Published: March 20, 2020
Linnea Hanson and Zae Illo surveyed the monthly meetings and worship groups of College Park Quarterly Meeting (Pacific Yearly Meeting) during the week of March 16, 2020. Here are the reports they received:
Appleseed
We had been meeting, but now that the bookstore where we usually meet is closed, we are no longer meeting. Out of our twelve members, three met last Sunday. I sent out a note to meeting members a couple weeks ago about COVID-19. My sister and her husband, who are both physicians with Johns Hopkins, found out they have the virus. Please hold them in the light.
D.J. Bloom
Berkeley
We started on-line worship last Sunday. We have cancelled all other Meeting activities - classes, Friendly dinners . . . We plan on doing our business meeting online. We use Zoom. Here is the link for our online Meeting for Worship. We still need to figure out small groups/classes.
Joe Magruder
Central Coast
We will not be meeting for the rest of March. We are attending online meetings outlined by Western Friend.
Sue Torrey
Chico
We stopped shaking hands the Sunday before last. We met last Sunday with the chairs six feet apart in the meetinghouse worship room. Chico Friends Meeting will not gather at the meetinghouse for worship in the weeks to come. We will be setting up a Zoom video conference to enable us to have our meeting for worship remotely from 10:30 - 11:30 and Quaker Thought and Life from 9 - 9:45. You will be able to join us from your computer or by phone. Ministry and Oversight committee will meet (remotely) on Saturday morning to discuss how we might go forward with other meeting activities.
Linnea Hanson
Davis
We are meeting by Zoom. On Sunday, sixteen attended. We followed with a brief Meeting for business, addressing only two items of business. Friends were invited to stay online for informal sharing of their concerns.
Julie Harlow
Delta
My understanding is that Delta Meeting has been canceled for now, and we have nothing online. Stockton Worship Group will probably not be meeting any time soon; online gathering has been suggested so we can keep in touch.
Walt Jones
Fresno
We had an in-person Meeting last weekend with some separation between people. We haven't talked about it further.
Hans Van der Noordaa
Friends House
Friends House Worship Group is still meeting. We are allowed to have group gatherings as long as everyone is six feet away from everyone else. That means about fifteen of us can fit in our biggest room. The caveat is that people cannot come in from off campus, and that excludes five or six of our regular worshipers, alas. Our worship sharing groups have been canceled.
Elizabeth Boardman
Grass Valley
With gratitude for technology, and in light of Covid-19, Grass Valley Friends Meeting has moved to meeting entirely through virtual means, until further notice. This Sunday, we will gather online at 9 am for Singing, 10 am for Silent Meeting for Worship, and 11:30 am for Spiritual Life worship-sharing.
Amy Cook
Humboldt
Jan Turner is getting us ready to use Zoom. I’m not sure yet how we will do it, but I'll let you know when we are up and running.
Barbara Palmerton
Lake County
Our Lake County Worship Group is on hold for now and has been on hold for several months due to lack of attendance, not due to COVID-19. We are mostly worshipping online with Ben Lomond Quaker Center from 7:30 am to 8:00 am and/or attending worship in Ukiah or Santa Rosa.
Barbara Christwitz
Live Oak
Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, we will not be meeting in person. Instead, we are offering online Meeting for Worship. Friends may join our online meeting here.
PRAYER FOR A PANDEMIC: May we who are simply inconvenienced remember those whose lives are at stake. May we who have no risk factors remember those most vulnerable. May we who have the luxury of working from home remember those who must choose between preserving their health or making their rent. May we who have the flexibility to care for our children when their schools close remember those who have no options. May we who have to cancel our trips remember those that have no safe place to go. May we who are losing our margin money in the tumult of the economic market remember those that have no margin at all. May we who settle in for a shelter-in at home remember those who have no home. As fear grips our country, let us choose love. During this time when we cannot physically wrap our arms around each other, let us find ways to be the loving embrace of God to our neighbors. Amen. (Author Unknown)
Ann Baier and Jeffrey Richman
Monterey
We started Zoom online video conferencing on March 15th, ably assisted by the technogically gifted Tina and Andrea at several sites. All who participated felt truly connected with the others and even inspired a poem! We agreed to continue holding our Meetings in this way for the duration of our “Shelter in Place” order in Monterey County.
Those of us in small groups sat five-to-six feet apart, which exceeded the full scope of the cameras. Sound was a problem for some people’s hearing. So, a good thing that Monterey Peninsula Friends are unprogrammed, and we spent most of our time together in silent worship.
Carole Erickson
Napa
Greetings from Napa, and thank you for checking in with us. So far, we are all well, though like most Meetings, we have Friends who are at risk for various reasons. As this situation has evolved, so has our response. Last week, thanks in part to a letter sent to our Interfaith Community from the Unitarians, we agreed to take precautions in our Meeting, such as a bow rather than holding hands at the rise of Meeting. Then the three Clerks in our small Meeting conferred and, by the weekend, notified all that we would not have Meeting in person. One Friend suggested that we all sit in worship at our own homes at the regular time. Since we usually end with a rich period of Afterthoughts, those who wished to wrote in. All agreed it was a wonderful way to stay connected. We will also be connecting one on one with certain individuals who may need more. Like all our Meetings, we are composed of caring souls, each doing what we can in the wider world. For the future, we will conduct the business of the Meeting by phone and email.
Thank you for what you and Western Friend are doing. We will look forward to hearing about the various creative ways that other Meetings are handling this situation.
Kathy Mawer
Oakland
The worship group has shut down, and we aren’t doing on-line worship (too small). We usually have a monthly potluck; that is also cancelled. Alameda County’s orders continue for three weeks beginning March 16. Hopefully after that time, we will resume worship.
Peter Lin
Palo Alto
In-person meeting is cancelled. We are hosting an online meeting here.
Pam Vavra
Redwood Forest
We postponed all Meeting activities on Thursday, March 12th. This week, the Meeting purchased a Zoom account and will be having Meeting for Worship via Zoom starting on March 22nd. Sonoma County is now in “Shelter in Place” for almost everyone until April 7th, so other Meeting activities and committee, before and after worship, will be conducted via Zoom if they happen. You can find our online worship here.
Paul Harris
Reno
We have cancelled meeting for worship, but we are doing a lot of staying connected. I’m looking into getting some of our activities (the yoga/movement class and the brown bag lunch) into a virtual space, so we can keep doing some activities.
Wendy Swallow
Sacramento
We have cancelled all meetings. We have set up a phone tree and are helping people with groceries. We are setting up our own Zoom meeting for worship as well. It’s not ready yet, but will be soon.
Liz Baker
San Francisco
We have cancelled all activities at the meetinghouse. One member invited people to meet in her home.
Santa Cruz
We are meeting as a small worship group for now. Last Sunday we held Meeting for Worship in small groups in our individual homes, and we let each other know by email that we would be meeting this way. This coming Sunday, we will have our first Zoom Meeting for Worship at our regular meeting time.
Diego Navarro
Strawberry Creek
We are arranging a zoom alternative to in-person worship. We aren't saying meeting is "cancelled," we are saying "suspended," and are working on alternatives. We are arranging a zoom link for 10:00 a.m. on Sundays.
Laura Magnani
Visalia
We met for worship on Sunday, March 14. We are in discernment in what to do.
Big Island
Worship is cancelled for now.
from Linnea Hanson of Chico Meeting and Zae Illo of San Francisco Meeting (3/20/2020)