News & Events
Upcoming Events
From 6/9/2024 or until further notice, Berkeley Friends Meeting will:
Have a 9 a.m. Meeting for Worship in-person only.
Have an 11 a.m. hybrid Meeting for Worship; you may attend in-person or online. See the link below to attend virtually.
At both Meetings, masks are no longer required, but are recommended. Masks, if needed, are available without cost to you.
At both Meetings, COVID-19 vaccination is encouraged, but is no longer required.
Meeting for Worship via Zoom
To join the Zoom meeting, click HERE.
or call 1-669-900-9128 then use Meeting ID 863 2903 6864 Passcode 195653
(Handout on using Zoom)
We will have a modest Meeting for Worship on Christmas Day at the Berkeley Meetinghouse. There will be no after meeting refreshments. This will be an in person worship only unless a volunteer steps up to run the Zoom. Worship will start at 11:00 am and end at noon.
Because of the demolition and repair to remediate leaks, the community room, kitchen, restrooms, parlor and First Day School room are all closed and off limits to anyone other than the workers. There is a restroom off the library and also downstairs. Thanks for your patience and understanding.
The Poetry Discussion Group ordinarily meets the third Sunday of the month, but will not be gathering in December.
We traditionally have a Meeting for Worship on Christmas Day and are hoping to do that this year, but the details are still to be worked out. We will at least be having a Meeting for Worship on Zoom at 11 am. Contact Tom Yamaguchi to discuss.
Our Racial Justice Action Team will next gather on Zoom on Tuesday, January 7, from 7–8:30 pm. You are invited! Contact Barb Atwell for mode details.
Please join us every Wednesday, 11:30 am–12:30 pm, for our continuing Meetings for Worship with attention to support, holding in the light, and healing. The Meetings are on Zoom, using the same link as weekly Meeting for Worship. Contact Kathryn Manalo or Theresa Cox for more details.
There is a PYM New Year's Gathering for Young Adult Friends every year. This retreat is a time for reflection, fellowship, and fun, as we gather together to celebrate community and welcome in the new year. Together, we'll enjoy a variety of activities, including hikes, games, music, worship sharing, and our tradition of New Year's Eve worship, gathered around a fireplace in community. The gathering will be December 29 - January 2nd at the beautiful Ovy Camp, about an hour South of San Francisco, carpooling available. Childcare is provided by the community, and the registration fee is a sliding scale. For more information and to register, visit: www.newyearsgathering.org.
Ben Lomond Quaker Center is presenting workshops in person as well as over Zoom. See quakercenter.org to find out more. The Meeting has a pass, which allows us to send one person to each Quaker Center workshop for free. For more information, please contact Gayle Eleanor, clerk of the Outreach and Nurture Committee.
Please join us every Wednesday, 11:30 am–12:30 pm, for our continuing Meetings for Worship with attention to support, holding in the light, and healing. The Meetings are on Zoom, using the same link as the weekly Meeting for Worship. Contact Kathryn Manalo or Theresa Cox for more details.
The Library Committee would like to invite Friends to come explore the collection. After Rise of Meeting, attendees are warmly encouraged to visit the Library and discover our remarkable collection of books—including many recent acquisitions. Each month, the Committee spotlights a recently acquired book that we think Friends would find interesting. This month's book of the month is How We Win: A Guide to Nonviolent Direct Action Campaigning, in which author George Lakey builds on his decades of experience as a civil rights organizer to offer practical, actionable insight into building mass movements for sustainable change. If you wish to check out this or any other book, Library Committee members are available to help you do so; please see Meghan McAllister, Joe Magruder, Bethany Suter, Elianne de la Vega, or AJ Fox for assistance.
The Science and Technology Subcommittee is looking to expand our roster of Friends who can help with the Meeting's hybrid worship setup. As we look to sustain hybrid worship into the future, the Meeting needs more volunteers to manage the technology that enables Zoom access for remote attendees. Recent improvements in our technology setup have made this easier than ever, and no prior skills are needed to help out. This is a great way to support the Meeting and ensure that we remain accessible to those with health or mobility concerns. Anyone who would like to volunteer should contact Science and Technology Coordinator, AJ Fox.
After a hiatus of several years, the Visiting Subcommittee plans to resume its work. Anyone interested in participating should contact Raph Levien.
There is a daily prayer circle for Friend, Carl Magruder, every morning at 7:30, and also a CaringBridge page with daily updates by Mica. Details for both have been sent to the groups.io list.
