Quakers to host annual meeting June 21-25 south of McNabb

Shaw Local News Network

The Illinois yearly meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) will take place Wednesday, June 21, through Sunday, June 25, at the historic Clear Creek Friends Meetinghouse, 14365 N. 350th Ave., McNabb.

This year’s theme is “Creating Faithful Actions in Our Changing World,” and will feature three evening speakers at 7:30 p.m. and the annual Plummer Lecture at 10 a.m. Sunday.

Workshops will start at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. All events are free and open to the public.

Sharon Goens-Bradley, Midwest regional director for the American Friends Service Committee, will speak Wednesday evening about her experiences as a mediator, restorative justice facilitator and her participation in a community foundation doing anti-racism work.

On Thursday evening, ecologist Noel Pavlovic and environmental scientist Sarah Pavlovic will discuss their many years on ILYM’s environmental concerns committee. They both have served in many capacities with Quaker Earthcare Witness.

On Saturday evening, Robin Mohr will speak about her work for educational, anti-poverty and religious causes. Mohr has served as executive secretary of the Friends World Committee for Consultation, Section of the Americas since 2011.

Sunday morning’s Plummer Lecture, “Let Your Life Speak,” will be given by Virginia Schelbert. She is a former clinical nurse, nurse administrator and more recently a retired nurse educator at North Park University and family nurse practitioner. Schelbert currently is a part-time nurse at a wellness center in Chicago.

Workshops will be “North Star Vision for Healing Justice: a world without prisons and policing,” “Creating Faithful Action in the Face of Settler Colonialism,” “Repairing the Ongoing Harms Perpetuated against Indigenous People here and around the World,” “Friends in Unlikely Places,” “Talking to Friends, Family, and Lawmakers who do not agree with you,” “John Woolman’s Journal,” “Observing and Drawing Nature” and “Good News for Humans and Nature: Environmental Stewardship and Expanding Circles of Care and Community to include Non-Human Species.”