Workshops
In addition to publishing the magazine and books, Western Friend also nurtures the spiritual lives of Friends in the West through occasional workshops.
If you’d like to suggest a topic for a future workshop, please do! Contact Kathy at editor (at) westernfriend dot org.
Current Offerings
Spiritual Storytelling
In this day-long workshop, WF’s editor, Kathy Hyzy, will teach participants a way to listen deeply to one another’s stories. The workshop is open to both “storytellers” and “listeners.” We spend some time preparing the group for attentive, grounded listening – a process akin to the clearness process, where listening opens up the story for the teller and helps them to discover the layers and meaning within. This process deepens connections, allows us to hear together the movement of the Spirit and gives voice to the workings of God among us.
Each storyteller will have time to share a spiritual experience – that is, a time when they felt close to the divine, an encounter with a sense of opening and transcendence. This may be for one an experience with nature, for another a moment with a child, or a period of great sorrow, joy, or transition.
This workshop is a wonderful way to deepen connections among Friends of all ages, and works well as a theme for a quarterly meeting and meeting retreats. Kathy may also be able to craft a longer or shorter version of the workshop to fit your needs.
Rightly-Ordered Financial Management for Friends’ Organizations
Next Offering: June 5-8, Early Days of Intermountain Yearly Meeting’s Annual Sessions
Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, New Mexico
Initially developed through a partnership between Western Friend, Friends Fiduciary Corporation and Ben Lomond Quaker Center, this weekend workshop focuses on assisting Friends in meetings, churches, and other Friends’ organizations with everything from the nuts and bolts of finance to spiritual discernment on financial matters.
The workshop features sections led by Betsy Muench, co-editor of The Treasurer’s Guide for Religious Organizations, Connie Brookes and Melissa Stoner, experienced staff of Friends Fiduciary Corporation, and Jill Hoyenga, clerk of Eugene Friends Meeting’s dynamic Finance Committee. Friends will also have ample time to talk with others from meetings, churches, and Quaker organizations over meals and during facilitated peer group discussions.
Sessions cover a number of topics, including:
- Fostering open conversations about money in your Meeting
- Budgeting as a reflection of our Friendly priorities and values
- Nuts and bolts: reading and crafting financial reports
- Socially responsible investing for Meetings and organizations
“This program is fabulous!”
“Wow – what a great diversity of strengths and perspectives.”
-Comments from past workshop participants
If you have an interest in money matters in your Meeting, this workshop is for you! Treasurers and finance clerks will find it especially helpful, but the sessions are designed to be interesting and accessible to anyone who wants to learn more about Spirit-led financial decision-making.
This workshop is being offered next at Intermountain Yearly Meeting’s Early Days sessions, June 5-8. IMYM meets at beautiful Ghost Ranch in northern New Mexico; transportation may be available from Santa Fe or the Albuquerque airport. Visit their website to learn how to register. Friends can register just for Early Days and not the entire Annual Session.
You may download a sample agenda from a past finances workshop here; while the sessions may change around, the topics covered will remain the same.
We’d love to bring this workshop to Friends elsewhere in the West! Let us know if you would be interested in attending.