Finance Committee reminds you that attenders should consider making a donation to the Meeting, to support ongoing expenses. Contact Matthew Vafidis to learn more.
Standing Announcements
The Meeting library is now open for use after the 11 am Meeting for Worship! Someone from Library Committee will be there to answer your questions and to help you check out books.
Ben Lomond Quaker Center now presenting workshops in person as well as over Zoom. See quakercenter.org to find out more. The Meeting has a pass, which allows us to send one person to each Quaker Center workshop for free. For more information, please contact Gayle Eleanor.
Kitchen Committee really needs your help! Even though Kitchen Committee has several members, not all of them are comfortable returning in person just yet, and this is putting a heavy burden on those who are. For anyone attending in person, if you can possibly help out with refreshments, either set-up or clean-up, please contact Chris and Theolia Valentine. Thank you so much for pitching in!
The Meeting's YouTube channel is up and running! Search for “Berkeley Society of Friends YouTube channel,” use this link, or go to the bottom of any page of this website and click on YouTube, and you'll find a number of videos, including fascinating oral histories by Gale Lederer, Anthony Graffagnino, and Dorothy Gilbert.
Regularly Scheduled Events
Lake County Worship group meets on Tuesday evenings, with singing at 7:10 and worship from 7:30 to 8. Email Mary Miche for the invitation.
Berkeley Friends Meeting informal check-ins are now every Wednesday at 7 pm. Click here to join via Zoom.
You are invited to join the Racial Justice Action Team, the outcome of our recent study group. The group’s goal is to define our work for community safety in Berkeley and Oakland, via police reform. We have a focus on interfaith collaboration, working with other Quakers as well as the non-profit Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ). This non-profit is supported by the American Friend Service Committee. Meetings will be on Tuesday, every other week, from 7 – 8:30 pm on Zoom. Please email Barbara Atwell if you have any questions and can join the group.
Please visit the new page on this website on Quakers and Racial Justice; this is a compilation of meaningful actions Quakers and Quaker meetings can take to foster racial justice. including links to organizations to which we could send donations. This is sponsored by Social and Environmental Action.
The Meeting uses a groups.io mailing list for announcements. If you’re not on it, contact Genie Stowers. This list is for announcements only; the Communications Committee is exploring other options more suited to discussions.
The Emergency Preparedness Network still has some small groups that meet or exchange emails. If you would like to join, please contact Judy Tate.
The Meeting has an Immigrant Assistance Fund. The family who was “accompanied,” or assisted, by the Social and Environmental Action Committee’s Immigrant Accompaniment Team is currently experiencing job and food insecurity. If you would like to donate to the Immigrant Assistance Fund to help them or others, please send your donations to the Berkeley Society of Friends with Immigrant Assistance Fund on the memo line. Checks can still be mailed to the Meetinghouse or to the home of Kathleen Mock, Assistant Treasurer.
Donations are still needed and accepted by the Berkeley Friends Meeting. Checks can be mailed to the Meetinghouse at 2151 Vine Street, Berkeley, CA 94709 or to the home of Kathleen Mock, Assistant Treasurer.
Activities
The Berkeley Meeting has a Young Adult Friends group which meets regularly. Young Adult Friends is a good way for people between the ages of about 18 to 40 to get to know one another better and to meet Young Adults from other local Meetings. If you have any questions, please contact any of the members of the Young Adult Friends planning group: Jesse Mitchell, AJSchaerer, Anthony Graffagnino, and Meghan McAllister.
A list of oral histories from the Berkeley Meeting’s Oral History Project is now available for purchase on the Berkeley Meeting website, under Members and Attenders. The oral histories are available on flash drives, although some are still available on DVD, and they cost $10 each. Barb Atwell is the contact, and her email, as well as some background information about the Oral History Project, is also on the website at Oral Histories.
Continuing Events
Meeting for Business, Every 2nd Sunday at 1 pm, Meetingroom (currently being held via Zoom)
Social and Environmental Action Committee: First First Day of the month at 1 pm, Library (currently being held via Zoom)
Poetry Discussion Group: First Sundays of every month at 1:30, Meeting Parlor (currently on zoom)
Reading Group: Every Tuesday evening at 7:30, Meeting Library (currently on hold)
Singing each First Day between the 9 am and 11 am Meetings for Worship in the Community Room (currently on hold)
Work party: 4th Saturday, 10 am - 2 pm
