Coming up soon! Join your Friends from SCYMF at the Winter Quarterly Gathering on Saturday, February 8, 2025. We will meet in person at West Hills Friends Church in Portland, Oregon, and also on Zoom.
There will be a program for kids during the day (except for lunchtime) with crafts and fun activities.
On Friday evening the youth will host a multi-generational game night at West Hills Friends. If you plan to attend, notify the registrar.
Schedule for Saturday, February 8th:
9:00 to 10:30 a.m. Workshops (three different workshops to choose from!)
10:30 to 10:45 a.m. Break
10:45 to 11:30 a.m. Worship and music led by Laura Simmons (West Hills)
11:30 to 12:30 p.m. Business session
12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Lunch and book signing by Mica Coffin
1:30 to 5:00 p.m. Business session
We accept donations for lunch and will be taking an offering during the business meeting.
Pre-registration is required. Please send the following information to registrar@scymf.org or reply to this email by February 1st.
Name(s) of those attending
Church or meeting affiliation
Age(s) if under 18
Email addresses of those attending
Are you attending in-person or on Zoom
Which workshop would you like to attend (you can change your mind, but this will help us plan).
Whether you plan to attend the intergenerational game night.
Workshops descriptions:
1. All Aboard the Allyship! Becoming a Better LGBTQIA Ally
Ahoy, friends! Do you want to be a better ally, but aren't sure where to start? Maybe you've got some burning questions, but you're afraid you'll have to walk the plank if you ask. Join us as we share some practical steps you can take to let your LGBTQIA friends know you've got their back. Christine Harms is a wife to Megan, a mom to their two kiddos, a former educator and missionary, a current author under two pen names and attends Eugene Friends Church.
This workshop will be both in person and online.
2. Playfulness for Grownups: Play as Worship
The work of childhood, in all but the direst circumstances, is play. In playing, children work out big feelings and confusing experiences. They practice communication, ask big questions, and experience the Inward Light. As adults, what if we, too, can refresh our spirits with play as a path to the Sacred? Katherine and Mylène invite you to join us to hear a story about God's holy darkness and then play through waiting worship. We will have clay, words and poetry, water-brush boards, and other materials for responding with our hands as well as our hearts and minds. We also welcome you to bring something of your own that sparks playfulness, or to play in your imagination, without physical materials.
Katherine Spinner is a bi-cultural Friend who has led intergenerational worship at University Friends Meeting, in Seattle (North Pacific Yearly Meeting) and at West Hills Friends Church, which she learned about through the Pacific Northwest Quaker Women's Theology Conference.
Mylène DiPenta (they) tells Faith and Play stories at West Hills Friends Church, designs electronics, and seeks to undermine the soul-death that is Christian nationalism by using liberation theologies of lasting repair and whole-self joy.
This workshop will be in person only.
3. Queer, Quaker and Christian: holding on to Jesus in a queer-phobic and Christo-fascist world
In this workshop, Quaker theologian Mark Russ shares his faith journey as a Quaker, a Christian and a gay man, three identities that, for many, don't fit easily together. Drawing on Quaker, Christian and queer perspectives, Mark will offer a theology that he finds life-giving in a hostile world. This workshop includes the opportunity for shared discussion, reflection and questions.
Mark Russ is a Quaker theologian who lives in Birmingham, England. He is the author of Quaker Shaped Christianity (2022, Christian Alternative) and The Spirit of Freedom (2024, Christian Alternative), and blogs at jollyquaker.com. From 2015 to 2022 Mark was a member of the Learning and Research Team at Woodbrooke, the international Quaker learning and research organization based in Britain. He is currently studying for a PhD at the University of Nottingham, constructing a critical-white theology of liberal Quaker worship.
This workshop will be both in person and online.
Intergenerational Game Night
Friday, February 7th beginning at 6 PM and running until approximately 9 PM will be the Intergenerational game night. All ages are invited to play games: board games as well as Dungeons and Dragons. Feel free to bring your favorite board game and snacks to share. Please notify the registrar if you wish to attend.
Book Signing
Micah will be signing copies of her book, “Light for the Journey.” It is a collection of messages given at West Hills as well as stories written for the church newsletter, “Minding the Light.” She will have some books for sale, also.
West Hills Friends is located at 7425 SW 52nd Ave, Portland, OR 97219 across from Maplewood Elementary between Vermont St and Multnomah Blvd.
