) in North America and other like-minded people who are taking spirit-led action to address the ecological and social crises of the world from a spiritual perspective, emphasizing Quaker process and testimonies. For more information, please contact Shelley Tanenbaum at mailto:shelley@quakerearthcare.org.
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