Our North Pacific Yearly Meeting Faith and Practice section on Harmony with Creation begins: “The mystery and beauty of the universe reveal their Source. Spiritually and physically nourished by our home, the Earth, we are filled with gratitude and wonder.” Being filled with gratitude and wonder is a start, but where does that good feeling carry us? In November… (read more)
This First Day at 10:45 a.m., during the outdoor Meeting for Worship, we will recite the Haudenosaunee (pronounced who-DIN-oh-show-nee) Thanksgiving Address Greetings to the World. Please join us! The Haudenosaunee people (also known as the Iroquois) have said that the words of the Thanksgiving Address are their gift to the world and are meant to be shared…. (read more)
The harvest season has traditionally been a time to express gratitude for the bounty and benevolence of nature – for the abundance of food and beauty that the natural world supplies us with. And it’s easier to feel true gratitude when we feel a sense of connection to the source of what we receive – when… (read more)
It is clear that we cannot solve the plastic crisis simply by changing our buying habits or by recycling “better”. We need legislation. Environmentalists and lawmakers in some states are pushing for legislation that bans single use plastics, and for “bottle bills” which pay customers to bring back their plastic bottles. Oregon and Michigan’s bottle… (read more)
As I said earlier, over 90% of the plastic we produce is not recycled. But why is that? We have all the recycle symbols, and we are all doing our part to sort out plastic and find places to recycle it, so what’s the problem? An Oregon Public Broadcasting article explains: Waste management experts say the problem with… (read more)
On January 22, 2023, Eugene Friends Meeting approved a Minute on Reducing Plastics in the World, and we agreed to “educate ourselves, witness, and take action, as led with efforts in these directions: Reduce, re-use, and recycle our personal and Meeting House plastics: We will encourage and educate each other to reduce our purchase of new plastics, re-use what we purchase when… (read more)
On January 22, 2023 Eugene Friends Meeting approved a Minute on Reducing Plastics in the World: Eugene Friends Meeting acknowledges that plastic waste in the Earth’s environment adversely affects wildlife, wildlife habitat, and humans, and that reducing plastic production, consumption, and waste is crucial if we are to overcome the problem of plastic pollution on our planet. Reducing the production and… (read more)
Native pollinators need appropriate native plants, those that are indigenous to our specific geographic area: Here in the Willamette Valley, we live in the Pacific Lowland Mixed Forest ecosystem (same as the Puget Sound Valley). Before cultivation, we had dense coniferous forests, prairies that supported open stands of oaks, and wetlands with swamp or bog communities. The original, natural… (read more)
“What if each American landowner made it a goal to convert half of his or her lawn to productive native plant communities? Even moderate success could collectively restore some semblance of ecosystem function to more than twenty million acres of what is now ecological wasteland. … we can create this country’s largest park system. It… (read more)
The concept of ‘unity with nature’ is still unsettled in Friends’ minds. Our commitment to the exploration of this concept … is alive and growing. But how to nurture it? Where will it lead us? Is it an aspect of our deepest spiritual selves, to be integrated into our whole being by quiet contemplation of wilderness and… (read more)
Click the picture for information about community group use of the Meeting House.
