Talbot County’s Quakers would like to get to know you better.
Toward that end, Third Haven Friends Meeting will host the George Fox Forum, a four-part series of evenings of food, fellowship and familiarization with Quakerism during the first four months of 2016. Beginning Jan. 22, each monthly Forum will be held on a Friday evening on Third Haven’s campus at 405 South Washington St., one block south of Memorial Hospital.
“When many people think of Quakers, all that comes to mind is oatmeal or old men in brown suits and broad-brimmed hats,” says Dawn Atwater, who chairs Third Haven’s outreach committee. “But we’re about so much more.” Quakerism is a vital religious tradition older than the United States, yet as contemporary as today. Third Haven even has its own Facebook page.
“We are proud of our past,” says Atwater, “and committed to a better future.” Today’s Quakers speak their consciences, seeking justice, calling out the oppressor and standing up for the oppressed.
Named for the founder of the Religious Society of Friends, the George Fox Forum is a series of free evenings featuring fellowship, hearty suppers and panel discussions, designed to help Mid-Shore residents become familiar with Third Haven’s “quirky Quakers.”
“Each Forum will focus on one of the six core tenets of Quakerism,” says Atwater: Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality and Stewardship. “We call them our SPICES.”
The first Forum, on Friday, Jan. 22, will focus on Community. The program will begin with a Technology, Entertainment and Design (better known as TED) talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the Nigerian author of Americanah, the #1 Best Seller in Cultural Heritage Fiction on amazon.com. It was named one of the Best Books of 2015 by both amazon’s editors and The New York Times. And it won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction. Her remarkable TED talk is called “The Danger of the Single Story.”
Following Adichie’s talk, Atwater will moderate a fast-paced panel discussion featuring three members of Third Haven Friends Meeting. Adrienne Rudge, Larny Claggett and John Schreiner will share with you how they found their way to Quakerism and how they continue to grow in their Quaker spiritual beliefs. There will be plenty of time to ask the panelists questions and enjoy an evening of fellowship.
The next three Forums will be held on Feb. 26, March 18 and April 22. The focus of the February Forum will be Equality. The spotlight will be on Integrity in March, and on Peace in April. All four Forums will be held in Third Haven’s common room (what most churches call a parish hall) at 6 p.m. Admission, supper and convenient parking are free, and everyone, regardless of where, or even whether, he worships is welcome.
For more information about the George Fox Forum, call Dawn Atwater at 410-714-3371.
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