The Conservative Friend
An Outreach of Ohio Yearly Meeting of Friends
Welcome to Our Meetings
Make it your aim to promote the cause of truth and
righteousness, and to spread the Kingdom of God at home and abroad. Be ready to
take your part fearlessly in declaring His message and in witnessing to His
power.
13th Advice from the Book of Discipline of Ohio Yearly Meeting, 2001
Friends,
welcome to the Conservative Friend. This
site is an outreach of Ohio Yearly
Meeting of Friends, and is intended to help spread the message that Christ has
come to teach His people Himself. Through this labor we hope to
welcome seekers, finders, and
returning strayed sheep to the worship of God in Spirit and in Truth,
as
maintained by the Conservative Friends of Ohio Yearly Meeting since our
organization in 1813.Although nothing here is believed to depart from Conservative Quaker faith, practice, and tradition, Ohio Yearly Meeting of Friends is not responsible for what we post. For officially-authorized online materials, please visit our Yearly Meeting website at http://www.ohioyearlymeeting.org/index.htm/.
But it is important to remember that the message we carry is not that of just another peculiar and eccentric denomination or sect. What we have is a timeless message for all people, everywhere, and we invite you to come and learn more about it. Parts of this message have been spoken from pulpits, temple steps, open fields, and primitive altars for as long as human beings have tried to achieve communion with God. The Religious Society of Friends has tried to put the pieces together into the coherent whole that most clearly and cleanly leads to the relationship with God that He intended for all people. But don't take our word for it. Wait upon the Lord yourself, and see what He tells you. We have tried to help you in that task by presenting you with the contents of this website.
And as long as you're here, please take a moment to look around. The strength of Conservative Quaker faith and practice lies in unity, not in uniformity, and much of the content we have posted here is difficult to find or unavailable anywhere else. Leave a comment in Our Guestbook or email us from our Contact Us page. Thanks for visiting.
Headlines
Please see our News and Events Page for details
THE 195th ANNUAL YEARLY MEETING OF OHIO YEARLY MEETING
THE AGENDA IS NOW AVAILABLE
Please see our News and Events Page for details
THE 195th ANNUAL YEARLY MEETING OF OHIO YEARLY MEETING
THE AGENDA IS NOW AVAILABLE
The
Yearly Meeting will be held in Barnesville, Ohio, USA between Monday
12th August 2008, and Sunday 17th August 2008. The Yearly Meeting has
been held every year since 1813, and since 1878 in the same structure
in Barnesville. The Yearly Meeting is where Yearly Meeting members willing and able to travel to Barnesville meet together
to do the business of the church. During the week we make
decisions, decide how to pay the bills, arrange for the tasks of the
various committees to be discussed, and in general work together in the
same manner that the Society has adopted and pursued for over 350
years. We also worship together, sit on the porch, welcome visitors and
newcomers, eat well, attend evening presentations and workshops, and in
general re-connect with people we haven't seen in a while. You are
welcome to join us, for an hour, a day, or all week.
NEW VIEWPOINT: FROM EASTERN CHRISTIANITY TO QUAKERISM
JOHN MICHAEL KEBA
John
Michael Keba lives in Pennsylvania, USA, and is an affiliate member of
Winona Monthly Meeting. He came to Friends through a circuitous root
that included atheism, Theravada, and the Ruthenian Rite of the
Catholic Church. He writes of the some of the theological similarities that connect Quakerism with the Orthodox tradition. Read all about on our Viewpoints Page.
The 2008 OHIO YEARLY MEETING GATHERING OF CONSERVATIVE FRIENDS
The 2008 Ohio Yearly Meeting Gathering of Conservative Friends will be held in Barnesville, Ohio, USA from 20 June through 22 June 2008. The Gathering is sponsored by Ohio Yearly Meeting, and has recently been held alternately in Barnesville and at other locations where Conservative Friends have been able to gather.
The Gathering is not a business session, and its intent is not to transact anything other than communing together an meeting face-to-face. We don't plan committee meetings, or do a great deal of specific planning of events, workshops, seminars, footraces, or the like. The point is simply to be together in the presence of the Lord. We sit on the porches, worship together in the old meetinghouse, take walks on the property and in general re-connect with each other in ways that our far-flung community often finds difficult or expensive to accomplish.
The Gathering itself will be held on the grounds of Ohio Yearly Meeting's Stillwater Meeting House, where Stillwater Monthly Meeting has held uninterrupted worship sessions weekly since 1803, and also where the Yearly Meeting has been held since 1878. The Yearly Meeting owns two other buildings on the property: the Friends Center, and an Activities Building with bathrooms, showers, and facilities for child care.
For information and online registration go to the Gathering Registration Page.
QUAKERCAMP 2008 WILL BE HELD 22-28 JUNE IN BARNESVILLE, OHIO, USA
The 2008 Quakercamp gathering will begin just after the separate OYM Gathering of Conservative Friends that is being held at the same location June 20-22. The Friends General Conference gathering is being held about 3 hours away at Johnstown PA from June 28-July 4 2008. Quakercamp Gathering fees are on a "free will offering" basis, so that no one needs to stay away because of limited income. There will be a children's program each morning and evening childcare so that families can be fully involved in all that takes place.
For more information on this June's gathering, click on:
Quakercamp 2008
2008 Quakercamp Planning Group: Ann Armstrong, Susan Bailey, Peter Blood-Patterson, Deborah Haines, Pamela Haines, Ellen Deacon
You can email the Quakercamp planning group if you have questions or ideas about this summer's gathering. If you prefer, you may also write Susan Zeichner at 68 Josephine Ave., Somerville, MA 02144 or call her at (617) 625-8797.
We hope you will join us this June!
Our site contains an easy-to-use Email Discussion List, which is open to anybody interested in conversation with or among Conservative Friends. Use it to make announcements, look for news, and participate in extended discussions on topics of interest to Conservative Friends around the world. Go to our Email List page for information and to subscribe. You can catch up on the conversation by reading the Archives on the same page.
If you have formed a new Christian unprogrammed meeting or worship group, or you are interested in doing so, please see our Forming a Worship Group page. You will owe us nothing, and would be delighted to help!
