Home from Yearly

We are returned from our five days at North Pacific Yearly Meeting. It's a gathering of Quakers from Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana. This year it was in Forest Grove, Oregon for the second time. 

It's always a chance to meet and remeet good people, to hear stories of what life is like in many different places. To overhear snatches of conversations about the death penalty and the authorization of military force, about cycling across states and being arrested for peace. 

The kids run around in little packs, doing crafts and singing songs. The last night that we are together there is a Community Night with skits and songs. Brixton's group dressed up like suns and sang "You are my Sunshine." Unity's group made their own flags and did a dance to the anthem for the World Cup. 

It's a whole separate world, with a different rhythm, long conversations and shared community. I lose track of time there, forget the day and am barely aware of time. It's another kind of time altogether. 

the Yearly Meeting scarf

There is something about Quakers and the fabric arts. In almost every Quaker gathering, except Meeting for Worship, you will see at least ten percent of the room knitting, crocheting or doing needlepoint. I was trying to explain to someone how I feel like knitting helps me be a better listener, most of the time. It's something about occupying a certain part of my brain with a repetitive task, which allows the other parts of my brain more ability to focus. I think if I didn't knit during Meeting for Business, I would be more fidgety and distracted. I've noticed that when I don't bring my knitting, I notice other people knitting and my fingers itch.

So, this is my Yearly Meeting scarf. I started it in the car on the way to Oregon and carried it around with me for the five days we were there at annual session. For me it's seeped in the thoughts and ideas and Light that I was surrounded by, seeped in the occasion of meeting new people and deepening relationships. Being amazed again by the mystical and yet sometimes maddening Quaker process, and being so so thankful for the Religious Society of Friends.