Healing Prayer, Pearl Ball convenor
Pearl Ball feels a calling to initiate a Healing Prayer group for members and attenders of Richmond Friends Meeting. RFM has held such meetings in the past, and Pearl feels that the time is right to revive a focused practice. She suggests that the meetings would be held virtually on Thursday mornings from 8:30 a.m. to 9:15 a.m, beginning on February 17. They will offer a time to pray together and hold in the Light persons in need of support.
        If you wish to participate, please contact Pearl at pearlsatarawala@gmail.com or 973-650-9680.
        If you are unable to participate in a given session, Pearl asks you to contact her if there is someone you would like held in the light.
        Pearl suggests reading Pendle Hill pamphlet #382, “Holding One Another in the Light.” Copies will be provided to the RFM library.
       Associated links provided by Pearl:
https://www.friendsjournal.org/meeting-worship-healing/
https://redcedarfriends.org/join-us-for-worship/deepening-our-experience/meeting-with-attention-to-healing/meeting-for-healing-resources/

Humankind Book Group, convenors Don Miller and Arthur Shurcliff
Don and Arthur describe Humankind by historian and thinker Rutger Bregman as “an amazingly interesting read, a page-turner, inspirational, and potentially a foundational philosophy for societal change.” They will host a kickoff, planning-only meeting on Sunday, March 13, at 7:30 pm on Zoom. It will last no more than one hour. A link will be distributed a few days ahead of time.
If you are interested, contact either Don (donmiller123@gmail.com, 804-387-1049) or Arthur (ashurcliff@icloud.com, 804-918-8074).
Quick synopsis: Rutger Bregman’s premise is that our prevalent view of humanity is that, without the reining-in influence of civilization, people tend toward selfish, anti-social behavior. In the extreme, think “Lord of the Flies.” But he presents persuasive evidence and many examples demonstrating that this pessimistic view of human nature is incorrect. Rather, people’s natural inclination is to want to pull together and support each other as a community. (This aligns with our emphasis on honoring the light within each person.)
The implications are vast. Our institutions tend to assume the former view, are designed accordingly, and bring out the worst in us. Bregman gives many examples – our political systems, our prisons, our schools, etc. – and also cites contrary examples, where institutions that are designed to develop our humanity have been successful. —